ALASKA FISHERIES AND PUE INDUSTRIES, 19U. 59 



PUGET SOUND FISHING FLEET. 



A fleet of Piiget Sound power vessels visits southeast Alaska during 

 the months from October to March, when, owing to stormy weather 

 and a scarcity of fish, it is not safe nor profitable to visit the banks 

 near the home ports. This fleet makes its headquarters at Peters- 

 burg, Juneau, and Ketchikan, shipping the catch home from these 

 places via the regular steamship lines. As a result of its operations 

 in Alaska the fleet (with the exception of the steamei-s) caught and 

 shipped 2,399,379 dressed pounds of fresh halibut, valued at $118,488. 

 The steamers carry their own catches to the sound ports, and these 

 have not been included in the above amount. During the summer 

 months most of tliis fleet fishes on the Flattery Banks oflF the State of 

 Washington, or the banks off the British Columbia coast. None of 

 these data are included m the statistical tables of this report. 



HERRING FISHERY. 

 GENERAL CONDITIONS. 



The partial failure of the British Columbia herring fisheries during 

 1910 and 1911 brought to the fore the abundant supplies of Alaska 

 herring. As a result several new plants for the preparation of herring 

 for food were established in southeast Alaska, and the pack prepared 

 very materially exceeded that of any other year. 



One result of this increase in the number of herring plants has been 

 the introduction of Japanese fishermen. Under the provisions of the 

 act to prevent aliens from filshing in the waters of Alaska, Japanese 

 can not fish independently, but it is an easy matter to secure the aid 

 of some venal Americans who will pose as stockholders and thus 

 secure an American incorporation, or pose as the owners of the plant, 

 and thus legalize the employment of Japanese (who are the real 

 owners) as fishermen and shore employees. 



The experience of British Columbia with Japanese fishermen has 

 been a most unfortunate one, and the same may be said of our own 

 territory of Hawaii. British Columbia is now endeavoring to solve 

 the problem, and as two of the three coast States have already 

 imposed serious restrictions, the Japanese fishermen are seeking to 

 establish themselves in Alaska. Unless radical measures are soon 

 taken American fishermen will find serious difficulty in competmg 

 with the Japanese, while the fisheries will undoubtedly suffer as a 

 result of the latter's destructive methods. 



For a number of years a large plant for the preparation of oil and 

 fertilizer from herring and other fishes has been operated at Killisnoo, 

 in southeast Alaska. During the same period other plants were 

 established and operated for a season or two at various places in the 



