MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
Chapter III, by the end of 1992 preliminary draft 
conservation plans for all three species had been 
completed and provided by the Commission to the 
Service. The Service has circulated the drafts to 
species management teams established by the Service 
to assist it in the planning process. All three plans are 
expected to be completed in 1993. 
In the 1988 amendments to the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act, Congress directed the National Marine 
Fisheries Service to develop conservation plans for 
northern fur seals by 31 December 1989 and for 
Steller sea lions by 31 December 1990. A northern 
fur seal conservation plan was drafted in 1990 and 
revised in 1992, but has not yet been completed or 
adopted. In November 1990 the Service listed the 
Steller sea lion as threatened under the Endangered 
Species Act. Subsequently the Service established a 
recovery team, which drafted a Steller Sea Lion 
Recovery Plan. The Commission’s Steller sea lion 
account was used as a source document during the 
planning process. The draft plan was distributed for 
review early in 1992 and was completed and adopted 
by the Service on 30 December 1992. 
Also in 1992 in response to data indicating a 
significant decline in numbers of harbor seals in 
Alaska, the National Marine Fisheries Service con- 
tracted with the University of Alaska to prepare a 
draft harbor seal conservation plan. The Commis- 
sion’s 1988 harbor seal species account is expected to 
be a source document for this effort. As of the end of 
1992, drafting of the harbor seal plan had not yet 
begun. Further discussion of issues important for 
conserving harbor seals, northern fur seals, and 
Steller sea lions is included in Chapter II. 
Recent data on harbor seals and killer whales in 
Alaska led the Marine Mammal Commission to 
conclude that its 1988 species account for Alaska 
harbor seals should be updated and that a species 
account for Alaska killer whales should be developed. 
Each is due to be completed early in 1993. They will 
provide a synthesis of up-to-date information on each 
species and will include recommendations to assist the 
National Marine Fisheries Service in advancing 
research and management goals. 
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On a related matter, in 1991 the Service completed 
and approved a recovery plan for humpback whales, 
including populations that occur seasonally in Alaska 
waters. Further discussion of these species as well as 
activities related to bowhead whales is provided in 
Chapter III. 
Federal Marine Mammal 
Marking and Tagging Regulations 
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. Two purposes of the amendment were to 
make it possible to obtain better information on the 
numbers and species of marine mammals taken for 
subsistence and handicraft purposes and to help 
prevent illegal trade in products from those species. 
Marking and tagging regulations were issued by the 
Fish and Wildlife Service on 28 June 1988. They 
require that within 30 days of taking any polar bear, 
walrus, or sea otter the Native hunters must report the 
take to the Service and present specified parts of the 
animal to be marked and tagged. Polar bear and sea 
otter skins and skulls and walrus tusks must all be 
marked or tagged. Reports from hunters are to 
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 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 required to be presented to the Service 
for marking by 24 April 1989. Possession or trans- 
portation of unmarked marine mammal parts, except 
as authorized, is a violation of the Act. 
Since promulgating its regulations, the Service has 
worked closely with Native groups and the State of 
Alaska to implement the marking and tagging pro- 
gram. At present, 104 individuals in 85 coastal 
villages have been trained and authorized to tag parts 
from marine mammals taken by Alaska Natives and to 
