1. -REPORT ON THE SALMON FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 
By MARSHALL McDONALD, 
U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. 
U. S, Commission of Fish and Fisheries, 
Washington , D. 0., July 2, 1892. 
Hon. Levi P. Morton, 
President United States Senate : 
Sir: In obedience to a resolution of the Senate of the United States, directing 
the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries “to communicate to the Senate any informa- 
tion in his possession relative to salmon fishing in Alaska, its extent, and whether the 
methods employed in catching salmon are likely to diminish the supply and eventually 
exterminate the salmon ; together with his opinion as to what measures should be 
adopted for the protection and preservation of the salmon industry in Alaskan waters,” 
I have the honor to transmit herewith a brief report, discussing the subject under the 
following captions : 
1. Origin and development of the Alaskan salmon fisheries. 
2. Statistics of the fisheries. 
3. Present condition of the fisheries. 
4. The methods and apparatus employed. 
5. The protective regulation of the fisheries, including recommendations as to 
further legislation in reference to them. 
Appended to this communication, and making a part of it, is a paper upon the 
life history of the salmon, by Dr. T. H. Bean, ichthyologist of the Commission. For 
convenience of reference I have also appended a bibliography, as far as could be ascer- 
tained in the limited time at my disposal, of publications relating to the salmon of 
Alaska and adjacent waters. 
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALASKAN SALMON FISHERIES. 
The marvelous abundance of several species of salmon in Alaskan waters has 
been long known, but in consequence of the remoteness of this region and its inacces- 
sibility, the abundant supply in rivers nearer markets, and a disposition on the part 
of buyers to underrate Alaskan products, its fishery resources have not been laid under 
contribution for market supply until within a few years, during which we have seen, 
Note. — This paper was first published as Senate Miscellaneous Document No. 192, Fifty-second 
Congress, first session. The subject dismissed is of such general interest that it was thought advisable 
to give the report a wider circulation and a more permanent form by inserting it as an article in the 
Bulletin. 
F. C. B. 1892—1 
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