Bering Sea Controversy

Bering Sea Controversy, Anglo-American dispute in 1886. When indiscriminate slaughter by various nations threatened seal herds in the U.S.-owned Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, the United States seized three Canadian ships (1886) and claimed dominion over the Bering Sea (1889). Britain objected, and in 1893 an arbitration tribunal declared the sea international.

See also: Pribilof Islands.