116 #U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



HERRING 



Outstanding features of the herring industry of Alaska in 1937 were 

 a sharp curtailment in the production of Scotch-cured herring and a 

 marked expansion in the manufacture of meal and oil, resulting in an 

 all-time record in the total volume of herring products in the Territory. 



Only negligible quantities of Scotch-cured herring were prepared 

 in southeast and western Alaska, and the output of this product in the 

 central district was far below normal. Unfavorable market conditions, 

 rather than a scarcity of herring suitable for curing, were primarily 

 responsible for the decline. Most of the plants in southeast Alaska 

 and on Prince William Sound undertook no saltery operations what- 

 ever, their entire attention being devoted to the reduction business. 



Apparently the only district affected by a shortage of herring was 

 western Alaska, where there was a failure of the runs virtually through- 

 out the season in w^aters of Dutch Harbor and Akutan Bay in wliich 

 gill-net fishing is conducted. As in the previous year, there was no 

 production of herring in Golovin Bay. The plant of the Golovin Bay 

 Packing Co. was destroyed by fire in October, with a loss of $21,250. 



A good early showing of herring appeared in the Prince William 

 Sound area, forcing some of the plants to put their boats on limit for a 

 time. In the Kodiak area the runs began later and the fish were of 

 excellent quality. About 9,900 barrels of herring from this district 

 were transferred to plants on Prince William Sound. 



Of the total output of Scotch-cured herring, less than 75,000 pounds 

 came from southeast Alaska, and approximately 30,000 pounds from 

 the Aleutian Islands area. The Kodiak area produced 1,467,290' 

 pounds and the Prince William Sound area 528,125 pounds, or 70 per- 

 cent and 25 percent, respectively, of the entire output. 



There were 14,167,860 pounds of meal and 2,173,460 gallons of oil 

 produced in the Prince William Sound area, or about 38 percent and 39 

 percent, respectively, of the total production of meal and oil in Alaska. 

 In the Kodiak area 7,565,066 pounds of meal and 1,421,841 gallons of 

 oil were prepared, or 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of the 

 entire output. The proportionately larger yield of oil than of meal in 

 the latter district may be accounted for by the fact that herring there 

 were unusually fat. Forty-two percent of the total output of meal 

 and 35 percent of the oil came from southeast Alaska. 



Twenty-two concerns handled herring in southeast Alaska, including 

 six cold-storage plants that froze herring for bait and seven outfits en- 

 gaged solely in the production of bait herring. Three plants in south- 

 east Alaska that had been closed in 1936 were reopened, among them 

 the plant formerly leased by Richmond Fisheries, Inc., at Red Bluff 

 Bay, wliich was taken over by a new organization. Red Bluff Bay 

 Fisheries, Inc. This plant was destroyed by fire on August 13, 1937. 

 The following companies operated in the district: 



Saltery and reduction plant: 



Storfold & Grondahl Packing Co Washington Bay. 



Reduction plants: 



Arentsen &Co Big Port Walter. 



Atlas Packing Corporation Deep Cove. 



Buchan & Heinen Packing Co Port Armstrong. 



Chatham Strait Fish Co New Port Walter. 



Northwestern Herring Co Port Conclusion. 



Port Herbert Packing Co Port Herbert. 



Red Bluff Bay Fisheries, Inc Red Bluff Bay. 



