The Daily Alaska empire., 1948-10-02
COMMUNICATION

10 lIlG GultOI,
 1 Daily Alaska Empire.
 Dear Sir:
 I am very much interested in the luesticn Of the closing of the fish uaps.
 I am not a fish trap owner and ion't know anyone who owns a rap and I don't know cannery- nan and they don't know me. And IT am not running for any political s.fice or seeking a political joh.
 I am just an ordinary citizen wro is taxpayer and property owner of long standing in Juneau and l rave been waiting for some candi- date in the coming Territorial cleo ton to come forward with some nlan of taxation to take the place of what the canneries are now paying.
 It stands to reason that many Of the canneries that are now op- erating will be closed and the reve- nue from the eases of salmon pack ed will decrease and what will there be to bring into the Territorial treasury an amount equal to the taxes lost.
 Maybe these anti-trap people fig ure the pulp mills will te running 9y then anG they will start to run them cut of business by soaking the taxes on the pulp industry
 I was surprised to learn that the millions and millions of pounds ol fish that are bought by the colo storage companies in Alaska ana are frozen or are fresh and include all species are not taxed one penny and when they get to the state If Washineton and one buys Alas-' ka fish, one. can't get mcutn-ful without paying the Washington State tax of percent. Alaska gets nothing, but our halibut banks and alnon streams furnish the fish.
 On every fish that is caught in l trap. the canneries are taxed so much a fish and when It gets up to the thousands of fish it's con- siderable tax and th.n the canner- ies also pay case tax on the i'm ished product.
 Trap sites are granted by Con- gress They set aside certain areas in which fish traps are allowed to i ,e located and the fish trap own ITS pay for the privilege of building l trap. The Fish and Wildlife Serv- | ice has supervision over them ana sees that no fishing regulations are broken. The Fish and Wildllfe can shut down any trap at any time m ithe interest of conservation of lisn' No trap is allowed within at least mile of any stream and a seiner can go within 500-feet of the mouth of a stream The other day at a hearing a fisherman said too many fishermen were disobeying the law A trap is stationary and can't go to the mouth of a stream at nlght as l the boats can.
 If traps are what is depicting the salmon, tell me why the BITS tol Rav area is the worst OH, as there are no traps allowed in there | Where the salmon have big run the fishing boats of all descrlp- ton are so thick around the mouths of the streams that the only way ear more to have been there woulo he for the boats to be smaller lral -auoht fish are the most sanitary fish that can be canned. Many boats have to stay, out long lims t' fill their boats and the first LIST oaupht on a trip can't be Yer! oood bv the time the trip is over.
 If traps are closed, there will DC bundreds of large seine boats iron 1 he south come up here and tlsf al, season and return to the States with their money. These large boat can crowd cut the smaller local sem lers The Alaska fishermen VIII haV' more competition than now. hea that as far south as California th' I seiners are waiting to hear nov
 Alaska votes so they can come ur
 as any American citizen can liSi
 Alaskan waters. If they then sel 1 most of their catches to the Col' | storages, then Alaska does not ge one cent of tax on the cold storag fish. With many, of the canner.s
 closed, they will have to sell to tn
 cold storages. ..sr.rv mnssa If the Douglas cannefy had
 fish trap 1t could probably make 20 Of it. Many, have started .tth Douglas eadnerg in the past, bu all pa1e lost moiey t, wouldn't D running iSday f the people ha
 not built the canhery for nothin and are putting up their own mon ley to keep it going Juneau ha : 1.-two canneries once, but both wen out of business Because the fisher men couldn't supply them with ifs and they were idle half the time.
 According to a table Of Value (
 Alaska Fisheries Products for l9A