420 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Unimak Pass, while in 1918 the Bering Sea Fisheries Co. opened an 

 important station on Unalaska Island. 



A notable feature of the industry in recent years has been the 

 large number of individuals and meagerly financed companies pre- 

 paring stockfish for the market. This work is carried on mainly 

 during the winter months, when fishing for other species than cod 

 is suspended. It requires but little capital, and as the demand in 

 Washington has been fairly good, it has proved a remunerative 

 source of income to the more energetic fishermen. The following 

 statistics show the fluctuations in this branch of the industry in 

 recent years : 



Year 



1921 

 19^2 



1923 

 1924 



Pounds 



678, 422 

 64, 000 

 39, 800 

 39,300 



Value 



$74, 626 

 9,600 

 5,970 

 5,869 



In 1923 the San Juan Fishing & Packing Co. opened a shore sta- 

 tion at Unalaska, and also has the power schooner San Jose (14 net 

 tons) , formerly engaged in halibut fishing, operating with the station 

 as her base. 



PERSONS EMPLOYED 



With the exception of the owners, a few of the higher officials 

 ashore, and several of the captains, but a sriiall number of those en- 

 gaged in the industry are native Americans. The large majority 

 are of Scandinavian birth, with a few Finns, Germans, Canadians, 

 etc. At the stations quite a few natives are employed as fishermen. 

 No orientals are employed except occasionally as cooks at the stations. 



The captains and mates of the vessels are almost all men who have 

 worked up from the ranks of the fishermen. Operating on the cod- 

 fish banks of Alaska requires considerable local knowledge of the 

 banks, of the prevailing winds, and also of the most convenient spots 

 for shelter and for water. While the majority of them are good 

 navigators, a few are sadly deficient in this respect, yet their knowl- 

 edge of Alaska conditions enables them to make about as many suc- 

 cessful trips as their fellows who are better grounded in the science. 



The men in charge of the stations are generally fishermen who have 

 worked up from the ranks. While some of these men are excellent 

 workers, with considerable native shrewdness, yet as the necessities 

 of the industry require their constant presence in Alaska, they get 

 very little opportunity to keep in touch with the world's progress, 

 and generally continue throughout their business life to carry on 

 business in the same old groove in which it was running at the time 

 responsibility fell upon them. They are also a very poorly paid 

 class of men, with virtually no opportunity for advancement be- 

 yond the position of station agent. This largely explains why the 

 codfish industry of the Pacific coast is but little further advanced 

 to-day, so far as methods of catching and curing the fish are con- 

 cerned, than it was 50 years ago. 



