MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In 

 1990, the National Marine Fisheries Service constitut- 

 ed a Recovery Team, which subsequently prepared a 

 recommended Recovery Plan. During preparation of 

 the Plan, it became clear that new information had 

 been obtained and additional issues had arisen since 

 the Commission-sponsored species report was pub- 

 lished in 1988. Therefore, the Commission contracted 

 in 1991 for an update of the Steller sea lion species 

 account with research and management recommenda- 

 tions aimed at halting the decline. The revised species 

 report is expected to be completed early in 1992. 



CONSERVATION PLANS 



Section 115(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act encourages the development of conservation plans 

 when such plans would facilitate maintenance of 

 marine mammal populations within optimum sustain- 

 able population ranges. The Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice, in consultation with the Commission, has 

 determined that conservation plans would be useful 

 for identifying and coordinating research and manage- 

 ment activities necessary for effective conservation of 

 walruses, polar bears, and Alaska sea otters. At its 

 1991 annual meeting, the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion offered to help the Service prepare draft conser- 

 vation plans for these species. Once completed, the 

 draft plans are to be circulated by the Service's Alaska 

 Regional Office to the management advisory teams 

 that have been established by the Service for each 

 species. Following review and comment by the 

 advisory teams, the Service will complete, adopt, and 

 take steps to implement the plans. 



Paciric Walrus Draft Conservation Plan 

 (Brendan P. Kelly, Institute of Marine Science, 

 University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska) 



The Pacific walrus has been and continues to be an 

 important subsistence resource for coastal Alaska 

 Natives. As noted in Chapter 11, walruses provide a 

 source of meat, oil for fuel, skins for the construction 

 of dwellings and boats, and ivory for tools and 

 handicrafts. Although the species is not considered 

 depleted, international concern with the status and 

 management of walrus populations has increased 

 notably in recent years. In 1990, an international 



workshop was convened in Seattle, Washington, to 

 review and make recommendations concerning the 

 status and management of walrus populations (see the 

 Commission's previous Annual Report). Among 

 other things, the workshop recommended the develop- 

 ment of long-range management plans that will restore 

 and sustain all walrus populations at appropriately 

 high, stable levels. To help the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service respond to these recommendations, the 

 Commission provided support for the investigator to 

 prepare a draft conservation plan for the Pacific 

 walrus. The draft plan is intended to establish a 

 framework for cooperative walrus research and 

 management by Federal, State, Native, and private 

 interest groups, and to elucidate research and manage- 

 ment priorities over a five-year period. The draft 

 plan was completed in November 1991 and was 

 transmitted to tiie Director of the Alaska Region of 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service for review and use by 

 the Service's Walrus Management Plan Advisory 

 Team in preparing a final draft conservation plan for 

 consideration by the Service. 



Alaska Sea Otter Conservation Plan 

 (Mara Kimmel, Alaska Sea Otter Commission, Fair- 

 banks, Alaska; Kate Wynne, University of Alaska, 

 Marine Advisory Program, Cordova, Alaska; Donald 

 B. Siniff, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minnea- 

 polis, Minnesota; and Suzanne Montgomery, Wood- 

 stock, Virginia) 



The Marine Mammal Commission provided funds 

 for the contractors to attend and provide follow-up 

 reports on a meeting held at the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service's offices in Anchorage, Alaska, on 25-26 

 September 1991 to discuss conservation issues and 

 research and management needs relative to sea otters 

 in Alaska. The meeting was organized and chaired by 

 the Commission and involved representatives of the 

 Commission, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the 

 environmental community, as well as the aforemen- 

 tioned individuals. Following the meeting, the 

 Commission prepared and distributed a draft conserva- 

 tion plan to the meeting participants. The draft plan 

 is being revised to take account of reviewers' com- 

 ments and is expected to be completed and sent to the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service in February 1992. 



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