THE ALASKA FUR SEAL: AN INTERNATIONAL 



ASSET 



By Hugh M. Smith 



United States Commissioner of Fisheries 



Washington, D. C. 



Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: You will realize 

 what a far cry it is from what Professor Prince has just 

 been talking about to what I am going to say. I have no 

 formal paper to present, and I do not intend to inflict on 

 you any general discussion of the Alaska fur seal ; it is alto- 

 gether too comprehensive a subject to be dealt with fully at 

 this meeting. 



My excuse for appearing before you is that the Alaska 

 seal has emerged from a violent and, at times bitter, inter- 

 national controversy and has really come into its own. Its 

 present condition is highly satisfactory, and in that condition 

 the people of the United States and of Canada are especially 

 interested. It is very appropriate that at this noteworthy in- 

 ternational gathering there should 'be shown the results of 

 international accord in handling a very troublesome fisheries 

 question which, at one time — twenty-five or thirty years ago 

 — looked as though it might precipitate belligerency between 

 Canada and the United States. The difficulty was with re- 

 gard to jurisdiction in Bering Sea and collateral questions, 

 the circumstances connected with which some of you will 

 recall. 



The Alaskan seal herd is undoubtedly the most valuable 

 herd of wild animals in the world. Its value will be appre- 

 ciated when I say that if it belonged to a private concern it 

 could probably be capitalized at $50,000,000 as it stands today, 

 and could be depended upon to pay a very handsome return 

 on that capitalization. I happen to be the official custodian 

 of that herd; I am administering it to the best of my ability, 

 in trust for the United States, Canada and one other power, 



