The Alaska daily empire., 1914-12-10

EMBER 10, 19l4
 ploibd
 MlHt of the hallbut handled in Al. Qsko are frozen. there beIng six cold storago plants devoted mainly to thie work One Of these eaLablEnmen,a has an annual capaclty of a,00O,O0o pounds The methods of handling and oi preparation for the market arc such that an excellent product is as- aured The fish are eyisceratod on the vessel at the time of capture, and arc packed in crushed ice ip tho hold. Upon arrival at the cold atorage plant they nre frozen and are then dipped several times ip fresh water thus enveloping each fish in 2 thin sheet of ice, which aeals 1t dramatically. The fish are then wrapped separately in paper following which they ere boxed and shipped in cold storage yes- sells to railroad terminals for despatch to final destinations Seattle and Vancouver are the principal shipping points at present but with the com- pletlon Of lhe Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to Prince Rupert B. C.. tho routing of eastern shipments will probably be diverted congidernbly by way of this port. Prince Rupert is only ninety miles rom Ketchikan, which latter place is at present the most important center of the Alaska halibut industry. It behooyes Amerl- can interests to take steps to over come this impending loss of trade.
 Tho Alaska halibut fleet during 1913 numbered 162 vessels and employment was given to 1,256 persons. The inc yestment amounted to $2,360,0S6. The products aggregated 1S,6S27s4 pounds, the export value oi which was valued at S57I8l4. These figures do not in. clude a considerable catch Of halibut landed at Seattle by vessels direct from the of.shore Alaska banks.
 Cod
 Although cod are widely distributed in Alaska, the industry centers at the Shumagin and sannak Islands. and upon banks In Boring Sea immediate ly north of tho Alaska Peninsula, The Boring Sen field iB worked entirely as vessel fishery, but tho Shumagin and Sannak banks arc operated mainly from shore stations. The cod com panles have headquarters on Puget Sound and at San Francisco, and in the case of the off.shore fishery yes- sells are despatched in the spring and remain upon Che banks uBually for several months, or until full share of cod have been taken. The fish are dressed and cleaned on deck as soon as they arc brought aboard from the dories, and are salted down in the hold. Upon the arrival in the States they are made into bricks or are oth- erwise prepared for market In the shore stations operations the fish are landed from the dories and are then handled In manner similar to thc oifshore catch. From time to time cargoes are taken to the States byI transporting vessels. During 1913 flf- teen shore plans were operated inI Alaska. some Of them being open throughout the year
 Although most cod In Alaska are taken by hand lines operated from one-man dories, the use of trawl lines similar to those employed in the hali- but fishery was inaugurated two years ago Sets were made in from 50 to 12O fathoms of water and were .en- trely successful One vessel was equipped with power net filters like thoso used for handling gill nets on tho great lakes, and the travis were handled from the deck, thus permit ting of fishing when 1t was too rough for dories to operate. Gill nets of z 1.2 inch mesh were also used with some success.
 The cod fishing industry iH the old est fishing enterprise in Alaska dat. ing from the times Of Russian occu- patton. It has not developed exten- sively. however, principally because of market conditions in the east at which place 1t has been difficult to overcome the prejudice in favor of the Atlantic cod. This feeling has been unmerlted, for the Alaska cod is in every way up to the Atlantic cod.
 During 1918 the Alaska cod fleet numbered 19 vessels, aggregating g. S9S tons measurement. The catch totalled 11,916,5OO pounds of prepared products, valued at $857711. The to- tai investment amounted to $581,1O7 and 581 persons were engaged, nearly all whites.
 Herring
 The herring is one of the import ant fishes of Alaska, and enormous schools appear from time to time, particularly in the waters of South eastern Alaska. A fairly good trade in picked herring exists, although this industry will stand much expan- sion, as soon as market conditions warrant, There has been some ex- portation of dry salt herring to the Orient. but tho high cost of trans portation renders this field unattrac- ffyo TEo. horriney nlave an inDortant