78 



tr. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



St. George Island. — For the 8,118 sealskins taken on St. George 

 Island the sum of $6,088.50 was paid, and in addition a total of $100 

 was allowed two foremen for special services. A statement of the 

 earnings follows: 



Payments to St. George Island natives for taking fur-seal skins, calendar year 1930 



Classification 



First class 



Second class 



Third class 



Fourth class 



Fifth class.. - 



Boys' class --- 



Foreman (additional compensation). 

 Do 



Total- 



Number 

 of men 



Share of 

 each 



$203. 25 

 161. 25 

 121. .50 

 83.25 

 44.25 

 10.50 



Total 



$4, 065. 00 

 967. 50 

 486. 00 

 416.25 

 132. 75 

 21.00 

 55. 00 

 45.00 



C, 188. 50 



PAYMENTS FOR TAKING FOX SKINS 



The natives are paid $5 in cash for each fox skin taken on the 

 Pribilof Islands. For the season of 1929-30 these payments amomited 

 to $1,120 for the 224 sldns taken on St. Paul Island and $2,755 for the 

 553 skins taken on St. George Island, a total of $3,875. No payment 

 was made for two of the skins taken on St. George Island, due to a 

 miscount of the total take, which was not discovered until the skins 

 were being packed for shipment in May. 



FUR SEALS OF PRIBILOF ISLANDS 

 NATURAL, HISTORY 



The American fur-seal herd, numbering more than three-fourths of 

 all the fur seals in the world, makes its summer home on the Pribilof 

 Islands near the center of Bering Sea. The herd has its breeding 

 grounds on these islands. 



First to arrive in the late spring are the adult males, who take up 

 definite positions on the beach, usually 75 to 100 feet apart, and 

 await the coming of the females, who arrive shortly, heavy with j^oung. 

 Each female apparently affiliates with the adult male nearest the point 

 of her arrival. He guards the females jealously, with his life if need 

 be, until after the birth of the young, which usually occurs within a 

 few days following the arrival of the female. Fur seals are highly 

 polygamous, each male mating with sometimes as many as GO or more 

 females. 



The immature males, or "bachelors," from 2 to 5 or G years of age, 

 also come to the islands during the breeding season, and congregate on 

 areas adjacent to but separate from the breeding grounds. The 

 combativeiiess and superior size of the adult males, who attain full 

 growth at the age of 7 or 8 years, prevent the younger males from 

 entering "rookeries," as the breeding areas are designated. 



From the fact that fur seals are apparently born in equal numbers 

 as to sex and yet breed polygamously, it is obvious that the large sur- 

 plus of males can be taken for fur without detriment to the proper 

 growth of the herd. Killings are confined chiefly to 3-year-old males. 

 Great care is taken to mark by clipping a patch of fur and to set aside 

 a sufficient number of males to form an adequate breeding reserve. 



