58 REPORT OF ALASKA INVESTIGATIONS. 



There is a demand for a close season on halibut, but this does not seem feasible for the same reasons 

 that a tax on halibut is not advisable. A close season would work a hardship on American fishermen as 

 compared with Canadian fishermen. 



It is popularly supposed, especially in the East, that most of the halibut consumed in this country 

 come from the Atlantic. This is not correct, for the records show that Pacific waters supply about 85 

 per cent of the entire production of halibut. The bulk of this yield is from the banks off the coast of 

 Alaska. 



The initial preservation of halibut in large cold-storage plants in Alaska, where they are glazed in ice, 

 and the subsequent shipment of them in refrigerator steamers to Pacific coast ports and thence by refrig- 

 erator cars to the eastern centers of distribution at Boston, New York, and elsewhere, insures the consumer 

 a high-grade and wholesome food product. The Alaska halibut industry at present centers at Ketchikan. 

 The principal shipping points are Seattle and Vancouver, but with the completion of the Grand Trunk 

 Pacific Railway to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, that port is likely to become soon a most important 

 center of the halibut industry. Prince Rupert is only about 90 miles from Ketchikan, and is 600 miles 

 nearer than rail facilities at Seattle. Thus, halibut shipped by way of Prince Rupert can be laid down 

 in eastern markets in from 24 to 48 hours less time than when shipped from Seattle. It becomes evident 

 that American transportation interests must offer inducements in order to prevent a considerable loss 

 of trade. 



CODFISH INDUSTRY. 



The codfish industry is the oldest fishery proper in Alaska, having had its inception more than 50 years 

 ago while the Territory was still under Russian control. It has increased materially since that time and 

 has proved a valuable asset, but there is still much ground that has been untouched; so we are assured 

 of an abundant supply for many years to come. The Alaska codfish is of first-class quality, and not- 

 withstanding occasional adverse reports it is equal in every way to the Atlantic cod. Some of the fishing 

 grounds are still known only in a general way, and the Government should lend its assistance by pointing 

 out more profitable banks, in order that the industry may be developed more extensively. 



Unga Island, in the Shumagin Group, is the headquarters from which most of the shorii.- station fishing 

 is done. Operations extend as far west as Unimak Island and as far south as Sannak Island, in the Sannak 

 Group. The largest plant is situated on Unga Island, and last summer, upon the occasion of my visit, 

 was entirely filled with salted cod, about 60,000 in number, averaging 4 to 5 pounds each, dressed weight. 

 The fishermen are mostly resident Scandinavians, and they receive $52.50 per thousand for fish over 26 

 inches long; and under this size they give two for one. They appear to be prosperous and happy, and that 

 they have a comfortable living is evident. Most of the fishing is done from small boats, and the fish are 

 brought to the shore stations, where they are dressed and salted. There is also a fleet of several schooners 

 engaged in the cod fishery in this vicinity and in Bering Sea. The fish are cleaned and salted down in the 

 holds as soon as they come aboard from the dories. When a full cargo has been obtained, the vessels 

 proceed to their home ports, either at San Francisco or on Puget Sound. The product of the shore stations 

 is likewise taken to those ports by transporting vessels engaged solely in this work. Some of the Alaska 

 cod shore stations are in operation throughout the year. The method of curing codfish is clean and whole- 

 some, and there was no part of the fishing industry that pleased me more. 



HERRING INDUSTRY. 



One of Alaska's fisheries resources which is yet not fully developed is the herring industry. The her- 

 ring is a valuable fish found in nearly all the waters of Alaska, usually in large schools, some of which cover 

 several square miles of water. At the present time the Alaska herring is not used much for food purposes, 

 largely because the salmon industry has occupied the majority of the fishermen throughout the region. 

 However, in the last year or so there has been a tendency to recognize the real value of the herring. That 

 they are valuable as a food is beyond question, and future years will prove this conclusively. 



A reason why they are not used more freely for food during certain months of the year, during the sum- 

 mer season, is because of the discoloration of the flesh after death, due to the decomposition within the 

 alimentary tract of a small red crustacean upon which the fish feed. Because of this objectionable feature 

 and on account of market conditions, very few have cared to bother with them, and they are looked upon 

 during these months as useless except for fertilizer or halibut bait; but when it is considered that Norway, 

 whose herring industry is known the world over, has met with this same obstacle and overcome it one can 



