ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1935 13 



Inc. Tlie entire output consisted of 12 tierces of mild-cured king 

 salmon, 448 barrels of pickled kings, and 244 barrels of pickled cohos. 

 Three hundred and forty-one natives fished in the river for local 

 food requirements, using 395 gill nets of 6,820 fathoms, 50 wheels, 

 and a number of small boats. They prepared 369 tons of dried chums. 



YUKON RIVER 



Commercial operations at the Yukon River were carried on by 

 three operators — Frank Kern and the Northern Commercial Co., who 

 fished with gill nets outside the mouth, and the Akularak Amission, 

 which used fish wheels about 30 miles up the river from the head of 

 Sunshine Bay. Very light catches were made, however, and the 

 total production for the outside market was but 131 tierces of mild- 

 cured and 48 barrels of pickled king salmon. As good catches for 

 local use were taken farther up the river in most places, the unusual 

 scarcity at the mouth could be explained only by the fact that the 

 fish, when they began to come in after having been held offshore late 

 by the ice, kept to the main channel and deep water, and so escaped 

 the nets. 



The first Idng salmon were taken at the mouth of the river on June 1 1 , 

 and the peak of the run was from June 18 to June 27. The run of 

 chums started at the same time as the kings and continued good to 

 July 20. 



Inspector C. F. Townsend and a stream guard aboard the Coot 

 again patrolled the district. The vessel left the Government ways 

 at Nenana on May 29 for the mouth of the river and returned there on 

 September 14. 



Products of the Yukon and Tanana fisheries, including the commer- 

 cial output, were as follows: 185 cases of kings canned, 131 tierces of 

 mild-cured kings, 13,875 pounds of kings and 5,100 pounds of chums 

 pickled, and 349 tons of dried chums. Apparatus consisted of 247 

 wheels, 109 gill nets of 1,699 fathoms, 3 motor vessels of 68 tons, 2 

 power dories, 6 gill-net boats, 3 scows, and miscellaneous small boats. 

 There were 18 wliites and 357 natives engaged in the fishery. 



WEIRS FOR COUNTING SALMON ESCAPEMENT 



Weirs for counting the escapement of salmon to the spawning 

 grounds are operated in typical Alaska streams as a means of providing 

 important information in connection with the salmon life-history 

 studies and the regulation of the fisheries to assure a maximum yield. 

 Of the 12 weirs that had been operated in the preceding year, all were 

 reestablished and operated in 1935 except the one at Kaflia Bay. 

 The Klawak weir in southeast Alaska, and the weirs at Cliignik 

 River, Chinik Creek, English Bay, Morzhovoi Bay, and Red River in 

 the central district were installed under an allotment of funds from 

 the Works Progress Administration that had been made available for 

 the 1934 and 1935 seasons. 



Reports of the weir operations and the counts of salmon in 1935 are 

 as follows: 



KLAWAK CREEK 



The weir in Klawak Creek, at the same location as in previous years, 

 was completed on May 28, and the first red salmon were counted 

 through on the following day. Pink salmon began to appear on 



74969—36 3 



