lowing paragraphs, it may be concluded that these prey species 

 were the most available food resource utilized by fur seals off 

 California. Similarly for the eastern Bering Sea, the principal 

 foods of fur seals were the most available food resource uti- 

 lized by fur seals in the collection area. The abundance, dis- 

 tribution, and availability of the major prey species will be 

 discussed to demonstrate the opportunistic feeding of fur seals 

 primarily off California and in the eastern Bering Sea and to a 

 lesser extent for the other areas. 



The first major report on the food of northern fur seals was 

 that of Lucas (1899) for the Bering Sea and subsequently by 

 others as more information became available in later years. 

 The food and feeding habits of the northern fur seal in the 

 eastern North Pacific and eastern Bering Sea are well described 

 from the extensive pelagic research conducted throughout this 

 region by Canada and the United States during 1958-74. Both 

 countries have reported findings in their respective annual 

 reports and in the five joint reports of the North Pacific Fur 

 Seal Commission (NPFSC) (1962, 1969, 1971, 1975, and 1980) 

 for the period 1958 through 1976. 



Beginning in 1975, both the United States and Canada sus- 

 pended the collection of specimens at sea, pooled their data, 

 and undertook a joint analysis on all aspects of the pelagic 

 phase in the life history of this species. Two preliminary re- 

 ports utilizing the pooled data have been completed on topics 

 such as migration, distribution, growth, reproduction (preg- 

 nancy rates), life table, and feeding habits (Kajimura et al. 

 1979\ 1980"). Detailed fur seal feeding data tables will be 



•Kajimura, H., R. H. Lander, M. A. Perez, A. E. York, and M. A. Bigg. 1979. 

 Preliminary analysis of pelagic fur seal data collected by the United States and Can- 

 ada during 1958-74. Unpubl. rep., 247 p. Natl. Mar. Mammal Lab., Northwest 

 and Alaska Fish. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way 

 NE. , Seattle, WA 981 1 5. (Submitted to 22nd Annual Meeting of the North Pacific 

 Fur Seal Commission.) 



'Kajimura, H., R. H. Lander, M. A. Perez, A. E. York, and M. A. Bigg. 1980. 

 Further analysis of pelagic fur seal data collected by the United States and Canada 

 during 1958-74. Part 1 , 94 p. and Pan 2, 172 p. Unpubl. rep. Natl. Mar. Mammal 

 Lab.. Northwest and Alaska Fish. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, 7600 

 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA98115. (Submitted to 23rd Annual Meeting of 

 the North Pacific Fur Seal Commission.) 



Table 2. — Squids eaten by fur seals in the eastern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, 1958-74, by area. 















Species 



























Species 























2 















a 















2 















■» 













a 

 •3 



•3 



3 



c 





o. 



.*3 











O 

 -S2 



| 



c 

 o 

 O 





6. 







>o 

 S 



CD 



.«2 



.5 3 



3 

 ■c 



Q. 



a 



a. 



,10 











1 



<U 



d 



'5 



a* 



Area and year 



l 



o 



■Sf 



-J 



■s: 

 



■5 B 



g 1 



"51 



■5 

 "5 



3 



O 



k. 



1 



«3 

 I 



3 



o 



§• 



C 



o 



a 



3 

 C 



o 



3 



k. 



k. 



1 



o 

 U 



o 



k. 



s 



T3 

 u 



c 



U 



■g 

 '5 



D 



Area and year 



2 



§■ 



o 

 .go 



o 



3 



•5 







g | 



11 



3 



s 



1 



.S3 



1 



3 

 O 



f 



C 



B 

 O 



O 



Q. 



a. 



3 



=: 

 O 



O 



3 



k. 



•B 



If 



s 



.to 



| 



O 



o 



3 

 O 

 J3 



U 



3 



8 



6 



-a 

 u 



s 



n 

 u 



■o 

 '5 



D 



California 

 1958 

 1959 

 1961 

 1964 

 1965 

 1966 



Oregon 

 1958 

 1959 

 1961 

 1964 

 1965 



Washington 

 1958 

 1959 

 1960 

 1961 

 1962 

 1963 

 1964 

 1965 

 1966 

 1967 

 1968 

 1969 

 1970 

 1971 

 1972 

 1973 

 1974 



British Columbia 

 1958 

 1959 



British Columbia 



1960 - ------ x 



1961 x-----x-x---x 



1962 x- - -----X---X 



1963 x 



1964 .. x ----- x - - - X 



1966 --x x---x 



1967 - - x x - - - - 



1968 --x----xx---x 



1969 x - - - 



Gulf of Alaska 



1958 x ----------- x 



1959 - x 



1960 -x- ----x- ---x 



1961 x 



1962 x- - - - - - - x - - - x 



1963 - x 



1968 xxxx--x 



Western Alaska 



1958 x 



1960 - x 



i962 - - - - - - X - x x - - x 



1968 -- - - - - x x x x - - x 



Bering Sea 



1960 x 



1962 -- - - - - x x x x - - x 



1963 xxxx--x 



1964 xxxx--x 



1966 x 



1968 xxxx--x 



1973 xxxx--x 



1974 ------ x x x x - - x 



'Squids identified as Gonatusfabricii in earlier reports have been listed as Gonatus spp. 



