58 THE FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1906. 



vessel had met with any success. The Japanese schooner had 4 

 boats engaged in hunting. Reports of the presence of Japanese 

 schooners in the vicinity of the Sannak Islands were quite circum- 

 stantial, especially after the dispersal of the pelagic fleet by the 

 capture of part of the crews of two Japanese schooners which raided 

 the Pribilof group in July. The British Columbia pelagic sealing 

 fleet also killed 13 sea otters (the schooner Casco securing 12 and the 

 schooner City of San Diego 1), a most unusual catch for this fleet, 

 which gets few sea otters as a rule. 



FUR SEAL. 



The sliipment of fur seals by the lessees of the Pribilof Islands 

 was 12,536 from St. Paul Island, 1,940 from St. George Island, a 

 total of 14,476 skins for the group. These sold in the London market 

 for $445,137. The number of seals killed on the islands this year, 

 however, was only 12,886 (11,186 on St. Paul Island and 1,700 on 

 St. George Island), the remainder of the shipment noted above being 

 composed of skins secured in previous seasons and not marketed. 

 In addition there were 373 fur-seal skins, valued at $8,094 (this 

 represents the price paid to the hunters for these skins and not the 

 London price), taken in Southeast Alaska; 224, valued at $1,344, 

 taken in Central Alaska, and one, valued at $10, taken in Western 

 Alaska; making a total of 598 skins, valued at $9,448, taken by 

 Alaskan natives, in addition to skins taken on the Pribilof Islands, 

 a grand total of 15,074 skins shipped from Alaska, The catch off 

 Baranof Island by the Sitka Indians was unusually heavy in May, 

 the greater part of the Southeast Alaska catch being credited to 

 them. The competition among the buyers for these skins was 

 unusually keen, as high as $24 being paid for very good ones. 



The pelagic fleet hailing from British Columbia and working on 

 the Alaskan herd was composed this year of 17 schooners, and the 

 catch of the fleet amounted to 7,983 skins from Bering Sea and 

 1 ,403 skins from along the British Columbia-Alaskan coast, a total of 

 9,386, wliich brought an average price of $21.56 each in the London 

 market, a decrease of $3 per skin from the price received last year 

 (1905). In 1905 this fleet took in Bering Sea 10,832 skins, 2,849 

 more than were taken in 1906. The coast catch also decreased in 

 1906 as compared with 1905. 



A Japanese pelagic fleet, variously estimated at from 25 to 31 

 vessels, also hunted seals in Bering Sea and is reported to have 

 secured about 7,000 skins. Several of these vessels participated in 

 the raids upon the rookeries of St. Paul Island on July 16 and 17 

 with rather disastrous consequences to themselves, as 5 of their men 

 were killed and 12 captured, 2 of the latter being wounded. The 

 prisoners were later tried at Valdez and each sentenced to three 

 months imprisonment. 



