Alaska Natives. The purpose of the amendment was to make it 

 possible to obtain better information on the numbers of marine 

 mammals taken for subsistence and handicraft purposes. 



Marking and tagging regulations were published by the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service on 28 June 1988. The regulations reguire 

 that, within 30 days of taking any polar bear, walrus, or sea 

 otter, the Alaska Native hunter must report the take to the 

 Service and present specified parts of the animal taken to be 

 marked and tagged. Polar bear and sea otter skins and skulls and 

 walrus tusks must all be marked or tagged. Reports must include, 

 among other things, the date and location of the take and the sex 

 of the animal taken. Raw, unworked, or tanned parts from these 

 three marine mammal species taken between 21 December 1972 (the 

 date the Marine Mammal Protection Act became effective) and 26 

 October 1988 (the effective date of the regulations) that had not 

 yet been converted into handicrafts or clothing were reguired to 

 be presented for marking by 24 April 1989. Possession or trans- 

 portation of unmarked marine mammal parts, except as authorized 

 in the regulations, is a violation of the Act. 



Since promulgating its regulation, the Service has worked 

 closely with Native groups and officials of the State of Alaska 

 to explain the new reguirements to subsistence hunters. Among 

 other things, the Service has: held training sessions in remote 

 coastal villages; prepared and disseminated videotapes, 

 bulletins, posters, and other instructional materials; and 

 distributed a guarterly newsletter to taggers and Native leaders 

 to provide timely information about the program. 



To date, 88 individuals throughout coastal Alaska have been 

 trained and authorized to tag marine mammal parts taken by Alaska 

 Natives. The taggers include 67 Native village residents working 

 under contract to the Service as well as Service employees 

 generally stationed at National Wildlife Refuges. Taggers are 

 responsible for specific geographic areas and, in addition to 

 affixing official tags and marks to marine mammal parts, they 

 collect information on the harvested animals. The Service 

 expects to have a computerized data management system for harvest 

 information in place early in 1990. The table on the following 

 page presents data on the number of marine mammals tagged through 

 the end of 1989. 



Litigation 



United States v. Nusunginya — In 1988, an Alaska Eskimo 

 whaler was criminally prosecuted for allegedly hunting and 

 killing a bowhead whale in excess of his village guota in 

 violation of the Cooperative Agreement between the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Eskimo 

 Whaling Commission (see Chapter III) . Under regulations 



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