180 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
pack of 400 cases the year following (1884). It is noticed, however, that Petroff, in 
the census report of 1880, states: 
The salmon family, the great feeder of all the Alaskan people, frequents in astonishing numbers 
the Nushagak and other streams emptying into Bristol Bay. The facilities for building traps and 
weirs are also extraordinary, and American fishermen have for some years been engaged here every 
season in reaping a rich harvest and shipping the fish, salted in barrels, to market. Hundreds of barrels 
have been filled with a single clean up of a trap. The only drawback to this business is the short 
period over which the run extends, necessitating the employment of a very large number of hands 
while it lasts. * * * Exports from this section have thus far been limited to from 800 to 1,200 
barrels of salted salmon per annum from the Nushagak River. 
It is probable that this latter reference was to the salting done by traders on a 
limited scale. The Alaska Commercial Company, or their agents, salted salmon at 
various stations prior to 1880, and, as they had an important station at Fort Alex- 
ander, on the Nushagak, it is probable that some salting was done there. 
FISHING METHODS AND FISHERMEN. 
Two methods only are employed in taking salmon for commercial purposes in 
th is district, viz, by gill nets and by traps, and both are well adapted to the local 
conditions. 
The strong currents and comparatively narrow deep-water channels, together 
with the discolored water, permit the use of gill nets with great success. The 
dimensions of the nets vary according to the depth of water and the individual 
ideas of the different cannery superintendents. For redfish the length varies from 
75 to 80 fathoms; the depth from 20 to 26 meshes, and the mesh from 6-| to 61 inches 
stretched. For king salmon the length is from 120 to 125 fathoms, the depth 24 
meshes, and the mesh 91 inches stretched. Floats are rigged 3 feet apart and leads 21 
feet apart. The average value is about 65 cents per fathom, depending on the market 
and the quantity purchased. The large companies use a great amount of web, and 
have special arrangements with the manufacturers. By watching the market closely 
and buying when the price is low they have a great advantage over small operators. 
The gill-net boats used on the Nushagak and the Ugashik are regular Columbia 
River boats, built in San Francisco at an average price, complete, of $200. The 
usual dimensions are: Length, 25 feet 1 inch; beam, 7 feet 8 inches; depth, 2 feet 
6 inches; capacity, 300 cubic feet. They have a centerboard and spritsail, and will 
carry, as an extreme, 1,400 redfish The boats used on the Kvichak, Naknek, and 
Egegak are flat-bottom double-enders, about 1 foot longer than the Columbia River 
boats, but have the same rig and the same capacity, and on the water resemble them 
very closely. Their value is about $100, complete. Two men form a gill-net crew — 
a netter and a boat-puller. They work on tides, and when the fish are plentiful remain 
near the canneries, but when the run is slack they may drift 15 or 20 miles away. 
Traps, used extensively in the Bristol Bay district, are a subject for criticism 
throughout Alaska. They are expensive to build and maintain, but have many 
advantages to the canner. The great benefit of a trap is not only that it fishes day 
and night, but, if the run is heavy for a few days and the cannery fully supplied by 
the gill-netters, the fish in the traps can be held for a time until the catch of the gill- 
netters is slack. These advantages have frequently led the trapmen beyond the limits 
