The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-03-09
MAI1lIRB OF SEA h6KIN6



N, p. Roberta, linked etetes coaspl
q Victoria B. c., has inst sent 70 the
stats dspaztnss summary Of the r.
port on the seal catch u 1884, prepared
81 a. b. 1ilue, collector Of customs ct
Vietoeia,
The cnteh WAS tha blegest ever made
IN single year. The totsl Canadian
catch was, o4,474. little ossr $4,000
moro than the catch of 1919. The num-
be Of vessels employed WAS Afty-nine,
four more than went out the year b.
fore. The crews contained In I'll 1,lo6
men, o1 whom $40 were IndiaqA The
canoe catch By Indians alone amounted
to $3.50.
"A good many people have wondered
whether Or not the seal herd II in dam
ger Of extinction If operations are con-
tinued under Che regulations at present
existing. Mr., Milne says that the pro-
portion Of naales Il much larger than
Americans have contended it would be.
Pelagic sealing, they held, was dispro-
portionately fstal TO the females-
But although o7,474 seals were re-
ported by the captains Of the sealing
deet - having been killed during tho
season, the eek Of only =. .s41 was given
Many Of the captains ignored this point
altoaethef. OF thiD number, however,
q many q II, ,7o5 ware females and a.
81 were males, and thecollsctoe had to
base his favorable opinion On these
very imperfect returnA
At the beginning Of tie season It was
generally feared that the hunters
would be seriously handicapped by the
new regulations forbidding the use
Of firearms and prescribing the use Of
the spear. in taking the seal But, un-
fortunately for the seal, the fear has
been overcome. On account Of it the
vessels went on their voyages with .
larger proportion Of Indian hunters ON
board than the year before, because the
Indians were known to be more expert
in the use Of the spear than the whites.
But before the end Of the season the
white hunters had become fully -
slkflful - the Indians.
All tho Canadian seelers were vessels
Of very small tonnsgo, the largest, the
Favorite. registering $50 toms, and the
smallest, the Annie c. Moore, only
thirteen tons The Favorite got 1,s46
seals and the Annie C. Moore 1850.
TheTriumph, Of ninety eight tons, se-
cured the biggest catch-4, $50. The
average tonnage was sixty-six, and the
average crew about twonty-four.
Most OF the seals were caught of the
japanese coast-4e, ,9os, against so,9oo
the year before. The British Columbia
coost catch was less than half OF what
it was In 1888. The report states that
im Behring sea the catch was made out
side the sixty-mile protected zone,
operations being carried on from the
1st Of August TO the middle Of Septem-
Der.
On the Japanese coast sealing COM
menced ct sbout latitude 36 degrees,
and continued north There were none
OF the interruptions usual Of late years
experienced BY those who opera4ed In
territory adjaeent TO Russian waters,
the vessels all keeping we'll outside the
thirtymile zone, mainly operating about
100 miles southeast Of Copper island.
On the British Columbia coast sealing
commenced at shout latitude 81 degrees,
thence proceeding northward. The heet
returned to port early n May. the close
season being then on, aud ct the end Of
July those Of the ships having the
regulate crews Of spearsmen set OF for
Behring sea to try their luck under the
now law of regulations.
Considering everything, those who
were in position to msle the expert
ment with any hope Of fair reward did
very well, but, taking tho whole heet,
It Il claimed that the season has been
bsxren of profits or advantage, except
that Of the crews, who were enabled to
make fair wages. OF tho total 6fty-
nine vessels operating, only thirty-two
went into the sea