The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-08-06

Receivers Kerr and McGovern, of
the P. z. & n. and p. A. F. Cos, ac
companied by Superintendent Hun
toon and Trap Superintendent McMil-
Ian, of the latter company, were in
port Saturday night on the steamer
Cudahy, remaining all night Mr..
Kerr had just returned On the Cudahy
from months inspection trip of the.
p. P. & N. canneries in Alaska. He
reports fairly good season in northern
waters as compared with that thus far
experienced on the Sound. The most
northerly canneries are doing the best.
There has been large run Of the in
ferior grades of fish, but the run of
"rcds," the best Alaska salmon, about
like the socksye of our waters, has
been rather below the average, and the
pack has been somewhat curtailed by
the new federal law prohibiting the
canning of fish before July l and per-
mitting fishing only six days a week.
Nearly all the salmon fishing in Alaska
is done by means of purse seins and gill
nets, the shores being too rough and
precipitous and the waters too deep for
many traps. The p. p. & N. Co. has
only three traps in Alaska, two of
them in Taku inlet and one in Dundas
narrows. The native Indians are the
best fishermen employed. They make
much the largest catches, are the most
temperate and give much less trouble
than the Italian and other fishermen
employed. The missionaries have ac-
quired very strolg influence over the
Indians, who have become quite de-
vout and industrious. They have good
schools and are making rapid progress
in many ways. They will not work on
Sunday. Mr.. Kerr says that the Chat
ham cannery at Sitco bay, of which
James Burke, Of Friday Harbor, is
superintendent, Is doing well and has
already put up good pack of fine fish.
Receiver McGovern, as well as his
associates, is naturally much gratified
over the prompt action OF the treasury
department in granting the appliea-
ton of the Puget Sound cannerymen
| for the privilege of making drawback
entries of fresh salmon imported from
the Fraser river. The p. A. f. Co. has
already made arrangements for buying
fish on the Fraser, intending to enter
them at Blaine and can them there.
They will pay duty at the rate of cent
pound and will get. refund, or
drawback" as it is called, of so per
cent of the amount paid when the
canned product is exported.
Fishing conditions. in local waters
continue very unsatisfactory, especial
ly for the purse seiners, who are quite
discouraged over the outlook. There
are nearly 1000 purse seiners operating
off the southern shores of San Jnan
and Lopez islands. their "outfits =
seines, boats, etc., representing anJ in
vestment of upwards of .$150,000. The
DSSC purse SclHCc dNC 1-VN iCCO VI iliOic
i'm length and cost about $1,000. Most
of the purse crews consist of eight men.
Each seine should catch many hun
dreds of fish each day In order to make
fair wages for the crew and give the
owners of the outfits reasonable re-
turn upon their investment. But in
stead of making hauls running well up
into the hundreds the seines more
| often yield only score or two or per-
haps none at all. There has been a
large proportion of humpbacks in the
catches of the past week and these are
saleabls at only cent each. The Ca
madam buyers pay for them at that
rate, but as they have no market for
them they are thrown into the water
az they are counted. Thousands of
them are wasted in this way, although
humpbacks are preferred to sockeyes
for sailing. Eighteen humpbacks can
be bought for the price of one sockeye.
The b. G. Packers Association has
contracts With some of the sci ners
whereby they pay the same price for
silver salmon ss for ssckeyes, aud yet