MILLER BILL* Continuedi ,•
* resources under one head in effort to come
o-r.t in the bbaok this year*
9 a email fi6h run was anticipated^
* in addition to the consolidation* a ^fi
nite \y limited fishing ope rati oh was felt
desirable, which the ASI companies unsuc
cessfully tried to enforce by assuiaing con
trol of all the fishing gear on the Naknek-^.
Kvichc-k area* where about 2/3 of the Bay
fish are caught* In their anxiety to in
sure a profitable operation* ASI member V
companies in the N-K zone also decided to
hire only the best fishermen* wherever found
In doing so they filled their quotas with
outside fishermen heavily predominating^
leaving a large number of resident water
shed fishermen unemployed ana with nothing,
else to turn to for a living* Tne attempt
to limit the fishing effort by assuming
this control of all the fishing gear* forc
ed the companies to refuse to buy fish
caught by the residents with their own
gsai-o This had the effect of threatening
them with starvation inasmuch as they would
neither hire them nor buy their fish and
there was no other way open for them to mate
a living*.
The result was a struggle on the part of
the resident watershed fishermen to esta
blish themselves as independents in spite
of the opposition of the ASI member cosw
pixies* They appealed successfully to the
freezers to buy their fish* In addition
the freezers.refused to honor the somewhat
arbitrary quotas se t up merely as guides
by the FWS with the result that the fish
ing time was cut in that cftbd other Bris
tol Bay areas*
This many sided battle of shore can
nery vs# freezer* resident vs* outbid
fishermen and cannery worker* excessive
fishing effort vs» conservation r.ca~) t
by the FWS® resulted directly in a ssud*
er pack for the operator® art a .&maliev
pay check for the fisherman and the can
nery worker® The outside fishermen ;cd
•cannery worker generally has other em
ployment waiting for him upon his return
to th9 States* but the resident must be
satisfied with what he oan got during
the fishing effort"and faces a long®
cold winter with inadequate supplies for
^still another year. Bristol Bay will
again be a "disaster area"*
The Miller Bill should remedy these
evils* It nd 11 assure the watershed re
sident of employment* It will provide
employment to many non-watershed resi
dents residing along the Kuskokwim and
Yukon Rivers® andalong the Bering Sea
Coasts* as well as elsewhere in the
Territory* It should tend to eliminate
the floaters and freezerc* less oloseiy
linked wifeh the resident interests^ Thi
in turn should lead to easier control c:
®the fishing effort andeasie^r control of
the fishing effort should assure the
operator of a profitable operation*
Limiting the fishing effort should
help restore depleted fish runs* vhich
should result in a net increase of the
national wealth* along with a more pros
perous and bustling Alad&a* especially
Western Alaska* at present considerably
sub-standard*
Bristol Bay was and shall continue
be the richest Red Salmon fishery in the
worlds (Continued* Page Six)
o ta
The fall boat for Bristol Bay and the Kuskokwim
- River Ports will leave Seattle
AUGUST 17
Refrigeration , Space Will He Available
REMEMBER,
It is imperative that you instruct your aappliewa
to show on the Bills of Lading andon the merchandise
shipped, the name of the Lighterage Company you wi3h
to handle your oargoj that NOT marked will bo handled
at company convenience ec-ad as space permits#
Signed#
THE ALASKA STEAMSHIP g0»
By, ——:---—
Captain C*P« Walsh 4