678 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
the reservation to commercial fishing by natives who were residents of Afognak 
Island conditional upon their obtaining a fishing license from a designated agent of 
the Government. During that year salmon were salted at Malina, Paramanof, and 
Seal Bays, but much of the pack was lost, due to faulty curing, and to the interrup- 
tion of operations in the middle of the season by the eruption of Katmai Volcano. 
Most of the catch in that year went to the new cannery at Kodiak, as it did for years 
thereafter, or until 1921, when a cannery was built at Uzinki. Since then two more 
canneries were opened and now get a share of Afognak fish. 
All streams in this district are small, those of Malina, Paramanof, and Seal Bays 
being the most important. Malina Creek empties into Shelikof Strait at a point 
exposed to westerly winds, which 
frequently interrupt fishing there, 
a condition that should make for 
a larger escapement of salmon than 
at the other fisheries located near 
the heads of bays in quiet places 
where similar interruptions do not 
occur. These fisheries have been 
fairly productive of red salmon, 
and the district as a whole shows 
no such evidences of serious deple- 
tion as have been observed in some 
other localities. It would be unrea- 
sonable, however, to suppose that 
there can be much increase in the 
productivity of these streams so 
far as red salmon are concerned. 
The spawning grounds are too lim- 
ited, as the lake shores are rocky 
and precipitous and the tributary 
streams are small. The other spe- 
cies fare better, however, as several 
miles of creek beds below the 
S - - S £ ° lakes are open to them for Spawn- 
ed cn cn cn cn cn . x . 
------ mg. The data are presented m 
Figure 8.— Catch of red salmon at Malina, Paramanof, and Seal Bays 'J'^ble 20 
The catch of red salmon is shown graphically in Figure 8. This presents the 
catch in each of the three most important localities and for the entire district. There 
was a marked reduction in the catch in all localities during the 5-year period begin- 
ning with 1916 — a condition that was in all probability due primarily to the unfavor- 
able conditions in the spawning grounds that obtained for several years after the 
Katmai eruption of 1912. The fisheries have shown a remarkable recovery since 1920, 
however, and in recent years have been fully as productive as at any time since our 
records began. There have been wide fluctuations in the annual catches, but, with 
the exception just considered, these fluctuations appear to be due to natural causes 
and without special significance. There is some evidence of a cyclic change at 
5-year intervals, but we have not considered it worth while to make a detailed analysis 
of this on account of the comparatively few years in the series that may be considered 
as normal. 
