THE RUSSIAN FUK-SEAL ISLANDS. 87 



FEEDING-GROUNDS OF COMMANDER ISLANDS SEALS. 



It was I'oriuerly held ])y tliose wIkj had anything' to do with the Kussian fur-seals 

 that the feniales ouly weut a comparatively short distance from the islands to feed. 

 This assumption was based upon no obsei ved fact whatsoever, and was only a general 

 expression of the total ignorance of the true location of these feeding-grounds. 



When the Canadian sealing tieet, in 1892, in a body resorted to the Commander 

 Islands, after liaving been excluded from the eastern portion of Bering Sea, an inkling 

 of the truth was felt, and undoubtedly to some extent influenced those who were 

 responsible for the 3(>mile zone fixed in the Eussian-British modus rivcwli of 1893. 

 But it was not until the logs of the more successful schooners had been published and 

 their positions at noon every day, with numbers of seals taken during the past 121 hours 

 plotted on the charts, that the true status of aftairs was made clear. It was then 

 manifest that the bulk of the catch was taken on a comparatively limited area south 

 of Copper Island, approximately bounded by 5U° 30' and 51° 30' north latitude, and by 

 165° and 170^ east longitude. The richest hauls, however, were made within a mu(;h 

 more resti'icted area south and south-southwest, and on the line between this area 

 and the rookeries of that island. As a matter of fact the overwhelming majority of 

 the skins were taken more than 30 miles distant from the island, and most of the 

 skins that were taken closer in were secured by those of the schooners that found 

 it more tempting to raid the rookeries from a safe distance. The time of the season 

 during which the fleet operated that year was chiefly daring the months of July and 

 August. There is, therefore, not the slightest doubt about the correctness of regarding 

 the area as above limited as the feeding- grounds of the seals frequenting the Coi)per 

 Island breeding-grounds (pi. 1). 



The season of 1892 failed to throw much light upon the questiou where the 

 Bering Island seals go to feed during the same months. The Vancouver Belle made 

 a reconnaissance to the northeast and north of B«u-ing Island, at a distance varying 

 between 20 and 100 miles, but obtained only a few (13) stray seals, and hastened back 

 to the Copper Island grounds. The Maud S. made a similar trip of exploration 

 around Bering Island with a similar result (27 seals). The experience of the fleet, 

 however, demonstrated pretty clearly that the Bering Island seals do not go to the 

 Copper Island grounds to feed. It seems that the Henry Dennis was on or near the 

 Bering Island feeding-grounds, for between August 1 and 7 she took 189 seals in a 

 restricted area a little more than 100 miles due northeast of the Bering Island North 

 Rookery. 



The experience of 1895 seems to show that the Bering Island feeding- grounds 

 are somewhat more distant and more extensive than the Copper Island ones, for the 

 Jane Grey took 05 seals between August IG and 21 about 25 miles from the Kamchat- 

 kaii coast, east of (]ape Afrika, while the Ida Etta obtained 180 skins between August 

 20 and September 4, 20 to 30 miles northeast and east from Cape Nagikiuski, as 

 detailed elsewhere in this report. 



