The Nome nugget., 1901-12-04
How 1t Can Be Made Profit v able ;n Boring Sea.
IMhlE:NSE WEALTH
Stored Up in the Fishing Banks Why Ber:pg Sea Goldfish, When Cu.ed, Is OGtclassed by the Atlantic ArticIe-The Curing at Fault.

JtiOn of the immense wealth which lies stored up in the fishing banks of the Bering sea. From St. Lawrence island south to the Aleutian chain, for a stretch of 600 miles, there are banks after banks teeming with myriads of codtish. plentiful enough to supply the whole world for generations; and, no matter what has been said to,Jhe con- trary, the Bering sea codfish are as good as any that were ever caught on the banks of Newfoundland or on the banks off the Loffoden islands, on the coast of Norway.
 It must be conceded that the Eastern .cured and packed codfish is by far more palatable than the Boring sea .cod as cured and packed in San Fran cisco. But then. again, if you have ever tasted the Norwegian stocklish, as cured and packed on the LotfOden, you will turn your nose up at both of these. The difference lies not in the fish itself, but in the manner of it's cur ing and in the climatic and other con .ditons it has been cured under. This will be readily understood after look ing at the method of the codfishing in dustry as carried on outside of San Francisco.
 It is over p years since the first cod fisher sailed out of San Francisco for the bapks in the Boring sea. Since then the industry has4grown but spas medically, and at the most not, more than ten vessels have been engaged in it at any one time. The cost of fitting and sending the vessels to the distant banks, together with the smaller price .procura ble for.the Boring sea fish in competition with the Eastern fish, even in the markets of the Pacific coast, .cnt.the profits and stunted the growth of this industry outside of San Fran cisco.
 T1e codfshers leave San Francisco generally in the beginning of April, reaching the banks in about 40 days. .ZAs soon as arriving fishing commences. The crew head, spit and clean the fish every day as soon as caught. They are laid in layers in the bare hold of the vessel and covered with salt. Fishing continues until the vessel is filled to .the hatches, when she squares away for home again. With fair wind and weather and smooth seas it does not take long to fill up the ship. On her return to San Francisco she hauls up alongside O. the fish yard. There the fish are unlOaded from time to time, according to the capacity of the plant, washed and placed in pickling vats for a week or.two. Then they are spread on sheds to dry, after which they are packed either in bales or prepared in packages of selected boneless codtish.
 The following extract from the Se- ;attle Post-Intelligencer of August 30 shows how some Seattle merchants have engaged lately in the codfishing business and how, even with the best of fishing luck, a vessel can only make one trip to the banks each year when fitted from ports on n.the Pacific coast:
 The schooner Carrier Dove, Captain sGrotle, has arrived from Bering sea with a cOdtish catch of 125 tons, repre- seuted in take of 5O,O00 fish. It has been one of the most successful cruises ever made by Boring sea fishing ves- gel. She sailed April 22, and returned to port nearly two months sooner than had been expected. As she had no room for more fish she had to set sal for Seattle.
 The Carrier Dove is operated by 'GeOrge B. Halgesen and associates. She took north crew of fifteen men, tour of whom left the vessel at Dutch HarbOr.
 The Carrier Dove, fitted from point sop the Alaskan shore, could have made a number of trips and returned loaded, .;and. what is more to the point, loaded with fish which would be in better con- ~dition. It is self evident why the cod {, fish packed in San Francisco, can not be very palatable. In the first place they lay from three to eight months in salt in & half-cleaned condition. Generally the vessels engaged in codtishing are very old vessels, which have previously .been insall sorts of trade. The gases from this will contaminate the fish more or less. Then, too, the climate, especially the hot sun of California, is very detrimental to their proper cur ing; it has tendency to turn them dark and bitter. It is no wonder that' nnder such treatment, the Bering sea ,codfish was made to appear of inferior quality.
 All this is we'll understood by the '~ San Francisco Outftters. Some years ago they experimented with fishing