SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA SALMON STATISTICS 
499 
Gedney Harbor, Port Malmesbury, and Washington Bay have been uncertain pro- 
ducers but the catches are not materially less in late years than they were when the 
localities were first fished. 
The maximum fishing effort in the southern part of Chatham Strait was reached 
in the four years from 1917 to 1920 as more seines and traps were used in those years 
than in any other period of the history of these fisheries. The largest catches of all 
species, except kings, were made in these years. Viewing the district as a whole, 
there has been no marked reduction in catches during the period covered by this 
report, except possibly in the case of red salmon which is probably, in part, the result 
of the closing of practically every red salmon stream in the district. In addition to 
the south arm of Bay of Pillars, other closures in 1926 included Gut Bay, Red Bluff 
Bay and Falls Creek, and the north arm of Tebenkof Bay which is now known as 
Elena Bay. The catch of chums and pinks was considerably less in later years than 
it had been for some time, possibly indicating depletion, although allowance should be 
made for the effect of closed seasons and limitation of fishing appliances on the catch. 
The runs of pink salmon in this section of the strait, as indicated by the catches, were 
marked by a peculiar oscillation in that during the earliest years of fishing the largest 
catches were made in the even years. This period was followed by another period, 
of 10 years or five cycles, 1908 to 1917, when the odd years were the most productive, 
which in turn gave way to a reversal of conditions whereby the even years again be- 
came the largest producers. The cause of these variations in the cyclic movements 
of this species is not explainable in the light of available data. 
The catch of coho and king salmon continued to be large, that of cohos in 1927 
being exceeded but four times in the 35 years that have elapsed since fishing began, 
and that of kings but three times in the 17 years which cover the history of the king- 
salmon fishery in this district. The catch of these species was rather insignificant 
until trollers discovered that the southern part of the strait was an important feeding 
ground of both kings and cohos, the most productive areas being at the junction of 
Frederick Sound and Chatham Strait and at Cape Qmmaney. Hundreds of trollers 
resorted to these regions and made phenomenal catches of salmon. They fished for 
years without the slightest regard for the fishery laws and regulations, assuming that 
line fishing was not subject to the provisions of the law of 1906. This erroneous idea 
was exploded in 1923 by the conviction of certain trollers for fishing during the weekly 
closed season, and since then this type of fishing has conformed in general to the 
usual regulations. Just what effect this may have in the intensity of troll fishing is 
rather doubtful — it is at least possible that the actual reduction in intensity is very 
slight. If the catches were made only in the migration season while the salmon were 
on their way to the streams instead of generally throughout the year, weekly closed 
seasons would be of unquestioned benefit in making possible a better escapement than 
would otherwise result. But where line fishing is prosecuted on the feeding grounds 
which are populated with salmon as long as food is available, a weekly closed season 
of a few hours is by no means as certainly an effective measure of conservation. 
Table 5 shows the catch of king and coho salmon by lines in the Chatham Strait 
district. These data are also included in the totals of Table 4. 
Figures 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 show graphically the catch of each species of salmon 
in the Chatham Strait district. An extremely high peak in production was reached 
suddenly in respect of each species except reds, that for pinks occurring in 1917, for 
chums in 1918, for cohos in 1919, and for kings in 1924, but in each case there was 
an equally rapid drop to normal levels. As has been so frequently noted in this review, 
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