A UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PUBLICATION 'fA... nl * U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE Marine Biological Laboratory LIBRARY SEP 9 0 1971 WOODS HOLE, MASS. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, rec- ommend or endorse any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales pro- motion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends or endorses any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned herein, or which has as its purpose an intent to cause directly or indirectly the advertised product to be used or purchased because of this NMFS publication. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Maurice H. Stans, Secretary NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION Dr. Robert M. White, Administrator NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE Philip M. Roedel, Director Fur Seal Investigations, 1969 By MARINE MAMMAL BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Special Scientific Report — Fisheries No. 628 Seattle, Washington August 1971 CONTENTS Page Introduction 2 Part I. Fur seal investigations, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1969 3 Age classification and number of seals killed, by sex 3 Survey data 5 Living adult male seals counted 5 Living pups weighed 6 Dead seals counted that were older than pups 6 Dead pups counted 7 Pathology 7 Malnutrition 7 Hookworm disease 10 Microbial infection 10 Multiple hemorrhage-perinatal complex 11 Marking 11 Application of marks 11 Pups 11 Flipper marking 11 Cryogenic marking 11 Male seals ages 1 and 2 years 12 Recoveries of marked seals 13 Marked seals 13 Tag loss 13 Tag vs. other marks 14 Population estimates 14 Number of seal pups born 15 Number of male seals ages 1 to 2 years 17 Forecast of the kill of male seals in 1970 18 Forecast of the kill of 4-year-old male seals 21 Regression of the kill of male seals at age 4 on the kill at age 3, median date of the kill at age 3, and the starting date of the kill 21 Estimate of the kill of 4-year-old male seals from the yearling male seal popula- tion estimate 22 Combined estimates of the kill of 4-year-old male seals on St. Paul Island 23 Forecast of the kill of 3-year-old male seals 23 Regression of the kill of male seals at age 3 on weights of pups and on air temperature 23 Estimate of the kill of 3-year-old male seals from the yearling male seal popu- lation estimate 23 Estimate of the kill of 3-year-old male seals from the count of dead pups and the pup population estimate 24 Combined estimates of the kill of 3-year-old male seals on St. Paul Island 24 Forecast of the total kill of male seals 24 Special studies 25 Activity of young male seals on land 25 Tagging 25 Male seals tagged in 1968 and recovered in 1968 and 1969 25 Male seals tagged in 1969 and recovered in 1969 26 Discussion of tagging 27 Male seals tagged in 1969 and released after capture 28 Telemetry 28 iii CONTENTS -- Continued Page Weights of bacula and testes of young male seals 29 Body length and reproductive condition of female seals collected on St. Paul Island and at sea in 1968 29 Body length of male seals, ages 2 to 5 years 30 Organochlorine pesticides in northern fur seals, California sea lions, and birds, 1968-69 32 Summary 33 Acknowledgments 36 Glossary 36 Part II. Pelagic fur seal investigations, 1969 37 Research in 1969 37 Distribution 37 Abundance 37 Age and sex 38 Recoveries of marked seals 38 Lengths and weights 38 Reproduction 39 Uterine horn of conception and fetal sex ratio 41 Feeding habits 41 Relation of food of fur seals to commercial fisheries 42 Summary 42 Literature cited 42 Appendix A tables 49 Appendix B tables 73 Appendix C — Persons engaged in fur seal research in 1969 90 FIGURES 1. Location of rookeries and hauling grounds, St. Paul Island 3 2. Location of rookeries and hauling grounds, St. George Island 4 3. Three- and four-year-old male seals killed, St. Paul Island, 25 June to 31 July 1969 4 4. Three- and four-year-old male seals killed, St. George Island, 25 June to 31 July 1969 4 5. Kill of male seals, by year class, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1947-67 6 6. Number of pups that died of various causes, Reef Rookery study area 1, 1964 and 1966-69, and Northeast Point study area 3, 19(57-69, St. Paul Island 9 7. Percentage of pups that died of various causes, Reef Rookery study area 1, 1964 and 1966-69, and Northeast Point study area 3, 19(57-69, St. Paul Island 10 8. Correlation of pup deaths from malnutrition with death from malnutrition and enteritis, St. Paul Island, 1964 and 1966-69 10 9. Examples of mark locations that have been used on fur seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 11 10. System of identification symbols used as cryogenic brands applied to 775 pups, St. Paul Island, August 1969 12 11. Percentage recovery of male seals ^ 2 years old tagged on accessible hauling grounds, St. Paul Island, June and July 1968-69 28 12. Weights of bacula, male seals ^ 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26 July 1968. Horizontal lines =: mean; black vertical bars mean ±2Sx; open vertical bars == mean ±2S; vertical lines = range; X := outliers. Numbers in paren- theses represent sample sizes 31 iv CONTENTS -- Continued Page 13. Number of seals seen per hour of effort in each area] unit occupied by a research vessel in February 1969 off Washington. The sides of each unit measure 10 minutes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude. Units occupied for less than 0.5 hour are marked "X." See table B-l for detailed data 38 14. Number of seals seen per hour of effort in each area] unit occupied by a research vessel in March 1969 off Washington. The sides of each unit measure 10 min- utes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude. Units occupied for less than 0.5 hour are marked "X." See table B-2 for detailed data 38 15. Percentage of stomach content volume and percentage occurrence of principal food species in fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 42 16. Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 19(59 contained Engraulis mordax (48 occurrences) 44 17. Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Clupea harengus }>allnxi (16 occurrences) 45 18. Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained MaUotus villosus (31 occurrences) 46 19. Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Salm- onidae (16 occurrences) 47 20. Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Sebas- todes spp. ( 18 occurrences) 48 TABLES 1. Kill of male seals, by year class, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1954-67 5 2. Analysis of variance in the weights of living seal pups, St. Paul Island, 28-29 August 1969 6 3. Variances in, and means of, the weights of living seal pups, St. Paul Island, 28-29 August 1969 7 4. Dead seals counted that were older than pups, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1965-69 ... 7 5. Primary diagnoses for causes of death among seal pups, three mortality study areas, St. Paul Island, 26 June to 15 August 1969 8 6. Summary of tag loss for male seals tagged as pups, tag series Q through T, Prib- ilof Islands, Alaska 13 7. Summary of tag loss for male seals tagged at age 1 or older, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 14 8. Summary of recoveries of seal pups, year classes, 1965-66, marked by two methods, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 14 9. Estimates of the seal pup population, year classes, 1963-67, at time of marking from recoveries of marked male seals in ages 2 to 6, Pribilof Islands, Alaska .... 15 10. Estimates of the seal pup population, year classes 1960-66, at time of tagging, from recoveries of marked male seals in ages 3 and 4, and the count of dead pups, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 15 11. Estimates of the seal pup population, year class 1969, at time of shearing, St. Paul Island 16 12. Estimates of the number of seal pups born, year classes 1963-69, from shearing and sampling, St. Paul Island 16 13. Estimates of the seal pup population, year classes 1961-66 and 1969, for St. Paul Island from shearing and sampling, and for the Pribilof Islands, Alaska from an extrapolation 17 14. Comparison of estimates based on tag recoveries with estimates based on shearing and sampling, for number of seal pups born, year classes 1961-66, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 17 CONTENTS -- Continued Page 15. Estimates of the number of yearling male seals, year classes 1964-67, from recov- eries of marked male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 19 16. Estimated number of 2- and 3-year-old male seals, year classes 1963-66, from recov- eries of marked male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 20 17. Survival of male seals, year classes 1961-66, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 20 18. Fraction of the seal pup population in August of their birth year that is repre- sented by the harvest (survival) of male seals on the Pribilof Islands at ages 2 to 5 from the same year class, and the mean annual air temperature and count of dead pups on St. Paul Island 21 19. Data for regression of the kill of 4-year-old male seals on the kill of 3-year-old male seals, median date of the kill of 3-year-old male seals, and starting date of the kill, year classes 1952-65, St. Paul Island 22 20. Observed kill of 3- and 4-year-old male seals, St. Paul Island, and estimated num- ber of yearling male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, year classes 1961-63 and 1965 22 21. Weights of seal pups, mean air temperature, and observed kill of 3- and 4-year-old male seals, year classes 1957-65, St. Paul Island 23 22. Estimated number of yearling male seals and kill of 3-year-old male seals, year classes 1961-62 and 1964-66, St. Paul Island 24 23. Forecast of the kill of male seals in 1970, by age, Pribilof Islands, Alaska 25 24. Forecasted and actual kill of male seals, by age, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1969 25 25. Percentage recovery of tags applied to male seals ^ 2 years old 24 June to 18 July 1968 and recovered in 1968 and 1969, St. Paul Island 26 26. Uncoated tags applied to male seals ^ 2 years old 20 June to 17 July 1969 and re- covered in 1969, St. Paul Island 26 27. Number of days between tagging and recovery of uncoated tags applied to male seals 5; 2 years old, St. Paul Island. 20 June to 17 July 1969 27 28. Percentage of 3- and 4-year-old male seals that were recovered on the hauling ground where they were tagged, St. Paul Island, 20 June to 17 July 1969 27 29. Percentage age composition of male seals ^ 2 years old tagged on St. Paul Island, June and July 1968 and 1969 28 30. Recovery of epoxy-coated tags applied to male seals ^ 2 years old that were not to be killed, St. Paul Island, 30 June to 17 July 1969 29 31. Record of radio transmitters and epoxy-coated tags attached to male seals ^ 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 1969 30 32. Weights of bacula, male seals ^ 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26 July 1968 30 33. Weights of paired testes, male seals 5> 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26, June 1968 30 34. Mean body lengths of female seals, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea, by month, 1968 31 35. Percentage of female seals that were pregnant or post partum during the year examined, by month, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea, 1968 32 36. Percentage of follicles >5 mm. in diameter in the ovaries of female seals, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea, by month, 1968 32 37. Mean and standard deviations of the body lengths of male seals, St. Paul Island, 17-26 July 1964-69 33 38. Parts per million (mg./kg.) of pesticides in liver and brain tissues of northern fur seals 34 39. Pesticides in tissues and ingested milk of nursing northern fur seal pups, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 10 November 1969 35 40. Parts per million (mg./kg.) of pesticides in tissues of California sea lions 35 vi CONTENTS -- Continued Page 41. Age and sex, by month, of fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 39 42. Tag recoveries from fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Wash- ington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 39 43. Number of female seals collected pelagically by the United States in the eastern Pacific Ocean and (in parentheses) percentage pregnant, 1958-69 40 44. Stomach contents of fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Wash- ington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 41 Appendix A Tables 1. Age classification of male seals killed on St. Paul Island, 25 June to 1 August 1969 49 2. Cumulative age classification of male seals killed on St. Paul Island, 25 June to 1 August 1969 50 3. Age classification of male seals killed on St. George Island, 25 June to 1 August 1969 51 4. Cumulative age classification of male seals killed on St. George Island, 25 June to 1 August 1969 52 5. Adult male seals counted, by class and rookery section, St. Paul Island, 20-24 June 1969 53 6. Adult male seals counted, by class and rookery section, St. Paul Island, 10-12 July 1969 55 7. Adult male seals counted, by class and rookery section, St. George Island, 20-21 June 1969 57 8. Adult male seals counted, by class and rookery section, St. George Island, 10-12 July 1969 58 9. Harem and idle male seals counted in mid-July, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1960-69 . 59 10. Adult male seals counted, St. Paul Island, 9-14 July 1966-69 59 11. Adult male seais counted, St. Paul Island, 20-27 June 1966-69 60 12. Dead seal pups counted, by rookery, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1960-69 62 13. Dead seal pups counted, by rookery sections, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 25-27 Au- gust 1969 63 14. Primary diagnoses for causes of death among 208 seal pups, by 7-day periods, St. Paul Island, 26 June to 15 August 1969 64 15. Lesions and circumstances associated with cases of multiple hemorrhage-perinatal complex, St. Paul Island, 1964 and 1966-69 65 16. Mean weights of untagged and unmarked seal pups about 1 September, St. Paul Island, 1957-69 66 17. Seal pups tagged and marked, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1960-69 67 18. Record of tags applied to male seals selected as yearlings and as 2-, 3-, and 4- year-olds on the basis of body length or size, St. Paul Island, 1961-63 and 1965-69 68 19. Record of 119 male seals marked as pups in 1967 and 1968 or at ages 1 and 2 in 1968 and given IV-series tags at age 1 and 2 in 1969, St. Paul Island, 25 Sep- tember to 13 October 1969 69 20. Record of 3,431 male seals tagged at ages 1 to 4 years, St. Paul Island, Septem- ber and October 1969 70 21. Marked, tagged, and lost-tag seals recovered, by age, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 25 June to 1 August 1969 70 22. Tag recoveries from male seals that had been selected and tagged as yearling male seals and at age 2 or older in previous years, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1969 71 23. Soviet tags recovered in the United States kill of fur seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1969 72 vii CONTENTS -- Continued Page Appendix B Tables 1. List of chart units occupied by a research vessel off Washington, 6-28 February 1969, showing hours in unit, seals seen per hour, and number of seals seen and collected 73 2. List of chart units occupied by a research vessel off Washington, 1-29 March 1969, showing hours in unit, seals seen per hour, and number of seals seen and collected 75 3. Number of seals seen, and number seen per boat-hunting day, by 10-day periods, off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 76 4. Number of seals collected, and number collected per boat-hunting day, by 10-day periods, off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 76 5. Total seals sighted, collected, wounded and lost, and killed and lost between Cal- ifornia and the Bering Sea, 1958-69 77 6. Total seals shot, percentage collected, wounded and lost, and killed and lost be- tween California and the Bering Sea, 1958-69 78 7. Number of seals per group among 1,136 seals sighted off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 79 8. Thickness of subcutaneous fat in yearling fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 1969 80 9. Monthly mean lengths of pregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 1969 81 10. Monthly mean weights of pregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 1969 82 11. Monthly mean lengths of nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 83 12. Monthly mean weights of nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 84 13. Monthly mean lengths of male seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 85 14. Monthly mean weights of male seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 85 15. Monthly mean lengths and weights of fur seal fetuses collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 86 16. Reproductive condition of female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 87 17. Pregnancy rates of female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 88 18. The occurrence of missed pregnancies among nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 . . 89 Yin Fur Seal Investigations, 1969 By National Marine Fisheries Service1 MARINE MAMMAL BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Naval Support Activity Seattle, Washington 98115 ABSTRACT Field investigations of the fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus, in 1969 were conducted on the Pribilof Islands from June to October and in the eastern North Pacific Ocean, off the State of Washington, in February and March. The kill included 38,678 males and 230 females. We counted 10,276 living adult males in June and 10,597 in July. Dead fur seals counted included 14,810 pups and 286 animals older than pups. The main causes of death among 208 pups were malnutrition, hookworm disease, and microbial infections. The average weights of pups in late August were 9.8 kg. for males and 8.6 kg. for females. We marked 25,775 pups of both sexes and 3,419 male seals presumed to be ages 1 and 2, and recovered 3,558 marked male seals. Tag loss varies with tag series. Data on the relative effectiveness of two kinds of marks used on fur seals are inconclusive. Estimates of the number of pups born in 1966 were 461,000 from tagging and 390,000 from shearing and sampling. According to sheared to unsheared ratios, an estimated 303,500 pups were born in 1969. The forecasted kill of males in ages 2 to 5 in 1970 is 53,700. The predicted kill of males in ages 2 to 5 in 1969 was 56,500 ; the actual kill was 38,440. About 68 percent of 334 young males tagged on St. Paul Island in 1968 and 69 percent of 555 tagged there in 1969 have since been recovered on the Pribilof Islands. Four of eleven transmitters attached to young males were unaccounted for at the end of the season in 1969. Weights of the bacula of young males ranged from 3 to 11 dg. at age 2 to 13 to 45 dg. at age 5, and weights of the testes ranged from 9 to 18 g. at age 2 to 23 to 99 g. at age 5. The number of females collected at sea in 1968 were too few to permit a com- parison of body lengths and reproductive conditions between animals on St. Paul Island and at sea during comparable periods. Organochlorine pesticides were found in the tissues of fur seals, sea lions, and marine birds. 