28 ALASKA FISHERIES AND FUR INDUSTRIES IN 1916. 
the banks where there are eddies or where the current is not too 
strong. During the run of salmon dipping is carried on as steadily as 
conditions permit, although there are times when high water and 
sudden floods make it almost impossible to continue operations in 
the canyon. The fishermen dip blindly in the stream, the opening of 
the net sweeping downstream with the current. On account of the 
extremely turbid condition of the water the salmon can not be seen 
unless they rise to the surface, nor, on the other hand, are the fish 
able to observe the net. Sometimes many sweeps of the dip net 
produce no fish, but as many as five salmon have been taken at a 
single sweep of the net. One fisherman may dip as many as 1,000 
salmon in a single day when the run is heavy. 
In 1916 approximately 30,000 fathoms of gill nets were used at the 
delta and 5,000 at the lake, while 48 dip nets were operated in the 
canyon. 
At the delta fishing for red and king salmon begins about the 
middle of May and continues until the middle of July, and for cohos 
and humpbacks operations extend from the first of July to the 
middle of September. At the lake and canyon fishing for red and 
king salmon begins the last of May and ends the last of July, while 
the coho season extends from the first of August to the end of 
September. | 
The following table shows, by localities and species, the approximate 
number of salmon taken from the Copper River in 1916: 
CatcH or SALMON FROM THE CoPPER RIVER IN 1916. 
Hump- 
Locality. Kings. Reds. Cohos. backs: Total. 
MeltasenisesesRten fee ee SLES RRRE di ad Sae we. 5,440 | 300,157 79, 396 31, 578 416, 571 
Tost Laan A Opt wines 3 A air Me epee oe a ne 3,440 | 279,504 | 25,120 ].......... 06 
Cary One seh joet acetals oh Bin Veale ea a je lninle lola natetoaers 5,325 | 128,476 10; 914.) 33s saeee 144, 715 
Totals UE aL PEE BOL es 14,205 | 708,137 | 115,430] 31,578 | 869,350 
a The catch of 15,826 reds and 3,637 cohos, a total of 19,463, gilled at mile 46, about 2 miles below the lake, 
oe ne 1,186 reds caught at mile 27 are included in the iakecatch. Thus the actual lake catch was 277,415 
From the foregoing table it will be observed that operations about 
the delta produced nearly 48 per cent of the salmon taken from 
Copper River, while the lake yielded 35 per cent and the canyon 
nearly 17 per cent of the total take. The quantity of fishmg gear 
was much greater at the delta than at the lake and canyon. 
For the purposes of comparison it seems appropriate to record the 
Copper River catch for the years 1914 and 1915. In 1914 one 
cannery secured salmon from the delta as follows: Kings, 1,027; 
reds, 222,075; and cohos, 14,627. Also 1,730 kings were seined for 
mild-curing operations at the delta. At Abercrombie Canyon 240 
