REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
25 
of 53 were reported to the grand jury, which brought in a true bill in 
each instance, and the cases were tried in the district court at Skagway. 
The owners of the traps agreed to assume responsibility for the actions 
of their employees, and plead guilty, whereupon the court imposed a 
fine of $150 in each case. There is a healthy public sentiment in favor 
of the strict enforcement of laws for the protection of the salmon, and 
this sentiment is shared by a very large proportion of the firms and 
companies having money invested in the fisheries. 
In the pickling of salmon bellies, there has always been a very large 
waste, as the muscular tissue constituting the belly, the only part util- 
ized, represents only a small fraction of the total flesh. This waste,, 
which has amounted to several million pounds annually, appeared to 
be unjustifiable, and was accordingly brought to the attention of the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor with a recommendation that the 
practice be prohibited. The waste was held to be in violation of exist- 
ing law, and its interdiction was set forth in the following circular 
notice to all packers of salmon in Alaska, issued by the Commissioner 
of Fisheries under date of April 18, 1908, and affecting the season 
of 1909 : 
It is desired to call the attention of all packers of salmon in Alaska to section 
8 of the act for the protection of the fisheries of Alaska, approved June 26, 1906, 
which reads as follows : 
“ Sec. 8. That it shall be unlawful for any person, company, or corporation 
wantonly to waste or destroy salmon or other food fishes taken or caught in any 
of the waters of Alaska.” 
The present methods of preparing the bellies of salmon for the market involve 
the waste of a large part of the edible portion of the fish. It is believed that 
this waste is contrary to the spirit and letter of the above provision. The Secre- 
tary of Commerce and Labor, who is charged with the enforcement of the Alaska 
fisheries act, has notified this Bureau that the practice of curing and preserving 
the so-called belly of the salmon, which results in the waste of a large proportion 
of the edible portion of the fish, is a wanton waste within the meaning of section 
8 above, and that after January 1, 1909, those who engage in this practice will be 
reported for prosecution, as provided for in the act. 
Complaints have reached the Bureau from salmon fishermen in 
southeast Alaska relative to injury done to the fisheries by the dis- 
charge of sawdust and other sawmill refuse into waters where salmon 
run. Such materials are generally recognized as harmful to fish and 
fishing, and are the subjects of special laws in many States, but there 
is nothing in the Alaskan code to cover the case. In order to guard 
against the pollution of the streams and other waters of the Territory 
by all kinds of industrial wastes, it is desirable that proper legislation 
be enacted by Congress at an early date. It will be easier to keep the 
public waters free from noxious discharges by anticipating the indus- 
trial development than by attempting to abate nuisances after they 
have become established. 
