ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Biological Board of Canada FOR THE YEAR 1935 LIBRARY FLUMES AND OCEANS BIBLIOTHÈQUE let.C.IIES ET OCÉANS OTTAWA 1936 February, 1936. • The Honourable the Minister.of Fisheries, " . • Sir, - - I have the honour to transmit herewith the Report of t.he Biological Board of Canada for the year 1935. •I am, Sir, - Faithfully yours, A. T. CAMERON, Chairman. CONTENTS PAGE Annual Report of the Biological Board of Canada 3 Appendix I. Report of the Atlantic Biological Station 7 Appendix II. Report of the Atlantic Fisheries Experimental Station 17 Appendix III. Report of the Pacific Biological Station 25 Appendix IV. Report of the Pacific Fisheries Experimental Station 37 Appendix V. Report of the Margaree Investigation 47 _ Appendix VI. Publications 49 Appendix VII. Personnel 56 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BIOLOGICAL BOARD OF CANADA FOR THE YEAR 1935 BY THE CHAIRMAN, A. T. CAMERON, WINNIPEG It is my sad duty to chronicle in this Report the death on October 19th, 1935, of Dr. Archibald Patterson Knight, formerly Professor of Physiology and Animal Biology at Queen's University. Dr. Knight was a member of the Executive Committee of the Board from its original formation in 1898, and acted as Chair- man during the period 1920-25. The Executive has minuted the following appreciation of his work, which was prepared by Dr. J. P. McMurrich : "His earliest researches in connection with the work of the Board were on the pollution of waters by sawdust and other substances injurious to fish life. These were followed by an experimental study of the efficiency of various baits. Later he took up the problems of lobster hatching and lobster canning, revealing the futility of the methods of lobster hatching then in vogue and saving the expendi- ture of thousands of dollars by advising the abolition of the lobster hatcheries then in operation. The canneries, too, many of which he visited, profited greatly from his insistence on cleanliness and proper sterilization technique. Latterly he had become interested in fish culture in general and especially in that of the Brook Trout, these studies again leading to an advocacy of improvements in technique. "Dr. Knight was a clear thinker, clear and concise both in speech and writing, a close observer, and a consistent and vigorous advocate of all measures looking to the improvement of our fisheries. His interest in the fisheries was deep and lasted long after his retirement, indeed, practically until his death in • his eighty-sixth year." Dunng the past year two members of the Board, our youngest, and our oldest, have resigned -Professor A. F. Chaisson, who is transferring his activities to the sphere of medical practice, and Professor Philip Cox, who, at the age of 84, finds that his health compels him to relinquish his active interest and parti- cipation in the Board's work after an association lasting nearly forty years. It is my pleasurable duty to record the continued close co-operation between the Board and the Dei3artment, the faithful attendance of the Board's Executive and Sub-Executives to their duties, which, though honorary, involve much work and thought on each member, and the whole-hearted and loyal co-operation of the Board's officers. I would wish also to pay my personal tribute to the wise guidance we continue to receive from Mr. J. J. Cowie, the honorary Secretary- Treasurer, who, as Director of Fisheries in the Department, is able to give us facilities for the greatly increased executive duties which modern developments have automatically made a part of our work. The following is the list of Stations and Sub-stations at present operated by the Board: ATLANTIC COAST St. Andrews, N.B. Atlantic Biological Station. Field work on sea-fishery and fish-cultural problems is carried out at many points in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and is controlled from this Station. Ellerslie, P.E.I. Biological Sub-station. Associated with the St. Andrews Station, and concerned especially with oyster culture. 4 Halifax, N.S. Atlantic Fisheries Experimental Station. Concerned with the handling and preservation of fish for food and the development of fish products other than food. (With this Station is associated the Eastern Passage Laboratory.) PACIFIC COAST Departure Bay, B.C. Pacific Biological Station. Field work directed from this Station is carried out at numerous places in British Columbia and the adjacent waters. Cultus Lake, B.C. Biological Sub-station. Under direction of the Departure Bay Station, and immediately concerned with study of the propagation of sockeye salmon. McClinton Creek, Queen Charlotte Is., B.C. Biological Sub-station. 