Marine Mammal Exploitation & Conservation MARE 444 Dr. Turner Fall 2007

Pertinent Legislation Endangered Species Act – 1973 Marine Mammal Protection Act – 1972 CITES – 1975

Endangered Species Act Purpose: Recovery of endangered and threatened species USFWS (Fish & Wildlife) & NOAA (Fisheries) ID & Publish list of threatened or endangered spp Species given full legal protection = no “take” Federal gov’t prohibited harming species or habitat Recovery plan Includes “critical habitat”

Threatened is the classification provided to an animal or plant likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range Endangered is the classification provided to an animal or plant in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range What is Endangered? “Well, that's why I asked. That's how you learn, by asking.. you dumbass.” - Carl Carlson

Marine Mammal Protection Act Prohibits, with certain exceptions, the take of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S. Definitions Take: to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill any marine mammal. Harassment: any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance

CITES CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between Governments Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival Works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. All import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a licensing system

Conservation & Management Species of Interest Government Regulation Special Interest Groups Environmental Groups

Many species are rare or threatened due to human influence Fossil record shows that more than 99% of species that ever lived are extinct Rate estimated at % per century Current rate (birds/mammals) = 1% per century x more than background rate Endangered Species Management

Mammals 350 Birds 271 Reptiles 116 Amphibians 30 Fishes 126 Inverts 190 Plants 748 Total 1831 Foreign 563

Marine Mammal Exploitation The history of commercial exploitation of marine mammal populations, under the banner of whaling, sealing, or ottering, has been a long and tragic example of how not to manage renewable living resources in a sustainable manner Responsible for Extinction of: Steller’s sea cow, Caribbean Monk seal, Atlantic gray whale Endangered Status: northern right whale, manatees, elephant seals, Hawaiian Monk seals, sea otters

What’s the Problem? Steller Sea Lion Rookery

History of Whaling Remains of nearshore cetaceans – 8500 years ago Commercial whaling – began with Right, Bowhead, Gray whales – slow swimming, coastal Several species heavily depleted e.g. – northern right whale; protected for over 100 years, still < 300 individuals 1860 (explosive tip harpoon) – 1945 (WWII)

International Whaling Commission 1948 – International Whaling Commission developed Began regulating whales internationally for profit – quotas and minimum sizes to sustain the fishery “Blue Whale Unit” (BWU) way of setting quotas In oil yield 1 blue whale = 2 fin = 2.6 humpback = 6 sei

International Whaling Commission In late 1970’s began severely reducing quotas 1986 – Moratorium on whaling Norway, Iceland, & Japan reject moratorium and continue to whale minke for scientific purposes N, I, &J continue whaling “minke” to this day IWC switches from regulation to conservation

Seals and Sealing

Native Americans & Native Canadians > 4,000 years Northwest Europe & Baltic Sea > 10,000 years

Seals and Sealing Seal coats prized for both their beauty & warmth Seal oil used as lamp fuel, lubricating and cooking oil, processing leather and jute, & constituent of soap Meat was an important source of protein, vitamin A and iron

Seals and Sealing Seals basking on the ice in the spring sun were stalked in a sealskin covered kayak and killed with clubs Techniques – Spring/Summer hunt Walrus baculum

Seals and Sealing Techniques – Winter hunt Standing at a seal's breathing hole waiting for hours for a seal to come up for air

Seals and Sealing Modern Native technique – harpoon replaced with rifle; kayak with motorboat

Seal killing for commercial purposes Became more prevalent in the late 1700s Seals began to be exploited by whalers Commercial Sealing

Modern Sealing

Harp seals in Canada are culled due to their hypothesized impact on cod stocks 250, ,000 harp seals are killed every year Harp seals do eat Atlantic cod, although 40 years of studies indicate that Atlantic cod is a minor constituent of their diet Why Modern Sealing?

Did harp seals cause the collapse of cod stocks in the late 1980s, early 1990s?...No. The scientific evidence indicates that stock collapse was caused by over-fishing Then why continue – what are we (they) doing with 250, ,000 seals

Why Modern Sealing? Three-year harp seal quota - 975,000 animals In 2006: 325,000 harp seals 10,000 hooded seals 10,400 grey seals 10,000 seals for Aboriginal hunting While many countries have banned the importation of seal products, the Canadian industry brought in about $16.5 million last year