﻿PACIFIC 
  COAST 
  FISHERIES 
  

  

  FUR 
  SEAL 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  THE 
  PRIBILOF 
  ISLANDS, 
  1970 
  

  

  Fur 
  sealing 
  operations 
  on 
  the 
  Pribilof 
  Islands 
  produced 
  42,179 
  commercial 
  sealskins--an 
  

   increase 
  of 
  3,374 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Male 
  seals 
  accounted 
  for 
  42,060 
  commercial 
  sealskins; 
  

   the 
  remaining 
  119 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  female 
  seals. 
  Only 
  21 
  female 
  seals 
  were 
  taken 
  for 
  scientific 
  

   research; 
  the 
  rest 
  were 
  taken 
  inadvertently. 
  

  

  CLASSES 
  OF 
  MALE 
  SEALS 
  TAKEN 
  ON 
  THE 
  PRIBILOF 
  ISLANDS, 
  BY 
  AGE 
  GROUP, 
  1970 
  

  

  NOTE:— 
  THE 
  SEALING 
  SEASON 
  BEGAN 
  JUNE 
  24 
  AND 
  ENDED 
  JULY 
  31, 
  1970. 
  

  

  Fur 
  seal 
  production 
  on 
  St. 
  Paul 
  Island 
  was 
  86 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  harvest 
  — 
  slightly 
  more 
  

   than 
  in 
  1969. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  eighth 
  consecutive 
  year, 
  sealskin 
  curing 
  operations 
  were 
  under 
  Government 
  super- 
  

   vision. 
  Of 
  the 
  65-man 
  crew 
  only 
  28 
  were 
  Pribilof 
  and 
  Aleutian 
  residents 
  . 
  The 
  rest 
  were 
  from 
  the 
  

   mainland 
  areas 
  . 
  During 
  the 
  peak 
  of 
  the 
  season, 
  46 
  men 
  were 
  employed 
  in 
  the 
  plant 
  at 
  St. 
  Paul 
  and 
  

   19 
  at 
  St. 
  George 
  Island. 
  

  

  A 
  5-year 
  contract 
  was 
  awarded 
  to 
  the 
  Oregon 
  Marine 
  Products 
  Company 
  to 
  process 
  fur 
  seal 
  

   carcasses 
  from 
  St. 
  Paul 
  Island 
  and 
  produce 
  ground 
  meat 
  for 
  use 
  as 
  frozen 
  animal 
  food. 
  The 
  Mit- 
  

   subishi 
  International, 
  a 
  Japanese 
  company, 
  has 
  a 
  similar 
  contract 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  fur 
  seal 
  carcasses 
  

   from 
  St. 
  George 
  Island, 
  but 
  did 
  not 
  process 
  carcasses 
  in 
  either 
  1969 
  or 
  1970. 
  

  

  A 
  team 
  of 
  scientists 
  from 
  Virginia 
  Mason 
  Research 
  Center 
  of 
  Seattle, 
  Wash. 
  , 
  spent 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  time 
  on 
  St. 
  Paul 
  Island, 
  as 
  they 
  had 
  in 
  1969. 
  The 
  team 
  continued 
  investigations 
  of 
  the 
  

   various 
  possible 
  methods 
  of 
  destroying 
  fur 
  seals 
  humanely. 
  

  

  DISTRIBUTION 
  AND 
  TAKE 
  OF 
  SEALSKINS, 
  1970 
  

  

  The 
  fur 
  seal 
  treaty 
  provides 
  that 
  Canada 
  and 
  Japan 
  each 
  receive 
  15 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  skins 
  

   taken 
  in 
  the 
  Pribilof 
  Islands. 
  The 
  distribution 
  of 
  sealskins 
  follows. 
  

  

  The 
  standard 
  packing 
  formula 
  used 
  in 
  1970 
  was 
  80 
  skins 
  per 
  barrel, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  100 
  bar- 
  

   rels 
  that 
  were 
  packed 
  with 
  75 
  skins. 
  Female 
  sealskins 
  were 
  not 
  barreled 
  separately, 
  but 
  were 
  

   marked 
  and 
  packed 
  with 
  the 
  male 
  skins. 
  The 
  season's 
  production 
  of 
  blubber 
  was 
  27 
  6 
  barrels. 
  

  

  