The Alaska daily empire., 1919-03-19
FISH BILL IS DISCUSSED AT
 JOINT MEETING
Senate and House Commit tees Hear Citizens Urge Arguments for Protec-
 ton of Fisheries.

That the question of the propaga
 tion of fish and the perpetuation
 of the fisheries industry in Alaska
 are unsolved problems but matters
 requiring intelligent and persistent
 experimentation was the general con
 sensus of opinion as presented at
 meeting of the Senate and House
 Committees on fisheries in the Sen
 ate Chamber yesterday afternoon The meeting was a hearing on Sen
 ator Heckman's hatchery bill, anc
 among those, in addition to the
 members of the Legislature, who
 made statements were A. J. Sprague
 who has been in charge of the Alas
 ka Fish and Game Club hatchery a
 Juneau; Charles D. Garfield, Secre tary of the Alaska Fish & Game Club, Charles Goldstein, President O
 hat organization; c. S Harley, man ager of the Tenakee Fisheries Com pany, and others.
 Heckman Bill Approved
 The Heckman bill was generally | approved, though it was thought i ! ,hould provide for the purchase O. l ,harter of a boat by the Territoria Fish Commission, provided for in thu | measure.
 Mr Sprague> and MT Garfield con | ended that the fish hatcheries whicl
 have been maintained in Alaska hat l lot produced the results that were
 hoped from them, if, indeed, the! | had produced any beneficial results
 It all Both of them urged expert nenting upon the proposition of plant ng fry in lakes and streams as sooI
 IS they were old enough to release instead of raising them in ponds
 md feeding them until they became lomesticated It was also urged tha he fertilized spawn be planted il he gravel of steams and lakes. Alaska Fish and Game Club MT Garfield gave an outline 0 he successful work of the flask; Tish and Game Club. In the course if discussion on this question i RdS SIlOW tudt tuc tluD hdu i'O 'eleased any trout in any salmon dreams or any streams that would
 oe useful for salmon propagation. Mir. Harley strongly urged tha nd preserving the salmon fishing industry was a matter of very grav' importance, and that there are si many theories in connection with i hat the experimental work should >e prosecuted along many lines. Not a Red Fish Country
 Senator Heckman said one of thu difficulties of previous efforts t' propagate fish in Alaska is that thu Government had confined itself large to producing red fish and tha his is not a red fish country. H. ]. aid efforts should be centered or ,ropagating humpback and dog sal non. He believed that MT. Spragut lad developed many good ideas il he course of his experiments, anC favored a continuation of the eX ,eriments. He believed that little ,ractical value would result iron | he circumstances that eggs gathered under iron chinks had been success 'ully matched. He said that thu ;reatest hope for the perpetuatior If the salmon fisheries was in ear fer closing in the Fall so that tht ater runs of salmon would get t he spawning grounds. This, he ad
 nitted would not protect the rec ,almon, which came earlier in tht
 ear, but it would protect the dof
 md humpback salmon, which, ht contends, are the main reliance 0 he Southeastern Alaskan canneries All Agree on Cleaning Streams There was no disagreement amons hose present on the value of thu proposal to remove debris from tht | streams to make their ascension b, salmon less difficult, and an efficien patrol to see that the protective law! md regulations are observed.