PELAGIC SEALING IN BERING SEA. 



CORRESPONDENCE OF THE TREASURY WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS UPON THE 



SUBJECT. 



Treasury Department, 



Washington^ B. C, Jamiary 19, 1895. 



Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith our official statement of 

 the American pelagic fur-seal catch of 1894, taken from the record of the 

 custom-houses at the ports of San Francisco, Port Townsend, and 

 Astoria, that the same may be transmitted to the British Government 

 in compliance with article 5 of the Bering Sea arbitration award. 



It appears in said statement that the total number of seal skins taken 

 bv American vessels and entered at American ports was 26,095. The 

 catch was distributed between the Asiatic Coast, the British Columbia 

 and Northwestern Coast, and Bering Sea, the two latter constituting the 

 total pelagic catch taken from the American herd of so-called Alaska 

 fur seals. 



It will be observed by reference to said statement that in many 

 instances the latitude and longitude have been omitted. The explana- 

 tion of this offered by the collector at San Francisco is that the several 

 masters of the said vessels deposed under oath that they cleared with- 

 out notice of the pending award, and consequently were ignorant of its 

 requirement. 



An examination of the London sales of North Pacific pelagic fur skins, 

 which have recently been held, discloses that 125,269 skins were sold 

 and about 10,000 reserved for future sale; to this should be added the 

 skins retained in the United States, estimated at 10,000, the total being 

 145,269. The unofficial returns of the British catch, transmitted to the 

 State Department by our consul at Victoria, "idded to our official returns, 

 make a total of 121,143, or about 24,126 skins less than the estimated 

 catch of 145,26l> based on trade sales and estimate of skins retained in 

 the United States. It is possible that this number may have been trans- 

 shipped by American or British vessels at Yokohama. We have no 

 record of any transshipments except as regards 6,760 skins, which 

 arrived in the port of San Francisco, and appear in our official returns, 

 and which were undoubtedly taken on the Japan and Russian coasts. 

 It is possible that said balance of 24,126 skins may have been entered 

 at Victoria or shipped via Suez Canal. 



Should the identity of these skins be ascertained, this Department 

 will submit a supplemental report thereon. 



All of the skins, of which the sex is indicated in the accompanying 

 statement, were carefully examined by an expert inspector at the time 

 of their entry. 



1 have the honor to request that you call upon the British G-overn- 

 meut for its official returns of the pelagic catch for 1893 and 1894, and 



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