SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA SALMON STATISTICS 
575 
rapidly until 1927, which was marked by the smallest catch that had been made since 
1909. The king-salmon fishery extends quite generally over the district, but the 
nearby ocean waters between Iphigenia Bay and Dixon Entrance have been the most 
productive fields. It is conducted primarily by trolling, delivery of catches being 
made to buyers for the fresh-fish dealers and the cold-storage companies. Statistical 
reports are not made by the fishermen, but come from the dealers, who frequently 
are unable to give exact information as to the localities in which the fish were caught. 
They know in a general way that the catches were made on the west coast of Prince 
of Wales Island, and that fish from Sumner and Chatham Straits and the west coast 
of Baranof Island are sometimes included. It is also known that the king salmon of 
these coastal waters are not all destined to the streams of Alaska, and probably none 
to the streams of this district, but are members of several populations, probably 
representing runs to the rivers of the mainland from the Columbia River northward. 
This wide dispersion of king salmon from these localities was shown by an experiment 
in 1927 when 382 troll-caught kings were tagged and released off the west coast of 
Baranof Island. Of the 38 recaptured, 22 were taken at the Columbia River, approxi- 
mately 1,000 miles south of the point where they were first taken. 10 It is evident 
therefore that the trailers are making their catches from schools of salmon which 
are feeding along the coast of the archipelago of southeastern Alaska, and that the 
effect of their operations upon the runs to rivers in Alaska is not determinable from 
the statistical data here considered. 
The catch of red salmon reached its highest level in 1896, coincident with the 
opening of a cannery at Hunter Bay in an adjoining southerly district. Since that 
year there have been 4 fairly good seasons at irregular intervals but with decreasing 
catches. The poorest catch occurred in 1914. It reached a lower point than had 
been touched since 1889, but the larger catches in later years have not changed the 
general trend of the fishery. From 1919 to 1927 the catches have become steadily 
poorer, indicating continued depletion. Measures have been applied to protect the 
runs, but insufficient time has elapsed since they were adopted to prove their efficacy. 
CORDOVA BAY DISTRICT 
The Cordova Bay district covers the waters of the west coast of Prince of Wales 
Island and the east coast of Dali Island from Tlevak Narrows southward to a line 
from Cape Muzon to Surf Point. Many small bays indent the shores of these islands 
and also the shores of the smaller islands lying between them. Figure 38 is a map of 
this district. 
The islands are mountainous and heavily wooded with spruce and hemlock; the 
streams are small, probably none being more than 6 miles in length, and many have 
their source in small lakes, especially on Prince of Wales Island. 
This region produces all species of salmon in considerable numbers, except kings,, 
and catches have been fairly well sustained through more than 30 years. The early 
history of its fisheries was never recorded beyond the data arranged by Moser, who 
reported in 1898 that salmon were taken from these waters for the cannery at Klawak 
10 No account of these tagging experiments has yet been published, hut similar experiments were carried on by Canadian author- 
ities off the coast of British Columbia and gave very much the same results. The following reports on these experiments have been 
published: (1) Pacific Salmon Migration: Report on the tagging operations in 1925. By H. Chas. Williamson. Contributions to- 
Canadian Biology and Fisheries, N.S. Ill, no. 9, 1927. Toronto. (2) Ibid: Report on the tagging operations in 1926, with addi- 
tional returns from the operations of 1925. By H. Chas. Williamson. Cont. Can. Biol, and Fish., N.S. IV, no. 29, 1929. Toronto. 
(3) Ibid: The tagging operations at Quatsino and Kyuquot in 1927, with additional returns from the operations of 1925 and 1926 . 
By H. Chas. Williamson. Bull. Biol. Bd. Canada, no. 26, 1932. Ottawa. 
