110 U-S. BUKEAU OF FISHERIES 



remainder of the season (to October 1). All were recovered within 

 12 miles of the point of tagging of necessity as the fishery was con- 

 ducted around Cape Omnaney during all of the last half of the 1932 

 season. The time elapsing from release to capture varied from 2 to 

 43 days. It is planned to continue these experiments as a knowledge 

 of the grounds occupied by each race of herring during the summer 

 months will permit a more advantageous utilization of this resource 

 for it will then be possible to measure more accurately the abundance 

 of each race of herring and regulate the intensity of fishing in each 

 area accordingly. 



Work has been progressing satisfactorily on the southeastern Alaska 

 racial data. Analyses have been made of vertebral counts, rates of 

 growth, and a few body measurements. Although the analysis is 

 not complete the results so far attained show the presence of several 

 distinct stocks or populations, inhabiting the regions in the vicini- 

 ties of Noyes Island, Cape Omnaney, Peril Strait, Juneau, Petersburg, 

 and Wrangell. 



Samples of herring for racial study were obtained during 1932 from 

 Farragut Bay, Seymour Canal, and Cape Bendel, all in Frederick 

 Sound . These samples should help materially in solving the relation- 

 ship between the herring of the central Chatham Strait region and 

 those in the "inside" waters. 



The annual samples for making the usual observations on the 

 condition of the supply and for the continuing the study of dominant 

 year classes were collected from Prince William Sound. In the 

 Kodiak-Afognak district large samples were obtained from Malina, 

 Paramanof, Uganik, and Shearwater Bays. 



In the Aleutian Islands district a large number of samples were 

 again collected by Marcus Meyers from Dutch Harbor. In this area 

 the 1923 year class has been overwhelmingly dominant since the 

 inception of the fishery in 1928. It has varied from 82 to 60 percent 

 of the catch from 1928 to 1931, inclusive. Since this important 

 fishery has been so largely dependent for several years on the result 

 of one year's spawning it is obvious that a very close watch must be 

 maintained to see that the supply is not entirely depleted before 

 another abundant year class appears in the catch. 



ALASKA. RAZOR-CLAM SURVEY 



Observations on the razor-clam bed in the Prince William Sound, 

 Copper River, and Bering River areas in 1932 were made as in past 

 years by Paul E. Thompson of the Alaska Division, in connection 

 with the enforcement of the clam-fishery regulation. 



Sampling was continued to determine the age composition of the 

 commercial catch and shows that more than 80 percent of the clams 

 taken in 1932 belonged to the 5-, 6-, and 7-year-age groups. Approxi- 

 mately 92 percent of all clams taken in the commercial catch in 1932 

 were mature, but only about 44 per cent had spawned more than 

 once as compared with more than 55 per cent in 1931. An exami- 

 nation of the samples of recent years shows an annual decrease since 

 1929 in the relative numbers of clams of tlie older age groups taken 

 in the commercial fishery. This has been accompanied by an annual 

 increase in the commercial catch of clams 5 years old, most of which 

 have not spawned more than once. 



