PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 201 



Vessels going to Okhotsk Sea ou cod-flshiug trips usually leave San 

 Francisco about May 1 and return borne by the latter part of Septem- 

 ber. The start for Bering Sea is made early in April and the home port 

 is reached toward the end of August. There is considerable difference 

 in the size and value of the codfish found in diflerent parts of Bering- 

 Sea. As time passes and more knowledge of the extensive fishing banks 

 is gained, fish of larger size, with thicker flesh and of better quality, 

 are taken. A decided improvement in the quality of the catch is noticed 

 compared with a few years back. 



On entering Bering Sea vessels first anchor and begin fishing on 

 Slime Bank, at the entrance to Bristol Bay. Cod are not always plen- 

 tiful in this locality and, if scarce, a move is made to grounds off" Port 

 MoUer, which is the region resorted to during June and July. It is 

 fished over for some 10 miles northwest and southeast of Port Moller. 

 Occasionally two trips are made, or a vessel will start later than the 

 date mentioned; if so, the catch during August and September is 

 obtained farther north, oft" Cape Pierce and Hagemeister Island. 



THE PELAGIC FUR-SEAL AND SEA-OTTER FISHERY. 



The high price commanded by seal pelts in recent years and the 

 almost fabulous sums received for the sea-otter skins, incidentally 

 obtained in the same fishery, have resulted in a marked increase in this 

 branch of the San Francisco fisheries. The size of the fleet increased 

 from six vessels in 1889 to eighteen in 1892, with a corresponding- 

 advance in the yield of fur seals, although the number of otters killed 

 was in almost inverse ratio to the size of the fleet. 



In addition to the home fleet, vessels from Oregon and Washington 

 come to San Francisco for outfits and crews. Early in January the 

 vessels are busy making ready, and by the middle of February all have 

 sailed. On leaving San Francisco on a sealing trip vessels usually go 

 but a short distance, some 50 miles ■svest or southwest, before the hunt- 

 ing begins. Sometimes the day after leaving port seals are fallen in 

 with, quite a catch is made, and the vessels will be back in port, having 

 been away less than forty-eight hours. The first to sail in 1892 left 

 December 28, and returned January 20, 1893, with 207 skins. Again, 

 not meeting with the moving herds, a vessel will cruise along the 

 southern coast or to the southwest for a few hundred miles, and then, 

 heading to the north, will work up the coast. The business is at the 

 best quite uncertain. Some vessels at the close of the season have a 

 fine balance, others little, if anything, and may show (juite a loss. 



The sealing crews as a rule ship on a lay or share, which varies some- 

 what with the different vessels. The captain usually has a private 

 agreement at so much a month, with or without a share or percentage. 

 The first mate receives one-fifteenth of the stock or $05 a month, or $10 

 a month and 40 cents for each seal taken by the boat he is in. The 

 second mate, if by the month, gets $30 to $45. The cook and steward, 

 combined in one, is paid $45 to $50 a month. The cabin boy receives 



