401 



those who believe that animals must be completely protected. Both 

 extremes are wrong. Neither the extreme exploitative nor the protec- 

 tionism point of view give sufficient attention to the interclependency 

 between animals and their environment. What is needed is a system of 

 flexible management, based upon a continual scientific reappraisal of 

 the ecological health of populations. 

 Now we turn briefly to the issues. 



1. DETERMINING THE STATUS OF MARINE MAMMAL POPULATIONS 



The marine mammals are the Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and por- 

 poises), the Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walruses), the Sirenia 

 (dugongs and manatees), the sea otter (a member of the weasel fam- 

 ily, Mustelidae), and the polar bear (which is considered a marine 

 mammal only because of its sea-ice habitat, not because of any ana- 

 tomical adaptation to live in the sea). This is a diverse group, for 

 which no sweeping statements can be made in terms of abundance, 

 habits, or conservation. Together, they represent j^erhaps the least- 

 known of the large mammals. As they represent several hundred 

 thousand tons annual production, they assume vital resource impor- 

 tance. It is not true that most are in danger of extinction ; two marine 

 mammals have become extinct at the hand of man, some are now seri- 

 ously depleted, and some are in good condition. Many are already pro- 

 tected by international treaty, to the limits of the power of inter- 

 national law. Notably excepted are the small Cetacea. One, the fur 

 seal of the North Pacific, is being managed in exemplary fashion ; in 

 fact, the treaty covering the fur seal represents exactly what is needed 

 in international law of the high seas, namely, limitation of entry into 

 a "fishery."' A total moratorium on the take of all marine mammals 

 cannot serve such a diverse group equally. It becomes a meaningless 

 gesture for those already protected and, conversely, a threat to de- 

 velopment of international cooperation for species which might be 

 protected on the fur seal model. It abrogates the responsibility of 

 those who know the field of wildlife management best. In our judg- 

 ment, such an action is simplistic and negative, only stating what we 

 will not do and neglecting to consider what we must do in the future. 



2. ASSURING PROPER MANAGEMENT OF MARINE MAMMALS BASED ON 



ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Marine mammals are used in a great variety of ways : Meat, oil, meal, 

 personal adornment, for trophies, porpoise teeth for money in the Solo- 

 mons, for esthetic purposes, for public display, in the trinket and 

 souvenir trade, for native arts and crafts, for pharmaceuticals and for 

 research. 



Obviously, the diversity of uses and the diversity of species make 

 management on a species-by-species, stock-by-stock basis mandatory. 



The concept of "sustainable yield" is important and it is clear that 

 such a yield must not be calculated merely in economic terms, as has 

 been the habit of exploitative groups. It is also clear that what is 

 "optimum" from the point of view of economic yield may not be opti- 

 mum in terms of a species population in its en^aronment. A part of the 

 difficulty in management practice is that it has been in terms of human 



