FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 13 



ALASKA FISHERY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE. 



This service, inaugurated in' 1917, whereby the prices paid for 

 fish at Seattle and Ketchikan were supplied by telegraph to a number 

 of towns in Alaska, was continued through the year 1919. Expres- 

 sions of appreciation have been received, and the information is 

 believed to be of value to the fishermen. It is planned to continue 

 the service. 



FISHERY PATROL. 



BUREAU PATROL BOATS. 



A successful patrol of the waters of Alaska in the interest of the 

 fisheries is contingent U]ion the ability of the officers of the law to 

 reach any region at any time. Suitable boats are the means by 

 ^^hich such work can be accomplished. To meet the situation, the 

 I>ureau maintains and operates a small fleet of vessels in Alaska, 

 admittedly inadequate for the work, but being enlarged as rapidly 

 as possible with funds available. This fleet is supplemented by the 

 charter of privately owned boats for occasional trips and short 

 periods. 



Of the Bureau's vessels, the steamer Osprey has long been the 

 mainstay of patrol work in southeast Alaska. In June, it was 

 transferred to the central district, where the growing needs of the 

 service demanded the presence of such a boat. 



The Murrc and AuTdei remained in the southeast district and were 

 regularly employed during the active fishing season from June to 

 October. The Piiffi/n, formerly attached to the Roosevelt as ship's 

 lamich, rendered some service in the vicinity of Juneau and the Taku 

 River. It was sent north from Seattle under its o^vn power early 

 in July, but owing to engine trouble did not reach Ketchikan until 

 almost a month later and then only by shipment on a freight steamer 

 from a Canadian port. After certain alterations are made the 

 Puffin can be used to advantage in stream-protective work. 



Three small launches were chartered for a few days in central 

 Alaska for patrol work in the Copper River and Cook Inlet sections. 



The Swan was used on the Yukon River, particularly in patrolling 

 the waters of the delta where Yukon commercial fishing was centered 

 in 1919. Assistant Agent Townsend covered about 4,000 miles with 

 the Swan, from Fairbanks to the mouth and return to Nenana, w^here 

 the vessel was hauled out for the winter. 



Under authority of Executive order of May 24, 1919, in regard to 

 the disposition of vessels no longer needed by the Navy Department, 

 three vessels which had been used as scout patrols off the New England 

 coast, were transferred to the Bureau for service in Alaskan waters. 

 Two of these vessels, the Cohra (S. P. 626) and the Calypso (S. P. 632), 

 were turned over to the Bureau at Quincy, Mass., in July. In 

 October the Wachusetts (S. P. 548) was also secured at the same place. 

 All of these vessels were towed by the Bureau's steamer PJialarope 

 to the Woods Hole station. Subsequently the Cohra and Calyjiso, 

 renamed Petrel and Merganser, respectively, were towed by the 

 PJialarope to the Norfolk Navy Yard, where on October 3 they v/ere 

 placed aboard the U. S S. Neptune for transportation to the Pacific 

 coast. The vessels reached the Puget Sound Navy Yard early in 



