Be′ring (or Behring) Sea, a part of the North Pacific Ocean, commonly known as the Sea of Kamchatka, is bounded by Kamchatka, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Bering Strait, which connects it with the Arctic Ocean. The strait was passed through first by a Siberian named Deschner, in 1648, and later the sea and strait were explored by Bering, a Danish navigator in the employ of Peter the Great, in 1741. The latter died on Bering Island, one of the Aleutian group. The seal fisheries of Bering Sea caused a sharp dispute between the United States and Great Britain on behalf of Canada. These fisheries, owned and operated by Americans directly for their own benefit, but indirectly for the benefit of the world, were in danger of being entirely destroyed by the lawless acts of the Canadian seal-fishers or sealers. An agreement was concluded which permitted the United States to put a stop to the acts of the Canadian sealers and provided that the whole dispute be settled peaceably by a board of arbitrators.
