THE PRESERVATION OF FISH 203 



industry, for this is one of the world's leading fishery 

 industries, although it is only about sixty years 

 old. 



Salmon are taken commercially along the Pacific 

 coast of North America from the Sacramento River 

 northward and along the Asiatic coast of the North 

 Pacific, but Alaska is now by far the greatest pro- 

 ducer of salmon. At the time of the purchase of 

 Alaska, the fur-seals of the Pribilof Islands were con- 

 sidered to be Alaska's greatest resource. No one fore- 

 saw the extensive development of Alaska's salmon 

 fisheries. The growth of the canning industry has 

 been especially rapid. The first salmon were canned 

 in Alaska in 1878, when eight thousand cases were 

 thus preserved. From that small beginning the in- 

 dustry has grown until now the pack averages five 

 million cases. 



The Pacific salmon are fish of a different sort 

 from the Atlantic salmon, being of the genus Onco- 

 rhyncus, w^hereas the Atlantic salmon belongs to the 

 genus Solmo. Five different species of Pacific salmon 

 are found in Alaskan w^aters. The chinook, king, or 

 spring salmon is the largest of these, averaging 

 twenty pounds, although individuals weighing a 

 hundred pounds are caught occasionally. It is the 

 principal species taken in California and in the 

 Columbia River, but relatively few are caught in 

 Alaska. The red or sockeye salmon is the species most 

 sought after by Alaskan canners. It is much smaller 

 than the king-salmon, averaging only about seven 

 pounds; but, since its flesh is red in color, it is 

 preferred for canning to the species with lighter 



