THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 772.— October. 1905. 



NOTES ON THE NEWFODNDLAND SEAL FISHEEY 



IN 1905. 



By Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S. 



The Newfoundland sealing in the past season has been in 

 many respects peculiar, and from a commercial point of view 

 disappointing. For some years past it has been evident that 

 the killing of the young Seals has taken place too early, and 

 that, had they been allowed to remain a few days longer upon 

 the ice, so rapidly do they increase in weight, the same number 

 of "Whitecoats" would have yielded a greatly increased weight 

 of fat. In my notes for the season of 1901 I showed that, owing 

 to the whelping having taken place that year rather later than 

 usual, whereas the killing commenced at the accustomed time, 

 '.he pelts and fat averaged only 35 lb. as against a possible 

 60 lbs., and that a comparison with the yield of a like number of 

 Seals in the previous season showed a loss of 165 tons in weight. 

 Thus the destruction of an immensely larger number of young 

 Seals was necessary to make up the weight of a full cargo. 



This state of things became more and more apparent, and, 

 with the consent of all the owners, it was agreed that in the past 

 season the departure of the steamers should be delayed until 

 8 a.m. on March 13th, instead of the 10th as heretofore, and 

 that no Seals should be killed till the 15th. As it happened, the 

 first Seals were actually killed on March 16th. 



Zool. 4th ser. vol. IX., October, 1905. 2 F 



