SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



!;.".. This implies tin- provision of a period of rest or exemption of all seals from 

 killing, liolh at sea and on shore, to extend o\er a eomjdete year at such recurrent 

 intervals as may lie defined neeessar\ . 



Sueii a period of' rest might he lived in ad\ an* e for everv tifth. or possibly as often 

 as every fourth year, and he made to forma part of a general scheme imposing 

 limitation of number of seals killed on the islands in intervening years, together 

 with restriction by time or h\ area of pelagic sealing. 



While proximately equal in effect on hoth shore and sea killing a period of lest of 

 this kind \\ould. in oilier respects, cans'- some ineonveii iem-e. by its int erru pt ion of 

 the severa 1 i udiist rh-s. and this, t hou^h minimi/ed liy t iie fart t hat the date of ocenr- 

 reiiee of the \ear of rest wouhl he k 1 1 o \\ n iii ad van re. would not lie \\ hull \ oh via ted 

 hv this eil'cumstanee. 



lii'i. While the ( -ire must ance that hm^ usa^'e may in a measure he considered as 

 justifying the custom of killing fur seals on the breeding islands, man\ tacts no\v 

 known respecting the lite history of the animal itself, with valid inferences drawn 

 from the results of the disturbance of other animals upon their breeding places, as 

 well as those made obvious by the new conditions which 'have arisen in consequence 

 of the development of pelagic sealing, point to the conclusion that the breeding 

 island> should, if possible, remain undisturbed and inviolate. 



lt>7. If this \ iew should he admitted, and particularly if the 1'nited States and 

 Russia, as the owners of the principal breeding islands of the North 1'acitic, should 

 agree to cooperate in entirely prohibiting all killing of seals on these islands, and 

 in guarding and protecting the breeding places upon them, it should be possible to 

 obtain, in consideration of such care exercised in the common interest, an inter- 

 national as-cut to measures regulating sea sealing of any required decree of strin- 

 gency, including certain sp< cm 1 rights of supervision by the powers mentioned. 



IfJS. It miu'ht. tor example, under such circumstances, lie provided 



1 That all sealing vessels should be registered, and should take out special 

 licenses at one oi- oilier of certain specified ports, as. for instance. Victoria. 1'ort 

 Towiisend. Honolulu. Hakodate, and Vladi vostocU. 



('- , Thai such annual clearances or licenses be not issued before a "Jven date i say 

 1st of May . and that certain license fees be exacted. Such, license fees to lie col- 

 lected l>\ the customs authorities of the licensing (ioveri i men t , and to be eventually 

 transferred, in whole or in parr, proportionately, To the ( Jovernments protecting the 

 breeding island-, to ^o to\\ard meeting the cost of ibis protection. 



:! That no vessel should seal in I'.ering Sea before some lixed date t sa\ 1st of 

 Inly.) in each year, and that vessels intending to seal in llerinu Sea should report 

 either to thelnitcd States or to the Russian aut horii ies on or a ft er 1 hat date at 

 named ports, such as 1' na la ska or I'etropavlovsk. 



< 1' Thai all duly licensed sealing vessels should be required to il\ a distinctive 

 Man. and that anv unlicensed \cssel found en^'a^ed in scaling should be subject to 

 cert ain pena It ie.-. 



:, That a /one of protected waters should be established about the breeding 

 islaniU. \\ itli:n wliich no sealing should under any circumstances be jennitted. 



Hi!'. In the foregoing remarks on the measures a\'ailable for t he protect ion and 

 jircser\ a 1 iop ot' t he fur sea 1 of the Nort h I'acitic. re I ere nee is made throughout espc- 

 ciall', tu the eastern par! of thai oec.iii. including nn-re pa rt icii la rl \' the area com- 

 prised in i he i anuc of t hose fur si>als ol \\ h \<-\\ the summer haunts and breed in u' places 

 are about or mi the J : rihih>f Islands, and of which the winter home is found espe- 

 cially off the coast of Uritish Columbia. It is evident. ho\\ever. that the same, 

 remarks and recommendations appiv enuallv to those fur seals which in summer 

 cent er a hou t t he ( 'omiiia mb-r Islands and in winter freq iieii I I lie sea^ >|f the eoasl of 

 .lapa n . 



17". It mav be stated, further, that no svstem of control can be considered as 

 absulutelv coni]ilcte and effective which does not include under common regulations 

 all parts of the North I'aeilic, and that the facilitv of execution of measures and 

 their efficiency would, under any system of regulations, be much im-p-ased by the, 

 co i MM irrcnt act ion of (Jn-at Britain, the I 'nitc<| St ates, l ussia. and Japan, as indicated 

 in the message ot' the I'resjd.eut of the I nitcd Stales in IN*!'. Apart from the fact, 

 that vessels prevented from sealing at ^iveii dales in certain areas miuht at these 

 tiims Iretiiieiit other \\ateis in inereased numbers, the circumstance that there is ;i 



