Fur seals were hunted by the Russians and later by the Japanese and Americans. The fur seal might be extinct if it hadn't received protection in 1911. The northern fur seal may reach a weight of seven hundred pounds. Thousands of them breed in great rookeries in the Pribilof Islands. They are still harvested by Alaskans.
Fur seals depicted on Alaska's state seal recall their importance to Alaska's territorial economy.
State Marine Mammal The Great Bear .