236 
BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES 
fisheries was carried far beyond the development of earlier years. Then followed the 
postwar depression and the reduction of fishing activity which culminated in the 
practical abandonment of the fisheries in Prince William Sound in 1921 for all species 
except reds. With the beginning of economic readjustment in 1922, packing plants 
were reopened and fishing appliances again began to increase, so that by 1927, 12 
canneries were packing salmon from the sound, and 6 beach seines, 95 purse seines, 
8 gill nets, and 64 traps were used in making the catch. While the average catch of 
red salmon in the four years from 1924 to 1927 was fairly close to the average of the 
eight years immediately preceding, as already noted, it is undoubtedly true that the 
catch was maintained only by the greater fishing effort. From these facts it is quite 
apparent that the production of red salmon in Prince William Sound will never be 
large, due to the limitations of the areas available as spawning grounds, and that the 
yield of nearly 250,000 in 1918 probably represents the maximum productivity of 
reds in this district. Although the total catch figures show no marked depletion this 
is unquestionably due, at least in part, to the gradual spread of the fishery and con- 
sequent exploitation of new red-salmon resources. It seems probable that certain of 
the red-salmon runs have been depleted but that the present regulations will prevent 
further depletion. 
The first recorded catch of pink salmon in Prince William Sound was made in 
1896. Beginning then and continuing through 20 years, including 1915, the catch was 
very uniform, only once exceeding 500,000, while the average yield was close to 300,000. 
No catch at all was reported in 1905, 1906, and 1909. It is also noteworthy that before 
1916 nearly the entire catch of pink salmon in this district came from the bays of the 
eastern part of the sound. Up to that time the rather weak market for pinks was 
adequately supplied by the canneries in southeastern Alaska and there was no induce- 
ment to pack them in the western districts where operating expenses were consider- 
ably higher. However, under changing conditions and the stress of war, the market 
for pinks was stimulated and in the next few years after 1915 the number of canneries 
on Prince William Sound increased rapidly, primarily to pack this heretofore neg- 
lected species. Eventually 15 canneries were operating here and the catch increased 
amazingly and quite steadily for 12 years; and this in a district which had been rated 
as exceptionally poor in salmon resources. 
Pink salmon are widely distributed in the sound and enter practically every stream 
in the district. With few exceptions, the localities first to be fished have maintained a 
fairly even supply, while newer places, those that were not exploited before 1920, 
became, in a few seasons, the largest producers, of the sound. The west coast of 
Montague Island is a striking illustration of this fact, as not until after 1919 were large 
catches reported from that shore, and they were due entirely to the operation of traps 
in those waters. Tagging experiments conducted in 1929 6 indicate that salmon taken 
here do not come predominantly from runs destined to streams of Montague Island, 
but rather that Montague Strait is the favored passage through which salmon enter 
the sound and then disperse to all localities. No catch has ever been reported from the 
eastern shore of Montague Island, but the northeast coast of Montague and the western 
shore of Hinchinbrook Island have produced catches of salmon which presumably 
came from runs entering the sound through Hinchinbrook Entrance but which by no 
means equal the runs entering Montague Strait. 
A graphic picture of the catch of pink salmon in Prince William Sound is shown in 
Figure 8. Since 1915, it is clear that there have been heavy runs on the even years 
s Thomson, loc. cit. 
