INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 145 



to carry ou the industry in vessels. It is also understood tliat nearly 

 all the shore fishing stations in Alaska have been abandoned for the 

 same reason. 



The beaches in the vicinity of our anchorage were very poor for col- 

 lecting on with a drag seine, there being many small sharp rocks scat- 

 tered along the shore. The beach in many places ran off steep, so much 

 so that the seine would not touch bottom except when close in. In 

 most places the bottom was barren of all kinds of life, and only in a few 

 instances was life found by turning over the rocks at low tide. A con- 

 siderable number of specimens were, however, taken with the drag 

 seine at the mouth of a small stream. The species caught were young 

 salmon, salmon trout, flounders, sculpins, and sand-lance. Ko adult 

 salmon were caught, although two individuals were observed about 100 

 yards from the shore. Young salmon and salmon trout were numerous; 

 good catches of the latter species were taken by a party of anglers 

 up the stream about a third of a mile from its mouth. All organic life 

 seemed to be in and at the mouth of the stream; repeated hauls with 

 the seine failed to catch anything elsewhere. 



Late in the afternoon of July 22 the ship anchored off the entrance 

 to Acherk Harbor, situated on the northwest end of Sannak Island. 

 The bottom was at once tested with hand lines. The result was 3 cod 

 and 3 small halibut. From parties on shore it was learned that few 

 cod inhabit the local fishing-grounds at this season. They leave early 

 in the spring, and do not appear until late in the fall. It is thought 

 by the people here that they enter Bering Sea on leaving the region of 

 the Sannaks. The cod fishery has been carried on at this harbor for a 

 long time. The principal fishing-ground resorted to lies 4i miles to the 

 northward of Petrof Point, in water varying in depth from 11 to 20 

 fathoms. There are many more local fishing- grounds around Sannak; 

 also several more stations. These stations are owned and operated by 

 Messrs. Lynde & Hough and the McCullum Fishing and Trading Com- 

 pany, both of San Francisco. The stations located at East Anchor 

 Cove, previously mentioned, are also owned by the same parties. 

 During the time we lay at anchor off' Acherk Harbor the weather was 

 too stormy to perform any work. 



On the morning of July 25 the Albatross came to anchor in Dutch 

 Harbor. The following day the drag seine was hauled in a small bay 

 opposite Iliuliuk, and 300 salmon and some 30 herring taken.. Most 

 of the salmon were distributed among the various ships in the harbor. 

 This was the last practical work performed for the season by the 

 Albatross while the writer was on board. Ou the afternoon of the 29th 

 he joined the sealing schooner Louis Olsen, of Astoria, Oreg., for a 

 cruise in the Bering Sea. 

 p. -R, 95 10 



