moving steadily northwestward, observers as- 

 sumed that they were not feeding in Unimak 

 Pass. Freshly caught, undigested fish, how- 

 ever, were found in stomachs of those taken. 

 They were also found feeding in areas south- 

 east and northwest of the pass. 



Bering Sea. — Little collecting was done in 

 the Bering Sea in May or June. A vessel sailed 

 from Unimak Pass to the Pribilof Islands in 

 late June, returning to Unalaska in early 

 July. In late July and early August the trip 

 was repeated, and in addition a short trip 

 to the northward of St. Paul Island was made. 

 On both of these trips seals were found over 

 the whole distance between the Aleutian Islands 

 and the Pribilof Islands with the greatest 

 numbers in the immediate vicinity of the 

 Pribilof Islands. In late August and early 

 September the vessel Tacoma sailed from 

 Bogoslof Island to the Pribilof Islands and 

 returned to Unalaska. This cruise was made 

 in deep water west of routes followed on two 

 previous trips. Seal distribution appeared to 

 be uneven, compared with observations made 

 in June and July east of the 100-fathom depth 

 curve. Some seals were seen, although no 

 large concentrations were observed during 

 several days spent 20-50 miles west and 

 southwest of St. George Island in late August. 

 Seals were found north of the Aleutian Islands 

 between Unimak Pass and Bogoslof Island, 

 along the 100-fathom curve. Their occurrence 

 in deep or shallow water varied from day to 

 day. The number of seals increased in August 

 and remained stable through September. The 

 numbers of animals in the locality may have 

 remained about the same with a continuous 

 flow of seals to and from the Pribilof Islands. 



Distribution by Age and Sex 



In Alaskan waters 1,486 seals were col- 

 lected in 1962; 1,354 (91.1 percent) females, 

 and 132 (8.9 percent) males. The ages of six 

 females could not be determined, and the 

 reproductive conditon of five other females 

 was not obtained. These seals have been 

 omitted from tables as footnoted. 



Table 5 gives the age and sex of seals 

 collected in western Alaska, Unimak Pass, 

 and the Bering Sea. Age groups 3 through 11 



had the largest numbers of seals. This finding 

 agrees with the results of Bering Sea and Uni- 

 mak Pass collections made in 1960. 



The predominant age class of females was 

 4 years. From 1958 through 1961 the pre- 

 dominant age class varied from 8 to 12 years. 

 This difference can be explained by the in- 

 tensive collecting in 1962 in the Unimak Pass 

 area where young females were present in 

 large numbers throughout the collection period. 

 Off California, Oregon, Washington, British 

 Columbia, and in Alaska east of Unimak Pass 

 young females are usually widely dispersed. 



The predominant male age class in 1958, 

 1960, and 1962 was 3 years. In each of these 

 years aU or most of the collections were made 

 in Alaska waters. In 1959 and 1961 when col- 

 lecting was done from British Columbia south 

 to California 1-year-old males formed the 

 largest age class. The extent of southward 

 migration of males appears to be inversely 

 related, in a rough way, to age. Seals less 

 than a year old would be expected to be most 

 numerous, but it is possible that in years of 

 heavy mortality among the young the year 

 class may soon have fewer animals than 

 remain from a year class having better 

 survival. 



In fact, yearlings have formed only a small 

 proportion of collections made off the Pacific 

 Coast States and Alaska. They comprised 0.5 

 percent of the seals collected in Unimak Pass 

 and the Bering Sea in 1960. In 1958, 1959, 

 and 1961 they made up 2.0, 1.7, and 4.0 

 percent, respectively, of the collections. The 

 lower proportions for the Bering Sea and 

 Unimak Pass are due to the lateness of the 

 northward movement of yearlings. Also year- 

 lings have not been found congregated in the 

 pass area as were most other age groups. 



Bulls are less abundant and more difficult 

 to collect than other seals. The first bulls 

 were observed in early May in the Gulf of 

 Alaska. Through May and the first half of 

 June, they were commonly observed in the 

 study area and appeared to be moving north- 

 ward. During the breeding season on the Pribi- 

 lof Islands, the latter half of June and July, 



23 



