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  ALASKA 
  FISHERIES 
  AND 
  FUE 
  INDUSTRIES 
  IN 
  1914. 
  

  

  as 
  to 
  position 
  and 
  extent, 
  but 
  through 
  the 
  medium 
  of 
  explorations 
  

   by 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Fisheries 
  it 
  is 
  hoped 
  that 
  new 
  and 
  well-defined 
  fish- 
  

   ing 
  areas 
  may 
  be 
  developed. 
  Good 
  catches 
  are 
  the 
  general 
  rule 
  on 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  grounds 
  now 
  fished, 
  as 
  is 
  evidenced 
  by 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1914, 
  

   which 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  productive 
  of 
  any 
  year 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  

   industry 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast, 
  but 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  avoid 
  overfishing 
  the 
  

   present 
  banks 
  it 
  is 
  advisable 
  to 
  reach 
  out 
  for 
  other 
  grounds, 
  thus 
  keep- 
  

   ing 
  pace 
  with 
  any 
  increase 
  in 
  market 
  demands 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   allow 
  the 
  older 
  banks 
  to 
  recuperate 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  necessary. 
  

  

  As 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  past, 
  the 
  halibut 
  industry 
  in 
  Alaska 
  in 
  1914 
  was 
  

   centered 
  chiefly 
  at 
  Ketchikan, 
  where 
  the 
  cold-storage 
  plant 
  of 
  the 
  

   New 
  England 
  Fish 
  Co., 
  the 
  largest 
  of 
  its 
  kind 
  in 
  Alaska^ 
  is 
  located. 
  

   Other 
  important 
  centers 
  of 
  the 
  industry 
  were 
  Sitka, 
  where 
  the 
  Booth 
  

   Fisheries 
  Co. 
  operated 
  a 
  cold-storage 
  plant; 
  Juneau, 
  where 
  a 
  similar 
  

   establislunent 
  was 
  operated 
  by 
  the 
  Juneau 
  Cold 
  Storage 
  Co.; 
  and 
  

   Taku 
  Harbor, 
  where 
  the 
  Taku 
  Canning 
  & 
  Cold 
  Storage 
  Co., 
  in 
  addi- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  its 
  principal 
  business 
  of 
  canning 
  salmon, 
  was 
  engaged 
  quite 
  

   extensively 
  in 
  the 
  freezing 
  of 
  halibut. 
  The 
  Columbia 
  & 
  Northern 
  

   Fishing 
  & 
  Packing 
  Co. 
  also 
  froze 
  a 
  smaller 
  quantity 
  of 
  halibut 
  at 
  

   Wrangell. 
  The 
  Glacier 
  Fisheries 
  Co., 
  which 
  operated 
  a 
  floating 
  cold- 
  

   storage 
  plant 
  on 
  The 
  Glory 
  of 
  the 
  Seas 
  at 
  Idaho 
  Inlet 
  in 
  1913, 
  did 
  not 
  

   send 
  the 
  vessel 
  north 
  this 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  methods 
  of 
  handling 
  halibut 
  at 
  the 
  cold-storage 
  plants 
  in 
  

   Alaska 
  are 
  first-class 
  in 
  every 
  respect. 
  The 
  fish 
  are 
  eviscerated 
  aboard 
  

   the 
  vessels, 
  and 
  upon 
  coming 
  ashore 
  they 
  are 
  washed 
  and 
  immedi- 
  

   ately 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  sharp 
  freezers, 
  where 
  they 
  are 
  allowed 
  to 
  remain 
  

   about 
  24 
  hours 
  at 
  a 
  temperature 
  of 
  from 
  10° 
  to 
  20° 
  F. 
  The 
  next 
  step 
  

   in 
  the 
  process 
  is 
  the 
  glazing, 
  which 
  consists 
  of 
  dipping 
  each 
  fish 
  four 
  

   or 
  five 
  times 
  in 
  fresh 
  water 
  until 
  it 
  becomes 
  entirely 
  incased 
  in 
  a 
  

   thin 
  sheet 
  of 
  clear 
  ice. 
  The 
  fish 
  are 
  then 
  held 
  in 
  storage 
  rooms 
  at 
  a 
  

   temperature 
  of 
  about 
  28° 
  F. 
  until 
  required 
  for 
  shipment. 
  Prior 
  to 
  

   shipment 
  the 
  fins 
  are 
  trimmed 
  off 
  and 
  a 
  final 
  immersion 
  for 
  additional 
  

   glazing 
  is 
  given, 
  after 
  which 
  each 
  fish 
  is 
  wrapped 
  in 
  vegetable 
  parch- 
  

   ment 
  paper, 
  around 
  which 
  is 
  an 
  additional 
  covering 
  of 
  smooth-finish 
  

   manUa 
  paper. 
  The 
  fish 
  are 
  then 
  packed 
  in 
  boxes 
  Imed 
  with 
  paper 
  

   of 
  about 
  375 
  pounds 
  capacity, 
  and 
  shipment 
  is 
  made 
  in 
  cold-storage 
  

   steamers 
  to 
  the 
  railroad 
  terminals 
  for 
  final 
  distribution 
  to 
  the 
  markets. 
  

   Since 
  the 
  halibut 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  produce 
  only 
  about 
  15 
  per 
  

   cent 
  of 
  the 
  halibut 
  consumed 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  the 
  result 
  is 
  that 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  product 
  is 
  sent 
  directly 
  to 
  the 
  eastern 
  dis- 
  

   tributing 
  centers 
  at 
  Boston, 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  other 
  important 
  centers. 
  

   Notwithstanding 
  the 
  great 
  distance 
  of 
  the 
  Alaska 
  halibut 
  banks 
  from 
  

   the 
  eastern 
  markets, 
  the 
  painstaking 
  care 
  exercised 
  in 
  preparing 
  and 
  

   handling 
  frozen 
  halibut 
  means 
  a 
  high-grade 
  food 
  product. 
  

  

  