1 Formerly the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Of 1,136 fur seals sighted off Washington, 334 were collected, 41 were wounded and lost, and 42 were killed and lost. Solitary seals were more prevalent than paired or large groups of animals. Fifty-four percent of 299 females killed were from 1 to 7 years old, and 48 year- ling seals from the 1968 year class were taken. Twenty-six marked seals were collected. Pregnancy rates have ranged from 38 to 90 percent for females age 5 and older collected off Washington in February and March since 1958. Fifty-five percent of 140 fetuses collected in 1969 were males. Forty-eight percent of the nonpregnant seals 4 to 19 years of age had ovulated. Anchovy was the leading species in 190 stomachs that contained food. Rock- fish, capelin, and salmonids followed in importance. Salmon were the most valuable of the commercial fishes eaten by fur seals off Washington in 1969. INTRODUCTION In 1969 the Pribilof Islands fur seal pop- ulation began its climb to a new level. Females will not again be killed intentionally until about 450,000 pups are born annually. We are not able to predict how many years will be required for this level of pup production to be reached. With average survival perhaps 5 years will be needed to accumulate a total of more than 700,000 females 3 years old or older needed to produce 450,000 young. Exceptional sur- vival such as that experienced by the year classes of 1952 and 1958 or poor survival like that of the year class of 1956 will substantially change the time required to bring the number of females to the desired level. We believe the population is sufficiently re- duced now so that density-dependent mortality causes do not strongly influence it. The reason for the extreme success or failure of some year classes has not been determined. We suggest that the variations are caused by changes in the environment that we are not yet able to relate to survival of fur seals. Forecasting the strength of year classes depends on understand- ing this relationship. Until we know and can measure the factors that determine survival to age 3 years, forecasts have limited usefulness for the year intended. Their use in planning sales of furs or for other economic uses 2 or more years in the future is unwarranted. The distribution and numbers of fur seals off Washington and southern British Columbia, as well as their size, reproductive performance, and food were studied. The studies, which are coordinated with Canadian research, will be carried on for several years. The results, in- sofar as possible, will be correlated with the population changes taking place on the Pribilof Islands. Part I, on land investigations, was prepared by the staff making studies on the Pribilof Islands: Alton Y. Roppel, Project Leader (Wildlife Research Biologist) ; Ancel M. John- son, Biometrician (Wildlife Research Biolo- gist) ; Raymond E. Anas, Fishery Research Biologist; Mark C. Keyes, Research Veterinar- ian; and Douglas G. Chapman (Director of the Center for Quantitative Analysis, Univer- sity of Washington, Contract No. 14-17-0001- 2146), consultant. Part II, on pelagic investigations, was com- piled by staff biologists: Clifford H. Fiscus, Project Leader (Wildlife Research Biologist); and Hiroshi Kajimura, Fishery Research Bi- ologist. Merrill A. Petterson and Stephen D. Treacy, Biological Technicians, took part in the 1969 operations. Temporary employees Robert G. Forbes and Arthur A. Harvey as- sisted with the ocean work. Ford Wilke, Laboratory Director Part I. FUR SEAL INVESTIGATIONS, PRIBILOF ISLANDS, ALASKA, 1969 This report summarizes fur seal research carried out on the Pribilof Islands in 1969 from June to October as part of a program designed to provide a basis for determining' the level at which the herd will produce a maximum sustained yield. The glossary describes terms having special meanings in fur seal research, figures 1 and 2 show the locations of rookeries and hauling grounds on the Pribilof Islands, and appendix B lists persons engaged in fur seal research on the Pribilof Islands in 1969. In this report, "Pribilof Islands" include St. Paul and St. George Islands and, occasionally, Sea Lion Rock. There are no fur seal rookeries on Otter and Walrus Islands. Alton Y. Roppel, Project Leader AGE CLASSIFICATION AND NUMBER OF SEALS KILLED, BY SEX Male seals only were purposely killed on the Pribilof Islands in 1969; 230 females were taken accidentally and were not classified by age. All available males without manes were taken. Small seals <42 inches (107 cm.) in EA LION NECK LITTLE POLOVINA POLOVINA CLIFFS j SIVUTCH (SEA LION ROCK) Figure 1. — Location of rookeries and hauling grounds, St. Paul Island. EAST CLIFFS Figure 2. — Location of rookeries and hauling grounds, St. George Island. body length from tip of nose to tip of tail, allowed to escape in previous years, were killed in 1969. The animals were killed each week from 25 June to 1 August Monday through Saturday beginning at 6 a.m. on St. Paul Island and Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning at 9 a.m. on St. George Island. We sampled 20 percent of the males killed 22-26 July for age and body length to continue a study of the relation between body length and abundance. No effort was made to kill seals on inacces- sible hauling ground areas such as Zapadni Point and parts of Ardiguen and Gorbatch Rookeries, or to frighten them away from these areas. A kill of 38,678 males in ages 2 to 6 included 32,621 taken on St. Paul Island and 6,057 from St. George Island (tables A-l to A-4). Trends in the availability of 3- and 4-year-old males taken in these kills to 31 July are given in fig- ure 3 for St. Paul Island and in figure 4 for St. George Island. The age composition of the kill on each island was determined daily by rookery from right upper canine teeth collected from 20 percent of the males killed. Table 1 and figure 5 give the kill of males on the Pribilof Islands from year classes 1947 to 1967. -X-- 3-YEAR-OLD MALE SEALS -O 4-YEAR-OLD MALE SEALS --^7 25 JUNE Figure 3. — Three- and four-year-old male seals killed, St. Paul Island, 25 June to 31 July 1969. -X 3-YEAR-OLD MALE SEALS _q 4-YEAR-OLD MALE SEALS -o =*■*-<* r- Figure 4. — Three- and four-year-old male seals killed, St. George Island, 25 June to 31 July 1969. SURVEY DATA We collected several kinds of data in 1969 to increase our knowledge of the herd's reaction to management programs. Living adult males and dead seals were counted, causes of and trends in pup mortality were established or extended, and living pups were weighed. Living Adult Male Seals Counted The living adult males (approximately age 7 and older) on all rookeries were counted in June and July on St. Paul and St. George Islands and on Sea Lion Rock (tables A-5 to A-8). Attempts to increase the utilization of young males in recent years by harvesting large 4- year-olds and some of the small 5- and 6-year- olds have been successful, as shown by a de- cline in the number of idle males counted in mid-July of 1969 (table A-9) to 25 percent of the average number counted from 1960 to 1962. A decrease in the number of harem males to 58 percent of the average number counted during the same period is attributed partly to the decline in numbers of idle males but primarily to a reduction in the number of breeding females. Table 1. --Kill of male seals. L'by year class- pribilof Islands, Alaska. 1954- . 7 St. Paul Island St. George Island Year Age when killed Total Age when killed Total Grand class 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 total 1954 2 918 23 N 47 3 amber 5, 599 554 32, 544 535 6,651 Number 2, 779 162 10, 127 Number 42, 671 1955 1, 015 27, 863 10, 555 115 39, 548 "555 7, 246 2, 825 260 10, 886 50, 434 195b 885 10, 67 1 2, 762 532 14, 850 171 2, 251 1, 387 218 4, 027 18, 877 1957 2, 590 24 283 15, 344 773 42, 990 242 5, 098 4, 492 244 10, 076 53, 066 1958 1, 977 48 458 14, 149 1, 587 66, 171 431 9. 413 3, 707 540 14, 091 80, 262 1959 2, 820 26 456 14, 184 1, 764 45, 224 891 5,890 4, 690 492 11. 963 57, 187 1960 1 619 14 310 10, 533 1, 240 27, 702 636 4, 332 2, 579 178 7, 725 35, 427 1961 1 098 22 468 12, 046 1, 270 36, 882 921 6, 948 2, 592 502 10, 963 47, 845 1962 2 539 19 009 12, 156 1, 287 34, 991 1, 139 3,736 3, 881 392 9 148 44, 139 1963 1 264 25 535 11, 785 1, 542 40, 126 167 5, 586 3.738 406 9 897 50, 023 1964 3 143 26 991 13, 279 1, 469 44, 882 391 7, 622 3, 680 680 12 373 57, 255 196 5-' 2 200 18 706 - 10, 565 - 31, 471 740 4, 4*43 2,204 - 7, 387 38, 858 19662-' 1 673 17 826 - - 19, 499 443 2,645 - - 3, 088 22, 587 19672-/ 2 640 - - - 2, 640 411 - - - 411 3, 051 Total 28 381 306 049 132, 957 12, 133 479, 520 7, 673 71, 861 38, 554 4, 074 122, 162 601, 682 Mean 2 027 23 542 11, 080 1, 103 1' 37. 752 548 5, 528 3, 213 370 3/ - 10, 116 3/ - 47,868 1_/ Includes only age 2- to 5-year-old seals taken during the kill of male seals on the Pribilof Islands. From 1956 to 1967, 131 1-year-olds and 685 6-year-olds were taken on St. Paul Island and 20 1-year-olds and 319 6-year-olds were taken on St. George Island. In addition, age was not determined for 4, 919 males taken on St. Paul Island, nor for 1, 522 taken on St. George Island. 2/ Incomplete returns. 3/ 1965, 1966, and 1967 year classes not included. ^_ffi ii_ 5-YEAR-OLD — HHI 4-YEAR-OLD — J5553 3-YEAR-OLD — £^ 2-year-old— mnn s 11111 u I u I947 '48 '49 '50 '51 '52 '53 '54 '55 '56 '57 '58 '59 '60 '6 1 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 '67 YEAR CLASS Figure 5. — Kill of male seals, by year class, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1947-67. Harem and idle males counted in mid-July of 1966-69 are compared by rookery in table A-10, and the adult males counted in June of those years are compared by class and rookery in table A-ll. Living Pups Weighed We have weighed pups annually since 1957 on St. Paul Island to continue a study of the relation, if any, of body weight in autumn to the kill of males from the year class at ages 2 through 5. The average weights of the pups in 1969 were 9.8 kg. for males and 8.6 kg. for females. These weights were 0.3 kg. more for males and 0.2 kg. more for females than the average of weights for 1957-69 (table A-16). In 1969, as in other years, differences were significant between the weights of pups from different rookeries (P<0.01) and between the weights of males and females (P<0.01) (table 2). Differences between sexes were greater than differences between rookeries. Table 3 gives the variances and means of the weights of pups. Table 2. — Analysis of variance in the weights of living seal pups, St. Paul Island, 28-29 August 1969 Source Degrees of freedom Sums of squares Mean squares Rookeries Sexes Interaction Error 3 1 3 792 128.28 265.65 3.10 2033.42 '42.76 '265.65 1.03 2.57 Total 799 2430.45 1 P<0.01. Dead Seals Counted That Were Older Than Pups We found 116 males and 170 females older than pups dead on the beaches of St. Paul and St. George Islands in 1969, and collected the canine teeth from most of them for studies of age and mortality (some of the males had lost their canines). Table 4 gives the number of dead animals of each sex counted since 1965. Table 3. — Variances in, and means of, the weights of living seal pups, St. Paul Island, 28-29 August 1969 Sex and rookery Sample size Variance Mean Number Kg- Males: Zapadni Reef 100 2.6156 9.2 Polovina 100 3.9373 9.9 Reef 100 1.9969 10.0 Morjovi 100 3.3151 10.1 All rookeries 400 9.8 Females: Zapadni Reef 100 1.7393 7.9 Reef 100 2.0763 8.8 Morjovi 100 2.4629 8.9 Polovina 100 2.3965 9.0 All rookeries 400 8.6 Table 4. --Dead seals counted that were older than pups, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1965-69 St. Paul Island St. George I sland 1 ..!.. 1 Year Males Females Males | Females Male ^ | Females Norn ber Number Number 1965 158 N 3 count No count No count 158 No count 1966 181 172 41 55 222 227 1967 108 157 41 28 149 185 1968 98 141 33 22 131 163 1969 94 141 22 29 116 170 Dead Pups Counted The number of pups that died on the Pribilof Islands in 1969 was the lowest since the counts were begun in 1941. At the current year class size of about 375,000 pups (established in 1962), our counts of dead pups have ranged from 14,810 in 1969 to 51,189 in 1962 (table A-12). The mean for the 8-year period was 30,493. Dead pups counted on St. Paul and St. George Islands in 1969 are given in table A-13 by rookery and rookery section. Alton Y. Roppel PATHOLOGY From 26 June to 15 August, M. C. Keyes and T. A. Gornall collected 208 dead pups from catwalks on study areas at Reef and Northeast Point Rookeries (Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1970a) . Keyes and E. W. Giddens2 discarded 20 because of advanced post mortem degeneration and necropsied 188. Tabulations of gross pathologic findings from the 188 form the basis for this report. Giddens and A. D. Carlos3 will eventually publish histopathologic and microbiologic findings from the tissues of 75 pups, and this information will be summar- ized in our report on fur seal investigations in 1970. A tabulation of primary diagnoses' shows that the main (66.3 percent) causes of death among 208 pups in 1969 were malnutrition, hookworm disease, and microbial infection (table 5) . Trauma, multiple hemorrhage-peri- natal complex, and undetermined causes were less important. A comparison of the incidence of these six causes over a 5-year period for study area 1 and a 3-year period for area 3 (figs. 6 and 7) show significant year-to-year variations, particularly for malnutrition. A weekly summary of primary diagnoses (table A-14) shows that deaths from malnu- trition were relatively constant from 28 June to 15 August, and that 84 percent of the deaths from hookworm occurred between 18 July and 8 August. Deaths from microbial infection peaked in mid-July but otherwise occurred throughout the breeding season, whereas most of the deaths from trauma and perinatal com- plex occurred before mid-July. Malnutrition The overall drop in pup deaths from 379 in 1968 to 208 in 1969 was caused mainly by a marked decrease in deaths from apparent 2 Certified veterinary pathologist, Department of Experimental Animal Medicine, University of Wash- ington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash. 1 Veterinary microbiologist, Department of Exper- imental Animal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash. 1 The cause of death for each necropsy is diagnosed as primary, secondary, tertiary, and so on. A specific cause is designated primary if it is the most serious or if it preceded and influenced critical changes that eventually led to death. Secondary and tertiary diag- noses, where indicated, are not tabulated in this re- port but are recorded on individual necropsy forms. The distribution of secondary causes among primary causes was reported for necropsies performed in 1966 (Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1969). Table 5. --Primary diagnoses 1/ for causes of death among seal pups, three mortality study areas, St. Paul Island, 26 June to 15 August 1969 Study area Reef Rookery Northeast Area Point 3 Area 1 A rea 2 Old catwalk New catwalk Hutchinson Hill Dead pups Tol Causes of death Dead pups Dea d pups al Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Malnutrition 18 27 3 17 34 0 21 22 8 56 26.9 Hookworm disease 9 13 6 8 16 0 41 44 6 58 27.9 Trauma 7 10 6 4 8. 0 2 2 2 13 6. 3 Bite wounds (5) (7 6) (2) (4. 0) (2) (2 2) (10) Skull fractures (2) (3 0) (1) (2 0) (0) (0 0) (3) Liver rupture (0) (0 0) (1) (2 0) (0.) (0 0) (1) Infection (microbial) 8 12 1 10 20 0 6 6 6 24 11. 5 Navel (5) (7 6) (3) (6 0) (3) (3 3) (11) Peritonitis (2) (3 0) (4) (8 0) (0) (0 0) (6) Pleuritis (0) (0 0) (2) (4 0) (0) (0 0) (2) Enteritis (0) (0 0) (1) (2 0) (2) (2 2) (3) Cellulitis (0) (0 0) (0) (0. 0) "(0) (0 0) (0) Abscess (1) (1 5) (0) (0 0) (1) 0 1) (2) Multiple hemorrhage- perinatal complex 6 9 1 3 6 0 2 2 2 11 5. 3 Miscellaneous 1 1 5 2 4 0 4 4 4 7 3.4 Stillborn (0) (0 0) (0) (0 0) (2) (2 2) (2) Accidental asphyxia (0) (0 0) (1) (2 0) (1) (1 1) (2) Premature (0) (0 0) (0) (0 0) (1) (1 1) (1) Hernia (0) (0 0) (1) (2 0) (0) (0 0) (1) Hemorrhagic gastritis (1) (1 5) (0) (0 0) (0) (0 0) (1) Undetermined 8 12 1 3 6 0 8 8 6 19 9. 1 Unsuitable for examination 9 13 6 3 6 0 8 8 6 20 9.6 Total 66 100 0 50 100 0 92 100 0 208 100. 0 1/ See footnote 4 of text. malnutrition (181 in 1968 to 56 in 1969). Marked fluctuations in apparent malnutrition may be the main cause of marked fluctuations in pup mortality from year to year. The pathogenesis of malnutrition is not known. Possibly 1 percent of pup deaths from malnutrition is frank starvation because of the usual mortality of post partum females. In 1968 (Marine Mammal Biological Labora- tory, 1970b) we stated that at the present pop- ulation level, separation of mother and pup owing to crowding is probably not the only — and possibly not the most important — cause of malnutrition, and that perhaps some disease process is involved. From an epizootiological standpoint, malnutrition has fluctuated like an infectious disease since 1964 when we began our studies of mortality. In the last 3 years, the total number of deaths from malnutrition on the three study areas has varied from 72 to 181 to 56, although the total number of pups born on St. Paul Island has stayed about the same. One disease process that has been re- lated to malnutrition to some degree year after year is necrotic and necrohemorrhagic enteritis. Figure 8 shows the relation between the num- ber of pups that have died of apparent mal- nutrition and the number of these pups that also have had enteritis. The incidence of en- teritis seems to be positively correlated with, but not proportional to, the incidence of mal- nutrition. to o 3 O a O cs) ctT to ■ to to o> l~t CD O o « « 3 3 £ T3 S j Z h- 1 | , | 3 to ri fe ~ 3 +4 be W (saaawnN) sdnd '3 o C CO (R) Years 1963 6 238 -24, 971 18 1964 5 2, 149 -24,991 134 1965 1965 1965 1965 4 4 4 4 12,769 12,769 12,769 12. 769 4/ - 10, 007 —'10, 080 y 10, 000 -'30, 087 385 393 359 1, 137 1966 1966 1966 3 3 3 20, 471 20, 471 20, 471 i' 12, 499 J/12,078 5/24, 577 639 519 1, 158 314, 121 398, 021 331, 094 326, 737 354,722 337,631 399, 844 47 5, 541 434, 134 349, 244 !_/ Estimates do not include counts of dead pups. z, A (C+1)(M*1) (R+l) 3/ Marked by tagging. 4/ Marked by cutting a V-notch into the leading edge of the right front flipper. 5/ Marked by removing the tip of the first digit on the right hind flipper. 6/ Marked seals of the year class combined. 7/ Includes 9. 