48 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



A number of improvements were made in buildings, roads, and 

 equipment to enable proper handling of the annually increasing take 

 of sealskins. Of particular importance was the modernization of the 

 byproducts plants which was put in operation for the first time in 

 1935. A much-needed new school building on St. George Island was 

 completed during the year. 



Coast Guard cutters accompanied the fur-seal herd northward from 

 a point off the southern boundary of the State of Washington to the 

 Pribilof Islands, and continued to patrol in Bering Sea while the herd 

 was in those waters. A patrol was maintained off the Washington 

 coast and m the vicinity of Sitka, Alaska, by vessels of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries. Collections of seal stomachs were made at these places to 

 provide information as to the food of fur seals during their migration. 



The U. S. S. Sirius was detailed by the Navy Department to make a 

 round trip from Seattle to the Pribilof Islands for the purpose of 

 transportmg the principal annual shipment of supplies and returning 

 the season's take of sealskins. The Bureau's vessel Penguin also 

 made several voyages from Seattle during the year, carrying pas- 

 sengers and perishable freight to the islands. 



TRANSPORTATION OF SUPPLIES 



On July 25 the U. S. S. Sirius, naval supply vessel, sailed from 

 Seattle for the Pribilof Islands with a cargo of supplies, consisting of 

 1,212 tons of general freight and 67,645 board feet of lumber for 

 St. Paul Island and 613 tons of freight and 174,250 board feet of lum- 

 ber for St. George Island, a total of 1,825 tons of miscellaneous cargo 

 and 241,895 board feet of lumber. Other supplies were transported 

 to St. Paul Island for the Navy Department, and to the Aleutian 

 Islands for the Navy Department and the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey. St. Paul Island was reached on August 4. 



The discharge of cargo and loading of outgoing freight were com- 

 pleted in 10 days. The latter consisted of 480 barrels of sealskins, 

 126 barrels of blubber, 189 empty oil drums, 1,193 sacks of seal meal, 

 and 5 live fur seals from St. Paul Island, and 233 barrels of sealskins 

 and 142 empty oil drums from St. George Island. The Sirius 

 departed from St. Paul Island on August 14 and arrived at Seattle on 

 August 23. 



Additional supplies were shipped to the islands on each of the five 

 trips of the Penguin from Seattle, 



POWER VESSEL "pENGUIN" 



The power vessel Penguin made five round-trip voyages from 

 Seattle to the Pribilof Islands in the calendar year 1935, carrying 

 shipments of supplies, chiefly perishable foodstuffs, and transporting 

 employees engaged in fur-seal work. It was used also in the per- 

 formance of inter-island work during the sealing season, and in 

 transporting native workmen from villages along the Alaska Peninsula 

 to the islands for temporary employment during the summer and 

 returning them to their homes in the fall. 



Extensive repairs were made to the Penguin at the beginning of the 

 year and departure on the first voyage was delayed until February 16. 



