CHAPTER 34 



Seal Fisheries 



Seton H. Thompson 



Chief, Branch of Alaska Fisheries. 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



Introduction 



Seal fisheries are world-wide; their purpose is the capture and utilization of 

 fur seals and hair seals. Sea lions, sea elephants, and walrus are sought to a lesser 

 extent. Many species have been brought perilously close to extinction because 

 of the high value of the fur, leather, and oil products of the fishery in world com- 

 merce. Others continue in abundance as a result of international agreements and 

 other protective regulations. 



All the animals upon which this fishery depends belong to the order Pinnipedia, 

 and are further classified into three families: (1) Otariidae, the eared seals or fur 

 seals, and sea lions; (2) Phocidae, the true seals or hair seals, and sea elephants or 

 elephant seals; and (3) Odohenidae, walrus. Although members of these families 

 are essentially aquatic mammals, the hair seals are the most highly specialized for 

 life in the water. Their necks are so short that the head can scarcely be raised; 

 there are no external ears; and the posterior limbs are adapted for swimming to 

 such an extent that these animals move with difficulty on land. In contrast, fur 

 seals and sea lions can move with great rapidity on land, where they are almost 

 as much at home as in the sea. 



Fur Seals 



The fur seals of the world belong to two distinct groups or genera, one of which 

 is widely distributed throughout the Southern Hemisphere, while the other is con- 

 fined to waters of the North Pacific. Fur seals belonging to the genus Arctocephalus 

 were formerly found in large numbers along the coasts of South America, South 

 Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and on many of the Antarctic islands. Only one 

 species of this genus, the Guadalupe fur seal, is found north of the equator. It 

 was once abundant on the islands along the coast of southern and Lower Califor- 

 nia; only a few animals still remain. The second group, belonging to the genus 

 Callorhinus, occurs on both sides of the North Pacific, and accounts for about 90 

 per cent of all fur seals in the world. Fur seals are not found in the North Atlantic. 



By far the largest and most important herd of fur seals in the world is the 

 Alaska herd, which has its breeding grounds on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering 

 Sea. Here more than 80 per cent of the fur seals of the world gather every year 

 for 4 to 6 months, take up their only terrestrial life, give birth to their young, 

 breed, and yield a part of their number to meet the demands of a strong world 



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