62 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



HALIBUT 



Partly as a result of economic conditions and partly because of poor 

 fishing in some localities, the production of halibut in Alaska showed 

 a considerable decline as compared with that of 1929. In accordance 

 with a voluntary agreement among the halibut fishermen, both 

 Canadians and Americans, the fishing season was not opened on the 

 usual date, February 16, but was postponed until two weeks later so 

 that new production would be withheld until the overabundant stocks 

 of frozen halibut from the previous season could be reduced. Despite 

 this action, prices were generally lower throughout the year than in 

 1929, reaching their lowest level in August, when production was at 

 its peak. In September, however, prices became more firm as land- 

 ings decreased, and almost equaled the 1929 figures toward the close 

 of October. 



Further operations to the westward were undertaken, one vessel 

 penetrating as far as the Pribilof Islands in Bering Sea. HaUbut 

 were found in fair numbers, but any extensive exploitation of the 

 fishery in this remote region must await the establishment of local 

 freezing plants or increased facilities for transporting the fish to the 

 Pacific ports. The cold-storage ship Donna Lane was operated by 

 the Utopian Fisheries (Inc.) at Dutch Harbor, where a larger load of 

 halibut was secured than in any preceding year. 



At the request of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association a patrol 

 of the halibut banks was maintained by the Coast Guard Service at 

 the beginning of the fishing season and again toward its close, to 

 guard against disasters. Fortunately no serious trouble developed. 

 Weather conditions were unusually favorable during the greater part 

 of the season and the loss of life and property in Alaskan waters was 

 less than for several years. One man was killed by an explosion in 

 the engine room of the Alien on Portlock Bank, and another was lost 

 overboard from the Grayling. The schooner Panama was driven 

 ashore on Marmot Island in the first part of the season and was totally 

 wrecked, but with no loss of life. The Omaney was wrecked on 

 Sitkalidak Island, and the Liberty grounded on a reef in the vicinity 

 of Trinity Islands; both were subsequently refloated and taken to 

 Kodiak for repairs. 



The work of investigating the life history of the Pacific halibut was 

 continued by the International Fisheries Commission under the 

 supervision of Dr. Will F. Thompson. This included tagging experi- 

 ments, collection of eggs and larvae, and compilation of statistics on 

 the fishery along the same lines as in previous seasons. The schooner 

 Dorothy was again chartered for carrying on these oceanic studies, 

 which were extended into Bering Sea. The Canadian schooner 

 Melville was used also by the commission for field work. 



A new convention between the United States and Canada for the 

 preservation of the halibut fishery of the northern Pacific Ocean and 

 Bering Sea was signed at Ottawa on May 9, 1930, to replace that 

 signed at Washington on March 2, 1923. The general principles 

 of the earlier agreement are embodied in the new", which also gives 

 effect to recommendations made by the International Fisheries Com- 

 mission and grants to that body additional regulatory powers, with 

 the ])r()vision that its projiosed regulations shall be subject to the 

 approval of the President of the United States and the Governor 

 General of the Dominion of Canada. Under the terms of the new 



