REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
29 
sioners, experts, and agents has been (1) the passage of a law by 
which American fishermen are prohibited from engaging in pelagic 
sealing while fishermen of all other nationalities are permitted to do 
so, and (2) the steady and rapid decimation of the herd, which has 
occurred entirely independently of the legitimate operations on the 
islands. 
If pelagic sealing could have been stopped in 1897, the seal herd 
to-day would contain 300,000 breeding cows (as against 50,000, the 
number for the season of 1909), and the product of the hauling 
grounds would have risen to 50,000 skins, yielding a government 
revenue of $500,000, as against less than 15,000 skins and a govern- 
ment revenue of $143,000 for the present year. Without the drain 
of pelagic sealing the herd would continue to increase almost 
indefinitely. 
The Alaskan fur seals constitute the most valuable fishery resource 
that any government in the world ever possessed. It is little less 
than a national disgrace that the herd of four to six million seals 
which came into our possession when Alaska was acquired from 
Russia and has been under our charge ever since should have been 
allowed to dwindle until to-day it numbers less than 150,000 of all 
ages. The mildest way in which to characterize the dissipation of 
this great source of wealth to our people and of revenue to our Gov- 
ernment is that it is a serious indictment of our business capacity. 
The extent of our loss may be partially seen when it is stated that 
the failure to maintain the seal herd has during the last thirteen years 
resulted in a net loss of revenue of not less than $1,600,000, has per- 
mitted nearly 300,000 fur seals, having a market value of over 
$5,700,000, to be appropriated by aliens, and has encouraged those 
nefarious pelagic operations by which additional fur seals having a 
value of at least $5,000,000 have been killed at sea, but not recovered ; 
while through the slaughter of breeding females their pups — on the 
islands, unborn, and prospective — with a potential value of fully 
$20,000,000, have been sacrificed and wasted. 
It is most essential to the interests of this Government and the 
welfare of the fur-seal herd that appropriate action be taken at once 
looking to the prohibition of pelagic sealing by subjects of the coun- 
tries most concerned; and recommendations to this end already sub- 
mitted to the Department are now renewed and strongly urged. 
MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES. 
COOPERATION WITH THE STATES. 
Active cooperation with the various States in fish-cultural and 
fishery work has been a feature of the Bureau’s policy for many 
years. This cooperation in the interests of the public welfare will 
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