FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 45 



TroU fishing for salmon. — The troll fishing for salmon continues to 

 develop. At various points in southeast Alaska this fishery is now 

 successfully prosecuted for both king and coho salmon. The waters 

 adjacent to Forrester Island are perhaps the most productive. 

 During the past season this fishery attracted a large number of fish- 

 ermen, who established a camp on the island and carried on the 

 fishing from that point as a base. 



Forrester Island, together with Wolf Rock and Lowrie Islands, was 

 set aside as a bird-breeding reserve by Executive order of January 

 11, 1912, to be under the control of the Department of Agriculture. 

 The islands are within the boundaries of the Tongass National 

 Forest, so the administration is placed under the joint authority of 

 the Forest Service and the Bureau of Biological Survey of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture. 



In 1912 a warden from the latter bureau was detailed to look 

 after the reservation. He arrived on the ground June 21 and found 

 a considerable body of people located on the island for the purpose 

 of prosecuting the fishery or of profiting from it indirectly. Assisted 

 by the law-abiding element he rapidly brought conditions into shape, 

 enforcing appropriate police regulations to maintain health, decency, 

 and good order and to insure equal opportunity and fair dealing for 

 those engaged in the arduous and hazardous work of capturing the 

 fish. 



This fishing is carried on by two classes of boats— power boats and 

 rowboats. The former arc not favored, since it is thought they are 

 more liable to injure the fish without holding them. Moreover, this 

 is a fishery in whicli the individual of small means can find his op- 

 portunity. All it requires is an ordinary rowboat and troll line. 

 It is essentially an investment of labor instead of capital. Out of 

 294 permits issued only about 8 went to power boats. It has been 

 recommended that no power boat be permitted to engage in this 

 fishery. 



The hours established for operation were from 3 a. m. to 9 p. m. 

 By the latter time all boats were required to report and if any were 

 missing, search was made at once for them. This precaution saved 

 several lives, in addition to giving all an equal chance in the profits. 



Ten vessels were engaged in transporting the fish to the mild- 

 curing stations. The price paid for king salmon was $1 each for 

 red-meated and 30 cents for white. The highest record made by a 

 single boat was something over 1,800 for the season; the highest 

 yield for a single day's work by one man was 161 fish. On an aver- 

 age the weather permits fishing to be carried on only about four days 

 a week, and about 15 fish per day is an average catch. 



Most of the fishing is done with spoons, but herring bait is some- 

 times used. The herring so used are mainl^^ taken in the vicinity or 



