FISHING: Salmon Come Back

As fishermen in hundreds of small boats hauled in one netful after another, the fat, red-flanked fish made the shallow water boil. Working two men in a boat round the clock, the fishermen collected as much as $1,000 apiece a day. Thus did the salmon come back last week to Alaska’s Bristol Bay, one of the richest salmon-fishing grounds in the world, in the biggest run in the 49th state in twelve years.

Heartening Prediction. For Alaska fishermen, who had been hard hit by steadily diminishing runs in recent years, it was almost too good to be true. Some had glumly believed that intensive Japanese deep-sea fishing had ruined the Alaskan salmon runs for good. Others had taken heart from the forecast of a good run by Dr. William F. Royce. director of the University of Washington’s Fisheries Research Institute. Royce keeps tab on the number of young salmon moving down the rivers and into the sea and watches the results of test catches throughout the northeast Pacific. Historically, Bristol Bay salmon runs have followed a consistent cycle,* been smallest in years ending with 0 and 5. But Royce thought this was accidental, based his forecast for a good 1960 run on the scientific grounds of heavy catches in the ocean feeding areas and added an if—if the Japanese did not fish too heavily. Fishermen listened, and into Bristol Bay swarmed more than 300 from other Alaskan fishing grounds, swelled the fleet to 625 craft. The canneries flew in 200 additional Eskimos to man extra processing lines.

As Royce predicted, the rush came. At first fishermen were limited by state conservation regulations to fishing only one day a week. Then, as the number of salmon grew, the limits were dropped for fear the spawning grounds might become too crowded. Because the fishermen were prepared with extra help, they hauled in salmon until the canneries could not process any more. In all, some 40 million salmon coursed through Bristol Bay, bound for the clear headwaters of the Kvichak, Nushagak and Ugashik rivers to spawn and die. Nearly 15 million were caught.

Boosting the Economy. The salmon had come back for the very reasons cited by Dr. Royce. In addition to a cyclical increase, a big factor was a cut in Japanese deep-sea fishing, which used to decimate the salmon runs before they reached Alaska. Last May the Russians offered to let the Japanese, excluded from their traditional fishing grounds since 1945, return to some of their old areas, if they would restrict their catches. The Japanese agreed. The big 1960 run will greatly help the troubled Alaskan economy. Experts expect this season’s catch to be worth $67 million, second only to the record catch of 1948. The catch will bring the state $1,380,000 taxes, has given the fishing industry—the state’s second largest industry (after construction)—a timely, welcome new lease on life.

*Alaskan salmon life span is four to five years. Fish are hatched in fresh-water streams, spend two years there, then migrate .to open waters of the North Pacific, where they feed and grow. After swimming some 6,000 miles, they return to exact spot of birth.