90 REPOET OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE 



in places where such action was deemed necessary to secure the 

 escapement required by law of not less than 50 percent of the salmon 

 runs, and additional restrictions were placed on the taking of razor 

 clams in order to prevent depletion of the beds. 



A patrol of the fishing grounds was maintained to enforce the 

 laws and regulations for the protection of the fisheries. Twelve 

 statutory employees and 206 temporary stream guards and special 

 workmen were identified with this work in 1932, in addition to the 

 crews of 15 Bureau vessels and 8 chartered boats. 



Attention was given to the improvement of salmon streams by 

 removing obstructions that prevented the ascent of salmon to the 

 spawning grounds, and by destroying predatory enemies of salmon. 

 The latter work was carried on chiefly in connection with the opera- 

 tion of salmon-counting weirs in parts of central and western Alaska. 

 At its 1933 session the Territorial Legislature again made an appro- 

 priation for this purpose, and it is planned that a considerable part 

 of the amount available will be spent for bounty on predatory trout 

 in the Bristol Bay region. 



ALASKA SALMON HATCHERIES 



At the Government hatcheries at Afognak and on McDonald 

 Lake 44,651,800 red-salmon eggs were collected in 1932, as well as 

 3,082,500 pink-salmon eggs. Shipments of 3,011,000 red-salmon eggs 

 and 2,608,000 pink-salmon eggs in the eyed stage were forwarded 

 to Seattle in the fall. At the privately owned hatchery, operated 

 under the provisions of the Alaska fisheries act of June 26, 1906, 

 25,895,000 red-salmon eggs were collected. 



PRODUCTS OF THE FISHERIES 



Notwithstanding the marked curtailment of fishing effort in the 

 Alaska salmon industry in 1932, the total output of fishery products 

 exceeded that of the previous year because of a substantial increase 

 in the herring production and the resumption of operations by one 

 of the whaling stations. Although there was an increase of 1 per- 

 cent in the total yield of fishery products, as compared with that 

 for 1931, the total value decreased about 25 percent. 



Salmon products comprised about 77 percent in quantity and 90 

 percent in value of the total output of the Alaska fisheries in 1932. 

 Ninety-four percent of the salmon production consisted of canned 

 salmon, the pack amounting to 5,254,000 cases, or 252,215,000 pounds, 

 valued at $21,716,000. As compared with the pack of the preceding 

 year, the output of canned salmon in 1932 showed a decrease of 3 

 percent in quantity and 25 percent in value. The number of can- 

 neries operated dropped from 116 in 1931 to 87 in 1932. 



The total output of Alaska fishery products in 1932 was 349,635,- 

 000 pounds, valued at $25,029,000, as compared with an average of 

 361,590,000 pounds, valued at $43,356,000, for the 5-year period from 

 1927 to 1931, inclusive. The value of the 1932 catch to the fishermen 

 was approximately $6,971,000, or about $3,072,000 less than in the 

 preceding year. There were 20,000 persons employed in the various 

 branches of the industry, as against 22,500 in 1931. 



