in surface water temperature was found be- 

 tween shallow and deep water areas; the deep 

 water areas usually were warmer. Surface 

 water temperature presumably influences the 

 distribution of the food species of fish, but 

 no apparent direct effect of temperature on 

 food species or fur seals was noticed. 



Individual Food Items . -- 



Clupea harengus pallasi (Pacific herring) 



Clupea were found in the stomachs of 1 5 

 fur seals collected in the shallow water areas 

 of sectors 3, 4, 5, and 6. They represented 

 6.7 percent of the total volume of food and 

 ranked fifth in innportance as a food species. 

 One stomach containing 22 herring accounted 

 for 26 percent of total volume of this species 

 found in 1963. The lengths of fish in this 

 stomach were 28.5- 31.0 cm. and the weights 

 were 185-285 g. The areas of occurrence are 

 shown in appendix figure 1. 



Oncorhynchus (salmon) 



Figure 6. — The percent of stomachs containing food in 

 relation to the time of collection, 1963. 



greatest early in the morning and decreases 

 until late afternoon. In areas where fish are 

 abundant, seals have been observed actively 

 feeding throughout the day. 



The food and feeding habits of the fur seal 

 were summarized by Fiscus, Baines, and Wilke 

 (1964). In 1963, the entire collection of 1 ,355 

 seals was made in the Bering Sea, The results 

 of stomach content examinations are shown 

 in table 9, and the locations where the food 

 species occurred in stomachs are shown in 

 appendix figures 1 - 6. 



Figure 7 presents the major food items by 

 percent of volume of stomach contents, and the 

 percent of frequency of occurrence in the 

 stomachs. Food species that contributed more 

 than 2 percent of the total volume are shown. 

 They accounted for 97.1 percent of the total 

 food volume, with squid replacing Mallotus as 

 the major food item in 1963. Major food items 

 usually remain the same each year in a given 

 area, but individual rank may change. 



Surface water temperatures encountered 

 in the Bei-ing Sea in 1963 ranged from 5° to 

 11° C. Similar temperatures were obtained 

 in Bering Sea during I960 and 1962 pelagic 

 research. Surface water temperatures range 

 from 5° to 6° C. in June; 6° to 9° C. in 

 July; and 9°, 10°, and 11° C. in August. The 

 temperatures most frequently encountered 

 during summer in 1960, 1962, and 1963 were 

 8°, 9°, and 10° C,* A difference of 1° or 2° 



Oncorhynchus were found in 14 seal stom- 

 achs in 1963 that were collected throughout 

 all sectors. They represented 2.6 percent of 

 the total volume of food and were seventh in 

 importance by volume as a food species. 



Specific identification was made from scales 

 of salmon from six stomachs by Kenneth 

 Mosher of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 Biological Laboratory, Seattle. Three stomachs 

 contained 2-year-old chum salmon, O. keta; 

 one contained a 3- year-old chum salmon and 

 two contained pink salmon, O. gorbuscha. The 

 areas of occurrence are shown in appendix 

 figure 2. 



Mallotus villosus (capelin) 



Mallotus ranked second as a food species 

 by volume, occurred in 140 stomachs, and 

 represented 20.0 percent of the total volume 

 of food. The heaviest concentration of Mallotus 

 was on the feeding grounds just north of 

 Unalaska Island as shown in appendix figure 3. 



Bathylagidae 



Ninety-two stomachs contained a species 

 of fish identified as belonging to the family 

 Bathylagidae.' Bathylagidae ranked fourth in 

 importance by volume as a food species and 

 represented 7.2 percent of the total volume 

 of food. Because the fish were in very poor 

 condition and comparative specimens were not 

 available, specific identification was not made. 

 Jordan and Gilbert (1899) described a new 



« Information based on data from dally field record 

 sheets for 1960, 1962, and 1963. 



' The assistance of N. J. WlUmovsky, University of 

 British Columbia, Vancouver, B. C, led to our Identifi- 

 cation of these fish. 



