MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1995 



Service later determined that the "total harvest during 

 [the] harvest season [in which the bear was taken] and 

 the average of the three preceding harvest seasons was 

 sustainable for the affected population" and a manage- 

 ment agreement was in place with Greenland and/or 

 other provinces for shared populations. In the Com- 

 mission's opinion, inclusion of this provision is not 

 based on sound policy. It is not necessary and can 

 only serve to encourage U.S. hunters to take bears 

 from populations that may be declining. It would 

 make more sense to limit imports, once the final rule 

 is in place, to trophies taken from those populations 

 for which an affirmative finding has already been 

 made. The Commission therefore recommended that 

 this provision be deleted in the final rule. 



At the end of 1995 it was the Commission's 

 understanding that the Service was consulting with 

 Canadian officials to obtain additional information. 



Agreements Related to Walruses 



As noted in Chapter III, a single stock of walruses 

 occurs in waters off Alaska and eastern Russia. 

 Government officials and Native communities in both 

 countries therefore share common interests with 

 regard to assessing the status and trend of this walrus 

 population and in addressing conservation issues 

 arising from harvests to meet Native subsistence needs 

 and the impacts of tourism, oil and gas development, 

 and other human activities. To develop a cooperative 

 international framework for conserving this walrus 

 stock, Government officials and Native community 

 leaders from both countries met in Nome, Alaska, on 

 6-9 September 1994. At the meeting, representatives 

 of both countries signed a protocol agreeing to devel- 

 op bilateral government-to-government and Native-to- 

 Native walrus agreements that would set forth shared 

 responsibilities for walrus research and management. 

 To pursue this goal, it was agreed that the parties 

 would hold a technical meeting in the fall of 1995 to 

 consider specific topics that might be included in the 

 agreements. 



The Russian Federation Ministry of Protection of 

 the Environment and Natural Resources offered to 

 host the meeting, and it was held in Petropavlovsk, 



Kamchatka, Russia, on 13-20 September 1995. The 

 U.S. delegation was led by a representative of the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service and included representatives 

 of the Alaska Native community, the Marine Mammal 

 Commission, the State of Alaska, and the environmen- 

 tal community. During the meeting, consideration 

 was given to developing similar agreements for polar 

 bears (see above). Based on the discussions relating 

 to walruses, representatives of the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and the Russian Ministry ended the meeting 

 by signing a new protocol of intent concerning the 

 bilateral walrus agreements. 



The new protocol expresses a mutual understanding 

 that the agreements will provide for the conservation, 

 research, habitat protection, and Native subsistence 

 use of the Pacific walrus stock. It also notes that they 

 will be based on principles of sustained yield and 

 maintenance of the Pacific walrus population at 

 optimum sustainable levels. With respect to Native 

 participation and subsistence use, the protocol notes 

 that both sides are committed to assisting Native 

 communities in their respective countries with the 

 development of a parallel Native-to-Native walrus 

 agreement, and recognizes the need for Native com- 

 munities to participate in determining harvest alloca- 

 tions. Regarding scientific data, the protocol express- 

 es agreement that joint five-year population surveys 

 should be continued, as funding and environmental 

 conditions permit; that the age, sex, and number of 

 walruses taken in annual harvests should be monitored 

 in each country; and that scientific and technical data 

 should be exchanged routinely. 



Areas noted in the protocol as needing further 

 discussion include the methods to be used in determin- 

 ing biologically sustainable harvest levels, the need 

 for a joint scientific committee with government and 

 Native representation, and determination of geograph- 

 ic boundaries. In view of these points, the two sides 

 agreed to continue discussions on developing govern- 

 ment and Native walrus agreements at a meeting in 

 the United States in 1996. 



The Marine Mammal Commission reviewed the 

 terms of the signed protocol and concluded that it 

 provides a solid basis on which to begin drafting 

 specific language for the bilateral walrus agreements. 

 By letter of 11 December 1995 to the Service, the 



152 



