Bering Sea Dispute | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Article

Bering Sea Dispute

During the 1880s, while Americans hunted seals on the Pribilof Islands, which the US had acquired from Russia in 1867, Canadians conducted sealing in the open waters. In 1886 US government revenue cutters, claiming to protect "American property," began seizing Canadian sealing vessels.

During the 1880s, while Americans hunted seals on the Pribilof Islands, which the US had acquired from Russia in 1867, Canadians conducted sealing in the open waters. In 1886 US government revenue cutters, claiming to protect "American property," began seizing Canadian sealing vessels. An international tribunal in 1893 upheld the Canadian right to hunt seals in international waters, but imposed certain restrictions. In 1911 an international conference banned pelagic sealing in the Bering Sea but provided handsome compensation to Canada.