The Alaska daily empire., 1916-12-13


 development in the fishery resourc- es, notably of aquatic animals, chief ly fur seals and sea otters. There had also been some utilization of fishes. The first activity along the latter line. so far as the United States is concerned, was the devel- opment of the cod fishery by vessels sailing from San Francisco. This in' dustry was iuaugurated some time before Alaska ceased to be Rus sian colony.
 Although Alaska's prominence as a producer of fishery wealth lies chiefly in the great yield Of salmon, ] it must be remembered that there are other valuable food fishes to be found in abundance Chief among these are the halibut cod. and her ring, the utilization of which has developed an extensive industry, while there are other species of fish that have not been utilized as yet to any appreciable extent, such as trout. grayling, whitehsh. rockfish, eulachon, and others. There are several species of trout found in abundance, which makes Alaska a Yeritable paradise for the angler. An- other feature of the commercial fishery is the whaling industry; crabs. clans, and mussels are found in many places in Alaska, although at the present they have not been utilized 10 any great extent in a commercial way Plants for the canning Of clans. however, have been recently established in Central AL asha
 The Natives in Alaska, particu- larly in some sections. are depend ent very largely upon the fishery resources as means of obtaining their livelihood. This refers not only to the fish and other aquatic pro- ducts which they take from the wa ter for their own immediate con sumption, but takes into account also the fact that many of the na- tives are given employment in the industry. the absence of which would mean but little work for them. lt is significant of mention that in 1915 5000 natives were engaged in the fisheries of Alaska. Of this number two-thirds were employed in Southeastern Alaska This is 9 gain over 1914. when the number of na- tives credited tO the industry was 4,1S4. This increase in the supply of local labor Is gratifying. and it is hoped that the time may come when Alaska may be able 10 fur nish all oi the labor required in the fishery industry, instead of less than Cne-iOurth, as at present.
 Salmon Hateheries
 To assist in the maintenance Of @ supply of salmon, seven hatcher jes are operated in Alaska. two by the government. and five through private enterprise. rebate Of 40 cents per 1000 fry released is al- lowed the operators Of private hatch cries. These rebates have been up- or the license tax on the pack of salmon Recommendation have been made to Congress to repeal this re. batting. and the recommendation is here renewed that legislation be en- acted in regard to the fisheries of Alaska, which will. do away with the present practice. Tho private hatcheries should be taken over and operated by the Federal Government The amount of rebates due for the fiscal year ended June 30. 1915. for the release of 79,G1950O red salmon try by the five private hatcheries operated in Alaska, was $31 1,S47 The total number of young red. or sock eye. salmon liberated in the season Of 1915 was 12l,7S4,33O. The collec- liens of red salmon eggs in the fall of 1915 tOtaled 3.499, 100; also there were 1G.976.O00 humpback sal nor eggs collected Fish cultural operations were on a more extensive season, there being substantial gain in the number of red salmon eggs obtained.
 Number of Persons Employed
 According to the statistics for 1915. a total of 22.4G2 persons were engaged in all branches Of the fish, cry industry in Alaska. Of this number 22.2S9 were whites, 5000 na- tiyes, 1631 Japanese, 2,190 Chinese, l and 2,352 miscellaneous. which in. cludes Filipinos, MexicanS. negroes. l and other There was gain of 1 ,262 persons, as compared with the grand total for 1914.
 The Money Invested
 The investment in the fisheries of ! Alaska, in 1915, amounted to S37,. l 31G,5GO, an increase of $277,92S over 1914. More than SS1,OOO,O0O Of the | in 1915 was credited to ! the salmon industry. Of the total ! investment more than $16.OOO.O0O ! was in southeastern Alaska, upward ! of S6.00O,OOO in central Alaska. and ! in excess of $1l,OOO.OOO in western Alaska.
 Value of the Products
 The products of the fisheries of Alaska in 1915. exclusive of aquatic turs, were valued at S2O.999S4S, or 8 decrease Of $243,632 from 1914 The quantity produced in 1915 was far greater. but there. was a falling eff in value because Of the lower price commanded by certain grades of canned salmon. Next to 1914, the supply of this years product was the greatest in the history of All lska
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