MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



Native implementation agreement, described as being 

 in the early formative stages. 



On 12 August 1994 the Commission wrote to the 

 Service's Alaska Region regarding the 1994 amend- 

 ments to the Act. The Commission noted that it had 

 recently been provided with a working draft of an 

 agreement on the management of the Chukotka- Alaska 

 polar bear population between the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and the Russian Federation Ministry of 

 Ecology and Natural Resources. 



In its letter the Commission noted that although it 

 was pleased that the parties were attempting to devel- 

 op rational plans to manage and conserve polar bears, 

 it questioned whether the agreements apparently being 

 envisioned fully met the objectives of the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act. In the Commission's 

 opinion, greater attention needed to be focused on the 

 1973 polar bear agreement, the umbrella under which 

 this more specific bilateral agreement should be 

 negotiated. 



On 22 August 1994 the Department of State wrote 

 to the Fish and Wildlife Service expressing its con- 

 cerns regarding the Service's draft working agree- 

 ment. In its letter, the State Department noted its 

 view that the draft tended to emphasize managed use 

 of polar bears over conservation needs. The Depart- 

 ment also pointed out that it was an appropriate time 

 for the Service to initiate consultations with other 

 relevant agencies and organizations, including the 

 Marine Mammal Commission, the Justice Department, 

 the State of Alaska, and environmental organizations. 

 As a final point, the State Department stressed the 

 importance of not exchanging any proposed agree- 

 ments with the Russians until there is an agreed U.S. 

 Government draft. Subsequently, the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service withdrew its draft agreement. 



Representatives from Native and governmental 

 agencies from the United States and Russia met on 6-9 

 September 1994 in Nome, Alaska, for technical 

 discussions concerning joint conservation of the 

 shared population of polar bears occupying the Chuk- 

 chi, Bering, and eastern Siberian Seas. This resulted 

 in an agreement signed 9 September 1994 entitled 

 "Protocol on U.S. /Russia Technical Consultation for 



the Conservation of Polar Bears of the Chukchi/- 

 Bering Sea Regions." 



Prior to negotiating a bilateral agreement with the 

 Russians, the Department of the Interior must obtain 

 formal authorization from the Department of State. 

 On 9 December 1994 the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 provided to the State Department, the Commission, 

 and others a draft request for such authorization to 

 participate in negotiations with Russia on conservation 

 and management of polar bears . 



On 14-20 September 1995 representatives of the 

 United States and the Russian Federation met in 

 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia, for scientific and 

 technical consultations relative to a future government- 

 to-government agreement on the conservation and 

 management of the Chukotka-Alaska population of 

 polar bears, as well as joint management of the shared 

 walrus population. A representative of the Marine 

 Mammal Commission was a member of the U.S. 

 delegation. 



On 6 November the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 circulated a discussion document entitled "Draft 

 Principles of Conservation and Management of the 

 Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population" to the 

 Commission and others for comment. The Commis- 

 sion, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, reviewed the draft principles and by letter 

 of 11 December 1995 provided comments to the 

 Service. 



As a general comment, the Commission noted that 

 the negotiating process for a U.S. /Russian polar bear 

 agreement had suffered from insufficient consultation 

 with the Commission and others. It suggested that 

 henceforth it would be appropriate and proper to 

 involve all interested parties in a continuing dialogue 

 on the topic. 



Among other things, the Commission noted that the 

 document's introductory language gives the impres- 

 sion that the primary purpose of the proposed agree- 

 ment is to provide for subsistence take of polar bears 

 by Alaska and Chukotka Natives. The Commission 

 suggested that it would be appropriate to include 

 language that refers to the intrinsic value of polar 

 bears as a common resource shared by all people. 



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