PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 37 
For a considerable time after the salmon-canning business was inaugurated the pack- 
ers suspended operations in the early part of July of each year as at that time the 
market would take only goods which showed a rich oil and the best food values.@ 
The business languished after the firm established its cannery on 
the Columbia River, but in 1874 was renewed again by others and 
continued with varying success until 1905, when it ceased tempo- 
rarily, owing to the smaller quantity of fish available and the diffi- 
culty of competing with the mild-cure packers and the fresh-fish deal- 
ers. Several times since small packs have been made when, for 
some reason, mild-curing was unprofitable. 
Monterey Bay.—The first harbor south of San Francisco is Mon- 
terey Bay, a large indentation cutting into Santa Cruz and Monterey 
Counties. Only a portion of it is well sheltered, however. For a 
number of years it had been known that salmon frequented the 
waters of this bay for the purpose of feeding on the young fishes 
which swarmed there. Sportsmen frequently caught them with rod 
and reel, but it was not until the eels eighties that the industry 
was established on a commercial basis. It has since grown very 
rapidly. The catch has either been mild cured at Monterey or 
shipped fresh. A few have been canned in recent years. 
ALASKA.® 
Alaska is the most favored salmon-fishing region. Many rivers, 
some of great length and draining enormous areas, intersect the dis- 
trict in every direction, while the number of small creeks is countless. 
Almost every one of these have runs of salmon of varying abundance. 
The principal streams entering Bering Sea are the acon Kus- 
kokwim, ‘Togiak, Nushagak, Kvichak, Naknek, Ugaguk, and 
Ugashik; in central Alaska the Chignik, Karluk, Alitak, Susitna, and 
Copper Rivers are the main streams, while in southeast Alaska are 
found, among many others, the Anklow, Situk, Alsek, Chilkat, Chil- 
koot, Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers. Most of the fishing in Alaska 
is carried on in the bays into which these rivers debouch. In south- 
east Alaska, which is composed largely of islands, the fishing is carried 
on mainly in the bays, sounds, and straits among these. 
Even before the purchase of the district from Russia in 1867 our 
fishermen occasionally resorted to southeast Alaska and prepared 
salted salmon. The salmon fisheries did not become important, how- 
ever, until canning was begun. 
SOUTHEAST ALASKA, 
One of the most favorable sections for carrying on fishing 
operations is southeast Alaska. Here a narrow strip of main- 
land, about 30 miles wide, separates British Columbia from salt 
water and forms the ‘‘panhandle” of Alaska. Outside this is a fringe 
of numerous islands, large and small, close to the coast line, conform- 
a The First Salmon Cannery. By R. D. Hume. Pacific Fisherman, Seattle, Wash., Vol. II, No. 1, 
January , 1904, pp. 19-21. 
b The material] for the history of thesalmon fisheries of Alaska for the period from the inception ofsalmon 
canning to 1900 was obtained almost wholly from the following excellent and valuable reports by Capt. 
Jefferson I’. Moser, to whom I am deeply indebted for this and other valuable data: 
The Salmon and Salmon Fisheries of Alaska. Report of the Operations of the United States Fish Com- 
mission Steamer Albatross for the Year ended June 30,1898. By Jefferson F. Moser. Bulletin, U.S. Fish 
Commission, 1898, Vol. XVIII, pp. 1-178. Washington, 1899. 
Alaska Salmon Investigations in 1900 and 1901. By Jefferson F. Moser. Bulletin, U. S. Fish Commis- 
sion, 1901, Vol. X XI, pp. 173-398. Washington, 1902. 
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