Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



Harbor Seals in Alaska 

 (Phoca vitulina richardsi) 



Harbor seals occur in temperate and sub-arctic 

 coastal waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific 

 Oceans. In the North Pacific Ocean their range 

 extends from San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California 

 Sur, Mexico, northward and westward around the rim 

 of the ocean basin to Hokkaido, Japan. In Alaska the 

 species is found along the shores of the Gulf of 

 Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and the southeastern 

 Bering Sea. 



Harbor seals haul out to rest, pup, and molt on 

 remote beaches, tidal mud flats, offshore rocks and 

 reefs, sea ice, and objects such as buoys and log rafts. 

 They generally remain within about 20 kilometers of 

 shore near estuaries and protected coastal waters. 

 Tagging studies indicate that some harbor seals 

 migrate up to 1 ,000 km between summer and winter 

 habitats; however, in most cases, their seasonal 

 movements are much more confined, usually extend- 

 ing from less than a hundred to a few hundred kilo- 

 meters. Within their individual ranges, harbor seal 

 movements may be influenced by the tides, weather, 

 food availability, and other factors. In some cases, 

 they move seasonally into freshwater streams and 

 lakes. 



Early in the 1970s approximately 270,000 harbor 

 seals were estimated to occur in Alaska coastal 

 waters. In the 1980s, however, substantial declines 

 were detected in the central and western Gulf of 

 Alaska from Prince William Sound through the 

 Kodiak Island region, as well as in the southeastern 

 Bering Sea. For example, at what was once the 

 world's largest harbor seal colony on Tugidak Island 

 southwest of Kodiak Island, maximum counts declined 

 from more than 9,000 in the mid-1970s to less than 

 2,000 in the mid-1980s. The reasons for the decline 

 are uncertain but may be related to reductions in prey 

 resources. As described in previous annual reports, 

 the Commission provided funds to the Alaska Depart- 

 ment of Fish and Game in 1988 and 1990 to monitor 

 harbor seal population trends at index sites in south- 

 eastern Alaska, Prince William Sound, and Tugidak 

 Island. In 1991 the National Marine Fisheries Service 



began a program to obtain minimum estimates of 

 harbor seal abundance throughout Alaska. 



Because harbor seals occur close to shore, they 

 may be affected by a variety of human activities, 

 including coastal pollution and coastal development. 

 They are also an important subsistence resource for 

 Alaska Natives. These factors, and the sharp declines 

 in some parts of Alaska, have given rise to concern 

 about the need to strengthen conservation efforts for 

 the species in Alaska. 



Alaska Native Subsistence Harvests 



Although harbor seals have been a traditional 

 subsistence resource for Alaska Natives in many areas 

 of the State, information on harvest levels prior to the 

 1990s is limited. Beginning in 1992 the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service provided funds to the Alaska 

 Department of Fish and Game to gather information 

 on the subsistence use of harbor seals (and also Steller 

 sea lions) in Alaska. From surveys with hunters and 

 Native households in coastal villages throughout the 

 State, details of the subsistence take, including an 

 estimate of total take (i.e., landings plus animals 

 struck but lost), have been developed for the years 

 1992 to 1994. 



The estimated total Native subsistence take of 

 harbor seals in Alaska for those years was 2,888 in 

 1992, 2,736 in 1993, and 2,620 in 1994. In each of 

 those years, more than half the take occurred in 

 southeastern Alaska where harbor seal numbers have 

 generally been stable or increasing. Survey results for 

 1995 are expected to be available in 1996. 



Co-Management of Harbor Seals in Alaska 



The 1994 Marine Mammal Protection Act was 

 amended to provide for the establishment of co- 

 management agreements between the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and Alaska Native organizations. 

 The purpose of the agreements is to provide a frame- 

 work for cooperative efforts related to the conserva- 

 tion of marine mammal species of mutual concern in 

 Alaska. In this regard, Native harbor seal hunters in 

 villages along the Gulf of Alaska formed the Alaska 

 Native Harbor Seal Commission in 1994 to assist in 



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