The Alaska daily empire., 1916-12-13
FISH INDUSTRY
 OF ALASKA IS
 GREAT RESOURCE
. (COntinued from Page 1l

of years past show, as rule, an increase in the annual production of canned salmon. but. as against this condition. 1t must be borne in mind that there has been substantial in crease in the number of canneries
 together. with longer seasons of con stant operation and an increased Iamount of fishing gear operating
 There has also been an enormous Increase in the number Of traps. both in actual numbers and in varie-
 ties of positions. coupled with in- creased efficiency in traps as devel- Oped by years of experience in the observation of the courses of the fish. and corresponding correction
 in positions and shapes of traps. An increased number of Seines Of large size and efficiency, both of de- sign and skill in handling. is to be noted. as well as an increase in the
 number of gill nets. greater var
 iety of places in which they are
 used, longer hours of use of these
 nets daily, often 24 hours, with
 longer seasons in which to use them. There has also been an increase in
 miscellaneous kinds of gear and methods of obtaining salmon. such as hooking dipping fish wheels etc.
 It must also be remembered that researches have enormously incrcas- cd the number and variety of fish mg places. Formerly the canneries
 iished only a few Of the more i'm portant streams with traps, within a short distance Of their stations. lt is safe to say (at least oi Southeast ern Alaska) that there is not now a stream that salmon ascend that is not being iished to some extent with he possible exception of few streams that empty directly into 1 the breakers. and in many cases even these are fished Formerly ,hC streams of Southeastern Alaska
 were rarely fished by more than two or three seines tO the stream,
 but now it is exceedingly rare that a stream of any importance what sOever has less than four or five crews operating at its mouth and not lmirolucntly there are as many as -5 os, 90 crews on the same stream. | There arc now but few. if any, can ucrics that obtain all their salmon within a 100-mile radius; a great ! mony of them regularly carry large percentage Of their fish l50 miles and some even 30 farther for their fish. This statement is cOrroborat- ed by the fact that a cannery at ! Petersburg this year ushei as far
 westward as Yakutat. 8 distance of fl3 miles Growing out of these conditions comes the great increase in travel or mileage tQ0btaln the same number plus the slight in- ! crease. Almost every cannery has now several times more and in many cases. better boath operating than in previous years. These boats are
 mainly gas-propelled and can be op- erated at less expense than were the earlier steamers that had short CT cruising radius and were required to carry more men as crew for the same hours than the gas boats Of toe ! day. lu this respect operating eX ! penses co procure the fish have not Increased 10 prOhibitive eX- tent in the capture of salmon. Ad ded 10 all this is the remarkable in- crease in the number of men en- sdged in the capture Of salmon; the vast increase ald accumulation of ! Knowledge and experience by can gcry mon and fishermen which adds
 their efficiency; and, in short, every step in the GeyeiopMent of Alaska has had it's effect. either di- -ectiy or indirectly. to increase the production Of canned salmon.
 The Bureau Of Fisheries has sta istics showing the truth Of some of the aforementioned statements, but in others equally true there is no data to be had. In the end the statistics will undoubtedly show the maximum capacity of production oi salmon in Alaska, but it is feared that ere this is shown the supply will have become so badly depleted that the industry will have been ruined years before even the most drastic measures can recoup the losses and bring back the maximum l production if. in fact. it can never be accomplished There is conclusive ! evidence even now the serious | depletion of the salmon. lt is a mat. ! ter Of common knowledge to prac- l tically all those residents of Alaska ! Cat least the Southeastern pOrtion) 1 who have given the matter careful | attention. and similar reports come from central and western Alaska. | This is best shown by the one final test of observing the number of fisa in a stream after the run is svNr and fishing OnprafiOns have ceased. All those who have ob- served the conditions for a series of years report a constant decrease in the number of fish in the streams year after year and an especially noticeable scarcity the past four or live years. This latter condition is certainly due almost wholly Co the intensive fishing during that period; and many people who have had ample opportunities for observation. from the most illiterate native to the trained fishing expert and schol-