578 seals marked by removing the tip of the third digit on the right hind flipper and 2, 500 marked by removing the tip of the second digit on the left hind flipper. An estimate of the size of the 1966 year class based on recoveries of males that had been tagged, however, was less than the estimate from recoveries of animals with part of a flip- per removed. Why this difference should have occurred is not apparent. Nearly all mortality of pups on land occurs before marking. Therefore, the total number of pups born is estimated by adding the count of dead imps to the estimate of the number of pups at the time of marking (table 10). The estimated number of pups born decreased from 643,000 in 1960 to 392,000 in 1965, then in- creased to 461,000 in 196(5. The 1966 estimate, however, should be considered preliminary be- cause it is based only on recoveries at age 3. The number of pups born (exclusive of those that died on land) on St. Paul Island in 1969 was estimated by shearing and sampling live pups (Chapman and Johnson, 1968) in early August (table 11). Most of the mortality on land occurs before this date. The total number of pups born on each rook- ery since 1963 was determined by adding the count of dead pups to the estimate from shear- ing (table 12). The estimates fluctuated mod- erately around a mean of 278,000 from 1963 to 1966, before decreasing to 233,000 in 1969. Es- timates were made for only a few selected rookeries in 1967 and 1968. The number of pups born in 1966 was esti- mated for each rookery on St. Paul and St. Table 10. --Estimates of the seal pup population, year classes 1960-66, at time of tagging, from recoveries of marked male seals in ages 3 and 4, and the count of dead pups, Pribilof Islands, Alaska Estimated pups Year alive at time Count of Total pups class of tagging dead pups b« r ,i Number I960 568, 000 1961 489. 000 1962 430. 000 1963 407. 000 1964 395, 000 1965 L/346, 000 1966 i/434, 000 Number 75 000 71 000 -.4 000 39 000 25 000 46 000 27 000 Number 64 3, 000 560, 000 484, 000 446, 000 420, 000 392. 000 461, 000 1_/ Estimate based on combined recoveries of males marked by taEgi"g ana by removing parts of flippers. 15 Table 11. --Estimates of the seal pup population, - year class 1969, at time of shearing, St. Paul Island Pups sheared First sampling period, 12-1 Counted 3 August Estimated pup population at time of shearing Second sampling p Counted ?riod, 22 -2 3 August Estimated pup population at time of shearing Mean of Rookery Sampl ;s Sheared Total Samples Sheared Total estimates Morjovi 1.694 66 224 1, 650 12, 478 48 110 1,200 18, 480 15, 479 Vostochni 3, 658 121 344 3, 025 32, 167 107 277 2, 675 35, 325 33, 746 Little Polovina 518 20 49 500 5, 286 31 82 775 4. 896 5. 091 Polovina Cliffs 1. 853 91 236 2. 275 17, 863 112 281 2,800 18, 464 18, 164 Polovina 378 27 74 67 5 3, 448 29 72 725 3, 806 3, 627 Tolstoi 2. 557 136 338 3. 400 25, 721 128 295 3,200 27, 737 26. 729 Zapadni 2, 724 143 348 3, 575 27, 984 87 192 2, 175 30. 858 29, 42 1 Little Zapadni 1, 448 62 121 1, 550 18, 549 105 198 2, 625 19, 197 18, 873 Zapadni Reef 460 17 35 42 5 5. 586 22 71 550 3, 563 4. 574 Reef 2, 903 110 310 2,750 2 5, 7 52 96 245 2, 400 28, 438 27, 095 Gorbatch 1,704 64 151 1, 600 18, 056 78 192 1, 950 17. 306 17. 681 Ardiguen 472 12 61 300 2, 321 18 44 450 4, 827 3, 579 Kitovi 1. 146 61 184 1, 525 9. 498 53 124 1, 325 12, 246 10, 872 Lukanin 384 21, 899 14 32 350 4, 200 16 30 400 5, 120 4, 660 Total 208. 909 230, 263 219, 591 1/ Estimates do not include counts of dead pups. Table 12. --Estimates of the number of seal pups born, — year classes 1963-69, from shearing and sampling, St. Paul Island Year cl ass Rookery 196 3 1964 1965 1966 1967^ 1968-' 1969 N 900 umb 20 Morjovi 19, 600 19 600 18, 900 18 200 16, 200 Vostochni 39, 800 45, 400 39 900 51, 600 - 37 500 35, 400 Little Polovina 7 400 9, 000 8, 100 9 200 - - 5, 300 Polovina C iffs 21 800 23, 400 21, 000 24 100 - - 19, 000 Polovina 5, 400 5, 900 6 300 6 000 - - 4, 000 Tolstoi 26, 900 28 100 30, 800 30 400 35 700 - 29, 500 Zapadni 37, 000 37 500 32 400 40, 900 - . 31, 700 Little Zapa dni 16 400 18 200 17 700 24 600 - - 19, 700 Zapadni Reef 6 900 6 900 6, 100 5 400 - 5 200 4, 800 Reef 38, 700 41. 700 39 500 38 500 33 500 27 900 28, 500 Gorbatch 1'Z5 200 25 200 20 900 22 400 - - 18, 500 Ardiguen 2, 900 2, 700 2 900 - - 3, 700 Kitovi 1 1 700 14 600 14 100 14 400 - - 11, 500 Lukanin and 5, 700 5, 500 6 400 7 600 - - 5, 100 St. Paul Is total 262 500 283, 900 264, 800 298, 900 " 232, 900 1/ Estimates include the counts of dead pups. 2/ Pups were sheared and sampled only on selected rookeries. 3/ In 1963, estimates were combined for Gorbatch and Ardiguen Rookeries. 16 Table 13. --Estimates of the seal pup population, year classes 1961-66 and 1969, lor St. Paul Island 1/ from shearing and sampling, and for the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, from an extrapolation- Year class 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1969 Estimate for St. Paul Island at time of marking _' 276, 000 Dead pups counted on St. Paul Island 60, 800 Number of pups born on St. Paul Island 336, 800 Estimate for Pribilof Islands 437, 800 231,800 229,900 262,300 225,700 277,500 219,600 47,500 34,200 22,700 41,100 22,500 13,900 278,300 264,100 285,000 266,800 300,000 233,500 361,800 343,300 370,500 346,800 390,000 303,500 U Estimate for the Pribilof Islands is 1. 30 times the estimate for St. Paul Island. The factor 1. 30 is based on 1966 data when pup population estimates were made on all rookeries of St. Paul and St. George Islands and Sea Lion Rock. 2/ Estimates do not include the counts of dead pups. George Islands and Sea Lion Rock. Estimates were based on shearing and sampling and counts of dead pups. The proportion born on St. Paul Island was 0.77. For 1961-65 and 1969 the number of pups born was estimated on St. Paul Island only. The estimate for the Prib- ilof Islands, including St. George Island and Sea Lion Rock, was calculated by multiplying the estimate for St. Paul Island by 1.30 (table 13). The estimated number of pups born, based on tag recoveries and on shearing and sam- pling, are compared in table 14 for year classes 1961-66. The estimates from tag recoveries have always been higher than those from shearing and sampling. Differences between estimates from the two methods decreased from over 100,000 to about 50,000 for year classes born after 1963. The decrease may be par- tially explained by more equitable distribution of the shearing effort after 1963, which was accomplished by dividing the rookeries into units, recording the counts of class 3 males by unit, and applying the shearing effort on the basis of these counts. The actual number of pups born on the Pribilof Islands is probably between estimates from the two methods. From 1961 to 1966 the number of pups born decreased from nearly 500,000 to about 400,000. Our estimate of 303,000 in 1969, based on shearing and sam- pling, indicates that there probably has been a further decrease since 1966. Ancel M. Johnson Number of Male Seals Ages 1 to 2 Years We have marked males from several recent year classes when the seals were older than Table 14. --Comparison of estimates based on tag recoveries with estimates based on shearing and sampling, for number of seal pups born, year classes 1961-66, Pribilof Islands, Alaska From tag From shearing Ratio of Year recoveries and sampling the estimate class (Nt) (Ns) (Ns/Nt) Number Number 1961 560, 000 438, 000 0. 78 1962 484, 000 362, 000 0. 75 196 3 446, 000 343, 000 0. 77 1964 420. 000 370, 000 0.88 1965 392, 000 347, 000 0. 89 1966 461, 000 390, 000 0. 85 1/ Estimates include counts of dead pups. 17 pups by tagging small animals in late Sep- tember and early October (see section on mark- ing) . Population estimates based on recoveries of tagged animals subsequently killed on the Pribilof Islands are discussed in this section. Our data are not complete for all males re- covered that were or had been tagged. We could not, for example, determine the age of a seal after the head (and canine teeth, on which age is based) had become separated from the carcass. The ages of seals that had lost both tags (as recognized by a tag scar on each front flipper) were determined, but there was no way to ascertain the tag series applied to these animals. Therefore, we adjusted for these incomplete data before making popula- tion estimates (1) by distributing animals of unknown ages within each tag series according to the age distribution for the series and (2) for double-tag loss by adjusting the number of tags of each series applied. The latter ad- justment differed from that used in 1968 (Ma- rine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1970b) when males that had lost both tags were dis- tributed in proportion to the number with com- plete data by age and tag series. The pro- portion of the animals that were actually age 1 when tagged was determined from the age distribution of the tagged animals recovered. For example, of 809 males believed to be year- lings and marked with 1-R series tags in 1965, 301 were recovered through 1969. Of the lat- ter, 280 were actually age 1 when tagged. Thus, the estimated number of yearling males tagged in 1965 is (280/301) (809) = 753. If we add 64 animals that had been tagged as pups in 1964 and were given another tag in 1965, the total number of males that were actually year- lings was 817. The rate of tag loss among lR-series recoveries was 0.33. To compensate for loss of both tags, we adjusted the number of yearling males tagged by multiplying by the factor l-(0.33)2. Therefore, 728 yearling males were effectively tagged with lR-series tags in 1965. The number of effective tags is used for population estimates. Population estimates based on recoveries of tags applied to males older than pups are given in tables 15 and 16. Except for 2T-series data, the estimates for a given tag series increase with an increase in age at recovery. Increased tag loss may be responsible for the apparent rise in the estimates, but the data in table 7 do not indicate that it has been increasing suf- ficiently to account for large decreases in re- covery rates. Behavior, tag-caused mortality, and selection for tags during killing are other possible factors. Until we know what is caus- ing a decrease in the recovery rate we can have little confidence in population estimates based on tag recoveries. Data to be collected in 1970 and 1971 from the 1965 and 1966 year classes may help us to understand why the recovery rates have changed. Ancel M. Johnson FORECAST OF THE KILL OF MALE SEALS IN 1970 Our forecasts of the male kill for 1966 and 1967 were extremely accurate, but subsequent forecasts have been less satisfactory. For ex- ample, our forecasts of 49,000 for 1968 and 57,000 for 1969 exceeded the actual kills by 5,000 and 18,000, respectively. We should, therefore, ask whether these errors represent chance variations in the forecast and merely reflect the fact that our methods of forecasting are still rather imprecise, or whether there has been a change in the relation of the kill to basic factors used in forecasting. The latter, if true, might have been caused by undetected climatic changes, an unanticipated result of our manip- ulation of the population, or a reduction in the amount of food available to the seals as a result of the vast trawl fishery that moved into the Bering Sea during the past decade. A necessary condition for accurate fore- casting is that we have observations of a factor or group of factors to be used as independent variables that accurately reflect survival of fur seals to age 3. Only the estimates from tags applied to yearling males seem to fall in this category. The variability in these estimates, however, and the small number of recoveries at age 2 decrease considerably the value of yearling tagging as a way to provide a sub- stantial increase in forecasting accuracy. Therefore, unless the results from yearling tag- ging improve or we find additional ways to predict, it is unlikely that we will be able to forecast with confidence. 18 Table 15. --Estimates of the number of yearling male seals, year classes 1964-67, from recoveries of marked male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska Estimated yearlings at time of Year class and tag series Year when killed Age when killed Killed (C) Recovered- (R) Tagged- (M) tagging Years Number- 1964 1R IB 1R 1R 1R 1965 IS IS IS IS 1966 IT IT IT 1967 1U 728 1966 1967 1968 1969 Pooled 1967 1968 1969 Pooled 1968 1969 Pooled 1969 2 3, 533 3 34,613 4 16,912 5 2, 149 57, 207 2 2, 940 3 22, 978 4 12, 769 2 2, 040 3 20,47 1 22, 511 40 222 64 7 333 88 263 91 442 63 198 261 1, 129 529 64, 301 113, 506 192, 374 22 '>, 496 125, 065 37,719 98, 639 158, 420 98, 818 23, 185 74,026 61, 754 46, 113 1/ Number recovered includes those of unknown age. 2/ Number of marks applied adjusted to compensate for double tag loss and according to the error in determining age at time of tagging. See example in section "Number of male seals ages 1 to 2 years. " To determine if there is an indication of a change in the basic relationship between fur seals and their environment or other factors, we look first at the survival of males since 1961, based on comparable data (table 17). There has been no particular trend in the number of pups born each year since that year but, nevertheless, the percentage that survived through the first year of life has fluctuated widely. The percentage of the yearling group represented by the male harvest, however, has also been quite variable, ranging in the four available data points from 41.4 to 58.7. In addition, survival from birth to age 1 and from age 1 to ages included in the male harvest (2 through 5) are strongly negatively correlated (r = — 0.873). This negative correlation could have a biological basis, but it is probably influenced largely by random errors in the yearling population estimate. This estimate appears in both survival percentages, as the numerator in the first and the denominator in the second. Moreover, the yearling estimate is subject to the usual sampling errors and also the possibility of errors made during determi- nation of ages. In view of these circumstances, we should look at the relationship between the male harvest and the number of pups surviving their first summer. The percent survival (table 18) is the fraction of the pup popula- tion censused in August of their birth year that is represented by the harvest of males. In- cluded in table 18 are two additional variables that have been used in forecasting — the mean annual air temperature for the 12-month per- iod ending 30 June of the year of birth and the counts of dead pups. These series are, of course, very short for use in empirical forecasting; the linear rela- tion between air temperature and percent sur- vival is rather poor (r2 = 0.175) but that between the count of dead pups and percent survival is good (r2 = 0.773). If the latter relation is calculated, one obtains S = 37.9-0.2D 19 Table 16. --Estimated number of 2- and 3-year-old male seals, year classes 1963-66, from recoveries of marked male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska Estimated sea Is at time of Year class Age Age redl/ Tagged?-' tagging and when when Killed Recove (n - MC] tag series tagged killed (C) (R) (M) V rJ Years Years Ni ■ 1963 275 2S 3 4 15 523 181 23, 585 as 3 5 1 935 11 48, 375 2S 3 6 238 1 65, 450 2S 3 Pooled 17 696 193 25, 215 1964 96 5 2S 2 3 34 613 573 58, 292 2S 2 4 16 912 101 161, 585 2S 2 5 2 149 6 345, 631 2S 2 Pooled 53 674 680 76, 170 1965 1, 141 2T 2 3 22 978 409 64, 102 2T 2 4 12 769 293 49, 725 2T 2 Pooled 35 747 702 58, 102 1966 1, 346 2U 2 3 20 47 1 405 68, 034 1/ Numbers recovered include those of unknown age. 2/ Number of tags applied adjusted to compensate for double tag loss and according to the observed age distribution of tagged animals when recovered. See example in section "Number of male seals ages 1 to 2 years. " Table 17. --Survival of male seals, year classes 1961-66, Pribilof Islands, Alaska Year class Males bornL/ Males alive at time of shearing in 1 / early August—7 Males alive ii September 1 3 months later 2/ Males killed at ages 2 to 5 Thousands Thousands Proportion of yearling group represented by the kill Thousands Percent Thousands Percent 1961 218. 9 183. 4 81. 5 37. 2 47. 8 58. 7 1962 180. 9 154. 0 79.2 43. 8 44. 1 55. 7 1963 171. 6 152. 0 - - 50. 0 - 1964 185. 2 172. 8 125. 1 67. 5 57. 3 45. 8 1965 173. 4 150. 2 98. 8 57. 0 AV 9 41.4 1966 195. 0 181. 3 ±'61. 7 34. 0 - - 1/ Taken from table 13 but converted to an estimate for males by dividing the totals given there by two on the assumption that the sex ratio at birth and among the dead pups on the rookeries is 1:1. 2/ Taken from table 15 of this report and table 18 of "Fur seal investigations, 1967" (Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1970a). 3/ The kill of 5-year-old males estimated to be 2, 000 and added to the observed totals at age 2 to 4. 4/ Based on recoveries through age 3 and hence not strictly comparable with other figures in this column. 20 Table 18. --Fraction of the seal pup population in August of their birth year that is represented by the harvest (survival) of male seals on the Pribilof Islands at ages 2 to 5 from the same year class, and the mean annual air temperature and count of dead pups on St. Paul Island Pribilof Islands SI Paul Island Year Deviation of the mean annual air temperature from Count of class Survival dead pups Percent Degrees 1' Thousands 1961 26. 1 18 60.8 1962 28. 6 21 47. 5 1963 32.9 28 34.2 1964 33. 2 15 22.7 1965 27. 2 12 41. 1 1_/ (Mean annual air temperature for 12 -month period ending 30 June of the birth year-32° F. ) X 10. where S = percent survival D = dead pup count For the 1966 year class, D = 22.5, so that § = 33.4. According to our estimate of its size (277.5 thousand) on St. Paul Island in August of the year of birth, the 1966 year class should yield a total kill of 46.3 thousand males, i.e., (0.5) (277.5) (0.334). Because the St. Paul Island kill from this year class to date is 19.5 thousand (17,826 were taken at age 3), the balance to be taken at age 4 is 26.8 thousand minus a few hundred seals that will be killed in 1971 at age 5. The kill from a year class at age 4 has exceeded the number taken at age 3 only once since 1947, when we began de- termining the ages of seals — 30.7 and 31.4 thousand, respectively, were taken at ages 3 and 4 from the 1952 year class. Even so, ex- cessive numbers of 4-year-old males from the 1952 year class were taken only because the kill in 1956 was extended to 15 August, where- as the kill at age 3 in 1955 ended 31 July. For the past 10 year classes for which complete data are available (1956-65), the ratio on St. Paul Island of the kill from a year class at age 3 to the kill at ages 3 and 4 has averaged 0.666. During the same period, the ratio reached a low of 0.576. The standard deviation of these 10 ratios is 0.07. If the estimate (46.3 thou- sand) given above for the harvest from the 1966 year class is correct, an age 3 to age-3- plus-4 ratio of about 0.41 is implied, which is about 3.6 standard deviations from the mean. Although the mean and standard deviation are estimates, a ratio of 0.41 is improbable and the estimate must therefore be discarded. Conse- quently, we will not use this method to forecast the 4-year-old kill but will use two methods that for 1968 were demonstrated to be the best (Ma- rine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1970b) . Forecast of the Kill of 4-Year-Old Male Seals Three- and four-year-old seals dominate the harvest of males, and the ratio between these two age groups is about 2:1. This ratio could be used to provide a forecast of the kill of 4- year-old males that would be relatively satis- factory. We can, however, try to improve the forecast by considering the timing of the 3- year-old returns. If the 3-year-olds have peaked early, we can expect a small remaining balance of the year class for killing the follow- ing year at age 4 because fewer seals will have returned after the end of the kill. In earlier years, we have measured timing by the mean "round" of killing, but because the round sys- tem has since been modified, we now use a median date of return. We have also adjusted the data to account for different starting dates but in this forecast we have entered the start- ing date as a third predictor variable. This variable contributes little to the total variation explained but has been retained nevertheless. We still must adjust the kill of males because of variations in ending dates of the kill. Regression of the kill of male seals at age 4 on the kill at age 3, median date of the kill at age 3, and the starting date of the kill. — The regression equation derived from adjusted data given in table 19 is Y = —8.57 + 0.64Xj + 3.16X2— 0.31X3. For the 1966 year class, Xi = 17, X2 = 3.5, X3 = 3, hence, Y = 12.4 thousand. The standard error of this forecast is 3.8 thousand. If we adjust this prediction for the kill in August 1969 and a potential kill in Aug- ust 1970, it yields a final estimate of about 12.0 21 Tabic 19- --Data for regression of the kill of 4-year-old male seals on the kill of 3-year-old male seals, median date of the kill of 3-year-old male seals, and starting date of the kill, year classes 1952-65, St. Paul Island Median date Starting date From starting {days after (days a iter K ill of gar-olds — Year date to 31 July 15 July) 22 June) 4-y class (Xj) (X2) (X3) (Y) Thousands Th Dusands 1952 31 5.7 0 29 1953 27 4. 