ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES 75 



land and an inspection of the Bonneville Dam, Mr. Jackson left for 

 Washington, D. C, and arrived there on August 14. 



Mr. Bower left the Brant at Ketchikan and remained in southeast 

 Alaska for about 2 weeks, visiting various salmon canneries and assist- 

 ing in an aerial inspection of spawning grounds. Before returning to 

 Washington he spent some time at Seattle and San Francisco conferring 

 with members of the fishing industry in regard to Alaska matters. He 

 arrived at Washington, D. C, on September 20. 



Senator Ernest Lundeen, of the Committee on Territories and In- 

 sular Affairs, made an official tour to southeast Alaska on the Brant, 

 sailing from Seattle on August 31 and returning there on September 21. 

 Among the places visited were Ketchikan, Petersburg, Kake, Wash- 

 ington Bay, Warm Springs Bay, Todd, Sitka, Skagway, Haines, 

 Taku Harbor, Hobart Bay, Port Houghton, and Wrangell. 



PROTECTION OF WALRUSES AND SEA LIONS 



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

 286 was issued under date of July 1, 1937, containing the laws and 

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

 The prohibition on the killing of walruses was extended to cover the 

 period from July 1, 1937, to June 30, 1939, and no change was made 

 in the regulations previously in effect concerning the killing of sea 

 lions. Walruses may be taken only by natives for food or clothing, 

 by miners or explorers when in need of food, or by collectors of speci- 

 mens for scientific purposes under permits issued by the Secretary of 

 Commerce. Similar conditions apply in respect to the taking of sea 

 lions, and their killing is permissible also in the necessary protection 

 of property or while the animals are destroying salmon or other food 

 fish. 



JAPANESE VESSELS IN BERING SEA 



Operations of Japanese floating plants in Bering Sea were begun 

 in 1930 and have been carried on each season since then, primarily 

 in the taking and canning of spider crabs. 



Three such plants were operated in 1937: The Taihoku Maru, with 

 12 bottom trawlers varying in size from 75 to 150 feet; the Toten Maru, 

 with 8 launches and 1 crab-trap planter; and the Taiyo Maru, with 

 3 auxiliary vessels. Of these, the Taihoku Maru (about 8,000 tons) 

 engaged in the crab fishery in Bering Sea in 1930 and returned again 

 in 1933 and in each season thereafter, its operations in later years 

 being expanded to include the manufacture of oil and meal from bot- 

 tom fish taken by trawling. The Toten Maru, originally the Nagato 

 Maru (about 3,000 tons), had previously operated in the Bering Sea 

 crab fishery in 1931, 1932, 1934, and 1936. The Taiyo Maru was 

 employed in Bering Sea waters for the first time in 1937, apparently 

 continuing the studies of the routes and availability of salmon in 

 offshore waters which had been begun by the Tenyo Maru in 1936. 

 The Taiyo Maru was observed about 20 miles west of Ugashik Bay, 

 with its three auxiliary vessels each operating gill nets about 2 miles 

 ^ong. . . 



In addition to the foregoing, the Hakuyo Maru, trainmg ship of 

 the Imperial Fisheries Institute of Tokyo, again cruised in Bering 

 Sea for the purpose of affording practice to a group of students in 

 deep-sea fishing, navigation, and seamanship. This vessel has a 



