The Alaska daily empire., 1913-09-08
SIMS ENTHUSIASTIC
 OVER HATCHERIES

E. A. SlLlSs or HOTI lOWnSeuu, NdSu., who is interested in the Hoonah Pack ing company cannery and the cold storage ship Glory of the Seas, in Al aska To that is due the tremendous pack that has been made this year on Puget Sound, according to MT. Sims, who is one of the big Puget Sound packers. They are just closing the most productive season they have ever had in the Puget Sound dis trict, beating the so-called phenomin- al record of 1901 by more than 4OO-, 900 cases. In 1901 the pack reached 1, 2OO,O cases. and this year it will ex- ceed 1,6OO,OOO.
 Sims Making Inspection Trip.
 Mir Sims was in Juneau Saturday night and Sunday He came North to inspect his interests here, and left on the City of Seattle yesterday for the South. He will return to Alaska later in the year. He had as guests on his Northern trip Jens Jensen, mem Der of the House of Representatives from Pend Oreille County, Washing ton, and his nephew, Edgar Sims.
 Sims Is Prominent Politician.
 Mir. Sims was the Republican lead CT in the last two Washington State legislatures, as a Representative from Jefferson County, and is counted one of the strong political forces in his State. He has been a leader in secur- ing appropriations for good roads as we'll as in perfecting legistion for per petuating the salmon canning indus try.
 Washington Has 24 Hatcheries.
 Washington State has A hatcher ies for salmon" said Mr. Sims yes terday," and there are six hatcheries in the State managed by the federal government. The result has been that the salmon supply there now is greater than it was before the pack ing of salmon began. This year the Washington hatcheries released 4O0,- 900 ,OO0 young salmon. We expect that they will come back with a run in 1917 that will be larger than the big one this year. The efficacy of the hatcheries over the natural system of reproducing salmon is accounted for by the fact that when all the salmon are permitted to enter the streams the last ones to go up dig up the spawn deposited by those that preceded them. There are cases where it has been demonstrated that the salmon have gone up streams in such masses that nearly all the spawn deposited has been made non-productive by this method. That accounts for the fact that, even before the fishing of sal mon was engaged in for commercial purposes on Puget Sound, streams that would be filled with salmon for per iod of years would have another ser ies of years when they would be al most barren of them. Gradually the supply would increase until the stream became overstocked, and again the spawn would be destroyed as before.
 Tt has been demonstrated beyond doubt that the artificial means of re- producing salmon in hatcheries is more certain than Natures way. That is the reason why there are more salmon in the water of Puget sound now than there were before the cannery business was established"
 Hatcheries Needed in Alaska.
 MT. Sims says the great need in Al aska is hatcheries. He says by that means the Sacramento river has been made a fish-producing stream again, and the canning industries of the Co., lumbia river have been restored with hatcheries.
 Abolition of Fish Traps Would Ruin
 Industry.
 MT. Sims says the abolition of sal mon traps in Alaska would ruin the fishing industry here, because the sal mon pack would become so much in ferior in quality to that put up on Puget sound and in British Columbia that it's market would be destroyed.
 "The traps in Alaska" continued MT. Sims, catch fish in deep water, while if the canneries had to be sup piled entirely from the nets, they would be caught near the mouths of streams in fresh or partly fresh wa ter. They would be slimy and soft The supply of the varieties of salmon that are caught in Southeastern Al aska is so great that it is difficult to market it at a profit now
 "On the other hand, the abolition of fish traps in Alaska would help us on Puget Sound and those in British Co., lumbia. It would insure us a ready market for our pink fish"
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