Chapter VII — Marine Mammal Management in Alaska 



recommendations to these agencies to improve re- 

 search and conservation programs in the Bering Sea 

 and Gulf of Alaska. Among the Commission's 

 recommendations were that: (1) the Services continue 

 and expand their monitoring and assessment programs 

 for marine mammal, bird, and fish populations in the 

 Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; (2) the Services and 

 the Foundation work together to either make use of 

 existing, or, if necessary, develop new national and 

 international fora to assist in planning, coordinating, 

 and analyzing the results of multi-disciplinary research 

 programs in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; (3) a 

 common data management system be developed and 

 used to facilitate storing, accessing, mapping, and 

 integrating marine mammal, seabird, fish, fishery, 

 environmental, and other data; and (4) a group, 

 including representatives of the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

 Minerals Management Service, the Alaska Department 

 of Fish and Game, relevant academic institutions, and, 

 as appropriate, industry and environmental groups, be 

 constituted to cooperatively plan, coordinate, and 

 evaluate the results of U.S. -supported research in the 

 area. The Commission further recommended that a 

 workshop be held, as described in die Commission's 

 "Recommended Guidelines to Govern the Incidental 

 Taking of Marine Mammals in the Course of Com- 

 mercial Fishing Operations after October 1993," to 

 consider and provide advice on the management of 

 commercially exploited fish stocks and the relation- 

 ships among the fish stocks and other components of 

 the ecosystem of which they are a part (for a discus- 

 sion of the Commission's recommended guidelines, 

 see Chapter HI). 



On 11-14 March 1991, the Alaska Sea Grant 

 College Program held a workshop to assess whether 

 the observed population declines in die Bering Sea and 

 Gulf of Alaska may have been caused by fisheries- 

 related or natural changes in abundance of pollock or 

 other finfish that are die primary prey of Steller sea 

 lions, fur seals, and harbor seals. The workshop 

 participants discussed the problem of quantifying the 

 relationship between availability of food and the 

 observed declines. When the workshop report is 

 published, the Commission will review it and other 

 information (see below), in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, to determine what 



additional actions should be taken to assess and 

 conserve marine mammal populations and other 

 resources in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. 



The Exxon Valdez OU SpUl 

 in Prince William Sound 



On 24 March 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez 

 ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. 

 The accident ruptured the vessel's hull and caused the 

 release of 11 million gallons of crude oil into the 

 sound. Over the next two months, spilled oil was 

 carried by winds and currents 500 miles west to 

 waters and beaches as far away as the Kodiak Archi- 

 pelago and the Alaska Peninsula. More than 1,200 

 miles of shoreline received moderate to heavy coats of 

 oil. The accident produced the largest oil spill in 

 U.S. history. 



At least nine species of marine mammals occur in 

 the Sound. They include sea otters, Steller sea lions, 

 harbor seals, harbor porpoises. Ball's porpoises, killer 

 whales, humpback whales, minke whales, and fin 

 whales. In addition, several other species, including 

 gray whales and northern fiir seals, occur in areas of 

 the Gulf of Alaska affected by the spill. 



Damage Assessment and Restoration Planning 



Within 24 hours of the grounding, marine mammal 

 specialists from Federal and State agencies were on- 

 site to begin assessing the effects and determining how 

 best to minimize the impacts of the spill on marine 

 mammals, as well as other resources. Efforts by the 

 Commission and others to coordinate and rank initial 

 cleanup and damage assessment needs are discussed in 

 previous Annual Reports. 



Under applicable Federal law, a Natural Resources 

 Trustee Council was formed shortly after the spill to 

 oversee efforts to minimize and assess damages to 

 natural resources. The Council includes one represen- 

 tative each from the Alaska Department of Fish and 

 Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, die Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Forest 

 Service. Taking into account comments from the 

 Marine Mammal Commission and many other agen- 



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