PACIFIC COD FISHERIES 



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later on the Sannak Bank. A few start fishing at Cape Pankof . 

 off the southern side of Unimak Island, as stated above, and work 

 thence onto Sannak Bank, where they finish the season. 



One great advantage the Pacific fisherman has over his Atlantic- 

 brother is that he does not lose any time because of enemies of the 

 cod driving them off the banks, as is the case in the east, where 

 vessels are sometimes tied up for weeks on account of dogfish. 

 While the dogfish is to be found in Alaska waters, it is not suffi- 

 ciently abundant to become a pest. 



All Pacific codfishing is done in the daytime. Owing to the high 

 latitude of the banks and the fact that the vessel fishing season is 

 the summer time, when the hours of daylight are most numerous, the 

 hours of darkness rarely exceed four and are even less during June 

 and July. 



Fig. 8.- — A cod fisherman's home on Sannak Island, Alaska 



Early in the morning the dories are put over the sides of the 

 vessel, which has been anchored in a favorable spot. Each dory is 

 equipped with the necessary fishing lines, a small sail, a water beaker, 

 a windlass for hauling in the anchor, a 10 or 14 pound anchor, a 

 small keg buoy, a knife for cutting bait and bleeding the fish, a gaff 

 for handling the large fish and with which most of the fishermen 

 stun or kill the fish by striking it on the head with the handle. 



But one man goes in a dory, and each rows away in search of a 

 good place to fish. The direction in which they row is to a great 

 extent governed by the tide and force of the wind, the idea being to 

 utilize the wind and tide to help in getting back to the ship when the 

 full dory would make rowing laborious. As the fish at times seem to 

 be quite numerous in small, isolated areas, considerable luck enters 



