The oolachan, or candle-fish, is a valuable product of these waters, chiefly of the Fraser and Nasse rivers. They are said to be delicious when fresh, smoked, or salted, and I have it on the authority of the little pamphlet "British Columbia," handed me by a government official, that "their oil is considered superior to cod-liver oil, or any other fish-oil known." It is said that this oil is whitish, and of the consistency of thin lard. It is used as food by the natives, and is an article of barter between the coast Indians and the tribes of the interior. There is so much of it in a candle-fish of ordinary size that when one of them is dried, it will burn like a candle. It is the custom of the natives on the coast to catch the fish in immense numbers in purse-nets. They then boil them in iron-bottomed bins, straining the product in willow baskets, and running the oil into cedar boxes holding fifteen gallons each. The Nasse River candle-fish are the best. They begin running in March, and continue to come by the million for a period of several weeks.
Codfish are supposed to be very plentiful, and to frequent extensive banks at sea, but these shoals have not been explored or charted by the Government, and private enterprise will not attempt the work. Similar banks off the Alaska coast are already the resorts of California fishermen, who drive a prosperous trade in salting large catches there. The skil, or black cod, formerly known as the "coal-fish," is a splendid deep-water product. These cod weigh from eight to twenty pounds, and used to be caught by the Indians with hook and line. Already white men are driving the Indians out by superior methods. Trawls of 300 hooks are used, and the fish are found to be plentiful, especially off the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The fish is described as superior to the cod of Newfoundland in both oil and meat. The general market is not yet accustomed to it, but such a ready sale is found for what are caught that the number of vessels engaged in this fishing increases year by year. It is evident that the catch of skil will soon be an important source of revenue to the province.
AN IDEAL OF THE COAST
Herring are said to be plentiful, but no fleet is yet fitted out for them. Halibut are numerous and common. They are often of very great size. Sturgeon are found in the Fraser, whither they chase the salmon. One weighing 1400 pounds was exhibited in Victoria a few years ago, and those that weigh more than half as much are not unfrequently captured. The following is a report of the yield and value of the fisheries of the province for 1889:
| Kind of Fish. | Quantity. | Value. | |
| Salmon in cans | lbs. | 20,122,128 | $2,414,655 36 |
| " fresh | lbs. | 2,187,000 | 218,700 00 |
| " salted | bbls. | 3,749 | 37,460 00 |
| " smoked | lbs. | 12,900 | 2,580 00 |
| Sturgeon, fresh | 318,600 | 15,930 00 | |
| Halibut, " | 605,050 | 30,152 50 | |
| Herring, " | 190,000 | 9,500 00 | |
| " smoked | 33,000 | 3,300 00 | |
| Oolachans, " | 82,500 | 8,250 00 | |
| " fresh | 6,700 | 1,340 00 | |
| " salted | bbls. | 380 | 3,800 00 |
| Trout, fresh | lbs. | 14,025 | 1,402 50 |
| Fish, assorted | 322,725 | 16,136 25 | |
| Smelts, fresh | 52,100 | 3,126 00 | |
| Rock cod | 39,250 | 1,962 50 | |
| Skil, salted | bbls. | 1,560 | 18,720 00 |
| Fooshqua, fresh | 268,350 | 13,417 50 | |
| Fur seal-skins | No. | 33,570 | 335,700 00 |
| Hair " | " | 7,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Sea-otter skins | " | 115 | 11,500 00 |
| Fish oil | gals. | 141,420 | 70,710 00 |
| Oysters | sacks | 3,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Clams | " | 3,500 | 5,250 00 |
| Mussels | " | 250 | 500 00 |
| Crabs | No. | 175,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Abelones | boxes | 100 | 500 00 |
| Isinglass | lbs. | 5,000 | 1,750 00 |
| Estimated fish consumed in province | 100,000 00 | ||
| Shrimps, prawns, etc. | 5,000 00 | ||
| Estimated consumption by Indians— | |||
| Salmon | 2,732,500 00 | ||
| Halibut | 190,000 00 | ||
| Sturgeon and other fish | 260,000 00 | ||
| Fish oils | 75,000 00 | ||
| Approximate yield | $6,605,467 61 |
+—————————————+——————+————————-+
| Kind of Fish. | Quantity. | Value. |
| | | |
|—————————————+——————+————————-+
| | | |
| Salmon in cans lbs. | 20,122,128 | $2,414,655 36 |
| " fresh lbs. | 2,187,000 | 218,700 00 |
| " salted bbls. | 3,749 | 37,460 00 |
| " smoked lbs. | 12,900 | 2,580 00 |
| Sturgeon, fresh | 318,600 | 15,930 00 |
| Halibut, " | 605,050 | 30,152 50 |
| Herring, " | 190,000 | 9,500 00 |
| " smoked | 33,000 | 3,300 00 |
| Oolachans, " | 82,500 | 8,250 00 |
| " fresh | 6,700 | 1,340 00 |
| " salted bbls. | 380 | 3,800 00 |
| Trout, fresh lbs. | 14,025 | 1,402 50 |
| Fish, assorted | 322,725 | 16,136 25 |
| Smelts, fresh | 52,100 | 3,126 00 |
| Rock cod | 39,250 | 1,962 50 |
| Skil, salted bbls. | 1,560 | 18,720 00 |
| Fooshqua, fresh | 268,350 | 13,417 50 |
| Fur seal-skins No. | 33,570 | 335,700 00 |
| Hair " " | 7,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Sea-otter skins " | 115 | 11,500 00 |
| Fish oil gals. | 141,420 | 70,710 00 |
| Oysters sacks | 3,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Clams " | 3,500 | 6,125 00 |
| Mussels " | 250 | 500 00 |
| Crabs No. | 175,000 | 5,250 00 |
| Abelones boxes | 100 | 500 00 |
| Isinglass lbs. | 5,000 | 1,750 00 |
+—————————————+——————+ |
| Estimated fish consumed in province | 100,000 00 |
| Shrimps, prawns, etc. | 5,000 00 |
| Estimated consumption by Indians— | |
| Salmon | 2,732,500 00 |
| Halibut | 190,000 00 |
| Sturgeon and other fish | 260,000 00 |
| Fish oils | 75,000 00 |
+———————————————————-+————————-+
| Approximate yield | $6,605,467 61 |
+———————————————————-+————————-+
When it is considered that this is the showing of one of the newest communities on the continent, numbering only the population of what we would call a small city, suffering for want of capital and nearly all that capital brings with it, there is no longer occasion for surprise at the provincial boast that they possess far more extensive and richer fishing-fields than any on the Atlantic coast. Time and enterprise will surely test this assertion, but it is already evident that there is a vast revenue to be wrested from those waters.