such fine and imprisonment; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, and furniture, whose crews are found engaged in the violation of either this or the preceding section, shall be forfeited to the United States. When the lease heretofore made by the Secretary of the Treasury to "The Alaska Commercial Company," of the right to engage in taking fur-seals on the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, pursuant to the act of July one, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, chapter one hundred and eighty-nine, [R. S. 1957, 1960-1971, 5293] or when any future similar lease expires, or is surrendered, forfeited, or terminated, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall lease to proper and responsible parties, for the best advantage of the United States, having due regard to the interests of the Government, the native inhabitants, their comfort, maintenance, and education, as well as to the interests of the parties heretofore engaged in trade and the protection of the fisheries, the right of taking furseals on the islands herein named, and of sending a vessel or vessels to the islands for the skins of such seals, for the term of twenty years, at an annual rental of not less than fifty thousand dollars, to be reserved in such lease and secured by a deposit of United States bonds to that amount; and every such lease shall be duly executed in duplicate, and shall not be transferable. R. S., 1964. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall take from Bond of lessees. the lessees of such islands in all cases a bond, with securities, in a sum not less than five hundred thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful observance of all the laws and requirements of Congress, and the regulations of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, touching the taking of fur-seals and the disposing of the same, and for the payment of all taxes and dues accruing to the United States connected therewith. No persons other than American citizens shall be permitted, by lease or otherwise, to occupy the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, or either of them, for the purpose of taking the skins of fur-seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign vessels be engaged in taking such skins; and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall vacate and declare any lease forfeited if the same be held or operated for the use, benefit, or advantage, directly or indirectly, of any persons other than American citizens. Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee that he will not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors on either of those islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as medicine; and every revenue officer, officially acting as such, on either of the islands, shall sieze and destroy any distilled or spirituous liquors found thereon; but such officer shall make detailed reports of his doings in that matter to the collector of the port. R. S., 1965. Spirituous quors. R. S., 1966. li Trespassers. Exceeding legal number. R. S., 1968. Revenue tax. R. S., 1970. R. S., 1971. agents. Every person who kills any fur-seal on either of those islands, or in the waters adjacent thereto, without authority of the lessees thereof, and every person who molests, disturbs, or interferes with the lessees, or either of them, or their agents or employés, in the lawful prosecution of their business, under the provisions of this chapter, shall for cach offense be punished as prescribed in section nineteen hundred and sixty-one; and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, appurtenances, and cargo, whose crews are found engaged in any violation of the provisions of sections nineteen hundred and sixty-five to nineteen hundred and sixtyeight, inclusive, shall be forfeited to the United States. If any person or company, under any lease herein authorized, knowingly kills, or permits to be killed, any number of seals exceeding the number for each island in this chapter prescribed, such person or company shall, in addition to the penalties and forfeitures herein provided, forfeit the whole number of the skins of seals killed in that year, or, in case the same have been disposed of, then such person or company shall forfeit the value of the same. In addition to the annual rental required to be reserved. in every lease, as provided in section nineteen hundred and sixty-three, a revenue tax or duty of two dollars is laid upon each fur-seal skin taken and shipped from the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George, during the continuance of any lease, to be paid into the Treasury of the United States; and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor is empowered to make all needful regulations for the collection and payment of the same, and to secure the comfort, maintenance, education, and protection of the natives of those islands, and also to carry into full effect all the provisions of this chapter except as otherwise prescribed. