PACIFIC SALMOl^ FISHERIES. 



259 



In the Okhotsk district the catch amounted to 827,274 keta and 

 37,790 krasnaia. Of salmon caviar 489 tons were prepared by the 

 Japanese and 60 tons by the Russians. 



In 1915 about 50,000 barrels of pickled salmon were prepared on 

 the Amur River. In the sections covered by the Fishing Convention 

 6,000,000 salmon, mostly keta with a few krasnaia, were dry-salted, 

 while 80,000,000 humpback salmon, called ''salmon trout" in Japan, 

 were so prepared. No fish were frozen for the European market, due 

 to the war. A considerable quantity of caviar was prepared, but the 

 quantity is unknown. The pack of canned salmon is shown elsewhere. 



In the ''Pacific Fisherman" (February, 1917), Seattle, Wash., 

 its Hakodate (Japan) correspondent reports the foUowmg partic- 

 ulars of the 1916 salmon season: 



Durins the year 1916 the salmon catches in the States of Kamchatka and Okhotsk, 

 Siberia, varied greatly according to districts. On the west coast of Kamchatka and 

 Okhotsk there "was a big run all season, but the run on the east coast of Kamchatka 

 was extremely poor, except in the Kamchatka Ri^ er. The distribution of salmon 

 varieties is always limited to about the following districts: 



Chums are present in large quantities on the east coast of Kamchatka and Okhotsk, 

 but on the west coast of Kamchatka they are never plentiful. 



Red salmon are almost entirely limited to two districts, the Kamchatka and Ozer- 

 naya rivers, being ^■ery scarce in other districts. 



Humpbacks are found all along the coast, but most especially in the district of 

 Boliskreska [Boli-heryetzk], where there is always a large run. 



Silver salmon are found in small ([uantities on the west and east coasts of Kam- 

 chatka at certain seasons of every year. 



King salmon are present in very limited quantities, early in the season on the west 

 and east coasts of Kamchatka. 



There were 17 canneries operated in 1916, and they packed about 470,000 cases. 

 There were 218 fishing places on the shores, and the number of salmon caught during 

 the season was 94,582,228. 



All the salmon packers and fishermen in Sil)eria have used steamers for the trans- 

 portation of their goods for sca eral years past, but owing to the high rates now prevail- 

 ing on steamer tonnage they were obliged again to make use of sailing \ essels. Prices 

 of all equipment and outfits for the canneries and salting stations were from 30 per 

 cent to 50 per cent higher than for the previous year, but as a result of the strong 

 demand for salmon products due to the European war, all the markets are in good condi- 

 tion. Accordingly, preparations for the coming season are expected to be on a more 

 extensive scale, botn as to number and size of canneries and de\elopment of the 

 fisheries. 



The above statement is accompanied by the following estimate of the number of 

 salmon caught in 1916 in the States of Kamchatka and Okhotsk, except in the rivers: 



FREEZING SALMON. 



As when the Russians owned Alaska, the exploitation of Siberia 

 was carried on for many years by trading companies with large 

 powers granted by the Government. In 1892 a very enterprising 

 company was in charge, judging from the following extract from a 

 letter written on February 2, 1893, by the late Eugene G. Blackford, 



