FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, 1909. 
19 
terms, was “ living from hand to mouth/’ killing all it could get and 
saving none; depending for its next year’s catch solely upon the 
increment of 2-year-olds and such larger seals as had accidentally 
escaped clubbing the year previous. Such practice could be termed 
too close killing. 
In 1904, on the other hand, occurred for the first time the enforce- 
ment of the regulations designed to prevent too close killing, by the 
exemption of 4-year-olds from slaughter, the establishment of a 
minimum weight of 5J pounds on sealskins to be taken, and a reser- 
vation of 2,000 young males for breeding purposes. These regula- 
tions of 1904 changed completely the conditions surrounding the 
killing of seals on the islands. It reduced the catch in one year from 
19,000 to 13,000, created through dismissals a reserve of 7,500 young 
males to maintain the quota for succeeding years, and provided 
means for insuring recruits to the rapidly decreasing stock of breed- 
ing bulls. The change amounted to a transition from the condition 
of practical nonregulation of killing to one of careful regulation. 
Since the quota was reduced in one year (1903-4) from 19,000 to 
13,000, not by natural conditions, but by the enforcement of arbi- 
trary restrictions upon the catch, it might well follow that the catches 
of other years as well were influenced by other agencies than the 
natural state of the herd. For this purpose a brief resume of the 
conditions attending the several years’ killings will be made : 
1903. — The lessee shipped over 19,000 skins and on St. Paul Island 
only 1,185 small seals were released from the killing field.® 
1904. — After the enforcement of the regulations requiring the 
exemption of 4-year-olds from killing, the establishment of a 54- 
pound minimum weight, and the reservation of young males for breed- 
ers, the number of skins shipped as quota was reduced to 13,128. 
On the other hand, the rejection of small seals amounted to 10,181. 
These 10,181 rejections created a reserve of surplus bachelors 
which, as 3-year-olds, would aid the catch of 1905, and emphatically 
relieved the situation as regards close killing. 
In view of this large number of rejections it is not proper to say 
that the lessee could not have secured its quota in this year. The 
reason why 15,000 were not taken instead of only 13,000 is due to 
the fact that such great caution was enjoined upon the lessee in secur- 
ing the enforcement of the new regulations that seals which were 
properly killable were allowed to escape. 
1905. — In this year 14,368 skins were shipped. The St. Paul quota 
of 13,000 was secured, with 59 per cent killed of the whole number 
driven, while the St. George Island quota, 2,000, was not obtained. 
As the percentage of killed on this latter island was, however, only 
a Records of rejections on St. George for 1903 are incomplete. 
