FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 45 



price, have prepared goods in a slipshod manner and then disposed 

 of them by cutting below the prices of the more reputable dealers. 

 Such demoralization has given the Pacific coast product a bad name 

 in the markets of the world. 



A considerable part of the output is sold in the West Indies, but 

 does not command as good a price as the Atlantic cod, owing to the 

 fact that heretofore the fish have not been cured dry enough to stand 

 the extreme heat of that region. A special effort is now being made 

 to cater to this trade, however, and doubtless the Pacific product will 

 soon be on a parity with its Atlantic competitor. An inferior grade 

 of salt is used by some curers, and as fish in these cases show exces- 

 sive traces of alkali, certain eastern shipments have either been 

 rejected entirely or had to be sold at a sacrifice. 



Ultimately the chief and most profitable market for Pacific cod will 

 be the Pacific coast and the great Middle West, v/here the people are 

 gradually being instructed in the use of cured fish, a slow process, 

 however, in a section where meat has heretofore held practically 

 unopposed sway. The dealers are now putting up the fish in small 

 and handsome packages which prove very attractive to the consumer. 



It is estimated that the fish caught by the vessels in 1907 averaged 

 5| pounds each, while those caught by the boat fishermen averaged 

 4^ pounds each. The weight seems to vary in the different seasons, 

 one company operating from Unga reporting that its winter-caught 

 fish when salted run about 3,800 pounds to the 1,000, while in the 

 summer the average is 4,000 pounds to the 1,000. 



In winter some of tlie cod, in the neighborhood of Unga at least, 

 become more or less diseased. It is reported that the flesh has dark 

 red spots and sometimes spots of the same color appear on the sldn. 

 This year very few fish were found with scabs. In some parts of 

 Alaska, cod are found with so-called lice (a lernean crustacean) upon 

 them ; fish so afflicted are usually caught in shallow water. The lice 

 do not affect the flesh of the fish, as they are on the outside and can 

 be easily brushed off, and but few are found on cod caught in the 

 neighborhood of the stations. * 



Reports from British Columbia are to the effect that two of the 

 pelagic sealing fleets which operated in Bering Sea made consid- 

 erable catches of cod this summer by fishing on off days from the sides 

 of the vessels. A deep-sea fishing company to operate in Bering Sea 

 has been organized at Victoria, and it is reported several vessels will 

 be sent out next year. 



Cod are reported as abundant in the neigliborhood of St. Lawrence 

 Island, and it is the purpose of the United States Bureau of Educa- 

 tion to send an experienced salter to its station on this island in 1908 

 for the purpose of instructing the natives in the best methods of 

 curing them, the intention being to ship the surplus, if any, to Puget 

 Sound ports for sale. 



