232 
BULI/ETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF FISHERIES 
them is apparent in the reduction of the average daily catch. On Washington 
beds, during 1924, the commercial diggers were able to get fair " digs " on but three 
tides of each " run " (two weeks) , unless storms interfered, in which case the 
whole nm was lost. The average size of the clams was small, being less than 
inches. A large part of the catch had never spawned. Many were lost through the 
screens at the weigh sheds, and still more were thrown out by the cleaners because 
of their small size. Although the enemies of conservation explained the reduced 
pack as the result of an " off year,'" such a condition points to serious depletion. 
The same was true at Cordova in 1924. The diggers took every clam that 
showed, regardless of size, and the cannerymen, in their turn, purchased anything 
that was offered. Many of the clams were too small to be used to advantage and 
would have doubled in weight by another year. Only serious results can be ex- 
60000 
< 
1 
< 
i 
^/ 
/ 
/ 
V 
Average 
/ 
1 
1 
1 
/ 
/9/3 
22 
—I 
24 
1925 
Fig. 23. — Showing the total clam pack of Alaska to date. Data from the " Pacific Fisherman " 
pected from such treatment. Since the beginning of canning in Alaska in 1916 
Cordova has produced between 80 and 90 per cent of the entire clam pack. The 
history of the pack is instructive (see fig. 23). After the opening of the beds in 
1916 production leaped to approximately 60,000 cases in 1917 and 1918, and then 
rapidly dropped off, until only 1,600 cases were packed in 1921. This was in part 
caused by economic conditions, l^ut the chief factor was the scarcity of clams, a 
number of operators claiming that the beds were completely exhausted and that it 
was unprofitable to attempt tO' pack. The demand for canned clams, however, led 
to exploration, and new beds were found adjacent to Cordova of such extent as to 
more than double the clam-producing area. Exploration to the westward at tliis 
time also led to the opening of Snug Harbor and later the beaches near Kukak Bay. 
With the increased supply of clams the pack at Cordova again rose to 27,000 
cases in 1923. The pack for 1924 was in excessi of this, or about 43,000 cases. This 
