732 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Table 13 . — Fall purse-seine fleets on Puget Sound, 1916-34 
Registered net tonnage 1 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 
1924 
1925 
1926 
1927 
1928 
1929 
1930 
1931 
1932 
1933 
1934 
Below 5 
6 
31 
24 
23 
26 
3 
1 
1 
1 
3 
1 
2 
4 
4 
1 
1 
4 
1 
5-9 
36 
40 
11 
15 
7 
7 
3 
4 
3 
6 
4 
3 
3 
6 
5 
8 
4 
5 
5 
10-14 
90 
106 
45 
54 
23 
46 
27 
26 
20 
29 
20 
26 
22 
26 
18 
22 
18 
25 
22 
15-19 
88 
125 
58 
63 
43 
69 
30 
35 
26 
47 
36 
44 
44 
49 
47 
56 
45 
56 
57 
20-24 
51 
83 
50 
58 
34 
53 
27 
28 
16 
27 
19 
27 
25 
39 
38 
45 
42 
44 
43 
25-29 
4 
26 
19 
19 
33 
49 
22 
23 
16 
29 
28 
33 
34 
41 
40 
48 
42 
47 
43 
30-34 - 
1 
23 
15 
20 
13 
22 
12 
14 
9 
14 
20 
32 
31 
27 
30 
40 
34 
34 
36 
35-39 
1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
8 
6 
10 
8 
20 
15 
17 
15 
40-44 
1 
1 
3 
2 
5 
4 
8 
4 
4.5-49 
1 
1 
1 
4 
3 
1 
2 
Total-. 
276 
435 
223 
255 
180 
250 
130 
133 
93 
158 
130 
175 
168 
211 
196 
248 
206 
242 
226 
1 Vessels of 5 net tons and larger from official registers; boats below 5 net tons from State license applications. 
The data given in tables 12 and 13 are presented in graphical form in the top 
section of figure 15. The dotted line represents the size of the unallocated fleets 
from 1909-15. The size of the summer fleets from 1916-34 is represented by the solid 
line, and that of the fall fleets of the same years by the broken line. 
A general consideration of the number of licenses indicates a continuous increase 
in numbers from 1909-15, an extremely high point in 1917, very small numbers during 
the years of post-war depression, and a considerable increase thereafter. The year 
1917 stands apart as the peak in number of vessels during the entire history of purse- 
seining in this region; 425 vessels fished during the summer season and 435 during the 
fall. Pink salmon were abundant, the appearance of a big run of sockeye was antici- 
pated, and a war-created demand for food had caused the price of raw fish to increase 
enormously. As a result, 122 new vessels were built that year, and almost every vessel 
on the Sound large enough to carry a net, including tow boats and pleasure craft, 
was engaged in purse seining. Although the regular seiners enjoyed a successful 
season, the sockeye run did not reach expectations, nor was the fall fishing especially 
profitable. Newcomers to the fleet found that purse seining was a most arduous 
vocation and that successful fishing was largely dependent upon the ability and expe- 
rience of the vessel captain. These factors, coupled with the fact that 1918 was an 
off year for the summer fishery, caused the fleet of that year to shrink to more normal 
proportions, even in the face of a continued demand for fish. Except for the alternate 
rise and fall in odd-numbered years, the fleets remained approximately constant in 
number from 1918 to 1921. The abundance of most species of salmon had diminished 
considerably and this, together with the financial depression of 1921, resulted in a 
marked decrease in the number of vessels fishing in 1922. 
Only three more vessels fished in the fall fleet of 1923 than in that of the previous 
year. This was the first year since the period of early development that the odd year 
showed so small a rise in number. The year 1924, when only 51 vessels fished during 
the summer season and 93 in the fall, was the first since 1909 in which less than a 
hundred vessels were licensed on the sound. However, beginning in 1925, the fleets 
again began to increase steadily in number. Although expansion ceased during the 
depression years following 1929, there followed no such decline as appeared in the 
period from 1922-24. The fleets of the 1930’s, were of approximately the same size 
as were those immediately following 1917. 
