Mush Bay is a local name for a shallow embayment on the western shore of the East Arm of Uganik Bay on Kodiak Island’s west coast, about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Larsen Bay and 40 miles (65 km) west-southwest of Kodiak, Alaska. It is likely named after Mush Lake, which is 1.3 miles (2 km) long and situated in the mountains between the South and East Arms of Uganik Bay. The name Mush Bay was first reported in 1954 by the U.S. Geological Survey. East Arm Uganik Bay extends southeast for 4 miles (6.5 km) inland from the west coast of Kodiak Island to the mouth of the Uganik River. The descriptive name was given in 1897 by Lieutenant Commander J.F. Moser of the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries steamer Albatross.

By the early 1920s, it was evident that commercial interests had overfished and mismanaged many of Alaska’s salmon fisheries. Consequently, the U.S. Congress began regulating the industry. In 1922, it established three fisheries reservations, including the Southwestern Alaska Fisheries Reservation, which encompassed all of Bristol Bay, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, and the Alaska Peninsula. No new canneries were allowed, and there would be no increase in the number of fish caught until better management legislation was enacted. On Kodiak, a counting weir was built at Karluk. The Bureau of Fisheries allocated 50% of the fish to the Larsen Bay and Uyak Bay canneries, while the remaining 50% were allowed to escape to reach the spawning grounds.

In 1922, a small cannery at Mush Bay, operated by Fred A. Davidson and his partner, Hopp, was permitted to beach seine in the area. They aimed to can 500 cases of sockeye salmon and salt another 200 barrels of coho salmon. However, the salmon run was so poor that only a few hundred cases were hand-packed. Consequently, the operation went bankrupt. Read more here and here. Explore more of Mush Bay and East Arm Uganik Bay here: