54 



U.S. BUREAU OF FISHEEIES 



WHALES 



Only one whaling station — that of the American Pacific Whaling 

 Co. at Port Hobron — was operated in Alaska in 1932. Four steam 

 whalers were used, and employment was given to 107 whites and 7 

 natives. Two hundred and seventy wdiales were taken, of which 60 

 were finbacks, 128 humpbacks, 78 sulphur bottoms, 2 sperm, and 2 

 right whales. 



The products of the whale fishery were 736,011 gallons of whale 

 oil, valued at $76,379; 7,208 gallons of sperm oil, valued at $884; 

 722 tons of fertilizer from meat, valued at $9,025; and 323 tons of 

 bone fertilizer, valued at $4,845, a total value of products of $91,133. 



CLAMS 



In 1932, as in the previous year, the clam industry was less affected 

 by falling commodity prices than were other branches of the Alaska 

 fisheries, and the pack of clams increased considerably. Several 

 new operators entered the field, the most important of which were 

 the Strand-Jensen Fisheries Co., of Cordova, and the North Pacific 

 Packing Co., Inc., of Seldovia. Although some packing was done 

 at Aniakchak and on Cook Inlet, wdiere operations had not been 

 carried on for a number of years, and although there was a good 

 production from the Kodiak district, particularly from the mainland 

 shores from Kukak Bay to Snug Harbor, the bulk of the output 

 came from the long-established beaches in the vicinity of Cordova. 

 In the last-named region digging was so intensive that it became 

 necessary to close the season June 25, instead of July 15, in order 

 to prevent depletion. 



Employment was given to 697 persons, of whom 572 were whites, 

 109 natives, 12 Japanese, and 4 Filipinos. The output consisted of 

 71,395 cases, containing 1,756,776 pounds (1,754,472 pounds of razor 

 clams and 2.304 pounds of butter clams), and 100 dozen clams in the 

 shell, with a total value of $447,368. Of the canned product, 1,185,042 

 pounds were from the vicinity of Cordova, 316,770 pounds from the 

 Kodiak district, 241.536 pounds from Cook Inlet, 12,948 pounds from 

 Aniakchak, and 480 pounds from southeast Alaska. The total out- 

 put shows an increase of about 59 percent in quantity and 43 percent 

 in value above that for 1931, when clam products amounted to 

 1,108,002 pounds, valued at $312,457. 



Products of the Alaska clcmv industry in 1932 



