FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 33 



on August 5, 1907, and consisted in fishing in tlie early hours of Mon- 

 day morning before 6 o'clock, a considerable catch of red and hump- 

 back salmon having been made. Complaint was made to the salmon 

 agent by other fishermen whose prospects were prejudiced by the ille- 

 gal fishing, since they would have properly shared in the salmon run 

 after 6 o'clock. This case was taken directly to the grand jury, which 

 returned an indictment October 19. The accused was arraigned Octo- 

 ber 28, pleaded guilty, and was fined $50. The fine was paid. 



A claim was presented at Juneau May 16 by a Kake Indian, who 

 stated that his exclusive fishing rights in certain streams in the region 

 of Pillar Bay had been encroached upon. Such alleged Indian rights, 

 wliicli are continually being contended for, are not recognized by law, 

 and accordingly no action was taken in this case further than investiga- 

 tion to determine whether any of the reported fishing was in fact 

 illegal. No proof was obtained, and the native policeman in the 

 locality reported that he had received no complaints. 



CATCH OF SALMON. 



Below will be found a table showing, for the geographic sections, 

 by apparatus and species and by species alone, the catch of salmon for 

 the years 1906 and 1907. 



The noticeable feature of this table is the increase in the number 

 of salmon taken by seines and traps and the decrease in the gill-net 

 catch. The increase in the seine catch consists almost wholly of 

 humpbacks. Red and humpback salmon comprise the bulk of the in- 

 crease in the trap catch, while dog salmon show a large decrease. The 

 decrease in the gill-net catch is due mainly to a falling off in the num- 

 ber of red and dog salmon taken. All of the seine increase occurred in 

 southeast Alaska, where there was a very good run of humpbacks. 

 Both southeast and central Alaska show increases in trap-net catch, 

 due in the former to an increased number of humpback and in the 

 latter to an increase in the number of red salmon secured. The trap- 

 net catch of western Alaska shows a decrease, mainly in dog and 

 humpback salmon, although the red salmon thus caught show an 

 increase. All three sections show a decrease in the catch by gill nets. 

 The line catch also shows a material decrease. 



The table shows also a large increase (4,960,723 fish) in the catch 

 of humpback salmon, a considerable decrease in the catch of dog 

 salmon, and a small decrease in the catch of coho salmon. Despite 

 the poor run in the Nushagak, the net red salmon decrease was only 

 369,651 fish. Southeast and central Alaska show aggregate increases, 

 while western Alaska shows a decrease. In southeast Alaska the 

 mcrease is mainly in humpback salmon, and in central Alaska in red 

 and humpback. The principal decreases in western Alaska are in dog 

 and red salmon, due almost wholly to the very light run in the 

 Nushagak. 



