FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 75 
CLAM FISHERY. 
Clam canning as an independent industry is a new feature in the 
development of the Alaska fisheries. Although some clams have been 
canned in southeast Alaska in past years, such operations were merely 
incidental to the larger business of canning salmon and did not war- 
rant separate classification. As the demand for clam products 
increased, the known though undeveloped beds of razor clams in the 
vicinity of Mummy Island and Boswell Bay about 10 miles southeast 
of Cordova, attracted attention, and the first attempt to use them 
commercially was made in 1916 by two companies that equipped 
canning establishments at Cordova. 
The known beds cover an area of approximately 30 square miles, 
extending in a belt 5 miles wide from Mummy Island to and including 
Boswell Bay on the northeast end of Hinchinbrook Island. It is 
reported that in addition to this known area the beds extend eastward 
in a belt 5 miles wide to Katalla Bay, a distance of about 60 miles, 
and are located for the most part in unprotected waters. 
The Lighthouse Canning & Packing Co. was the first concern to 
engage in clam canning in central Alaska. In December, 1915, it ac- 
quired possession of a warehouse on the city dock at Cordova and 
installed therein the necessary canning machines. These were ready 
for operation by the end of January, but actual canning did not begin 
until some time later, as the work of clam digging was delayed by 
stormy weather. At this point it is pertinent to state that although 
‘the clams secured in the Cordova region are unsurpassed anywhere 
for quality, the business is more hazardous than in the Pacific Coast 
States because of extended periods of unfavorable weather. 
_ The Pioneer Packing Co., a subsidiary of the Sea Beach Packing 
Co., of Aberdeen, Wash., built a two-line cannery near the dock of 
the Copper River & Northwestern Railway Co., at Cordova. The 
plant consists of a cannery building 32 by 165 feet and a two-story 
warehouse 32 by 100 feet, and has a capacity of approximately 800 
cases per day. It was not ready for operation until about Septem- 
ber 1, and for that reason only a small pack was made. 
METHOD OF CANNING. 
As this industry is new in Alaska, a brief outline of the canning 
process will be given. The first operation is the removal of the clams 
from the shells. This is done by immersing them in boiling water, 
either in vats especially designed to receive the wire baskets in which 
the clams are placed or the clams are passed through the water on 
an endless belt. After remaining in the water several minutes, they 
are thrown on a table and the shells fall away from the meat. The 
clams are then passed on to women workers, who open the stomachs 
and necks, remove the sand and sediment therefrom, and sever the 
6111°—17-—20 