6 5 17 1954 17 3. 6 5 11 1955 27 1. 5 5 11 1956 10 3. 4 5 3 1957 15 4. 5 5 20 1958 30 5. 3 10 27 1959 20 3. 8 10 17 1960 12 5. 1 10 12 1961 18 4. 3 9 14 1962 12 6.9 15 16 1963 21 5. 4 15 14 1964 22 3. 0 5 16 1965 17 3.6 4 12 1/ Kill of 4-year-old males to 31 July plus 80 percent of the kill of 3-year-old males in August of the previous year. thousand for the kill of 4-year-old males on St. Paul Island in 1970. Estimate of the kill of 4-year old male seals from the yearling male seal popula- tion estimate. — If an accurate estimate of the number of yearling males can be made and if the largest and most variable component of mortality occurs during the first year of life, this estimate should be the best forecasting tool. Whereas the estimates of yearling males from the combined kill of seals from each year class have seemed reasonable and consistent, the estimates based on tags recovered in different years for the same year class are inconsistent. For example, estimates based on tag recoveries from 2-year-olds have been unreasonably low. Also, estimates of each year class from returns of tags at successive ages (2, 3, 4, and 5) have almost consistently shown an increasing trend, often with very large increases. Two estimates of the size of the 1966 year class at age 1 are available for predicting the kill of 4-year-old males in 1970, one based on 2-year-old tag recoveries and another on re- coveries at age 3. Because our estimates from the latter have been closest to estimates based on data combined from ages 2 and 3, we have used them in the following prediction: The estimated regression based on data in table 20 is K3 + 4 = 0.376Y where K3+4 Y kill of 3- and 4-year-old males on St. Paul Island estimate of yearling population, Pribilof Islands. For the 1966 year class Y = 74.0 and hence K3+4 = 27.8 thousand. Because the kill in 1969 was 17.8 thousand, the estimated 4-year- Table 20. — Observed kill of 3- and 4-year-old male seals, St. Paul Island, and estimated number of yearling male seals, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, year classes 1961-63 and 1965 Year class Estimate of yearling male seals, Pribilof Islands Kill of 3- and 4-year- old male seals St. Paul Island Thousands Thousands 1961 76.4 34.5 1962 86.2 31.2 1963 113.5 40.3 1965 98.6 29.3 22 old male kill in 1970 is 10.0 thousand. The standard error of this forecast is 7.2 thousand. In our forecast for 1969 (Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory, 1970b), we gave two estimates of the 3- and 4-year-old male kill to be expected from the 1966 year class, one of 46.0 thousand (based on a temperature re- gression) and another of 46.8 thousand (based on a regression in which pup weight and the dead pup count were used) . Like the estimate given earlier, the above estimates imply a 4- year-old male seal kill in 1970 of 28 to 29 thousand and a ratio of less than 0.40 between the kill at age 3 and the combined kill at ages 3 and 4. Again, this situation seems totally improbable and hence the forecasts by these methods must be discarded. Combined estimates of the kill of 4-year- old male seals on St. Paul Island. — The sev- eral estimates and the best weighted combina- tions are: Method or basis Estimate Standard error Tho^lsands Thousands Regression on kill at age 3, median date of kill at age 3, and starting date of kill 12.0 3.8 Yearling male seal popula- tion estimate 10.0 7.2 Weighted average 11.6 3.4 Forecast of the Kill of 3-Year-Old Male Seals Variables that have been used to forecast the kill of 3-year-old males are counts of dead pups, weights of pups, mean air temperature, and estimates of the number of yearling males derived from tag returns at age 2. In previous studies the regression in which weights of pups and air temperatures are used as predictor var- iables have been handled separately because the series of available data were of different lengths. The length of the data series on weights of pups, however, is now sufficiently long; moreover, it is likely that the effect of air temperature at present population levels may be different from that obtained in the early 1950's. For these reasons, a multiple regression equation has been calculated in which these variables are used for year classes 1957-65. Table 21 shows the basic data. Table 21. — Weights of seal pups, mean air temperature, and observed kill of 3- and 4-year-old male seals, year classes 1957-65, St. Paul Island Year class Mean weight of unmarked pups in autumn (W) Deviation of the mean annual air temperature from 32° (in tenths of a degree above 32°) (T) Kill of males at ages 3 and 4 (K) Kg. 8.7 Degrees F. 23 Thousands 1957 40 1958 11.4 34 63 1959 9.4 33 41 1960 9.8 26 25 1961 8.5 18 35 1962 9.2 21 31 1963 8.9 28 37 1964 9.1 15 51 1965 9.5 12 29 Regression of the kill of male seals at age 3 on weights of pups and on air tempera- ture.— The regression equation derived from these data is K = 5.9W + 0.44T— 37.7. For the 1967 year class, W = 10.23, T = 48, so that K = 43.8. We use this method to esti- mate the total kill at ages 3 and 4. If the per- centage of this kill taken at age 3 is 66.6 (the average for the past 10 complete age classes) , we predict a kill of 28.9 thousand at age 3. The standard error of this forecast is 18.9 thousand, which is unusually large because weights of pups and air temperatures for the 1967 year class deviate considerably from the mean. In fact, the mean air temperature for the 1967 year class is the highest so far observed, which makes its validity as a predictor variable even more doubtful than usual. Estimate of the kill of 3-year-old male seals from the yearling male seal popula- lation estimate. — To use the yearling data, it is necessary to work with the estimates based on tag recoveries at age 2. These estimates are biased, but if the bias is of the same order of magnitude they represent a usable predictor variable. The basic data are shown in table 22. 23 Table 12.. --Estimated number of yearling male seals and kill of 3-year-old male seals, year classes 1961-62, and 1964-66, St. Paul Island Estimated number of Kill of yearling males from 3-year-old males Year recoveries at age Z on St. Paul Island Ratio class 2 years old 20 June to 17 July 1969 and recovered in 1969, St. Paul Island Date of tagging Hauling ground of Effective tags!' (XA-sene Island and hauling ground of recovery NEP(east) ZAP-1 TZR REEF L-K POL | NOR EAST ZAP-2 STAR St. George Number 20 June NEP(east) 49 20 June POL 43 23 June REEF 41 23 June ZAP-1 30 24 June ARD 2 1 July ZAP-1 48 2 July REEF 49 3 July POL 49 5 July NEP(east) 49 14 July POL 49 15 July NEP(east) 50 16 July ZAP-1 !/« 17 July REEF 48 Total 555 2 26 24 2 Number Percent 36 73. 5 36 83.7 30 73.2 31 MOO. 0 1 50. 0 38 79.2 30 61.2 36 73. 5 32 65.3 21 42. 9 31 62. 0 33 68.7 25 52. 1 3 4 1 1/ NEP(east) = east side of Northeast Point; NEP(west) = west side of Northeast Point; ZAP-1 = Zapadni (St. Paul); TZR = Tolstoi-Zapadni Beef; REEF = Reef] L-K = Lukanin-Kitovi; POL = Polovina; NOR = North; EAST = East; ZAP-2 = Zapadni (St. George); STAR = Staraya Artil; ARD = Ardiguen. ZJ Effective tags = (T) (-M where T = total number tagged R j = number recovered with one tag R = total number of tagged animals recovered. 3/ One seal double tagged with numbers 532 and 500, and one seal double tagged with numbers 535 and 536. 26 Table 27. --Number of days between tagging and recovery of uncoated tags applied to male seals >2 years old, St. Paul Island, 20 June to 17 July 1969 Date of Hauling ground of 1/ tagging!.' Tag numbers _' (XA-series) Effective tags and num Days to recovery ber of tagged seals recovered Total tagged seals tagg>"g 1-7 | 8-14 1 15-21 | 22-28 | 29-35 | 36-43 recovered Number Number 20 June NEP(east) 101-150 49 18 2 6 6 2 2 36 20 and 23 June POL 51-100 43 20 2 - 5 5 4 36 23 June REEF 1-50 41 21 - 4 3 2 - 30 2 3 June ZAP 151-200 30 20 1 2 4 3 1 31 24 June ARD 201-202 2 - - 1 - - - 1 1 July ZAP 226-275 48 21 3 8 5 1 End o kill 38 2 July REEF 276-325 49 21 2 2 2 3 -do. - 30 3 July POL 326-375 49 28 - 6 2 - -do. - 36 5 July NEP(east) 376-425 49 14 10 3 5 End of kill -do. - 32 14 July POL 426-475 49 16 3 2 End of kill -do. - -do. - 21 15 July NEP(east) 476-525 50 26 3 2 -do. - -do. - -do. - 31 16 July ZAP 526-575 2>48 31 2 - -do. - -do. - -do. - 33 17 July REEF 576-625 1 ent of effective tags 48 555 21 4 _ -do. - -do. - -do. - 25 Tota 257 32 36 32 16 7 380 Perc 46. 3 5.8 6. 5 5. 8 2. 9 1. 2 1/ NEP(east) = east side of Northeast Point; POL = Polovina; REEF = Reef; ZAP = Zapadni; ARD = Ardiguen. 2/ Seals were double tagged with paired numbers (1 and 1 on first seal, etc.). 3/ One seal double tagged with numbers 532 and 550, and one seal double tagged with numbers 535 and 536. percent were recovered there (table 28) . Only 9 of 380 tagged seals recovered were taken on St. George Island. The proportion of tagged 4-year-old males recovered on the hauling ground of tagging was higher than that of 3- year-old males, but not significantly so. Discussion of tagging. — Eighty percent of the tags applied to seals in 1968 were recovered in 1968 and 1969. If additional tags are re- covered in 1970, a utilization rate of slightly over 80 percent for these males is indicated. The percentage of seals recovered during the period in which they were tagged (20 June to 1 August) was similar in 1968 and 1969 (P = 0.76). The proportions recovered of tags applied in late June of 1968 and 1969 and in mid-July of Table 28. --Percentage of 3- and 4-year-old male seals that were recovered on the hauling ground where they were tagged, St. Paul Island, 20 June to 17 July 1969 Date of Age Test within between tagging age tagging 3 1 4 dates ... Percent- - v2 X square P 20-23 June 74 80 0. 32 0. 59 1-5 July 64 75 1.27 0.26 14-17 July 63 81 2.24 0. 14 Total 3. 83 0. 16 1968 and 1969 to seals on accessible hauling grounds were nearly equal (fig. 11) (P = 0.40 and P = 0.74, respectively). Total recoveries were significantly different (P< 0.001), however, for tags applied on ac- cessible hauling grounds on dissimilar tagging 27 IUU — 90 H Z t UI o 80 tr u * i70 - X Q iJ 60 _ tr UJ X > 050 o ° UJ tr 40 J. TAGGED 1968; RECOVERED to 1968 AND 1969. o 2 ^ O TAGGED AND RECOVERED 1968. XTAGGED AND RECOVERED 1969. 1 1 II. JUNE JULY JULY JULY 23 3 II 16 MIDPOINTS OF TAGGING DATES Figure 11. — Percentage recovery of male seals ^ 2 years old tagged on accessible hauling grounds, St. Paul Island, June and July 1968-69. dates (10-11 July 1968 and 1-5 July 1969). Recoveries during a standard recovery interval (11 July to 1 August) were also significantly different (P<0.01) . Of the seals tagged 10-11 July 1968 and 1-5 July 1969, 43 and 60 per- cent, respectively, were recovered during the 21 days after tagging. Possible causes for the difference are differences in seasonal behavior or in age compositions of seals tagged during the two periods. Four-year-olds were more abundant among recoveries of seals tagged 1-5 July 1969 than 10-11 July 1968 (table 29) . Pos- Table 29. --Percentage age composition of male seals >Z years old tagged on St. Paul Island, June and July, 1968 and 1969 Age Year Day Month 1968 24-25 Jane 1 46 52 1 0 1969 20-23 June 2 46 45 6 1 1968 10-11 July 0 73 25 2 0 1969 1-5 July 2 50 43 5 0 1968 18 July 9 82 9 0 0 1969 14-17 July 2 68 29 1 0 sibly 4-year-olds spend more time on land than 3-year-olds. Male seals tagged in 1969 and released after capture. — Of 38 male seals ^ 2 years old (prin- cipally 3- and 4-year-olds) tagged with white- coated tags from 30 June to 17 July 1969, 28 were recaptured once and 8 were recaptured twice. Eleven tagged seals were killed acci- dentally when first recaptured; 2 were killed in subsequent recaptures. Eight (47 percent) of seventeen seals recaptured previously and not killed were recaptured again. One seal tagged on Zapadni was recaptured there 21 days after tagging and again on Zapadni 4 days later. One seal tagged on Polovina was recaptured on Northeast Point 4 days after tagging and again on Zapadni 4 days later. A seal tagged on Reef was recaptured there 6 days after tagging and again on Zapadni 23 days later. All of the other seals were recap- tured on or close to the hauling ground where they were tagged. The average time to the first recapture was 9.4 days and to the second an additional 4.2 days (table 30). Ten tagged seals were never recaptured. The date of tagging, however, did not influence availability of these seals for recapture. More seals tagged from 30 June to 3 July were taken on the hauling ground of tagging (87 percent) than were seals tagged from 14 to 17 July (46 percent) , but the differences were not signifi- cant (P = 0.04). Some of the seals tagged in 1969 may be recaptured in 1970. The interval between tagging and the first recapture ranged from 3 to 31 days (average 12.7). The interval between recapture for nine seals caught twice was 3 to 13 days (aver- age 7.2). Seals from both tagging periods (30 June to 3 July and 14-17 July) strayed, but differences between tagging periods in the numbers that strayed away from the hauling ground where they were tagged were not significant (P = 0.13). Telemetry. — In 1969 we placed radio trans- mitters on 11 male seals ^ 2 years old on St. Paul Island and recovered all but four (table 31). Each seal was also double-tagged on the front flippers with blue-coated (fuse-bond 28 Table 30. --Recovery of epoxy-coated tags applied to male seals >2 years old that were not to be killed. St. Paul Island, 30 June to 17 July 1969 Tags applied Tag numbers (White X-series) Hauling ground of ■ 1/ tagging-' Date of tagging NEP(east) 30 June 1 July REEF 2 July POL 3 July POL 14 July NEP(east) 15 July ZAP 16 July REEF 17 July Tag number Hauling ground of first recapture- Date of recapture Tags recovered Days to recapture Hauling ground of second rera ntn r f _' Date of recaptur Days to ' ' ' i'* ,: '_ Tags not recovered 5 REEF 28 July 28 (K) ... --- --- 7 NEP(east) 30 July 30 (K) 8 NEP(east) 5 July 5 (K) ... 9 ZAP 7 July 6 ... 10 ZAP 22 July 21 NEP(east) 26 July 4 11 ZAP 7 July 6 (K) 13 ZAP 31 July 30 (K) 14 REEF 27 July 25 (K) ... 15 REEF 8 July 6 REEF 12 July 4 16 TZR 9 July 7 17 REEF 8 July 6 ZAP 31 July 23 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26 July 1968 Table 33. --Weights of paired testes, male seals >2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26 June 1968 Sample size Number B aculum weight Age Sample size Paired teste 3 weight Age Mean Variance Range Mean Range Years Years Number --G. ug. 2 49 6. 10 2. 468 A/3-11 2 10 12. 30 9. 1- 18. 0 3 592 11. 55 15. 730 i's-25 3 20 27. 32 13. 4-67. 4 4 274 20. 89 30. 044 9-35 4 20 56.81 34.8-92. 3 5 24 28. 42 65. 384 1/13-45 5 10 63. 56 23. 2-99. 0 1_/ Outliers 29 and 49 dg. not included. 2/ Outliers 33 dg. not included. 3/ Outlier 56 dg. not included. between females hauled out on the Pribilof Islands and those still at sea during com- parable times of the year. The data are com- pared in tables 34, 35, and 36. We could not, however, make any conclusions because the pelagic samples are too small. Raymond E. Anas, Alton Y. Roppel, and Clifford H. Fiscus. Body Length of Male Seals, Ages 2 to 5 Years The minimum body length limit of 42 inches (107 cm.), tip of nose to tip of tail, in effect for several years as a means of permitting small (mostly 2-year-old) seals to escape, was removed for 2 to 8 days in July from 1964 to 1968 and during the entire killing season in 1969. During these periods, all males without 30 2 3 4 5 AGE (YEARS) a mane (see glossary) found on the hauling grounds of St. Paul Island were killed, and 20 percent of the animals were sampled for age and body length. These measurements, all of which were taken within the period 17-26 July, should represent an unbiased sample of lengths for all males killed except 5-year-olds. Some 5-year-olds are allowed to escape because they are too large for the market. We have measured males to determine if their body length varies from year to year and to establish any trends that might exist. We are also studying other relations involving length. The mean body length by age for seals of most ages increased from 1964 to 1968, then decreased in 1969 (table 37) . The increase was most pronounced in 1967 and 1968, and the mean body length varied from year to year, probably in reflection of changes in the environ- ment. We need additional data, however, be- fore we can determine if a trend in length exists or if length is related to population size or survival. Ancel M. Johnson Figure 12. — Weights of bacula, male seals ^ 2 years old, St. Paul Island, 22-26 July 1968. Horizontal lines = mean ; black vertical bars = mean to ±2Sx; open vertical bars = mean ± 2S ; vertical lines = range; X = outliers. Numbers in parentheses represent sample sizes. Table 34. --Mean body lengths— of female seals, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, t/and Bering Sea, by month, 1968 [Numbers in parentheses show sample sizes] St. Paul Island North Pacific Oc ean Bering Sea Age August May June J July August July | Augu s1 Years 3 Cm. 108. 8 c Cm 108.2 103. 0 103. 0 111.0 109. 1 (133) (3) - (4) (1) (5) (9) 4 115.2 1 10. 4 115. 3 115. 8 _ 113. 1 112.6 (419) (5) (8) (4) - (14) (19) 5 119.8 112.8 112. 8 117. 0 _ 117. 9 118. 