ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1930 23 



The first king salmon were caught in the south mouth of the river 

 on June 7; the main run began on June 10 and lasted until July 15. 

 Chum salmon were late in entering the river, the run starting on 

 July 3; and while not as large as usual, the run held fairly steady 

 until August 10. A few cohos appeared during the latter part of 

 July, and a big run came into the river about September 1 . 



Several schools of beluga whales were seen during the summer, a 

 few being as far up the river as Hoh'' Cross, which is unusual. The 

 natives killed a considerable number of them and also of hair seals. 

 The eel run, which is of importance for dog feed as a substitute for 

 tallow or other grease, was very light this fall. 



Weather conditions during much of the season were decidedly 

 unfavorable for salmon-fishing operations. Prevailing south and 

 southeast winds during June and July delayed the salmon entering 

 the river. In August the weather was continuously stormy and the 

 river was unusually high. At the river mouth nearly all the operators 

 had their catch dried before the rainy season set in, but from Mountain 

 Village to Eussian Mission most of the fish rotted and fell from the 

 racks. On the Tanana River the catch of chums and kings was light, 

 as the water was over the banks all summer and prevented operation 

 of the wheels, but the catch of cohos was the best in years, and favor- 

 able drying weather after the first of September facilitated the curing 

 of the fish. 



Products of the Yukon and Tanana fisheries were as follows: 386 

 cases of kings canned; 8,500 pounds of kings, 2,750 pounds of cohos, 

 and 1,200 pounds of chums pickled; 456 pounds of beleke from kings; 

 500 pounds of kippered kings; and 2 tons of kings, 116 tons of cohos, 

 and 295^2 tons of chums dried. Apparatus consisted of 211 wheels, 

 118 gill nets of 925 fathoms, 1 power vessel, 2 launches, 6 gill-net 

 boats, and miscellaneous small boats. There were 17 whites and 306 

 natives engaged in the fishery. 



WEIRS FOR COUNTING SALMON ESCAPEMENT 



The operation of weirs for counting the number of salmon that 

 ascend to the spawning grounds provides a means of determining the 

 ratio between the catch and escapement and furnishes information of 

 value in connection with studies of the life history of the fish. These 

 studies are important not only from the scientific standpoint but for 

 practical conservation purposes. Twenty-six weirs were established 

 in typical salmon streams of Alaska in 1930, an increase of six over 

 the number operated in 1929. Of these, 9 were in southeastern, 13 

 in central, and 4 in western Alaska. 



Reports of operations of the several weirs and of the counts of 

 salmon in 1930 are as follows: 



ANAN CREEK 



Supplies and lumber for use in connection with weir operations were 

 transported to Anan Creek on May 18 and 19. Preliminary work of 

 putting the cabin and equipment in order, clearing the trail, and trans- 

 ferring lumber to the weir site occupied several days. Construction 

 of the weir was begun on May 22 and completed on June 7, the work 

 having })een hindered considerably b^^ high water. A few steelhead 

 trout were noted ascending the stream each day froju the time weir 



