ALASKA FISHERY AjSTD FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1920. 



67 



Investment. Persons Engaged, and Products of Alaska Shore AYhaung 

 Operations in 1919. 



' Gallons. 



' Tons. 



* Pounds. 



CLAM CANNING. 



A few years ago the canninfr of clams in xVlaska fjave promise of 

 becoming an industry of some conse(iuence, as it was then generally 

 held that the areas occupied by clams were reasonably' extensiv'e, 

 fairly accessible, and that they might support an independent indus- 

 try for some time to come; but to date almost no attemi)t has been 

 made to develop clam fisheries at any other locality than the Cordova 

 district. Production in that field began to decline in 1919. The re- 

 sults of operations in 1920, with only one company packing clams at 

 Cordova as against three in 1918, show that this decline is still in 

 progress. In addition to the exhaustion of the clam beds it was also 

 apparent that the increasing cost of the raw product to the packers 

 was a vital factor in the life of the industry. Owing to the diminu- 

 tion in the supply of clams the diggers encountered greater difficulty 

 in making wages, which necessitated a demand from them for a 

 higher rate per pound for clams. 



Clam canning was carried on by the Pioneer Packing Co., at Cor- 

 dova; Surf Packing Co., at Chisik Island. Cook Inlet; and the 

 Douglas Island Packing Co., at Douglas. These companies were 

 also engaged in canning salmon, for which reason the plant invest- 

 ment is credited to that indu.stry. There were employed 57 diggers, 

 to whom wages amounting to $9,887 were paid. A total of 6,833 

 cases of clams and clam juice was prepared, the value of which was 

 $46,812. 



