A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FISHERIES
OF ALASKA BY WELL KNOWN EXPERT
By Henry O’Malley
United States Commissioner of Fisheries
That Alaska was rich in its fishery resources was
known long before tbe United States purchased the lei
ritory Earlv navigators wrote particularly of the pres
ence of cod. For a number of years American vessels had
resorted to the cod banks of Alaska, and occasionally Am
erican fishermen went to Southeastern Alaska and pre
pared salted salmon. The Hon. Charles Sumner lefened
to these fisheries in his speech on the cession of Alaska to
the United States in 18fi7. After our purchase of the
Territory the vessel codfishery rapidly expanded and a
few shore stations were also established. It has continued
one of the valuable fishery industries of Alaska.
1 ne KUSSianS Xiau UUUC WUDmtiamc
salting of salmon, small shipments of
king salmon even being sent to St.
Petersburg. Tlhe first salmon can
nery in Alaska was built and operat
ed at Klawak in 1878, and the in
dustry has expended steadily since,
until it far exceeds any other single
industry, the value of canned salmon
packed in Alaska in 1924 being over
$33,000,000.
The salmon fisheries of Alaska "were
administered by the Treasury de
partment until 1903, when they were
transferred to the Department of
Commerce, and in 1905 finally placed
under the jurisdiction of the Bureau
of Fisheries. The importance of the
fishery industry (by that time made
necessary some more systematic reg
ulation of it, and on June 26, 1906
a comprehensive act was approved
for the protection of the fisheries ol
Alaska. This law appeared satisfac
tory conditions obtaining at the time
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it -#as passed, and the Bureau of :
Fisheries continued to function under <
it for 18 years, or until approval of i
a new law on June 6, 1924. The law !
of 1906 had long before that become i
obsolete and the authority of the '
Bureau of Fisheries under it was ut- 1
terly inadequate to enable the im- <
position of needed restrictions on '
fishery operations.
The great salmon canning industry <
had reached its peak in 1918, the <
last year of the World War, when a ■
total of 6,605,835 cases of salmon 1
was packed in Alaska, and the seem
ingly inexhaustible runs of salmon
had everywhere been depleted to a
greater or less extent. The Depart
ment of Commerce exercised all of
the authority granted to it under the
law of 1906 if or restricting fishery op
erations, and after the season of 1921 )
commercial fishing for salmon was
proohibited within all streams of Al
aska and within a zone extending
500 yards off their mouths, the only
exceptions being at the mouths of
the Karluk and Ugashik Rivers.
Efforts to secure the passage of a
revised law had been persistent, and
as a last resort in 1922 reservations
were created by presidential author
ity to provide more adequate control
in districts w'here the salmon runs
were most acutely in need of pro
tection. These reservations remain
! or} -in oviofonoo ;until tVia Q-nnrnirfll
eci in existence <unui me approval
of the new law on June 6, 1924. The
chief feature of the new law is the
power lodged in the Secretary of
Commerce to create areas in which
fishing may toe limited or entirely
prohibited as the circumstances war
rant and to say when, where, and
how fishing may be conducted. Jur
isdiction of the Secretary is also made
to include the full extent of territo
rial .waters instead of 500 yards out
side stream mouths. The new law
also imposed the weekly closed peri
od on fishing in the Bristol Bay re
gion, Cook Inlet, and the Copper Riv
er Delta, which were formerly ex
cepted from this limitation.
Regulations were promptly issued
for the season of 1924 extending clos
ed preiods, providing for closed areas,
and fixing seasonal limitations on op
erations, as well imposing limita
tions on the size and amount of fish
ing gear that might toe used. As
the fishing season had already begun
in many places, and the companies
had made preparations to operate on
their usual scale, the regulations were
less drastic than would otherwise
have been the case. Nevertheless
they were of great benefit in insuring
a larger escapemnt of salmon. Ad
ditional regulations were issued dur
ing the progress of the season.
The regulations issued in Decem
ber, 1924, for the 192 season were
more stringent in character. They
provided for 12 general fishing areas
which wrere so defined that the regu
lations could be practically the same
throughout each area. Restrictions
were chiefly in the form of limited
closed seasons, the total prohibition
of certain forms of fishing gear, and
limitations on the size and amount of
the fishing gear permitted. In 76
specific localities, fishing for salmon
was entirely prohibited. In the Yukon
area commercial fishing was entire
ly prohibited. In the Bristol Bay
area, in addition to other restrictions,
commercial fishing for salmon by
means of traps, /toeach seines and
purse seines wai prohibited. The
use of purse seines was prohibited in
the Chignik area, as were tooth purse
seines and floating traps in the Cook
Inlet and Kodiak areas. In addition,
in Cook Inlet salmon traps were pro
hibited within one mile of the mouth
of any salmon stream, the distance
being increased to two miles at the
Kasilof and Kenai Rivers.
Justification for the stringency of
regulations imposed this season is
found in the results of examinations
,of the spawning grounds in certain
districts in the fall of 1925. When it
became evident that the Bristol Bay
run was small this year the fish
ing season was shortened in spite
of protests from some of the pack
ers. Visits to the spawning grounds
of the district showed an almost total
lack of spawners in some streams and
a greatly reduced number at all places
visited. The natives were greatly
alarmed at their inability to secure
salmon for their winter needs and
had already killed about half of their
dogs.
