Chapter n — Species of Special Concern 



noted in previous Annual Reports, the Commission 

 wrote to iht Fish and Wildlife Service on II January 

 1989 suggesting that the Service prepare conservation 

 plans for walruses, polar bears, and sea otters. The 

 Commission pointed out that much of the needed 

 background work had been done and was published in 

 the Commission-sponsored species reports mentioned 

 above. 



The Service advised the Commission on 3 March 

 1989 that it had begun developing a walrus conser- 

 vation plan and intended to begin development of 

 conservation plans for polar bears and sea otters in the 

 near future. Efforts to develop the conservation plans 

 were delayed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Because 

 of limited staff and other constraints, the Service has 

 been unable to complete conservation plans for any of 

 the three species. 



This and related matters were discussed with 

 representatives of the Fish and Wildlife Service during 

 the annual meeting of the Commission and its Com- 

 mittee of Scientific Advisors in Bellevue, Washington, 

 on 25-27 April 1991. At that time, the Commission 

 offered to provide assistance in developing draft plans 

 that could be used to expedite the planning process, 

 and the Service accepted the offer. 



With regard to sea otters, the Commission, as 

 indicated in Chapter IX, organized and held a meeting 

 in Anchorage, Alaska, on 25-26 September I99I to 

 identify conservation issues from the perspective of 

 different organizations. The meeting involved repre- 

 sentatives of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Native 

 conmiunity, the fishing industry, and the environmen- 

 tal community. Following the meeting, the Commis- 

 sion prepared a draft conservation plan and provided 

 it to the meeting participants for review and comment. 

 At the end of the year, the draft conservation plan was 

 being revised to take account of reviewers' comments. 



The Commission anticipates that the draft plan will 

 be completed and provided to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service in February 1992. At that time, the Commis- 

 sion expects to recommend actions necessary to 

 accomplish priority research and management tasks. 



Polar Bear 

 (Ursus maritimus) 



The polar bear is one of three species of the genus 

 Ursus, which also includes the North American black 

 bear (U. americanus) and the brown or grizzly bear 

 (JJ. arctos). Polar bears inhabit most ice-covered seas 

 of the northern hemisphere and are circumpolar in 

 distribution. The species occurs throughout most of 

 the Arctic basin; animals have been seen as far north 

 as 88 degrees north latitude and as far south in the 

 eastern Bering Sea as St. Matthew Island. Available 

 information indicates that parts of two relatively 

 discrete polar bear populations occur in Alaska — a 

 western population shared with the former Soviet 

 Union and an eastern population shared with Canada. 



International Agreement on the 

 Conservation of Polar Bears 



Increased hunting of polar bears in the 1950s and 

 1960s and concerns about the effects of industrial 

 activities on polar bears and their habitat led to an 

 international dialogue on the need to conserve polar 

 bears throughout the Arctic. In 1973, the Govern- 

 ments of Canada, Denmark (for Greenland), Norway, 

 the Soviet Union, and the United States concluded the 

 International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar 

 Bears. The Agreement, which entered into force in 

 1976, allows the taking of polar bears under certain 

 conditions {e.g., for scienteific research and Native 

 subsistence), but prohibits the use of aircraft and large 

 motorized vessels for the purpose of taking polar 

 bears. It also prohibits the sale of skins and other 

 polar bear parts for commercial purposes. 



Article 11 of the Agreement requires that each of 

 the contracting parties "take appropriate action to 

 protect the ecosystems of which polar bears are a part, 

 with special attention to habitat components such as 

 denning and feeding sites and migration patterns... ." 

 It is not clear whether the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act provides sufficient legal authority for assuring 

 U.S. compliance with this provision. Therefore, as 

 noted in Chapter Vm, the Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 acting on advice from the Commission, is undertaking 

 a review to determine whether additional regulations 

 or implementing legislaiton is needed to ensure that 



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