will implement a program that satisfies the requirements of 

 section 109 of the Act for the conservation of the affected 

 species. In making this determination, the Secretary must 

 issue a finding that the state has, among other things, estab- 

 lished 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, 

 in the case of depleted species, the State of Alaska's conser- 

 vation and management program must include mechanisms to deter- 

 mine the maximum numbers of animals that can be taken by sub- 

 sistence users 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 not be wasteful and that 

 priority use be given to subsistence rather than other consump- 

 tive uses of the species. 



As discussed in previous Annual Reports, in 1976 the 

 State of Alaska sought and received authority to manage walruses 

 but, due to a subsequent court decision which effectively 

 prevented the State from regulating Native subsistence hunting, 

 relinquished that authority in 1979 to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. In 1982, the State of Alaska again took preliminary 

 steps to request a transfer of management for ten species of 

 marine mammals — the same species, listed above, for which 

 species reports have been prepared. Early in 1984, the State 

 solicited public comments to help it make a final decision on 

 whether to proceed with the request. As a part of this process, 

 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted 49 public 

 meetings to provide information on the transfer process 

 requirements, to explain the likely consequences of a State 

 management program, and to solicit comments from coastal 

 residents and other affected parties. The meetings were 

 completed early in 1985. 



On 22 February 1985, the Alaska Supreme Court, in Madison 

 v. Alaska Department of Fish and Game , invalidated a Board of 

 Fisheries regulation designed to identify eligibility for 

 subsistence fishing in the Cook Inlet region. The decision 

 called into question the consistency of the State's subsistence 

 requirements with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act, thereby complicating the State's decision to request 

 return of management authority for marine mammals. 



On 30 May 1986, the State amended its subsistence law to 

 remove the discrepancies between State and Federal subsis- 

 tence requirements. By letter of 18 November 198 6, the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife 

 and Parks informed the State that the amendment brought State 



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