84 



Numbers. — The fishermen say that the colony consists of 

 about 50 to 60 seals. Mr. Douglas saw about 50 when he visited 

 the Crumstone on June 12th. 



Position of Colony. — The colony is at the Crumstone, a 

 rock about one mile south of the Longstone. The Longstone 

 used to be the headquarters of the colony, and it was when the 

 lighthouse was built in 1826 that they removed to the Crumstone. 

 Stragglers are met up and down the coast, but it is rare that 

 they are seen or caught at a great distance from the Fame 

 Islands. They appear to approach the shore most frequently in 

 the spring at the period when the paddle or lumpsucker is 

 spawning amongst the rocks. 



Food. — Mr. Douglas says they are fond of the lumpsucker. 

 The watchers at the Fame* Islands have corroborated this by 

 telling me that they often see the seals feeding on the lump- 

 sucker. Sometimes in the winter they follow the fishing boats 

 to get such fish as may be thrown overboard. The fishermen 

 think that the food is principally codling. The seals we kept at 

 the Laboratory were fed on small gadoids like codling, haddock, 

 whiting, and also on herring. The salmon is certainly not the 

 food of the seal. As the majority of the seals remain in the 

 neighbourhood of the Crumstone they are far away from any 

 salmon fishery. It is generally believed that it is a habit of the 

 seal to take a large bite out of the salmon and leave it. From 

 the description of the size of the bite, I have no hesitation in 

 saying that it would be anatomically impossible for the seal to 

 make it. It is just such a wound as would be made by a 

 porpoise or a dolphin. Furthermore, in our experience in feeding 

 the seals at the Laboratory it is not their habit to make a bite 

 and leave the food. If the fish is too large to deal with in one 

 bite they tear it with claws and teeth until it is all disposed of. 

 Seals have been caught in the salmon nets at Goswick, and it 

 has been presumed that they were caught because they were 

 chasing salmon. The only evidence upon which the charge 

 could be substantiated has not been produced, viz., that the seals 

 were feeding on salmon. This could be obtained by the 

 examination of the seals caught in the nets at Goswick or at any 

 other place where it was alleged the depredations occurred. 



