required to accurately assess and monitor the possible effects 

 of the subsistence take on the affected populations. Such 

 information can be obtained most effectively by requiring 

 hunters to report the location, number, and sex of animals 

 taken and to provide teeth and other body parts for age 

 determination and other analyses. Likewise, the trade and 

 sale of hides and other parts of any animals taken or traded 

 illegally can be reduced by requiring that hides, tusks, etc . 

 be marked or tagged so that they can be recognized as having 

 been taken legally. 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act was amended in 1981 to 

 authorize the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to 

 prescribe regulations requiring the marking, tagging and 

 reporting of marine mammals taken by Alaska Natives for 

 subsistence and handicraft purposes. As described in Chapter 

 IX of this Report, the Fish and Wildlife Service, in 

 consultation with the Commission, initiated action in 1985 to 

 promulgate regulations governing the marking, tagging, and 

 reporting of marine mammals taken by Alaska Natives. A final 

 rule was published in the Federal Register in June 1988 and 

 took effect on 26 October 1988. 



If implemented effectively, the marking and tagging 

 regulations, combined with ongoing research programs and the 

 cooperative Native management agreement described in the 

 previous section, should ensure that Native subsistence hunting 

 at least in the Beaufort Sea is consistent with the Inter- 

 national Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. The 

 cooperative management agreement does not apply to the area 

 west of Icy Cape and thus does not contribute to ensuring 

 that Native subsistence hunting in the Chukchi Sea also is 

 consistent with the Agreement. 



Oil and Gas Exploration and Development 



Ongoing and proposed oil and gas development in the 

 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in marine areas off the 

 north coast of Alaska and Canada could affect polar bears in 

 several ways. Geophysical seismic exploration, aircraft and 

 ship traffic, road and pipeline construction, drilling and 

 transport operations, etc . could cause females cnming ashore 

 to den in the fall to avoid traditional denning areas and/or 

 cause mothers to abandon their cubs or leave dens before 

 their cubs are able to withstand the severe winter environment. 

 Such activities also could attract bears and increase the 

 probability of bears being shot and killed because of real or 

 perceived threats to human safety as has happened elsewhere. 

 In addition, oil spills could have both direct and indirect 

 effects on polar bears — i.e. , bears could be affected directly 

 by contact with or ingestion of oil, or be affected indirectly 



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