Salmon Canneries

One of the biggest innovations to affect the salmon industry was the commercial fish trap. As a result of fewer sockeye salmon, which was the preferred salmon species, packing companies decided to target pink salmon in saltwater before the fish entered spawning streams and lost their sea-bright color. The first traps had wood pilings driven perpendicular to the shore and hung with nets to intercept the passing salmon. In 1908 J.R. Heckman designed and patented the floating fish trap. The traps were so effective that concerns mounted over the decimation of Alaska's wild salmon stocks and they were outlawed when Alaska became a state in 1959.