1 • Under direction of the Departure Bay Station, and immediately concerned with study of the propagation of "pink" salmon. Prince Rupert, B.C. Pacific Fisheries Experimental Station. Concerned with the handling and preservation of fish for food and the development of fish-products other than food. It should perhaps be stressed that in many respects these Stations should be considered as constituted by the group of scientists connected with them, rather than by a group of buildings. Some problems can be brought to the buildings for study, but the majority also require an attack in the field. When such attack needs prolonged work a sub-sfation is established. For the work of the current year the sum of $186,000.00 was voted, and this has been allotted as follows: St. Andrews Station and work associated therewith $43,730.00 Halifax Station and work associated therewith 39,300.00 Nanaimo Station and work associated therewith 48,610.00 Prince Rupert Station and work associated therewith 30,750.00 General Account . (including the Margaree investigation, and editorial and printing expenses) 23,610.00 In my last Report I stressed the cold fact that research costs money, and the larger the amount of money available for particular research problems, the greater is the chance of their solution, and of more rapid solution. For a number of years the Board has been faced with the problem of having greater demands made upon it by the Department and the Industry than the monies provided were adequate to meet, so that selection of work became essential, while more recently even greater selection has seemed necessary to permit greater concen- tration on individual problems and their more rapid solution. While endeavouring to carry to completion the various pieces of work already in progress, at the present time our Directors are canvassing the whole range of problems which may legitimately come within our duties, eliciting information from both Departmental officials and from the industry, and we hope that we will thereby be able to take a more far-sighted view than was hitherto possible, and to plan our work ahead for a period of several years. The problems of the Board concern the conservation, development, and administration of the fisheries. They are in part biological, concerned with the maintenance and increased production of stocks, and in part technical, concerned with the efficient processing of the catch and marketing of the product. In my Report for 1934 I outlined some of the successful work that the Board has achieved in the past few years. In this I wish to draw attention to some of the major accomplishments during 1935. Fuller accounts of these and record of other ' work will be found in the Appendices which follow. 5 RESULTS FROM THE BIOLOGICAL STATIONS The hydrography of the waters off the Nova Scotian Coast, that is, the study of their temperatures, salinities, and movements, has been continued and extended to a larger area, and over a longer period of the year. This study has shown a marked contrast in the conditions existing in 1934 and 1935. In the latter year much colder water prevailed generally. The movements of both cod and haddock were thereby affected in a manner which could be deduced from previous studies. As examples are the facts that the spring run of cod remained further off-shore; while abnormally large catches of haddock resulted from their -2 concentration in shallow in-shore areas. This year's results lend further support to the conclusion that a knowledge of hydrographie conditions will be of great value in controlling the catch of fish. Studies have been continued bearing on the conservation of the lobster, and particularly in connection with its early growth. These will be of importance in evaluating the success of reproduction under natural conditions, and, in con- junction with previous work, will afford an essential and valuable basis for that detailed study of the lobster problem which the Board hopes to carry out in the near future when funds are made available. A small scale experiment at the St. Andrews Station on the rearing of trout fry in artificially fertilized water has given considerable promise of success for this type of operation. Considerable assistance has been rendered to the Fish Culture Branch both in connection with the rearing of fish at hatcheries and with the experimental improvement of lake conditions. Coming now to western work, during 1935 the first stage of the experiment on cultivation of sock-eye salmon at Cultus Lake has been brought to completion, and the conclusion has been drawn that—with regard to this species—hatchery propagation is no more successful than natural propagation. In each case the loss during the early life-stages passed in fresh water is relatively enormous, due, apparently, to predaceous fish. It is hoped to prepare and publish in the very near future a bulletin dealing with the results of this very important 10-year experiment. The second stage has been started during the year, and consists of an endeavour to ascertain the effect on young salmon conservation of lessening the number of predaceous fish in this area.