288 Alaskan Science Conference 



60,000 and 70,000 animals. The skins are dressed, dyed, and 

 sold at public auction under contract. The net profit to the 

 Government, over and above all expenditures for management 

 of the resource and for administration of the Pribilof Islands, 

 has been $11,500,000 since 1910. 



The primary objectives of the Fur-Seal Treaty of 1911 have 

 been splendidly fulfilled. There has been an enormous increase 

 in the herd in the past 40 years, as even casual observation will 

 testify. There is evidence now that the herd has reached maxi- 

 mum size; the number of animals available for killing has been 

 fairly constant for the past 10 years. Is the herd to be managed 

 now in the same manner as when it was growing or are new 

 methods indicated? To answer these and other related ques- 

 tions, biologists are making an accurate appraisal of the num- 

 ber of animals in the herd, assembling current mortality data, 

 and evaluating the herd's reproductive capacity. We must 

 know at what size it will yield the greatest number of sealskins 

 for commerce, and from what sex and age group these skins 

 should come. This information must be supplied by intensive 

 research to guide future management of the herd. 



Through international agreement and sound management 

 policies, this resource has been restored and is in a highly pro- 

 ductive state today. Continued international cooperation and 

 scientific management will perpetuate it. 



The North Pacific halibut fishery is another example of a 

 marine resource saved by international cooperation. Strictly 

 speaking this is not an Alaskan resource, for the halibut banks 

 are beyond Territorial limits. Nevertheless, the most pro- 

 ductive banks are adjacent to Alaska, and contribute in a very 

 material way to the wealth of the Territory. More than half 

 the catch is landed in Alaskan ports and halibut ranks third in 

 importance among Alaska fishery products, being subordinate 

 only to salmon and herring. 



The history of the halibut fishery is similar to that of our 

 other modern marine fisheries. Beginning in 1888, it was con- 

 centrated in a relatively small area near the entrance to Puget 

 Sound. As markets expanded and the demand for halibut grew, 



