472 
BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
In 1914 again, pinks were not so plentiful and prices were higher, consequently 
more chums and cohos were used. This happened also to be the best year ever known 
for reds on Icy Strait. The next year (1915) again brought a heavy run of pinks which 
enabled canneries to complete their packs before the late run of chums appeared, 
although the catch of this species was not greatly lowered. Conditions apparently 
remained about the same in 1916. In 1917 owing, no doubt, to the high prices for 
canned salmon then prevailing, production was again high, and although the main 
run of salmon was late in entering Icy Strait, the district produced more pinks that 
year than ever before or since. Large catches were also made in 1918, especially of 
chums. In the next 2 years, the catches were smaller and what appear to be the 
first signs of overfishing became evident in the Icy Strait district. These relatively 
poor years were followed by a material slackening of operations in 1921, due to eco- 
nomic conditions and the large surplus of pink and chum canned salmon remaining 
from the packs of 1919 and 1920. Some recovery was apparent in 1922; but even in 
that year several canneries remained closed while those that did operate limited their 
packs. At that time some concern was felt over the probable permanent decline of 
these fisheries. In 1923, however, the catch of pinks improved materially but there 
was no marked change noted in the abundance of the other species. During the re- 
maining 4 years covered by these records the catch of all species was moderate due 
in part at least to the conservation measures placed on the fishery in 1924 and subse- 
quently, although it seems probable that depletion may also have been a factor in 
reducing the catches to a level well below that maintained from 1915 to 1920. 
The catch of red salmon showed a rather steady development until it reached a 
climax in 1914; since then the fishery has declined by two abrupt drops, separated 
by a few years of moderately steady production. After the sharp falling off from 
1918 to 1921, recovery has been slight, being affected somewhat by stricter regulation 
of commercial fishing. Yet there is little doubt that this fishery shows depletion and 
that the trend of the catch has been downward since 1914. 
Apparently the runs of pink salmon in Icy Strait were not exploited before 1900 
and no serious attempt to fish them was made until 1906. It was necessary to estab- 
lish a market for pink salmon before the fisheries could be developed to their maximum 
productivity and to create a demand for them before the full use of the available 
supply could be undertaken. The growth of the industry was gradual through the 
next 8 years, but from 1915 to 1919 these fisheries, under the stimulus of the World 
War, were exploited so relentlessly that unprecedented catches were made in the 
strait until the maximum of over seven and a half million was reached in 1917. Pro- 
duction then fell gradually, apparently chiefly from economic reasons, until the catch 
of 1921 was less than half a million. This decline was immediately followed by 
larger catches in the next 6 years which were equal to or above pre-war levels. 
Although the catch in 1925 might indicate a comparatively poor run of pinks in that 
year, it was recorded by Bower (loc. cit., 1925, p. 103) that the escapement of salmon 
into the streams of southeastern Alaska was the best that had been observed in years. 
The catch in 1924 declined probably for no other reason than that all fishing was 
prohibited for 20 days in August; in 1925 a similar closed period was enforced and 
additional restrictions were applied by increasing the distance interval between traps 
to IK miles. This affected fishing in Icy Strait along the shore from Excursion Inlet 
to Point Couverden more than elsewhere, due to the greater number of traps in that 
section, but the catch at points unaffected by these regulations raised the total to a 
level comparable to that of other years and without further change in the regulations 
