Protection of Water Creatures 165 



to think no more about the effect upon next season's supply, 

 of his stretching a net across a river and catching all the 

 fish going up to spawn, than does the market hunter who 

 would, if he could, shoot the last duck. Is it not strange 

 that many fishermen will do anything in their power to 

 evade the laws governing the catching of fish when by doing 

 so they injure their own business ? 



We have already nearly destroyed the mammals that 

 live in the ocean. Among them are the whales, which were 

 once numerous in' the arctic regions. Few whaling ships 

 now arrive with profitable cargoes of oil or whalebone. 

 The sea otter, the fur of which is more highly prized than 

 that of any other animal, and the walrus, valuable for its 

 oil, are also nearly extinct. 



No more cruel hunting was ever carried on than was that 

 of the seal mothers in the open ocean where they go in search 

 of food. When the mothers are killed the young ones, left 

 in the rookeries upon the Pribilof Islands, soon die of star- 

 vation. The fur seal has thus been so reduced in numbers 

 that it was threatened with extinction. Now Russia , Japan, 

 England, and the United States have agreed to stop all kill- 

 ing of the fur seal for a number of years. 



As a result of the great demand for fish, and the careless 

 methods iised by the thousands of men engaged in catching 

 them. Nature unaided cannot keep up the supply. For 

 the purpose of assisting her, strict laws have been passed in 

 many states. These laws prohibit fishernien from stretch- 

 ing their nets or weirs across the streams so as to block 

 the passage of the fish when going to their spawning grounds. 

 They also prohibit the taking of undersized fish and in some 

 cases allow none at all of some kinds to be taken for a given 



