REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 147 
There were 64 canneries operated in 1902, 9 of these having been 
built that year; 2, on the other hand, suspended operations. In 1903 
60 canneries were engaged in packing salmon; 3 were built that year, 
only 2 of which were operated, and 5 suspended operations. The 
number of men engaged in the salmon fisheries was 14,708 in 1902, 
and 13,106 in 1903, a decrease of 1,602. 
The output of salted salmon in 1902 was 25,936 barrels, valued at 
$191,248. There were placed in cold storage and dry salted 141,600 
pounds of salmon, representing a value of $5,190. In 1903 there were 
salted by the canneries and salteries 35,748 barrels, value $261,086. 
The Pacific Cold Storage Company, at Taku Harbor, placed in cold 
storage 17,690 pounds of king salmon, 34,087 pounds of cohoes, 72,944 
pounds of dog salmon, and 12,551 pounds of steelheads. This com- 
pany also dry salted for the Japan market 245,441 pounds of dog- 
salmon, a total of 380,713 pounds, value $11,732. 
As is frequently the case in a poor season, salmon were scarce in 
certain localities and plentiful in others. At Karluk in 1902 the pack 
was 204,190 cases; in 1903 only 90,103 cases were packed by the two 
canneries operated there, which are owned by the Alaska Packers’ 
Association. The Arctic Packing Company, located at Olga Bay, 80 
miles distant, met with a similar experience, the output being 45,145 
cases in 1902 and 25,470 in 1903, These canneries employed about 
the same number of men each year, and the same kind and quantity of 
fishing gear. At times during the season of 1903 when salmon were 
quite plentiful at Chignik, Cook Inlet, and Prince William Sound, 
hardly encugh fish coutd be obtained at Karluk and Olga Bay to keep 
the canneries running. 
Many theories are advanced by cannerymen and fishermen in gen- 
eral as to the cause of the variation in the runs of salmon in different 
streams. The belief is freely expressed by some that it is due to the 
work of artificial propagation, and that the fry liberated from the 
hatchery at Karluk, arriving at the spawning age, found the waters 
of Cook Inlet and parts of Prince William Sound better suited to their 
requirements than the home stream. Others attribute the scarcity to 
weather conditions, and a few venture to state that instead of the large 
runs appearing in any particular region in cycles of four years, as is 
the commonly accepted theory, they require a much longer time, and 
from one phenomenal run.to another periods of eight or nine years 
may elapse. The erratic runs in recent years, combined with the 
parent-stream theory, which in a measure has been upset by the failure 
of the salmon from hatcheries to return to the streams where planted 
' when expected, has set in motion a new line of thought regarding 
their movements. Each season brings unlooked-for conditions, and 
to-day there is more attention given to the study of the habits of sal- 
mon by cannerymen than ever before. 
