ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1926 277 
SALMON 
In 1926 the catch of salmon in Alaska as a whole showed an in- 
crease of nearly 51 per cent over that of 1925, due chiefly to the 
large run of humpback salmon in central Alaska and of reds in 
the western district. Im southeastern Alaska the catch increased 
4.3 per cent, in central Alaska it increased 116 per cent, and in west- 
ern Alaska 143.8 per cent. There was a considerable increase for 
the whole of Alaska in the number of fathoms of seines and the 
number of traps operated, each increasing 17 per cent, while the 
number of fathoms of gill nets used decreased 13 per cent. The chief 
increase in the amount of gear occurred in southeastern Alaska. In 
the central district there was also a considerable increase, but in 
the western district there was a marked decrease in the amount 
of gear used, the number of fathoms of gill net (the chief form 
of apparatus used) being 20 per cent less than in 1925, while this 
district showed the largest percentage of gain in catch. 
In southeastern Alaska operators are adopting more and more 
the use of floating fish traps in place of driven traps; in this section 
particularly there is a constant increase in the number of inde- 
pendent traps operated by other than salmon canneries, there be- 
ing 95 in 1925 and 141 in 1926. For all of Alaska, out of a total 
of 639 traps used in the salmon industry in 1926, 486 were operated 
by salmon canneries and 153 by individuals and companies not op- 
erating canneries. The comparable total of these indepeadent traps 
in 1925 was 120. The modified regulations effective in 1926 extended 
the lateral distance interval between traps in southeastern Alaska 
south of 58° north latitude from not less than 1,800 feet to a mini- 
mum of 1 statute mile. The lateral distance interval of not less 
than 114 statute miles was continued in the southeastern area north 
of 58°. 
CATCH AND APPARATUS 
The total number of seines used in the salmon industry of Alaska 
in 1926 was 632, of which 157 were beach seines and 475 purse seines. 
The beach seines aggregated 18,320 fathoms of webbing and the 
purse seines 81,181 fathoms. The number of gill nets used was 
2,955, having a total length of 296,564 fathoms. There were 254 
driven traps and 385 floating traps—a total of 639. 
Southeastern Alaska was accredited with 409 seines, or a total 
of 72,656 fathoms of webbing, an increase of 26 seines, or 7,589 
fathoms, over the number in 1925; also with 184 gill nets, aggregat- 
ing 25,050 fathoms, a reduction of 6 nets but an increase of 4,179 
fathoms, when compared with the quantity used in the previous sea- 
son; and with 114 driven and 367 floating traps, 44 fewer driven traps 
but 119 more floating traps than were operated in 1925. 
Corresponding figures for central Alaska show 210 seines, or 
24,045 fathoms, as compared with 125 seines, or 17,575 fathoms, 
in 1925; 993 gill nets, or 55,045 fathoms, as compared with 855 
gill nets, or 47,484 fathoms, in 1925, an increase of 138 nets and 
7,561 fathoms. The number of traps operated was 136 driven and 
18 floating, as compared with 128 and 8, respectively, in 1925. 
