178 I. A. McLaren 



to the hunter. It is obvious that the problem is an exceedingly complex one, 

 involving elements of geography, weather, technology, sociology, psy- 

 chology, and numerous other variables as well as the population dynamics 

 of seals. Nevertheless, it is believed that the basic features of availability can 

 be quantitatively defmed at present. 



The Eskimo of many regions commonly hunts from boats in the open- 

 water season. The ringed seal is essentially a coastal species, and does not 

 disperse very far offshore. If we can presume that its tendency to move 

 offshore is the same on all coasts, and that its distribution is random, then a 

 very simple index of availability may be derived by dividing the theoretical, 

 ice-based population size of any region by the area of water within ten miles 

 of the coast, which is believed to be a reasonable estimate of the hmit of 

 offshore dispersal. It should be noted that whereas the population estimates 

 depend on the accuracy and generality of local censuses on the ice, the index 

 of availability depends on relative values, and is otherwise essentially 

 deductive. Furthermore, the index is not directly proportional to population 

 size and tends to reduce the relative differences between regions which are 

 suggested by the population estimates. For example, the Belcher Islands, 

 which cover about ninety miles from north to south, have theoretically 

 about twice as many seals as the nearby 190 miles of coast of Hudson Bay 

 between Portland Promontory and Richmond Gulf, but the summer 

 availability indices of these two regions prove to be about the same. It is 

 actually this index which is properly compared with the results from ship- 

 board censuses, and such comparisons agree quite well. 



Other seasons and circumstances can be treated in like fashion. The 

 availability of immature seals in the open water in winter should follow the 

 summer index fairly closely. Because equivalent fast ice in different regions 

 is expected to support equivalent populations, the Eskimo who hunts in 

 winter at the breathing holes of seals is presumed to have comparable success 

 throughout the ringed seal's range. Likewise the hunter who stalks seals 

 during their short season on the spring ice should experience everywhere 

 the same progression and peak of seal availability, although the date will 

 vary essentially with latitude. Indeed, in areas of seal scarcity, the only really 

 productive season for the Eskimo may be the spring. 



The relative abundance of the bearded seal and the ringed seal as observed 

 in shipboard censuses permits us to derive empirical indices of abundance for 

 the former species. It is this index which is in turn the basis for the number 

 of bearded seals attributed to a coast-line, as implied earlier. The index is 

 simply multipHed by the number of square miles within ten miles of shore, 

 although it is reaHzed that more attention should be paid to the prevalence 

 of suitably shallow water on different coasts. 



