644 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
by it in conserving the fisheries of Alaska. Nevertheless, serious 
depletion occurred in many places. The law of 1924 gave us the 
authority we needed to say when, where, and how fishing might be 
practiced. It seems not inappropriate for me to mention one or two 
of the results, in a practical way, of that new law and the regula- 
tions promulgated by the Secretary of Commerce. 
The outstanding practical achievement is the return of the pink 
salmon to Alaska waters in the season of 1926. I think the regula- 
tions of 1924 may be given full credit for this result, for the reason 
that the pink salmon is a 2-year fish, and the fish that escaped in 
1924 by virtue of the department’s regulations produced, in 1926, 
the largest run of pink salmon in the history of Alaska. The com- 
mercial catch was more than 1,000,000 cases in excess of the largest 
previous catch in the history of the Territory. That is a direct 
tribute to the scientific work that has been done, because the regula- 
tions are based chiefly upon the results of science. 
The other thing I want to mention is that we have a commissioner 
of fisheries who has courage, foresight, and ability to deal with this 
situation. Doctor Gilbert spoke of the dilemna with which we are 
confronted. ‘The commissioner knows only too well the troubles 
that visit us, from an administrative standpoint, in dealing with 
this problem. Sometimes our best friends are after us with the 
sharpest sticks. I want to pay the highest tribute to the commis- 
sioner of fisheries in his administration of these fisheries. It is an 
inspiration to work with him and for him in such an undertaking. 
Doctor Ricu. I wonder if we might not hear from Mr. O’Malley 
on some of the experience he has had recently in regulating the 
salmon fishery of Alaska. 
Mr. O’Mattey. Possibly Doctor Gilbert could tell it better than I 
ean. Looking back on the catch and the escapement in Karluk in 
1922, and comparing them with 1926, there seems to be a three to 
one ratio—three fish this year for every one that spawned then. 
At that time Doctor Gilbert called my attention to the fact that with 
such a small escapement it might be a good plan to close the fishery 
this coming year and let the fish have a chance to rehabilitate them- 
selves. Doctor Gilbert also pointed out to me the small percentage 
of grilse noted in this past season, which might indicate that we need 
not expect a successful run in 1927. In fairness to the three com- 
panies operating there, we thought it best to close up shop, leave 
the run untouched, and accept the suggestions that came from the 
scientific investigators. However, there were local needs to be con- 
sidered, for the natives are dependent for their livelihood upon work 
furnished by these three companies. Therefore, the department 
followed a more moderate course. It was thought better to warn 
the companies of an impending poor season and let them make their 
preparations accordingly, on a small scale. We have left the regu- — 
lations as they were last year and notified the companies what we 
consider the run may be next year; we don’t say positively it will 
be poor, but we have every reason to believe that it will be. As a 
result of this warning, I believe the companies will consolidate and 
operate on a small basis. If we are able to make predictions success- 
fully regarding the size of runs it will save the industry millions of 
dollars. What we hope to do later on is to be able to forecast, with 
some degree of accuracy, what will happen in the future. 
