The Daily Alaska empire., 1930-08-08
ALASKA SALMON
 PACK ESTIMATE. ALMOST NORMAL
O'Malley Predicts Between 4,500,0O0 and 5,000,-
 900 Cases This Year

900 Cases This Year The total Alaska salmon pack for 1880, including all species, will b. between 4,50000O and 5,O00,000 cases, according to estimates made public today by Henry O'Malley, United States Commissioner of Fisheries, who returned here late yeserday afternoon after survey Of conditions in the Ketchikan and Wrangell districts.
 The normal Alaska pack is 5000 coo cases. Except for the Bristol Bay failure, this seasons output would have been above normal, and final figures may show it to be up to the average.
 S. E. Alaska Heavy
 Southeast Alaska's pack will ag- gregate 3,000,000 cases. Every dis trict in the Panhandle is practi- cally normal and the northern half has been experiencing one of the greatest runs of fish within the memory of the oldest settlers From Petersburg north it is estimated the canneries will put up l,500,000 cases.
 Last Saturday night, 16 plants in the southern, or Ketchikan, dis trict, had packed 271,176 cases, which was 1862 below their total
 for the corresponding date in 1929. Fish for 1000 cases had been shipped from the district to west coast district cannery, whic h brought the difference down to Ill., 900 cases. Sunday good loads of fish were brought into Ketchikan and reports received there Monday said good run was showing up on the grounds.
 West Coast Good
 A report received at local head quarters of the Bureau of Fisheries today from Warden Olson at Craig, said that heavy run was on at Moves Island where the seiners were making large hauls. Pinks and echoes were running in abundance , off Warren Island, and the pros poets for heavy run on the west coast were excellent.
 Most of the western Alaska areas have had at least normal seasons. The Cook Inlet pack is estimated at l8O,000 cases, and final figures may be higher. The south side of Alaska Peninsula had packed to last Saturday night 430,0o0 cases and has several days to run. The north side has a pack of 22.00O cases.
 Bristol Bay, Kodiak and Chignik were failures. The shortage in Bris- tol Bay, where the total pack was 395 ,000 cases, was not unexpected, and Commissioner OMalley recently declared it was his present inten- ton to close that district to all commercial fishing in 1885, which will be the next cycle year for red salmon. The shortage in the other two areas was not foreseen and could not be explained. Gamers Not Responsible Whatever may be found to be the cause, cannery operations in the district were not responsible, the Commissioner admitted today. In the preceding cycle year, cannery operations were restricted in order to insure adequate escapement to l the spawning beds at both Chignik and on Kodiak, he said. There were plenty of fish on the beds and the spawning areas were well seeded. Why the fish failed to show up ] this season has yet to be determined by the scientific staff of the bureau. Tn Prince William Sound, where fishing closed down last Saturday, preliminary figures show a pack of 550,000 cases Fish were plentiful there, particularly during the latter part of the season.
 Pressure was brought to bear by local people to have the sea son extended on the ground that the run was heavy, and their re- quests were favorably regarded by the warden in charge of the dis trict, who recommended 36-hour extension" Commissioner OMalley said.
 "It wa3 not considered safe to accede to the request because 36 hours would have been a pretty close margin on which to work. Any discussion I had with Prince Will liam Sound operators as to the pos sibility of extension was predicated on the spawning beds being covered with fish before any such action would be regarded with favor. This condition was not shown to obtain, and, therefore, no extension was granted" he added.
 Next Seasons Regulations
 Replying to a question about the tenor of regulations for 1881, the Commissioner said he had not had time to- consider them definitely, and could make no statement re- garding them until an opportunity had been had to study conditions and make necessary comparisons. Until the final pack reports are available, data on escapement, the spawning conditions, and similar factors affecting the fisheries, it will be impossible to do anything about the regulations for 1881. As is usual, however, the gear, floating as well as fixed. will be one of the governing factors in them. And after the regulations for next year are decided upon and