MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



and further amendments enacted in 1997 have been 

 discussed in previous annual reports. The 1994 

 amendments also called on the Secretary of the 

 Interior to initiate two reviews relative to the 1973 

 polar bear agreement. Activities in this regard, along 

 with efforts related to implementing an agreement 

 between Natives in Canada and Alaska regarding the 

 shared population of polar bears, are discussed below. 



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. The Service agreed and, to help in this task, 

 the Commission developed and provided preliminary 

 draft conservation plans for the three species. The 

 preliminary draft 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 

 identified research and management actions necessary 

 to maintain populations in Alaska within their opti- 

 mum 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. During 

 1999 the Service intends to review its conservation 

 plans for polar bears and other marine mammal 

 species and to revise the plans, as needed. 



Co-Management Agreements 



The 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act included a new section 119, which 

 provides for cooperative agreements between the 

 Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and Alaska 



Native organizations to conserve marine mammals and 

 provide for co-management of subsistence uses by 

 Alaska Natives. Under such agreements, the Secretar- 

 ies may make grants to Native organizations for 

 collecting and analyzing data on marine mammal 

 populations, monitoring the taking of marine mam- 

 mals for subsistence purposes, participating in marine 

 mammal research, and developing marine mammal co- 

 management programs with federal and state agencies. 



On 19 February 1997 the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 and the Alaska Nanuuq Commission signed a coopera- 

 tive agreement pursuant to section 119 for the co- 

 management of polar bears. Under the agreement, the 

 Service provided $90,000 to the Nanuuq Commission 

 in 1997 and the same amount in 1998. The funds are 

 designated primarily to cover operational expenses of 

 the Nanuuq Commission and to support its involve- 

 ment in efforts to conclude bilateral agreements 

 between the United States and Russia on conservation 

 of polar bears in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, 

 discussed below. 



Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Program 



As noted above, the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act allows Alaska Natives to take marine mammals 

 for purposes of subsistence and for making and selling 

 traditional handicrafts. Under amendments to the Act 

 adopted in 1981, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service were provided 

 specific authority to establish marking, tagging, and 

 reporting programs to monitor the Native harvest of 

 marine mammals. The Fish and Wildlife Service 

 established such programs for sea otters, walruses, 

 and polar bears. The purpose of these programs is to 

 obtain biological data needed to manage the species 

 and stocks 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 report 

 the take to an authorized Service agent and present 

 specified parts, 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 pro- 



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