302 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



large. One or two boats fitted with drag seiucs, a cabin on shore lor living quarters, 

 a rough shed or lish house in which to dress and salt the fish and for performing such 

 general work as may be required in a limited business of this kind, will suffice for 

 all purposes. Many of the well-established salteries were first started in this man- 

 ner and have since grown to be of considerable imi)ortance. Two or three men with 

 only a small amount of capital, if they are fortunate in selecting a good locality 

 where the run of salmon can be relied upon — for the success of the entire business 

 depends upon the location — can, if they display the required amount of energy, build 

 up a paying business. They of course must appreciate the fact that at least for 

 seven months out of the year they must content themselves with being cut ofl:" and 

 isolated from civilization, but the class of men who seek a liveliliood in this remote 

 part of the world care little for social life, or, if so, the prospect which looms up 

 before them for making money is fully equivalent to any hardships of this nature 

 they may undergo. 



Several small vessels manned by men of small means have, during the past few 

 years, made annual voyages to Alaska, spent the fishing season there, and in the fall 

 brought back the summer's catch. At first they temporarily located themselves by 

 way of an experiment where it was thought to be a good position for carrying on 

 the business. If the experiment proved a success, the next year greater preparations 

 were made, and in this way from a small beginning quite a number of valuable 

 plants have been established. 



The greater part of the salmon put up at the salteries are caught in drag seines, 

 although a few are taken in gili nets and traps, but at most places where salteries 

 are situated the drag seine has been found to be the most profitable apparatus of cap- 

 ture, owing to the great number of smooth beaches where the fish can be easily taken. 

 There are, however, numerous bays, channels, and straits in Alaska where the purse 

 seine could be used to advantage. The reason why this style of net has not been 

 adopted in places where it can be used is because the fishermen of the coast are not 

 experienced in handling it. In 1893 a mackerel purse seine was for the first time 

 used at Tongas Narrows, in southeastern Alaska. Previous to the introduction of 

 this seine the drag seine had always been used. Mr. Clarke, pne of the owners of the 

 saltery established here, says that after a season's trial he has come to the conclusion 

 that the purse seine issuperior to the drag seine, and during the next season he intends 

 to employ several of them. The secret of Mr. Clarke's success in fishing for salmon 

 with a purse seine is in his knowledge of using it, which was gained by nearly twenty 

 years' experience in the mackerel and other fisheries in New England. Seeing uo 

 reason why salmon could not be caught in the same manner as mackerel in places 

 where the bottom and general surroundings were favorable, he sent East for enough 

 twine to make a seine 150 fathoms long, 17 fathoms deep in the bunt, and 14 fathoms 

 on the wings, the size of the twane being 9 and 12 thread. It will be observed that 

 this seine is considerably deejier in proportion to its length than the ordinary 

 mackerel seine. The reason for this extra depth is that salmon, when they find 

 themselves surrounded by twine, will, like mackerel, dive, but, as a rule, they will 

 only go down from 12 to 14 fathoms. By having the seine several fathoms deeper 

 than they generally dive, a school, when once suri'ounded, is pretty sure of being 

 caught. Mr. Clarke says he did not lose a siugle school during the summer. 



The attempt to catch the salmon in this manner being only an experiment, every- 

 thing connected with the new method, except the seine, was crude. A seine boat had 

 to be built and the crew to man it drilled. The boat was manufactured on the spot 

 by men connected with the fishing station. 



Mr. Clarke finds this metliod a much more economical way of fishing than with 

 drag seines. The bottom about Tongas Narrows is very rocky and drag seines are 

 frequently torn to pieces. This involves a great deal of labor in keeping them in 

 repair, and besides the expense amounts to considerable during the season. There 

 being plenty of water here where the fishing is carried on, the purse seine never 

 comes in contact with the bottom, and the hardest usage it gets is the natural wear 

 and tear from handling. 