There was much complaint by fish
ermen and companies in regard to
the additional restrictions on opera
tions on the Copper River Delta this
year -where a greatly reduced catch t
of red salmon was made. But a spec- t
ial Investigation of the spawning g
grounds of the Copper River, altho' t
not as comprehensive as would have r
been desirable, indicated clearly that e
the numJber of spawners in many L
cases was utterly inadequate to main- a
tain the run. The catch of salmon a
in the natives’ wheels along the riv- v
er, while possibly sufficient for ac- e
tual needs was, in most instances, \
smaller than usual. Thus it seems 1
clear that not only were the llmita- ^
tions upon fishing fully warranted, i
but that even more stringent regula- "v
tions may 'be necessary to restore and t
maintain the runs of red salmon I
in these waters. r
Another place where there was bit- *
ter complaint this past season is the *
Icy Strait-Lynn Canal region of south- t
eastern Alaska. Commercial fishing *
for salmon was entirely prohibited t
in the waters of Lynn Canal north <
of the south end of the first island 1
below Seduction Point, and the dis- <
tance interval between traps in all 1
waters north of 58 degrees north lat- '■
itude was increased from 1,800 feet !
to IV2 miles. It was urged that the
Chilkat and Chilkoot natives would
be destitute if prevented from fish
ing in the headwaters of Lynn Canal,
but it developed that they .found am- 1
pie employment along other lines, 1
and a supplementary order opened
these waters to fishing during the
late fall run, which would enable
the taking of an ample winter sup
ply of salmon. An inspection of the
spawning grounds of the Chilkat and
Chilkoot regions showed an escape
ment of spawning salmon justifying
I the restrictions imposed.
The key to the problem of conserv
ing Alaska’s salmon fisheries is the
securing of a sufficient escapement
of salmon to the spawning grounds.
The new law contains the statement
that it is the intent and policy ot
Congress that there shall Ibe an es
capement of not less than 50 per cnet
of the runs of salmon. At Chignik,
Karluk, and in - two streams tribu
tary to Alitak Bay waters, weirs
are maintained for the counting of
red salmon ascending to their spawn
ing grounds. As a resuit of these
counts, whenever the commercial
catch in adjoining waters equals or
exceeds the escapement the Depart
ment can order the total or partial
suspension of commercial fishing for
such period as it deems desirable to
allow a greater escapement. Suspen
sions were imposed for brief periods
at all three of these localities in the
season of 1925. .Sometimes the reg
ulations imposed may seem severe
to those vriho are directly involved,
but the immedaite output of fishery
products becomes a matter of secon
dary importance when at variance or
in conflict with conservation needs.
Under the law of 1924 the whole
matter of conserving the fisheries of
Alaska is placed upon a new and
comprehensive basis, and the policies
and plans put into effect will mean
the upbuilding and perpetual main
tenance of the salmon runs at their
highest level of production. This will
redound to the benefit of the trade,
the residents of Alaska, and those
who eat salmon and other fishery
products coming from that Territory.
An interesting line of investigation
which is being carried on by the Bu
reau of Fisheries is a study of the
migration routes of salmon, through
the tagging of fish released from
traps, and the compilation of data re
garding the time and place of recap
ture. A regard is paid for each tag
returned 'with the information requir
ed. During the past three seasons
large numbers of salmon were tagged
and released from traps along the Al
aska Peninsula, and similar work
was carried on in parts of southeast
ern Alaska in 1924 and 1925. This
work will be continued, as it is be
lieved that the resulting information
will be of greatest value in deter
mining where restrictions on fishing
will foe moSt effective in protecting
the runs of salmon to specific streams.
It is probable that the run of sal
mon to each stream follows practic
ally the same route every year from
its feeding grounds in the ocean to
the spawning stream, hence if too
many fish are caught along the way,
the run will be in danger of depletion
even though complete protection be
given in the stream and immediately
off its mouth. When these migration
routes are better known it will be pos
sible to give certain runs protection
all along the route over which they
will pass to their spawning grounds.
This, of course,’ is a complicated pro
blem, fout it is felt that progress can
be made each year, and just as fast
a>s knowledge warrants, restrictions
can be imposed under authority of
the present law.
While most of the foregoing refers
to the salmon fishery, the act of
June 6, 1924, embraces as well all
3ther fisheries in Alaska. Regula
tions have been issued for tihe herr
ing, clam, crab, and shrimp fisheries,
:he purpose in all cases being the
upbuilding and maintenance of these
natural resources in perpetuity.
Another law, approved June 7, 1924,
has to do with the treaty with Cana
da which provides for a closed sea
son on halibut fishing in the waters
of the Nortlh Pacific Ocean during
three months in the winter. An Inter
national Fisheries Commission is
making extensive studies of this whole
situation, and it is felt 'that very
great benefit to the halibut industry
will result.
In conclusion, it may be said that
the future of the fisheries of Alaska
is truly bright and that while in
some regions the runs of salmon are
seriously depleted than in other plac
es, and though there may be tem
porary setbacks in the scheme of
conservation, nevertheless the trend
will be constantly along the line of
stability and permanence, and thus
not only will Alaska benefit, but the
world at large, for Alaskan fishery
products may be found in every quar
ter of the globe.
Over one hundred years ago the
echoes from convicts hammers re
sounded in the Seven Lakes district.
Shortly, the solitude of the wilderness
fastnesses will be shattered again by
the crew of workmen from the Alaska
Road Commission who will enter the
Lower Lake Kenai region to continue
the construction of the present seven
and one-half miles of road to the chain
of lakes.
Fine peacock ore, unusually good
loooking, is found on the McDougal- '
Hatcher claims at Nuka Bay, which
were discovered and located last year
by Bob Hatcher. He believes the Bay
region will show up some splendid
veins in the near future.
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