BRISTOL BAY AND ALASKA PENINSULA SALMON STATISTICS 



91 



upon to show abundance they tell a story of depletion to the point of practical ex- 

 termination. The Sanak Islands are isolated and are visited rarely, and there can 

 be little doubt that fishing has been mercilessly intense, with a result that might 

 have been foreseen. 



THIN POINT 



The fishery at Thin Point is the oldest in the district, having been established 

 in 1889', when a cannery was built and was operated for three seasons. A second 

 cannery was built here :n 1890 and was operated for two years only. In 1892 both 

 canneries were closed, but salteries were operated during the period from 1892 to 

 1896, inclusive. Between the years 1896 and 1908, when our more detailed statistics 

 begin, we have no record, and Cobb infers in his historical account of this fishery 



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Fig. 19. — Catch of red salmon at Thin Point 



that no commercial operations were carried on then at Thin Point. Most of the 

 data we have for these early years has been taken from the reports of the special 

 agents of the Treasury Department. For the three years in which the canneries 

 were operated we have no record of the species canned, but it is fairly certain that 

 they were all reds. The packs were as follows: 1889, 28,748 cases; 1890, 9,417 cases; 

 and 1891, 11,000 cases. The pack of salted fish in 1892 amounted to 1,500 barrels. 

 There is no record for this year of the species used nor of the number of fish caught, 

 but it is probable that they were all red salmon and that approximately 75,000 fish 

 were taken. The records for the years 1893 to 1896 state definitely that the fish 

 were all red salmon, and the packs and catches were as follows: 1893, 1,232 barrels, 

 60,000 fish; 1894, 2,519 barrels, 125,950 fish; 1895, 375 barrels, 23,453 fish, and 1896, 

 611 barrels, 27,198 fish. The records for the recent years, beginning with 1908, are 

 given in Table 9, and the catch of red salmon is shown graphically in Figure 19. 



