﻿FISHERY 
  INDUSTRIES. 
  43 
  

  

  In 
  southeast 
  Alaska 
  in 
  1912 
  there 
  were 
  346 
  seines 
  which 
  caught 
  

   14,728,000 
  salmon, 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  42,566 
  each; 
  377 
  gill 
  nets 
  which 
  

   took 
  767,000 
  salmon, 
  or 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  2,034 
  each; 
  and 
  176 
  traps 
  

   which 
  took 
  13,885,000 
  salmon, 
  or 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  78,892 
  each. 
  We 
  note 
  

   that 
  the 
  catch 
  by 
  traps, 
  comparing 
  the 
  two 
  years 
  1911 
  and 
  1912, 
  

   drops 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  from 
  102,000 
  to 
  78,000, 
  and 
  the 
  catch 
  in 
  the 
  

   case 
  of 
  seines 
  declined 
  from 
  75,000 
  to 
  42,000 
  on 
  the 
  average. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  comparison, 
  the 
  figures 
  for 
  seines 
  in 
  1912 
  are 
  

   not 
  of 
  great 
  use 
  for 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  operated 
  only 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  season 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  strike. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  fair 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  on 
  the 
  

   average 
  the 
  seines 
  fished 
  only 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1912. 
  But 
  even 
  

   so, 
  the 
  seines 
  in 
  southeast 
  Alaska 
  caught 
  about 
  a 
  million 
  more 
  salmon 
  

   than 
  the 
  traps. 
  It 
  is 
  significant 
  to 
  note 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  for 
  traps 
  

   fell 
  from 
  about 
  102,000 
  in 
  1911 
  to 
  less 
  than 
  79,000 
  in 
  1912. 
  A 
  possi- 
  

   ble 
  reason 
  for 
  this 
  exists 
  in 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  scramble 
  for 
  traps 
  in 
  

   1912, 
  many 
  sites 
  were 
  tried 
  which 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  poor. 
  

  

  The 
  total 
  amount 
  of 
  fishing 
  gear 
  used 
  in 
  Alaska, 
  aside 
  from 
  lines, 
  

   during 
  1912 
  was: 
  413 
  seines, 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  150 
  over 
  1911; 
  273 
  traps, 
  

   an 
  increase 
  of 
  121 
  over 
  1911; 
  and 
  1,954 
  giU 
  nets, 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  220 
  

   over 
  1911. 
  Of 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  gear 
  by 
  sections, 
  the 
  most 
  notable 
  

   was 
  on 
  traps 
  in 
  southeast 
  Alaska, 
  where 
  the 
  number 
  rose 
  from 
  91 
  in 
  

   1911 
  to 
  176 
  in 
  1912. 
  

  

  In 
  considering 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  depletion 
  of 
  waters, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  proper 
  

   to 
  select 
  any 
  individual 
  stream 
  or 
  any 
  particular 
  year 
  as 
  a 
  basis 
  for 
  

   final 
  conclusions. 
  Tliere 
  are 
  oflyears 
  and 
  variations 
  and 
  fluctuations 
  

   just 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  crops 
  raised 
  by 
  the 
  farmer. 
  Tides, 
  ice, 
  and 
  

   winds 
  may 
  influence 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  salmon. 
  

  

  The 
  problem 
  in 
  the 
  perpetuation 
  of 
  the 
  fishery 
  is 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  

   escape 
  of 
  breeding 
  salmon 
  necessary 
  to 
  keep 
  up 
  the 
  supply, 
  and 
  since 
  

   1908 
  the 
  Department 
  has 
  been 
  conducting 
  an 
  elaborate 
  system 
  of 
  

   actually 
  counting 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  brood 
  salmon 
  escaping 
  the 
  fisher- 
  

   men's 
  nets 
  and 
  passing 
  up 
  Wood 
  River, 
  a 
  tributary 
  to 
  Bristol 
  Bay. 
  

   The 
  idea 
  is 
  to 
  correlate 
  the 
  escape 
  with 
  future 
  returns 
  and 
  thus 
  fix 
  

   a 
  definite 
  limit 
  upon 
  the 
  number 
  that 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  for 
  commercial 
  

   use. 
  A 
  continuance 
  of 
  these 
  investigations 
  is 
  necessary 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  

   years 
  longer 
  before 
  definite 
  conclusions 
  can 
  be 
  diawn, 
  but 
  important 
  

   facts 
  are 
  already 
  available 
  as 
  to 
  what 
  a 
  region 
  will 
  stand 
  in 
  the 
  face 
  

   of 
  heavy 
  trap 
  fishing. 
  

  

  For 
  years 
  the 
  lagoon 
  at 
  Chignik 
  has 
  been 
  studded 
  with 
  a 
  network 
  

   of 
  from 
  ten 
  to 
  fifteen 
  or 
  twenty 
  traps, 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  with 
  leads 
  several 
  

   thousand 
  feet 
  long. 
  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  apparent 
  impossibility 
  of 
  

   any 
  fish 
  passing 
  this 
  network 
  of 
  traps, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  during 
  

   1911, 
  when 
  the 
  Government 
  made 
  an 
  exploration 
  of 
  the 
  region, 
  not 
  

   only 
  did 
  the 
  traps 
  farthermost 
  upstream 
  fish 
  quite 
  well, 
  but 
  also 
  

   there 
  were 
  evidences 
  of 
  what 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  good 
  escape 
  to 
  the 
  

  

  