'6 FISHING IN THE PRIAMUR DISTRICT OF SIBERIA. 
of the amount of the catch, some idea of the value of the station is 
formed and it is allotted for a longer period—five years or more. 
Naturally under such circumstances this industry can not attaim 
proper development. ‘The fishermen are not better informed than 
the Government as to the value of the stations sought at the public 
tenders; often they over or under value them, and owing to their 
limited knowledge, either overstock the stations with men, salt, bar- 
rels, provisions, etc., and through a small catch suffer heavy losses or 
insufficiently supply the stations and, therefore, are unable to take 
advantage of a good run of fish. On the other hand, the short terms 
of the.contracts make it impossible to equip the stations properly. 
Lack of equipment for preparing the fish, except in the crudest way, 
has resulted until very recent times in inferior products at most of the 
stations, but some of the Russian fishing stations m Kamchatka 
are exceptions. In order to encourage the Russian fishing in Kam- 
chatka and Tchukotski peninsular waters and in the Okhotsk Sea, and 
to counterbalance the Japanese predominance in these waters, in 1913 
the head administration of the Agricultural and Land Organization 
gave to Denbigh & Liritch on a long lease a fishing station on the 
Kamchatka River (eastern shore of Kamchatka), and to S. Gru- 
shetsky & Co., one on the Bolshaya River (western shore of Kam- 
chatka). In addition to the usual conditions of the lease (payment 
of royalty, the prohibition of foreign labor, etc.), each of these 
firms was to build a fish hatchery in the vicinity of its station, the 
capacity of which was to be 3,000,000 salmon per annum. Each of 
the above lessees was to release 500,000 fish in 1914, 1,000,000 in 1915, 
and 3,000,000 yearly from 1916 until the expiration of its lease. 
Owing to technical difficulties, the release of the first lot of fish was 
postponed until 1915. 
By a normal development of this condition, which may become a 
law, each commercial fisherman will be compelled to release a much 
larger number of youn’ fish than his catch. The larger interests will 
have their own hatcheries, where doubtless the smaller ones can buy 
their quota. 
TRANSPORTATION DIFFICULTIES. 
The closing of the coasting trade to foreigners deprived the fisher- 
men of the possibility of making use of the cheap freight rates of 
foreign steamers, and has made them entirely dependent upon the 
Volunteer Fleet, which has a monopoly as a public carrier. 
The Volunteer Fleet is complying strictly with all the obligations 
imposed by the terms of its contract with the Government. It is 
making the stipulated number of voyages with the stipulated number 
of vessels, but as a matter of fact the number of steamers is not 
