Are
there enough natural resources to keep the fishing job going for many years?
At
the turn of the century, the fish traps, purse seines, and gillnets were
catching millions of salmon in Whatcom County. So many salmon were being caught
that they were in danger of running out within a few years.
Washington State
established fish hatcheries to replace the salmon
that were caught. The fish hatcheries helped to keep the fishermen in business
for many years. In 1900, there were four fish
hatcheries in Whatcom County. The
hatchery at Baker Lake supplied over 11,000,000 (eleven million) young sockeye
salmon every year.
(See
“Salmon Life Cycle”)
Image Credit: Microsoft ClipArt Gallery