513 



The information presented above indicates that where populations are 

 crowded the sea otter resource could easily be cropped to the benefit 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 cousins, basically of three approaches : 



1. Experimental harvests are being conducted at Amchitka Island. This popu- 

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

 juvenile and aged adult die-offs. Approximately 300 otters have been harvested 

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

 benefit the population. All harvesting is done by game biologists and only single, 

 adult otters are taken. No females ^vith young are harvested. Some harvesting 

 from other crowded populations is also being performed by biologists. To date 

 there has been no observable decline in those populations subjected to annual 



harve^. 



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

 ington, Oregon, and British Columbia in areas having suitable habitat but 

 presently lacking otter populations. There is evidence that some of the trans- 

 plants in southeastern Alaska are being successful; pups have been seen in 

 these areias where otters previously were not seen. Also, otters are still observed 

 on the Washington coa'St a considei^able period of time after release. More time 

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

 transplants are planned as these attempts have the double benefit of reducing 

 population pressure in the crowded areas from which the animals are taken 

 and offering the potential for reestablishment 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 the species does not emigrate to new 

 areias until placed under considerable population pressure and natural morality 

 is occurring. Even then, natural dispersion 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 gro^\'th can be 



expected. ..-,.... _* 



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

 where the otters oc<nir 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 CaHfomia 

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

 British Ooliunbia, 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. 



WALRUS 



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

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

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

 laborers and guides. When the 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, 374 were adult females and 

 103 were calves. The walrus also is under state jurisdiction. Alaska now limits 

 the harvest by natives dependent on walrus for food to 5 adult females or sub- 

 adults of either sex per season. There is no limit on adult males, and orphaned 

 calves may be taken without contributing to the bag. 



The decline in numbers of walrus harvested by natives is primarily the result 

 of two factors. The natives are moving into larger towns, such as Nome and few 

 return to hunt walrus. This trend will probably continue. In addition, non-natives 

 are now permitted to take one adult male (trophy) by purchasing a $100 permit. 

 Trophy hunters must be taken out by teams of native guides and the natives may 

 not harvest walrus while accompanying trophy hunters. These teams, if harvest- 

 ing walrus on their own rather than accompanying trophy hunters, might kill 

 more than 100 adult male walrus per day. The trophy hunter will pay at least 

 $2,000 for the services of these natives. Thus, trophy hunting has multiple bene- 

 fits ; it reduces the annual harvest of walrus and at the same time permits eco- 

 nomic utilization of the walrus resource by the native population. 



I 



