SALMON FISHING

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3309, 1 April 1926, Page 15

SALMON FISHING

A GREAT INDUSTRY. BEHRING SEA OPERATIONS. FISHERY CAPTAIN’S EXPERIENCE. Particular interest attaches to the visit to Auckland of Captain Detlif Didrick, master of the American barque Guy C. Goss, for Captain Diddrick was for fourteen years in, me salmon fishing trade in th e Behring Sea—four years of which he spent in his present command before she gave way to steam and went into the lumber trade —and just now the question of cultivating- quinnat salmon for me establishment of an industry in New Zealand is looming largely on ithe plan of our projected enterprises. The Guy C. Goss (states the Auckland Star) is a very fine type of sailer, despite that she was built 46 years ago and her cabin accommodation is extremely spacious and comfortable for a windjammer. Built of oak, wfth pitch pine planking, she is apparently as sound to-day as on the day sne was launched. Despite having experienced a heavy gale for a week and a good deal of adverse wind, sne made the passage from Vancouver to this port in 73 days. After discharging 400,000 feet of lumber here she will sail for Wellington wijth the remaining 600,000 feet. After that she will be looking for a freight home, and may pick up a cargo of copra at Suva. On the other hand she may have to sail all the way back to America in ballast. Meanwhile. it is understood (that she is for sale, and she is said, to be just the right size of sailer for the coal trade. In The Behring Sea, Fishing in the Behring Sea is a complete operation—from the catching of the salmon- to their canning, labelling and packing . Each ship (takes with her not only the fishermen, but the whole equipment and staffing for the working of the canning factory. The Gug C. Goss has taken as many as 240 men north to the Behring Sea. The fishing season is restricted to (thirty days only. The fishermen are mostly Norwegians, Swedes Danes, and Finns, whilst the cannery worners are Alaskan Indians and Japanese and Chinese . The latter says Captain Diddrick, are the most satisfactory workers; they work away happily and well, and one might be assured they will fulfill a contract, but fthe Japanese and Filipinos were fond of i “rowing” and going on strike whenever the chance offered.

Fishing is hot done from the deck of the ship, but from open boats. 28ft long by 9ft beam. The fish are secured with gill nets, and( each boat holds 1600 to 1800 salmon. It takes on an average nine salmon to make a case of 48 lib tins. Canning is carried out under the supervision ot a health inspector under the most sanitary conditions and although the cold ensures that 'they will keep well no salmon is allowed to be canned that has been over 48 hours'out of the water. The whole 'operation of cleaning, de-finning and be-heading canning is done automatically, the human hand not ■ being allowed to com e in contact with the fish ana men must wear, rubber gloves that have to be changed twice a day mi feeding salmon into the machines. Very Valuable Cargo. In the spring of 1918, Captain Dlddrick, in the Guy C. Goss, brought to Seattle as the result of his fishing and canning operations at Chignlc, a cargo of 56,576 . cases of salmon, valued at not less than three-quarters of a million dollars . There are, he explained four varieties of salmon fished for. First in value is the king salmon, which is rare, and highly regarded as a delicacy. Very litftle of it is canned, there not being enough ot it, the fish being mild cured and smoked for thq American market. The king salmon attains a weight of 701 b., and is a fine fat fish. Next is the rod, or sockeye salmon .which la the modt sought after and dearest of the canning varieties, but Capt. Diddrick has a good word for the “uoa‘'’ salmon, a white-fleshed fish, which ne claims is just as good as the red, as it contains as much fat and is just as nourishing. Lastly there is 'the hump-hack salmon a pink variety and a “splendid little follow.’’ The red averages 91b. weight, and the “dog” 101 b., and the “hump” 61b. to 71b. Twenty Years’ Fishing, The main canning works for the Behring Sea are at Bristol Bay, on the other side of (the south-west peninsula, though there are many other locations. Captain Diddrlck has been twenty years in the salmon fishing trade, and commanded the Guy C. Goss until she was replaced by a steamer. One steamer, he explained can look after three' stations while a sailer is attending to one. and so the days of, tho sailer seem over. ■ The company- which owned tne Guy C. Goss ' had eighteen stations. “It is by ho means a bad life," said Captain Diddrick. “You have a few months away, but you spend all (he winter ashore, and your salary, which' is your annqal one, goes on all itho while. At the same time, I would like to settle down and take a shore job. One gets sick of wanctering round the seas, after ho ceases to be young, especially when one is married. Captain Diddrick is on twelve months’ leave of absence from! the North-West Fisheries for |th e purpose of his present trip, but he will join the fishing service and go north again to the Behring Sea after his return to the United plates.