Preservation of the Fur Seal and Sea Otter, it was the United States which took
stronger unilateral steps to limit sealing in Alaska. In order to make the hunt for
females unprofitable, the US marked fur from female seals in order to devalue their
pelts. In addition, US citizens and companies were prohibited from hunting in the
open sea north of 35
north latitude. Other countries, however, did not follow this
example and the pelagic seal hunt continued to thrive in the Bering Sea, much to the
detriment of the fur seal populations, which came closer to collapsing than ever
before. In order to put a halt to this development, in 1905 the United States took the
initiative and approached the governments of Russia, Japan and Canada/Great
Britain again in order to develop a regime for the protection and utilisation of
Northern fur seals.
Also Russian officials saw the need for such agreement and by 1908 Russia,
Japan and the United States agreed that there is a need for a legal regime protecting
Northern fur seals. Great Britain, however, was inert in this regard while also
Canada—despite not being an independent country yet—also expressed that it
would enter into such an agreement. A few years still passed, but behind the scenes
unofficial negotiations had already begun. This resulted in a bilateral agreement
between Canada and the United States in February 1911 in which both countries
agreed to stop pelagic sealing once also the other two countries would agree to do
so. Three months later, the United States hosted a second conference on Bering Sea
sealing, this time, however, with the aim to abandon pelagic sealing altogether. A
major obstacle that stalled the reaching of an agreement was the issue of compensation—an issue that had already arisen during the first Fur Seal Conference in 1897.
While that year it was Canada that raised this concern, in 1911 it was Japan which
noted that it wanted to be adequately compensated for not being able to conduct and
benefit from sealing. Disagreements abounded to a degree that prompted US President William H. Taft to contact Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito (Meiji) directly on
12 June 1911—a highly unusual step—pleading for an agreement if also the US
delegation was to make some concessions. Five days later, Emperor Meiji
responded, agreeing to instruct also his delegation to make concessions. As a result,
the conference successfully concluded on 7 July 1911 with the adoption of the
Convention Respecting Measures for the Preservation and Protection of the Fur
Seals in the North Pacific Ocean (Fur Seal Convention).
3 Contrary to its 1897
predecessor, it did enter into force on 15 December 1911.
The main objective of the Fur Seal Convention, as its full title reveals, is the
adoption of “effective means for the preservation and protection of the fur seals.”
4
To reach this objective, all pelagic sealing, which had ultimately been recognised as
being the main cause for the continuous decline of the fur seal populations, was to be
prohibited in the North Pacific for the citizens of the parties as long as the convention
remained in force. The only exception to this full prohibition was the native
3 Convention Respecting Measures for the Preservation and Protection of the Fur Seals in the North
Pacific Ocean (Fur Seal Convention), 7 July 1911.
4 Fur Seal Convention, Preamble.
6.3 The First Half of the Twentieth Century
131
stronger unilateral steps to limit sealing in Alaska. In order to make the hunt for
females unprofitable, the US marked fur from female seals in order to devalue their
pelts. In addition, US citizens and companies were prohibited from hunting in the
open sea north of 35
north latitude. Other countries, however, did not follow this
example and the pelagic seal hunt continued to thrive in the Bering Sea, much to the
detriment of the fur seal populations, which came closer to collapsing than ever
before. In order to put a halt to this development, in 1905 the United States took the
initiative and approached the governments of Russia, Japan and Canada/Great
Britain again in order to develop a regime for the protection and utilisation of
Northern fur seals.
Also Russian officials saw the need for such agreement and by 1908 Russia,
Japan and the United States agreed that there is a need for a legal regime protecting
Northern fur seals. Great Britain, however, was inert in this regard while also
Canada—despite not being an independent country yet—also expressed that it
would enter into such an agreement. A few years still passed, but behind the scenes
unofficial negotiations had already begun. This resulted in a bilateral agreement
between Canada and the United States in February 1911 in which both countries
agreed to stop pelagic sealing once also the other two countries would agree to do
so. Three months later, the United States hosted a second conference on Bering Sea
sealing, this time, however, with the aim to abandon pelagic sealing altogether. A
major obstacle that stalled the reaching of an agreement was the issue of compensation—an issue that had already arisen during the first Fur Seal Conference in 1897.
While that year it was Canada that raised this concern, in 1911 it was Japan which
noted that it wanted to be adequately compensated for not being able to conduct and
benefit from sealing. Disagreements abounded to a degree that prompted US President William H. Taft to contact Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito (Meiji) directly on
12 June 1911—a highly unusual step—pleading for an agreement if also the US
delegation was to make some concessions. Five days later, Emperor Meiji
responded, agreeing to instruct also his delegation to make concessions. As a result,
the conference successfully concluded on 7 July 1911 with the adoption of the
Convention Respecting Measures for the Preservation and Protection of the Fur
Seals in the North Pacific Ocean (Fur Seal Convention).
3 Contrary to its 1897
predecessor, it did enter into force on 15 December 1911.
The main objective of the Fur Seal Convention, as its full title reveals, is the
adoption of “effective means for the preservation and protection of the fur seals.”
4
To reach this objective, all pelagic sealing, which had ultimately been recognised as
being the main cause for the continuous decline of the fur seal populations, was to be
prohibited in the North Pacific for the citizens of the parties as long as the convention
remained in force. The only exception to this full prohibition was the native
3 Convention Respecting Measures for the Preservation and Protection of the Fur Seals in the North
Pacific Ocean (Fur Seal Convention), 7 July 1911.
4 Fur Seal Convention, Preamble.
6.3 The First Half of the Twentieth Century
131