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marine mammal populations and health, participating in federal, 

 state and private research, monitoring take, developing ordinances, 

 and enforcing both those ordinances and their traditional rules. 

 These efforts have been stymied to a large extent by a lack of 

 adeguate funding. I accordingly suggest that the Congress 

 authorize the appropriation of funds for the purpose of further 

 building and sustaining Native institutional capacities for self- 

 regulation of Native take of marine mammals. In particular, such 

 funding would enable the development of formal codes and ordinances 

 and of data bases, and would also support the work of Native marine 

 mammal commissions as they work for both self-regulation and 

 comanagement relationships with the federal and state governments. 

 The funds should not be made available through the standard 

 granting processes, but made directly to the Native community 

 through the IPCMM. The Council, in turn, would decide how best to 

 allocate the funds. 



I believe that the funding I have requested will strengthen 

 the Native exemption by helping to assure that Native self- 

 regulation is as effective as possible. I want to add, however, 

 that this funding should not be used to replace existing funds now 

 being provided to specific Native commissions and organizations, 

 but rather to supplement those funds so that Native management will 

 become even more effective. 



My second suggestion relates to protections against impacts on 

 marine mammals and their habitat. Alaska Natives have noted with 

 increasing alarm that heavy metal levels in marine mammals have 

 grown substantially over the past few years. This is due to 

 substantial pollution in the ocean, largely from overseas, but also 

 from industrial operations under the control of the United States. 

 Important habitat areas are also directly threatened by some 

 development activities, such as barge traffic and oil and gas 

 development. And as is all too evident from the ongoing collapse 

 of the Bering Sea, the food supply of marine mammals is being 

 drastically depleted, posing threats not only to them, but to many 

 other species of birds and other animals that rely on the fish. 



The MMPA as it is now written does not directly address these 

 issues. It should. I urge the Congress to develop mechanisms that 

 protect not only marine mammals, but also the ecosystem of which 

 they are a part. In addition, adeguate funding must be made 

 available to gather the necessary data — and to allow Alaska 

 Natives full and egual participation in research design, data 

 collection, and interpretation of the results. 



Finally, Alaska Natives and their relatives in other countries 

 have faced substantial difficulties from the MMPA's flat ban on 

 importation of marine mammal products. If an Alaska Native travels 

 to visit his or her relatives in Greenland, Canada or Russia, 

 wearing clothing that is made of marine mammal products, he or she 

 cannot bring this or her clothing back into the United States, 

 because of this ban. Similarly, he or she cannot bring back a gift 

 made of marine mammal parts. Nor may a Native inhabitant of these 

 three countries bring their own clothing or gifts to this country. 



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