The paucity and contradictory nature of these data emphasize the futility of at- 
tempting to estimate the deleterious effect of fur seals on the Japanese fisheries. That 
they do some damage is undeniable, but the amount can be expressed only in vague gener 
alities which can be weighted and slanted to favor eithar side of the controversy. Much 
more investigation ie needed to determine the number of seals wintering in the area and to 
gain a clearer conception of their food habite before any valid conclusions can be drawn. 
MODERN JAPANESE PELAGIC SRALING 
1. Hunting Procedures 
Ae described previously, a decade or more ago the Japanese began hunting seals in 
their coastal waters using a new method based on their porpoise hunting techniques. Por= 
poise hunting is a unique Japanese type of whaling which has no counterpart in the United 
States where labor is too expensive, other neat too abundant, and operating costs too high 
to make it profitable to capture and procese these emall cetaceans. The vescel developed 
for this particular whaling in Japan, called a “teukimbo-sen", can be used for hunting 
either porpoises or fur seals with no alteration of equipment. In fact, the two animale 
were frequently hunted at the same timo, especially in spring when the porpoise ran coin 
cided with the northward seal migration along the Honshu coast. One of these vessels, 
manned by an experienced Japanese crew, was used for the Natural Resources Section investi~ 
gations from January to March 1949. This expedition provided an unparalleled opportunity 
to observe the technique. 
fhe teukimbo-een (Figure 9) are emall, stout craft of about 20 grose tons, 
from 70 to 80 feet in over-all length, with a 50-foot keel, a 12- to 15-foot beam, and a 
draft of about 5 feet. They usually are tiller-steered, which makes them extremely manew 
verable as well as steady on course, and are powered with 60- to 7O-horesepower, seni- 
diesel, hot—bulb engines which give them a speed of seven to eight knots. ‘They have a 
enall crow's nest perched.on the single mast for a lookout etation, and a precarious pul~ 
pit built over the bowaprit for a harpooning and shooting platform. They carry no radio, 
nor any navigation equipment other than a doubtful compass, and are piloted by the cap- 
tain's local kmowledge of the coast. Their normal complement is a crew of 8 to 10 men, 
comprised of a captain who serves as chief gunner, two engineers, four to six deck hands, 
and a boy who acts as roustabout and cook. 
For armament the veasels carry &, 10-, and l2-gauge shotguns, ueually single or 
double-barrel weapone of Japanese manufacture, although the sealera prefer Browning auto- 
matics when obtainable. The hunters load their own shells with black powder and with 
either 0 or 00 buckshot. The latter size, because of ite greater shocking power and pene~ 
tration, ie preferred for porpoises which, incidentally, the Japanese consider much more 
difficult to take than seals, and which often are shot before being harpooned. They prefer 
0 buckshot for seale because it makes smaller holes in the pelts. 
Shooting from the pulpit of a teukimbo-sen is very difficult, and even a good 
markspan must practice to develop the peculiar kmack and skill it requires. The constant 
pitching and tossing of the veasel even in a fairly calm sea is accentuated out on the tip 
of the bowsprit, and the gunner is hampered ae well by the vibration of the hot-bulb en- 
gines, which shake the pulpit so violently it can be only partly compensated for by stand- 
ing on the tees and relaxing the meses. In addition the gunner must be very sure-footed, 
for the little shin-high railing afforde neither brace nor security and ie just the right 
height to trip him overboard if tha vessel swerves unexpectedly and throws him off balance. 
A fleeing seal or porpoise swimming under water breaches so briefly that the target ie in 
sight for only a few seconds, barely affording time for a quick snap shot. The hunter 
must anticipate where the eeal will emerge, train on the spot, and be ready to fire the 
moment the animal appears. The percentage of misses in such shooting is high, and one 
animal for every ten shells fired is a phenomenally good average. 
41 
