SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA SALMON STATISTICS 
521 
This fact is particularly noticeable in the red-salmon fishery, which shows a 
marked decline since 1910, and the trend of the catch is reaching lower levels as the 
seasons pass. How much of the Taku run is taken in Icy Strait and the lower part 
of Lynn Canal is not known, but the decline of this fishery is without much doubt 
correlated with the increase of fishing in those districts. 
The mainland shore of Stephens Passage from Taku Inlet to Cape Fanshaw is 
indented by five bays of fair size, yet no important fishery has been developed within 
any one of them. Port Snettisham is the outlet of two large streams — Speel River 
and Whiting River — both of which support small runs of salmon. In 1900 a cannery 
was built on the southern shore at a location 2 miles east of Point Styleman and made 
small packs in 1900 and 1901, obtaining most of its king salmon from Taku Inlet, reds 
from Port Snettisham, and other species from Limestone Inlet and nearby streams. 
Considering the size and the number of streams which flow into this bay, it is one of 
the poorest salmon localities in southeastern Alaska. Since 1910 the annual catch 
of reds has not exceeded a few thousand, although in earlier years the annual catch 
was more than 20,000. The catch of all other species has been decidedly insignificant, 
except in 1918 when 69,718 pinks were reported from these waters. Salmon taken 
from Speel River in 1913, from Sweetheart Bay in 1918, and part from “Taku Inlet 
and Port Snettisham” in 1919 were included within the catch from Port Snettisham. 
Windham Bay data indicate that an important pink-salmon run originates in 
that locality, and that chums are also present in fair numbers. The other species 
are also taken, but in limited numbers. These catches, however, were made chiefly 
by traps located at the entrance, or just outside the bay, and were probably not 
entirely of Windham Bay fish. Little fishing has actually been done in the bay. 
For reasons which have been explained above a part of the catch reported from 
Frederick Sound, Stephens Passage, and Sumner Strait in 1923 was credited to 
this locality as was also a part of the unallocated catch of southeastern Alaska in 
1922 and 1924. 
Hobart Bay has produced a considerable number of pinks and chums since 1912, 
the larger part of which came from traps located in the vicinity of Point Hobart and 
on the north side of the entrance to the bay and not actually from the bay. They 
were, however, reported as Hobart Bay fish to distinguish them from catches made 
elsewhere in Stephens Passage. 
The records show that Port Houghton leads all the localities of this district in 
the production of pink salmon and holds third place in the yield of chums. This 
does not mean, however, that the entire catch reported as taken at Port Houghton 
came from local runs as a large part of it was taken from the general runs of Stephens 
Passage by traps at the entrance of the bay. The tagging experiments of 1924 at 
Point Kingsmill on Chatham Strait and at Cape Bendel on Frederick Sound dis- 
closed that the main runs of salmon entering Stephens Passage from Frederick 
Sound strike the mainland shore between Port Houghton and Windham Bay. 
Tagged salmon were recaptured by traps along this shore, but there was no evidence 
that the streams of Port Houghton were providing a large proportion of the runs. 
On the contrary, it is probable that the runs were dispersed from this shore to all the 
bays of the eastern shore of the passage, if indeed, a considerable part did not cross 
the passage again to enter the streams of Admiralty Island. The catch seems to 
have been only slightly affected by the general regulations applicable in this district, 
but the orders of 1926 and 1927, closing Sanborn Canal, a small narrow bay on the 
south side of Port Houghton, may have reduced the catch slightly. 
