The Pacific Monthly/Volume 1/Columbia River Salmon
THE PACIFIC MONTHLY.
COLUMBIA RIVER SALMON.
By HOLLISTER D. McGUIRE, Oregon State Fish Commissioner.
ONCORHYNCHUS, pronounced Ong-ko-ring-kus, is the scientific name of the Pacific Coast salmon, of which there are five distinct species. They were first recognized and described by Stellar, the most exact of early observers. He described and distinguished them with perfect accuracy in the year 1731. Some 60 years later the German compiler, Johann Walbaum, gave scientific names to all the salmon and trout which travelers had described. After Stellar and Walbaum, Pallas, in the year 1811, recognized these same species and gave them other names. Since then writers with little or no knowledge at all of the subject have done their worst to confuse, until no exact knowledge of any of the species remained.
Until a few years ago the breeding males of the five species constituted a separate genus of many species; the females were placed in the genus Salmo, and the young in still another species of a third genus called Fario. This was supposed to be a genus of trout.
David Starr Jordan says that not one of the many writers on these fishes 45 years ago knew a single species at sight or used knowingly in their description a single character by which species are really distinguished. Many of those engaged in the salmon industry on the Columbia, as well as others, have fallen into a great error concerning the number of species of salmon running in that stream. Some 15 years ago W. A. Jones, major of engineers, U. S. A., in a report to congress (Ex. Doc. No. 123, 50th Congress, first ses sion, page 16) gave a list of 12 species of salmon "that run in the Columbia." This popular error, in regard to the number of species, is in great part due no doubt to the extraordinary variability in appearance of the different species of salmon, largely attributable to the conditions incident to the development of the reproductive organs.
At the present time ichthyologists are a unit in the opinion that there are only five distinct species of salmon in the Pacic, viz., (1) the Chinook, or quinnat salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha); (2) the blueback salmon, or red fish (Oncorhynchus nerka); (3) the silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); (4) the dog salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), and (5) the humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha); these scientific names being those given them by Walbaum nearly 100 years ago.
The Columbia river is the only stream in which four of the five species of the Oncorhynchus are found in abundance, the humpback (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) being the only species not entering that stream in large numbers, and individuals of that species have also been taken occasionally.
The spring run of Chinook (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) is by far the largest, most important and valuable of the salmon family. Its flesh has an oiliness and richness of flavor that makes it far superior to the other species as an article of food. It is the standard of excellency, and when packed in hermetically sealed cans (four-fifths of it being thus pre- pared for export) brings a higher price than does the other species. The Chinook (spring run) is found in great abundance when at its best only in the Columbia, the quantity taken in that stream last year aggregating 33,000,000 pounds, as against 2,500,000 pounds taken in the Sacramento river and 1,000,000 pounds taken in Rogue river, these streams being the only ones that any considerable number of these fish enter during the spring months, rarely running in other coast streams until marked deterioration has taken place, greatly impairing its wholesomeness and value as food.
The eggs of this species, as of all the salmonidae, are much larger than in fishes generally and the ovaries are with- out special duct, the eggs falling into the cavity of the abdomen before they are excluded. The large size of the eggs, the fact that they do not stick together, and the ease with which they may be impregnated, make artificial culture of these fish a work of wonderful possibilities. By this means 95 per cent, of the eggs are successfully hatched, while in the natural
spawning of the fish only 5 per cent, survive on account of the freshets that carry away the eggs, and the predaceous fishes that prey upon the young.
In the spring the body of the salmon, when it enters the Columbia, is a beautiful silvery color, the dorsal and caudal fins being marked with round black spots and the sides of the head having a tin-colored, metallic lustre. As they near the spawning period marked deterioration takes place. This deterioration is due entirely to the development of the reproductive organs. As the spawning period approaches the male fish grows thin, his head flattens, the upper jaw curves like a hook over the lower, the eyes become sunken, large, powerful, dog-like teeth appear on both jaws, and the fish acquires a gaunt and savage look. This is not due to the change from salt to fresh water environment, as some suppose, but is entirely attributable to the development of the milt. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Chinook salmon, which enter the Columbia river in February and March and ascend to the headwaters of the Clackamas to spawn, are identical in appearance and condition in the month of August with many of the same species that do not leave the ocean and enter the river until that month.
