BUREAU OF FISHERIES 89 
to 1935, inclusive. The value of the 1936 catch to the fishermen was 
approximately $13,891,000, or about $5,188,000 more than in the pre- 
ceding year. There were 30,383 persons employed in the various 
branches of the industry, as against 22,620 in 1935. 
ALASKA FUR-SEAL SERVICE 
GENERAL ACTIVITIES 
Sealing operations at the Pribilof Islands resulted in the take of 
52,446 fur-seal skins in 1936, or 4,850 less than in the previous year. 
It was thought that the decline in the number of surplus 3-year-old 
male seals available on the hauling grounds was owing to unfavorable 
weather conditions, rather than to an interruption in the normal in- 
crease of the various elements of the herd. 
The work at the islands was under the direction of a staff of 14 
regular employees and a number of special assistants. One hundred 
and twenty natives of the Pribilofs and approximately 90 natives of 
the Aleutian Islands participated in sealing activities during the 
season. ‘Twenty-seven employees of the Fouke Fur Co. were also at 
the islands to assist with the curing and packing of the skins. 
Fur-seal carcasses were utilized at the byproducts plant on St. Paul 
Island and yielded 25,252 gallons of oil and 276,040 pounds of meal. 
Except for small amounts retained at the islands for fox feed, the 
products were shipped to Seattle, where the oil was sold through 
competitive bidding and the meal was delivered to the Division of 
Fish Culture for use as fish food at the Bureau’s hatcheries through- 
out the country. 
A building to house the new electric-power and cold-storage plant 
was erected on St. George Island and an addition was made to the 
garage, and there was considerable extension of improved roads to 
facilitate the transportation of sealskins from the hauling grounds 
to the curing stations. 
The management of the blue fox herds at the islands continued to 
be one of the important seasonal activities. During most of the year 
these animals find an abundant supply of natural food along the 
beaches, but in the winter they are fed prepared rations and salted 
seal carcasses. At this time, too, their fur is prime, and they are 
trapped for their pelts and for marking for the breeding reserve. 
Through the courtesy of the Navy Department the annual ship- 
ment of supplies was taken from Seattle to the Pribilof Islands on 
the U. S. S. Vega and the season’s take of sealskins was brought 
out on the return trip. 
Delivery of 7,867 fur-seal skins, or 15 percent of the take of such 
skins at the Pribilof Islands in 1936, was made to an agent of the 
Canadian Government at Seattle. The Japanese Government, en- 
titled to a like number under the provisions of the fur-seal treaty, 
continued the practice of sharing in the proceeds of sale, rather than 
taking actual delivery of the skins. Two hundred and fourteen 
sealskins taken by the Japanese Government on Robben Island in 
1936 were allotted to the United States as its share under the provi- 
sions of the treaty and were shipped to the Department’s selling 
agents at St. Louis, Mo., for processing and sale. 
