﻿FISHERY 
  INDUSTRIES. 
  13 
  

  

  them 
  for 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  36 
  hours 
  each 
  week, 
  there 
  is 
  Httle 
  danger 
  of 
  their 
  

   becoming 
  a 
  serious 
  menace. 
  It 
  is 
  even 
  deemed 
  unnecessary 
  that 
  resort 
  

   should 
  be 
  had 
  to 
  this 
  weekly 
  close 
  period 
  for 
  some 
  portions 
  of 
  Alaska. 
  

  

  Traps 
  have 
  one 
  desirable 
  advantage 
  over 
  purse 
  seines 
  or 
  gill 
  nets. 
  

   Fish 
  taken 
  in 
  traps 
  remain 
  alive 
  until 
  they 
  are 
  removed, 
  they 
  are 
  

   usually 
  delivered 
  at 
  the 
  canneries 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  hours 
  afterwards; 
  

   whereas, 
  fish 
  taken 
  in 
  purse 
  seines 
  are 
  removed 
  from 
  the 
  water 
  imme- 
  

   diately 
  upon 
  capture, 
  and 
  it 
  not 
  infrequently 
  happens 
  that 
  two 
  or 
  

   three 
  days 
  elapse 
  before 
  the 
  fish 
  reach 
  the 
  canneries. 
  Fish 
  taken 
  in 
  

   gill 
  nets 
  are 
  also 
  frequently 
  held 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  before 
  being 
  deUvered 
  

   at 
  the 
  canneries. 
  

  

  Purse 
  seines 
  and 
  gill 
  nets 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  surreptitiously 
  operated 
  

   close 
  to 
  mouths 
  of 
  streams 
  where 
  the 
  salmon 
  assemble 
  preparatory 
  

   to 
  ascending 
  for 
  spawning 
  purposes. 
  It 
  is 
  obvious 
  that 
  since 
  traps 
  

   are 
  a 
  fixed 
  form 
  of 
  apparatus 
  they 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  thus 
  used. 
  From 
  this 
  

   point 
  of 
  view 
  purse 
  seines 
  and 
  gill 
  nets 
  threaten 
  the 
  future 
  supply 
  

   of 
  salmon 
  in 
  Alaska 
  more 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  form 
  of 
  fishing 
  gear. 
  It 
  is 
  

   surprising 
  to 
  note 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  annual 
  catch 
  of 
  salmon 
  by 
  purse 
  

   seines 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  10 
  years 
  has 
  been 
  about 
  75,000 
  per 
  seine, 
  as 
  

   against 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  about 
  90,000 
  per 
  trap. 
  Of 
  course, 
  some 
  traps 
  

   take 
  several 
  hundred 
  thousand 
  fish 
  in 
  a 
  season, 
  extending 
  from 
  the 
  

   latter 
  part 
  of 
  June 
  until 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  September. 
  When 
  one 
  notes 
  

   that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  channels 
  in 
  which 
  traps 
  are 
  located 
  in 
  Alaska 
  are 
  

   several 
  miles 
  in 
  width 
  and 
  that 
  trap 
  leads 
  average 
  less 
  than 
  1,500 
  

   feet 
  in 
  length, 
  it 
  can 
  readily 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  catch 
  by 
  this 
  method 
  is 
  

   not 
  apt 
  to 
  be, 
  by 
  any 
  means, 
  as 
  great 
  a 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  present 
  

   as 
  has 
  been 
  claimed 
  by 
  those 
  opposed 
  to 
  traps. 
  They 
  are 
  always 
  

   located 
  near 
  the 
  shore, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  salmon 
  seem 
  

   to 
  follow 
  paths 
  close 
  inshore; 
  but 
  ordinarily 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  

   across 
  the 
  entire 
  channels 
  through 
  wliich 
  they 
  come 
  in 
  from 
  the 
  

   sea, 
  thus 
  refuting 
  the 
  erroneous 
  popular 
  impression 
  that 
  traps 
  are 
  so 
  

   serious 
  a 
  menace 
  that 
  their 
  further 
  use 
  should 
  be 
  prohibited 
  by 
  leg- 
  

   islation. 
  The 
  trap 
  is 
  a 
  modern 
  fishing 
  appliance 
  and 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  many 
  

   parts 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  It 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  legislated 
  out 
  of 
  existence 
  any 
  

   more 
  than 
  seines 
  or 
  gill 
  nets, 
  but 
  like 
  these 
  its 
  use 
  must 
  be 
  regulated 
  

   properly. 
  Traps 
  are 
  fixed 
  and 
  are 
  thus 
  easier 
  for 
  the 
  inspectors 
  to 
  

   keep 
  track 
  of 
  than 
  seine-s, 
  which 
  are 
  constantly 
  on 
  the 
  move. 
  

  

  OBSERVATIONS 
  IN 
  THE 
  WOOD 
  AND 
  NUSHAGAK 
  REGIONS. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1914 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau's 
  agents 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  Nush- 
  

   agak, 
  and 
  all 
  advance 
  arrangements 
  were 
  perfected, 
  as 
  heretofore, 
  

   for 
  conducting 
  an 
  investigation 
  and 
  taking 
  a 
  census 
  of 
  the 
  salmon 
  

   run 
  in 
  Wood 
  River. 
  It 
  was 
  contemplated 
  that 
  this 
  work 
  would 
  be 
  

   conducted 
  along 
  the 
  same 
  general 
  line 
  followed 
  each 
  season 
  since 
  its 
  

   inception 
  in 
  1908. 
  Unfortunately, 
  however, 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1914, 
  

  

  