The Wrangell sentinel. (Wrangell, Alaska) 1909-current, 1939-10-06
BARNES SUBMITS list SUGGESTIONS
INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE

canning machinery salmon cannery
at Wrangell, this week mailed a
statement expressing his views on
the fisheries for the consideration
of the committee on Merchant
Marine and Fisheries at Washing
ton. to be inserted in the records of
the hearing of the subcommittee of
Alaskan Fisheries.
The time of the subcommittee
hearing at Wrangell on September
10 was so limited that several
Wrangell men in the industry who
had intended submitting statements
had no opportunity to do SO. For
this reason the Hon S. o. Bland,
congressman from Virginia and
chairman OF the committee, invited
written statements from all inter
ested in the matter.
In thanking Mr. Bland for the
courtesy Mr.. Barnes in the conelud-
ing apragraph Of the letter accom-
panying his statement said: q am
hereby attaching to this letter a
statement under my signature.
will appreciate it if you will have
the time to consider some of the
ideas put forth. am very much in
terested in Alaska's welfare, and of
course the Fisheries, which has been
my life's work and which is the
principal support of the Territory.
Mr.. Barnes Statement follows:
I have been in the cannery bust
ness in Alaska continuously since
1908, when I was interested in a
cannery at Lake Bay. Alaska, with
my father. Since March, 1929. I
have been interested in the Wran-
gel Packing Co, at Wrangell.
During the 1899 season. the sal
mon pack of the Wrangell Packing
Co. was 81, 500 cases, and the 1898
pack was $4,000 cases. For the
three previous years, the cannery
packed approximately $4,000 cases
per year. Our plant operation is
known as a "hand-eaptured" can
merry, lie, the majority of our fish
are hand captured by purse-seines.
Ordinarily we buy S. percent of our
raw salmon. The company currently
holds three trap sites and buys sal
mon from one independent trap
operator. We own on an average ten
purse-seines which are operated on
a share basis with selected fisher
men, and we also buy from other
purse seine operators who may offer
Us salmon for sale.
The Wrangell Packing Co. is con-
sidered a small independent cannery
as it has no utilization with any
other cannery. The seiners who fish
for the cannery are average fisher
men and our traps are small pro-
ducers. We own only one fishing
trap privilege which consistently
pays for itself. The other two salmon
trap sites are losing investment
over a period of years. However, we
have felt that we need trap sites to
compete with our larger competitors
and have therefore held the two
poor locations, thinking perhaps
that it might be possible to trade
these locations for better sites and
therefore better enable US to meet
competition of large operators who
now undoubtedly do own the better
traps, because they have been per-
mitted to change their poorer loca-
lions for better one.
These superior locations enable
these salmon traps to catch about
s ) percent of the total fish caught
at a cost of approximately 40 per-
cent as much per fish as those
caught by purse seine, or in the in
ferior trap location. At least this is
the way it would average out over
a period of years.
Without doubt, the most peril
nent question before the Committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
is What is best for the Territory
of Alaska as far as salmon fishing
is concerned?" Speaking from thirty
years of experience, it is my per-
sonal conviction that we have two
main objects to consider. First, is it
better for the Alaska fisheries Il
am speaking of Southeastern Alaska
fisheries) to be exploited by nom
residence capital, for the benefit of
! nonresident interests, or second,
should we strive to build up our
population by the judicial use of the
fisheries resources of the Territory
/ If the latter proposal is logical,
THEN THE SALMON TRAP MUST
BE ELIMINATED OR SEVERELY
CURTAILED, for at least 80 percent
of the salmon traps in Southeastern
Alaska are now owned by corpora
tions which have no resident repre-
sentative in the Territory other than
an attorney, and which import the
: greater part of their labor seasonal
| ly from outside of the Territory.
I Because the small salmon packer
/ is inherently a mainstay in the &C.
/ onomic structure of Alaska coastal
communities, he must be given an
! even chance with the large extra
| territorial operator, to make a rea-
sonable return on his investment.
If fish traps are not eliminated
the small operator must have an op.
portunity to secure better trap 10