Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



Because of the species' circumpolar distribution, 

 efforts to protect and conserve polar bears require the 

 cooperation of all range states. Concern over the 

 dramatic increase in the polar bear harvest levels in 

 the 1950s and 1960s led to negotiation of the interna- 

 tional Agreement for the Conservation of Polar Bears. 

 The agreement was concluded in 1973 by the Govern- 

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

 the Soviet Union, and the United States. 



In 1994 Congress enacted extensive amendments of 

 the Marine Mammal Protection Act, including a 

 number of measures related to polar bears. Among 

 these was a provision that allows for the issuance of 

 permits to import sport-hunted polar bear trophies 

 legally taken by U.S. citizens hunting in Canada. 

 Efforts by the Fish and Wildlife Service to promulgate 

 regulations for imports are discussed in Chapter VI. 

 The 1994 amendments also called on the Secretary of 

 the Interior to initiate two reviews relative to imple- 

 mentation of the 1973 Agreement for the Conservation 

 of Polar Bears. Activities in this regard are discussed 

 in Chapter VI, along with efforts related to other 

 international agreements regarding polar bears. 

 Chapter VI also includes a discussion of ongoing 

 efforts to develop a cooperative U.S. -Russian research 

 and management agreement. 



As discussed in Chapter VI, in 1992 the Marine 

 Mammal Commission contracted for a comprehensive 

 legal assessment of steps undertaken by the United 

 States to implement the 1973 polar bear agreement. 

 The contractor's report was submitted in 1993 and 

 distributed to the Fish and Wildlife Service and other 

 interested groups. During 1995 the contract report 

 was updated to take into account the 1994 amend- 

 ments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (see 

 Appendix B, Baur 1995). 



Polar Bear Conservation Plan 



In 1988 Congress amended the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act to direct the Secretaries of the Interior 

 and Commerce to develop conservation plans for 

 depleted and, when appropriate, non-depleted marine 

 mammal species and populations. In January 1989 the 

 Marine Mammal Commission recommended to the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service that it prepare conservation 



plans for polar bears, walruses, and sea otters in 

 Alaska. To help in this task, the Commission devel- 

 oped and provided preliminary draft conservation 

 plans for the three species. The preliminary draft 

 conservation plan for polar bears was forwarded to the 

 Service on 28 June 1992. 



As discussed in previous annual reports, from 1992 

 through 1994 the Commission worked closely with the 

 Service to ensure that the polar bear conservation plan 

 accurately identified research and management actions 

 necessary to determine and maintain populations in 

 Alaska within their optimum sustainable population 

 range, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act. In September 1994 the Service forwarded to the 

 Commission and others the final conservation plan for 

 the polar bear in Alaska, as well as conservation plans 

 for walruses and sea otters in Alaska. The Service 

 noted that the plans would be reviewed annually and 

 considered for rewriting and updating in three to five 

 years. 



Marking, Tagging and Reporting Program 



In 1981 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was 

 amended to give the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service authority to pro- 

 mulgate regulations requiring the marking, tagging, 

 and reporting of marine mammals taken by Alaska 

 Natives. The purpose of the amendments was to 

 obtain better information on the numbers and species 

 of marine mammals taken for subsistence and handi- 

 craft purposes and to help control illegal trade in 

 products from those species. 



Marking, tagging, and reporting regulations were 

 issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 28 June 

 1988. They require that within 30 days of taking a 

 polar bear, walrus, or sea otter, Native hunters must 

 report the take to the Service and present specified 

 parts of animals, including polar bear hides, to be 

 marked and tagged. Since promulgating its regula- 

 tions, the Service has worked closely with Native 

 groups and the State of Alaska to implement the 

 marking, tagging, and reporting program. Data 

 obtained from the program are maintained by the 

 Service in a computerized database. During the 

 harvest year running from 1 July 1994 to 30 June 

 1995, 80 polar bears were presented for marking and 



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