Dixon Entrance Togging Summory
Species	Number Tagged		Commercial	Recoveries	
		British Columbia No. %		Alaska No. %	
Pink	9795	1208	39.3	1862	60.7
Sockeye	738	270	87.4	39	12.6
Coho	756	147	81.2	34	18.8
Chum	307	53	74.6	18	25.4
Dixon Entrance Salmon Survey Results Released
A preliminary report of considerable importance to B.C. salmon fishermen because of the unresolved Canadian-U.S. surf line dispute has been released by the federal fisheries department.
The report covers the department's 1966 salmon tagging research operations in Dixon Entrance and adjacent waters and contains this reservation:
"It must be strongly emphasized that interpretation of the results of the 1966 studies, particularly those concerning pink salmon, are applicable to 1986 only.
"While the 1986 results may be indicative of the migration routes and stock compositions of even year salmon in northern B.C. and southeast Alaska, the available evidence suggests that the migration pattern and stock composition of odd year salmon entering this region are radically different."
In Dixon Entrance itself, the report states, six chartered gill-netters recorded a total catch of 90,768 salmon and averaged 372 salmon per fishing day, while three chartered seiners landed a total of 30,309 salmon and averaged 365 per day.
Pink salmon comprised over 75 percent of the catch by both types of gear.
Although the gillnetters caught salmon in quantity over the entire Dixon Entrance area, seine catches were generally poor. A few daily seine catches of 1,000 to 2,000 pinks were recorded near Zayas Island and north of Masset Inlet.
ZAYAS ISLAND
Results of tagging operations in the Cape Muzon and Cape Chacon regions indicate that Alaskan pink salmon predominated, the report continues. Of 87 pinks tagged near Cape Muzon and 309 tagged near Cape Chacon, 95.2 percent and 81.5 percent of the respective recoveries were made in Alaska.
From the Zayas Island region, approximately 4,000 pink salmon were tagged in July and 2,000 in August, of which Alaskan recoveries comprised 80.5 percent and 57.2 percent respectively.
Most Alaskan recoveries were
made in Areas 101 and 102 adjacent to the international boundary, but significant numbers were returned from Areas 106 and 107 in the Sumner Strait region.
Pink salmon tagged in the Zayas Island region were also recovered in B.C. Areas 3 and 4, and in small numbers as far south as Area 12.
The proportion of Alaskan recoveries from the Langara Island tagging operation was 27.8 percent, the lowest recorded from any Dixon Entrance tagging. Area 5 was the predominant B.C. recovery area, closely followed by Areas 4 and 6. NORTHERN QCI
Recoveries in Alaska of pink salmon tagged in the North Queen Charlotte Islands region totalled 52.5 percent for tags applied in July and 17.3 percent for those applied in August. Areas 4 and 5 were major B.C. recovery areas for both July and August tagging, although Area 1 recoveries increased from one percent in July to 20 percent in August.
Salmon tagging was conducted at Dundas Island and Browning Entrance from drum seiners chartered during weekly closed periods throughout the season.
Off Dundas Island, tagging was conducted in standard commercial fishing locations in sub areas 3X and 3Y. A total of 1,027 sock-eye and 626 pinks were tagged between June 30 and July 25 in 3X while 472 sockeye and 1,727 pinks were tagged between July 7 and August 13 in sub area 3Y.
More than 93 percent of sockeye recoveries from sub area 3X and 98.6 percent of recoveries from sub area 3Y were made in B.C.
Area 4 (Skeena) contributed 87.8 percent of recoveries from 3Y tagging and 69.8 percent from 3X tagging. Area 3 (Naas) contributed 14.4 percent of sockeye recoveries from 3X tagging and only 2.7 percent of those tagged in 3Y.
Alaskan recoveries of sockeye amounted to 6.2 percent of those tagged in 3X and 1.4 percent from 3Y.
PATTERN DIFFERS
Recovery pattern for pink salmon differed inasmuch as a high proportion of recoveries were re-
Dep't Adopts Standard Light Characteristics
The federal transport department's aids to navigation division is adopting standard light characteristics for lighted buoys, it was announced this week.
Implementation of the standard
Fishing Pact Approved
Representatives of 18 countries attending a fisheries policing conference in London last month reached agreement on text of a North Atlantic fishing convention establishing a code of conduct to be followed by fishing vessels operating in the North Atlantic.
The convention, which is now before the governments of the participating countries, is intended to increase safety at sea and reduce accidents or damage to gear when vessels using different techniques are fishing close to each other. It will be open for signature by all parties from June 1 to November 30, 1967.
Attending the policing conference were representatives of Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, U.S.
characteristics is to be completed by January 1, 1970, the department said in listing the new characteristics that will appear among those now in use until the changeover is complete.
The new characteristics are:
FLASHING (Fl) — This flash characteristic will be for general use and will exhibit a light flashing once every four seconds, or 15 flashes per minute.
QUICK FLASHING (QkFl) — This flash characteristic will be for use where a distinct cautionary emphasis is desired, such as a sharp turn in a channel, constriction in a channel, a wreck or other obstruction, and will exhibit one flash every second or 60 flashes per minute.
