60 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



cence of the salmon canners in this order has been complete, and is 

 typical of the almost universal observance of the laws and regulations 

 adopted for the preservation of the industry. With the cooperation 

 of the firms operating canneries in Nushagak Bay, Wood River was 

 racked as during the three preceding years and a tally was kept of the 

 spawning salmon ascending to Lake Aleknagik. The number of 

 fish thus counted was 354,000, and the number caught in the bay 

 was 2,846,000, both figures being much lower than in any of the other 

 years. Until the observations have covered at least one more 

 season, no definite conclusion can be drawn as to the significance of 

 the figures obtained. 



The usual statistical canvass of the Alaska fisheries showed 17,900 

 persons engaged in the industry, $22,671,000 invested, and products 

 valued at $16,863,000 as sold. The round or fresh weight of the 

 fish taken was 256,000,000 pounds, and the weight of the prepared 

 fish and other products was over 177,570,000 pounds. The aggregate 

 round weight of salmon, amounting to upward of 207,600,000 pounds, 

 was far in excess of that of all other fishes combined. Next in 

 quantity came halibut, 21,894,000 pounds; herring, 21,157,000 

 pounds; and cod 4,800,000 pounds. The halibut fishery gave 

 employment to 650 persons and represented an invested capital of 

 over $1,000,000, with a prepared output of 17,300,000 pounds, valued 

 at $822,000, a decrease of 4,265,000 pounds compared with 1910 but 

 a small increase in value owing to greater demand and higher prices. 

 The herring fishery, carried on chiefly in southeastern Alaska, gave 

 employment to 265 persons and $295,000 in invested capital, and 

 had an output valued at $202,000. Formerly all herring taken were 

 converted into oil and fertilizer, but a conspicuous part of the yield 

 in 1911 was used for food and bait in a fresh, frozen, pickled, or dry- 

 salted condition. 



A feature of the Alaska fisheries is a growig apjDreciation of the 

 value of products formerly regarded as useless, and the equipment 

 of a number of small experimental plants designed to utilize such 

 materials. 



FUR-SEAL SERVICE. 



The international convention concluded between the United 

 States, Great Britain, Russia, and Japan with reference to the fur 

 seals came into practical effect in the spring of 1912. The sealing 

 operations on the Pribilof Islands during the season of 1911 were 

 conducted, as in the previous year, under the direct control of the 

 fur-seal agents of the Bureau. The herd was subject to the usual 

 ravages of pelagic hunters up to December 15, 1911. 



The regulations adopted under the law limited the killing to 

 young male seals with skins weighing not less than 5 pounds and not 



