136 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



FUTURE PROSPECTS ON THE COMMANDER ISLANDS. 



The Comiiiaiuler Lsland.s seal herd, originally and at its best only half the numer- 

 ical strength of the Tribylof herd, i.s being killed oft' so rapidly that in a season or two 

 it must become utterly unprofitable to hunt them in the open sea. If the destruction 

 is allowed to go on much further it is feared that it will take a very long time before 

 the rookeries can be to any degree restored, even under the most eft'ective protection. 



If, on the other hand, really protective measures could at once be instituted, I 

 am of the opinion that it will be possible to repair the damage within a reasonable 

 time. It may not be possible to bring back the iialmy days of 50,000 skins a year, 

 but it might yet be feasible to render the business profitable to the natives, the 

 Government, and the fur trade. 



This may to many appear as a rather optimistic view, but I base my opinion on 

 the well-established fact of the quick recovery and rapid replenishing of the rookeries 

 during the beginning of the lease of Hutchinson, Kohl, Philippeus & Co., as well as 

 upon the wonderfully recuperative powers of the herds as demonstrated in the history 

 of Robbeu Island. A graphic demonstration of an estimated increase would bear 

 out this opinion, but as being chiefly speculatory, and therefore outside the limits 

 which I have endeavored to keep in this report, is here left out of consideration. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



Tlio Commander Islands being outside the boundaries of our own country, recom- 

 mendations by the present writer as to the protection and management of the fur-seal 

 business may seem to be out of place. Perhaps, therefore, I ought to have called the 

 following paragraphs suggestions rather than recommendaitions. The friendly coopera- 

 tion shown by the Eussian authorities, however, has led me to give these, my personal 

 opinions, a more definite form. 



In the first place, any protection to be eft'ective must be established by interna' 

 tional agreement between all the powers directly interested, viz, Eussia, Japan, Great 

 Britain, and the United States. Separate action is npt to be disastrous. It has thus 

 far not only resulted in protective regulations which do iu)t protect, but the English- 

 American modus vtvetull of 1892 was unquestionably the beginning of the ruin of the 

 Commander Islands rookeries. 



As to the measures to be recommended, it may at once be stated that oidy radical 

 and total prohibition can be eft'ective. A short period of complete stoppage of sealing 

 will produce more good than three times as long a period of partial protection. The 

 recent history of fur-seal protection has shown the utter failure of halfway measures. 



The special recommendations which I should be inclined to make are as follows: 



(1) Total and absolute prohibition of pelagic sealing in the North Pacific Ocean 

 and Bering Sea at all seasons for at least six years. 



(2) After that time total ijrohibitiou at all seasons in Bering Sea and Pacific 

 Ocean west of 175° east longitude and north of 52° north latitude, or, if preferable, 

 within a zone of 150 nautical miles from the islands. 



(3) Total prohibition of killing on land for one year. 



(4) After that time bachelor seals to be taken on land not later than August 1. 

 The total prohibition of ])elagic sealing for six years is thought to be sufficient to 



restock the rookeries with females to the extent that at least an equilibrium of the 

 herd may be attained. 



