U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



INTRODUCTION 



The Bureau's work in connection with the conservation of the fish- 

 eries of Alaska and the protection and management of the Pribilof 

 Islands fur-seal herd was continued along the usual lines. An in- 

 spection of the fishery and fur-seal activities was agaic made by the 

 Commissioner of Fisheries. The Secretary of Commerce also ob- 

 served these activities in his tour of the Territory to sur.vey the De- 

 partment's work. 



As the runs of salmon in general were satisfactory, comparatively 

 few additional restrictions on commercial fishing were necessary during 

 the season. Among the modifications of the regulations were those 

 permitting limited commercial fishing for king salmon in the Yukon 

 and Kuskokwim Rivers by residents of the locality, in accordance 

 with provisions of an act of Congress of April 16, 1934. 



Although some branches of the industry were adversely affected by 

 the water-front strike on the Pacific coast and by fishermen's strikes in 

 southeast Alaska and the Copper River area, the output of fishery 

 products for the season showed a considerable gain, both in quantity 

 and value, over that for 1933. A new record was set in the production 

 of canned salmon, with a total pack of 7,481,830 cases, or 828,948 

 cases more than the previous record pack of 1926. 



A patrol was maintained during the most active part of the fishing 

 season, 164 temporary employees being identified with this work for 

 varying periods, in addition to the regular employees and crews of 

 the Bureau's patrol vessels. Effective use was made of chartered 

 airplanes as a supplementary patrol, chiefly during the weekly closed 

 periods, and for supervisory work and the inspection of spawning 

 areas. 



Life-history studies of the salmon and herring were continued. 

 Weirs for counting the escapement of salmon to the spawning grounds 

 were operated in 12 typical salmon streams. At several of these weirs 

 attention was given to the destruction of trout that feed upon young 

 salmon, and in the Bristol Bay region bounties were paid on predatory 

 trout through fimds provided by the Territory and by local packers. 



Allotments by the Public Works Administration for reestablishing 

 weirs, overhauling and repairir^ Al&ska vessels, and reconditioning 

 and repairing buildings at the Pribilof Islands were of material ag^st- 

 ance in furthering the Bureau's work. A stream-clearing project to 

 improve salmon-spawning conditions in southeast Alaska was made 

 possible by the Civil Works Administration and gave temporary 

 employment to approximately 200 persons during the winter. 



Sealing activities at the Pribilof Islands resulted in the take of 

 53,468 fur-seal skins. Killings were confined as far as possible to 

 3-year-old male seals, and sufficient animals of this age class were 

 reserved for future breeding stock. A computation of the fur-seal 

 herd as of August 10, 1934, showed 1,430,418 animals of all classes, 

 or an increase of 8.4'8 percent over the previous year. 



Attention was given to the feeding and care of blue-fox herds on 

 St. Paul and St. George Islands during the winter, and 983 blue and 

 19 white-fox skins were taken on the two islands in the 1934-35 season. 



Some permanent improvements were made at the islands in the way 

 of new buildings and extensions of surfaced roads to expedite the 

 fur-seal work. 



