Fisherman’s Life Hard, But Good-Dysoi
Says Control of Fisheries Badly Needed
By Miriam J Angel!
On a recent brilliant day when
the waters of Kodiak Bay were
aquamarine, with froths of white
caps, and the farthest point of
land stood out sharp against clear
sky, we paid a call on Oscar Dyson,
fisherman, member of the Alaska
Fish and Game Board, and owner
of the Susie Q. The Susie Q is a
sturdy biue and white Alaska
limit purse seiner, presently tied
up at the end of the pier near the
breakwater in the small boat
harbor; when you go there you
pass by most of Kodiak’s fishing
fleet, wonder why you had waited
so long a time to visit the place.
From a fimiliar distance it is
picturesque; at hand, with a brisk
breeze bowing, gulls wheeing,
sun almost blinding on the water,
and the boats creaking gently at
their mooring lines, it is wonder
ful to see.
A bit early for our appointment,
we sat on a gunwale and talked
landlubber talk about boats with
photographer George Ameigh. We
watched the Theresa T of Juneau
swish into port; one sassy seagull
watched us from a post and a
fat seal with bulgy eyes surfaced
not far off, took a good look around
and slid back to his fishing.
Oscar Dyson arrived on a red
motor cycle and once the picture
taking was over, invited us aboard.
In the compact wheelhouse are a
radar scope, automatic pilot and
magnetic compass. Just aft this
compartment are two bunks, ship
to-shore phone, and a depth re
corder; aft this is the galley with
an oil range, benches, a table and
various small storage compart
ments. A solid oak door leads from
the galley to the outside where,
on the stern, is a live crab tank
and a good size boom. On either
side the boom Oscar Dyson, and
his partner and engineer for the
past fifteen years, Seldon Nelson,
are installing twin stabalizers
which will enable the boat to fish
farther away from shore, and in
rougher waters. Above the cabin
on the flying bridge is the radar
antenna. The Suzie Q is well
equipped and well kept, as she
should be for the venturous and
sometimes dangerous business of
fishing in Alaskan waters.
We told the skipper he had a
fine-looking boat; he said, “Yes,
she is, but right now we are kind
of between seasons; our engines
are all torn down for overhaul be
fore we go out again, so there’s a
lot of gear lying loose around
here. The Susie Q is 49 feet on
the keel and overall 58 feet by 15
feet wide. I’ve owned her for six
years.
“We came to Kodiak in 1953.
Prior to that, in Anchorage. I was
ir the Army Engineers when they
were pouring the runways at Fort
Richardson, and for a while I had
an interior decorating business,
but I sold that and bought my
first boat.”
We had heard that Oscar Dyson
had sacrificed a good deal to spend
some of his fishing time on the
Fish and Game Board; Senator
Bartlett, on his recent trip to Kodi
ak, had praised him for his con
structive work. The Board is a
group of men, appointed by the
governor of Alaska, to represent
the fishing areas of the state and
make the fishing laws and regula
tions for sport and commercial
operations. Their decisions are
based on their own Knowledge and
fact-finding, and on research done
by the Alaska Fish and Game De
partment. The Fish and Game De
partment in turn carries out the
regulations and controls. Board
members serve without salary,
though their expenses are paid
when they attend meetings in
Juneau.
“I represent the whole state of
Alaska,” Mr. Dyson told us, “but
I’m the only member from Kodiak
and of course I have this area’s
interests in mind at all times. My
first term was for two years and
1 was reappointed recently to
serve four more. As for the time I
spend on it, well, it is most neces
sary for the economy of Alaska
to have good laws for the develop
ment of the fishing industry. What
we are trying to do is to make it
a year ‘round industry and to per
petuate the fishing. The Fish and
Game Department is doing an ex
cellent job toward this and with
Kodiak Creamery
We now have TWO specials a month
Special for October 21, through
November 4.
LICORICE
ICE CREAM
\ St «*
\ T Ore"" Sa«*
their research; they are a hard
working group.
“When Alaska became a state
fishing was at a very low level;
there had been over-fishing and
mismanagement, but actually no
one can point a finger at any one
eason. We had all our decions
made for us out of Washington, D.
C. before, but now we can make
are own and get on with the bus
iness of building fishing back up to
a high level. There is a fine line be
tween utilizing the resources and
yet not overfishing. We want to
settle this slowly over a period
of years, rot reach a high point
and go wild, and deplete the re
sources.”
Since the power to regulate its
own resources has passed to the
new state, the Legislature has
abolished fish traps (except for
eleven traps in Southeastern—
their owners await a final court
decision); the Board of Fish and
Game has limited the take on all
types of fish and crab, outlawed
dragging for crab in the Kodiak
area, and set a limit on the num
ber of crab pots each boat can
have. We asked what he consider
ed the most important new law?