0 (263) (4) (4) (2) - O) (3) 1/ Tip of nose to tip of tail. 2/ Two seals were collected off Southeastern Alaska and 33 were taken in and between the Gulf of Alaska and Unimak Pass. 31 Table 35. --Percentage of female seals that were pregnant or post partum during the year examined, U by month, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, \1 and Bering Sea, 1968 [Numbers in parentheses show sample sizes] St. Paul Island Age August North Pacific Ocean Ma\ June July August Bering Sea July August Years 3 Percent 2. 3 0 Percent 0 0 Percent 0 0 (133) (3) - (4) (1) (5) (9) 4 9. 1 0 25. 0 0 _ 0 10. 5 (419) (5) (8) (4) - (14) (19) 5 32.7 25. 0 50. 0 50. 0 _ 28. 6 33. 3 (263) (4) (4) (2) - (7) (3) 1/ Most of the females had or would have given birth to their pups in June or July. 2/ Two seals were collected off Southeastern Alaska and 33 were taken in and between the Gulf of Alaska and Unimak Pass. Table 36. --Percentage of follicles >5 mm. in diameter in the ovaries of female seals, St. Paul Island, North Pacific Ocean, L' and Bering Sea, by month, 1968 [Numbers in parentheses show sample size] St. Paul Island North Pacific Ocear A ugust May July August Bering Sea July August Years Percent Percent ---P srcent 3 31 0 _ 50 0 40 11 (128) (3) - (4) (1) (5) (9) 4 41 20 62 25 _ 71 68 (406) (5) (8) (4) - (14) (19) 5 24 50 25 100 _ 57 67 (249) (4) (4) (2) - (7) (3) 1/ Two seals were collected off Southeastern Alaska and 33 vere taken in and between the Gulf of Alaska and Unimak Pass. Organochlorine Pesticides in Northern Fur Seals, California Sea Lions, and Birds, 1968-69 Tissue samples from several marine mam- mals and birds were used for this study: fur seals and birds were collected on St. Paul Island in 1968 and 1969, fur seals were taken off the Washington coast in 1969, and sea lions were collected on San Miguel Island, Calif., in 1969. We assumed that all of the animals were healthy. The tissues were frozen immediately, then transported on dry ice to the National Marine Fisheries Service Pesticides Field Sta- tion, Gulf Breeze, Fla., where they were an- alyzed for organochlorine pesticides by Alfred J. Wilson, Jr., Research Chemist. Pesticides were found in liver and brain samples of 3 of 7 fur seal fetuses and in all of 11 fur seals 1 to 11 years old (table 38). Muscle, brain, liver, blubber, and ingested milk samples from five nursing fur seal pups also contained pesticides (table 39). Trace amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were found in samples of muscle, liver, and fat from two kittiwakes and one glaucous- winged gull. The muscle, liver, and brain tis- sues of the gull contained 0.73, 0.13, and 0.41 ppm, respectively, of DDE. 32 Table 37. — Mean and standard deviations of the body lengths of male seals, St. Paul Island, 17-26 July 1964-69 Age and item Year measured 1964 1965 Age 2: Number sampled . . 105 Mean (cm.) 103.6 Standard deviation . 4.93 Percent s$ 104 cm.1 60.9 Age 3: Number sampled . . 1,233 Mean (cm.) 112.7 Standard deviation . 5.06 Percent ^ 104 cm.1 5.1 Age 4: Number sampled . . 552 Mean (cm.) 121.0 Standard deviation . 6.48 Percent ^ 104 cm.1 0.5 Age 5: Number sampled . . 79 Mean (cm.) 128.0 Standard deviation . 7.27 Percent ^ 104 cm.1 0 1966 1967 1968 1969 45 146 73 71 120 105.7 103.8 105.0 107.3 103.8 6.14 4.72 4.29 4.69 5.23 48.9 55.5 45.2 22.5 59.1 580 868 502 708 645 112.8 113.0 115.4 116.3 114.2 5.68 4.91 5.05 5.15 5.02 6.0 3.1 1.6 1.0 2.6 393 336 163 336 278 122.2 122.5 124.8 125.9 123.7 6.73 6.24 5.95 6.02 5.60 0.8 0.3 0 0 0 29 38 15 28 17 130.9 131.1 129.8 136.5 130.2 5.02 6.68 5.22 5.55 7.15 0 0 0 0 0 1 The lower length limit of 104 cm. was removed during the sampling period in 1964-68; there was no lower limits during the season in 1969. Organochlorine pesticides were found in the tissues of all six sea lion pups and in all five female sea lions taken on San Miguel Island (table 40). Raymond E. Anas SUMMARY Field investigations on the Pribilof Islands in 1969 were conducted from June to October with the objective of adding to the fund of knowledge needed to determine the level at which the herd will produce a maximum sus- tained yield. A kill of 38,678 males in ages 2 to 6 included 32,621 from St. Paul Island and 6,057 from St. George Island; 230 females were killed accidentally. In June, we counted 2,341 territorial males with females and 7,935 without; 3 weeks later in mid-July we counted 7,385 territorial males with females and 3,212 without. Total counts of adult males were 10,276 in June and 10,597 in July. The counts of dead seals on St. Paul and St. George Islands included 14,810 pups of both sexes and 116 males and 170 females older than pups. The main causes of death among 208 pups were malnutrition (27 percent), hookworm disease (28 percent), and microbial infections (12 percent). Other causes were trauma (6 percent) and perinatal complex (5 percent). Miscellaneous and undetermined causes ac- counted for 12 percent of the deaths, and 10 percent of the pups were unsuitable for exam- ination. The average weight of living pups 28-29 August was 9.8 kg. for 400 males and 8.6 kg. for 400 females. These weights were 0.3 kg. more for males and 0.2 kg. more for females than the average of weights of pups about 1 September for 1957-69. We marked 25,000 pups by removing the tip of a digit on a hind flipper and applied a cry- ogenic or "freeze" brand to the left forearm of each of 775 pups. A total of 3,419 males known or believed to be 1 and 2 years old were marked with tags. 33 Table 38. --Parts per million (mg. /kg. ) of pesticides in liver and brain tissues of northern fur seals [ND = not detectable; <0. 010 ppm. ] Day Month Year Age Pesticide Field DDL DDD DDT Dieldrin number Liver Brain Liver Brain Liver Brain Liver Brain Years Immature males US69-76 US69-78 US69-82 US69-85 US69-1I7-' 8317 2/ R-9514^ Q- 19800-' Q-2102 5r.{ Q-21777 Q-24993 19-2. 20-2 20-2. 20-2. 25-2. 2-7. 2-7. 2-7. 2-7- 2-7- 2-7- 2-7- 2-7- 69 69 69 69 69 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 68 Immature and nonpregnant females US69-74 US69-75 US69-81 US69-83 US69-87 US69-101 US69-103 US69-11{ US69-88': US69-257 11 '■J 2/ 19-2-69 19-2-69 20-2-69 20-2-69 21-2-69 22-2-69 25-2-69 25-2-69 21-2-69 26-3-69 1 1. 90 0. 34 0. 17 0. 03 0.28 0. 04 1 0. 20 0. 06 0. 07 ND 0. 09 ND 1 5. 10 1. 70 0. 47 0. 08 0. 38 0. 09 1 0. 23 0. 07 0.05 ND 0. 15 ND 3 0. 25 0^08 0.09 ND 0. 07 ND 3 0. 08 0. 02 ND ND 0. 03 ND 3 0. 08 0.03 ND ND 0. 04 ND 3 0. 04 0. 02 ND ND 0.03 ND 4 0. 04 0. 02 ND ND ND ND 4 0. 30 0. 08 ND ND ND ND 4 0. 07 0. 02 ND ND 0. 03 ND 4 0.06 0. 02 ND ND ND ND 4 0. 05 0. 02 ND ND 0. 02 ND 1 . s 0. 16 0. 04 0. 06 ND 0. 12 ND 0. 15 0. 04 ND ND ND ND 0. 32 0. 08 0. 10 ND 0. 27 ND 0. 17 0. 07 0.06 ND 0. 12 ND 3. 90 1.40 0.41 0. 16 0. 36 0. 17 0.65 0. 17 0. 07 ND 0. 09 ND 0. 31 0. 10 0. 16 ND 0.23 ND 6 0. 55 0. 12 0. 13 0. 03 0. 14 0. 03 7 0.89 0. 18 0. 07 ND 0. 10 ND 10 0. 15 0. 04 0. 07 ND ND ND 0. 02 ND 0. 02 ND 0. 09 ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND Pregnant females US69-45 14- 14- Mother tt + 4/ Fetus — US69-77 Mother Fetus US69-167-' Mother Fetus . US69-193- Mother Fetus US69-200-' Mother Fetus US69-201 Mother Fetus US69-247 Mother Fetus 2/ 2/ 19- 19- i [■ 11- 12- 12- 2-69 2-69 2-69 2-69 3-69 3-69 3-69 3-69 -69 -69 24- 24- ■3-69 ■ 3-69 3-69 3-69 11 0. 21 0. 07 0. 10 0. 02 0. 04 ND ND ND 0. 32 0. 06 0. 06 ND 0. 05 0. 03 ND ND 0. 11 0. 05 0. 05 ND ND ND ND ND 0. 19 0. 05 0. 06 ND ND ND ND ND 0.23 0. 09 0. 16 ND ND ND ND ND 0. 41 0. 15 0. 11 ND 0. 10 0. 04 ND ND 0. 43 0. 08 0. 20 ND ND ND ND ND 0. 07 ND ND ND 0. 05 ND ND ND ND ND ND ND 0. 07 ND ND ND 0. 11 ND ND ND 0. 10 ND ND ND 0. 18 ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND ND 1/ The insecticide DDT is a mixture of two isomers (o, p'- and p, p'-). The p, p1- compound and its degredation products DDE and DDD are included in this table along with the insecticide dieldrin. 2/ Known-age seals tagged on Pribilof Islands, Alaska. 3/ Known-age seal tagged on Commander Islands, U.S.S.R. 4/ Fetuses were in their 4th month of development. 34 Table 59. -- 1-1 in tissues and ingested milk of nursing northern al pups, Pnbilof Islands, Alaska, 10 November 1969 [ND = not detectable; T - trace] Tissue and pup number Mus I Residues in ppm . (Mg. /kg. wet Ingested t 1 8. 1 n S3 0. 34 0. 038 T u 56 0. 060 0.068 ND T 0. 19 0. 015 0. 022 ND T 1. 0 0. 051 0. 084 ND T 0. 069 ND 0. 019 ND T 0, 54 ND 0. 030 ND _ 0. 12 ND ND ND - 0. 18 ND 0.013 ND - 0. 058 ND ND ND - 0. 012 ND ND ND " 6.4 0. 13 0.22 ND T 1. 3 0.085 0. 11 ND T 1.9 0. 14 0. 30 ND T 0.22 0. 012 0. 024 ND T 0. 12 0. 02 3 0.057 ND T 5 1. 5 1.4 0.089 T 1 0.77 0. 76 0. 042 T 4 0.70 0.83 0.046 T 2. 3 0. 29 0. 35 0. 049 T 0. 35 0 071 0.22 ND T 5. 1 0. 13 0.20 ND T 4. 9 0. 12 0. 19 0. 033 T 2. 4 0. 17 0.20 0.020 T 0. 32 0. 024 0.059 0. 020 T 0. 039 0. 017 0. 032 0. 013 T 1/ See footnote 1. table 38. 2/ Tissues only-residues in milk were calculated on a fat Of 3,551 marked seals recovered, 2,458 had been given tags or other marks as pups and 1,093 had been given tags at age 1 or older on St. Paul and St. George Islands in previous years. An additional 37 marked seals recov- ered had been tagged by Soviet biologists on Robben and the Commander Islands. Tag loss varies with the quality and appli- cation of tags, and differences in the ages of seals tagged. The cattle-ear tag is unsuitable for marking fur seals but data on the relative effectiveness of tags and marks made by removing part of a flipper are inconclusive. On the basis of recoveries of tagged seals, an estimated 461,000 pups were born on the Pribilof Islands in 1966. Shearing and sam- pling of pups yielded an estimate of 390,000 for the 1966 year class and 303,500 for the 1969 year class. The forecasted kill of males on the Pribilof Islands in 1970 includes 4,400 of ages 2 and 5, 34,800 of age 3, and 14,500 of age 4. The predicted kill of males on the Pribilof Islands in 1969 included 4,200 of ages 2 and 5, Table 40. --Parts per million (mg. /kg. ) of pesticides— 'in tissues of California sea lions [ND^not detectable, 3 females 1 3 5. 9 5. 1 14. 0 416. 0 0. 13 0.05 0. 18 5. 1 0.23 0. 18 0. 60 19. 0 ND ND ND 0. 14 2 19 1.8 2. 5 3. 5 295.0 0. 16 0. 10 0.21 18. 0 0. 11 0. 10 0. 16 16.0 ND ND Mi ND 3 18 0. 08 0.25 0. 54 15.0 0. 01 0. 01 0. 06 1.4 0. 15 0.02 0. 09 0.22 ND ND ND ND 4 9 0. 12 0.29 0.78 26.0 0.01 0. 02 0. 07 2.0 0. 02 0.03 0. 12 3.60 ND ND ND ND si/ 16 12.0 26. 0 28. 0 884. 0 0. 72 0. 97 1.40 64. 0 0. 52 0. 96 1.20 40. 0 ND 0. 02 0.02 0. 35 Pup.*/ mzJ 107. 0 13. 0 13. 0 113. 0 4. 80 0. 42 0. 54 52. 0 4. 70 0.47 0. 56 61.0 0. 04 ND ND 0. 51 2(cf) 3. 4 1.6 4. 4 144. 0 0.26 0. 07 0.28 13.0 0.28 0. 10 0. 41 16.0 ND ND ND ND mil 22.0 6. 5 12.0 798.0 1. 30 0. 32 0.67 57. 0 0.76 0. 19 0. 4i 34.0 0. 35 0. 15 0. 03 1. 10 4(rf) 22. 0 7.2 15. 0 840.0 1.40 II. IS 1.00 63. 0 0.91 0.25 0. 65 40. 0 ND ND ND ND 5(S,2-' 37. 0 9. 1 14. 0 876.0 1.60 0. 35 0. 99 61.0 1. 40 0. 33 0.64 43. 0 ND ND ND 0. 17 6(dl 37.0 3. 3 4. 7 448. 0 2. 30 0. 13 0. 19 21.0 2. 40 0. 12 0. 17 21.0 0.02 ND ND 0. 14 U See footnote 1, table 38. 2/ These animals contained detectable amounts of a polychlorinated biphenyl compound. 3/ Pups were approximately 2 months old. 35 29,500 of age 3, and 22,500 of age 4. Actual kills were 5,200 of ages 2 and 5, 20,471 of age 3, and 12,769 of age 4. Of 334 2-year-old males tagged on St. Paul Island in 1968, 67.7 percent were recovered in 1968 and 12.8 percent were recovered in 1969; 68.5 percent of 555 males tagged in 1969 were recovered in that year. In a preliminary experiment in telemetry, 11 radio transmitters were attached to young males on St. Paul Island in 1969. The results were not encouraging. Weights of the bacula of young males ranged from 3 to 11 dg. at age 2 to 13 to 45 dg. at age 5. Weights of the testes of young males ranged from 9 to 18 g. at age 2 to 23 to 99 g. at age 5. The body lengths and reproductive conditions of females collected on St. Paul Island and at sea in 1968 were compared for studies of physi- ological differences; however, the pelagic sam- ple was too small to permit valid conclusions. The mean body length of most 2- to 5-year- old males increased from 1964 to 1968 but de- creased in 1969. Organochlorine pesticides were found in the body tissues of fur seals and marine birds collected on St. Paul Island and of sea lions on San Miguel Island, Calif. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research in 1968 was completed with the cooperation of William L. Peck, Program Director; Roy D. Hurd and Bertel W. Johnson, Management Staff Officers; Richard A. Hajny, Wildlife Management Biologist; Harold A. Thayer, Program Construction Supervisor; Victor Misiken, Village Foreman ; Alex Melov- idov, Sealer Foreman; and Lee Paola, Superin- tendent, Oregon-Alaska Marine Products. GLOSSARY The following terms used in fur seal research and management on the Pribilof Islands have special meanings or are not readily found in standard dictionaries. Checkmark A notch, slit, hole, or other mark made on a seal nipper when a tag is applied, to ensure later recognition of an animal that has lost its tag. See mark and lost tag. Drive The act of surrounding and moving groups of seals on land from one location to another. Escapement Seals that were not killed be- cause they were too old or too large for the market, or were not available. Flipper Mark See mark. Hauling Ground Usually near a rookery, where nonbreeding seals congregate. See rookery. Haul Out The act of seals moving from the sea to a rookery or hauling ground on shore. Known-age Refers to a seal whose age is known because the animal bears an inscribed tag or has a certain combination of tag-scar and checkmark. Lost-tag Refers to a seal known to have been tagged as a pup because it bears a checkmark. Male Seals, Adult Class 1 Shoreline — Full-grown males about age 10 and older without females but apparently with estab- lished territories at the high-tide mark. Class 2 Territorial without females — Full- grown males about age 10 and older without females but with established territories on the rookery. Class 3 Territorial with females — Full- grown males about age 10 and older with females and established territories on the rookery. Class 4 Back fringe — Full-grown and partly grown males about age 7 and older without females and territories that are along the in- land fringe of the rookery. Class 5 Hauling ground — Full-grown and partly grown males about age 7 and older without females that are on traditional haul- ing grounds. Mane Long, silver-colored guard hairs on the shoulders and on back of the neck — a secondary sex characteristic of males. The mane appears on some males at age 5, on most at age 6, and on all at age 7. Mark Examples of marks are a tag, the tip of a digit from a hind flipper removed, a V- notch cut into the leading edge of a front flipper near the tip, or the tip of a front flipper sliced off. When applied to seals in 36 conjunction with tags, marks made by re- moving part of a flipper are considered checkmarks. Rookery Where breeding seals congregate (see hauling ground). Round The sequence in which hauling grounds on St. Paul Island are visited to harvest seals. When used, a circuit or "round" of the hauling grounds is completed in 5 days, a procedure that is repeated throughout the kill of males. The mean round of the kill is calculated by multiplying the round number by the number killed in that round and dividing the cumulative prod- uct by the cumulative kill. Tagged Refers to a seal with an inscribed metal tag or tags attached to one or more of its flippers. Tag Recoveries Includes seals that were given tags or other marks, and seals identi- fied from checkmarks as having lost their tags. See checkmark, mark, lost tag, and tagged. Part II. PELAGIC FUR SEAL INVESTIGATIONS, 1969 Pelagic research provides information useful to us in our management of fur seals that re- sort to the Pribilof Islands and fulfills United States treaty obligations as stated in the In- terim Convention of 1957 and the Protocol of 1963. We have cooperated with Canada in planning an extensive joint study of fur seals off the Washington and British Columbia coasts and, in 1969, carried out the first of several years of research that we designed for these areas. Canada and the United States have also stand- ardized their methods of collecting and record- ing information on fur seals and can now ex- change data on punch cards. Our objective is to collect data that will show changes, if any, in the distribution, by age, sex, and time, and to obtain current information on pregnancy rates and food habits of fur seals in the area studied. Clifford H. Fiscus, Project Leader RESEARCH IN 1969 We conducted pelagic investigations off Washington from 6 February to 31 March (research cruise No. 32) aboard the M/V Tonquin," a chartered vessel. Equipment and methods used to collect seals at sea have been described by Fiscus, Baines, and Wilke (1964) and by Fiscus and Kajimura " Registered length 29.4 m. (96.6 feet), 200 net tons, 350 horsepower, cruising speed 16.7 km. per hour (9 knots). (1967) . We measured, weighed, and examined the seals we collected in 1969 for checkmarks, tags, scars, general physical condition, barna- cles, and algae aboard ships. We also cleaned all canine teeth and preserved the stomachs and reproductive tracts in 10 percent Formalin. In our Seattle laboratory, we sectioned one up- per canine tooth from each seal for use in esti- mating age, and examined the stomach contents and reproductive tracts for studies of food habits and pregnancy rates. Distribution Figure 13 shows the distribution of seals in February. Seals were abundant along the continental shelf between Grays Harbor and the mouth of the Columbia River and west of Cape Flattery on the edge of La Perouse Bank. In March (fig. 14), we found concentrations of seals along the continental shelf between Grays Harbor and the mouth of the Columbia River within 55 km. (30 miles) of shore. Tables B-l and B-2 give the distribution of seals. Yearlings (1968 year class) were taken closer inshore than older seals. Abundance Of 1,136 fur seals sighted, 334 (29.4 percent) were collected, 41 (3.6 percent) were wounded and lost, and 42 (3.7 percent) were killed and lost. The number and relative abundance of seals seen and collected off Washington by 10- day periods are shown in tables B-3 and B-4. 