Bureau of Comm. Fisheries
Conducts Extensive Study On
Life And Activity of King Crab
Literally foot by foot the king
crab utilizes its six walking legs
to wend its way here and there
in its favorite habitat in the
Bering Sea and in other places
in the western Pacific Ocean
where the water is from 30 to
70 fathoms deep.
Records in the Department of
the Interior show that this crust
acean has shuffled along the
ocean floor as much as 300 miles.
Migration of 50 to 100 miles are
common. Recently the Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries, United
States Fish and Wildlife Service,
reported that one king crab was
taken 122 miles, from point of
release, one year and ten days
after tagging. The distance cov
ered by side trips is not known.
The king crab, a walker and
not a swimmer, is one of Alaska’s
many contributions to the tables
of many nations. In the eastern
Bering Sea, which is the center
of American interest and activity
there are an estimated 20 million
king crabs, . commercial size
This estimate is based upon a
sampling project at 77 fishing
stations covering an area of
31,000 square miles of ocean
north of the Alaska peninsula.
The survey was made in July
1957. “Commercial size” is not
less than six and three-quarters
inches across the top of the body.
The king crab often measures as
much as five feet from leg tip to !
leg tip; it weighs usually from;
seven to ten pounds with a record
weight of 22.3 pounds.
While its tastiness has long
been known to the American con- j
sumer it is only in recent years!
that American fishermen have
made systematic attempts to har
vest the resource. Much of har
vesting can be done in “off sea
sons” when fishing boats are not
otherwise engaged. In recent
years, also, the Bureau of Com
mercial Fisheries has shown
an increasing interest in this
crustacean.
Japan has been harvesting the
king crab for a long time. With j
American fishermen now becom- j
ing active in the harvest, the ad- .
vantage of joint conservation!
practices is becoming apparent.
Hence the United States section
of the International North Pa
^uiiiiimm<iumiiiimriimniTiiiii!ii!ii!iiiiiiiiutiiiinii
cific Fisheries Commission has
asked the Bureau of Commer
cial Fisheries to make as thor
ough a study as possible of this re
source. Through the Saltonstall
Kennedy Act for the improve
ment of the domestic commercial
fishing industry, $31,000 has been
made available for the current
research program, in addition to
$39,000 of regularly appropriated
funds.
If the resource is to be man
aged properly—that is if maxi
mum sustained yield is to be
realized—the researchers must
accumulate considerable amount
of data on the life history of
that shellfish—its spawning hab
its and areas, its life cycle, the
rate of growth, its habitat and
numerous other things. The ba
sis of such a study depends upon
being able to identify individual
members of the group to be
studied.
One of the toughest problems
which the research biologists
working on the king crab have
been asked to solve is the matter |
of tagging. Because the king
crab periodically just walks out
of his old shell a tag attached
to the shell sooner or later is
separated from the crab.
But the biologists finally found
a spot under the shell—in an area
which in humans might be called
the sacroiliac—where a “spe
ghetti” or ribbon tag can be per
manently attached. Now the
king of crabs is under the rather
thorough observation of the re
search biologists. Last year 15,
570 king crabs were tagged. In
formation on their recapture is
secured from both Japanese and
American fishermen.
Cinderella did not lose a glass
slipper. According to the Ency
clopaedia Britannica, a mistake
was made in translating the story
from Perrault’s French version,
in which Cinderella dropped a
fur slipper on the palace stairs.
i 1
Arbitration System
For Fishery Disputes
Adopted At Geneva
GENEVA, Switzerland, (#>—An
American-proposed system of ar
bitration in international fishery
disputes was approved Saturday
at the world Conference on the
Law of the Sea.
The conference committee deal
ing with fishing adopted a new
article in the draft treaty on mar
itime law, providing for the ap
pointment of a special five-mem
ber arbitration commission to
j deal with individual fishery dis
putes.
I The commission members are
to be named by the parties to
each dispute. If the parties fail
to agree on the'nominations, these
are to be made by the United
Nations Secretary General from
among “well-qualified persons
being nationals of countries not
involved in the dispute, and spe
cializing in legal, administrative
of scientific questions relating
to fisheries.”
The new article still requires
approval by a two-thirds ma
jority at a plenary session of the
86-nation conference. The 38
delegations which supported it in
the committee stage would not
be enough to carry it.
Wien Airlines
To Kotzebue: Marion Sheldon.
To Fairbanks: Warren Taylor,
Ed Caraway, Lee Williams, Jane
Perkins and infant, Pete Walsh.
From Fairbanks: Jerry Carroll,
Johnson, Thos. Knudson, Haven
Reid, Jim Blea, Frank Morris,
Wendell Neff.
From Galena: John Hutney
From Kotzebue: Glenn Lenert,
Sophie Ozenna.
In 1956 11 million pounds of
crab were caught in Alaska and
valued at two million dollars.
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K N O M E — Is Coming
Longshoremen To
Seek 16e Hourly
Wage Increase
SAN FRANCISCO, iff)—A 16
cent hourly basic wage increase
will be demanded by longshore
men of Washington, Oregon and
California in a new agreement
when the present contract ex
pires June 15, the union an
nounced.
The present basic straight time
wage is $2.55 an hour. The
union wants $2.71.
Two other principal demands
of Harry Bridges’ International
Longshoremens and Warehouse
mens Union will be an 8 hour
maximum workshift, and im
proved vacation schedules.
The present maximum work
shift is 9 hours, with 6 at straight
time and 3 at overtime. The
shorter shift would be 6 at
straight time and 2 hours at
overtime.
"4-on" Duplicate Receipt Books
at The Nugget
ASTRONOMY NOTES
By OLAF HALVERSON
The most remote pianist known,
: Pluto has an average distance
of 3670 million miles from the
! sun. It revolves around the sun
once in 248 years, which is
about one half times more than
Neptune’s sidereal time.
Its orbit is inclined 17 degrees
to the ecliptic. This is the
inclination for any principle
planet. Pluto thus ventures at"
times well beyond the borders
of the zodiac.
The eccentricity of Pluto’s or
bit is the greatest for any prin
cipal planet. Because of the
j great size of its orbit its distance
! from the sun varies enormously,
i At aphelion it is 1800 million
miles beyond Neptune’s distance
from the sun. At perihelion it
comes 35 million miles nearer
than the orbit of Neptune.
There is no immediate danger
of collision. In their present
orbits the two planets cannot
approach each other closer than
240 million miles.
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4