profitable gear. In this the ;
canneries will be helped along 1
by the United States Bureau of :
Fisheries, which has announced
it will permanently reduce by 58 1
the number of traps operated i
heretofore in Southeast Alaska. r
Commissioner O’Malley suggest- i
ed to the packers that each
company operating five or more
traps eliminate one out of each
five. This, he estimated, would
account for 51 out of the 58. He
didn’t leave the canners much
alternative, either, since he in
formed them if they didn’t make
the elimination proposed by him,
the Bureau of Fisheries would
do it for them. After considera
tion, the suggestion was carried
out, and some of the canners
ire now discussing the possibi
ily of cutting out other traps to
urther reduce operating costs.
P. E. Harris, President of P. E.
Ian is & Company, one of the
nost successful operators in the
territory, significantly com
muned on this policy as follows:
When we cut out traps in
Icy and Chatham Straits from
17 to five was when our Hawk
Inlet cannery commenced to
be profitable. We simply quit
taking chances; cut out traps
that weren’t paying for them
selves; and fitted out for a
pack we were fairly sure to get.
Before that, if the run was
short we were liable to lose
heavily now if the run is
short of expectations, our
pack will not be very much
CHARLES BENJAMIN
HEADQUARTERS
For
Fishermen’s Supplies of ALL Kinds
Wrangelf, Alaska
CANADIAN FISH & COLD STORAGE
COMPANY, Ltd.
PRIM E HritlOUT, il. (., ( W\P>
offtT to the lishermen of Alaska the me? is of obt -ning
highest prices for their- halibut ami sat 10. .
We have recently reconstructed our ee plant and now
produce only hard transparent ice which preserves the fish
one hundred per cent.
KARL HANSEN
:
¥
¥
Y
:
Y
X
*:*
Y
Y
*1*
I
i
Is equipped to supply all the needs of fishermen at
reasonable nrices.
Alaska Office:
PORT ALEXANDER 1911 L. C.
Seattle Office:
SMITH BUILDING
/hWhVhWwWmVmV#
rrr»"" ♦ rrVV
short of what we prepared for;
and if the run is heavy we can
handle what our traps produce
on a profitable basis.
The reason for all these dis
cussions, of course, is enor
mous carryover stocks with
which the industry is faced,
salmon which it has not been
possible to move despite the
fact that the fish are cheaper
than for many years. Undoubt
edly the operators are confront
ed by a serious situation. It will
take the best brains of the in
dustry to keep it on an even
keel until, to use a word in vogue
just a decade ago “normalcy” is
restored.
Alaska is as vitally interested
in a successful solution of their
problems as are the operators.
Most of the revenues of the Ter
ritory come from the industry.
Funds for the functioning of
the Territorial Government are
derived from it, and if it is not
prosperous then the Territory
suffers along with it. And any
serious reduction on the opera
tions as a whole will inevitably
react unfavorably upon the
Territory.
-x
THE CORDOVA RESOLUTION
X
The Cordova Chamber of
Commerce has sent a very “res
pectful” resolution to Henry
O’Malley asking him to please
give the seiners a chance. In
their petition, they point out the
fact that his regulations give the
traps all the best of it, and so
“would you please equalize mat
ters and give the seiners a
chance.”
We are glad to see Joe Mur
ray’s name signed to that re
solution, Heretofore Joe has
been for O’Malley in all things.
For a smart man, it lias taken
Joe a long time to admit that the
seiners are the victims of O’MaU
ley.