Chinook salmon do not feed after entering fresh water; their stomachs and throats become entirely incapacitated for receiving food, and the desire and ability to feed leave them entirely. The great reserve of flesh and blood acquired on the rich feeding grounds of their ocean home enables them to keep the vital organs active until their mission up the freshwater streams is accomplished. Chinook salmon that ascend 150 miles from the ocean to spawn do not return to it again, but die on their spawning grounds. This has been disputed but it is undoubtedly true. After spawning the deterioration is very rapid, the flesh grows pale and they become foul, diseased and very much emaciated; their scales are wholly absorbed in the skin, which is now of a dark olive or black hue; and their heads and bodies are covered with fungus; the skin is worn off in places, and their bodies are bruised from buffeting with the current among the rocks and boulders; their tails and fins
are frayed and torn and shortly after spawning they die from exhaustion. This is the fate, I think, of 90 per cent, of the Chinook that enter the Columbia. There are possibly 10 per cent, of this species that enter the river only a short time before their spawning period that do not get far above tidewater; these probably survive and return to the ocean.
The spawning period for the Chinook on the Columbia extends from July 15 to November 15. There is a popular belief among the cannerymen and fishermen on the Columbia that only the early spawning fish are of commercial value; that the fish which spawn in September and October produce a run that does not enter the river until after the lawful fishing season. In other words, they claim that the operation of the hatchery during the months of September and October is producing a fall run of fish of no practical value. This theory has been proven an error through the experimental studies with the marked salmon hereafter referred to. The eggs from which these marked fry were hatched were taken late in the month of September, 1895, and all the marked fish captured this year (nearly 400 in number) were taken before the 1st of August.
A few days before it is ready to spawn the female hollows out a small nest in the gravel in the bed of the stream, and here the eggs and milt are deposited. The eggs drift into the crevices of the gravel and remain in that protected position during incubation; here also the young remain until the umbilical sac is absorbed. The eggs hatch in from 45 to 60 days, according to the temperature of the water, and the umbilical sac is absorbed in about six weeks thereafter; it will make its home in fresh water for about 10 months, and then go to the ocean, where it remains for two years, when the development of the reproductive organs causes it to seek fresh water in which to spawn, and in all probability it will return to its native river. Absolutely nothing is known of the habits of salmon after they leave fresh water as yearlings; how far they wander from the mouth of the parent stream and what they feed upon is a matter of conjecture, and until the past year the time they re- main in the ocean, after leaving the river, before returning to spawn, was purely a guess, no scientific experiment prior to that having ever been made with a view of accurately determining this important question.
With a view of ascertaining, if possible, the age at which a Chinook salmon returned to spawn, the writer requested Mr. Hubbard, the superintendent of the United States hatchery on the Clackamas, to mark a number of Chinook fry. This he did by cutting off the adipose fin of 5,000 of them. This marking was done in May, 1896, and the fry were held for about 10 days to note the result of the amputation, which did not seem to affect them in the least, and they were released. On the 23d of May of the present year the first of these marked fish was captured and sent to the writer, and between that date and the 1st of August nearly 400 were reported, varying in size from 10 to 57 pounds in weight, and averaging at least 25 pounds. I think this experiment has clearly demonstrated that the ocean life of the Chinook is less than two years. It is believed by many observers that the Chinook while in the ocean feed upon the smelt and sardines that usually run in the Columbia. This theory is based upon the fact that the stomachs of Chinook salmon taken just as they were entering the river have occasionally been found to contain these fish. The return of the marked fish is corroborative of the theory that salmon return to their native waters to spawn.
I receive many letters from persons who are unable to distinguish the young of the salmon from the various forms or species of trout found in the waters of this state. This is a matter easily determined. Any one who will take the trouble to learn which is the anal fin, the one on the lower side nearest the caudal fin, can distinguish young salmon from any species of trout. All the species of Oncorhynchus have from 14 to 20 rays or ribs in this fin, exclusive of the stubs or rudiments in front of the first ray. None of the various species of trout in the waters of this state have more than 11 rays or ribs in this fin. The Chinook or quinnat (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) in the Columbia has an average weight of 25 pounds, but individuals have been found occasionally that weighed as much as 85 pounds. David Starr Jordan says that they are occasionally taken weighing 100 pounds. My experience and observation leads me to believe that 85 pounds is the maximum weight of the royal Chinook; 60 and 65-pound individuals are quite common. One of the marked fish heretofore referred to was taken by the Pillar Rock Packing Company on the 13th of July, 1898, which was only two years, seven and one-half months old and weighed 57 pounds. The smallest of the marked fish taken weighed only 10 pounds, while the rest varied from 20 to 40 pounds. This demonstrates positively that there is great variability in the weight and size of this species at the same age, and therefore disproves the theory advanced by some that the great variability in size of individuals is caused by the difference in age.
