The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1940-03-31
HERRING PACKING
INDUSTRY FACING
CRITICAL PERIOD
Association Sees Closure
in 1910 as Threat 10
Alaska Future
BY AKSEL FAUCHALD
Pacific Herring Packers Asso-
citation

citation
The year 1910 is critical per-
iod for the Alaska herring industry
as the closure of Southeast Alaska
to commercial operations puts to an
end an industry which for nearly
20 years has produced important
income and employment for the
Territory, The closure also may be
used as an entering wedge in the
fight by certain uniformed inter-
ests to close down entirely the her
ring reduction industry in all dis
tricts of Alaska, including the pro-
ductive Prince William Sound and
Kodiak Island areas
The closure of Southeast Alaska
to herring fishing for reduction Is
based on two fallacies: ID that
herring has been depleted and 90
that the herring should be reserved
as food for salmon. In addition, 1t
is believed by some that herring
meal is simply used as fertilizer and
such use should be discouraged
No Adequate Study
The first lacks confirmation. Her
ring operations in Southeast Alaska
have been progressively restricted
as to areas open to fishing and the
Bureau Of Fisheries, outside OF a
few cursory observations, has made
no adequate study of abundance or
depletion in the district. AS abund-
ance in any fishery can be measured
only by commercial tic h IS, the
general restriction of areas makes
proper study and regulation impos-
sible.
Herring operators are asking how
it will be known when the herring
run is built up and plants can be
recpened. And if the area is re-
opened to fishing in few years,
will anyone again invest in the in
dustry after such demonstration OF
capricious regulation?
Food For Salmon
AS to the second reason for clos
ing reduction plants, 1T is admitted
that herring is a food of the sal
mon. but it is not the food of the
salmon, nor even the most import
ant item. No investigation has ever
shown this. No study OF salmon
stomach contents has ever failed to
show other fish than herring to be
far more important to king and
silver salmon as food. Moreover,
the salmon is a more efficient fish
erman than the herring purse SEM
er. If there were not enough her.
ring to pay seiner for his gas,
there would still be more than
enough for the salmon as food.
There is also a widespread mis-
conception that herring meal is SIM
ply used as fertilizer and as such,
its manufacture should be discour-
aged. The fact is that for at least
10 years no herring meal has been
used in this way The high protein
content of the meal has made it
valuable in stock and poultry foods.
Restriction of such an industry for
such a reason would be as foolish
as restricting the use of corn as
food for hogs.
Food For Stock
Herring meal is indispensable as
a cattle and poultry feed. In this
capacity it supplies the necessary
vitamins, proteins and minerals,
which are impossible to obtain by
straight grain feeding
Herring oil is used principally in
the manufacture of soap, though
some is used in the making of paint
linoleum and the treatment of leath-
err products. An increasingly large
amount is going each year into the
blending of shortcomings and into
salad oils
The salmon trollers of Alaska
and to some extent the halibut
fishermen. attack the herring in
dustry unfairly. There should be a
community of interest among all
branches of the fishing industry
which should join forces in a COM
mon cause. One such cause is the
fight against Japanese interests in
American waters. Instead of fos-
tering i'll will among themselves, all
should unite to demand that any
new commercial treaty which may
be negotiated with Japan recognize
the United States sovereignty over
the fisheries of the Alaskan coast
at least to The continental shelf.