22 FISHERIES OF ALASIvA IN 1907. 



KING SALMON FISHERY. 



The greater part of May and June were devoted by the agents to 

 the fishery for king salmon in southeast Alaska. During the winter 

 and spring months this species is to be found feeding upon the herring, 

 smelt, etc., in most of the bays, sounds, and straits in this section, 

 the chief centers of abundance at this time being Behm and Seymour 

 canals, Auk Bay, and the neighborhood of Klawak. When the time 

 for spawning approaches the fish enter and ascend the Unuk, Stikine, 

 Taku and Alsek rivers, and possibly a few ascend some of the other and 

 smaller streams. The fish are handled mainly by dealers located at 

 Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Douglas, and Juneau. During 

 the months of September and October some fishing for feeding kings 

 is carried on in Seymour Canal and a few other places. 



There was a ver}^ small run of kings in December of 1906. In 

 January and February of this year, two of the best months usually 

 the weather was so excessively cold, and the ice formed so thick, that 

 the fishermen found it impossible to operate their trolling lines. As 

 soon as the weather moderated and the ice melted, fishing was 

 resumed, but the enforced inaction for two months seriously hampered 

 the fishermen and dealers. Several places, particularly Seymour 

 Canal, report a late run of kings in the spring, which still further 

 decreased the output. 



The Taku River and inlet and the Stikine River were the scene of 

 very important fishing operations in May and June, over 100 boats 

 being engaged directly in fishing with gill nets on the Taku alone about 

 the middle of May, and this number was increased later on. 



King salmon were in great demand at certain times, owing to com- 

 petition between the buyers employed by the dealers who shipped the 

 fish fresh to Puget Sound ports and by those who mild-cured them. 

 About the middle of May the prices prevailing in the vicinity of Taku 

 Inlet were as follows: Red-meated kings, 20 pounds and over, 60 

 cents each; all under 20 pounds, 35 cents each ; white-meated kings, 

 30 cents each without regard to size. On June 26 some of the buyers 

 were paying $1.25 for large red-meated fish (14 pounds and up), and 

 the prices are said to have risen even higher than this in a few 

 instances. Very few kings were to be had at this time, however. 



This season for the first time an agent of the Department was on 

 the scene of operations during the net fishing for king salmon, which 

 is carried on in May and June. Earlier than this, as the kings are 

 feeding and do not school, nets are rarely used, but trolling lines in- 

 stead, and the law permits hook-and-linc fishing at all times. Most of 

 the time of observation was given to the Taku as the most important 

 point, where it was found that the fishermen were in ignorance that 

 the laws, especially the portion relating to the weekly closed time, 



