ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES IN 1924 



By Ward T. Bower, Administrative Officer 



CONTENTS 



Page 



INTRODUCTION!. 66 



Trip of the Commissioner of Fisheries to 



Alaska- 66 



Fisheries advisory committee 67 



Fishery Industries 68 



Alaska fisheries legislation 68 



New fishery regulations .__ 74 



Waters closed to commercial fishing 90 



Afognak Reserve 90 



Annette Island Fishery Reserve 91 



Fishery intelligence service 91 



Stream marking 91 



Stream guards.. _. 91 



Vessel patrol 92 



Complaints and prosecutions 92 



Method of adjusting salmon traps during 



closed period 94 



Robbery offish traps 97 



Territorial license tax 97 



Bristol Bay district 98 



General report of season's operations 98 



Destruction of predatory fishes 99 



New fishery regulations 102 



Run of salmon 102 



Escapement 103 



Patrol 105 



Winter inspection of salmon-spawning 

 grounds of Wood River lake system, 



1922-23 105 



Itinerary 106 



Eflect of ice on salmon spawn. 106 



Water temperatures 107 



Work on predatory fish 107 



Investigations in Nushagak region, fall 

 of 1923. Examination of Tikchik 



lake system 108 



Nushagak River _. 109 



Nuyakuk River 110 



Tikchik lakes 110 



First Nuyakuk Lake 110 



Second Nuyakuk Lake 110 



Chauiskuktuli Lake 111 



Extent of red-salmon run to Tikchik 



lakes Ill 



Other fish in the Tikchik district 112 



Kuskokwim River 112 



Yukon River 112 



Alitak salmon count 113 



Chignik salmon count. 113 



Karluk salmon count 114 



Salmon tagging in southeastern Alaska 115 



Hatcheries 115 



Extent of operations 115 



Hatchery rebates... 116 



Hatchery operations 116 



McDonald Lake 116 



Heckman Lake (Fortmann) 116 



Hugh Smith Lake (Quadra) 116 



Territorial hatcheries 116 



Other hatchery operations 117 



Trout operations 117 



General statistics of the fisheries 117 



Salmon 119 



Catch and apparatus 119 



Canning 121 



Changes in canneries 121 



New canneries 122 



Canneries not operated.. 122 



Total canneries operated 123 



Losses and disasters 125 



Page 

 Fishery Industries— Continued. 

 Salmon— Continued. 

 Canning— Continued. 



Statistics 125 



Pack in certain districts 129 



Mild curing 130 



Pickling... - 131 



Fresh salmon 132 



Freezing 133 



Dry-salting, drying, and smoking 133 



By-products 134 



Herring 134 



Halibut 137 



Cod 137 



Whales 139 



Clams 139 



Shrimp 140 



Crabs 141 



Trout. 141 



Miscellaneous fishery products 141 



Fur-Seal Industry 142 



Pribilof Islands 142 



General administrative work 142 



Purchase and transportation of supplies . 142 



Power schooner Eider 142 



Electric lighting plant 143 



Construction work 143 



Waterworks 143 



By-products plant 144 



Natives 144 



Census.. 144 



Health conditions 144 



Schools _ 144 



Attendance at Salem Indian Training 



School, Chemawa, Oreg 145 



• Savings accounts 145 



Payments for taking sealskins 145 



Payments for taking fox skins 146 



Fur-seal herd 147 



Quota for killing ._ 147 



Killings of seals 147 



Age classes of seals... 148 



Reserving operations 149 



Washing and blubbering of sealskins .. 149 



Census 150 



Development of fox herds on Pribilof 



Islands 150 



St. Paul Island 150 



St. George Island 151 



Fox-trapping season of 1924-25 152 



Reindeer 152 



Fur-seal skins. _ 152 



Shipments 152 



Sales 153 



Disposition of fur-seal skins taken at 



Pribilof Islands 160 



Fox skins 161 



Shipment and sale 161 



Fur-seal pitrnl... 162 



Sealing privileges accorded aborigines 163 



Japanese sealskins delivered to the United 



States 163 



Sale of confiscated sea-otter skins 163 



Fur-Seal Census, Pribilof Islands, 1924.. 164 



Pups 164 



Cows 165 



Bulls 166 



Average harem 166 



Complete census 167 



' Appendix IV to the Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1925. B. F. Doc. 992. 



65 



