The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy: U.S.-Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the Progressive Era

Part II: The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention

PART II THE NORTH PACIFIC FUR SEAL CONVENTION SimUltaneous with, but separate from, their doomed efforts to regulate the boundary water fisheries, Canadians and Americans searched for a diplomatic means to save the North Pacific fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus). As with the fisheries, the conflict involved issues of ownership and use of a migratory, valuable resource exploited by various nations. The seals in question were born on American-owned islands, but they spent most of their lives in international waters. American officials claimed permanent ownership ofthese valuable fur-bearers because oftheir place of birth. Canadians countered that they had a natural right to pursue and capture the seals on the high seas. Therefore, the American government saw the seals as national property, while the British and Canadian governments emphasized that they were in fact common property. The crisis emerged in the 1880s, when Canadians began taking seals on the high seas, a practice well within their legal rights. The United States government, which was turning a tidy profit from harvesting seals on land, protested that these British subjects were committing acts ofpiracy by stealing American property. Canadian sealers and British statesmen argued that their sealing methods were legal and no more damaging than the American practice of harvesting seals on land. At a time when the British and American governments still viewed each other with some suspicion, both sides eschewed conciliation for confrontation. While the two sides quarreled, the seal population crashed 90 percent. The initial recourse to confrontation hindered negotiations for years and obscured the common interest that British and American diplomats had in attaining a long-term solution. As the seals disappeared, British leaders rec105 THE NORTH PACIFIC FUR SEAL CONVENTION ognized that extinction would have repercussions both in Anglo-American relations and in the fur-dressing industry in London. Likewise, American leaders knew that seal harvests were generating hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for the u.s. Treasury, and the only way to maintain that income would be to reach an accommodation with London. From a financial standpoint, Canada was the wild card, because Canadian sealers stood to lose the most in any settlement that restricted pelagic (at-sea) sealing. Eventually, the Canadian government concluded that the seal herd was so depleted that it was in the Dominion's interest to stop sealing and reach a deal with the United States. But the sealing compromise was not simply a matter of numbercrunching in three capitals until all sides liked the results. It would not have been possible without the intercession ofscientists and the sentimental appeal of the fur seal itself. In an attempt to strengthen their case, American diplomats had brought in scientists during the 1890S to prove that pelagic sealing was threatening the species and therefore the industry it supported. When the Americans' legal case went up in flames, they were left with only the scientists, who came through with evidence of decline due to pelagic sealing. As the dispute gained public attention, a few shrewd private citizens, such as the noted conservationist William T. Hornaday, took up the cause of seal conservation and won great sympathy for the embattled creatures. Such sentimental concern reached into the highest levels ofthe American, British, and Canadian governments and facilitated the protection ofthe species. Finally, in 1911, Canada and the United States joined with other concerned powers to outlaw pelagic sealing and divide the proceeds from land sealing. Unlike the fisheries treaty, the sealing convention was a general success . The ingredients for conservation were all present in the fur seal dispute: the seals were cute enough to appeal to the public, scientists had accumulated massive amounts of evidence that pelagic sealing was not sustainable, and eventually it became clear that all parties could benefit financially from international regulation. First the Americans and then the Canadians overcame the inclination to take a shortsighted approach to the issue, and their long-term vision produced financial and environmental dividends. There were two stages to the diplomatic activity to save the seal and the seal fur industry. Beginning in 1886, the United States and Great Britain pursued the diplomacy of threats and confrontations meant to intimidate the other into surrender. Recognizing the legal and diplomatic weakness of their position, American diplomats were the first to break the pattern with 106 The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention their offer in 1898 to purchase Canadian interests. The failure of the two...