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor may terminate any lease given to any person, company, or corporation on full and satisfactory proof of the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations established by him. The lessees shall furnish to the several masters of vessels employed by them certified copies of the lease held by them respectively, which shall be presented to the government revenue-officer for the time being who may be in charge at the islands as the authority of the party for landing and taking skins. Alaska seal The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is authorized to appoint one agent and three assistant agents, who shall be charged with the management of the seal fisheries in Alaska, and the performance of such other duties as may be assigned to them by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. R. S., 1974. The agent shall receive the sum of ten dollars each day, one assistant agent the sum of eight dollars each day, and two assistant agents the sum of six dollars each day while so employed; and they shall also be allowed their necessary traveling expenses in going to and returning from Alaska, for which expenses vouchers shall be presented to FUR-SEAL AND SALMON FISHERIES OF ALASKA the proper accounting officers of the Treasury, and such expenses shall not exceed in the aggregate six hundred dollars each in any one year. Such agents shall never be interested, directly or indi- R. S., 1975. rectly, in any lease of the right to take seals, nor in any proceeds or profits thereof, either as owner, agent, partner, or otherwise. Such agents are empowered to administer oaths in all R. S., 1976. cases relating to the service of the United States, and to take testimony in Alaska for the use of the Government in any matter concerning the public revenues. The governor [of Alaska] shall from time to time inquire into the operations of any person, company, association, or corporation authorized by the United States, by contract or otherwise, to kill seal or other fur-bearing animals in the district, and any and all violations by such person, company, association, or corporation of the agreement with the United States under which the operations are being conducted, and shall annually report to Congress the result of such inquiries." SALMON FISHERIES. 47 Report to Con gress. June 6, 1900. (31 Stat., 322.) Sec. 2. Alaska salmon fisheries. Mar. 3, 1899. Sec. 179. The erection of dams, barricades, fish wheels, fences, or any such fixed or stationary obstructions in any part of the rivers or streams of Alaska, or to fish for or catch sal- (30 Stat., 1280.) mon or salmon trout in any manner or by any means, with the purpose or result of preventing or impeding the ascent of salmon to their spawning ground, is hereby declared to be unlawful, and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor is hereby authorized and directed to remove such obstructions and to establish and enforce such regulations and surveillance as may be necessary to insure that this prohibition and all other provisions of law relating to the salmon fisheries of Alaska are strictly complied with. ing. Sec. 180. It shall be unlawful to fish, catch, or kill any salmon of Unlawful fishany variety except with rod or spear above the tide waters of any creeks or rivers of less than five hundred feet width in the Territory of Alaska, except only for purposes of propagation, or to lay or set any drift net, set net, trap, pound net, or seine for any purpose across the tide waters of any river or stream for a distance of more than onethird of the width of such river, stream, or channel, or lay or set any seine or net within one hundred yards of any other net or seine which is being laid or set in said stream or channel, or to take, kill, or fish for salmon in any manner or by any means in any of the waters of the Territory of Alaska, either in the streams or tide waters, except Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, Bering Sea, and the waters tributary thereto, from midnight on Friday of each week until six o'clock antemeridian of the Sunday following; or to fish for or catch or kill in any manner or on any appliance except by rod or spear any salmon in any stream of less than one hundred yards in width in the said Territory of Alaska between the hours of six o'clock in Close seasons. Inspectors fisheries. Sec. 182. Penalty. the evening and six o'clock in the morning of the following day of each and every day of the week. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor may, at his discretion, set aside any streams as spawning grounds, in which no fishing will be permitted; and when, in his judg ment, the results of fishing operations on any stream indicate that the number of salmon taken is larger than the capacity of the stream to produce, he is authorized to establish weekly close seasons, to limit the duration of the fishing season, or to prohibit fishing entirely for one year or more, so as to permit salmon to increase: Provided, however, That such power shall be exercised only after all persons interested shall have been given a hearing, of which hearing due notice must be given by publication: And provided further, That it shall have been ascertained that the persons engaged in catching salmon do not maintain fish hatcheries of sufficient magnitude to keep such streams fully stocked. of To enforce the provisions of law herein and such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may establish in pursuance thereof, he is authorized and directed to appoint one inspector of fisheries, at a salary of one thousand eight hundred dollars per annum, and two assistant inspectors, at a salary of one thousand six hundred dollars each per annum; that he will annually submit to Congress estimates to cover the salaries and actual traveling expenses of the officers [hereby authorized and for such other expenditures as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the law herein. Any person violating the provisions of sections one hundred and seventy nine, one hundred and eighty, and one hundred and eighty-one of this act or the regulations established in pursuance of section one hundred and eighty-two of this act shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment at hard labor for a term not exceeding ninety days, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court; and, further, in case of the violation of any of the provisions of section one hundred and seventy-nine, and conviction thereof, a further fine of two hundred and fifty dollars per diem will be imposed for each day that the obstruction or obstructions therein are maintained. |