156 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
for the remainder of the calendar year after a combined total of 
800,000 pounds, including shells, had been taken in the Prince William 
Sound and Copper River areas. 
The limitation for the more accessible section was reached on May 
22, but the quota for the district as a whole was not attained, not- 
withstanding favorable weather and the good condition of the clam 
beds. Owing to price disagreements with the Clam Diggers Union, 
the larger plants did not start packing clams until after May 1, and 
before the end of the month such operations were curtailed or entirely 
suspended for a number of weeks in order that the facilities might be 
devoted to the canning of Copper River red salmon. Many of the 
clam diggers were placed on limit, both by the packers and by the 
union. Despite these drawbacks, the season’s output in this region 
was somewhat larger than in the previous year. 
An analysis of catch samples in the Cordova district indicated that 
44 percent of the total catch was made up of clams from 9 to 14 years 
of age, compared with 35 percent in 1938. The predominant age 
group was 8-year-olds, which comprised 24 percent of the season’s 
total, as against about 32 percent in the previous year. Approximately 
68 percent of the pack this year was put up during May. 
The canning of razor clams in the Prince William Sound-Copper 
River region in 1939 was carried on at 13 plants, some of which were 
engaged also in the salmon-canning industry, as follows: Arctic Sani- 
tary Packing Co.; Blue Sea Packing Co.; Buck Canning Co.; Christian 
Bros.; W. R. Gilbert Co., Inc.; E. A. Haltness & Co.; Hawkins Island 
Packing Co.; M. O. Marcus; Nunez Bros. Packing Corporation; 
Pioneer Canneries, Inc.; Scotty’s Packing Co.; 8. E. Smith Packing 
Co.; and Young & Trones. Several of the small establishments were 
operated by diggers who were unable to market their catch to the 
larger plants. 
Other producers of canned clams during the season were the Enter- 
prise Sea Food Co., at Ninilchik; the Sandvik Hand Cannery, at 
Uganik Village; and Nickey Clam & Salmon Cannery, at Ketchikan. 
The two last-named plants packed butter clams. 
There were 528 persons employed, of whom 436 were whites, 83 
natives, 7 Filipinos, 1 Japanese, and 1 Kanaka. The total production 
amounted to 34,195 cases containing 425,205 pounds, valued at 
$240,511. This represents the ‘‘cut-out” or “drained” weight of can 
contents for whole and minced clams and the gross weight for clam 
chowder, in accordance with the practice followed in reporting 
statistics of the clam production in the States. Prior to 1939 the — 
gross weight of canned clams was shown in the annual report of the 
Alaska fisheries. 
Of the total clam production in Alaska—which consisted of 423,165 
pounds of razor clams, including 150 pounds of chowder, and 4,080 
pounds of butter clams—1,176 pounds of butter clams, valued at 
$196, were prepared in southeast Alaska and the remainder came from 
the central district. The season’s output represents a decrease of 17 
percent in quantity and about 5 percent in value from the output 
for 1938, when the total included 115,380 pounds (net weight) packed 
in Alaska from clams obtained from Massett, B. C. 
