956 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
to a lot of unstated and arbitrary laws, by-laws, and local regula- 
tions, besides making the tenure exceedingly short, virtually only 
one year, as a result of which Japanese capital refuses to erect more 
than the crudest of plants. 
The Department of Domains fixes the limits of the stations, and 
these are sold at public tender, usually during February and March. 
The exhaustion of the fishery resources of many of the European 
waters belonging to Russia has forced some of her more enterprising 
fishermen to seek for new supplies in her Siberian waters, and as 
these resources become better known, and means of transportation 
are increased and improved, there will doubtless be a tremendous 
impetus given to their development. 
The World War which devastated Europe between 1914 and 1918 
had a particularly disastrous effect on Russia, where the terribly 
devastating internecine warfare resulting from the revolution within 
her borders sapped her resources to such an extent that her Siberian 
fishery operators have been unable to do anything other than make 
a bare living out of the business and not even that in many cases 
owing to the uncertainty of business conditions. As a result of these 
distressing handicaps upon the operations of the Russians, the 
Japanese have had virtually a free hand in their exploitation of the 
coastal fishery resources of Siberia. As Siberia in the near future will 
be the greatest producer of salmon, it behooves us to bestir ourselves 
if we are to retain our command of the salmon market by taking 
an active part in the development of Siberia’s fishery resources, for 
which development Russia has not heretofore welcomed foreign 
capital. When peace finally comes to that devastated land, how- 
ever, her capital will be so depleted that she will doubtless 
welcome relief from whatever source it comes, and as she knows 
the United States has no territorial aspirations in her direction we 
will doubtless be far more welcome than the Japanese, of whose 
disinterestedness the Russians are extremely suspicious. 
Fishing rights in the gulfs and bays not included in the Russo- 
Japanese convention, such as Peter the Great Bay, Imperial Har- 
bor, Vanina Bay, Avatchinsk Bay, and others, as well as the rivers 
of Okhotsk and Kamchatka, are granted by the Governor General, 
without public tenders, to persons of good repute, but for one year 
only, and if they show their ability to establish a successful fishing 
station a lease for 12 years can be secured on the basis of paying a 
royalty of 24 cents per pood (36.112 pounds) of prepared fish. Under 
the terms of the lease only Russian subjects can be employed at 
the stations, while all sailing vessels serving the stations must be 
under the Russian flag. 
The regulations governing the river districts vary from those re- 
lating to coast concessions, and also vary from each other, as the 
local authorities in the river districts are authorized to issue tem- 
porary rules and regulations to cover local conditions. 
On the Amur River, within the boundaries of the Nikolaevsk, 
Maryinsk, and Khabarovsk districts, the fishing stations are leased 
by public auction to the highest bidder, some on a long-term basis 
and others for only one year. At stations above the city of Nikola- 
evsk, within 30 miles of the Amur estuary and farther, no foreign 
labor is allowed. Below the city of Nikolaevsk foreign labor can be 
