MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



showed a decline of approximately 65 percent in all 

 three areas during the 1980-1997 time period, sug- 

 gesting that the decline extends into the western and 

 central Aleutians. 



The Marine Mammal Commission wrote to the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service on 23 December 1997 

 noting that it had been advised by Service representa- 

 tives during its November 1997 meeting that (1) the 

 cause or causes of the sea otter decline in the area 

 around Adak Island are still unknown; (2) similar 

 declines may have occurred, and may be occurring, in 

 adjacent areas; and (3) researchers from the Biological 

 Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey 

 were seeking, but had not yet received, funding from 

 various sources to investigate and document the cause 

 or causes of the decline and to examine other areas 

 for declines. The Commission requested that the 

 Service provide the particulars of the studies believed 

 necessary to document the cause(s) and extent of the 

 decline, what was being done to obtain the funding to 

 do the needed research, and when the needed research 

 is expected to be initiated and completed. 



The Service replied to the Commission by letter 

 of 23 February 1998, noting that the staff of its 

 Alaska regional office believed that the following 

 research was needed to determine the cause and extent 

 of the decline: 



• aerial and small boat surveys to determine current 

 abundance in the Aleutian Archipelago and, de- 

 pending on the results of those surveys, surveys 

 of the Alaska Peninsula; 



• further studies to determine the presence, levels, 

 and possible effects of environmental contami- 

 nants in sea otters in areas where the decline has 

 occurred; 



• further assessment of the possibility that increased 

 killer whale predation may be the cause of the 

 observed decline; and 



• surveys of intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats 

 to determine whether the decline may be due to 

 declining food resources. 



Information presented during the Marine Mammal 

 Commission's meeting in Portland, Maine, on 10-12 

 November 1998 indicated that the Service had been 

 able to undertake some of the contaminant and other 



mortality-related research, but had not received the 

 funding necessary to conduct abundance surveys in 

 either the Aleutian Islands or the Alaska Peninsula. 



Information also presented at the Commission's 

 Portland meeting, and reported in the 16 October 

 1998 issue of Science, suggested that the sea otter 

 decline may be due to increased killer whale predation 

 brought about by decreases in Steller sea lions and 

 harbor seals, the normal prey of killer whales in the 

 Adak area. To investigate this possibility, the Service 

 will spend $15,000 in fiscal year 1999 for a killer 

 whale photoidentification project and to obtain local 

 knowledge on killer whale/sea otter interactions. The 

 funding is part of the sea otter co-management pro- 

 gram, discussed below. 



Marking, Tagging, and Reporting — In 1981 

 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was amended to 

 authorize the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service to promulgate 

 regulations for the marking, tagging, and reporting of 

 marine mammals taken by Alaska Natives. The 

 purposes of the amendment were to help control 

 illegal trade in products from those species and to 

 obtain better information on the species and numbers 

 of marine mammals taken for subsistence and handi- 

 craft purposes. 



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 must 

 report the take to the Service and present specified 

 parts, including sea otter pelts, to be marked or 

 tagged. Since issuing its regulations, the Service has 

 worked closely with Native groups and the State of 

 Alaska to implement the marking, tagging, and 

 reporting program. The number of sea otters tagged 

 in the years 1990 through 1997 were 166, 231, 637, 

 1,248, 835, 629, 607, and 738, respectively. By the 

 end of 1998, 721 sea otters had been presented for 

 marking and tagging by Alaska Natives. This number 

 may change as 1998 reports are completed. 



Co-Management of Sea Otters — In December 

 1988 Alaska Natives formed the Alaska Sea Otter 

 Commission to promote Native participation in the 

 development of policies and programs affecting sea 



90 



