Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



However, it is likely that many fiir seals that be- 

 come entangled die at sea, where mortality is not 

 readily observed. Evidence that this occurs includes 

 high fur seal pupping rates followed by low overall 

 survival rates of juvenile animals, and recovery of 

 some dead fur seals in derelict nets found floating at 

 sea. In addition, results of entanglement studies in the 

 late 1980s suggest that entanglement-related mortality 

 among fiir seal pups in their first year of life may 

 have exceeded 14 percent in the late 1970s to early 

 1980s. These results lend further support to the 

 suggestion that entanglement may have been a signifi- 

 cant cause of earlier declines. They also suggest that, 

 although population trends have appeared stable over 

 the past few years and observed entanglement in trawl 

 net fragments at the rookeries declined in the late 

 1980s, entanglement may still be a significant factor 

 slowing or preventing population recovery. 



Fur seals are also taken incidentally in large-scale 

 high seas driftnet fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean 

 (see Chapter IV for a more detailed discussion of 

 driftnet fisheries' impacts). Other possible impacts on 

 fur seals are: toxic contaminants; disease; and compe- 

 tition with commercial fisheries. Although little is 

 known about these three effects, they are generally 

 regarded as not being significant. With respect to 

 competition with fisheries, fiir seals feed on a variety 

 of fishes and squids, some of which are commercially 

 important. Recent population studies, however, 

 suggest that fiir seals in the Pribilof Islands and other 

 areas of the North Pacific are exhibiting increased 

 growth and maturation rates, which are inconsistent 

 with insufficient food resources. 



Subsistence Harvest 



North Pacific fur seals were harvested commer- 

 cially for their pelts from the 1700s until 1984. They 

 are presently taken for subsistence purposes by Native 

 residents of the Pribilof Islands in Alaska. As noted 

 in previous Annual Reports, the nations involved in 

 commercial fur seal harvests managed fur seal herds 

 under a series of international agreements during most 

 of the 20di century. Between 1957 and 1984, North 

 Pacific fur seals were managed cooperatively by the 

 Governments of Canada, Japan, the Soviet Union, and 

 the United States under provisions of the Interim 



Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur 

 Seals. The Interim Convention, which was extended 

 four times during that period, sought to bring the 

 North Pacific fur seal population to a level that would 

 provide the greatest aimual harvest, with due regard 

 for the productivity of other living marine resources. 



The Convention lapsed in 1984, when the United 

 States did not ratify a protocol to extend it. As a 

 result, management authority in the United States 

 became subject to domestic laws, including the Fur 

 Seal Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) and the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Under the latter 

 Act, commercial harvesting of North Pacific fiir seals 

 is prohibited and directed taking has been limited to 

 Native subsistence harvest. 



The current subsistence harvest of fiir seals is 

 limited to sub-adult males taken on St. Paul and St. 

 George Islands between the end of June and the 

 second week of August. In early August, immature 

 female seals begin arriving at the rookeries in large 

 numbers and the rookery structure {i.e. , the separation 

 of non-breeding seals from breeding seals) begins to 

 break down. At this time, immature male and female 

 seals, which are not easily distinguished, become 

 intermixed. Extension of the harvest beyond the first 

 week of August has resulted in a marked increase in 

 the number of female seals taken. 



The hunt is regulated by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service under authority of the Fur Seal Act 

 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Under 

 applicable regulations, before each year's harvest the 

 Service is required to estimate the minimum and 

 maximum number of seals needed for subsistence 

 purposes by Native residents of the Pribilof Islands. 

 To develop this estimate, the Service must look at 

 previous harvest levels, economic conditions in Native 

 communities, and the current size of the Aleut com- 

 munities. Once the estimated minimum number of 

 seals is reached, the harvest is temporarily suspended 

 until the Service determines whether subsistence needs 

 have been met or whether additional seals are re- 

 quired. Subsistence harvest levels from 1985 to 1991 

 are shown in Table 4. 



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