ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF THE SALMONS OF THE PACIFIC COAST
ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF THE SALMONS OF THE PACIFIC COAST – There are five species of salmon on the Pacific coast which belong to the genus Oncorhynchus, namely, the chinook or quinnat salmon (Oncorhynchus tschaicytscha), the red or blueback salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), the humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), the silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and the dog salmon (Oncorhynchus Iceta).
The features which separate the Pacific salmons from the Atlantic salmon are not marked and consist chiefly in a larger number of rays in the anal fin, and more branchiostegal, gill Rakers, and pyloric ceca.
The characters noted in the following key will usually be sufficient to distinguish the different species of Pacific salmon:
Quinnat salmon: Scales in longitudinal series from 135 to 155, aver- aging about 145; pyloric ceca 140 to 185; gill Rakers comparatively short and usually 23 in number, 9 being above the angle; rays in anal fin 16; branchiostegal 15 to 19. Body robust; head conic; eye small; caudal fin deeply forked. Color above dusky, sometimes with bluish or greenish tinge; sides and belly silvery; head dark, with metallic luster; back and the dorsal and caudal fins with numerous round black spots.
Blueback salmon: Scales in longitudinal series about 130; pyloric caeca, 75 to 95; gill Rakers comparatively long and 32 to 40 in number; rays in anal fin 14 to 16; branchiostegal 13 to 15. Body rather slender; caudal fin much forked; anal and dorsal fins low. Color, above bright blue, sides silvery, no spots.
Humpback salmon: Scales very small, 210 to 240 in longitudinal series; pyloric ceca very slender, about 180 in number; gill Rakers short, about 28, 13 being above angle; anal rays 15; branchiostegal 11 or 12. Color, bluish above, silvery on sides; hind part of back, adipose fin, and tail with numerous black spots, largest and of oblong form on tail.
Silver salmon: Scales large, 125 to 135 in longitudinal series; pyloric ceca comparatively few and large, 45 to 80 in number; gill Rakers long and slender, 23 in number, 13 below angle; anal rays 13 or 14; branchiostegal 13 or 14. Body long; head short, conic; snout blunt; eye small; fins small, caudal deeply forked. Color bluish- green, sides silvery, finely punctuated; spots few and obscure on head, back, dorsal, adipose dorsal, and upper rays of caudal.
Dog salmon : Scales of medium size, 138 to 155 in lateral line; pyloric cceca 140 to 185; gill Rakers short and few, 9 above and 15 below angle. 13 or 14 rays in anal fin; branchiostegal 13 or 14. Form of quinnat, but head longer and more depressed. Dusky above and on head, paler on sides; very fine spots on back and sides, often wanting; tail plain dusky or finely spotted, with black edge; other fins blackish.
These salmons are the most important group of fishes entering the rivers of North America. The steelhead (Salmo gairdneri), technically a trout, but popularly regarded as a salmon, also inhabits the waters to the Pacific coast and adds to the importance of the salmon tribe.
In recent years the annual catch of salmon in the Pacific States and Alaska has been over 100,000,000 pounds. In 1899 the quantity of salmon canned was 2,450,000 cases of 48 one-pound cans. The weight of the fresh fish represented by this pack, together with the large quantities sold fresh, salted, and smoked, was about 175,000,000 pounds, with a value, as placed on the market, of nearly $9,000,000.
THE QUINNAT SALMON.
The quinnat salmon (Oncorliynchus tschawytscha) is known by a number of other common names in various parts of its range; among them are chinook salmon, king salmon, Columbia salmon, Sacramento salmon, and tyee salmon.
The quinnat is the most important of the salmons. It is not only superior in food qualities, but attains a vastly larger size, has a wider geographical range and a greater commercial value than any of the others.
When fresh from the ocean it is a very handsome, resplendent, well-formed fish, greatly resembling the Atlantic salmon (Salmo solar), although its form is less symmetrical and its outlines less graceful. It is of a uniform rich red color, becoming paler or streaked upon the approach of the spawning season. Its value for canning purposes is largely enhanced by the persistence of the red color of the meat after cooking.
In size no other salmon in the world compares with it. In the Yukon River, Alaska, it reaches a weight of over 100 pounds, and in the Columbia River, there are well authenticated cases of its weighing more than 80 pounds. Farther south, it runs smaller, although in the Sacramento individuals weighing 50 or 60 pounds are not rare; 22 pounds is a fair average weight in the Columbia River and 16 pounds in the Sacramento.
its known range is practically from Monterey Bay (latitude 36£) to the Yukon River, but individuals have been seen in Norton Sound, somewhat north of the Yukon, and as far down the coast of California as the Ventura River. Since it thrives well in very cold water it is likely that its range extends to and possibly within the Arctic Ocean.
While in the sea quinnat salmon probably do not wander very far from the mouths of the rivers they have left, and for this reason usually return to spawn in the rivers in which they were hatched. They prefer the larger rivers, like the Sacramento, the Columbia, the Nushagak, and Yukon.
They are very persistent in ascending the rivers to spawn, and have been seen crowding up the rivulets which form the head waters of the Sacramento until nearly half their bodies were exposed to the air. No matter how far the headwaters of a river are from the ocean, some of the salmon will press forward until stopped by impassable obstructions or water too shallow for them to swim in.
On reaching the headwaters they remain for a week or two before proceeding to the spawning grounds. Their rate of progress varies with the season, and probably depends to a great extent on the rainfall and the state of the river, rain, roily water, and high water always hastening their progress.
When they first come from the ocean the sexes are almost identical in appearance, but as the time for spawning approaches a difference is noticed between the males and the females, which during the spawning season becomes more marked.
The fully developed ova of the female give her a round, plump appearance, while the male grows very thin. His head flattens, the upper jaw curves like a hook over the lower, the eyes become sunken; large, powerful, white, dog like teeth appear on both jaws, and the fish acquires a gaunt and savage appearance. As soon as they reach fresh water their appetites grow less, their throats begin to narrow, and their stomachs to shrink.
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