Breed Late Fish;
Begets Late Fish
-X
By the 30th of July the run
cf pink salmon in the Prince
William Sound was on in full
blast. “Captain” O’Connors, fish
eries agent recommended the
extension of the fishing season
72 hours in order that the pack
ers might get up their packs. It
has been officially noted that the
run is one week later than in
193.1.
Tlie run in Icy Straits and
Cross Sound was said to have im
proved somewhat but the ap
pearance of the salmon in that
district is at least three weeks
behind that of last year. By this
time last year the Port Althrop
Cannery had something like a
hundred thousand cases of salm
on put up while by last Friday
they had about 30,000 cases put
up. The run into the interior
waters like Clarence Straits,
Behm Canal will appear just
about the time of closure so that
the fishermen and canners will
not benefit to any great extent
—if the salmon really get that
far.
The run of red salmon in the
Bristol Bay section is normal.
The present season in South
eastern Alaska bears out the
statements of fishermen and
students of the fisheries that the
June, Julv and early August runs
in the “upstream” fishing dis
tricts have been depleted and
that these same fishing districts
are over-seeded with the later
runs of salmon.
-x
Words break no bones—hearts
though, sometimes.—R. Brown
ing.
* * *
Blessed is he who has found
his work; let him ask no other
blessedness.—Carlyle.
HERRING TAGGING IS
STARTING NOW
-x
Tagging of herring to check
up on their routes of travel in
southeast Alaska waters will be
undertaken for the first time
this season, it was announced
at Juneau recently by G. A.
Rounsfell, junior acquatic bio
logist on the scientific staff of
the United States bureau of
fisheries, who is now in the terri
tory with his assistant, Edwin J.
Dahlgren. They are working in
lower Chatham strait again this
season.
Mr. Roundsfell. aided by Mr.
Dahlgren, most of the time, has
been engaged in a study of her
ring fisheries in southeast Alas
ka for several years. Data gath
ered is being published from
time to time, and his findings
have been used by the bureau
as a basis for the regulations
under which the herring pack
ing and reduction industries are
operated.
Several thousand herring will
be tagged this season; if possible
to do so, they will put tags on
20,000 fish. The tagging of
salmon has been successfully
conducted in these waters in past
years, and was valuable to indi
cate the main migration routes
of the salmon runs. It is expect
ed similar beneficial results will
be obtained by the tagging of
herring.
Five herring plants are being
operated in the lower Chatham
district this season, Mr. Rounds -
fell said. They are making fair
catches and the first week’s take
in July were unusually fine and
were used for mild curing. The
packers will cure every fish
large enough, as their only
chance for profit lies in the salt
pack, Mr. Roundsfell said. Oil is
now quoted at 12 cents per gal.,
less than the manufacturing cost
and meal is almost unsalable.
FISH TRAPS
By E. S| Hungerford
-x
Fish traps, as at present re
gulated and restricted, are a vio
lation to the code of the square
deal—they are special privileges.
As such, a fair minded adminis
tration cannot support them.
sfr s|e sf*
There are not to exceed two
hundred bona fide resident Alas
l:ans profiting by actual fish trap
concessions, the other sixty
thousand are suffering unduly
from this undue monopoly of
fishing privileges.
* * *
In normal years over three
million dollars is spent in the
construction of fish traps in
Alaska. Most of this money never
sees Alaska.
* * *
The elimination of traps will
create ten thousand more jobp
for fishermen every summer.
Ten thousand fishermen mak
ing this three million dollars, an
average of three hundred dollars
each, means safety for the fish
ermen and prosperity for the
Alaska towns.
* * *
Trap fishing is not necessary
and can not be excused In the
interests of conservation.
British Columbia Packers of
salmon do not use traps, pay the
fishermen more for their fish
and employ three times the
number of fishermen in propor
tion to pack. They sell their pro
duct in the same worlds markets
as the Alaska Packers.
-x
Hearts starve as well as bodies
give us bread—but give us roses,
too.
* * *
The home is the atom of civili
sation.—Gov. William H. Murray.