AL.\SKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 193 4 3 



Valuable assistance was rendered by the Navy Department in 

 dotailinp: the U. S. S. Sirntfi to transport tlie annual shipment of sup- 

 plies to the Fribilof Islands and to brin<!; out the season's take of seal- 

 skins. The United States Coast Guard also rendered important 

 service in maintaininp; a patrol of the fur seals along the Pacific coast 

 during the northward migration and in Bering Sea throughout the 

 breeding season. 



Acknowledgment is made of the assistance rendered by members of 

 the Bureau's staff in the preparation of this document. 



VISIT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AND OTHER OFFICIALS 



TO ALASKA 



Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper made a detailed investiga- 

 tion of Department of Commerce activities in Alaska in 1934. De- 

 parture from Seattle was made on board the Coast Guard cutter 

 Shoshone on June 25. All the principal points in southeast, central, 

 and western Alaska were visited, and a brief stop was made at the 

 Pribilof Islands. The return voyage from Dutch Harbor to Seattle 

 was made on the Coast Guard cutter Tahoe. 



Commissioner Bell was in Alaska during much of the active salmon- 

 fishing season in the summer of 1934, giving personal attention to the 

 conservation needs of the industry. Visits were made to all the im- 

 portant fishing districts throughout the Territory, and conferences 

 with fishermen and operators of canneries and other fishery establish- 

 ments were held at various places. A trip was also made to the Pribi- 

 lof Islands to observe the activities there. 



Much of this inspection trip was made aboard the Bureau's vessel 

 Brant, although some travel occurred on the Penguin, and on the 

 Coast Guard cutter Shoshone. A number of extended airplane flights 

 were made to reach some of the more inaccessible places, thus saving 

 considerable time and making possible a more extensive inspection of 

 the fisheries. 



Commissioner Bell returned to Washington on August 18. 



Second Assistant Postmaster General Harllee Branch was furnished 

 transportation to southeast Alaska on the Penguin, sailing from Seattle 

 on August 25. Julian W. Blount, secretary to Senator Peter Norbeck, 

 likewise was a passenger on the vessel at that time, making the round 

 trij) from Seattle to the Pribilof Islands. 



Through an oversight the visit of United States Senator Arthur R. 

 Robinson, of Indiana, to the Pribilof Islands in 1933 was omitted 

 from the corresponding report for that year. Senator Robinson was at 

 St. Paul Island on July 8, 1933, observing sealing operations. Trans- 

 portation to the Pribilofs was afforded by the U. S. Coast Guard 

 cutter Chelan. 



PROTECTION OF WALRUSES AND SEA LIONS 



A new (seventh) edition of Department of Commerce Circular No. 

 286 was issued under date of July 1, 1934, containing the laws and 

 regulations for the protection of walruses and sea lions in Alaska. 

 The regulation governing the killing of walruses is as follows: 



The killing of walruses m the Territory of Alaska or in any of the waters of 

 Alaska over which the United States has jurisdiction is prohiijited from July 1, 

 1934, to June 30, 1936, both dates inclusive. This prohibition shall ntjt apply 



