of crab in the young stages. Preliminary 

 tag returns indicate that there is little 

 tendency for Kachemak Bay crab to move out 

 into Cook Inlet proper. Research biolo- 

 gists of the Bureau are studying the crab 

 fishery through collection of size composi- 

 tion, catch, effort, and related data. 



pounds per hour, while Alitak produced 

 catches of about 1,800 pounds per hour. 

 These explorations have caused much inter- 

 est both in and outside of Alaska, and it 

 is expected that during the 1959 season 

 new commercial shrinks operations will take 

 place in the Gulf of Alaska. 



Shrimp 



Commercial fishing for shrimp began 

 in 1915 in Southeastern Alaska, and al- 

 though expansion of the industry was slow, 

 four plcuits were in existence by 1921. 

 Production of shrimp rose steadily and in 

 1925 reached 520,000 pounds. In the years 

 that followed, some fluctuations in land- 

 ings took place, owing to the depression 

 and World War II, but a production high was 

 again reached in the 1948 to 1950 period. 

 Shrimp production in Southeastern Alaska 

 in 1957, the last year for which statistics 

 are available, was 2,350,449 pounds. This 

 compares favorably with the good catch of 

 3,031,598 pounds in 1956 and is well above 

 the 1,777,122 pounds taken in 1955. 



With the general decline in abundance 

 of Gulf of Mexico shrimp, it is expected 

 that the demand for the Alaskan product 

 will greatly increase and production will 

 climb to a new plateau. The recent appli- 

 cation (largely through Market Development 

 personnel activities) of machine pickers, 

 two of which are in use in Southeastern 

 Alaska, will materially affect production 

 and landings in Alaska. The shrimp fishing 

 is carried out primarily with beam trawls, 

 although a small portion of the catch is 

 taken with pots. 



The major shrimp fishery is still 

 concentrated in Southeastern Alaska, but 

 operations in the Gulf of Alaska are expand- 

 ing rapidly. In 1958 exploratory efforts 

 of the Bureau's vessel John N. Cobb in 



lower Cook Inlet and Kodiak Island resulted 

 in excellent catches. In the vicinity of 

 Nuka Passage and Port Dick, catches of 

 1,560 and 1,440 pounds per hour were taken 

 by trawling. Half of these landings were 

 pink shrimp. In Kodiak waters, Marmot and 

 Izhut Bay had catches of 2,600 and 2,800 



Clam 



Alaska 

 butter, cockl 

 several other 

 tion to a wid 

 commercial di 

 ceirried out o 

 and on Kodieik 

 clam harvest 

 annually. 



shellfish resources include 

 e, and razor clam, as well as 



lesser used forms. In addi- 

 espread personal-use fishery, 

 gging for razor clams has been 

 n a large scale near Cordova 



Island since 1916. The total 

 is about two million pounds 



Butter clams are taken primarily in 

 Southeastern Alaska where production was 

 formerly at a good level. Unfortunately 

 this species occasionally absorbs toxins 

 and production is currently retarded. 



In 1958 the pack was below average. 

 Negotiations between Cordova diggers and 

 processors broke down, and a strike ensued 

 prior to the season. As a result, Cordova 

 produced only 6 percent of the pack of 

 razor clams this season. Alaska clam pro- 

 duction in 1958 was 1,023,934 pounds 

 (shellweight) . 



Figures for the total claun production 

 (in pounds, including shell) for the past 

 eight years are as follows: 



28 



I!rr.DUP.,D.C.59- 601 :5 



