Ammodytes hexapterus (sand lance) 



Ammodytes occurred in 15 seal stomachs 

 examined in 1963. As in 1962, it was a minor 

 food species in the Bering Sea. More Ammo- 

 dytes were found in zone 1 than any other 

 species (appendix fig. 1). 



Pleuronectidae 



Twenty-seven occurrences (appendix fig. 5) 

 of Pleuronectidae were noted from fur seal 

 stomachs collected in shallow water of sectors 

 3, 4, and 5. Reinhardtius hippoglossoides were 

 identified from 16 stomachs. One seal stomach 

 contained 500 of this species. They com- 

 prised 67 percent of all flounders identified 

 as Reinhardtius " . The lengths of 14 speci- 

 mens were 45-60 mm. from the tip of snout 

 to the end of the hypural plate, and the average 

 body weight of 10 specimens was 1.5 g. 



Reinhardtius hippoglossoides were reported 

 twice in the literature as occurring in the 

 Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Andriashev 

 (1937) reported this species in the Bering 

 and Okhotsk Seas, and, in August 1962, a male 

 Reinhardtius was identified from a trawl 

 catch off the coast of California (Best, 1963). 



Squids 



Squids were the major food found in fur 

 seal stomachs collected in 1963. The follow- 

 ing identifications were made, and the corre- 

 sponding total food volumes in percent are: 

 Gonatidae (3.1 percent), Gonatus fabricii (1.6 

 percent), Gonatus magister (22.2 percent) and 

 Gonatopsis sp. (23.3 percent). Gonatids com- 

 prised over one-half of the total volume of 

 food. 



All squid remains that could not be iden- 

 tified to species were listed as belonging to 

 the family Gonatidae. 



Of the three identified gonatids, Gonatus 

 fabricii ranked least in importance by total 

 volume (1.6 percent), but first by frequency 

 of occurrence. The reasons for the disparity 

 between volume and frequency of occurrence 

 are: (1) G. fabricii are very soft bodied and 

 are broken up and digested more rapidly than 

 either G. magister or Gonatopsis sp., and 

 (2) the beaks of G. fabricii can be distinguished 

 readily from those of the other two gonatids, 

 which makes specific identification possible 

 when only beaks are present. 



G. magister , which ranked second in im- 

 portance by volume, ranked last in frequency 

 of occurrence. On the average, G. magister 

 were consistently largest of the three identi- 

 fied squids, accounting for the discrepancy 



between total volur 

 currence. 



and frequency of oc- 



Gonatopsis sp. were the most easily recog- 

 nized of the three squids because (1) they have 

 no tentacles and (2) their head and arm regions 

 seem to be more resistant to digestion than 

 comparable parts of the other squids. Gona- 

 topsis beaks are not readily distinguishable 

 from those of G. magister . 



The three squids seemed to be equally 

 distributed over the 1963 deep water collec- 

 tion areas (sectors 1 and 2) of the Bering Sea 

 (appendix figs. 4, 5, and 6). Their distribution 

 did not differ materially from that of 1962 

 (Fiscus, Baines, and Wilke, 1964). 



Miscellaneous 



A fragment of sea weed was found in one 

 stomach. Gastropod or pelecypod fragments 

 were found in 19 stomachs. There were seven 

 occurrences of crustaceans; two were un- 

 identified fragments; two were hermit crabs, 

 Pagurus sp., in gastropod shells; and three 

 were the parasitic isopod, Rocinela belliceps . 



Pebbles found in 32 stomachs ranged from 

 2 to 44 mm. in diameter. Most pebbles were 

 found in stomachs from seals collected in 

 shallow water (less than 100 fathoms). 



Relation of Fur Seals 

 Fisheries 



to Commercial 



u Identified by N. J. WlUmovsky of the University of 

 British Columbia, Vancouver, B. C. 



Three species eaten by seals, Clupea , On- 

 corhynchus , and Theragra, are fished com- 

 mercially in the Bering Sea. Clupea are 

 regularly fished by the Soviet and Japanese 

 fishing fleets. In 1960, Clupea were not found 

 in stomachs from fur seals collected in the 

 Bering Sea. One occurrence was noted in 

 1962. In 1963, there were 15 occurrences 

 which comprised 6.7 percent of the total 

 stomach content volume. 



Oncorhynchus are the object of an intensive 

 high seas fishery west of 175° east longitude 

 and an intensive inshore fishery along the 

 Alaskan coast. Oncorhynchus made up 3.7 

 percent (6 occurrences) of the total stomach 

 content volume in 1960, 6.2 percent (8 occur- 

 rences) in 1962, and 2.6 percent (14 occur- 

 rences) in 1963. 



Theragra have been important in the catch 

 of Soviet and Japanese bottom fishing fleets 

 and also have been an important food of the 

 fur seal. In 1960, Theragra made up 65.7 

 percent (109 occurrences) of the stomach 

 content volume; in 1962, 41.6 percent (81 

 occurrences); and in 1963, 7.7 percent (41 

 occurrences). 



The effect of the fur seal upon Clupea and 

 Oncorhynchus is impossible to appraise sep- 



