Valdez daily prospector., 1917-08-24
SOCKEYE RUN
 WILL bE FAILURE
E. R. Deming Says Pack One-third that of 1909 and One-Fourth of 1913-ROck Slide in Fraser Blam- ed for Big Slump in Red Fish.

BELLINGHAM, Aug. 24.-"The Sockeye run is thing of the past, and is an utter failure"
 This brief telegram, sent by Presi dent E. B. Deming of the Pacific American Fisheries, to the Chicago headquarters of the Deming Gould company this morning, tells the story of the 1917 red fish pack as it looks to the worlds largest canner of sal mon.
 Mir. Deming sees not only failure of the Puget Sound salmon pack for the present year. but the industry crippled for all time to come. If the present run of red fish is failure, he reasons. the run of four years hence will also be a failure. for few fish, comparatively speaking, have passed through the sound for the spawning grounds of the Fraser river | this season.
 A rock slide in the Fraser river four years ago, when the salmon were on their way up the stream to the spawning grounds, held millions of the fish below the barrier and spelled doom to the future of the Puget Sound quadrennial salmon run. can- ners now agree. The run of pink fish | (humpbacks) was also greatly injur- ed by the slide. The pinks, are two year salmon, that is, they return to the spawning grounds after spending two years in the salt water, and two year ago the pack of pinks fell far short of expectations. The 1917 pink run is now beginning and while it Is yet a little early to make predictions as to it's volume. canners hold prac- t.cally no hope of obtaining even an average pack of this grade of fish. The 1917 sockeye run, from all ap- pearance, is over. The pack is about one-third of that of 1909 and may reach 25 per cent of the 1913 pack. This, MT. Demming explains today. is failure when the millions of dollars expended in anticipation of the run is considered.
 In speaking of the 1917 red fish pack. MT. Demming said "No one hopes more than I do that my predic- tion concerning the pack is wrong. To me all indications point that the sOckeye run is over
 The failure of the great run means ruin to many of the smaller canneries and seiners with limited capital. and hard blow to all connected with the industry. With the smallness of the pack and fancy prices paid for seine fish it also means that canned sal mon will almost become a luxury.
 Puget Sound packers. expecting to put up 2,5OO,OOO cases of sockeyes this season. have so far taken only about quarter of million cases and the situation in lower British Colum- bia is about the same. On the Colum- bia the run was delayed on account or nlSu WdtcT, Uut HSHcIuch ICPoiS the presence of great quantities of fish outside the river mouth and hope to make the usual catch before the season ends.
 1 This years run of fish at most points along the coast have been con siderably later than usual. and the eggs in salmon caught off the Straits of Juan De Fuca are unusually imma- ture These facts lead packers in Se- attle to hope that there will be nor nal, though considerably delayed run.
 | In Alaska the Bristol bay run was excellent, that along the Alaska pen 1 insula a failure. The southeastern Alaska run is somewhat better than usual, and that of central Alaska somewhat below normal. With the season at many points still in pro- gross, and in the face of unusual un- certainties. it is impossible to esti- mate how the 1917 pack will com pare with that of previous years.