REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 141 
179,770 gallons of sperm oil. This included 23,000 pounds of whale- 
bone obtained from i2 whales caught in 1902 which did not arrive in 
San Francisco until 1903. The approximate value of whalebone was 
65 a pound; of whale oil, 38 cents a gallon, and of sperm oil, 55 cents 
a gallon. 
The portion of the above catch taken by the 6 New Bedford vessels 
in the tleet was 1 bowhead, 1 right, and 136 sperm whales, yielding 
2,700 pounds of bowhead whalebone, 1,100 pounds of right whalebone, 
7,330 gallons of whale oil, and 169,911 gallons of sperm oil. 
THE SALMON-CANNING INDUSTRY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
Washington.—lt was not expected that the salmon pack on Puget 
Sound in 1903 would reach the unusual figures of 1901—919,953 
cases, representing a value of $3,957,334; in 1902 the same region 
yielded 450,424 cases, valued at $1,290,951, a shrinkage of 469,529 
cases and $2,666,383. But at no time in the past ten years have these 
fisheries been so disappointing as in 1903. There was not a large run 
of sockeye salmon at any time during the year. In the early part of 
the season the canneries began operating ona small scale, but fully 
expecting a large runof fishJater. As the season advanced, however, 
the prospect grew less. Only a few of the smal canneries obtained 
full packs; those with a capacity for a pack of 150,000 cases put up 
less than half that amount. Frequently during the season reliable 
reports were circulated that large schools of fish had been seen off 
Cape Flattery, Barclay Sound, and in the mouth of the Straits of Juan 
de Fuea, all of which led fishermen and cannerymen to believe that _ 
there would be a large fall run, but the fish that were expected did 
not appear, and by the middle of August the season was considered a 
failure. 
The entire output of sockeye salmon was 159,307 cases, 127,571 cases 
less than were packed in 1902. The total output of all species in this 
region in 1903 was 455,393 cases. The total pack for the state, includ- 
ing the coast rivers and the Washington side of the Columbia River, 
was 569,036 cases, valued at $2,058,443. The pack for the same terri- 
tory in 1902 was 642,370 cases and in 1901 1,081,548 cases, respectively. 
The quality of chinook salmon was said to be much better than in 
any past season, the fish being larger and of better color, and the per- 
centage of white-meated fish less than is usually found. The output 
yas 119,777 cases, valued at $537,997, only 18,413 cases of which were 
packed on Puget Sound, a large portion of the catch being utilized 
fresh, mild cured, and placed in cold storage. There were mild cured 
575,000 pounds of chinook salmon, and 660,000 pounds of other species 
placed in cold storage, valued at $66,650. The combined value of 
canned product, mild cured, and frozen salmon for the state amounted 
to $2,125,093. 
