106 U. S. BUREAU or FISHERIES 



Salt Sea Fisheries, at Tenakee. both of which burned down in Novem- 

 ber. The total reported losses in the fisheries industry in southeast 

 Alaska amounted to $376,240. 



Operators in central Alaska reported property losses totaling 

 $44,061, the principal item being the vessel North Dakota, which, with 

 fishing apparatus, was valued at $9,900. 



In western Alaska the herring saltery of the Golovin Bay Packing 

 Co., on Golovin Bay, which had not been operated for two seasons, 

 was burned down about the middle of October, with a loss amounting 

 to $21,250. Other reported losses, consisting chiefly of boats and 

 gear, brought the total for the western district to $37,742. 



Twenty-one lives were lost during the year — 11 in southeast, 6 in 

 central, and 4 in w^estem Alaska. In the southeastern district 8 

 fishermen and 1 transporter were dro\\Tied, 1 fisherman met death by 

 accident, and 1 shoresman died of disease. Two shoresmen and 1 

 transporter in central Alaska were killed in accidents, 2 shoresmen 

 died of disease, and 1 shoresman was drowned. In western Alaska 

 2 fishermen and 2 shoresmen died of disease. 



STATISTICS 



One hundred and thirteen canneries were operated in Alaska in 

 1937, or four less than in the previous year. Employment was given 

 to 24,865 persons, as compared with 25,221 in 1936, a decrease of 

 356. White employees increased 311; FiUpinos, 84; Mexicans, 8; 

 Negroes, 13; and miscellaneous (Koreans, Chileans, Peruvians, etc.), 

 40; while natives decreased 412; Chinese, 105; Japanese, 242; Kana- 

 kas, 23 ; and Puerto Ricans, 30. 



The total pack of canned salmon was 6,669,665 cases, valued at 

 $44,547,769. This is a decrease of 21 percent in quantity and less 

 than one-half of 1 percent in value from the production m 1936, 

 when the pack amounted to 8,437,603 cases, valued at $44,751,633. 

 Average prices of all species were considerably higher in 1937 than 

 in the previous year, reflecting increased operating costs as a result 

 of higher wages and increased costs of materials. 



The output of canned salmon in southeast Alaska decreased from 

 4,076,717 cases in 1936 to 2,933,896 cases in 1937, or 28 percent; 

 in central Alaska the decline was from 2,869,681 cases to 2,216,359 

 cases, or about 23 percent; while in western Alaska the output in- 

 creased from 1,491,205 cases to 1,519,410 cases, or about 2 percent. 

 By species, in Alaska as a whole, the pack of cohos decUned from 

 222,300 cases in 1936 to 137,317 cases in 1937, or 38 percent; chums, 

 from 1,101,083 cases to 730,832 cases, or about 34 percent; pinks, 

 from 4,559,794 cases to 3,625,379 cases, or 20 percent; and reds from 

 2,502,542 cases to 2,106,669 cases, or 16 percent; while the pack of 

 kings increased from 51,884 cases to 69,468 cases, or 34 percent. 



Details are included in the following tables to show comparison of 

 the 1937 pack with the average for the 5 preceding years, 1932 to 

 1936, by cases of each species and by districts. Pinks, kings, and 

 reds show gains of about 14 percent, 38 percent, and 3 percent, respec- 

 tively, over the 5-year average, while cohos declined 28 percent and 

 chums 12 percent. By districts, the pack in 1937 increased approxi- 

 mately 10 percent over the 5-year average in central Alaska and 13 

 percent in the western district, while in southeast Alaska there was a 



