ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES 167 
AGE CLASSES 
The age class of a male seal of the Pribilof Islands herd is determined 
from the length of its body. The classification was derived from 
measurements of a large number of pups branded in 1912 and killed 
in subsequent years. The limits of the various age classes are shown 
in the following table: . 
Age classes of male seals, Pribilof Islands 








58 to 63.75 
| | 
Age | Length | Age | Length 
i= ne {| 
WN 
| 
| _ Inches | Inches 
Yearlings__ \Uiartor36.(7o||(4-vear-0lds= "2-2 sete Se 46 to 51.75 
2-year-olds__ | 37 to 40.75 \} DaVCaTcOld Sse © Seon eee Lee | 52 to 57.75 
| 
3-year-olds___ 5S EE Bist = Re a | 41 to 45.75 || 6-year-olds_______ ae eee BE pies 
II 

Ages of seals killed on Pribilof Islands, calendar year 1939 
[On basis of classification shown in preceding table] 




| 
. Paul | St. George Total 


|e 
t 
Age | Island | Island 
— — | ——— —. 
Nreselin tanalegies ee Jeet 5 See ge OS 1S ee a et ee eh. Sea at Se | Sr]: aah oe See 3 
ADO LOU LAHEY [OTE SIR EOS 1, SEER oes GN ee an ee ee | 893 324 1, 217 
S-VeHT-Old sme legn = os oe Se YL ee 4 Bae Lei See eS | 44, 644 11, 876 56, 520 
Gevear-oldsinalegee: tie ae rote Sh 3) SIRE On SE ae hy EN ee SS | 1, 999 | 565 2, 
b-year-old.maless-- Se ee 2 ee E__ aeek SEA Be ee eee | Shik =e ee 8 
ROO Sas ee es Drs Liat 2) BOR AN Se Peet a B23 2 ee | 99 62 161 
nian Prien ee FUE MeL SAO ae Sheen eet: | 47,646 12, 827 60, 473 
| 



1 Cows unavoidably and accidentally killed or found dead. 
Some of the seals recorded in the above tabulation as 2-year-olds 
and 4-year-olds probably were 3-year-olds, as not all male seals of a 
given age fall within the length limits assigned for the males of that 
age. As far as possible, however, the killings in 1939 were confined to 
3-vear-old males. 
COMPUTATION OF FUR-SEAL HERD 
The computation of the fur-seal herd in 1939 was made by Supt. 
H. J. Christoffers, assisted by Edward C. Johnston. As of August 10 
the total of all classes was 2,020,774—a numerical increase of 148,336 
over the figures for the preceding year. The detailed report will be 
found on pages 177 to 184 of this document. Following is a compara- 

