690 Cr. S. BtJREAtr OF FISHERIES 



Nothing further appears to have been done in this line until in 1903, 

 when a Berlin fish merchant outfitted and sent to the Siberian coast 

 a refrigerator steamer with a capacity of 2,500 tons. The fish were 

 caught mainly in the Amur River and were frozen immediately after 

 being brought aboard. In all, 160,000 salmon were obtained, and 

 these were in excellent condition when landed at Hamburg, Germany. 



In 1907 the Salmon Steam Fishing Co., a combined British and 

 Japanese company, chartered the steamers Zenobia and Zephyrus. 

 These vessels were fitted with refrigerating apparatus and cold-stor- 

 age chambers and sent to the Kamchatkan Peninsula to get a cargo. 

 Both secured good cargoes. 



In 1909 two refrigerating steamers visited the coast and froze salmon 

 for the European market. One vessel was outfitted by a British 

 company and the other by a German company, J. Lindenberger (Inc.). 

 The latter reported that the chum salmon, the principal species frozen, 

 were large and very bright. The British steamer left England in 

 April and arrived home again late in December. 



CANNING SALMON 



In 1900 the Kamchatka Commercial & Industrial Co. (Ltd.), was 

 organized at St. Petersburg, Russia, by A. T. Prozoraf, president of 

 the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce; P. M. Grunwalt; H. T. M. 

 Court, and A. A. Prozoraf, secretary. A complete canning outfit was 

 purchased in the United States, and the first cannery in Siberia estab- 

 lished at Petropavlovsk, Avacha Bay, Kamchatka. 



The San Francisco Trade Journal, under date of December 19, 1902, 

 printed the following item relating to the operations of this cannery: 



On December 8 the Russian barkentine Bilte arrived from Petropavlovsk, 

 Siberia, with 10,43G cases canned salmon. This is the first consignment of salmon 

 received from them. 



The greater part of the pack comprised chum salmon, although they 

 were labeled "pink" salmon, the rest being reds and kings. 



In 1903 the company did not operate, the fishing season being 

 devoted to moving the plant to Ust-Kamchatka, at the mouth of the 

 Kamchatka River, where, after being in use altogether for two or 

 three years, it was abandoned. 



In 1907 two canneries were established in the estuary of the Amur 

 River, near Nikolaevsk, but beyond getting out samples they were 

 never operated. 



In 1910 A. G. Denbigh, an Englishman, built a modern cannery 

 near the second site of the Kamchatkan Commercial & Industrial Co. 

 That year the cannery produced only about 10,000 cases, but each 

 year since the equipment of the plant has been enlarged and improved 

 until in 1913 the pack amounted to 60,000 cases. Early in 1914 a 

 complete two-line plant of American can-packing machinery was 

 installed. • 



In 1912 Mr. Denbigh built another cannery IK miles away from the 

 above plant. This plant was first operated with German and Nor- 

 wegian sanitary machinery, but in 1914 a two-line American sanitary 

 can-packing plant was installed, the can-making plant at the first 

 plant making all the cans needed at the two canneries. 



In 1915 a number of additions were made to both plants in the line 

 of flat fillers, etc., while still more were in contemplation for 1916. 