37 101 100 99 96 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90 89 as 87 86 85 I26°W VI 5" 124° ^ • :• V V\ * • • • X • O o cr • ' : • c • 1 -% ^ -~~s \ SEALS PER HOUR • O • I • 0 0 1 TO 20 21 TO 50 5 1 TO 99 10 OR MORE 0 • • o : • • c kp^ • o o O I o d • • 9 1 c I • 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 46 47 46 45 44 43 A Figure 13. — Number of seals seen per hour of effort in each areal unit occupied by a research vessel in February 1969 off Washington. The sides of each unit measure 10 minutes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude. Units occupied for less than 0.5 hour are marked "X." See table B-l for detailed data. Table B-5 gives the numbers and percentages of animals collected, wounded and lost, and killed and lost among seals sighted, and table B-6 gives these data for seals shot between California and the Bering Sea from 1958 to 1969. We saw solitary seals more frequently than paired animals or larger groups (table B-7). For example, 38 percent of the animals seen were single and 27 percent were paired; the largest group of seals sighted contained 16 ani- mals; and 32 percent of the animals were in groups of 3 to 7. Age and Sex Table 41 gives the age and sex of seals col- lected in 1969. Fifty-four percent of 299 fe- males killed were 1 to 7 years old, and 48 year- ling seals (17 males and 31 females) from the 1968 year class were taken. We appraised the general physical condition of yearling seals by measuring the depth of the subcutaneous layer of fat over the sternum and pelvis (table B-8). Recoveries of Marked Seals We killed 26 marked seals (table 42). A 7-year-old female had a tag applied by Soviet biologists on Bering Island in 1962. Three males and twenty-one females had tags at- tached by U.S. biologists on the Pribilof Islands, who also had removed the tip of the first digit on the right hind nipper of one female that we collected (fig. 9). Lengths and Weights Tables B-9 to B-l 4 give the mean lengths and weights of males and pregnant and non- Figure 14. — Number of seals seen per hour of effort in each areal unit occupied by a research vessel in March 1969 off Washington. The sides of each unit measure 10 minutes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude. Units occupied for less than 0.5 hour are marked "X." See table B-2 for detailed data. 38 Table 41. --Age and sex, by month, of fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 February March Tot ll Age M ale Female Ma I. Female Male 1 Female Years No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent 1 7 53. 8 11 10 1 10 45 5 20 10. 5 17 48. 6 31 10. 4 2 4 30. 8 - - 5 22. 7 6 3. 2 9 25. 7 6 2. 0 3 1 7. 7 5 4. 6 4 18. 2 14 7. 4 5 14. 3 19 6.4 4 1 7. 7 10 9. 2 3 13. 6 22 11. 6 4 11 4 32 10.7 5 _ - 7 6. 4 - - 16 8. 4 - - 23 7. 7 6 _ - 8 7 3 - - 15 7 9 - - 23 7. 7 7 - - 11 10 1 - - 16 8 4 - - 27 9. 0 8 - - 10 9. 2 - - 12 6. 3 - - 22 7. 4 9 - - 1 0 9 - - 4 2. 1 - - 5 1. 7 10 - - 9 8. 2 - - 12 6. 3 - - 21 7. 0 11 - - 13 11 9 - - 13 6. 8 - - 26 8. 7 12 - - 7 6. 4 - - 17 8- 9 - - 24 8. 0 13 - - 4 3. 7 - - 7 3 7 -- - 11 3. 7 14 - - 3 2 8 - - 4 2 1 - - 7 2. 3 15 - - 1 0 9 - - 3 1 6 - - 4 1. 3 16 - - 1 0 9 - - 4 2 1 - - 5 1. 7 17 - - 5 4 6 - - 2 1 1 - - 7 2. 3 18 - - 3 2 8 - - 1 0 5 - - 4 1. 3 19 — - - - — - 2 1 1 - - 2 0. 7 Total 13 109 22 190 35 299 pregnant females collected in 1969. These data are also shown for male and female fetuses, by 10-day periods, in table B-15. Table 41. --Tag recoveries from fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 [Figures in parentheses indicate number of animals that had lost tags; they are included in the totals] Tag series Seals tagged or marked Tag recovery Seals colle in each .1 s; i 1968 1966 1965 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1956 1957 Number -- -Number-- -- Hum ber - 11, 675 2 2 17 24, 580 1 - 5 30, 087 - Ik 4 24. 971 - 4(1) 49, 908 - i'4(l) " 49,921 - 4(11 - 59. 981 - 1 " 49,881 - 2 - 49. 917 - 2(1) - 49, 842 - 2(1) - 1/ Table does not include seals born in years when seals were not tagged, nor year classes from which no tagged seals were taken. 2/ Seal was marked only and is included in tagged seal total. 3/ Includes one 7-year-old seal tagged by U.S.S.R. (K17884). Reproduction The youngest pregnant female collected was a 4-year-old primiparous seal taken in March. Six primiparous and two multiparous and preg- nant 5-year-old females were the next youngest, and the oldest pregnant seal was 19. The 4- year-old and the two multiparous 5-year-old females had conceived at age 3 and gave or would have given birth to their first pup at age 4. We took three 6-year-old nonpregnant, multiparous females that had aborted — two in February and one in March. Table B-16 shows the reproductive condition, by month, of female seals taken in 1969, and table B-17 gives the pregnancy rates of females age 3 and older. The pregnancy rates of all female seals collected in the eastern North Pacific Ocean by the United States since 1958 are shown in table 43. Most mature females ovulate each year. Missed pregnancies occur when the egg is not fertilized or, if fertilized, fails to implant. Re- sorbing corpora lutea indicated that 48 percent of the nonpregnant seals ages 4 to 19 years had missed pregnancies (table B-18) 39 Table 43. -- Number of female seals collected pelagic ally by the United States in the eastern Pacific Ocean and (in parentheses) percentage pregnant, 1958-69 Year 1958-69 Age 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 I'M. 1 1'-, ■ 1'lbl 1967 1968 1 96 9 combined Years 3 39 43 18 84 93 53 74 51 30 10 35 19 549 (2.6) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (1. 1) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.4) 4 42 93 36 96 140 113 62 73 68 9 95 32 859 (2.4) (6.4) (2.8) (1.0) (2.9) (7. 1) (1.6) (0.0) (1.5) (0.0) (5.3) (3. 1) (3.4) 5 70 114 55 68 123 162 84 23 66 9 37 23 834 (45.7) (56. 1) (49. 1) (20.6) (26.0) (43.8) (35.7) (26. 1) (27. 3) (44.4) (37.8) (34.8) (38.4) 6 99 118 45 62 72 90 81 37 35 20 47 23 729 (80.8) (77. 1) (80. 0) (75.8) (54.2) (74.4) (75.3) (56.8) (71.4) (60. 0) (76.6) (56.5) (72.4) 7 103 143 66 95 93 77 44 24 46 7 69 27 7 94 (89. 3) (76.2) (78.8) (75.8) (84. 9) (88. 3) (77 3) (79.2) (78.3) (7 1.4) (72.5) (63.0) (79.7) 8 102 164 105 107 98 87 46 33 43 7 38 22 8 52 (89.2) (86.6) (85.7) (79.4) (89. 8) (97.7) (84.8) (84.8) (79. 1) (85.7) (78.9) (72.7) (86.2) 9 81 108 144 114 73 60 30 17 20 12 40 5 704 (96. 3) (88.9) (92.4) (93.9) (83.6) (85.0) (83. 3) (70.6) (100. 0) (100. 0) (82.5) (100. 0) (89.9) 10 97 96 129 112 100 72 49 10 1 3 11 40 21 750 (87.6) (85.4) (91.5) (93.8) (89.0) (93. 1) (87.8) (90. 0) (84.6) (90. 9) (77.5) (81.0) (88. 9) 11 113 98 136 82 91 88 42 18 23 4 39 26 760 (92.0) (89.8) (91.2) (89.0) (89.0) (94.3) (85.7) (83.3) (78. 3) (100.0) (76.9) (73. 1) (88.8) 12 134 76 106 71 97 92 51 15 16 3 40 24 725 (82.0) (88.2) (90.6) (93.0) (89. 7) (92 4) (84. 3) (73. 3) (100. 0) (66.7) (90. 0) (83. 3) (88. 1) 13 110 56 120 76 58 76 33 8 12 3 24 1 1 587 (82.7) (89.3) (87. 5) (82.9) (94.8) (90.8) (84. 8) (100. 0) (100.0) (100. 0) (83.3) (36.4) (86. 5) 14 92 70 107 67 65 57 38 10 14 1 26 7 554 (81.5) (84.3) (80. 4) (92.5) (87.7) (80.7) (76.3) (80. 0) (85.7) (100. 0) (80.8) (7 1.4) (83.2) 15 71 87 67 68 53 75 41 14 15 3 30 4 528 (78.9) (88.5) (83.6) (79.4) (81. 1) (85. 3) (65.9) (78.6) (93.3) (66.7) (86.7) (100. 0) (82.2) 16 56 69 53 55 50 45 22 12 5 6 26 5 404 (78.6) (75.4) (71.7) (85.5) (82.0) (82.2) (72.7) (83.3) (80. 0) (100. 0) (96.2) (60.0) (80. 0) 17 36 36 46 24 44 28 J 1 10 5 2 21 7 280 (56.6) (80.6) (67.4) (62. 5) (72.7) (7 1 4) (61.9) (80. 0) (40.0) (0.0) (81.0) (57. 1) (68.2) 18 22 27 23 25 25 12 20 8 - - 1 1 4 177 (59. 1) (85.2) (82.6) (64.0) (72.0) (58.3) (60. 0) (37. 5) - - (72.7) (75.0) (68. 9) 19 14 16 19 10 15 5 7 2 3 - 10 2 103 (28.6) (81.3) (57.9) (50.0) (60. 0) (60. 0) (57. 1) (0.0) (33.3) - (60. 0) (50.0) (55.3) 20 3 5 6 7 1 1 11 10 2 1 1 7 - 64 (33.3) (40. 0) (16.7) (100. 0) (72.7) (45.5) (20.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (71.4) - (48.4) 21 1 7 6 2 3 4 _ 1 1 - 3 - 28 (100. 0) (85.7) (50.0) (50.0) (100. 0) (50.0) - (0.0) (0.0) - (33.3) - (60.7) 22 1 5 _ _ 3 _ _ _ _ 1 3 _ 13 (0.0) (40.0) - - (66.7) - - - - (0.0) (0.0) - (30.8) 23 1 1 1 _ 2 1 1 _ _ 1 - 8 - (0.0) (0.0) (0. 0) - (0.0) (100. 0) (0.0) - - (0.0) - (12. 5) 24 _ 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - 4 - (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) (0.0) - - - - - - - (0.0) 26 1 .....---- 1 - (o.Q) - - - - : : : : : (Q- Q) Total 1.286 1,434 1,289 1,227 1,308 1,209 756 369 416 109 642 262 10,307 (76.1) (73.8) (79.7) (68.5) (63.4) (69.3) (58.7) (45.8) (52.3) (61.5) (61.4) (53.4) (68.0) 6-26 1,135 1,184 1,180 979 952 881 536 222 252 81 475 188 8,065 years (83.3) (83.4) (84.4) (84.3) (83.2) (86.0) (77.0) (73.4) (81.3) (77.8) (78.9) (69.7) (82.6) 40 Uterine Horn of Conception and Fetal Sex Ratio In the fur seal the first conception seems to occur randomly in either side of the bi- cornuate uterus, then alternately between horns thereafter. For example, 51 percent of 5,868 pregnant and post-parturient females taken since 1958 had conceived in the left uterine horn and 49 percent in the right. Forty-eight percent of 140 pregnant seals taken in 1969 had conceived in the left uterine horn. In addition, 47 percent of the left and 53 percent of the right uterine horns of 19 primiparous females had fetuses. The fetal sex ratio in fur seals is about equal. In 1969, 55 percent of 140 fetuses were males and 45 percent were females. Since 1958 we have examined 5,117 fetuses, of which 49 percent were males and 51 percent were fe- males. Feeding Habits Research on the feeding habits of fur seals since 1958 has shown that these animals con- sume a wide variety of fish and cephalopods throughout their range in the eastern North Pacific Ocean and eastern Bering Sea. Fur seals feed mainly from dusk to dawn on readily available food, mostly fishes and squids near the surface. Of 333 seal stomachs collected in 1969, 190 (57 percent) contained food (table 44). Most (92.3 percent) of the total food volume was contributed by four species or groups: north- ern anchovy, Engraulis mordax; rockfish, Se- bastodes spp.; capelin, Mallotus villosus; and Table 44. --Stomach contents of fur seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969.L' Winter Spring F ebruary-M February March arch Food Vo Lume F requency Vo lume 1- requency Vol .ume Frequency Cc. Percent Number Cc. Percent Number Cc. Percent Number Fish Lampetra tridentata 15 0. 0 2 15 0. 0 1 30 0. 0 3 Clupeidae - - - T - 2 T - 2 Alosa sapidissima 971 3.7 3 45 0. 2 1 1, 016 1.9 4 Clupea harengus pallasi 1,484 5.6 10 215 0. 8 6 1, 699 3. 2 16 Engraulis mordax Salmonidae 7, 288 27. 5 19 9,996 38. 0 29 17, 284 32.7 48 50 0.2 2 5. 903 22. 4 14 5, 953 11. 3 16 Osmeridae - - - 39 0. 1 4 39 0. 1 4 Mallotus villosus 5, 834 22. 0 15 4, 408 16. 8 16 10, 242 19. 4 31 Thaleichthys pacificus 343 1. 3 3 454 1. 7 2 797 1. 5 5 Merluccius productus 50 0. 2 1 11 0. 0 1 61 0. 1 2 Gasterosteus aculeatus 105 0. 4 2 - - - 105 0. 2 2 Sebastodes spp. 10, 101 38.2 12 5, 124 19. 5 6 15, 225 28. 9 18 Pleuronectidae 74 0. 3 1 - - - 74 0. 1 1 Unidentified 20 0. 1 17 16 0. 1 38 36 0. 1 55 Squid Loligo opalescens 57 0. 2 15 T - 3 57 0. 1 18 Onychoteuthis sp. 86 0. 3 6 107 0.4 12 193 0. 4 18 Abraliopsis sp. 7 0. 0 1 - - - 7 0. 0 1 Gonatidae T - 6 T - 7 T - 13 Gonatus spp. T - 8 10 0. 0 6 10 0. 0 14 Unidentified T - 2 - - - T - 2 Bird T - 2 - - - T - 2 Isopoda T - 1 - - - T - 1 Crustacea T 26, 485 - 2 - " " 52 T , 828 2 Total 26, 343 Stomachs with food 190 Stomachs empty 143 Stomachs missing 1 1/ T=trace (<5 cc. ). Trace counts are included in frequency counts. 41 CLUPEA HARENGUS PALLAS I ENGRAULIS MORDAX SALMONIDAE MALLOTUS VILLOSUS SEBASTODES SPP OCCURRENCE VOLUME 20 30 PERCENT Figure 15. — Percentage of stomach content volume and percentage occurrence of principal food species in fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969. salmonids (fig. 15) . Anchovy, the leading food species with 32.7 percent of the total volume, was followed in importance by rockfish and capelin. Salmonids (16 occurrences), the fourth leading food species, contributed 11.3 percent of the total volume. Two species of Pacific salmon (coho, Oncorhynchus kisutch, and chinook, 0. tshawytscha) were identified from their scales. The coho salmon had spent 1 year and the chinook salmon 1 or 2 years in the ocean.' The locations of principal food species off Washington in February and March 1969, as indicated by the contents of seal stomachs dur- ing this period, are shown in figures 16 to 20. Relation of Food of Fur Seals to Commercial Fisheries According to our studies, several species of commercially valuable fish have been eaten by fur seals since 1958, and salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., were the most valuable fish taken by this animal off Washington (16 occurrences) in 1969. The effect of fur seals on commercially im- portant fishes cannot be accurately assessed with our limited knowledge of the ocean en- vironment and its ecology. Clifford H. Fiscus and Hiroshi Kajimura 7 Species and time spent in the ocean were de- termined by Julaine Lyons and Kenneth H. Mosher, National Marine Fisheries Service, Biological Labora- tory, Seattle, Wash. SUMMARY Pelagic investigations in 1969 were con- ducted in February and March in the eastern North Pacific Ocean off the State of Wash- ington. The objective was to collect data that would show changes, if any, in the distribution of fur seals by sex, age, and time, and to obtain current information on pregnancy rates and food habits. Of 1,136 fur seals sighted, 334 were collect- ed, 41 were wounded and lost, and 42 were killed and lost. Solitary seals were more prevalent than paired or large groups of animals. Fifty-four percent of 299 females killed were from 1 to 7 years old, and 48 yearling seals (17 males and 31 females) from the 1968 year class were taken. Of 26 marked seals recovered, 1 female had been tagged on Bering Island, and 3 males and 21 females had been tagged and 1 female had had the tip of the first digit on her right hind flipper removed on the Pribilof Islands. A primiparous 4-year-old was the youngest and a multiparous 19-year-old the oldest among pregnant females taken; 55 percent of 140 fetuses were males and 45 percent were fe- males. Forty-eight percent of the nonpregnant seals 4 to 19 years of age had ovulated. Pregnancy rates among females age 5 and older collected off Washington in February and March since 1958 have ranged from 38 to 90 percent. Of 333 seal stomachs, 190 contained food. Anchovy, the leading food species, was followed in importance by rockfish, capelin, and salmon- ids. Salmon were the most valuable of the com- mercial fishes eaten by fur seals off Washington in 1969. LITERATURE CITED Chapman, Douglas G., and Ancel M. Johnson. 1968. Estimation of fur seal pup popula- tions by randomized sampling. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 97: 264-270. 42 Farrell, R. Keith. 1969. New developments in animal iden- tification. WSU Animal Health Notes 8(7): 5-10. Fiscus, Clifford H., Gary A. Baines, and Ford Wilke. 1964. Pelagic fur seal investigations, Alaskan waters, 1962. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 475, iii + 59 p. Fiscus, Clifford H., and Hiroshi Kajimura. 1967. Pelagic fur seal investigations, 1965. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 537, iv + 42 p. Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory. 1969. Fur seal investigations, 1966. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 584, vii + 123 p. 1970a. Fur seal investigations, 1967. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 597, vii + 104 p. 1970b. Fur seal investigations, 1968. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 617, ix + 125 p. 43 -48°N. I25°W. CAPE FLATTERY ENGRAULIS MORDAX = ' -47« _L Figure 16. — Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Engraulis mordax (48 occurrences). 44 -48°N. I25°W. CAPE FLATTERY CLUPEA HARENGUS PALLASI = . -47< Figure 17. — Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Clupea harengus pallasi (16 occurrences). 45 I25°W. CAPE FLATTERY -48°N. MALLOTUS VILLOSUS=. -47' Figure 18. — Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Mallotus villosus (31 occurrences). 46 -48°N. I25°W. CAPE FLATTERY SALMONIDAE=. _47« Figure 19. — Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Salmonidae (16 occurrences). 47 125°W. CAPE FLATTERY -48°N. -47« SEBASTODES SPR=- ,. COLO Figure 20.— Locations where fur seal stomachs collected off Washington in 1969 contained Sebastodes spp. (18 occurrences). 48 APPENDIX A Table A- 1. --Age classification of male seals killed on St. Paul Island, Zb June to 1 August 1969 Sea s in each age Estim ated seals killed Rookery 1_/ Males killed Tooth sample gro jp of sam Die from each age group Date 2 3 4 ! 2 3 4 5 6 Number Number Perce nt June 25 NEPfeas t) 434 91 2. 2 25. 3 48. 3 20. 9 3. 3 10 110 210 90 14 25 NEP(west) 229 42 2. 4 14. 3 33. 3 40. 5 9. 5 5 33 76 93 22 lb ZAP 520 93 - 35. 5 45.2 16. 1 3. 2 - 184 235 84 17 27 REEF 804 142 0 7 33, 1 43. 7 19. 7 2. 8 6 267 351 158 22 28 L-K 101 21 - 9. 5 57 1 33. 4 - - 9 58 34 - 28 POL 307 58 - 27. 6 48. 3 24. 1 - - 85 148 74 - 28 TZR 157 28 - 25. 0 57 1 17 9 - - 39 90 28 - 30 NEP(eas t) 428 87 1. 2 35. 6 47. 1 14. 9 1 2 5 152 202 64 5 30 NEP(west) 185 37 2. 7 13. 5 59. 5 24. 3 - 5 25 110 45 - July 1 ZAP 216 41 - 36. 6 51.2 12. 2 - - 79 111 26 - 2 L-K 55 1 1 - 36. 4 45. 4 18. 2 - - 20 25 10 - 2 REEF 318 63 1. 6 30. 1 52. 4 11. 1 4 8 5 96 167 35 15 3 POL 123 22 - 27. 3 54. 5 18. 2 - - 34 67 22 - 3 TZR 835 162 1. 9 48. 8 43. 2 4. 9 1 2 16 407 361 41 10 5 NEPfeas t) 819 154 3. 9 33. 1 51. 3 11. 0 0 7 32 271 420 90 6 7 NEP(west) 268 49 2. 0 44. 9 49 0 4. 1 - 5 121 131 11 - 7 ZAP 944 188 2. 6 54. 8 39 4 3. 2 - 25 517 372 30 - 8 REEF 937 185 4. 9 54. 6 38. 4 2. 1 - 46 511 360 20 - 9 TZR 418 83 3. 6 54. 2 39. 8 2. 4 - 15 227 166 10 - 9 POL 505 87 3. 5 40. 2 51. 7 4 6 - 18 203 261 23 - 9 L-K 171 32 - 59. 4 40. 6 - - - 102 69 - - 10 NEP(eas t) 595 1 18 1. 7 50. 0 44. 9 3 4 - 10 298 267 20 - 1 1 ZAP 623 116 1 . 7 56. 0 39. 7 2. 6 - 1 1 349 247 16 - 12 REEF 796 159 3. 1 60. 4 34. 6 1 9 - 25 481 275 15 - 14 POL 187 36 - 44. 4 55. 6 - - - 83 104 - - 1-4 TZR 851 167 3. 0 60. 5 32. 3 4.2 - 25 515 275 36 - 15 NEP(ea; t) 431 133 3. 8 64. 6 30. 1 1. 5 - 16 278 130 7 - 15 NEP(west) 529 45 4. 4 66. 7 28. 9 - - 23 353 153 - - 16 ZAP 1, 355 260 5. 0 61. 2 31. 9 1 9 - 68 829 432 26 - 17 REEF 801 145 10. 3 63. 5 23. 5 2. 7 - 82 509 188 22 - 17 L-K 193 31 3. 2 38. 7 51. 6 6. 5 - 6 75 99 13 - 18 NEP(east) 987 195 9.8 60. 5 28. 7 1. 0 - 97 597 283 10 - 18 NEP(west) 346 66 7 6 59. 1 24. 2 7.6 1 5 26 205 84 26 5 19 POL 288 45 6.7 26.6 57. 8 8. 9 - 19 77 166 26 - 19 TZR 503 94 - 58. 5 35. 1 6 4 - - 294 177 32 - 22 ZAP 1, 789 347 10. 3 64 3 24. 2 1 2 - 184 1, 150 433 22 - 23 REEF 1, 199 237 12. 2 55. 7 29. 2 2. 5 0 4 146 668 350 30 5 23 L-K 307 61 13. 1 70 5 14. 8 1 6 - 40 216 46 5 - 24 TZR 221 43 2. 3 60. 5 34. 9 2. 3 - 5 134 77 5 - 24 POL 404 120 9. 2 60. 8 28 3 1 7 - 37 246 114 7 - 25 N'£P(east) 1, 140 224 12. 1 60. 7 26. 3 0. 9 - 138 692 300 10 - 25 NEP(west) 409 73 12. 3 53. 5 31. 5 2. 7 - 50 219 129 11 - 26 ZAP 1, 359 239 11 7 59. 8 26. 8 1. 7 - 159 813 364 23 - 28 REEF 1, 601 304 18. 4 62. 2 18. 1 1. 3 - 294 996 2 90 21 - 29 POL 1, 438 255 9. 0 57. 2 31. 0 2. 8 - 129 823 446 40 - 29 TZR 316 59 3. 4 47. 5 49. 1 - - 11 150 155 - - 29 L-K 270 50 22. 0 60. 0 18. 0 - - 59 162 49 - - 30 NEP(east) 874 173 11. 6 69. 9 17 3 1. 2 - 101 612 151 10 - 30 NEP(we st) 166 35 14. 3 60. 0 25.7 - - 24 99 43 - - 30 TZR 563 97 9. 3 74. 2 16. 5 - - 52 418 93 - - 31 Aug. 1 ZAP 1,816 338 13. 3 60. 6 25. 1 0 9 - 242 1, 101 457 16 - REEF 1, 028 158 29. 1 58. 2 10. 1 2. 6 _ 299 598 104 27 - 1 L-K 462 88 14. 8 63.6 20. 5 1. 1 - 60 294 94 5 - Season total 32,621 6, 187 2, 640 17, 826 10, 565 1, 469 121 1/ NEP(east)=east or Morjovi side of Northeast Point; NEP(west)=west or Vostochni side of Northeast Point; TZR=Tolstoi, Zapadni Reef, and Little Zapadni; POL^Polovina and Little Polovina; ZAP Zapadni; REEF=Reef, Gorbatch, and Ardiguen; L-K-Lukanin and Kitovi. 