THE ALASKA FISHERMAM
Published the 15th of each month at Ketchikan, Alaska
WILLIAM L. PAUL, ATTORNEY FOR THE
ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD
Entered as second - class matter at the Post Office at
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
SUBSCRPTION PRICE $2.00 FOR TWELVE ISSUES
OUR PLATFORM:
ALASKA FOR ALASKANS.
FULL TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
ABOLISHMENT OF ALL TRAPS.
COMPETENT CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP.
WHO TELLS THE TRUTH
Did you ever know the day when the Bureau of
Fisheries in Alaska were not blind to the criminal
waste that has gone on in Alaska? A very few of
ficials have attempted to do their duty, but whenever
any such appear, they some how get “transferred” or
else they “resign.” At any rate, the Bureau of Fish
eries is soon without their services. The “faithful ’
servants however remain from year to year. Is that
a price or a reward?
O. M. Harry, of Juneau, for long a practical fisher
man, recently said that every year in Alaska, there
are wasted enough fish to buy a “king’s ransom.”
He says further that under the right kind of govern
ment policy these could be saved.
“Take the herring, for instance; in one small ba>
(Sawmill Bay) purse seines took from 300 to 700
barrels of herring and under slow bell brailed ou1
the size they wanted and threw the rest overboard
This waste under different forms is being duplicated
all over Alaska. The remedy f-or this is gill nets
This will allow the small herring to escape and take
only the size fish desired.”
The waste of food fish in Alaska is enormous. 11
Alaskans were given the right to handle the fisl
question, instead of foreign or Washington bureaus
much of this waste would be stopped and the fisl
would be better conserved for the big fellows as wel
as for th little fellows” says Mr. Harry
But The Bureaucrat
Not long since however, the Bureau of Fisheriei
sent Earl E. Hunter, assistant agent for the sai<
Bureau to investigate the charges of herring waste
He went to the districts where the herring fertilize
plants were, (after the plants had closed down and th
dago boats had gone back to Puget Sound) and afte
interviewing a few fishermen declared that ‘‘Th
charges of waste were not supported by the evidence."
He said further, "Not only did we find no evidence
to substantiate the charges of destruction, but we did
secure considerable evidence to the effect that the
REDUCTION PLANTS, in fact all of the herring
packers, were using all the fish brought to them." .
The charges were first made by C. B. Ferguson,
member of the Alaska Legislature from Craig, and
himself for many years a herring packer. He and
others charge that THE USE OF HERRING FOR
FERTILIZER IS WASTE OF FOOD FISH. Mr.
Hunter seems to think that so long as the herring ia
used, waste cannot be charged
The capacity of the reduction plants on Chatham
Straits is 50,000,000 pounds of herring per month
for FERTILIZER ONLY.
The incapacity of the Bureau of Fisheries is well
shown in this case, 1st, they made this pretended
"investigation” after the herring season .had closed,
how could he find any waste? 2nd; they think that
the use of such an excellent food fish as the her
ring for fertilizer is not waste.
The answer to this false position is this; 1st,
proper investigation could only be made during the
herring season; 2nd, the use of herring for fertilizer
IS waste.
COMMERCIAL CLUBS PLAY TRUE TO FORM—
WOLVES OF ALASKA IX SHEEPS’ CLOTHING
T. Not long ago, the Ketchikan Commercial Club
gave a free dance to show the halibut men how much
they were appreciated.
But the city does nothing to provide a place for
the halibut men to keep their boats while in port.
If a fire should start among the boats at the “city
float,” there would be a loss of over $1,000,000.
II. The Trollers and Halibut men are worried and
had the subject of using herring for fertilizer before
the Commercial Clubs of Juneau and Ketchikan.
Two million Pounds EACH DAY are used by the
fertilizer plants in Alaska for FERTILIZER.
The halibut men and trollers already report a de
crease in the supply of herring and headed by the
commercial clubs of Wrangell and Petersburg, they
I are trying to stop the use of food fish for fertilizer.
If the herring are destroyed, all trollers and halibut
men will be destroyed with them.
But the wolves of commerce who gave dances to
3 show fishermen how much they are loved thave RE
1 FUSED to take any action.
Their reason is that they are “informed” by tho
r “Pacific Fisherman” that the “Bureau of Fisheries are
3 investigating the subject” and accordingly they are
r in favor of allowing this disinterested (?) Bureau of
9 Experts (?) time to make an “Unbiased” report.