FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1907. 45 
price, have prepared goods in a slipshod manner and then disposed 
of them by cutting below the prices of the more reputable dealers. 
Such demoralization has given the Pacific coast product a bad name 
in the markets of the world. 
A considerable part of the output is sold in the West Indies, but 
does not command as good a price as the Atlantic cod, owing to the 
fact that heretofore the fish have not been cured dry enough to stand 
the extreme heat of that region. A special effort is now being made 
to cater to this trade, however, and doubtless the Pacific product will 
soon be on a parity with its Atlantic competitor. An inferior grade 
of salt is used by some curers, and as fish in these cases show exces- 
sive traces of alkali, certain eastern shipments have either been 
rejected entirely or had to be sold at a sacrifice. 
Ultimately the chief and most profitable market for Pacific cod will 
be the Pacific coast and the great Middle West, where the people are 
eradually being instructed in the use of cured fish, a slow process, 
however, in a section where meat has heretofore held practically 
unopposed sway. The dealers are now putting up the fish in small 
and handsome packages which prove very attractive to the consumer. 
It is estimated that the fish caught by the vessels in 1907 averaged 
54 pounds each, while those caught by the boat fishermen averaged 
44 pounds each. The weight seems to vary in the different seasons, 
one company operating from Unga reporting that its winter-caught 
fish when salted run about 3,800 pounds to the 1,000, while in the 
summer the average is 4,000 pounds to the 1,000. 
In winter some of the cod, in the neighborhood of Unga at least, 
become more or less diseased. It is reported that the flesh has dark 
red spots and sometimes spots of the same color appear on the skin. 
This year very few fish were found with scabs. In some parts of 
Alaska, cod are found with so-called lice (a lernean crustacean) upon 
them; fish so afflicted are usually caught in shallow water. The lice 
do not affect the flesh of the fish, as they are on the outside and can 
be easily brushed off, and but few are found on cod caught in the 
neighborhood of the stations. 
Reports from British Columbia are to the effect that two of the 
pelagic sealing fleets which operated in Bering Sea made consid- 
erable catches of cod this summer by fishing on off days from the sides 
of the vessels. A deep-sea fishing company to operate in Bering Sea 
has been organized at Victoria, and it is reported several vessels will 
be sent out next year. 
Cod are reported as abundant in the neighborhood of St. Lawrence 
Island, and it is the purpose of the United States Bureau of Educa- 
tion to send an experienced salter to its station on this island in 1908 
for the purpose of instructing the natives in the best methods of 
curing them, the intention being to ship the surplus, if any, to Puget 
Sound ports for sale. 
