TUK ALASKA FISHERMAN
Published the 15th of each month at Ketchikan, Alaska
•/VILLIAM L. PAUL, ATTORNEY FOR THE
ALASKA NATIVE BK0T1LERIIOOD
Entered as second class matter at the Post Ollice at
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
SULLSCRPTION PRICE $2.00 FOR TWELVE ISSUES
OUR PLATFORM:
ALASKA FOR ALASKANS.
FULL TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
COMPETENT CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP.
ABOLISHMENT OF ALL TRAPS.
.SALMON MIGRATIONS TRACED BY TAGGING.
On the strength of certain tagging experiments
various regulations have been issued by the Bureau
of Fisheries. The Bureau says that these experi
ments show that the king salmon and cohoes
caught by Alaska trollers belong to the Columbia
River and therefore Mr. O’Malley prohibits troll
ing in Alaska so that the Columbia River fisher
men might be protected.
Magnus Nordstrom, former secretary of tne
Alaska Trollers’ Association points out the falla
cies of O’Malley’s arguments. If the Bureau were
correct in their deductions, what is the use of pro
hibiting our fishermen when British Columbia does
not prohibit hers?
The Tagging and Returns
Three hundred seventy-five king salmon were
tagged on the West Coast of Graham Island and
only 35 recovered—none from Alaska—in the Co
lumbia River. From this Henry O’Malley deduces
that the Alaska king salmon belongs to the Colum
bia River.
Of 404 king salmon tagged at the north end of
Graham Island, only 52 have been recovered and
of this 8 were recovered from the Skeena, Nass,
Districts in British Columbia, and from Alaska, the
balance were equally divided between the Fraser
and Oregon Rivers.
But again this proves to Mr. O’Malley that the
king salmon caught around Ketchikan do not be
long to Alaska but to the Columbia River district.
Tagging Cohoes
Seven hundred twenty-three cohoes were tagged
and released north of Queen Charlotte Islands,
15.4 per cent (112) were recovered in Alaska wat
ers, 194 from the Skeena River, (B.C.) 83 from the
Naas Rives, (B. C.), and 112 at the point of tag
ging. all showing looni distribution.
But Mr. Henry O Malley prohibits the catching
of cohoes along with king salmon and makes no
explanation of his reason. We are not allowed to
catch king salmon because these salmon belong to
the Columbia River as shown by the tagging ex
are robbing the creeks of cohoes.
Does O’Malley still hold as he did at first that
his reason for complete closure was that the troll
ers were robbing the creeks?
The Trap Season
During the time when fish traps are operating,
extensive patrols are maintained by O’Malley.
When the season is closed, the patrols are discon
tinued. For this reason, O’Malley says the trollers
are robbing the creeks for cohos.
Why not maintain a patrol for the common
fshermen?
-x
“THOSE LOGGING PERMITS”
-x
The Ketchikan Chronicle condemned the U.
S. Forestry Department for issuing export permits
to loggers, and so the Juneau Empire had the fol
lowing to say:
“The Chronicle seems to have missed the
point of the recent action of the Forestry Bureau
which permits some Alaska loggers to sell in Cana
da or Washington markets logs that had already
been cut and which they had not been able to sell
to local sawmills. These logs were cut to sell to
local sawmills, but trade and industrial conditions
caused some of the Alaska mills to close and oth
ers to curtail their operations. So the loggers
found themselves with logs they could not sell and
obligations they could not meet. They discovered
that they could sell their logs to Outside con
sumers. The Forestry Bureau has permitted them
to do that. It did not issue any permits to allow
loggers to cut logs for sale to Canadians or others
outside the Territory. The permits that were is
sued did not hurt the local mills. They can get
all the logs they can use. On the other hand they
were a godsend to loggers and their creditors The
Forest Bureau simply met an emergency in a busi
nesslike manner.”
Empire Misses the Point
The real point at issue is simply this—that
Alaskans be allowed and encouraged to use the re
sources of this Territory for their immediate de
velopment.
.... The policy of the Forestry Department is to
forbid exportation of timber. In other words, log
gers may sell only to local sawmills. In other
words, the local sawmills name their own prices
for logs.
For many reasons, Alaska sawmills cannot
compete with outside mills—the two principal