ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1920. 141 
Commercial fishing for export was thus carried on exclusively in 
the main Yukon, between the mouth of Clear River and Dogfish 
Village and below Dogfish Village, in the main Kwikluak Channel 
and its seaward extensions. All subsidiary channels branching off 
from the Kwikluak were closed to commercial fishing, whether these 
served as communicating links between larger channels, as in the case 
of Aproka, Pass, or, as in the case of the Kwiguk Channel, secured 
independent egress to the sea. 
But in no case were the salmon which entered through these pro- 
tected channels given unimpeded access to the upper river. Ali of 
them must pass through the 40 or 50 mile stretch of the main river 
between Dogfish Village and Andreafski, where they were exposed 
to capture for commercial purposes; and those that enter through 
the important Kwiguk Channel must in addition run the gauntlet of 
a further 40 miles of river between the Kwiguk entrance and Dogfish 
Village. During the past season very little commercial fishing was 
in fact carried on in the stretch of river above Dogfish Village, but 
this was of choice and not from necessity, for no restrictions are there 
imposed by existing regulations. 
During the season of 1919, 65 per cent of the king salmon and 61 
per cent of the smaller fish—chums, cohos, and sockeyes—were taken 
beyond the mouth of the river, while in 1920 the proportion was even 
greater, 69 per cent of the king salmon and 68 per cent of the chums 
being taken outside. 
The fishing grounds in 1920 extended much farther away from the 
river than in 1919. During a part of the season 12 fishing boats were 
located between 10 and 20 miles outside Nilak, along the shallow 
banks bordering the Acharon Channel on the mainland side (U. S. 
C. & G. S. chart 9373). The outermost stations were for a time the 
most successful, meeting the Yukon salmon well down the coast 
toward the mouth of Black River. How much farther in the direc- 
_tion of the Kuskokwim the advancing schools may be encountered in 
numbers adequate to warrant commercial fishing is as yet undeter- 
mined. An expedition which they sent down the coast to Cape 
Romanof testifies to the interest of the Carlisle Packing Co. in this 
question. 
The fishing methods employed by the company in 1920 did not 
differ from those in use in 1919. Almost their sole dependence was 
on gill nets, set in convenient lengths in the eddies and on shallow 
banks along the main channels. For the most part these were set 
nets or anchored gill nets, with one end made fast to the shore and 
the outer end anchored. But during the latter end of the season, 
when the river was no longer at flood, it became possible to fish on 
shallow banks, which were not available during the height of the 
king salmon run. Stake nets were then used in larger numbers 
and would unquestionably have been availed of more extensively 
throughout the season had the stage of water permitted. 
The gill nets used were of two kinds, tle king salmon nets of 83- 
inch mesh and the nets for chums and other small salmon of 53-inch 
mesh. As the company from the beginning of the season contem- 
plated fishing largely, if not exclusively, for the king salmon, only 
nets of the larger mesh were issued during the height of the king 
salmon run, which lasted up to the last days of June. After this 
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