48 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



of 25 fathoms. The traps are lifted at frequent intervals and the catch removed and 

 sorted. Only crabs measuring 6 inches or more in breadth are saved. The others, 

 which include all females, are released. The large ones are placed in a live-box and 

 taken to the cannery. Crabs will live out of water for about 12 hours if kept in a 

 cool place, and if kept in sea water they will live much longer. They feed on dead 

 fish, animal matter, and such marine forms as they can catch. Moreover, they are 

 cannibalistic and often kill and devour their own kind. If crabs of different sizes 

 should be placed in a small tank, it would not be many days before there would be 

 but one left, and it, the largest of the lot, the others because of their lesser size having 

 become the legitimate prey of the largest one. 



Near the mouths of creeks and rivers crabs seem to be most abundant, perhaps 

 because the streams have made deposits of silt, forming suitable depths of water. 

 The matured female crabs measure from 4 to 5^ inches in width and are not offered 

 for sale, which is a fortunate circumstance in the preservation of the species. Common 

 oralis have been found from August to December carrying their eggs, but they are 

 not then taken on open sand or mud bottoms, as they prefer to inhabit rocky bottoms 

 and patches of seaweed. Crabs have been found shedding their shells from June 

 17 to August 9, but molting occurs chiefly in July. They are not then fit for food, as 

 the meat is soft and watery and much of their substance is required to make the rapid 

 growth of both body and shell. During the molting stage they seek protection in 

 secluded places. 



When the crabs are delivered at the cannery, they are first placed in boiling water 

 for about 15 minutes, after which they are taken by the sides and struck across a 

 sharp edge of wood along the center of the back, thus breaking them into two pieces. 

 The digestive organs are then removed and the meat is washed clean, preparatory 

 to its being picked out of the shell and packed in half-pound cans lined with oiled 

 paper. The body and leg meat is placed in the cans in alternate layers, and when 

 the cans are filled the edge of the paper lining is folded over the meat so that the meat 

 does not come in contact with the tin. The cans are next put through the capping 

 machine, which caps and seals them, and then into the retort for cooking, which 

 requires 50 minutes. When prepared for shipment a case of crabs contains 48 one- 

 half pound cans. The average amount of meat from a 6 to 9 inch crab is a little less 

 than 8 ounces. 



MINOR FISHERIES. 

 TROUT. 



The production of trout in 1921 was 133,504 pounds of fresh, 

 frozen, and pickled Dolly Vardens and steelheads, valued at $18,925, 

 as compared with a production of 99,030 pounds, valued at $13,155, 

 in 1920. The bulk of the output came from southeast Alaska. 

 There is no investment in this business, as no exclusively trout 

 industry or fishery exists. The catch of trout is incidental to fishing 

 for salmon. 



Prodticts of Alaska trout fishery in 1921. 



CLAMS. 



The production of clam products in Alaska in 1921 was limited 

 to a pack of 1,420 cases of whole clams by the Surf Packing Co. at 

 Tuxedni Harbor, in the Cook Inlet district, incidental to the canning 

 of salmon. The pack was valued at $9,940. The total Alaska pack 

 of clam products in 1920 was 6,833 cases, valued at $46,812. 