Mr. Dyson answered, “Well, it’s
hard to say; all are important to
build up the industry. Possibly
the most important to Kodiak
would be the King Crab regula
tions which we feel have done
more for Kodiak than anything
else. Crabbing is so important to
the island; very few local fisher
men have large boats—the fleet is
about ninety percent two-man
boats. At a public meeting on Oct
ober twelfth in Kodiak some of
the larger crab boat owners were
looking toward having the regu
lations changed a bit to increase
the number of pots. It was made
a recommendation but this can
not become law until the board
meets in November to consider
all the proposals.
“This part of Alaska is very
fortunate because the potentials
are so great for year ‘round fish
ing. Kodiak is in the middle of an
area having the highest plankton
count of the whole Pacific North
west, which accounts for the great
numbers of fish, crab and shrimp
in our waters.
“Winter fishing is important so
that fishermen wilM have jobs
throughout the year, not just sea
sonal ones. King Crab is the only
winter fishing we nave at this
time though shrimp is beginning
to be important. The shrimp have
always been there but they
couldn’t be ecnomically processed
until about two years ago when
automatic shrimp peeling ma
chines were developed. The ma
chines are very expensive; one
kind rents to packers for a charge
of a dollar and a quarter a case,
while the other kind sell, for $45,
000. King Crab owns three of
these, and there are two plants
in Seward that use them.”
The shrunp peeling machines
will make it possible for Ameri
can fishermen to compete with
the poorly paid foreign fisher
men, though Alaska, as well as
other seaport areas of the United
States, wants very much to have
an Import Control on all fish
products. This would limit the
amount any other nation could
ship into our country and the U.
S. could balance the consumption,
imported versus domestic. Domes
tic fishermen and packing com
panies would then be assured a
stable income without the ups
and downs of present market de
mands.
Dale Kramer, owner of the
Ruth L, joined us in the galley
and said he was waiting to get
his seventy foot boat on Alvine’s
Marine Ways fo repairs, that the
grid in the small boat harbor is
(Continued on Page 11)
Mr. Oscar Dyson
photo by Ameigh
Similarities Seen
In Hawaii Alaska
Alaska and Hawaii, the newest
state in the Union, have similar
problems and other simlarities, ac
cording t o a recent letter from Dr.
A. Holmes Johnson, who is in
Hawaii making a study of that
states transition from a territory
status. Johnson writes:
“The entire State of Hawaii has
less than 500,000 population and it
is spread over 1,500 miles of ocean,
but it consists of only eight islands
with a total area of 4,118,000 acres
—about the size of Deleware, Con
necticut and Rhode Island com
bined. I find they have a number
of problems similar to Alaska.
Yesterday the gavernor came out
for a ferry system for the Islands
which are now served by daily air
service and occasional freighters.
Like Alaska, most of Hawaii is
mountains and, aside from Oahu,
where Honolulu is located, is very
sparsely settled, and this island is
less than half the size of Kodiak
Island. They can and do, however,
make full use of their few valleys
by raising sugar cane and pine
apple in abundance. They have
what we lack—industries. Sugar
was worth $146,000,000 to their
economy last year; pineapple juice
and fruit, $124,000,000, and the
tourist industry, $101,000,000. In
1960 the tourist industry will pass
pineapple and may pass sugar.
“While we cannot raise these
tropical fruits, we can develop the
tourist industry and I believe the
this can be a great source of rev
enue to help us develop our great
state. I think that, aside from cli
mate, we have much more to of
fer the tourist. Our scenery sur
passes anything in the word and
our history is most interesting. We
have a challenging frontier that
can stir anyones imagination.
“We can take advantage of this
in Kodiak by emphazing our his
tory—better marking of our his
toric sites—procuring and restor
ing the old Baranov house, and
showing, in a museum, just how
the early Kodiak Indians lived, and
how this changed with the edvent
of the Russian. Tourists are inter
ested in these things. Here, for in
stance, they spend thousands of
dollars annually just to fly to
another island to see where
Captain Cook landed in 1778. The
Historical Society here is doing
much more along these lines and
am bringing a number of their
ideas home with me.
“I see a great future for all
of Alaska,” Dr. Johnson conclud
ed.
If you have something to sell
try a classified ad in the Mirror.
They bring quick results.
WARDROBE
Closes Nov. 5th.
PRICES SLASHED AGAIN!
Everything Goes at Prices
Way Below Cost!
COATS SUITS DRESSES SKIRTS
BLOUSES SWEATERS RAINCOATS
LARGE SIZES IN
SLACKS BLOUSES DRESSES
AND FLOOR LENGTH LODGE
DRESSES
LAY-A-WAYS UNTIL NOV. 3rd
NOW IS THE TIME TO DO THAT
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING-for
better gifts for less.