When published in March 1987, the comprehensive reports 

 on all ten species will serve as basic action plans for near- 

 term marine mammal management and research efforts in Alaska 

 whether management authority resides with the Federal 

 Government, the State of Alaska, or is a responsibility 

 shared according to species. The reports will also provide 

 the basis for annually updating research and management 

 programs. 



Backcfround Information on Transfer of Management 



To make clear the context within which the Marine Mammal 

 Commission's actions to constitute and support Working Groups 

 have taken place, the following background information and 

 discussion of the transfer of management requirements of the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act may be useful. 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act sets forth certain 

 procedures whereby the Secretaries of Commerce and the 

 Interior may, in response to a properly submitted request, 

 transfer management authority from the Federal Government to 

 a state for marine mammals found in that state. In order to 

 transfer Federal management authority, the Secretary with 

 jurisdiction over the species in question must determine, 

 after notice and opportunity for public comment, that the 

 state has developed and will implement a program that 

 satisfies the requirements of section 109 of the Act for the 

 conservation and management of the affected species. In 

 making this determination, the Secretary must issue a finding 

 that the state has, among other things, established a process 

 to determine the optimum sustainable population of each 

 affected species and the maximum number of animals that may 

 be taken without reducing the species below that level. 



Certain additional points are germane to requests for 

 transfer of management to the State of Alaska. For example, 

 the State of Alaska's conservation and management program 

 must include mechanisms whereby determinations are made as to 

 the maximum numbers of animals that can be taken for 

 subsistence while still allowing the species to increase 

 towards its optimum sustainable population. Furthermore, 

 Alaska's program must include a State statute and regulations 

 requiring that subsistence takings shall not be wasteful and 

 that priority shall be given to subsistence rather than other 

 consumptive uses of the species. 



During 1982 and 1983, the State of Alaska took prelimi- 

 nary steps to request a transfer of management for ten 

 species of marine mammals. Early in 1984, however, the State 

 determined that it would be appropriate to conduct a public 

 education and comment process prior to making a final 



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