49 Table A- 2. -- Cumulative age classification of male seals killed on St. Paul Island, 25 June to 1 Augu st 1969 Estimated seals kille d Sea' s killed from Rookery — from each age group Total kill i M < h age group Date 2 3 4 5 6 2 3 4 5 6 T-, June 25 NEP(east) 10 110 210 90 14 434 2 25 49 21 3 25 NEP(w est) 15 143 286 183 36 663 2 22 43 28 5 26 ZAP 15 327 521 267 53 1, 183 28 44 23 4 27 REEF 21 594 872 42 5 75 1, 987 30 44 21 4 28 L-K 21 603 930 459 75 2, 088 29 45 22 3 28 POL 21 688 1, 078 533 75 2, 395 29 45 22 3 28 TZR 21 727 1, 168 561 75 2, 552 28 46 22 3 30 NEP(east) 26 879 1, 370 625 80 2, 980 29 46 21 3 30 NEP(west) 31 904 1, 480 670 80 3, 165 29 47 21 2 July 1 ZAP 31 98 3 1, 591 696 80 3, 381 29 47 21 2 2 L-K 31 1, 003 1,616 706 80 3,436 29 47 21 2 2 REEF 36 1, 099 1, 783 741 95 3,754 29 48 20 2 3 POL 36 1, 133 1, 850 763 95 3, 877 29 48 20 2 3 TZR 52 1, 540 2, 211 804 105 4, 712 33 47 17 2 5 NEP(east) 84 1, 811 2, 631 894 1 1 1 5, 531 33 48 15 2 7 NEP(west) 89 1, 932 2,762 905 111 5,799 33 48 16 2 7 ZAP 114 2, 449 3, 134 935 111 6,743 2 36 46 14 2 8 REEF 160 2, 960 3, 494 955 111 7, 680 2 39 46 12 9 TZR 175 3, 187 3, 660 965 1 11 8, 098 2 39 46 12 9 POL 193 3, 390 3, 92 1 988 111 8, 603 2 39 46 12 9 L-K 193 3,492 3, 990 988 111 8, 774 2 40 46 1 1 10 NEP(east) 203 3, 790 4,257 1 008 111 9, 369 2 40 46 11 11 ZAP 214 4, 139 4, 504 1 024 1 1 1 9, 992 2 42 45 10 12 REEF 239 4, 620 4,779 1 039 1 1 1 10,788 2 43 44 10 14 POL 239 4, 703 4,883 1 039 111 10, 975 2 43 45 9 14 TZR 264 5, 2 18 5, 158 1 075 1 11 11, 826 2 44 44 9 15 NEP(east) 280 5,496 5, 288 1 082 111 12, 257 2 45 43 9 15 NEP(west) 303 5, 849 5,441 1 082 111 12, 786 2 46 43 8 16 ZAP 371 6, 678 5,873 1 108 111 14, 141 3 47 41 8 17 REEF 453 7, 187 6,061 1 130 111 14, 942 3 48 40 8 17 L-K 459 7, 262 6, 160 1 143 1 1 1 15, 135 3 48 40 8 18 NEP(east) 556 7, 859 6, 443 1 153 111 16, 122 3 49 40 7 18 NEP(west) 582 8, 064 6, 527 1 179 116 16, 468 3 49 40 7 19 POL 601 8, 141 6,693 1 205 116 16, 756 4 48 40 7 19 TZR 601 8,435 6, 870 1 237 116 17,259 3 49 40 7 22 ZAP 785 9, 585 7, 303 1 259 116 19. 048 4 50 38 7 23 REEF 931 10, 253 7,653 1 289 121 20, 247 4 51 38 6 23 L-K 97 1 10,469 7, 699 1 294 121 20, 554 5 51 37 6 24 TZR 976 10, 603 7, 776 1 299 121 20, 775 5 51 37 6 24 POL 1, 013 10, 849 7, 890 1 306 121 21, 179 5 51 37 6 25 NEP(east) 1, 151 11, 541 8, 190 1 316 121 22, 319 5 52 36 6 25 NEP(west) 1, 201 11, 760 8,319 1 327 121 22, 728 5 52 36 6 26 ZAP 1, 360 12, 573 8,683 1 350 121 24, 087 5 52 36 6 28 REEF 1, 654 13, 569 8,973 1 371 121 25, 688 6 53 35 5 29 POL 1, 783 14, 392 9,419 1 411 121 27, 126 7 53 35 5 - 29 TZR 1, 7 94 14, 542 9, 574 1 411 121 27, 442 7 53 35 5 - 29 L-K 1, 853 14, 704 9,623 1 411 121 27, 712 7 53 35 5 - 30 NEP(east) 1, 954 15, 316 9, 774 1 42 1 121 28, 586 7 54 34 5 - 30 NEP(west) 1, 978 15, 415 9,817 1 421 121 28, 752 7 54 34 5 - 30 TZR 2, 030 15, 833 9,910 1 421 121 29, 315 7 54 34 5 - 31 ZAP 2, 272 16,934 10, 367 1 437 121 31, 131 7 55 33 5 - Aug. 1 REEF 2, 57 1 17, 532 10,47 1 1 464 121 32, 159 8 54 33 5 _ 1 L-K 2, 640 17, 826 10, 565 1 469 121 32, 621 8 55 32 5 - 1/ NEP(east) = east or Morjovi side of Northeast Point; NEP{west)=west or Vostochni side of Northeast Point; TZR=Tolstoi, Zapadni Reef, and Little Zapadni; POL = Polovina and Little Polovina; ZAF=Zapadni; REEF=Reef, Gorbatch, and Ardiguen; L-K = Lukanin and Kitovi. 50 Table A-3. --Age classification of male seals killed on St. George Island, Zb June to 1 August 1969 Seals in each ag e Estimated seals killed Rookery — Males killed Tooth sample g1 ■oup of sampl e from each age group Date 2 3 4 5 6 2 3 4 5 6 Number *\ 1 1 r 1 "l [ 1 1 ■ r T. I 1 June 25 NOR 135 27 - 111 51. 9 29. 6 7. 4 - 15 60 50 10 27 STAR 54 11 - 18. 2 27. 3 45. 4 9. 1 - 10 15 24 5 27 ZAP 167 32 3 1 15. 6 34. 4 28. 1 18. 8 5 26 58 47 31 30 EAST 63 13 7. 7 - 69. 2 15. 4 7. 7 5 - 43 10 5 July 2 ZAP 180 37 - 32. 4 43. 3 21 6 2. 7 - 58 68 49 5 2 STAR 39 8 - 12. 5 37. 5 50. 0 - - 5 15 19 - 3 NOR 89 18 - 38. 9 44 4 16 7 - - 35 39 15 - 7 ZAP 108 22 - 31 8 50. 0 18 2 - - 34 54 20 - 7 STAR 82 16 - 6. 2 68 8 18 8 6. 2 - 5 57 15 5 9 NOR 2 54 51 2. 0 33. 3 52. 9 1 1 8 - 5 65 154 30 - 9 EAST 118 24 4. 1 41. 7 41. 7 12 5 - 5 49 49 15 - 11 ZAP 72 15 - 53. 4 20. 0 13. 3 13. 3 - 38 14 10 10 11 STAR 47 9 - 1 1. 1 66. 7 22. 2 - - 5 31 1 1 - 14 NOR 284 57 1. 8 35. 1 49. 1 10. 5 3. 5 5 70 169 30 10 14 EAST 260 52 1. 9 50. 0 40. 4 7. 7 - 5 130 105 20 - 15 ZAP 135 27 3. 7 48. 2 33. 3 11. 1 3. 7 5 65 45 15 5 15 STAR 145 24 - 37. 5 45. 8 12. 5 4.2 - 54 67 18 6 18 EAST 341 67 1 5 49. 3 35. 8 11. 9 1. 5 5 168 122 41 5 18 NOR 269 53 3. 8 47. 2 37. 7 9. 4 1. 9 10 127 102 25 5 21 STAR 102 18 - 38. 9 50. 0 11. 1 - - 40 51 I 1 - 21 ZAP 187 38 2. 6 55. 3 34. 2 5. 3 2.6 5 103 64 10 5 23 EAST 172 29 6. 9 31. 0 41. 4 20 7 - 12 53 61 46 - 23 NOR 269 52 5. 8 25. 0 61. 5 7 7 - 16 67 165 21 - 25 ZAP 113 22 13. 6 54. 6 27. 3 4 5 - 15 62 31 5 - 25 NOR 123 24 4. 2 45. 8 41. 7 8. 3 - 5 57 51 10 - 28 EAST 450 87 16- 1 56. 3 21. 8 5. 8 - 73 253 78 46 - 28 NOR 639 123 14 6 54 5 26. 8 3. 3 0. 8 73 368 172 21 5 30 STAR 139 31 22. 6 54. 8 22. 6 - - 31 76 32 - - 30 ZAP 113 22 4. 6 68. 2 13. 6 13. 6 - 5 78 15 15 - 30 NOR 103 20 10 0 45. 0 45. 0 - - 11 46 46 - - Aug 1 EAST 395 80 16. 2 62. 5 17 5 3 8 - 64 247 69 15 - 1 NOR 410 80 12 5 57 5 25. 0 3. 8 1 2 51 236 102 16 5 Season total 6, 057 1, 189 411 2, 645 2, 204 680 117 1_/ ZAP=Zapadni and South; EAST = East Reef and East Cliffs NOR North STAR =Staraya Artil 51 Table A-4. --Cumulative age classification of male seals killed on St. George Island, 25 June to 1 August 1969 Es imated seals kille ! Seals killed from Rookery — from each age group rotal kill each age group Date 2 3 4 5 6 1 3 4 5 6 P June 25 NOR - 15 60 50 10 135 - 1 1 44 37 8 27 STAR - 25 75 74 15 189 - 13 40 39 8 27 ZAP 5 51 133 121 46 356 1 14 38 34 13 30 EAST 10 51 176 131 51 419 2 12 42 32 12 July 2 ZAP 10 109 244 180 56 599 2 18 41 30 9 2 STAR 10 114 259 199 56 638 2 18 40 31 9 3 NOR 10 149 298 214 56 727 21 41 29 8 7 ZAP 10 183 352 234 56 835 22 42 28 7 7 STAR 10 188 409 249 61 917 20 45 27 7 9 NOR 15 253 563 279 61 1 171 22 48 24 5 9 EAST 20 302 612 294 61 1 289 2 23 47 23 5 11 ZAP 20 340 626 304 71 1 361 25 47 22 5 11 STAR 20 345 6 57 315 71 1 408 25 47 22 5 14 NOR 25 415 826 345 81 1 692 25 49 20 5 14 EAST 30 545 931 365 81 1 952 28 48 19 4 15 ZAP 35 610 976 380 86 2 087 2 29 47 18 4 15 STAR 35 664 1, 043 398 92 2 232 2 29 47 18 4 18 EAST 40 832 1, 165 439 97 2 573 2 32 45 17 4 18 NOR 50 959 1, 267 464 102 2 842 2 34 44 16 4 21 STAR 50 999 1, 318 47 5 102 2 944 2 34 45 16 3 21 ZAP 55 1 102 1, 382 485 107 3 131 2 34 45 16 3 23 EAST 67 1 155 1, 443 531 107 3 303 2 34 45 16 3 23 NOR 83 1 222 1, 608 552 107 3 572 2 34 45 16 3 25 ZAP 98 1 284 1, 639 557 107 3 685 3 35 44 15 3 25 NOR 103 1 341 1, 690 567 107 3 808 3 35 44 15 3 28 EAST 176 1 594 1, 768 613 107 4 2 58 4 38 42 14 2 28 NOR 249 1 962 1, 940 634 112 4 897 5 40 40 13 2 30 STAR 280 2 038 1, 972 634 112 5 036 6 40 39 13 2 30 ZAP 285 2 116 1, 987 649 112 5 149 6 41 38 13 2 30 Aug. 1 NOR 296 2 162 2, 033 649 112 5 252 6 41 39 12 2 EAST 360 2 409 2, 102 664 112 5 647 6 43 37 12 2 1 NOR 411 2 645 2, 204 680 1 17 6 057 7 44 36 1 1 2 !_/ ZAP = Zapadni and South; EAST = East Reef and East Cliffs; NOR=North; STAR =Staraya Artil. 52 Table A-5 --Adult male seals counted, by class— and rookery section, St. Paul Island, 20-24 June 1969 Rookery and class Section of male 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 Total Lukanin • 1 - 4 - - - - - - - - - _ _ 4 2 27 24 - - - - - - - - _ _ _ 51 3 18 16 - - - - - - - - - - - 34 4 2 - - - - - - - - _ _ _ _ 2 5 28 - - - - - - - - - - - - 28 Kitovi-/ 1 -( 0) 1 3 4 2 - - - - - - - - 10 2 18( 16) 9 36 35 42 - - - - - - - - 156 3 23( 6) 7 12 19 9 - - - - - - - - 76 4 -( 0) 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - 2 5 -( 0) - - - 52 - - - - - - - - 52 Reef 1 12 19 8 5 3 12 10 7 1 77 2 52 66 57 32 34 38 87 56 40 32 14 - - - 508 3 15 33 15 15 19 30 6 29 18 24 18 - - - 222 4 1 4 - 2 3 1 - - - - - - - 11 5 3 - - - 118 - - - - 54 - - - 175 Gorbatch 1 8 7 4 1 4 7 - - - - - - - 31 2 45 40 42 18 34 71 - - - - - - - 250 3 35 35 26 4 22 24 - - - - - - - 146 4 7 2 2 3 7 2 - - - - - - - 23 5 161 - - 41 - - - - - - - - - 202 Ardiguen — 1 3 2 59 3 27 4 - 5 64 Sivutch — 1 72 2 297 3 214 4 - 5 312 Morjovi — 1 5( 2) 3 6 6 4 4 - - - - - _ _ 28 2 42(17) 25 25 42 36 49 - - - . - - - 219 3 20( 3) 28 15 32 24 28 - - - - - - - 147 4 -( 0) 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - 3 5 165( 2) - - - - 24 - - - - - - - 189 Vostochni 1 - 1 6 1 1 5 1 3 7 - 5 2 4 3 39 2 53 19 28 24 28 70 34 59 62 39 42 66 62 20 605 3 19 30 26 14 19 34 19 35 32 20 25 40 31 16 360 4 - - - 2 1 1 - 5 - 1 - 1 - 11 5 75 - - 43 - - 60 5 1 - 83 9 30 S06 See footnotes at end of table. 53 Table A-5 . --Adult male seals counted, by class— and rookery section, St. Paul Island, 20-24 June 1969-- Continued Rookery and class Section of male 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 1 3 14 Total Little Pc lovina -Number 1 2 3 - - - - - - 2 42 41 - - - - - - 3 8 20 - - - - - - 4 6 5 - - - - - - 5 - 38 - - - - - - Polovina 1 9 6 - - - - - - 2 59 30 - - - - - - 3 15 10 - - - - - - 4 - 1 - - - - - - 5 43 - - - - - - - Polovina Cliffs 1 3 3 2 2 9 5 9 - 2 26 46 24 36 48 36 79 - 3 16 7 14 1 1 20 17 20 - 4 - - - - 1 2 - - 5 - - - - - 65 - - Tolstoi 1 6 3 8 3 6 5 4 5 2 46 41 55 21 66 61 61 60 3 16 14 12 10 22 23 19 14 4 5 - - - - - - - 133 Zapadni Reef 3 47 1 2 20 . - - - - - 3 4 5 29 17 - - - - - - 4 - - - - - - Little Zapadni 1 4 6 10 7 5 5 - - 2 21 31 42 39 42 44 - - 3 1 1 14 32 30 21 19 - - 4 11 2 - 1 4 - - - 5 - - - - - 61 - - Zapadni 5/ 1 M 0) 5 6 8 8 12 9 2 2 44( 0) 82 49 9 1 59 55 64 21 3 20( 0) 41 32 29 26 37 23 11 4 -( 0) 7 - - 1 1 1 - 5 83 28 1 1 38 15 89 25 43 33 295 105 65 40 41 1 130 133 3 67 46 4 37 219 127 18 61 51 465 219 10 5 2(120) ... - 382 ----- 504 1/ Class 1 Shoreline - Full-grown males about age 10 and older without females but apparently with established territories at the high tide mark. Class 2 Territorial without females - Full-grown males about age 10 and older without females but with established territories on the rookery. Class 3 Territorial with females - Full-grown males about age 10 and older with females and established territories on the rookery Class 4 Back fringe - Full-grown and partly grown males about age 7 and older without females and territories that are found along the inland fringe of the rookery Class 5 Hauling ground - Full-grown and partly grown males about age 7 and older without females that are found on traditional hauling grounds. Class 3 males were formerly called harem bulls, and Classes 1, 2, 4, and 5 were collectively called idle bulls. 2/ Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted in Kitovi Amphitheater. 3/ No numbered sections. 47 Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted on the second point south of Sea Lion Neck. 5/ Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted on Zapadni Point Reef. 54 1/ Table A-6 . --Adult male seals counted, by class- and rookery section, St. Paul Island, 10-12 July 1969 Rookery and class of male Lukanin 1 2 3 4 5 Kitoyi-' 1 2 3 4 5 Reef 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 - - - 3 2 - - - 41 55 - - - 3 1 - - - 33 - - - " 8( 5) 5 5 7 1 -( 3) - 5 3 2 52(25) 21 59 72 56 -( 0) - - 4 - -( 0) - - - 43 10 7 5 3 5 18 14 7 7 5 71 97 75 44 57 1 20 2 7 - - 1 - - 182 Section 10 12 13 14 67 - 7 4 1 - 25 3 11 5 5 63 75 64 69 41 6 2 - 1 - Total 4 5 96 4 33 31 13 285 4 43 50 108 723 39 260 Gorbatch 1 2 3 4 5 Ardiguen — 1 2 3 4 5 =■ . v,3/ Sivutch — — I 2 3 4 5 Morjovi — 1 2 3 4 5 7 17 88 5 63 5( 0) 2( 4) 60(33) 2( 0) -(30) 10 12 6 8 8 3 6 1 11 81 68 3 2 60 97 3 2 - - 10 37 13 3 53 3 1 49 10 11 6 2 6 84 7 1 51 38 426 20 100 8 12 118 70 53 51 461 223 45 26 423 20 30 Vostochni 1 2 3 4 5 2 9 67 1 57 5 7 4 3 4 3 42 52 39 2 2 42 30 7 14 102 2 9 6 5 10 11 46 86 88 1 2 35 12 6 6 3 62 9 4 9 11 5 99 52 71 87 95 44 913 1 - 5 51 4 12 200 See footnotes at end of table. 55 Table A-6 --Adult male seals counted, by class— and rookery section, St Paul Island, 10-12 July 1969-- Continued Rookery and class Section of male ~T~ Z 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11IZ13 14 Total Number Little Polovina "1 3 2 ----------- - 5 Z 7 15 ------------ 22 3 54 75 ------------ 129 4 1 2------------ 3 5 . 36 ------------ 36 Polovina ~T~ 9 6 ------ - ----- 15 2 13 6 ------------ 19 3 60 34 ------------ 94 5 69 - - - - - 69 Polovina Cliffs ~ j 2 322237-- ----- 21 2 4 85574 12 ------- 45 3 47 73 35 57 75 64 112 - - ----- 463 4 1 3-6261----- 19 5 2 ----37 2------- 41 3 2 2 2 3 7 - 8 5 5 7 4 12 - 73 35 57 75 64 112 - 3 - 6 2 6 1 - - - - - 37 2 - 4 5 5 10 7 6 2 1 - - 8 6 10 10 72 61 71 112 100 79 81 2 - - 2 - - 1 1 _ _ _ _ - - 103 Tolstoi ~~ I 6 4 5 10 7 6 2 45 2 1 1 - - 8 6 10 10 ------ 36 3 62 72 61 71 112 100 79 81 - ----- 638 15 103 Zapadni R eef ~ 5 1 __---------- 6 2 4 2------------ 6 3 80 35 ------------ 115 4 1 2------------ 3 5 1 26 ------------ 27 Little Zapadni — _ 3 4 10 92--- ----- 28 2 1 11861--- _____ 18 3 38 50 83 74 72 44 -------- 361 4 1 24247-------- 20 5 _ _ - - - 16 -------- 16 Zapadni — 1 2{ 0) 3 3 4 7 7 3 - - ----- 29 2 7< 0) 14 8 14 12 9 11 2 _ - - - - 77 3 64( 2) 120 85 120 82 101 80 29 - ----- 683 4 3(0)8 27 12-6----- 29 5 -(75) ------ 75 - ----- 75 1/ For description of classes, see table A-5 or glossary. 2/ Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted in Kitovi Amphitheater. 3/ No numbered sections. 4/ Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted on the second point south of Sea Lion Neck. 5/ Numbers in parentheses are the adult males counted on Zapadni Point Reef. 56 Table A-7. --Adult male seals counted, by class— and rookery section, St. George Island, Z0-Z1 June 1969 Rookery and male Sec tion class of 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total ■ -Number Zapadni 1 7 3 - - - . - 10 2 59 78 19 - - - 156 3 32 15 - - - - 47 4 11 4 1 - - - 16 5 133 - - - - - 133 South 1 19 6 10 - - - 35 2 154 72 83 - - - 309 3 4 27 35 25 " - - 87 5 North — - - - - - - 1 2 4 4 6 5 7 28 2 25 43 38 61 20 84 27 1 3 32 30 37 25 19 23 166 4 - 4 5 - 2 2 13 5 30 - - 3 - 17 50 East Reef — 1 - - - - - - 11 2 - - - - - - 52 3 - - - - - - 25 4 - - - - - - 3 5 - - - - - - 42 East Cliffs 1 9 3 - - - - 12 2 47 39 - - - - 86 3 4 44 28 - - - - 72 5 Staraya Artil - - - - - - - 1 5 - - - - - 5 2 110 50 - - - - 160 3 4 5 25 - - - - - 25 28 - - - - - 28 1/ See table A- 5 or glossary for a description of the classes of adult male seals. 2/ No numbered sections. 57 Table A-8. --Adult male seals counted, by class— and rookery section, St. George Island, 10-12 July 1969 Rookery and male S ection class of 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Zapadni 1 5 4 4 - - - 13 2 12 17 25 - - - 54 3 66 85 32 - - - 183 4 6 8 9 - - - 23 5 141 - - - - - 141 South 1 11 6 9 - - - 26 2 18 13 21 - - - 52 3 4 5 80 93 77 - - - 250 43 _ _ _ _ _ 43 North 1 3 3 7 6 5 7 31 2 1 3 5 6 6 5 26 3 72 96 103 106 47 102 526 4 6 1 1 4 3 26 41 5 41 - - - - 37 78 East Reei^J 1 - - - - - - 9 2 - - - - - - 18 3 - - - - - - 100 4 - - - - - - 6 5 - - - - - - 6 East Cli ffs 1 5 6 - - - - 11 2 10 13 - - - - 23 3 100 115 - - - - 215 4 2 4 - - - - 6 5 4 - - - - - 4 Staraya Artil 1 5 - - - - - 5 2 22 28 - - - - 50 3 4 5 126 57 - - - - 183 11 - - - - - 11 1/ See table A-5 or the glossary for a description of the classes of adult male seals. 2/ No numbered sections. 58 Table A-9- --Harem and idle male seals counted in mid-July, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1960-69 St. Paul Harem Island Id le- St. H George 1 rem Island Idle Both is ands Year Harem Idle -- -Numb er -- --Number -- --Number 1960 10, 247 10, 407 2 552 2, 630 12, 799 13, 037 1961 1 1, 163 11, 791 2 843 2,489 14, 006 14, 280 1962 10, 332 9. 109 2 342 2, 650 12 674 11, 759 1963 9, 212 7, 650 2 071 1, 890 11 283 9, 540 1964 9, 085 7, 095 1 989 1, 489 11 074 8, 584 1965 8, 553 5,616 1 917 1, 113 10 470 6, 729 1966 7, 974 5, 839 1 974 1, 017 9 948 6. 856 1967 y7. 230 ±'4.439 1 646 1,268 8 B76 5, 707 1968 1/6. 176 1^3, 100 1 748 1,283 7 924 4, 383 1969 2/5, 928 5/2, 535 1 457 677 7 385 3, 212 1/ Harem and idle males on St. Paul Island wer£ counted on Reef, Lukanin, Kitovi, Tolstoi, and Zapadni Reef Rookeries in 1967 and on Reef, Zapadni Reef, Vostochni, and Morjovi Rookeries in 1968, then extrapolated to produce counts representing all the rookeries. ZJ Includes harem and idle males counted on Sivutch Rookery (Sea Lion Rock). Table A- 10. --Adult male seals counted, St. Paul Island, 9-14 July 1966-69 Year and class of adult ma le sealL/ 1966 1967 1968 1969 Rookery Harem Idle Harem Idle Harem Idle 11 > r m Idle 77 ■ Lukanin 152 108 137 - - 96 46 Kitovi 413 194 374 118 - - 285 91 Reef 1, 070 678 927 616 843 514 723 457 Gorbatch 607 521 - - - - 426 209 Ardiguen 92 97 - - - - 118 90 Morjovi 645 534 - - 505 191 423 121 Vostochni 1, 449 970 - - 1, 116 497 913 366 Little Polovina 218 312 - - - - 129 66 Polovina 188 405 - - - - 94 103 Polovina Cliffs 619 295 - - - - 463 126 Tolstoi 819 441 791 283 - - 638 199 Zapadni Reef 203 210 180 146 144 68 115 42 Little Zapadni 542 227 - - - - 361 82 Zapadni 957 847 - - - - 683 210 Total 7, 974 5, 839 2, 409 1, 240 2, 608 1, 270 5, 467 2, 208 1/ Harem =class 3; idle=classes 1, 2, 4, and 5 (see table A-5 or the glossary for a description of the classes of adult males). 59 Table A- 11. --Adult male seals counted, St. Paul Island, 20-27 June 1966-69 Year and 1/ Class of adult male- rookery 1 2 3 4 5 Total 1966 Lukanin 13 83 67 - 84 247 Kitovi 22 229 193 4 102 550 Reef 119 852 333 - 42 5 1, 729 Gorbatch 78 441 180 62 362 1, 123 Ardiguen 8 40 53 9 50 160 Morjovi 108 452 230 3 464 1, 257 Vostochni 92 1, 019 522 18 542 2, 193 Little Polovina 12 162 73 29 254 530 Polovina 75 168 65 - 253 561 Polovina Cliffs 48 494 202 5 81 830 Tolstoi 65 622 233 - 131 1, 051 Zapadni Reef 13 142 65 - 146 366 Little Zapadni 70 339 150 - 133 692 Zapadni 149 716 275 - 52 1 1, 661 Total 872 5, 759 2, 641 130 3, 548 12, 950 1967 Lukanin 12 93 53 4 51 213 Kitovi 17 211 144 4 91 467 Reef 72 752 272 18 241 1, 355 Gorbatch 43 407 159 25 236 870 Ardiguen 6 49 39 - 58 152 Morjovi 41 394 189 73 249 946 Vostochni 109 940 333 147 557 2, 086 Little Polovina 7 143 51 27 150 378 Polovina 27 150 43 25 185 430 Polovina Cliffs 38 408 192 68 47 753 Tolstoi 80 455 251 24 472 1, 282 Zapadni Reef 13 125 52 13 64 267 Little Zapadni 42 328 184 28 120 702 Zapadni 74 611 277 82 353 1, 397 Total 581 5, 066 2,239 538 2, 874 11,298 See footnote end of table. 60 Table A- 11. --Adult male seals counted, St. Paul Island, 20-27 June 1966-69 - -Continued , 1/ Year and Class of adult male — rookery 1 2 3 4 5 Total N 1968 Lukanin 8 62 45 1 15 131 Kitovi 31 179 122 - 49 381 Reef 57 616 255 42 400 1, 370 Gorbatch 32 341 128 25 242 768 Ardiguen 2 62 42 - 50 156 Morjovi 35 309 228 21 146 739 Vostochni 67 804 462 11 389 1, 733 Little Polovina 12 107 71 14 75 279 Polovina 8 89 68 1 177 343 Polovina Cliffs 52 315 256 16 74 713 Tolstoi 49 350 309 25 150 883 Zapadni Reef 3 72 75 3 59 212 Little Zapadni 27 218 234 9 84 572 Zapadni 55 508 357 34 300 1, 254 Total 438 4, 032 2, 652 202 2, 210 9, 534 1969 Lukanin 4 51 34 2 28 119 Kitovi 10 156 76 2 52 296 Reef 77 508 222 11 175 993 Gorbatch 31 250 146 23 202 652 Ardiguen 3 59 27 - 64 153 Morjovi 30 236 160 3 191 620 Vostochni 39 605 360 11 306 1, 321 Little Polovina 5 83 28 11 38 165 Polovina 15 89 25 1 43 173 Polovina Cliffs 33 295 105 3 65 501 Tolstoi 40 411 130 - 133 714 Zapadni Reef 3 67 46 1 4 121 Little Zapadni 37 219 127 18 61 462 Zapadni 51 465 219 10 504 1,249 Total 378 3, 494 1, 705 96 1,866 7, 539 1/ See table A- 5 or the glossary for a description of the classes of adult male seals. 