FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, 1909. 39 
of course, involve extended counting and this means unwonted 
disturbance of the breeding cows. For this reason it should not 
be done every year. But at intervals of five years, for example, an 
extended count of pups should be made on each island and from the 
data thus obtained should be made an estimate of the number of 
breeding cows in the herd. 
Disturbance of the rookeries in itself means no harm, provided 
it is not constant. No harm to the cows follows directly from 
the act of their being disturbed and driven off their breeding 
ground. Harm does come, however, when such driving occurs 
in connection with the presence of over 100 small boats filled 
with men armed with shotguns, waiting as close to shore as they may 
come, ready to shoot the seals that are driven off the rookeries. 
While such a menace is present ordinary prudence dictates that the 
seals on shore should not be disturbed unless it is desired to aug- 
ment the pelagic catch from the breeding cows that represent the 
very life of the herd. 
In the interval between these suggested five-year counts no serious 
effort need be made to count the seals. Inspection of the area occu- 
pied would disclose in a general way whether any radical change in the 
numbers had occurred and this could be done without disturbance. 
The Government could well afford to sacrifice some of its minute data 
regarding seal life to the greater consideration of saving the lives of 
many breeding cows each year by refraining from driving them 
within reach of the pelagic fleet. 
CONCLUSION AS REGARDS BREEDING COWS. 
It may be accepted as a fact that a decrease in breeding cows 
has occurred since 1908. The retraction of the breeding seals from 
the places formerly occupied and the actual count of pups on North 
rookery demonstrate this. The fact that Ketovi rookery on St. Paul 
does not show a decrease from 1908 must indicate either that the 
numbers on this particular rookery have been maintained through 
accessions of cows from other less attractive rookeries, or that 
pelagic sealing had less effect upon the cows frequenting this rook- 
ery than upon others. 
From such data as we have on hand at present, which have already 
been detailed, it will be safe to conclude that the decrease in breed- 
ing cows varies between 10 and 15 per cent. It may be safe, further- 
more, to estimate that the whole number of breeding cows now 
embraced in the herd is in the neighborhood of 45,000, varying sev- 
eral thousand on one side or the other because of the necessary 
amount of conjecture used in making the estimate. 
