472 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



In 18/9 Holbrook & Co., and Lane, Pike & Nelson dropped out, 

 and Haigh & Sons (succeeded in 1884 by the Bon Accord Packinc^ 

 Co.) commenced operations. ' *' 



King & Co. wei-e burned out in 1880, and Adair & Co., afterwards 

 known as the Wellington Packing Co., commenced. A year later 

 Laidlaw & Co. commenced operations. 



In 1882 the British Union Packing Co., afterwards known as the 

 Harlock Packing Co., commenced packing sahnon. The British- 

 American cannery and J. H. Todd & Sons (Richmond cannery) also 

 began operations. 



Joseph Spratt started a floating cannery, known as "Spratt's Ark," 

 m 1883; he retn-ed at the end of two years. E. A. Wadhams also 

 began operations in 1883. In 1887 the Holly cannery was built on 

 Lulu Island opposite Deas Island. The high water of June, 1894, 

 partially destroyed it and the site was abandoned. 



The Anglo-British Columbia Packing Co. was formed in 1891, tak- 

 mg over the canneries formerly operated by the British Columbia 

 Packmg Co. (old Annieyille plant), E. A. Wadhams, British-American 

 Packmg Co., Canoe Pass Canning Co., Duncan & Batchelor (Britannia 

 cannery), and English & Co. (Phoenix cannery). 



Three canneries were started in 1889, 2 in 1892, 6 in 1893, 4 in 1894, 

 4 m 1895, 7 in 1896, 9 in 1897, but only 1 in 1898. During the period 

 1899 to 1901, 7 were started. 



Like the other canning sections, British Columbia suffered in 1901 

 from an oyersupply of canned salmon, due to the large number of 

 plants which had been erected and which were producing more 

 salmon than market could be found for. At this juncture the British 

 Colum})ia Packers Association was formed. It embraced 29 out of 

 the 48 plants on^the Eraser Riyer and 12 of those situated in Northern 

 British Columbi'a waters, including the following ])lants: Ewen & Co., 

 Delta, Harlock, Wellington, Lulu Island, Terra Noya, Pacific Coast, 

 Canadian Pacific, Short & Squair (Imperial cannery), Brunswick can- 

 neries at Steyeston and Canoe Pass, Dinsmore Island, Sea Island, 

 Fisherman's Packing Co., Reliance cannery. Atlas cannery, Boutiliar 

 & Co., Hume & Co., Anglo-American, Proyincial, Westham Island, 

 ^^ estminster Packing Co., Premier, Clcye, Welsh Bros., Currie, McWil- 

 hams & Fowler, Colonial, Greenwood, Wui'zburg & Co., and the Acme 

 Canning Co. In 1914, the corporation style was changed to the 

 British Columbia Fishing & Packing Co. (Ltd.). 



During the period from 1902 to 1918 a number of new canneries were 

 started in this region. The blocking of Hell Gate Canyon in 1913 by 

 a rock slide— together with the dumping of debris from a railroad 

 being built through the canyon, described elsewhere in this report- 

 was a great disaster to the salmon industry. The efiects of this dis- 

 aster, which were not obseryable until the season four years later, led 

 to a tremendous decrease of the quadre.nnial big year— in one of 

 which the blockade occurred — and this soon led to a corresponding 

 decrease in the number of canneries operating. In 1928 the number 

 had dropped to four. 



In 1928 the British Columbia Packers (Ltd.)— an $8,000,000 cor- 

 poration—was formed to take over the British Columbia Fishing & 

 Packmg Co. (Ltd.) and the Gosse Packing Co. (Ltd.) This gives the 

 new company control of 39 active canneries, 5 reduction plants, and 3 

 cold-storage plants, making it the largest in British Columbia. 



