96 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



the spawning grounds. Red salmon in the district as a whole were less 

 plentiful than in the previous year, and the runs were irregular. At 

 Olga Bay the escapement of this species was the best for several years, 

 the escapement at Karluk was fair, and that at Red River was below 

 the average. The runs and escapements of other species were fair. 



Chignik. — The run of red salmon in Chignik River was very light 

 throughout the season and the required 50-percent escapement was 

 obtained only by additional curtailment of commercial fishing. The 

 run of pink salmon was unusually good for this district and was the 

 largest since the season of 1926. The runs and escapements of chum 

 and king salmon were a little above the average, and the run and 

 escapement of cohos was very light. 



Alaska Peninsula. — As in the previous year, the heaviest run of red 

 salmon on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula in 1937 occurred in 

 the last 2 weeks of June, while on the north side of the peninsula the 

 peak of the run was about the middle of July. Red salmon in this 

 district were never abundant throughout the season, and the runs and 

 escapements of cohos and kings were also small. There was an ex- 

 ceptionally heavy odd-year run of pink salmon, which continued 

 strong after the close of the fishing season, assuring an adequate 

 seeding of the spawning beds. The run of chums was good. 



Bristol Bay. — The run of red salmon in Bristol Bay as a whole was 

 light at the beginning of the season but later developed into very good 

 volume. The Nushagak district had the best run in nearly two 

 decades, the fish arriving in large numbers on June 29 and continuing 

 until the middle of July, when there was a tapering off of the larger 

 schools. In the Kvichak-Naknek district the main run occurred after 

 July 10, and the peak of the run in the Egegik district was from 

 July 16 to 20. The season at Ugashik was still later, with few fish 

 until July 20, after which there was a heavy run, reaching the peak of 

 abundance on July 22, and continuing in good numbers after the 

 close of the season. 



Comprehensive surveys, partly by airplane, were made of the 

 various districts after the close of the fishing season. Excellent 

 escapements were observed in the Wood River and Tikchik Lakes 

 systems, in the Lake Clark area of the Kvichak watershed, and in 

 Lake Brooks and Naknek Lake of the Naknek watershed. Streams 

 tributary to Ugashik Lakes were only lightly populated with red 

 salmon, which is normal for this area, and a number of streams in the 

 Egegik district appeared to be seeded to but 25 percent capacity. The 

 seeding of the spawning beds of the Bristol Bay area as a whole, 

 however, was very satisfactory. 



GENERAL STATISTICS OF THE FISHERIES 



The total number of persons engaged in the fisheries of Alaska in 

 1937 was 30,331, or 52 less than in 1936. Fishery products were 

 valued at $51,743,220, an increase of $1,287,948, or about 3 percent, 

 over the value in the preceding year. Of the total amount, 90 percent 

 represented the value of salmon products; 5.6 percent, herring; 1.9 

 Dercent, halibut; and 2.5 percent, the value of all other fishery products. 



