4G2 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



(2) Demaudiug- the passage of a law to punisli any fislierman or fisb- 

 ilealer who catches or has in his possession fish so small as to bo un- 

 marketable. 



(3) That pound-nets for the catching- of whiteflsh should not be less 

 than 3^ inches in the pot; and that pound-nets for catching herring 

 should have a 2^-iuch mesh on the sides and a 3-inch bottom ; such her- 

 ring-nets to be used only between the first day of September and the 

 close of the year. 



(4) That discretionary power should be vested in the proper State 

 fishery ofiicers to authorize the use of smaller twine than that prescribed 

 as the legal size, under what may seem to them proper conditions, times, 

 and places. 



(5) That a law be passed to prohibit and punish fouling the waters 

 of the State with mill refuse, fish offal, or other substances injurious to 

 fish. 



A committee on permanent organization was appointed ; also one to 

 draft laws embodying the above declarations for presentation to the 

 next legislature ; one to call the attention of our Senators and Repre- 

 sentatives to the importance of the fishing interests of the State ; and 

 one to petition Congress to impose a duty on Canadian fresh fish and 

 to remove the duty on gilling-twine. [From the Commercial, Port Hu- 

 ron, Saint Clair County, Michigan, March 3, 1886.] 



Note on fisheries of Alaska. — Mr. Peter French, collector of 

 customs at Sitka, Alaska, in a letter dated May 25, 1886, stated that 

 salmon and halibut are brought to Sitka from the " Redoubt," 8 miles 

 south, for shipment to San Francisco. Herring are taken in scows to 

 the oil-works at Killisnoo. Fish and fish-oil are shipped by the regular 

 monthly steamer from all points in Southeastern Alaska. Small boatjs 

 and canoes are generally used for fishing purposes. The fishing to the 

 westward is done principally by vessels that come up from San Fran- 

 cisco under fishing licenses. The fishing establishments in Southeastern 

 Alaska are Cape Fox, Naha Bay, Kassan, Howcan, Eed Bay, Wrangel, 

 Killisnoo, Pyramid Harbor, and Willoughby's Cove. 



The FISHERIES OF Alaska. — Lieutenant Schwatka says: In its cod 

 fisheries, Alaska is undoubtedly destined to lead the world, if supply 

 and accessibility are worth anything in computation. The shallow 

 shores of East Behring Sea and the submarine plateaus extend in al- 

 most every direction from Alaskan shores and simply swarm with cod. 

 fish. To compare them with the Atlantic banks would be like compar- 

 ing the population of China with that of Hudson's Bay Territory. The 

 waters adjacent to the Alaskan coast have some fine grounds for whale 

 fishing, which are now being occupied for that purpose, and which 

 are yielding about $1,000,000 per annum. But in addition to this vast 

 ])lateau of whale and cod fishing ground lying off the Alaskan coast, 

 the rivers which run far up into the interior of the country literally 

 swarm with salmon during every season. The Yukon, the Kuskoquim, 



