BUREAU OF FISHERIES 89 



Bay area in an effort to stabilize the future yield in that locality. 

 The suspension of operations for several weeks in the Copper River 

 region as a result of price disagreements between packers and fisher- 

 men also was a factor in limiting the season's output of red salmon. 

 The total number of canneries operated decreased from 110 in 1934 

 to 99 in 1935. 



Salmon products comprised approximatelj?^ 72 percent in quantity 

 and 88 percent in value of the total output of the Alaska fisheries 

 in 1935. About 94 percent of the salmon products consisted of 

 canned salmon, the pack amounting to 5,133,122 cases, valued at 

 $25,768,136. Red salmon represented 16 percent and pinks 63 percent 

 of the total pack of canned salmon, as compared with 35 percent 

 and 51 percent, respectively, in 1934. 



Operations in the herring industry were marked by a further eX' 

 pansion in the manufacture of meal and oil, a number of reduction 

 plants having been opened for the first time in the Kodiak district. 

 The production of Scotch-cured herring was more than twice that of 

 1934. Landings of halibut credited to the Alaska fleet in 1935 were 

 considerably less than in the preceding year. Both the quantity and 

 value of whale products increased, although fewer whales were 

 \aken than in 1934 ; there was also an increase in several of the minor 

 fishery products, including clams and shrimp. 



The total output of Alaska fishery products in 1935 was 366,351,- 

 000 pounds, valued at $31,231,000, as compared with a yearly average 

 of 376,193,000 pounds, valued at $34,079,000 for the 5-year period from 

 1930 to 1934, inclusive. The value of the 1935 catch to the fishermen 

 was approximately $8,703,000, or about $3,004,000 less than in the 

 preceding year. There were 22,620 persons employed in the various 

 branches of the fisheries, as against 26,190 in 1934. 



ALASKA FUR-SEAL SERVICE 

 GENERAL ACTIVITIES 



With the continued growth of the Pribilof Islands fur-seal herd 

 under Government management the number of surplus male seals 

 available for commercial use has gradually increased. In 1935 the 

 take of sealskins was the largest in 46 vears. A staff of Bureau em- 

 ployees directed sealing operations performed by natives of the Prib- 

 ilofs and by approximately 80 temporary laborers from the Alaska 

 Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. The Fouke Fur Co., of St. Louis, 

 Mo., sent 23 of its men to assist with the work, particularly with 

 the blubbering of sealskins on St. Paul Island. Most of the skins 

 on the island are taken by the stripping process, which necessitates 

 the removal of blubber before curing. 



In 1935 the by-products plant on St. Paul Island was operated for 

 the first time since it was reconditioned and equipped with modern 

 machinery in 1931. About 78 tons of meal and 19,000 gallons of 

 oil were produced, limited quantities of which were retained at the 

 islands for fox feed. The bulk of the meal was shipped to the 

 States for use as fish food at hatcheries of the Bureau, and the oil 

 was sold in Seattle to the highest bidder. 



Besides the usual upkeep and repair of buildings and equipment, a 

 new schoolhouse on St. George Island was completed before the 

 beginning of the fall term, and extensions of improved roads were 



