Construction and Operation of a Floating Alaska Salmon Trap

Salmon traps, now nearly extinct, are the most efficient fishing gear ever developed for the capture and impoundment of salmon. The first salmon trap was built in Cook Inlet about 1885, but floating traps were not introduced until after 1890. The number of traps varied annually until the State Legislature abolished them in 1959. In 1967, only three traps were operated in Alaska in a Federal Fishing Reserve set aside by President Woodrow Wilson for the Metlakatla Indians on Annette Island. A floating salmon trap consists of a lead, outer and inner hearts, pot, and two spillers. Methods of hanging, setting, and brailing a trap are given.