NEW LAWS IN FORCE IN 1907. 



The year 1906 witnessed the adoption of three laws which, it is 

 hoped and beUeved, will have a most beneficial effect upon the fish- 

 eries of the district. 



The act under which the salmon fisheries of Alaska have been gov- 

 erned since 1889 was ineffective, and radical changes were found 

 necessary. The new act did not become law, however, until June 

 26, when the fishing was at its height, and the news of its passage 

 could not reach the more inaccessible regions until after the close of 

 the fishing season, consequenth^ the provisions of the old law con- 

 tinued to rule in a considerable part of the district. The first sea- 

 son in which the new law will have a thorough trial will be that of 

 1907. The provisions are as follows: 



AN ACT For the protection and regulation of the fisheries of Alaska. 



Be it enacted by the Senate ami House of Representatives of the United States of America 

 in Congress assembled, That every person, company, or corporation carrying on the 

 business of canning, curing, or preserving fish or manufacturing fish products within the 

 territory known as Alaska, ceded to the United States by Russia by the treaty of March 

 thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, or in any of the waters of Alaska over 

 which the United States has jurisdiction, shall, in lieu of all other license fees and 

 taxes therefor and thereon, pay license taxeson their said business and output as follows: 

 Canned salmon, four cents per case; pickled salmon, ten cents per barrel; salt salmon 

 in bulk, five cents per one hundred pounds; fish oil, ten cents per barrel; fertilizer, 

 twenty cents per ton. The payment and collection of such license taxes shall be 

 under and in accordance with the provisions of the act of March third, eighteen 

 hundred and ninety-nine, entitled "An act to define and punish crimes in the dis- 

 trict of Alaska, and .to provide a code of criminal procedure for the district," and 

 amendments thereto. 



Sec. 2. That the catch and pack of salmon made in Alaska by the owners of private 

 salmon hatcheries operated in Alaska shall be exempt from all license fees and tax- 

 ation of every nature at the rate of ten cases of canned salmon to every one thousand 

 red or king salmon fry liberated, upon the following conditions: 



That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may from time to time, and on the 

 application of the hatchery owner shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, cause 

 such private hatcheries to be inspected for the purpose of determining the character 

 of their operations, efficiency, and productiveness, and if he approves the same shall 

 cause notice of such approval to be filed in the office of the clerk or deputy clerk of 

 the United States district court of the division of the district of Alaska wherein any 

 such hatchery is located, and shall also notify the owners of such hatchery of the 

 action taken by him. The owner, agent, officer, or superintendent of any hatchery 

 the effectiveness and productiveness of which has been approved as above provided 

 shall, between the thirtieth day of June and the thirty-first day of December of each 

 year, make proof of the number of salmon fry liberated during the twelve months 

 immediately preceding the thirtieth day of June, by a written statement under oath. 

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