PROTECTION OF FISH IN
ALASKA
(Com. Report on H. R. 16480)
-x
The Committee on the Mer
chant Marine and Fisheries, to
which was referred the bill (H.
R. 16480) amending the act en
tiiled “An act for the protection
of the fisheries of Alaska, and
for other purposes,” approved
June 6, 1924, having had the
same under consideration, re
port it back to the House with
the.following amendment:
On page 2 strike out the words
“and no cannery shall be op
"crated unless such report shall
have been so filed,” appearing in
line- 2 ,3, erd 4 on said page.
Ir. compliance with paragraph
2a of Rule XIII of the Rules of
the Horse, the following shows
the present second paragraph
of section 1 of said act, and the
proposed amended draft thereof
shown as above.
As so amended the committee
recommended that the bill be
passed.
Ihis bill was introduced in the
House and urged upon the at
tention of the committee by
Congressman Welch of Cali
fornia.
A hearing was had before
your committee upon a bill of
which the reported measure is
a redraft. The reported bill in its
substance is approved by the
United States Bureau of Fish
eries and by the Alaska Fisher
men’s Union.
Under the act of June 6, 1924.
passed in a desire to conserve
the fisheries of Alaska, the Sec
retary of Commerce was given
power to declare areas closed to
fishing in Alaskan waters. He
was further given authority, in
waters in which limited fishing
was authorized, to prescribe the
conditions under which such
fishing might be carried on. The
law also specifically declared
that there should be an escape
ment to the spawning grounds
of 50 per cent of the run of fish
entering the streams of Alaska.
In order to effectively carry out
the purpose of the law, and es
pecially in order *0 determine
for how long a period of time
fishing should be permitted in a
given area, it is essential that
the department know the num
ber of traps, of seines, of nets,
and other fishing appliances
liKely to be in waters under
consideration during the fishing
season. It is obvious that if a
i'roited number of traps, seines,
nets, and other appliances are
used in an area that the fishing
reason may properly be for a
much longer period of time than
if a larger number of traps,
seines, nets, and other appli
ances are permitted therein,
the department is to intelli
gently prescribe the rules and
regulations under which fishing
is to be carried on during the
fi .hing season, it must know in
advance the number of fish
taking appliances which are to
be in that area. The rules and
regulations desirable or neces
sary are dependent upon the a
mount of fishing to be done.
The first section of the pre
sent bill therefore, proposes to
amend the 1924 act by adding a
new section which declares 5t
unlawful to operate a cannery
in Alaska unless a report shall
have been filed not later than
December 1 of the preceding
calendar year, stating the pro
pored place or location of op
eration and which forbids a
cannery to be operated in more
than one place or location in
any calendar year. The effect of
this provision, as drawn, is to
compel what is known as float
ing canneries to elect in what
waters they are to operate the
following fishing season. By this
prevision the floating cannery
is put in precisely the same situ
1,1/on that the fixed or station
ary cannery is in. This require
ment enables the Secretary of
Commerce to conform his regul
ations for the ensuing fishing
year to the anticipated d ain
upon the waters involved. The
amendment is proposed as an aid
in the struggle to conserve for
future years the salmon of these
Alaskan waters.
Section 2 of the bill is design
ed to make more effective an
c ther purpose of the present law.
The second paragraph of sec
I’on 1 of the 1924 act makes it
unlawful to bring into the Ter
ritory of Alaska, for other thaje
personal use, salmon taken from
waters outside the jurisdiction
of the United States during any
closed period. This original pro
vision recognized that we had
no authority to prohibit fishing
or to regulate fishing outside the
Territorial waters of the United
Slates. It aimed however, to dis
courage such fishing by pre
venting the importation of fish
there taken into Alaska. During
recent years encouraged uy tue
improvements in vessels used
in fishing operations, fishing
has been carried on outside our
Territorial waters in the vicini
ty of Alaska and the salmon
have been grought back to port
within the continental United
States. It was not foreseen when
the 1924 act was passed, that
fish would be brought to our
ports over the long distances be
tween the fishing grounds and
our continental shores. Your
committee are of view that the
reason that impelled us to for
bid the importation of fish into
Alaskan ports applies equally to
the importation of these fish in
to other ports of the United
States. The law as it now is
discriminates against Alaska
with no compensatory conser
vation of fish.
Your committee believe the
proposed amendment removes
this discrimination and will be
an aid in our efforts to preserve
these great fishery resources
for the future years.