The blueback salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is next to the Chinook the most important and valuable of the five species for canning purposes. Taking the entire coast, it is probably more numerous than all the other species combined. It is known on the different coast streams by local names—blueback on the Columbia, sock-eye or saw-qui on Puget Sound and Fraser river, and red fish or red salmon in Alaska. With the exception of the humpback, it is the smallest of the five species, the largest individuals rarely exceeding 10 pounds in the Columbia, and the average weight is about 4½ pounds. In various inland lakes it is much smaller, and weighs about y 2 pound when mature, and is then called the little red fish.
It closely follows the Chinook run in the Columbia river in the spring. The Chinook enter the river in small numbers in January, the blueback following in March. It ascends only those streams which rise in cold snow-fed lakes. Its favorite spawning ground in the Columbia river basin is Wallowa lake, in Northeastern Oregon. Its spawning period is from August 1st to October 1st.
Until the breeding season the blueback is a bright blue on the top, shading grad- ually to the middle, where it becomes a bright silver in color. It is very symmet- rical in shape. Its flesh, prior to the breeding season, is a bright red, which color is retained in cooking and which makes it, next to the Chinook, the most valuable for canning purposes. At the spawning period the male fish develops an extravagantly hooked jaw, the color changes to a blood red on the back and to a dark red on the sides. Unlike the Chinook, they do not run in abundance every year, the large runs coming every four years and a lesser run every two years. Ten years ago the species were much more abundant in the Columbia than at present. The year 1894 witnessed the largest run of these fish in that /stream ever known since the inception of the salmon canning industry. Since that year there has been a marked decline in the run of these fish, and many who have studied this question believe that the blueback is threatened with extinction on the Columbia river. This would seem to be the inevitable result of the neglect of the state to take the most ordinary pre- caution for the protection of this fish. The blueback formerly spawned in large num- bers in Wallowa lake, and the young pass- ed down Wallowa river to the sea. Farm- ers and ranchers for years have connected their irrigating ditches with the stream
and have failed to erect suitable screens, which has resulted in thousands upon thousands of young fish being carried out upon the open fields to perish. This drain upon the fountain head of supply has nearly exterminated the blueback run of the Columbia river. All irrigating ditch- owners along the Wallowa river should be required to put in and maintain suit- able screens to prevent the small fish from passing out upon the fields. The general fisheries bill recently passed re- quires such screens to be erected. The blueback averages about 1,000 eggs to the fish.
The humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) is the smallest of the Oncor- hynchus, averaging less than five pounds, and seldom weighing as much as nine pounds. It rarely enters the Columbia river, but is found in great abundance in Alaska. The flesh is of fine flavor, but is neglected by canners because of its lack of color. It is probable, however, that it will eventually be utilized for canning purposes by Alaskan cannerymen.
When this salmon first enters fresh water it greatly resembles a small Chi- nook, but as it approaches the spawning period it develops a large and prominent hump on its back, hence the name "hump- back." This, with the distortion of the jaws, the sloughing of the skin and flesh, which is incident to spawning, result in the death of all the fish on the spawning grounds. There are only a few hundred eggs to each fish, they being smaller than those of the Chinook but larger than those of the blueback, and paler in color than the eggs of either of those species.
Silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutsch), also called silversides, skowitz, kisutsch, hoopid salmon, and coho salmon. It is one of the handsomest of the salmon family, being symmetrical in form and of a beau- tiful silver color. It is inferior for can- ning purposes to the Chinook and blue- back, for the reason that it will not retain its color in cooking. Large numbers of this species, however, are utilized on the Columbia river. Its average size in that stream is about eleven pounds. It enters the river in Septembei and continues to run until November; it does not go to the headwaters like the Chinook and blue- back, but spawns in the lower river. The silverside averages 2,000 eggs to the fish.
The dog salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) reaches an average weight of 12 pounds. It is the least valuable of the five species. In the spring it is of a dirty silvery color, or sprinkled with small back specks; the fins dusky. In the fall the male is of a blackish color, and its jaws greatly distorted, giving the fish a very repulsive look. Just after entering fresh water from the ocean the flesh has a beautiful red color, but deteriorates rapidly, and is then inferior to the other species as an article of food. They ascend the rivers but a short distance before spawning. Formerly none of this species was canned on the Columbia, but owing to the scarcity of other species a few packers of late years have canned these fish, but have carefully avoided labeling them "dog salmon."
