US Fish and Wildlife Service Grant for Southeast Alaska Sea Otter Management Plan Development

PURPOSE:

The primary purpose of this federal assistance award is to begin the development of a comprehensive southeast Alaska sea otter management plan. As there are numerous Alaska Native communities located in southeast Alaska, community participation in the early stages of development of this management plan will be essential to its success. The goal of this project is to get the various communities in southeast Alaska to buy into the concept of a southeast Alaska sea otter management plan.

OBJECTIVES:

In order to achieve this goal, the objectives of this project are: 1) identify an appropriate representative for each community who will participate in the development of a southeast Alaska sea otter management plan; 2) organize and facilitate a meeting of community representatives to discuss the needs and objectives for a southeast Alaska sea otter management plan; and 3) develop a conceptual framework for the management plan.

BACKGROUND

Beginning in 1742, sea otters were hunted to the brink of extinction by Russian and American fur hunters. When sea otters were finally protected under the International Fur Seal Treaty of 1911, there were only a few thousand otters remaining worldwide, located in 13 remnant colonies ranging across the Pacific Rim from Russia to Baja, Mexico. None of these remnant colonies were located in southeast Alaska, and by the mid-1960s, sea otters had yet to return to this region.

From 1965-1969, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game translocated 403 sea otters from the Aleutian Islands and Prince William Sound to six sites on the outer coast of southeast Alaska. Over the past 40 years, this translocated population has grown in number and expanded in range. The most recent population estimates for the southeast Alaska population total between 10,000 and 11,000 sea otters. As this population has grown, the introduction of sea otters into areas where they had been absent for generations has resulted in conflicts between otters and people for the same prey resources such as crab and shellfish. In 2009, the Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand Camp issued a resolution (#29-09) requesting a region-wide meeting of Alaska Natives and the Service to address this issue. In addition, the southeast Alaska federal subsistence regional advisory council has also expressed similar concerns to the Regional Director and his staff.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) includes an exemption for Alaska Natives to take sea otters for subsistence and handicraft purposes. The MMPA does not allow for regulation of the subsistence harvest unless it is determined to be “depleted.” To insure that the ongoing subsistence harvest of sea otters does not drive the population below the threshold for depletion, a comprehensive southeast Alaska sea otter management plan is needed.

REASON FOR SINGLE SOURCE:

(1) Legislative intent – This agreement is entered into under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 USC 1388, which states that “The Secretary (of Interior) may enter into cooperative agreements with Alaska Native Organizations to conserve marine mammals and provide co-management of subsistence use by Alaska Natives.” In September 2009, the Regional Director signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four Alaska Native Organizations (Including the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska) to implement this section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

(2) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability, if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications. The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is the Regional Non-Profit Corporation with delegations from all Alaska Native Tribes from the southeast Alaska Region. The Central Council hosts an annual Tribal Assembly that brings together Alaska Native delegations from throughout southeast Alaska, and is uniquely qualified to perform these activities.