Cannery Research Papers

Growing up with a Alaskan father, with many years behind him, he is constantly recalling his many adventures and experiences of his old days. One of which he talks about, is the hard labor he spent working in the canneries. These salmon canneries have always been so foreign to me, since I have never see them directly and don’t exactly know how they work- so I choose this photo for our research project. I really wanted to have the experience, the feel, of the fish canneries I always hear my dad talk about. As shown in this photo above, women in the fish canneries work to inspect cans are they are brought down the factory line. At this specific cannery in particular, on the Annette Islands Canning Company at Metlakatla, just outside of Alaska (Though this cannery is not in Alaska, it shows a great example) produced 500 packaged cases of salmon in its first year alone.
Alaska has always depended on seafood as a great natural resource and source of income for the state. Subsistence users and commercial fishermen alike rely on the fish for their way of life, but the world of commercial fishing was not always existent in Alaska. In 1878 following the Alaska Purchase, the first canneries were opened by American
Most workers at these canneries made about $8.75 to $13 an hour. For workers who has more experience from previous summers, pay was increased. Day after day, workers did the same tasks, so as imagined, it got pretty dang boring. Most processors were required to stand for hours at a time processing fish in factory lines. As demands changed over the summer, jobs were frequently shifted. Though this work could see like a pain, many people enjoyed their summers at the canneries. Food throughout the day was usually provided (lots of fish I assume) and these long days of work were broken up into shifts so employees were able to have breaks throughout the day to enjoy