476 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
a few stragglers that appear around the Chilkat very early in the season, which can 
hardly be called a run.” (Pyramid Harbor is a part of Chilkat Inlet.) While this 
condition was no doubt true at the time of Moser’s investigations, in more recent 
years king salmon have been taken at various points on Lynn Canal which could 
hardly have come from the Taku runs. 
From 1894 to 1903, a period of 10 years, the reports of the treasury agents in 
Alaska were drawn upon for catch records, use being made of their figures for each 
species. Their reports show, however, only the locality where the salmon were 
packed and not the actual source of the catch. It is unsatisfactory, of course, to 
have to allocate these catches on such a basis, but there is no other alternative ; and 
it is probable that errors resulting from this are at least partially compensating. 
In the case of these early years no attempt has been made to allocate catches to 
smaller geographical units than the districts, so that the early records are always to 
be found under the “Unallocated” section of the tables for the respective districts. 
In the later period, 1904 to 1927, the catch statistics were taken as usual from 
annual statements required of the packers. Where catches were reported from locali- 
ties such as “Icy Strait and Lynn Canal”, “Lynn Canal and Stephens Passage”, 
“Chatham Strait and Lynn Canal”, and the like, it was necessary as before to make 
an arbitrary division of such catches, relying largely upon personal knowledge of 
local conditions and the field of operation of the several companies engaged in fish- 
ing, together with a general understanding of the relative productivity of the various 
localities. One company may take 90 percent of its catch from Stephens Passage 
and 10 percent from Lynn Canal, whereas another packer may take 75 percent of 
his catch from Lynn Canal and 25 percent from Icy Strait. For such reasons no 
fixed rule could be followed in the division of these catches; each case had to be 
decided on its own merits. In other instances, where small catches were reported 
from places within larger or more important localities, they have not been kept 
separate but were combined with the catches from the larger fields. Again, in cases 
where localities were incorrectly named and the names used were obviously intended 
for something else, the necessary corrections were made without hesitation. As far 
as possible, the names of waters, points, and islands, as adopted by the United States 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, have been used in this report, but where this course 
could not be followed, the names used by the fishermen or packing companies have 
been accepted without further question. Where two names were given to a single 
locality, or where the proximity of localities suggested a consolidation of catches at 
such points, preference was given to the better known name. Localities listed in 
the table are shown on the map; others are referred to in the discussion of the data. 
Fishing at the Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers was subject only to the general fish- 
eries laws and regulations, which applied throughout Alaska, until special protection 
was given the runs of salmon here by prohibiting the use of all fishing appliances 
within 500 yards of the mouths of both rivers on and after January 1, 1919. The 
regulations of 1925 established a closed season from August 11 to August 31, and 
those of 1926 also prohibited the use of traps and purse seines in Lynn Canal north 
of 58° 26' north latitude. In addition, all fishing was prohibited in Chilkat Inlet 
north of the south end of Kochu Island and in Chilkoot Inlet within 1,000 yards of 
the mouth of the river except with gill nets from September 5 to October 15 in each 
year. These regulations closed all the preferred fishing grounds in Chilkat and 
Chilkoot Inlets and directly affected the catch in those localities. In fact, no salmon 
have been reported as being taken in Chilkoot Inlet since 1924. 
