One of these vessels, No. 5 Nikko Maru 

 (fig. B-3), has been under charter since the 

 beginning of the present pelagic fur seal 

 research program, which is now in its eighth 

 consecutive year. The other two vessels are 

 in their fifth and sixth consecutive years of 

 pelagic research. 



The normal vessel complement of 1 3 to 15 

 (fig. B-4) includes a captain who usually is the 

 chief hunter, an engineer, a radio operator, 

 2 to 4 hunters, 5 deck hands, and 3 boys 

 (1 a cook). 



The extremely large crews of these vessels 

 are not needed for fur seal work, but after 

 they finish sealing they hunt for porpoise and 

 fish for saury and swordfish. Such work re- 

 quires a crew of 14 to 15 men. If the men are 

 not hired for a full year, they will seek em- 

 ployment elsewhere. It is difficult to hire a 

 crew for only half a season. 



Figure B-3. — A harpoon vessel, the No. 5 Nikko Maru, of 

 the type chartered for fur seal research. 



Figure B-4.--Crew members of the chartered fur seal 

 research vessel. No. 5 Nikko Maru. 



RELATION OF WEATHER TO SEAL 

 MIGRATION OFF JAPAN 



Owing to an unusually cold spring in 1965 

 and abnormal oceanographic conditions off the 

 coast of Japan, the fur seal migration off 



northern Honshu and Hokkaido was delayed 

 about 3 to 4 weeks. Sealing off the coast of 

 Iwate Prefecture normally occurs during late 

 April and early May. By the middle of May 

 and in early June, migrating seals are usually 

 farther north, off Aomori Prefecture and Hok- 

 kaido, As late as 10 May 1965, however, nni- 

 grating seals were still in the warmer waters 

 off Miyagi Prefecture near Kinkasan, about 240 

 miles south of Hokkaido, 



OBSERVATIONS OF JAPANESE 

 PELAGIC SEALING 



Because of their relatively small size, the 

 harpoon vessels enter harbor each night (or 

 drift offshore when the sea is calm). The 

 hunting range is, therefore, limited to a dis- 

 tance of about 100 miles per day; hunting usu- 

 ally extends only 10 to 50 miles offshore. The 

 vessels leave port each morning between 0200 

 and 0400, depending on the area to be covered. 



On reaching the hunting area, hunters and 

 lookouts take their places on the harpoon 

 (shooting) platforms and in the crow's-nest 

 to watch for seals. When a seal is sighted, 

 the vessel approaches it at full speed (fig, 

 B-5), Two hunters are stationed on the plat- 

 form with single- or double-barrel 12-gage 

 shotguns loaded with No. 00 buckshot. The 

 chief hunter (gunner) stands up forward at the 

 bow; the second hunter stands behind hinn, on 

 the side of the vessel that is nearest the seal. 

 Shooting seals from harpoon vessels is diffi- 

 cult, not only because of engine vibrations but 

 because the shooting platform has no protective 

 railing. The shin- high railing shown in figure 



Figure B-5.--Hunters shooting fur seal from bow platform. 

 (Note shln-hlgh railing on bow platform.) 



35 



