CHAPTER VI 
REQUEST FOR RETURN OF MARINE MAMMAL MANAGEMENT 
BY THE STATE OF ALASKA 
Under the Act, the Secretaries of Commerce and the 
Interior, in consultation with the Commission, may waive the 
moratorium on the taking of marine mammals, promulgate 
regulations to govern permitted taking, and return management 
to a state if such a waiver and return of management is 
determined to be consistent with the goals and provisions of 
the Act. 
On 31 January 1973, the State of Alaska submitted a 
request to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior for 
a waiver of the moratorium and return of management of 10 
species of marine mammals polar bear, sea otter, Steller 
sea lion, bearded seal, harbor seal, larga seal, ribbon 
seal, ringed seal, beluga whale, and walrus. Although such 
a return of management to a state is generally consistent 
with the policies and provisions of the Act, delays in the 
course of proceedings relating to this request and disagreements 
with respect to a variety of procedural and substantive 
issues impaired efforts to respond to the request and the 
issues remained unresolved at the end of 1980. Summaries of 
the events and the Commission's activities and recommendations 
relating to this matter through 1979 are presented in the 
Commission's previous Annual Reports. The discussion which 
follows briefly summarizes that background and the status of 
research and management efforts in 1980. 
Background 
Factors giving rise to many of the difficulties associated 
with the request by the State of Alaska may be summarized as 
follows: the State's request sought a waiver as well as a 
return of management and, as a result, required formal 
hearings before an administrative law judge on the status of 
the populations and the expected effects of the proposed 
takings as well as consideration of the proposed laws and 
regulations that would govern such taking; the Act required 
that decisions on the waiver be based upon "the record" 
adduced at the formal hearings; the proposed waiver of the 
moratorium to allow taking of marine mammals required compliance 
with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy 
Act; the State's request was the first such request under 
the Act and neither the Federal nor the State officials were 
yet familiar with the procedural or substantive requirements 
of the Marine Mammal Protection Act or the National Environmental 
Policy Act; in addition to the lack of experience and familiarity 
Say 
