FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 69, NO 4 



Table 1. — Commercial catches of sockeye salmon, Nu- 

 shagak Bay, 1893-1945. 



Nushogaii Sockeye Calc^ 

 1 893 -1966 



Number 

 of f-sh 



Number 

 of fish 



Sources: 



I884-]927 - Rich and Boll (1928). 



1929-1945 — Annual District Management Reports, District Agents. Bu- 

 reau of Fisheries and Fish ond Wildlife Service. 



Comments: 



The catches for 1884-1892 are only given in cases and therefore are not 

 included. , , 



For the years 1925-1946, Alaska Salmon Industry gathered dolo on the 

 catch, the pack, and expended effort by the major fishing coniponies. 



The number of fish per case is computed from the information collected 

 by Alaska Salmon Industry. It was used for conversion of the cose pock 

 into number of fish for the years 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1941. since 

 only the case pack is recorded for these years in the Reports of the Man- 

 agement Agencies. 



One 200-lb. barret of salted salmon has been set equal to 54 fish and 

 one 350-lb. barrel equal to 95 salmon. 



The official recorcis for the year 1928 list only canneries thot operated 

 in Nushogak in this year. The catch figure usea is based on records sub- 

 mitted to Alaska Salmon Industry from all but two canneries. The catch 

 in the latter case was extracted from the sworn reports submitted by the 

 fishing industry to the tax authorities. 



place within 2 to 3 years. Althouofh the other 

 districts in the Bristol Bay region have experi- 

 enced a decline in production, this decline has 

 been neither so distinct nor so drastic in nature 

 as in the Nushagak District. 



FISHING GEAR AND AREAS IN 

 NUSHAGAK BAY 



Three types of fishing gear have been utilized 

 in Nushagak Bay — traps, drift gill nets, and 



1890 169^ 1898 I9(H I90« 1910 I9W I9IS 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 I9« I9« 1950 I9M 1958 1962 1966 



Figure 2. — Catches of sockeye salmon in the Nushagak 

 fishery, 1893-1966. 



stationaiy gill nets (set nets). Traps were not 

 used to any great extent in the Nushagak fishery 

 or in Bristol Bay as compared with other areas 

 of Alaska, in which they were in widespread use. 

 The main factor which discouraged the use of 

 traps undoubtedly was the strong tidal currents 

 in Bristol Bay, where tidal differences reach as 

 high as 25 ft or more and peak water velocities 

 reach 4 to .5 knots. These conditions permitted 

 trap operations only in a restricted number of 

 places. Since gear records became available in 

 190 1 and until traps were outlawed in 1923, their 

 number in Nushagak Bay varied from 3 to 11 

 (Rich and Ball, 1928). 



Apiuirently set nets were not commonly used 

 during the period when traps were legal. The 

 first documented set net catches were taken in 

 1924, and set nets are mentioned in the 1926 

 regulations. A maximum length of 7.5 fm was 

 set in 1926, but in 1931 maximum length was 

 reduced to 50 fm, as is the case today. Since the 

 advent of yearly reports by the management 

 agent in 1929, accurate records have existed as 

 to the distribution of eff"ort between these two 

 ty|ies of geai'. 



Uj) to and including 1922, no restrictions were 

 placed on mesh size and length of the drift gill 

 nets. In 1924, tiie maximum length of drift nets 

 was set at 200 fm and mesh size of at least 5% 

 inches, stretched measure, between knots. After 

 the 1925 season, minimum size was set at S'/j 

 inches. No other changes in mesh regulations 



750 



