Seward daily gateway., 1925-05-26
FISH PROBEMS
 ARE STUDIED
 AT CONFERENCE
AND HECKMAN'S SUGGESTIONS RECEIVE DUE
 CONSIDERATION, SEATTLE

 month, a lengthy article appeared pertaining to the Pacific Coast sal mon conference, held in Seattle and to which two members of the Alas ka Territorial Fish commission, J. R. Heckman of Ketchikan, and H. E. Ellsworth, of Seward, attended.
 The conference met at the invita- tion of E. A. Sims, chairman of the Washington State Fisheries Board, who presided over the meetings. Im- portant extracts from the interesting article covering pelagic fishing are re-pubhshed below:
 l ''Twenty-fve years from now the Pacific salmon fisheries will be even more prosperous than they are to- day" This confident statement, made by Dr. c. H. Gilbert at the close of the conference of fisheries officials held at Seattle March 16 and IT, expressed the general feel ing of those present as a result of the adoption of cooperative plan for the study of problems bearing on the preservation and upbuilding of the salmon runs. The conference is hailed as the most promising step ever taken toward the acquisition of knowledge required to bring the work of conservation to it's highest effectiveness, and is expected to lead to a far-reaching improvement in me thods by which the salmon resources may be made increasingly produc- tive. From the attitude of the vari- ous conferees, it was very evident that the object of their efforts was the greatest possible utilization of salmon for commercial purposes con- sistent with the permanence of the industry; and that their immediate aim is to determine the best means of keeping up or increasing the avail able supply AS a result of the meet ing it is expected that progress in this direction will be greatly accel- erated.
 The first question brought up for detailed discussion was the desirabil- ity of immediate action to stop fish | ing on certain feeding grounds, bas- ed upon an accumulation of evidence of the destruction of quantities of small and immature fish through this practice and the enormous waste re- sulting from it. It was brought out that such fishing grounds are largely outside the three-mile limit and be- cause of this and of the migratory nature of the fish, control can only !; be exercised through international ac- tion. Incomplete knowledge of the migrations and other related ques- tions also appeared as an obstacle to greed that steps should be taken to negotiate a treaty on the subject, providing for a commission to inves- tigate and make such regulations as the facts might warrant in regard to extra-territorial fishing It was also agreed that, if possible, systematic investigation be made this year to de- termine the essential facts as to coastwise migrations, especially of King salmon, and to get any other acurate information required in re- gard to outside fishing.
 The imminent danger from the con- struction of dams in salmon streams was discussed at some length, with particular reference to the Priest Rapids project on the Columbia Riv- CT, and emphasis was given to the desirability of state legislation to place the burden of developing and providing adequate means to assure the safety of the fish definitely upon those who propose to build such dams.
 Prof. John N Cobb described his experiment in raising salmon over the Condit dam; and in discussion which followed it was brought out that the fish handled in that work were spawning, and in a condition to stand considerable rough usage with out injury; whereas those passing above Priest Rapids would be much more susceptible to injury. The problem of leading the fish into a fishery of the type used also pres ented difficulties which had not been surmounted.
 At the close of the first days ses- sion a committee was appointed to draw up definite plans for action along the lines suggested. On rec