PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES. 201 
Vessels going to Okhotsk Sea on cod-fishing trips usually leave San 
' Francisco about May 1 and return home by the latter part of Septem- 
ber. Thestart 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 different 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 
Moller, which is the region resorted to during June and July. Itis 
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, off 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 ashort distance, some 50 miles west 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 quite 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 mueh a month, with or without a share cr percentage. 
The first mate receives one-fifteenth of the stock or $65 a month, or $10 
a month and 40 cents for each seal taken by the boat he isin. 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 
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