73 



Should the present management scheme be unilaterally halted by the United 

 States, other nations would, in all probability, resmue the harvest at sea, a waste- 

 ful and inhumane process. 



If the Pribolof fur seal herd is not managed properly and excess numbers re- 

 moved, many will succumb to other environmental controls such as parasites, 

 diseases, and physical injury magnified by overcrowded conditions. Their illnesses 

 and deaths, in many cases would be lingering, with pups suffering the greatest 

 losses. It is a rare occasion when "natural" mortality is as humane as current 

 harvest methods. 



If proper management harvests are stopped, the single source of employment 

 for the Aleut population in its ancestral home would disappear, with nothing 

 in view to replace it. 



As the harvest continues, with its operation under constant review within and 

 outside of the government, the Pribilof fur seal herd will be kept at a level of 

 high, productive abundance, and the resource which has been saved by careful 

 conservation methods will be preserved for the future. 



Management of the Ska. Otter 



Present indications are that where populations are crowded the sea otter re- 

 source could easily be cropped to the benefits of the habitat and the health of the 

 population. Present management in Alaska is attempting to determine whether 

 this is actually the case. This management program consists, basically of three 

 approaches : 



1. Exx)erimental harvests being conducted at Amchitka Island. This population 

 has exceeded the carrying capacity of the habitat and has suffered large juvenile 

 and aged adult die-offs. Approximately 300 otters have been har%-ested annually 

 since 1965 in an attempt to determine the level of harvest that will benefit the 

 population. All harA'esting is done by game biologists and only single, adult otter* 

 are taken. No females are harvested. To date there has been no observahlje 

 decline in those ix>pulations subjected to annual harvest. 



2. Transplants of live otters have been made in southeastern Alaska, Washing- 

 ton, Oregon, and British Columbia in areas having suitable habitat but presently 

 lacking otter populations. There is evidence that some of the transplants in 

 southeastern Alaska are being succe.ssful ; pups have been seen in these areas 

 where otters previously were not seen. ALso, otters are still observed on the 

 Washington coast a considerable period of time after release. More time is 

 needed to fully evaluate the success of these attempts, however. Further trans- 

 plants are planned as these attempts have the double benefit of reducing popula- 

 tion pressure in tJie crowded areas from which the animals are taken and offer- 

 ing the potential for re-establishment of the sea otter in areas from which it had 

 been extirpated. Natural spread of the otter over its former range would take a 

 very long time as this si)ecies does not emigrate to new areas until placed under 

 considerable population pressure and natural mortality is occurring. Even then, 

 natural dis'persiou is slow and limited. 



3. Complete protection is given to sea otters where their populations are below 

 the carrying capacity of the habitat and population growth can be expected. 



Management of the sea otter, at present, is under state jurisdiction, except 

 where the otters occur on land within a federal refuge or where they occur on 

 high seas outside the 3-mile limit. The sea otter now occurs on the California 

 coast off Monterey, possibly in the transplant areas off Washington, Oregon and 

 British Columbia, and primarily along the southern coast of Alaska, the Aleutian 

 Islands, Medny Island, Kamchatka, and certain Kuril Islands, the latter three 

 locations being under the jurisdiction of the Soviet Union. 



History and Management of the Walrtts 



By the end of the 19th century, the walrus population was greatly reduced. 

 This reduction was due to the fact that whalers, after reducing northern whale 

 populations (the bowhead in particular), turned to walrus hunting, using 

 Eskimo laborers and guides. When tlie populations of walrus became greatly 

 reduced, around the turn of the century, commercial hunting of walrus ceased. 

 The harvest of walrus today consists of those taken by natives for food and 

 ivory and those taken by trophy hunters. It is estimated that 2 to 3 thousand 

 walrus have been taken annually by the natives ; actually fewer are being taken 

 every year. In 1970, the United States native harvest amounted to $1,304 and 

 an additional 23 walrus were taken as trophies ; of these 850 were adult males. 



