280 U. 8. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The byproducts plant at St. Paul Island was in operation during. 
the season and produced 25,252 gallons of seal oil and 138 tons of 
seal meal. Except for small quantities retained at the islands for use 
in fox feed, the products were shipped to Seattle, where the oil was 
sold for commercial purposes and the meal was turned over to the 
Division of Fish Culture for use in feeding fish at the hatcheries. 
There was some extension of improved roads on both islands to 
facilitate sealing operations, and a limited amount of construction 
work was accomplished on St. George Island, consisting chiefly in the 
erection of a building for the electric power and cold storage plant. 
Through the courtesy of the Navy Department the U.S. S. Vega 
transported the annual shipment of supplies from Seattle to the 
Pribilof Islands and brought out the season’s take of sealskins on the 
return trip. Cooperative service also was rendered by the Coast 
Guard, which assigned vessels to the patrol of the North Pacific and 
Bering Sea for the protection of fur seals and sea otters. 
Acknowledgment is made of assistance by members of the Bureau’s 
staff in the preparation of this document. 
VISIT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES AND OTHER 
OFFICIALS TO ALASKA 
The Commissioner of Fisheries. left Washington for the Pacific 
coast on June 8, and on June 25 he sailed from Seattle on the Brant 
to inspect the fishery and fur-seal industries of Alaska. All of the 
principal ports in southeast and central Alaska were visited on the 
north-bound cruise. On July 12 the Commissioner boarded the 
Penguin at King Cove for the 2-day trip to the Pribilof Islands. 
Later he proceeded aboard that vessel to Bristol Bay, where he 
rejoined the Brant at Naknek on July 17. The south-bound voyage 
was interrupted by numerous stops in all important fishing centers, 
and the Brant docked at Seattle on August 6. 
On this inspection trip, the Commissioner was accompanied by 
Congressman Byron B. Harlan and by Col. Charles H. March of 
the Federal Trade Commission. 
LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS REGARDING WHALING 
On May 1, 1936, an act was passed to give effect to the convention 
concluded at Geneva on September 24, 1931, and subsequently 
ratified by the United States and 25 other countries for the regulation 
of whaling. In addition to restricting their capture and requiring 
that the fullest possible use be made of all whales taken, this act 
provides that whaling licenses must be obtained annually from the 
Secretary of Commerce for each vessel engaged in the taking of 
whales and for each floating reduction ship and shore station used in 
the processing of whales, the fees for which are fixed at $1,000 for 
each processing plant and $250 for each vessel in excess of two engaged 
in the taking of whales in connection with any such plant. It is also 
provided that enforcement of the act and regulations thereunder 
shall be primarily by the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Customs. 
Joint regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 
of Commerce concerning whaling were approved by the President on 
October 9, 1936. . The chief restrictions of whaling as provided therein 
are the prohibition of the capture of any right whale or gray whale 
and of any calf, suckling, or immature whale or of any female accom- 
