An Evolution
The fishery in Craig dates back to ancient times, but the first commercial fishery dates to 1907, when Craig Miller founded a fish saltery on Fish Egg Island. It is perhaps small irony that Fish Egg was also the site of the arson fire that sank the MV Investor. It was there that the bodies of Mark, Irene and Kimberly Coulthurst were found, along with crew members Mike Stewart, Jerome Keown, Dean Moon and Chris Heyman. Only young John Coulthurst was not found. The fire turned the Investor into a crematorium.
Commercial Fishing
The modern history of Craig began in 1912, by which time Craig had graduated from a saltery to a new enterprise which preserved and packaged the plentiful red salmon plying these waters. The new cannery was an end-to-end operation, controlling everything from the purchase of the catch to processing the final product. Seasonal workers now adapted to the yearly fishery cycle. When the season ended, usually in early autumn, the cannery workers and fishermen returned to their “civilian” lives.
So controlling were these emerging canneries that they not only processed the fish, they owned many of the vessels used to catch them. By 1930, a new cannery — owned by Libby McNeill & Libby — was in full operation on the Craig waterfront. And with it came a more commanding vision of the fishery.
Libby McNeill eventually owned a fleet of fishing vessels. By the 1940’s, these vessels — the “Libby boats,” as they were known — dominated the local fishery. The scheme itself was clever: local fishermen were provided the boat and the cannery took their catch in return. The skipper and crew each got a percentage of the final tally, which then became known as the “crew share.” That terminology persists to the present day.
The Libby 8
While the salmon fishery was lucrative enough to encourage a healthy private fishing fleet, some of the Libby boats persisted, even by the time of the Investor tragedy. The most infamous of these was the Libby 8, skippered by Larry Demmert, Jr. — part of a prominent Craig family — and crewed by several Blaine, Washington residents, including a young man known as John Peel. As fate would have it, the Libby 8 was tied up within spitting distance of the Investor that fatal September night when all aboard were murdered.
As the photo shows, the Libby 8 — outfitted with the latest gear, including the prominent mast, boom and power block used to deploy its quarter mile net — looks almost modern. But she was an older boat, prone to breakdowns. Her crew struggled to catch fish. The crew instead spent an inordinate amount of time making repairs. The newer purse seiners easily out did her.
Modern Machines
Although Alaska regulates purse seiners to a maximum 58′ length, the modern vessels are broader of beam, with more powerful engines and larger holds. The Investor had a full-electric kitchen and comfortable berths for a full crew. These were the beasts of the salmon fishery. The salmon were no match for these monsters. Only another human could beat them.
Copyright Leland E. Hale (2024). All rights reserved.
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