BUREAU OF FISHERIES 143 
Salmon products comprised approximately 78 percent in quantity 
and 91 percent in value of the total output of the Alaska fisheries in 
1938. Ninety-three percent of the salmon products consisted of 
canned salmon, the pack amounting to 6,807,000 cases, or 326,736,000 
pounds, valued at $36,637,000. Red salmon represented 37 percent 
and pinks 47 percent of the total pack of canned salmon, as against 
32 percent and 54 percent, respectively, in 1937. As compared with 
the pack of the preceding year, the output of canned salmon in 
1938 showed an increase of 2 percent in quantity but a decrease of 
nearly 18 percent in value. Ninety-eight canneries were operated, or 
15 less than in 1937, and the number of persons employed in the 
salmon-canning industry dropped from 24,865 in 1937 to 22,280 in 
1938. 
Seventeen herring plants were operated, as compared with 20 in 
the previous year, and the quantity of herring products declined from 
the peak production of 1937, although continuing at a comparatively 
high level. Other fisheries in which there was a decreased produc- 
tion included the whale, shrimp, and crab industries. Only one 
whaling station was operated in Alaska in 1938. Halibut landings 
of the Alaska fleet showed a slight increase in volume, as did also 
cod, clam, and a few other minor fishery products. 
ALASKA FUR-SEAL SERVICE 
GENERAL ACTIVITIES = 
Sealing and foxing operations at the Pribilof Islands were carried 
on, as heretofore, by the natives under the supervision of a staff of 
13 regular employees and a number of sealing assistants. Approxi- 
mately 80 Aleutian natives also were employed during the summer 
in connection with sealing activities, and 23 skilled employees of the 
Fouke Fur Co. were at the islands for several weeks to assist in cur- 
ing and packing the sealskins. 
The byproducts plant on St. Paul Island was operated for the 
utilization of fur-seal carcasses. Products for the 1938 season 
amounted to 30,587 gallons of oil and 357,222 pounds of meal. These 
products, other than small quantities retained at the islands for fox 
feed, were shipped to Seattle, where the oil was sold for commercial 
use and the meal was transferred to the Division of Fish Culture for 
feeding fish at the hatcheries. 
On St. George Island a warehouse and three new cottages for na- 
tives were built, and improved roads were extended about a mile. 
Considerable resurfacing of roads also was done there and on St. 
Paul Island. Four cabins and a powerhouse, as well as some new 
equipment, were added to the substation for sea-otter investigations 
and patrol] in the western Aleutians. 
Valuable cooperative service was rendered by the Navy Depart- 
ment in assibning the U. S. S. Vega to carry the annual shipment of 
supplies to the Pribilof Islands, and by the Coast Guard in patrolling 
waters of the North Pacific and Bering Sea for the protection of fur 
seals and sea otters. 
Delivery of 8,755 fur-seal skins, or 15 percent of the take on the 
Pribilof Islands in 1938, was made to an agent of the Canadian Gov- 
ernment at Seattle. The Japanese Government, entitled to a like 
210101 —40——2 
