252 THE FUR SEALS OP THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



frequented by fur seals, made such records important, and a large number of them 

 have recently been gathered together. 



These records, based on actual captures of hundreds of thousands of seals at all 

 seasons of the year throughout the fur-seals range, include at the present time the 

 log books of 123 different vessels sealing at various times during a period extending 

 over fourteen yeais. 



It appears from a study of the records of the sealing fleet that the American 

 herd, as a body, follows the continental outlines in its lingering northward migration. 

 As the seals do not leave the summer habitat until November, and make their tirst 

 coastwise appearance far to the southwar.l in December and January, there is good 

 reason for supposing that the southward movement is well offshore and very rapid. 



From the limited references in the log-book records to the different classes ot 

 seals taken on each of the American hunting grounds, the indications are that the 

 adult females migrate farthest— to the Santa Barbara Islands— the younger classes 

 reaching the coast a little farther to the northward— on the Vancouver ground- 

 while the adult males are seldom taken south of the Fairweather ground. The 

 schooner Penelope, in a catch of 215 seals taken south of San Francisco in 1890, 

 reported only 8 males. A catch of 1,2G6 seals made in 1897 south of San Francisco 

 by the schooners Eppinger and Louisa T). contained only 72 males. A'oung seals G or 

 7 months old appear in large numbers along the coasts of Oregon and Washington. 

 Yearlings of both sexes are reported to linger in small bands far offshore in June and 

 July, but sealers do not spend much time in hunting them, as their market value is 

 small. 



On the Japan coast there appears to be a larger proportion of medium-sized 

 males among the adult females than on any other Pacific hunting ground. 



In Bering Sea, as is well known, the adult females taken by the sealing fleet 

 outnumber all other classes of seals combined. 



The latitude and longitude of the daily sealing operations of all these vessels 

 have been platted on the accompanying map, and, each month's sealing being 

 indicated distinctively, the map may be considered as representing our present 

 knowledge of the seasonal movement of the American and Asiatic seal herds, as well 

 as outlining the hunting grounds of the pelagic sealing fleet. 



LxBl of the loff-book records used in the preparation of the map showing the migratiov and dislrihutiou of the 



fnr seal. 



All United States ofBoial data (Asiatic and American coasts), 1894 to 1897, statistical tables, 



fur-seal catch, Treasury Department ' 05985 



Canadian official data (award area only), 1894 to 1897, department of marine and tisheries 



Otta.v.a. ' j^^ ppj^ 



Canadian official data (Asiatic, in part), 1893, department of marine and fisheries, Ottawa . . . 21,' 055 



Miscellaneous Canadian and United States data (Senate Doc. 157, Part II, pp 50-55^ 1883 to 

 18QS 



^,. ,, "'"":"•■; 21,877 



Miscellaneous Canadian data (Fur-Seal Arbitration, vol. 8, pp. 816-843), 1892 15 875 



Miscellaneous Canadian and United States data (unpublished ; collected by C. H TownsendV 



1886 to 1896 • ;• j^ g28 



Miscellaneous Japanese data (HnpublLshed; collected by L. Stejneger), 1894 to 1897.... ."." 3,084 



'^'»**i ' ioi;7ii 



