NOTES ON NEWFOUNDLAND SEAL FISHERY. 365 



of which made second trips, the whole resulting in 281,949 Seals. 

 The largest number which had been brought in by a single vessel 

 in her two trips was in 1875, when the ' Proteus ' made out 

 44,377 pelts ; but the record voyage for a single trip was made 

 by the ' Neptune ' in 1888, when she landed 42,242 Seals, In 

 1893 these destructive second trips were abolished, and fishing 

 prohibited after April 20th. 



The total number of Seals which fell to the steamers in the 

 past twenty-five years was 5,624,071, the largest number in any 

 one year — that of 1900 — being 353,276, and the smallest 109,304, 

 in 1893.* This enormous total does not include the Seals taken 

 on the shore, by the schooners, or the large number lost by the 

 wasteful system of "panning," which would greatly increase the 

 total. 



In the ' Field ' newspapers of July 29th and Aug. 5th I have 

 given the number of Seal skins, and the value of skins and oil 

 exported from Newfoundland in the past fifty years, as published 

 in the Board of Trade returns, by which it is shown that during 

 that period the produce of sixteen and a half millions of these 

 animals was exported from Newfoundland and Labrador, repre- 

 senting a money value of more than nine and a half millions of 

 pounds ; and yet during the past twenty-five years there seems 

 to be no serious falling off in the average supply. I can only 

 repeat the belief I expressed in the ' Field ' article, before referred 

 to, that the continued prosperity of this important industry 

 depends largely upon its being judiciously regulated. In this 

 respect great improvements have been made of late years ; but 

 seeing the risks of losing panned pelts from various causes, 

 such as fog or bad weather, it must be prejudicial to kill more 

 Seals than there is a fair prospect of getting on board in a 

 reasonable time ! 



Warning should be taken by the fate of the Greenland 

 sealing, which since the year 1895 has been abandoned by the 

 Scottish steamers as unprofitable. 



The great natural safeguards against extermination are the 

 difficulty of approaching the patches of breeding Seals, and the 



:;; These statistics are compiled from Mr. Chafe's circular, which, issued 

 after all the vessels have made their complete returns, is the most reliahle 

 source. 



