SPECIFIC SCHEME SUGGESTED. 127 



the time occupied by the sealers hi taking- the close season 



1 J ° would Lave little 



so-called "Sand Point" and "Bering Sea" catches, effjitJt « 

 which in 1891, according to the Commissioners' 

 table (p. 205), constituted 93 per cent of the total 

 catch of the Victoria fleet. The Commissioners 

 thus propose that the Pribilof Island quota be 

 cut down 50 per cent and the pelagic catch but 

 7 per cent. 



As to the further concession of the Report, 7 , N . ot « nt ® ri < . n s 



r ' Bering Sea betoro 



that sealing vessels may be prohibited from enter- ^J *' uo couces - 



ing Bering Sea till the 1st day of July in each 



year, it is to be noted that the Commissioners 



state that the sea is "now usually entered by 



pelagic sealers between the 20th of June and 1st 



of July" (Sec. 649). It can not be that such 



a useless restriction can be suggested in the 



Report, except for the purpose of appearing to 



make a concession when none is really made. 



The Report further proposes that for every "Compensatory 



adjustments" nro- 



decrease of 10,000 seals taken on the Islands anposed. 

 increase of 10 nautical miles be given to the 

 width of protected waters about the islands (Sec. 

 156). As this is simply an extension of the zonal 

 question to a larger area, it is considered to be 

 unnecessary to further discuss this proposed 

 " compensatory adjustment." A second proposal 

 of the same nature is to curtail the open season 

 for pelagic sealing by seven days if the quota 