61 1/ Table A-12. -- Dead seal pups counted, — by rookery, Pribilof Is ands, Alaska 1960-69 Island and rookery 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 N St. Paul Island Morjovi 6, 825 5, 259 4, 881 2, 348 1, 830 2, 649 1, 686 1, 072 2, 285 7 34 Vostochni 11, 333 10, 173 8, 565 5, 057 3, 404 4, 214 2, 785 1, 969 4, 195 1, 711 Little Polovina 2, 427 2, 415 2, 121 92 3 631 1, 132 449 233 509 200 Polovina Cliffs 3,462 4, 576 2, 957 2, 160 1, 097 2,856 809 825 1,616 836 Polovina 5, 268 2,499 1, 880 1, 237 783 1, 176 312 319 487 327 Ardiguen 331 411 225 141 102 459 160 90 118 112 Gorbatch 3, 168 3, 550 1, 373 2, 431 1, 549 3, 123 1, 593 874 1, 446 823 Reef 9, 664 10, 047 7, 897 5, 688 3, 000 7, 664 3, 562 2, 008 3, 064 1, 365 Kitovi 2, 006 2, 215 2, 081 881 462 2, 202 406 522 755 652 Lukanin 1, 037 1, 294 660 546 402 1, 126 432 240 597 460 Tolstoi 5,237 4, 761 3, 004 3, 274 2,614 3, 955 3, 425 2, 251 3, 315 2, 778 Little Zapadni 4, 148 3, 047 2, 399 2, 580 1, 101 2,461 1, 634 1, 098 1, 781 798 Zapadni Reef 1, 472 1, 291 598 718 425 723 451 380 685 177 Zapadni 6,450 6, 329 6,627 4, 614 4, 172 5, 384 3, 710 2, 195 4, 445 2, 306 Counted total 62, 828 57, 867 45, 268 32, 598 21, 572 39, 124 21, 414 14, 076 25, 298 13, 279 Estimated oversight 5% 2, 946 2, 893 2, 263 1, 630 1, 079 1, 956 1, 071 704 1, 265 664 Total 65,774 60, 760 47, 531 34, 228 22, 651 41, 080 22, 485 14, 780 26, 563 13, 943 St. George Islanc North 3,489 3,883 2, 242 2, 525 792 1,854 1, 561 971 1, 567 444 Zapadni 1, 902 2, 019 1, 740 704 446 1,263 1. 196 578 1, 197 260 East 1, 112 1, 347 504 502 272 676 764 201 824 187 Staraya Artil 2, 000 2, 514 1, 435 1, 041 767 1, 186 1, 152 770 1, 055 640 Counted total 8, 503 9, 763 5, 921 4, 772 2, 277 4, 979 4, 673 2, 520 4, 643 1, 531 Estimated oversight 5% 42 5 488 296 239 114 249 234 126 232 76 Total 8, 928 10, 251 6, 217 5, 011 2, 391 5, 228 4, 907 2, 646 4, 875 1, 607 Pribilof Islands counted total_' 71, 331 67, 630 51, 189 37, 370 23, 849 44, 103 26, 087 16, 596 29, 941 14, 810 Estimated oversight 5% 3, 371 3, 381 2, 559 1,869 1, 193 2, 205 1, 305 830 1, 497 740 Total 74, 702 71, 011 53, 748 39, 239 25, 042 46, 308 27, 392 17, 426 31, 438 15, 550 1/ The dead pups are counted after 15 August each year; most mortality has occurred by that date. 2/ Not included in the total are 2, 228 dead pups counted on Sea Lion Rock (Sivutch) in 1966. 62 Table A- 13. --Dead seal pups counted, by rookery sections, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 25-27 August 1969 Island and rookery Section 10 11 12 13 Total St. Paul Island 1/376 Morjovi 80 53 98 63 64 V< isti >chni 50 40 54 84 202 302 Little Polovina 97 103 - - - - Polovina Cliffs 130 82 105 106 124 1 18 Polovina Ardiguen — 22 1 106 - - - - - - - - - - Gorbatch 199 242 125 73 90 94 Reef 105 — 'l 53 107 190 128 75 156 Kitovi 35 179 180 105 - Lukanin 181 279 - - - - Tolstoi 161 160 180 103 344 516 Little Zapadni 73 134 170 186 134 101 Zapadni Reef 43 134 - - - - Zapadni 164 336 500 508 221 198 Total St. Deorge Island North 37 66 91 Zapadni 74 74 32 South East Reef- 21 34 25 - - - East Cliffs 64 61 - Staraya Artil 535 105 - 88 Total Grand total 20 142 -Number- 144 221 171 153 625 689 291 88 159 99 49 70 73 37 51 191 72 734 1,711 200 836 327 I 12 82 3 1, 365 652 460 2,778 798 177 2, 306 13, 279 444 180 80 62 125 640 1, 531 14, 810 1/ Includes 47 dead pups counted on point south of Sea Lion Neck. 2/ No numbered sections 3/ Includes 40 dead pups counted in amphitheater 63 Table A-14. --Primary diagnoses for causes of death among 208 seal pups, by 7-day periods, St. Paul Island, 26 June to 15 August 1969 Cause To 28 June 5-11 12-18 19-25 26 July 2^8 9-15 of death 27 June to 4 July July July July to 1 Aug. Aug. Aug. Total -Number- Malnutrition 0 4 6810 9 12 7 56 Hookworm disease 0 0 0 2 14 24 11 7 58 Microbial infection 1 3 5 8 3 1 2 1 24 Trauma 0 7 3 2 0 0 1 0 13 Perinatal complex 0 3 5 0 3 0 0 0 11 Miscellaneous 0 1 1 1 3 0 1 0 7 Undetermined 0 1 2 6 3 6 ') 1 19 Total 1 19 22 27 36 40 27 16 188 Unsuitable for examination 2 2 2 3 7 9 0 0 20 Total 3 21 24 30 38 49 27 16 208 Advanced post mortem degeneration 2 8 6 12 10 20 8 5 71 64 Table A- 1 & . --Lesions and circumstances associated with cases of multiple hemorrhage-perinatal complex, St. Paul Island, 1964 and 1966-69 No bite Subcapsular Focal Place nta wounds hemorrhage necrosis or fresh Date and Pups Pups or of liver and of the Intraocular cord study area examined affected contusions other organs liver hemorrhage Stillborn attached Number Perc ent 9 July to 22 Aug. 1964 Reef Old catwalk 109 6 5.5 1 " 1 1 3 28 June to 22 Aug. 1966 Reef Old catwalk 164 3.0 2 9 June to 15 Aug. 1967 Reef Old catwalk New catwalk NEP Total Percent 80 54 98 232 14) 10) 16) I/40 17.2 15 37. 5 9 II. 5 5 12. 5 8 20. 0 1 1 27. 5 10 8 14 32 80. 0 4 July to 15 Aug. 1968 Reef Old catwalk New catwalk NEP Total Percent 132 97 150 379 4) 9) _i> 19 5.0 1 6 3 10 52.6 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 4 4 5 1 1 2 2 4 3 3 8 7 12 6. 7 16. 7 44. 4 38. 9 66.7 26 June to 15 Aug. 1969 Reef Old catwalk New catwalk NEP Total Percent 66 50 92 208 7) 3) 4) 2/, 6.7 5 3 1 4 1 4 3 1 2 - 1 2 3 3 9 5 1 5 3 10 64. 3 35. 7 7. 1 35. 7 21. 4 71. 4 If Includes 33 pups for which perinatal complex was the primary cause and 7 the secondary cause of death. 2/ Includes 1 1 pups for which perinatal complex was the primary cause and 3 the secondary cause of death. 65 Table A- 16 -- Mean weights of untagged and unmarked seal pups about 1 September, St. Paul Island, 1957-69 [Numbers in parentheses show sample size] Sex Year Males Females Kg. KgT 1957 8. 7 (391) 7. 7 (351) 1958 1 1. 4 (127) 9. 9 (121) 1959 9. 4 (444) 8. 1 (386) 1960 9. 8 (372) 9. 1 (363) 1961 8. 5 (381) 8. 0 (466) 1962 9. 2 (300) 8. 2 (300) 1963 8.9 (300) 8. 0 (300) 1964 9. 1 (300) 7. 7 (300) 1965 9. 5 (300) 8.2 (300) 1966 9. 6 (300) 8.4 (300) 1967 10. 2 (400) 9. 0 (400) 1968 9. 6 (400) 8. 3 (400) 1969 9.8 (400) 8. 6 (400) Mean 1957-69 9.5 8.4 66 Table A-17. --Seal pups tagged and marked, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1960-69 Year St. Paul St. George Island Island 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 M 1-12000 M 12001-60000 47, 989 1967 1968 1969 N 1-10000 N 10001-50000 39, 933 O 1-10000 O 10001-50000 39, 928 P 1-5000 P 5001-25000 19, 978 Q 1-5000 Q 5001-25000 19, 998 R 1-10000 10, 000 Marked 10, 007 Marked 10 080 S 1-2 500 S 2501-12500 10, 000 Marked 9 578 Marked T 9-2500 T 5001-15000 9 980 U 1-2500 U 2501-12500 9 200 Marked 20 000 Marked 11, 992 9, 988 9, 980 4, 993 4, 993 2,499 2, 503 2, 492 2, 475 5, 000 Location o£ tag Right front flipper -- do. Left front flipper do. Right front flipper do. - Left front flipper - do. Right front flipper -do. Left front flipper Not tagged do. Left front flipper Right front flipper Not tagged ---do. --- Right front flipper do. Left front flipper do. Not tagged ---do. --- Checkmarks or marks Tip of right front flipper sliced off Do. "V" notch near tip left front flipper Do. "V" notch near tip right front flipper Do. Tip of left front flipper sliced off Do. Tip of right front flipper sliced off Do. "V" notch near tip left front flipper "V" notch near tip right front flipper Tip of 1st digit (big toe) on right hind flipper sliced off Tip of left front flipper sliced off Tip of 2d digit on right hind flipper sliced off Tip of 3d digit on right hind flipper sliced off Tip of 2d digit on left hind flipper sliced off Tip of right front flipper sliced off Do. "V" notch near tip left front flipper Do. Tip of 1st digit (big toe) on left hind flipper sliced off Tip of 1st digit (big toe) on right hind flipper sliced off 67 Table A- 18. --Record of tags applied— to male seals selected as yearlings and as Z-, 3-, and 4-year-olds on the basis of body length or size, St. Paul Island, 1961-63 and 1965-69 Age category and year Tag series Tag numbers Effective tagsL/ Yearlings — 1961 M 1962 N 1963 O 1965 IE 1966 IS 1967 IT 1968 1U Ages Z-4 1966 2S 1967 ZT 1968 ZU Ages 1-4 1969 IV Number 1-Z000 754 50001-51000 9Z9 50001-51000 799 1-1000 991 Z0001-Z1500 1, 495 1-1500 835 Z0001-Z1500 714 30001-31500 1, 483 1-1500 1, ZZO 30001-31500 1,495 1- 3431 3,419 1/ Each seal was double tagged; one tag was attached to each front flipper at the hairline (Fig. 9 )■ Some seals with tags that had been attached to the animals when they were pups were given another tag. 2/ Total number of seals tagged within the series. 3/ Male and female seals were intentionally tagged in 1961, 196Z, 1963, and 1965. Males only were intentionally tagged in 1966-69. 68 Table A- 19. --Recor d of 119 male seals marked as pups in 1967 2- in 1969, St. and 1968 or at ages 1 and 2 in 1968 and given lV-series tag s at age 1 and Paul Island, 25 September to 13 October 1969 Seals marked as pups Seals rr at agt-s United States U. S S R Tag attached Tag lost (RFS)t/ arked 1 and 2 Age 1 tag ( 1 V-series) Pup tag (U-series) 9067 5564 8120 Age 2 tag ( 1 V-senes) 1891 2003 2007 Pup tag (T-series) 8966 6007 5277 Age 2 ( 1 V-senes) 82 122 188 Age 1 tag Pup tag (IV- series) Age 1 tag (1 V-series ■ 86 1691 2139 Age 1 tag in 1968 (lU-senes) 283 2768 2780 2535 AB-1479 2767 AM-6592 20286 20412 20406 Age 2 tag (IV- series) Pup tag (T - series) 2215 2233 2286 10165 14169 11993 248 273 475 Age 2 tag Pup tag (lV'-series) (X-series) Age 2 tag { 1 V-series Age 2 tag in 1968 (2U-series) 4 80 84 11301 13782 2467 2296 2364 2369 10132 10318 2029 604 904 1492 1789 31671 2156 226K8 338 2976 30315 30405 166 11689 2 384 5891 1600 177 10287 2405 5611 1639 181 12627 2406 12711 1775 195 12540 2419 12300 1536 220 12556 2421 1091 1547 325 13038 2441 6387 1716 381 9295 2477 10289 1841 471 11489 2554 8481 1950 528 5258 2556 13092 2016 652 9624 2723 12702 2288 731 787 12069 7285 2732 2797 335 6483 2360 2443 790 9878 2852 11287 2841 850 12161 2865 7373 2917 857 11678 2936 10903 3103 887 13259 2938 14366 3261 919 13764 2972 10992 3281 948 9056 2994 13650 3287 1054 6332 3000 9905 3306 1058 12289 3017 9748 3337 1225 6934 3134 8196 1235 14128 3140 16063 1262 5375 3142 6006 1284 13915 3164 6426 1302 307 3184 13180 1463 1545 13920 14621 3194 3232 10991 6883 1703 1840 7 97 0 5581 3248 3264 49 12756 1845 7557 3288 9077 1846 13282 3340 5351 1853 6674 3401 6063 1868 8752 3418 9336 1_/ Some seals that had lost one of two tags applied at ages 1 and 2. were given a lV-series tag. 2/ Tip of right front flipper sliced off as a checkmark; these seals had originally been marked with T-series tags also. 69 Table A -20. - -Record of 3, 419 male seals tagged at ages 1 to 4 years. St. Paul Island, September and October 1969 Tag number Effective Date Area ( 1 V-series) tags!/ Number SeP*- 25 Northeast Point 1-250 249 lb English Bay and Zapadni 251-725 474 29 Northeast Point 726-900 174 29 English Bay and Zapadni 901-1200 300 30 English Bay and Zapadni 1201-1779 574 Oct. 1 Zapadni 1780-1875 94 8 Northeast Point 1876-1900 25 1 Zapadni 1901-2025 125 1 Polovina 2026-2250 225 2 Northeast Point 2251-2375 125 2 English Bay and Zapadni 2376-2425 48 3 English Bay and Zapadni 2426-2575 150 3 Polovina 2576-2664 89 3 Northeast Point 2665-2700 36 7 English Bay and Zapadni 2701-2850 150 8 Northeast Point 2851-2889 39 8 Zapadni 2890-2925 36 10 English Bay 2926-3100 175 13 English Bay 3101-3431 331 Total 3,419 1/ Number of tags used within the series. One tag with number IV- 187 was attached to a female with U.S.A. pup tag T-10733 and a tag with number 1V-1644 was given to a female with U.S. S.R. tag X-31893. Table A-21. --Marked, tagged, and lost-tag seals recovered, by age, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 25 June to 1 August 1969 Mark or tag series s ii Hind flipper (RH3)- Hind flipper (LH2)?7 Front flipper (RFVr- Hind flipper (RH1)-' R Q P O 1/ Seals that had lost their tags but were recognized by a marked flipper. 2/ Seals not tagged but marked by removing part of a flipper--tip of third digit right hind flipper (RH3), tip of second digit left hind flipper (LH2), V-nctch right front flipper on leading edge near tip (RFV tip of first digit right hind flipper 2 44. 5 1 45. 0 3 44. 7 - 18 2 39. 5 1 42. 0 3 40. 3 - 19 _ 1 87 41. 0 1 138 41. 0 - Total 51 1/ Nine seals collected, weight missing from one seal. 2/ Three seals collected, weight missing from one seal. 82 Table B - 1 1 . --Monthly mean lengths of nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 February March Combined length Mean Mean Standard Age Seals length Seals length Seals Mean deviation Years Number Cm . Number Cm. Number Cm. Cm. 1 11 76. 9 20 74. 4 31 75. 3 2. 9 2 - - 6 88. 5 6 88. 5 5. 4 3 5 99.2 14 99.7 19 99.6 3. 3 4 10 106. 2 21 107. 8 31 107. 3 3. 8 5 5 113. 6 10 116. 2 15 115. 3 5. 1 6 4 118. 0 6 121. 8 10 120. 3 5. 0 7 3 120. 0 7 123. 3 10 122. 3 5. 1 8 2 131. 0 4 121. 8 6 124. 8 10. 5 10 3 123. 3 1 121. 0 4 122. 8 - 11 4 130. 0 3 122. 3 7 126.7 5.7 12 1 132. 0 3 127. 7 4 128. 8 - 13 4 121. 5 3 128. 0 7 124. 3 6. 5 14 1 134. 0 1 125. 0 2 129. 5 - 16 1 131. 0 1 130. 0 2 130. 5 - 17 2 130. 5 1 129. 0 3 130. 0 - 18 1 129. 0 - - 1 129. 0 - 19 - 1 131. 0 1 131. 0 - Total 57 102 159 83 Table B- 12. --Monthly mean weights of nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 February March Coin bined weight Mean Mean Standard Age Seals weight Seals weight Seals Mean deviation Years Number Kfii Number KS- Number Kg- KJL 1 11 8.2 20 7. 6 31 7. 8 1. 2 2 - - 6 11. 2 6 11. 2 2.6 3 5 17. 5 14 17. 2 19 17. 3 2. 0 4 10 21. 0 21 21.7 31 21.5 2.6 5 5 24. 6 10 26. 2 15 25. 7 2. 8 6 4 31. 0 6 29. 2 10 29. 9 4.6 7 3 32. 2 7 31. 7 10 31. 9 3. 2 8 2 34. 2 4 29. 4 6 31. 0 4. 7 10 3 32. 3 1 35. 0 4 33. 0 - 11 4 39. 1 3 32. 7 7 36. 4 4. 7 12 1 39. 0 3 36.7 4 37. 2 - 13 4 35. 1 3 38. 0 7 36. 4 6. 1 14 1 46. 0 1 32. 5 2 39. 2 - 16 1 44. 0 1 44. 0 2 44. 0 - 17 2 41. 0 1 42. 5 3 41. 5 - 18 1 32. 0 - - 1 32. 0 - 19 _ •" 1 102 40. 0 1 159 40. 0 - Total 57 84 Table B-13. --Monthly mean lengths of male seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Feb ruary March Com bined 1 sngth Mean Mean Standard Age Seals length Seals length Seals Mean deviation Years Number Cm. Number Cm . Number Cm . Cm. 1 7 77. 3 10 77. 2 17 77. 2 3.6 2 4 96. 5 5 94. 8 9 95. 6 8.6 3 1 101. 0 4 106. 2 5 105. 2 5. 5 4 1 115. 0 3 115. 0 4 115. 0 - Total 13 22 35 Table B"14- --Monthly mean weights of male seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Febr uary March Combined weight Mean Mean Standard Age Seals weight Seals weight Seals Mean deviation Years Number Kg- Number Kg- Number Kg- Kg. 1 7 8. 9 10 8.6 17 8. 8 1.8 2 4 15. 2 5 14. 7 9 14. 9 3.0 3 1 19. 0 4 21.8 5 21. 2 3. 1 4 1 32. 0 3 28. 0 4 29. 0 - Total 13 22 35 85 Table B-15. --Monthly mean lengths and weights of fur seal fetuses collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Male Female Mean Mean Mean Mean Period Fetuses length weight F etuses length weight Number Cm . Kjk N umber Cm. Kg- 6-10 Feb. 4 27. 0 0.6 6 23. 5 0. 5 11-20 Feb. 17 27. 2 0.6 15 26. 0 ±'0.5 21-28 Feb. 8 32. 6 0. 8 2 31. 8 0. 9 1-10 Mar. 16 35. 9 1. 2 9 33. 8 1. 0 11-20 Mar. 9 2-/36.4 1. 2 4 35. 8 1. 2 21-29 Mar. 23 40. 8 1.6 27 37. 7 1. 4 Total 77 62 1/ Weight missing from one fetus. 2/ Length missing from one fetus. 86 Table B-16. --Reproductive condition of female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Primiparous Multiparous Age Nulliparous Nonpregnant Nonpregnant Pregnant Total Number iber iber Percent Number Number Percent 1 11 2 - 3 5 4 10 5 5 6 3 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 1 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - Total 35 Percent 100. 0 75. 0 0. 0 0.0 1 100.0 8 88.9 8 88. 9 1 100. 0 6 7 5.0 9 69.2 6 85.7 - 0. 0 2 66.7 1 100. 0 - 0.0 3 60. 0 2 66.7 11 5 10 7 8 11 10 1 9 13 7 4 3 1 1 5 3 47 109 55.6 72. 3 March 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 6 14 21 9 5 1 - 1 100. 0 - 1 4 80. 0 - 1 7 87. 5 - 4 1 20. 0 2 - - - 4 _ 1 100. 0 1 - - - 3 - - - 3 - " - 3 1 - - - 1 1 - - - 1 - - 20 - - 6 - - 14 - - 22 2 ioo. o 16 2 100. 0 15 8 80.0 16 8 66.7 12 4 100. 0 4 10 90.9 12 10 76. 9 13 14 82.4 17 4 57. 1 7 3 75.0 4 3 100. 0 3 3 75.0 4 1 50.0 2 1 100. 0 1 1 50.0 2 Total Percent 76 70. 0 78.7 190 87 Table B- 17. - - Pregnancy rates of female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Com bined data 1958-69 pelagic February March Feb. -Mar collections Age Seals Pregnant Seals Pre gnant Pregnant Pregnant Years Number Number Percent Number Number Percent Percent Percent 3 5 - 0. 0 14 - 0. 0 0. 0 0. 4 4 10 - 0.0 22 1 4. 5 3. 1 3.4 5 7 2 28.6 16 6 37. 5 34.8 38. 4 6 8 4 50.0 15 9 60.0 56. 5 72.4 7 11 8 72.7 16 9 56.2 63. 0 79.7 8 10 8 80. 0 12 8 66. 7 72.7 86.2 9 1 1 100. 0 4 4 100. 0 100. 0 89.9 10 9 6 66.7 12 1 1 91.7 81.0 88. 9 11 13 9 69.2 13 10 76. 9 73. 1 88.8 12 7 6 85.7 17 14 82.4 83. 3 88. 1 13 4 - 0. 0 7 4 57. 1 36.4 86. 5 14 3 2 66.7 4 3 75. 0 71.4 83.2 15 1 1 100. 0 3 3 100. 0 100. 0 82. 2 16 1 - 0. 0 4 3 75. 0 60. 0 80. 0 17 5 3 60. 0 2 1 50.0 57. 1 68.2 18 3 2 66.7 1 1 100. 0 75. 0 68. 9 19 - - - 2 1 50. 0 50. 0 55. 3 88 Table B-18. --The occurrence of missed pregnancies among nonpregnant female seals collected pelagically by the United States off Washington, 6 February to 29 March 1969 Females collected Total Pregnant Non pregnant Age Total Ovulated Years Number Number Number N umber 1 31 _ 31 _ 2 6 - 6 - 3 19 - 19 - 4 32 1 31 - 5 23 8 15 5 6 23 13 10 7 7 27 17 10 7 8 22 16 6 6 9 5 5 - - 10 21 17 4 4 11 26 19 7 4 12 24 20 4 3 13 11 4 7 6 14 7 5 2 1 15 4 4 - - 16 5 3 2 2 17 7 4 3 3 18 4 3 1 1 19 2 1 1 1 Total 299 140 159 50 89 PERSONS Name Permanent employees Alton Y. Roppel Raymond E. Anas Mark C. Keyes Ford Wilke Ancel M. Johnson Lavrenty Stepetin Temporary employees Patrick Kozloff Dionsey Bourdukofsky Agafon Krukoff, Jr. Jerry S. Stearns Peter A. Dzikiewicz Ronald G. Pletnikoff Perfenia Pletnikoff, Jr. Thomas A. Gornall Permanent employees Clifford H. Fiscus Hiroshi Kajimura Merrill A. Petterson Temporary employees Stephen D. Treacy Robert G. Forbes Arthur A. Harvey APPENDIX C ENGAGED IN FUR SEAL RESEARCH IN 1969 Pribilof Islands field work schedule Start Finish Affiliation Work 18 June 31 July Bureau of Commercial Seal research, Fisheries general 18 June 2 July do Do. 24 Sept. 8 Oct. 25 June 14 Aug do Seal research, mortality 3 July , 24 July do Laboratory Director 23 July 14 Aug do Seal research, general. When needed St. Paul Island resident Do. 16 June 2 Sept. Student, U. of Alaska Seal research, general. 16 June 2 Sept. St. Paul Island resident Do. 24 Sept. 8 Oct. 16 June 2 Sept do Do. 24 Sept. 8 Oct. 18 June 2 Sept. Student, Oregon State U. Do. 18 June 27 Aug. Cornell U. (leave of Do. and absence) tourist guide 18 June 2 Sept. St. Paul Island resident Seal research, general. 25 June 2 Sept do Do. 25 June 21 Aug. Student, Wash. State U. Seal research, mortality Pelagic Investigations 6 Feb. 31 Mar. Bureau of Commercial Seal research, Fisheries general. 6 Feb. 31 Mar do Do. 6 Feb. 31 Mar do Do. None Bureau of Commercial Seal research, Fisheries general. 6 Feb. 31 Mar do Do. 6 Feb. 31 Mar do Do. 90 iriMStiqfrfift 5 WHSE 01813 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS STAFF BLDG. 67, NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98115 POSTAGE AND FEES PAID U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICIAL BUSINESS WOODS HOLE, MA 02545