Museum Memories

This photo came from the archives and collections of the Cordova Historical Society housed within the museum. The museum is open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

Of all the methods of catching fish, fish traps were the most efficient and cost-effective. More than 40 trap sites were established in Prince William Sound during the heyday. Traps were operated six days per week, 24 hours a day during the fishing season. Throughout the late ’40s and early ’50s, there began a steady decrease in the number of fish taken statewide.

In the Cordova region, canneries packed 527,000 cases in 1947 and 100,000 cases in 1955. In 1954 and1955, there were essentially no pink and chum fisheries in the Sound after two no shows in 1952 and 1953. Fish traps were seen as directly responsible for this dilemma and the plea for their abolishment was finally heeded in 1959 at statehood. 

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