228 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
outlay for a cannery. Some years ago, the establislnnent of a factory for the utilization 
of sarflines was contemplated at the month of the Columbia, where, during a brief 
Xieriod in each year, sardines may usually be taken in abundance ; but the shortness 
of the season deterred the consummation of the iilan. It is possible that within a few 
years the canning of sardines may be undertaken in connection with the packing of 
salmon at a few places on the more northern parts of the west coast, Avhere there is a 
short run of sardines that can be utilized Avithout the necessity for expensive special 
machinery, etc. This matter has already received the consideration of some salmoii- 
canners; but the general canning of sardines by salmon-packers is not anticipated so 
long as the supply of salmon lasts. 
Personal obserAuition and inquiry, the testimony of fishermen and dealers, and 
the studies of ichthyologists afford ground for the belief that the successful operation 
of a sardine cannery can not be expected any farther north than San Francisco, and 
the history of the industry at that place seems to indicate that the northern limit of 
satisfactory AAmrk is even farther south. South of San Francisco the prospects of a 
profitable business appear to be in direct relation to the latitude; the more southern 
the location of the cannery the more constant and abundant the supply of fish. 
It is probable that at some i)laces on the coast, more especially to the northward, 
the conditions for the successful canning of anchovies are very good. In a paper pre- 
sented to the World’s Fisheries Congress at Chicago, entitled ‘‘hTotes on the fisheries 
and fishery industries of Puget Sound,”* Mr. James G. Swan devotes a chapter to 
the sardine (i. e., anchovy) fishery of that region, and mentions the advantages which 
the sound possesses for the establishment of a canning industry. Writing of the 
anchovy, he says: 
AA'^lieii taken in Monterey or San Diego bays, it is only lit for bait; but in Puget Sound, which is 
its northern limit, it is in perfection, and is one of the fattest and most deliciously flavored of the small 
flsh, and is considered by experts to be far superior, in point of flavor and richness, to the best Medi- 
terranean sardine. Some Norwegian and Russian fishermen here have put them up, in limited quan- 
tities, in vinegar and spice, and they are delicious and sell readily; but the men who attempted the 
euteriu’ise are without capital, and there has been no one-with executive ability to push the business 
forward to a success. The ancliovy come to Puget Sound in enormous quantities, and during their 
season, from May to November, every bay and inlet is crowded with them. AA^hen they first come 
from the ocean they appear in Clallam Bay, on Fuca Strait; then in Port Angeles, Dungeness, and 
Sequin bays ; then in Port Discovery, and next in Port Townsend and Scow bays, where their numbers 
are almost incredible. I hare known them to be in such masses at Port Hadlock, at the head of Port 
Townsend Bay, that they could be dipped up with a common water bucket, but as there has been no 
demand for them the fishermen do not consider them of value, and when hauling their nets for smelt 
they generally let the anchovy escape. The anchovy differ from herring in one resjieot — the herring, 
when they visit the bays, keep inshore and are easily caught in seines and lauded on the beach ; 
anchovies, on the contrary, keep out in deep water and seldom approacli the shore, so that drag seines 
are of no use to capture them. They can be best taken with purse seines, as mackerel are taken in 
the Atlantic. As these fish are small, not much over 6 or 7 inches in length, they require a net with a 
small mesh, and with suitable gear an enormous quantity can be secured. 
Sar (line-canning at San Francisco . — In June, 1S89, a canning factory was estab- 
lisbed in San Francisco, wliich continued in operation until August, 1893. During the 
five years in Avbicli tbe cannery Avas run the yearly pack was from 5,000 to 15,000 cases. 
Tire canned fish consisted chiefly of anchovies in oil in quarter -pound cans and 
large sardines in 1 -pound and2-i)ound round cans. The fish consumed at the factory 
were caught in San Francisco Bay Avith haul seines. In the earlier years sardines 
* Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission 1893, article 12, pj>. 371-380. 