The steelhead salmon (Salmo gairdneri) is also known as Gairdner's trout, so called in honor of Dr. Gairdner, who first recognized and classified it. It is also known as hardhead, winter salmon, square-tailed trout and salmon trout. It is, strictly speaking, a trout, but under the laws of Oregon is protected as a salmon. Its spawning season is from February to May. In appearance it greatly differs from any of the regular salmon. It is more slender than the Chinook, and its flesh is light colored. The average weight of the steelhead in the Columbia is about 10 pounds; individuals, however, are sometimes taken weighing as much as 30 pounds.
The steelhead is found in the Columbia during the entire year, and under the provisions of the law in force during the last eight years has been subject to the operations of the fishermen for 10 months of the year. Under this continued drain there has been a steady and constant decline in the abundance of this fish running in the Columbia. I have repeatedly called attention to the necessity of providing a winter close season, if this valuable fish is to be preserved from extinction.
The Astoria Progressive Commercial Association, realizing the importance of doing something for the preservation of these fish, undertook, in the early part of the present year, to operate a hatchery for their artificial propagation, the funds for carrying on the work being raised through private subscription. This was the first effort ever made in the Northwest to artificially propagate these fish, and was in every way successful. The eggs are smaller than those of the Chinook and average about 3,500 to the fish, and can be as successfully handled as those of the former, although it is more difficult to hold the spawning fish owing to freshets incident to the season in which they spawn, which are liable to carry away the racks and release the parent fish.
The steelhead is in its prime in the fall of the year, and deteriorates slowly until the spawning time (between Febru- ary and May). It differs materially from the Oncorhynchus, in that it survives the reproductive act and returns to the ocean, while the former perish after performing this function. They ascend as far up the headwaters and tributaries of the Colum- bia as it is possible for a fish to make its way.
For canning purposes, when in their prime they are only inferior to the Chi- nook and blueback. For shipping they are preferred to the Chinook. The won- derful increase in the fresh-fish trade in- dustry during the past six years, result- ing in an increased demand for steel- heads, has had the effect of raising the value of these fish, until at certain sexsons of the year the fishermen receive a higher price for them than for the Chinook.
This brief and hastily written descrip- tion of the Columbia river salmon would be incomplete and unsatisfactory should I close without referring to the great indus- try that has grown and prospered upon it for more than a third of a century, and the methods of reaping the great harvest that annually bless that mighty river.
The apparatus employed consists of gill- nets, pound nets, fish wheels, seines, set- nets and dipnets. Of these, gillnet fishing is by far the most important, 3,184 men being thus engaged in taking salmon, using 1,632 gillnets valued at $379,220, and 1,589 boats valued at $219,000. From 60 to 65 per cent of the annual catch is taken by this method. One thousand and ten men are engaged in fishing with wheels, poundnets, seines, setnets, etc., the aggre- gate value of which amounts to $560,000, in all making an industrial army of 4,194 persons engaged in the salmon fishery of the Columbia river. In addition to these
there are 2,227 persons employed in the canneries and as shoresmen. The value of shore property, buildings, machinery and cold-storage plants amounts to $1,000,- 000. The cash capital employed amounts to $950,000, thus making a grand total of 6,421 persons employed, and $3,108,220 in- vested in this greatest and most important river fishery in the world. This harvest of the waters has produced a wealth ten times exceeding that of the famous Klon- dike, and has annually yielded up its treasures for more than a generation. It has been a marvelous mine of wealth with- out the rigors of an Arctic winter, con- tributing largely to the prosperity and welfare of our state.
The total ouput of the Columbia river salmon fishery since the enterprise was inaugurated as a commercial factor aggregates 850,000,000 pounds, worth $75,000,000. If all these salmon could be loaded on freight cars it would require 42,500 cars to hold them, making a solid train of over 280 miles long. No other river or like area of water anywhere on earth has ever yielded such vast wealth in the same period of time. If the com- prehensive law recently enacted by the Oregon legislature is also passed by the Washington law-makers, and then strictly enforced, this great industry will con- tinue to yield its treasures to the Pacific Northwest. At present the output ap- proximates $3,000,000 per annum, one-half of which goes into the hands of the in- dustrial army that gathers and prepares the product for the markets of the world.
For a number of years there has been a gradual diminution in the abundance of salmon in the Columbia river, but during the past season the falling off was so pro- nounced as to alarm many who have here- tofore been indifferent. They at last seem to realize that we cannot continue to reap bountiful harvests indefinitely without sowing.
The future prosperity, and, in my opin- ion, the preservation of this great indus- try depends upon artificial propagation and a strict enforcement of the laws, which I believe has been made possible under the act drafted by the Astoria Progressive Commercial Association, and which was enacted into a law at the re-
cent session of the Oregon legislature. 