I04 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



justifiable on the assumption that since there are few seals and but little killing, the 

 requirements of the situation must be few and unimportant. The actual conditions, 

 as disclosed by the investigation of 1914, are quite the contrary. Never during American 

 ownership has the situation demanded more careful consideration, more numerous and 

 capable employees, or more liberal financial support. 



The seal herd is small only by comparison. Actually it is large and growing rapidly. 

 The business of managing it will involve the handling of a product yielding an annual 

 income equivalent to that of a business enterprise with an investment of at least ten 

 millions of dollars. Extensive preparation and careful study are necessary to avoid 

 large financial loss not only at present but in the future. The native men who do the 

 sealing are losing their former efficiency. The younger ones, of whom much will be 

 required in the future, are gaining but little experience and training and it is plainly 

 evident that a sudden resumption of killing on a large scale a few years hence would 

 find them unequal to the task. The duties and responsibilities of the agents and officials 

 resident on the islands are of a special nature and they too need time and opportunity 

 to grow with the business. Suitable men to fill these positions can not be had for the 

 asking but must be selected with care and trained by experience. Men with special 

 training also are needed for special purposes — to plan and execute general improvements, 

 to build roads and trails, to provide better housing, sanitation, and education for the 300 

 natives of the islands, to study the possibiUties of new industries and economies, the 

 utilization of by-products, and the development of general efficiency — in short, to provide 

 means by which the Pribilof Islands shall be a source of profit, satisfaction, and pride to 

 the Government. 



Failure to undertake many needed reforms and to develop efficient and systematic 

 management is to a considerable extent due to the continued suspension of land sealing 

 and it requires no lengthy argument to show that the sooner the Government resumes 

 land sealing, the principal business of the islands, the sooner will it be possible to institute 

 reforms of all kinds and to provide a basis for permanent efficiency. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Conclusions regarding the effect of existing laws, especially the law of 1912, as seen 

 in the light of conditions in 1914, may be summarized as follows: 



(i) The law effects a suspension of sealing for six years instead of five and sealing 

 has now been restricted for three years. 



(2) The benefits of the law as a protective measure have now been attained, the 

 seal herd being past the danger point. 



(3) The law guards almost wholly against practices which may have been possible 

 under the leasing system, but which can not occur under full Government management. 



(4) The law is a rigid measure imposing fixed restrictions on the management of 

 living animals subject to natural vicissitudes, whereas in the nature of the case reason- 

 able elasticity is required to meet conditions as they arise. 



(5) Under the law, no one has discretion to permit the killing of seals in emergencies 

 or exceptional circumstances to prevent the spread of disease, to avoid suffering, to 

 provide material for scientific study, or to obtain specimens for museums and other 

 educational institutions. 