INTERRUPTED QUICK FLASHING (IntQkFD—This flash characteristic will be used on middle-ground buoys, junction buoys, or for buoys marking wrecks or other obstructions that can be passed on either side, and will exhibit a series of eight flashes followed by a dark period, every 12 seconds.
MORSE CODE LETTER A (Mo(A))—This flash characteristic will be used on fairway buoys or on mid-channel traffic separation buoys, and will exhibit the Morse Code Letter A, a short flash followed by a long flash, every six seconds.
turned from both Areas 3 and 4 in B.C. Alaskan recoveries amounted to 24.2 percent of 3X pink taggings and 4.5 percent of 3Y pink taggings, with Area 101 the main recovery location.
In Browning Entrance the tagging was conducted throughout July and August at four locations during weekly net fishing closed periods.
The report points out that results from this region indicate that, to a large degree, distribution of recoveries varied with tagging location.
From tagging conducted at Oval Bay and Ogden Channel and at the northern entrance of Principe Channel, recoveries were almost entirely local, in Areas 4 and 5.
By contrast, tagging conducted near the seaward net fishing limit resulted in a more widespread recovery pattern with a high proportion of Alaskan recoveries.
NET LIMIT TAGGING
Throughout July, tagging was conducted at Freeman Pass, from one to two miles inside the net fishing limit. Of 525 tags applied, 151 were recovered of which 76 (50.3 percent) were returned from Alaska.
On July 9, 77 pinks were tagged just seaward of the net fishing limit at Freeman Pass and of 25 commercial recoveries, 23 were made in Alaska.
Similar results were obtained from pink tagging on July 7 and 8 in Hecate Strait adjoining Browning Entrance when 103 pinks were tagged of which 24 were recovered, 21 from Alaska.
"Although pink salmon tagging in the vicinity of the net fishing limit was somewhat limited in extent, the results suggest that Alaskan stocks predominated in this area during July of 1966," the report observes, pointing out that no tagging was carried on in that area during August. BROWNING ENTRANCE
Results obtained from tagging near the net fishing limit were "not entirely unexpected," it says. Starting in 1982, a major gillnet fishery for pink salmon developed in Browning Entrance with the fishing effort, particularly in July, concentrated near the net fishing limit.
"Annual catches of this fishery have averaged about 460,000 pinks on the even year cycle (1962-64-66) and 150,000 on the odd year cycle (1983-65).
"Because pink catches in the Browning Entrance fishery in the even numbered years extend from late June into September, in contrast to local runs that demonstrate a late August timing, it was suspected that pinks originating in other areas contributed to the catch (and) the results of tagging near the net fishing limit verify this and suggest that Alaska pink salmon could make a substantial contribution to the Browning Entrance catch in even numbered years.
"Hecate Strait troll catches of pink salmon suggest that the Browning Entrance fishery is operating on the fringe of a large population of pink salmon, the presence of which in Hecate Strait is primarily an even year occurrence."
THE ANCHORAGE
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ALASKA CANADA
t— Togging Sites
Dundas Island and Browning Entrance tagging sites.
To Pearson — 'Collect'
Alert Bay Preparing Community Telegram
Intensifying their campaign for construction of a rock breakwater, Alert Bay citizens are conducting a drive for signatures to a 100 inch telegram they intend to send to Prime Minister Lester Pearson. In a real sense, it will be a "collect" wire, for what they hope to collect is immediate action on the project from the federal public works department.
Copies of the telegram will b° serft to British Columbia MPs of all parties, cabinet ministers, newspapers and radio stations.
Gerry Furney, Alert Bay wharf commissioner, suggested that each telegram be wrapped around a 15 inch fir or cedar club to help get the community's message across in Ottawa.
"If the cabinet ministers and MPs can't talk the public works minister into including a rock breakwater for Alert Bay in the supplementary estimates of his department, they'll at least have weapons with which to beat him into submission," he quipped.
Alert Bay UFAWU Local, the village council, chamber of commerce and the Native Brotherhood have joined hands in a strenuous effort to get the breakwater constructed.
Although a recent meeting in the island community heard a report that government plans have been prepared for construction of a $250,000 breakwater, Alert Bay citizens are maintaining their pressure until they receive assurance that the project will be undertaken.
All Alert Bay residents have been urged to write letters to
public works minister G. J. Mc-Ilraith calling for federal action on the harbor development, in line with long standing demands by the UFAWU Local and community groups.
UFAWU SUPPORT
The UFAWU navigational aids committee, meeting in Vancouver on April 24, voted to continue its support for a breakwater at Alert Bay in face of demands from some business interests that federal expenditure be earmarked for Port Hardy or Port McNeil.
Members of the UFAWU local have pointed out that their community is the logical site for. harbor development by virtue of its established position as a fishing centre and its many ancillary facilities including boat yards and stores used by the fishing fleet.
Present berthing space at Alert Bay is described as completely inadequate and the floats are open to southeast wind and swell and only poorly protected by an existing wooden breakwater.
Continual upkeep costs resulting from damage done to dolphins and floats by the swell would be avoided with construction of a rock breakwater, UFAWU members have stressed.
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THE FISHERMAN — APRIL 28, 1967