Humane Observer Report - 1986 Fur Seal Harvest on St. Paul Island

For almost 200 years the Pribilof Islands have been a focal point for fur seal study and harvesting. Approximately three-quarters of the world's fur seal population breeds on the Pribilof Islands. Thus, St. Paul and St. George Islands have become the seasonal or permanent home for researchers and the Aleuts. However, beca~se of the seal's economic importance to the resident Aleut population and the impact the seal harvest has had on society as a whole, the taking of fur seals has ana always will be a topic of international, traditional, moral and emotional conflict.