24 
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
netters did exceptionally well and landed nearly as many fish as 
the seining fleet. 
In the spring of 1909, at the special solicitation of the Board of 
Trade and the Master Mariners’ Association of Gloucester, Mass., 
the Bureau undertook an investigation of the mackerel in the interests 
of the fishing industry. The auxiliary schooner Grampus was de- 
tailed for the purpose, and an experienced mackerel fisherman was 
placed in charge of the inquiry, which began in April and was in 
progress at the close of the year. One of the main objects of the 
inquiry is to locate the body of fish supposed to be on grounds remote 
from those cruised over by the seining fleet. The apparatus for 
locating and making experimental catches of fish consists of gill 
nets and lines; tow nets are also carried for the purpose of detecting 
the presence of the minute crustaceans upon which mackerel chiefly 
subsist. The cruising will extend from Cape Henry northward 
along the coast to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Labrador. The 
work, so far, has been chiefly on offshore grounds from Cape Henry 
to Cape Cod. 
ALASKA SALMON SERVICE. 
In the annual inspection of the salmon fisheries of Alaska, the 
agents visited practically all the fishing centers with the exception 
of arctic Alaska and parts of western and central Alaska, and obtained 
information regarding the condition and extent of all the other 
fisheries of the Territory in addition to the salmon. The agents’ 
detailed report on the fishing industry was published in April, 1909. 
The salmon fisheries in 1908 were more extensive and valuable 
than ever before. In taking the catch and preparing and transport- 
ing the canned, pickled, fresh, and frozen fish, 12,183 persons were 
employed and $9,298,800, exclusive of cash capital, were invested, 
and the value of the output was $10,683,051. The total quantity of 
salmon taken was 198,952,814 pounds, of which 125,790,470 pounds 
represented red salmon, 48,029,055 pounds humpbacks, 15,578,570 
pounds dog salmon, 5,291,200 pounds coho or silver salmon, and 
4,263,519 pounds king salmon. 
Fifty canneries and 40 salting establishments were operated, and 
the quantity of salmon therein utilized was larger than ever before. 
The pack of canned salmon w r as 2,618,048 cases, equivalent to 
2,606,972 standard cases of 48 one-pouncl cans each, and the salmon 
and salmon bellies salted aggregated 35,949 barrels and 6,247 half 
barrels. 
In southeast Alaska it was found that trap-net fishermen in some 
localities were openly violating the law by failing to observe the 
close season, and this too at a time when the canneries were glutted 
and unable to handle the legitimate catch. Violations to the number 
