SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA SALMON STATISTICS 
589 
Bay, and Moira Sound a few years later. The exact year in which these operations 
commenced is not known, but in a general way salmon salting antedated salmon 
canning by several years in these localities. According to Moser, the first salmon 
for canning were taken at Karta Bay in 1888 and packed at Loring. In time, the 
salteries were abandoned or gave way to canneries in all of these several localities, 
except Thorne and Tolstoi Bays. During the intervening years the entire catches 
went to canneries outside of the Clarence Strait district. The first cannery on 
Clarence Strait was located at Lake Bay. It was followed by the establishment of 
canneries on Kasaan Bay, Cholmondeley Sound, Moira Sound, and at Metlakatla, 
the latter coming as a result of the presidential proclamation in 1896, creating the 
Annette Island Fishery Reservation for the benefit of the Tsimpsean Indians who, 
under the leadership of William Duncan, had moved in a body from British Columbia, 
and the Alaskan natives who might settle on Annette Island. In this period of devel- 
opment, exploitation of the fisheries centered at the streams where red and coho 
salmon were obtainable, the chronological order of development being as follows: 
1888, Karta Bay; 1889, Kasaan Bay, Thome Bay; 1892, Johnson Cove, Port Johnson, 
Kegan Cove, Moira Sound, Tamgas Harbor; 1894, Dora Bay; 1896, Lake Bay, 
Meyers Chuck, Salmon Bay, Whale Passage, Kina Cove, Skowl Arm, and Nichols 
Bay. 
All of these streams except those at Meyers Chuck on Cleveland Peninsula and 
Tamgas Harbor on Annette Island are located on Prince of Wales Island. In 1900 
a floating saltery was operated at Kasaan Bay and prepared chum salmon for Japanese 
markets. 
The growth of the industry, however, was not dependent upon the utilization 
of red salmon as it was soon discovered that the chief fishery resource of the district 
consisted of its large supply of pink salmon which were widely distributed in these 
waters. Utilization of this species was almost contemporaneous with the packing of 
red salmon and in a few years the production of pinks exceeded the combined pack of 
all other species. The industry expanded rapidly, new fishing grounds were opened 
and the fishing effort was constantly increased until Clarence Strait became one of 
the most highly developed and productive districts in all of Alaska. It was also 
discovered that salmon enter the strait both from the north and from the south and 
that the schools followed rather definite routes in their migrations. Runs of large 
volume struck the western shore of Gravina Island and Cleveland Peninsula, a 
circumstance that led to intensive trap fishing in those localities. In time, traps 
fairly lined both sides of Clarence Strait, more especially in the southern part. Purse 
seines were used in all localities where salmon congregated and trolling was followed 
in the more open waters of the district. The peak of production was reached in 1923 
with a catch of all species of approximately 13,000,000 salmon, which was over one 
fourth of the total catch in southeastern Alaska that year and approximately one sixth 
of the entire catch in Alaska. Actually, the relative productivity of this district 
was somewhat greater than these figures indicate on account of large unallocated 
catches in 1923, a large proportion of which unquestionably came from this district. 
