FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 43 



DRY SALTING, SMOKING, FREEZING, ETC. 



Dry salting. — The quantity of salmon, chiefly dogs, prepared in 

 this manner has been falhng off very rapidly since the close of the 

 Russia- Japan war, as the Japanese, who were the chief buyers, are 

 now able to secure nearly all they desire from the island of Sakhalin 

 and the Amur River, in Siberia. The increased Japanese tariff on 

 dry-salted fish, w^hich has become effective since the war, has also 

 proved a serious deterrent to exports from this country. The pro- 

 duction of dry-salted dog salmon reached its height in 1905, when 

 7,280,234 pounds, valued at $115,643, was prepared. The pack in 

 1906 amounted to 1,107,680 pounds, valued at $16,969, and this 

 year the pack still further declined to 107,580 pounds, valued at 

 $1,505. Fortunately the rapidly expanding market for canned dog 

 salmon has more than made .up for the decreased demand for the 

 dry-salted product. 



Smoking. — As in 1906, but one establishment, the Juneau Packing 

 Company, of Juneau, is equipped for smoking on a large scale, and 

 this year the company prepared 53,629 pounds of smoked dog 

 salmon, valued at $1,042. The same company also smokes other 

 fish at this plant, particularly herring. 



A considerable quantity of delicious smoked product, known 

 locally as "bilik," is put up each season at Kodiak, red or silver 

 salmon being used. Steelhead trout are the finest for this style of 

 smoking, as they will remain good for a longer time than the salmon, 

 but they are very scarce in the vicinity of Kodiak. There is a good 

 outside demand for this product by those who have tried it, but as 

 only a small quantity is prepared each season, and it is a favorite 

 with the residents, there is but little surplus to ship away. An 

 excellent trade could be built up if the necessary capital were devoted 

 to the enterprise. The fish, when smoked, sell for from 15 to 20 cents 

 a pair. About 20,000 pounds, valued at $500, were sold this year. 



Freezing. — The only establishment at present engaged in freezing 

 salmon is at Taku Harbor. The quantity prepared each season is 

 small, this year being only 55,367 pounds, valued at $5,130. No 

 king salmon were frozen, the output consisting of red, coho, and dog 

 salmon. 



Fresh salmon. — It is only since the winter of 1905 that the marketing 

 of fresh salmon has attained any prominence. In January of that 

 year the unusual abundance of king salmon attracted the attention of 

 certain Ketchikan dealers, who began buying and shipping the fish to 

 Puget Sound ports. The run lasted until May 18 and during that time 

 271,644 pounds, valued at $15,600, were shipped. The enterprise was 

 conducted on a much wider scale in 1906, buyers being stationed at 

 Ketchikan, Wrangell Narrows, Juneau, and Douglas, and the output 

 amounted to 575,802 pounds of king salmon, valued at $29,584. In 



