The Wrangell sentinel., 1918-11-14
Must fhe Purse Seiners
 Be Drioen Out2
Editor Wrangell Sentinel:

hd lluS QO0StlOI. ilNol liiS purse seiners be compelled to give up their occupation and seek a livlihood in some industry with which they are not familiar? The elimination of the independ- ent. fisherman is inevitable unless the people of Alaska see that laws are enacted which willtpro- tect not only the independent fisherman but the fishing industry itself which. under presentcondi- tions, is in jeopardy.
 Salmon traps, as they are now being operated, not only deprive independent fishermen of a livli- hood, but make a normal propa- gation of fish utterly impossible.
 As an illustration. take:Boca de .Quadra. On each side of the mouth of this narrow inlet are q half dozen or more traps, all within a distance of .fve miles of the mouth. The eddies caused by the conflicting currents from .Beahm canal, Dixon entrance. .Revilh Gejito channel and Boca de .Quadra throw the fish in on these points, and .as the fish in these places odn not ';show up' the seines are unable ito catch them. The result lis that the only place where fish can be caught by seines in paying quan- titles is near the mouth 'Uf the creeks CT rivers where they school up. But the law wisely bars fishermen from the mouths of small streams. because when the fish are as near as that to their spawning grounds they should be let alone. ;.
 .Another illustration of mon opply by the corporations is shown in the number of traps situated between Pillar Bay and the north side of Security Bay. Here there are 30 traps located within a distance of 10 or l2 miles. On both sides of Security Bay there is network of fish traps. It is therefore we'll nigh impossible for the fish to get into the bay. much less the creeks.
 The fishermen are getting all the blame for the shortage of fish which is becoming more al arming every year. But not a word is said about the traps owned and operated by the can neries, which catch by far the greater part of the fish, thexeby taking bread,out of the mouths of the .seiners who this year. and many previous years, have re- .ceived an average of much less than S500 for their season s labor. Itis high time that the people Of Alaska aWoke to the fact that traps. as they are now operated. are a curse to the future welfare of the country.
 Again. wherever thereis bay in which sufficient quantities of fish succeed in entering to guar. antee a good catch, in goes a salmon trap with as close an al- proach to creeks as the seiners are allowed. And again the fish are almost entirely shut off from their spawning grounds.
 The one big argument that the canneries make in favor of traps is that seiners bring in spoiled fish. Fishermen claim that these charges by the canneries are ex- aggerated. But. regardless of whether the fish brought in by seiners are spoiled or not, I am willing to admit that fish caught and delivered lby the traps are usuallymoh .fresher andin better condition to can than the average fish brought in by the .seiner. Bnt why? Because the .seiner who has to work in competition with the traps that are located near the mouth of.almost every stream cannot catch enough fish to justi- fy a trip to the ,cannery at once.