136 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



WHALES 



The North Pacific Sea Products Co. again operated its plant at 

 Akutan, Alaska, using six steam whalers during the season. Employ- 

 ment was given to 121 whites and 24 natives. The company took 

 496 whales in all, consisting of 233 finbacks, 193 humpbacks, 36 sul- 

 phur bottoms, 33 sperm, and 1 right whale. Capt. Louis L. Lane, 

 with the Gunnar, also engaged in capturing whales in Prince William 

 Sound and Cook Inlet and around Kodiak Island for sale as fox food 

 to ranches along the coast. He disposed of 1 finback and 15 hump- 

 backs in this way. 



The investment in the commercial whale fishery was $545,074 and 

 the products were as follows: 848,850 gallons of whale oil, valued at 

 $509,310; 114,400 gallons of sperm oil, valued at $46,637; 1,069 tons 

 of fertilizer from meat, valued at $53,372; 153 tons of bone fertilizer, 

 valued at $3,927; 127,149 pounds of pickled meat, valued at $6,113; 

 and 16 whale carcasses, valued at approximately $5,600, a total 

 value of products of $624,959, or an increase of 59.5 per cent over 

 1924 when products were valued at $391,781. 



CLAMS 



H. C. McMillin, who assisted Dr. F. W. Weymouth in an exten- 

 sive survey of the clam beds in Alaska in 1924, was in the Cordova 

 district again for a short time in the 1925 season. The following 

 discussion of conditions is taken from his report : 



The season of 1925 has been very much better than was anticipated. Large 

 clams showed well throughout the early part of the season and until I left the 

 beds on July 9. The pack is somewhat larger than we expected, but it was 

 obtained from large-sized mature clams. 



The present regulation [4^-inch minimum] has been a benefit to the canneries 

 and diggers alike, although there are some statements to the contrary. It is 

 evident that large clams are handled more easily, but the main benefit that I 

 have observed is the lack of waste. Last year [1924 season] great numbers of 

 small clams were lost through the screens at the weigh scows, some were thrown 

 out with the shells, and still more were wasted by the cleaners. Clams shrink 

 during the scalding process to such an extent that those less than the present 

 legal size can not be handled without waste. 



The catch of 1925 has been handled efficiently. The number of small clams, 

 less than 4^ inches, has been very limited, due to two things: (1) The good 

 showing of large clams, and (2) the present size limit. As some sections of the 

 beds would produce small clams on unfavorable tides, the greater credit belongs 

 to the latter. 



While the present pack is more than the beach will support, it is a material 

 reduction from former years, and further reductions can be looked for in the 

 future. In the steady decrease of the annual catch on the Washington beds 

 there are records of good years in which large clams appeared in numbers. These 

 seasons were followed by poor years, due to the reduced number of mature clams. 

 If this can be compared with Cordova, the future pack will be reduced to what the 

 beds can support by the operation of the present size limit. 



The size limit of 4J/£ inches was fixed after a careful study of the natural 

 history of the animal, and further work on the maturity has more than justified 

 the conclusion of those who determined it. Under the protection of this limit 

 every clam is allowed to mature and spawn at least once. A reduction in the 

 size limit would very seriously impair its usefulness. • 



As has been stated before, some sections of the beach have been closed by the 

 present limit. It has worked far better than closure by geographical boundaries 

 which would be impossible to describe and would change as bars and channels 

 shift. It also allows the diggers to operate during the lowest tides on beaches 

 that would otherwise be closed. 



