XXXVI F UK-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



of Oregon, in the vicinity of the Straits of Fuca, and on the coast of 

 British Columbia. From this point tliey range continuously north- 

 ward along the Alaskan coast to St. Lawrence Island and ^N^orton Sound, 

 in the northern part of Bering Sea, They are most abundant in the 

 Alaskan region between Sitka and probably the central part of Bering- 

 Sea, becoming scarce in the northern part of that sea, and afibrdiug the 

 most extensive fisheries along the coasts and islands and upon the 

 offshore banks south of Kenai and Aliaska Peninsulas, along the line 

 of the Aleutian Islands, as far to the westward as Atka, and in the 

 southern part of Bering Sea. 



The halibut also ranges from the Farallone Islands to Bering Straits, 

 and is exceedingly abundant along the central Alaskan coast, associated 

 with the cod. Salmon of several species, for which the Alaskan rivers 

 are justly noted, are also sometimes captured in salt water, but only in 

 the bays and harbors respecting which no question of ownership can 

 arise. These and the remaining food and bait fishes of Alaska are 

 briefly discussed, as to their distribution, abundance, and uses, in the 

 inclosed report by Dr. T. H. Beau, the ichthyologist of this Commission. 



THE FISHING- GROUNDS. 



The natives are greatly dependent upon the catch of halibut for sup- 

 ])lyiug their own wants, but the only important commercial fishery con- 

 ducted at ])resent in salt water is directed toward the cod. Cod and 

 halibut banks are found among the islands of southeastern Alaska, and 

 a very limited fishery is carried on in that region, and also along the 

 coast to the northward of Sitka as far as the Kenai Peninsula. The 

 principal grounds resorted to are, however, located on the submerged 

 continental plateau south of the Kenai and Aliaska Peninsulas, and in 

 the vicinity of Onimak and Uonalaska Islands. That portion of the 

 submerged plateau situated between Middleton Island, south of Prince 

 William's Sound, and the Island of Oonalaska is covered with a suc- 

 cession of banks and island groups, which afford almost continuous fish- 

 ing-grounds, whose richness in marine products is only comparable with 

 that of the great fishing-banks of eastern North America. 



Parts of this region have been resorted to for the capture of cod 

 during nearly thirty years, but of course only to a ver^^ limited extent 

 compared with the fishing-grounds of the eastern coast. The fishing 

 has been carried on mostly within easy reach of the land in the vicinity 

 of the Shumagin Islands, Oonalaska, and Kodiak. The existence of 

 well-defined banks in this region has been known for a long time, their 

 positions and characteristics having been determined in a general way 

 from information obtained from the fishermen and from the occasional 

 soundings of exploring vessels. The extent and contours of these banks 

 and their exceeding richness in all parts have, however, only been as- 

 certained during the past year through the researches of the Fish Com- 

 mission steamer Albatross, which silent about two months in making a 

 preliminary survey of the region. 



Five of these banks were developed by the steamer Albatross^ and 

 several others partly explored. They are located, as a Avhole, much 

 nearer the coast line than the offshore banks of New England and the 

 British Provinces, the most of them being within easy reach of secure 

 harbors. They are limited on the outer side by the steep slope border- 

 ing the continental plateau, which varies in Avidth from about 80 miles 

 at the eastern end to about 40 miles at the western end, many of the 

 banks reaching from this slope to the main-land or to the shores of the 



