Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-01-11
CANNING OF SALMON.
IMPORTANT INDUSTRY OF THE
PACIFIC COAST.
Value of the Alaskan Fisheries IL
Little Apprcciated-ln Twenty Years
the Amount Of salmon Taken in That
Country Reaches TOO, 900, 900 Pounds.

The value Of the fisheries OF the
United States has become far greater
than that OF any other nation, and no
feature of our fisheries has had Il more
rapid growth than salmon canning on
the Pacific coast Salmon canning Is
by far the largest branch of the Pacific
coast fisheries. and the market value of
the canned salmon put up on the Pacific
coast every year Is about twice that of
the entire annual product of the lake
fisheries. We have hardly realized yet
how much the waters OF the Alaskan
coast are contributing to our wealth.
In twenty years nearly 7OO,OUO.OOO
pounds Of fresh salmon have been
taken in Alaska. aud the value Of the
canned and sailed product has been
nearly $50, OOO.O 600. Over Il third Of all
the salmon canned and packed on the
Pacific coast now comes from Alaska
and the industry Is growing every year.
1t is spread along the coast from the
neighborlood of Sitka In southeast
Alaska to Kadiak Island near the
Alaskan peninsula. and then farther
nOltl into the waters Of Behriny Sea,
and that region now contributes about
fifth of the entire catch. Kadiak ana
chignik contribute about hree-seventhS
of it, southeastern Alaska a quarterand
Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and
the Copper River make up the balance.
Along these hundreds Of miles Of coasts
there are thirty canneries and more
than half Of them are owned by one
packing association.
Capt Glenn of the army, who has
been describing his Alaskan exp:oia-
lions of last year in Print, tells of the
little cannery ut Orca, not far from the
mouth of the Copper river, which was
so little known until recently that II
could not be accurately pla> ed on the
maps. This cannery has n capacity OF
$4,000 cans per aunuin. and employs
from i2o to l5O men of whom sixty are
Chinese. The Chinese do all the work
in the cannery. making. packing and
abeling tie cans and boxing them for
shipment The remainder of the force
are fishermen and boatnen. and most
Of the fish are caught at the mouth of
the Copper river. One day last year Il
vessel of the company came into Orca
having on board 23.OnO fish, represent
ing a single days catch at the mouth
vf the Copper river. This was by no
means an ordinary catch. but large
catches lave been made. and it was
In, ~
continuously for three days. Here, the
captain SAYS lie ate from a can that
had Just been packed some of the fam
GUS king salmon. VIII CHI Is indeed the
king of salmon. not only on account OF
its size and beauty. but also from Its
very delicate flavor"
In this region too. Is the famous can
tllefsll, which in the summer months
puts in an appearance In immense
numbers. Capt. Glenn says their
schools are so thick that with every out
going tide they are cast upon the beach,
unable to get back into the water. 1t
is easy to gather up a bucketful OF them
in five minutes, selecting only those
shat arc alive. The squaws catch great
quantities by simply dipping basket
into the water They are much like
she ordinary smelt in texture and flavor,
through much oilier and two or thee
times as large. 1t is said the fish is
called caEd.etish because when it Is
dried it will light and burn like an Or
binary candle.
In Lieut.. Lca,naid's ie.O.t he says
that along the coast in Prince William
Sound and also in Cook ln'et, there
are plenty of fish, the principal varieties
being cod. halibut founders. candletish
and salmon. Thousands of cases IT
salmon are packed ana shipped away.
while many thousands of salmon are
simply thrown away because they are
not Of the choicest varieties. by this
wasteful policy se,e al others species
are being rapidly destroyed. Every
fresh water stream contains plenty Of
salmon after they start to run, as the
fish endeavor to get to the head of the
stream before spawnng.-N York
Sun.
1,