The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-02-09
CHAMBER BACKS DIRE ECT0RS IN
 HERRING 5 TAND )
Approves Report Opposing Passage e of Wicker
 sham Bill in House


 day without an opposing vote adopted a report from the Board of Directors opposing the passage of the Wickersham measure pro- hibiting the use of any food fish for the manufacture of oil and meal. A petition, urging the enactment of legislation to prohibit the use of herring from inside waters in such manufacture, presented by Judge H. B. LeFevre, was referred to the Legislative Committee for report.
 Most of today's meeting was taken up by the discussion on the measure and Judge LeFevre's pe- tition Martin Hoist, veteran local fisherman, told the Chamber that unless some restriction was im- posed on the reduction industry the herring supplies of inside wat CTS would be exhausted within a few years.
 O'MalIey Opposed Bill
 The Legislative Comimttee sub mitted to the Chamber 8 state ment made by Commissioner Henry O'Malley, of the Bureau of Fish cries. opposing the Wickersham bill.
 He told the House Comimttee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries: 1: After careful consideration, it is emy opinion that this proposed change is both unwise and unnec- essary. Any such modification of the law would prevent commercial utilization of certain species of fish not as yet used for human food but which can be manufactured in- to oil and meal fertilizer. These species, which include silver hake. ling cod, rays, dog fish and other varieties are caught in nets along with salmon and other fishes uti- hzed for human food The vast age of these food fishes, for which there is no market, can be avoided by their manufacture into oil and meal. They cannot be segregated from the salmon and other species as caught in purse seines and traps.
 Would Destroy Industry
 T feel that the outstanding ob- jection to this proposed change in the law is that it would destroy the extensive industry which has developed in Alaska of manufactur- ing oil and meal from herring. The capture of herring for commercial use in Alaska is effected chiefly by purse seines, although gill nets have been used in a limited way. In operating a purse seine there can be no segregation of the small from the large fish.
 Therefore, as there is no market for small herring salted or other wise prepared for human consump- tion, it seems entirely proper to utilize the smaller fish in the manu- facture of oil and meal. If this were not done there would be in- evitably heavy waStage of those small herring which the trade does not accept in the salt fish market.
 Misc0nception Is Held
 "A popular misconception has existed where herring are used in manufacture of oil and meal, the resulting products are applied solely to uses other than human food. On the contrary, large quantities of herring oil. through processes of h y r ogenation and deodorization, are used in the manufacture of edible fats
 'T'he meal, or so-called fertilizer, manufactured from herring is used extensively for feeding hogs, cattle and poultry The use of meal as stock food has increased greatly and considerable part of the west coast production is absorbed by It has been well es- abolished that fish meal mixed with  other items is one of the best known foods to stimulate the pro- duction of eggs. Experiments in feeding fish meal to hogs show that it is fully equal to meat tank age for such purposes.
 There has been considerable agi- tation in Alaska at times to the ef- feet that the reduction plants were the runs of herring. I do not feel that there is any serious along this line As in any seasonal fluctuations occur, and in some places in Alaskan waters herring may be less abund- ant in certain places than in pre- ceding seasons; at the same time they may be more abundant in
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