Lig PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 
this branch of the industry may be gathered when it is stated that in 
1915 there were 50,000 barrels of pickled salmon prepared in the 
Amur region, while the Japanese dry-salted about 6,000,000 dog 
salmon, including also a few reds, and 80,000,000 humpbacks, or 
“‘salmon trout,’’ as they are called in Japan. 
In pickling salmon the fish are split down the back, the sides being 
held together by the belly. The roe, gills, and viscera are removed 
and the fish are then washed, and after salting are placed in large 
tanks for seven or more days, or until they are thoroughly struck, 
after which they are packed in barrels, flesh side up, except the two 
top layers, which have the skin side up. To about 700 pounds of 
fish 180 pounds of salt are used. 
The dry-salting, next to drying, is the most primitive method 
employed in preserving salmon. The process consists simply in 
splitting the fish up the belly, removing the gills and entrails, and 
then filling the belly with salt. The fish are then placed in rows on 
matting and covered with salt, and other rows are placed on top of 
them until the pile is from 8 to 10 feet high, when the entire lot is 
covered with matting and left for about seven days, after which they 
are relaid and again covered with salt. For shipping the fish are 
packed in mats. 
A very odd feature in connection with the operation of most of 
the Japanese plants is that the salt to be used in curing the fish is 
usually dumped loose onto some level spot, with absolutely no cov- 
ering over it, and exposed to the elements. 
The Japanese consume enormous quantities of these dry-salted 
salmon. During the Russian-Japanese war the latter country’s fish- 
ermen were cut off from access to their usual fishing grounds, with the 
result that they were forced to look elsewhere for fish. During 1905 
and 1906 large quantities were prepared in Alaska, British Columbia, 
and Washington for this trade, but as soon as the war ended and the 
Japanese got access once more to their old fishing grounds, the Japan- 
ese duty on salt fish, which had been suspended during and for a short 
period after the war, was reimposed. As a result our fishermen soon 
quit the business, and since then operations on this coast have been 
almost wholly restricted to Japanese operating in British Columbia 
waters. 
At the height of the production on this coast Mr. King, the Amer- 
ican consular agent at Hakodate, Japan, made the following sugges- 
tions to preparers and shippers of dry-salted salmon for the Japanese 
trade: 
The salmon should arrive in Japan by December 1. Most of these fish are used 
among the Japanese for New Year’s presents. After the new year the price. inva- 
riably declines 20 to 30 per cent, and for a month or two the fish are difficult to dis- 
pose of, as the consumers always stock up before the new year. 
