56 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



The growth of the Japanese canning industry, which was par- 

 ticipated in in only two cases by American and English capital, for 

 the period from 1910 to 1923, by species, is shown in the following 

 table : 



Siberian salmon pack 



1 Of the total number, 28,956 cases were packed by Russian interests on the Bolshaya River. 

 Note.— From Fish and Fur Supplies of the Far East, 1923, p. 84. 



These plants represented 75 per cent of all canneries, the remainder 

 being scattered at different places. 



Recently plants for canning crabs were established on the western 

 and eastern coasts of Kamchatka, where crabs are to be found in 

 abundance. This is especially true of the western coast, particularly 

 in the region of Ozernaya Creek up to Lopatka Cape. The giant 

 spider crab, Macrocheira Icaemvferi, is of particular interest, although 

 the common Kamchatka spider crab, Paralithodes camchatica, is 

 mostly caught by the fishermen there. The male of the giant spider 

 crab averages 5}4 to 9 pounds, reaching as high as 18 pounds; the 

 female averages 2 to 4}4 pounds, although some specimens with eggs 

 attain a weight of 9 pounds. The fishery is carried on in two 

 seasons — spring and fall. The depth from which the crabs are taken 

 is usually between 140 and 175 feet and does not exceed 350 feet. 

 The map of Kamchatka Peninsula and Okhotsk Sea (fig. 2) shows 

 the location in that region of the most important fisheries for salmon, 

 cod, crabs, and other sea animals. 



OKHOTSK DISTRICT 



The Okhotsk district occupies the eastern shore of the Okhotsk Sea 

 and is about 2,400 miles long. The climate is severe, and fishing is 

 of recent development. This district is considered not to have 

 abundant fish supplies, and in order to provide the natives with suffi- 

 cient fish (their principal item of food) fishing has been prohibited 

 since 1913 in many of its bays, such as Ulya, Arka, Okhota, Kukhtul, 

 Kola, Tau, Yana, Arman, Ola, Yama, and Nayakhan. The output 

 of this district was 5,434,240 pounds in 1911, 7,226,240 pounds in 

 1912, and 7,721,280 pounds in 1913. Besides fish, this district pre- 

 pared 463,680 pounds of Russian caviar in 1913. 



