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both research and regulation development is vital if the 

 regulations are to make sense in a Native context, and if they are 

 to be effective in assuring conservation of the resources. This 

 goes beyond consultation to an actual sharing of research and of 

 power and responsibility for fish and wildlife management. 



The call for co-management and an incorporation of the Native 

 world view is one that that has received increasing recognition 

 throughout the world, as the key means for assuring a meaningful 

 role for indigenous people in the management and preservation of 

 natural resources and the protection of their culture. It has 

 worked in Canada, and in the limited fora allowed in Alaska. I 

 strongly urge the Congress to do what it can to promote and 

 facilitate comanagement as it evaluates amendments to the MMPA. 



Pollution of marine mammal habitat and its impacts on marine 

 mammals and the health of indigenous people in Alaska and the 

 circumpolar North 



In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that there 

 may well be substantial threats to marine mammal populations from 

 pollution of their habitat, principally by heavy metals. 

 Accumulation of heavy metals in marine mammals in turn may pose 

 threats to the Alaska Natives who rely on them for food. While the 

 evidence is not yet conclusive, there are some disturbing trends. 



The beluga whale is reported to be one of the most polluted 

 animals in the world, yet it is one of the preferred foods of my 

 people. It has accumulated vast amounts of mercury and selenium in 

 its organs and meat, and ever-growing amounts of organochlorines 

 such as DDT and PCBs. Heightened levels of organochlorines have 

 also been linked by European researchers to the decline in polar 

 bear reproduction on the islands of the North Atlantic. And 

 according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, "Cadmium concentrations 

 remained higher [in walrus livers and kidneys] than levels thought 

 by EPA to interfere with mammalian organ function (13 mg/kg). M 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, "Heavy Metal Concentrations in Liver and 

 Kidney Tissues of Pacific Walrus," April, 1993. The levels in 

 those walrus organs averaged 166.5 mg/kg with some as high as 457.3 

 mg/kg. Ibid. 



We have been told by the Epidemiologist of the Alaska 

 Department of Health and Social Services that there are no reported 

 incidents of disease related to overexposure of cadmium. It is 

 good to know that we are showing no overt signs of cadmium 

 poisoning. But the Indian Health Service has pointed to an 

 increased level of clear cell cancer of the kidney in Alaska Native 

 males. Is there a link? What should we do about the fact that we 

 are eating walrus livers and kidneys with such elevated levels of 

 cadmium? 



The Fish and Wildlife Service has taken tissue samples of 

 walrus, but lacks the funding to analyze them to determine whether 

 the elevated levels of cadmium are causing harm to the walrus 



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