Translation 2783

. . 322
water. Therefore the ships must arrive three or four days .befere
th(r. beginning of the hunt and make a survey of the belts of winter
ice (the possible locations of harp scal rookeries), and of the
areas of Arctic ice to locate the hooded seals' pupping-grounds.
Throughout the sealing season the chief tactical procedure by the
ships is the search for seal concentrations. That search by ships
is very difficult because of the bad ice conditions. Aerial surveys
are necessary in that region for successful sealing. Tue Norwegians
use helicopters based on an auxiliary ship.
Caspian seals do not form large and dense pupping. rookeries.
The animals spread over extensive water areas, soMetimes more than
1000 sq. km , in separate groups or even by separate individuals.
The most favourable time for taking the fur-bearing seal -- the
whitecoat -- is from January 20 to February 10. The ships come
early to the edge of the ice and, having obtained information from
the operational aerial survey, move into the area where the seals
are to be found, using the available patches of open water. Because
of the low power of Caspian sealing vessels they cannot force their
own way through the ice, and when there is no open water they are
sometimes obliged to wait at the ed.e of the ice for a long time.
The method of killing adult seals in the Caspian sea does
not differ from the shooting of ringed seals. When the rifleman
sees an air-hole in the rookery area he conceals himself and waits
for thé seal to appear out of the water. The seal is usually shot
in the head, and then immediately dragged up on the ice with a
harpoon. Whitecoats are killed by harpooning, as in the North. The
carcass is dressed on the spot, beside the air-hole, and the hunter
drags the hide and attached blubber to the next air-hole with a strap.
The hunters usually travel in pairs, having with them a
special long sledge (chunki). After finishing shooting they collect
all the hides, load them on the sledge, and haul them to the ship.
In the Far :.ast seal-hunting is carried on front ships in
the Sea of Okhotsk. The chief species hunted are akibas (ringed
seals), bearded seals, ribbon seals, largas (harbour seals), and a
few northelm sea lions. These pinnipedes do not form dense concentrations,
and are found on the ice either sins:1Y . or in small groups.
.cach sealin schooner carries on its deck five motor launches