24 BUI.LETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



In addition to the results obtained by special investigators, valuable additions to 

 the knowledge of fur seals have been made by certain of the regular employees on the 

 islands, among whom Naturalists W. L,. Hahn and M. C. Marsh and Agent W. I. Lembkey 

 may be specially mentioned. 



SEALING UNDER GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT. 



During the period of leasing the sealing privilege the work of the Government on 

 the Pribilofs was confined mainly to keeping a check on the operations of the lessees 

 and in the management of the affairs of the natives. But under a law which provided 

 for the abandoning of the leasing system the Government assumed direct charge of all the 

 activities on the islands in 1910. 



Tlw law of icfio. — Toward the close of the term of incumbency of the North Ameri- 

 can Commercial Co., it was decided to abandon the system of leasing. The act author- 

 izing this was passed on April 21, 1910. It provided that all sealing should be done 

 under the authority of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor through agents and offi- 

 cers whose employment it authorized ; the natives were to be employed and their wants 

 provided for; the sealskins were to be sold to the best advantage of the Government; 

 the purchase of the plant of the former lessees was authorized ; and authority was given 

 the department to furnish and maintain on the islands stores of necessary supplies. 

 The lease having expired on May i, 1910, the supplies were purchased and shipped to 

 the islands, the plant of the retiring company was purchased for $60,541.48, and seal- 

 skins to the number of 12,920 were taken during the first season. These skins yielded 

 a net revenue to the Government of $403,964.94. 



During the year 191 1 the operations on the islands were conducted in much the 

 same way as in 1910. The sealskins taken were 12,002 in number; the net receipts 

 therefrom were $385,862.28. 



The treaty suspending pelagic sealing. — On December 15, 1911, a treaty became 

 effective between the United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Japan, abolishing sealing 

 on the high seas for a period of 15 years. By its provisions the United States and 

 Russia, as owners or guardians of the seal herds, agreed to pay to Great Britain and 

 Japan, for the relinquishment of their interest in pelagic sealing, a percentage, 15 per 

 cent to each, of the product of the land sealing to be conducted by each of the two 

 nations. In like manner Japan agreed to pay to the United States, Great Britain, and 

 Russia, respectively, 10 per cent of the land catch from the small but growing herd 

 under her jurisdiction. 



The law of igi2. — On August 24, 1912, the Congress of the United States passed a 

 law prohibiting all killing of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands for a period of five years 

 except the number needed as food for the natives, and providing for a breeding reserve 

 of not less than 5,000 3-year-old males annually during the life of the treaty suspending 

 pelagic sealing. 



Under the operation of this law, only the skins of seals taken for food have been 

 handled. These, including 9 skins carried over from the previous season, numbered 

 3,773 in 1912. The net proceeds were $130,640.57. 



In 1913, 2,296 sealskins were taken. With the exception of 400, which were with- 

 drawn from immediate sale, these were sold and the net proceeds were about $50,000. 

 The sealskins taken in 1914, reported as 2,896 in number, have not been sold. 



