FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 39 
the freight steamer Bertha was dispatched from Seattle with a cargo 
of lumber and other materials to rebuild the cannery. On July 18 
the vessel went ashore on Harvester Island, at Uyak Bay. The 
following day she took fire and became a total loss. A small part of 
the cargo was salvaged. 
The ship Sintram (1,495 tons), of the Naknek Packing Co., while 
northbound in the spring, went ashore May 2 off Ugaguk and became 
a total loss. The book value of the vessel was approximately $8,000, 
but under existing conditions several times that amount would be 
required to replace her. Most of the cargo was saved, so that the 
cannery was able to conduct operations through the season. 
In addition to the foregoing there were various smaller losses. In 
this connection mention is made of the destruction of the bunkhouse 
of the Anacortes Fisheries Co., at Shakan, the property loss being 
$1,000, and in addition two of the Chinese employees lost their lives. 
The Tee Harbor Packing Co. reported the loss of a trap valued at 
$2,500. The Doyhof Fish Products Co. reported the loss by drowning 
of one shoresman and one fisherman. ‘The Canoe Pass Packing Co. 
lost 208 cases of salmon. In western Alaska seven fishermen and two 
transporters were drowned, and gear to the value of $5,600 was 
reported as lost. In addition there were minor losses of fishing gear, 
small boats, and miscellaneous items of equipment in various parts 
of Alaska. 
MILD CURING OF SALMON. 
The continuance of the war in Europe resulted in a further marked 
decline in the industry of mild curing salmon in 1915. Heretofore, it 
has been chiefly to the markets in Germany that the mild-cured 
product has been shipped, hence the discontinuance of possibilities of 
trade with that country has made itself felt to a marked degree in the 
mild-cure industry. This state of affairs has made it necessary for the 
American markets to absorb this product. Fortunately, there 
is a growing demand for mild-cured salmon in this country, although 
the high price which it commands has had a tendency toward con- 
servativeness in the development of this line of trade. Mild-cured 
salmon form a particularly attractive food article, especially when 
prepared in a lightly smoked condition. 
The lessened activity in the mild-cure industry in Alaska in 1915 
resulted in the preparation of a product excellent in quality. In 
some seasons past many of the smaller king salmon have been mild- 
cured, but this year the product was made up almost wholly of 
select, large-sized fish. The smaller salmon were as a rule dis- 
posed of to canneries, which is evidenced by the increased produc- 
tion of canned king salmon this year. There was also an increase in 
the number of frozen salmon, some of which undoubtedly would have 
been marketed as a mild-cured product if conditions had warranted. 
