The Wrangell Sentinel

Editor Sentinel:

In reading the Wrangell Sentinel of October 5, some of us were surprised to note that the Wrangell chamber of commerce was asking the Bureau of Fisheries to close Wrangell harbor within one mile of the mouth of the harbor to herring bait fishing.

It is no surprise that some would ask closing of the harbor for bait fishing as that has been brought up before, but we are surprised that the chamber of commerce would act on this before they investigated whether it really did any injury to Wrangell or not. If Wrangell harbor should be closed for herring bait fishing it would also be closed to salmon fishing which would certainly be detrimental to Wrangell.

At one time it was suggested to Henry O'Malley at a trollers' meeting in Ketchikan that it should be unlawful to use herring for bait. Now, the halibut men have to use herring fresh or frozen for bait, and if the chambers of commerce in the different towns are going to act on some suggestions like that before they know that it would really hurt people who make their money and spend it here in the Territory, they will be very foolish.

It has been suggested and will be put up to the Bureau of Fisheries in the near future to stop gill netting on the Stikine River. The majority of the trollers are in favor of this plan, but we would suggest that the chambers of commerce in the different towns consult each other in matters of this kind, and this just goes to show that they can hurt themselves by acting alone and not thinking of others. Consequently, closing of this harbor for bait fishing will surely hurt the halibuters fishing out of Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Juneau.

Why don't we go some other place for this herring? The places we used to get herring at this time of the year are all cleaned out and the only way we can account for this is because the herring does not come in from the outside into these small bays. They are caught by the fertilizer plants and have no chance to come in. For the good of the Territory the chambers of commerce from the towns should act together and stop the killing off of the herring for fertilizer.

The herring taken by the bait fishermen is not a drop in the bucket compared to the herring taken by the fertilizer plants in Alaska.

To be sure the plants are not taking the herring in recent years that they used to do, but even so, there are now six plants in Chatham Straits, each averaging around 90,000 to 100,000 barrels a year.

Why pick on the bait fishermen? Why try to stop impounding a few herring in the harbor for bait in order to let them swim out again to be caught next season by the fertilizing plants?

And while there is feeling against bait fishing, has any one ever investigated the facts or is this antagonism simply a prejudice that won't stand up against the facts in the case? These are questions that are important to all in this district.

We bait fishermen desire to be good citizens. We think we are engaged in useful and honest work.

Without us, all halibut fishing would stop and many salmon trollers would be handicapped.

If the way we make our living is harming another industry we are willing to stop, but before Wrangell harbor is closed against us for the comparatively few herring we impound here we believe that in all justice there first should be a careful investigation, that the closing should be made on proof that a herring pound is harmful to the trollers, and not on what we sincerely believe is only prejudice not supported by facts.

Richard Hofstad
Wrangell, Alaska
October 9, 1934