CSSJR 13(RES): Urging the United States Congress to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act; urging certain federal agencies to permit Alaska Native organizations and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to co-manage, take, and study sea otters; and urging the United States Secretary of the Interior to review evidence and waive certain provisions of the moratorium on taking sea otters.
00 CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13(RES) 01 Urging the United States Congress to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act; 02 urging certain federal agencies to permit Alaska Native organizations and the Alaska 03 Department of Fish and Game to co-manage, take, and study sea otters; and urging the 04 United States Secretary of the Interior to review evidence and waive certain provisions 05 of the moratorium on taking sea otters. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS, between 1965 and 1969, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game 08 reintroduced approximately 400 sea otters in six different locations in Southeast Alaska's 09 coastal waterways without a long-term management plan; and 10 WHEREAS, in the absence of a management plan, the sea otter population in 11 southern Southeast Alaska's coastal waters has grown at an alarming rate; while 5,800 sea 12 otters were observed in 2003, an aerial survey conducted by the United States Fish and 13 Wildlife Service in 2012 estimated the population at over 27,712, an apparent population 14 growth rate of 13 percent each year, placing the 2018 population at an estimated 51,058; and 15 WHEREAS the federal government, which is responsible for protecting marine
01 mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 - 1423h) has not 02 established an effective and ecologically balanced management plan for sea otters that serves 03 to protect Southeast Alaska's coastal marine ecosystem and shellfish resources that are 04 adversely affected by sea otters; and 05 WHEREAS a growing sea otter population is contributing to ecological imbalances 06 and diminished human subsistence and commercial harvests of Alaska shellfish resources; 07 and 08 WHEREAS the reintroduced sea otter population has proliferated without 09 management, consuming unquantified yet significant volumes of crab, abalone, urchins, sea 10 cucumbers, clams, and other shellfish resources on which Southeast Alaska's human residents 11 rely; and 12 WHEREAS the drastic population growth of the reintroduced sea otters and the 13 current population density of sea otters has, in some areas, depleted shellfish stocks so 14 severely that human subsistence, sport, personal use, and commercial harvest of shellfish is 15 not permitted because of unsustainably depleted shellfish resources; and 16 WHEREAS many residents of the state's coastal communities depend, directly or 17 indirectly, on the abundance and harvest of fisheries resources; and 18 WHEREAS the state's coastal communities face substantial challenges in developing 19 economic opportunities for their residents; and 20 WHEREAS, because revenue from harvests of the state's fisheries resources 21 contributes significantly to the economies of the state's coastal communities, residents of 22 these communities are sensitive to situations that threaten the harvest of fisheries resources; 23 and 24 WHEREAS Alaska Natives have harvested sea otters since time immemorial; and 25 WHEREAS the Marine Mammal Protection Act denies Alaska Natives their 26 customary and traditional practice of selling intact sea otter pelts; and 27 WHEREAS the Marine Mammal Protection Act permits Alaska Natives to harvest 28 sea otters for subsistence and for purposes of creating and selling authentic Alaska Native 29 handicrafts and clothing, if the sea otters are harvested in a manner that is not wasteful; and 30 WHEREAS, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Alaska Natives may sell 31 certain handicrafts and clothing made with sea otter pelts; and
01 WHEREAS, to take a sea otter in the state, current federal law requires an individual 02 to reside along the North Pacific or Arctic Ocean coasts and to possess 25 percent Alaska 03 Native blood quantum, and there will be fewer individuals who meet those requirements in 04 the future; and 05 WHEREAS the legal import of language in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 06 which cites "authentic Native articles of handicraft and clothing" and "significantly altered," 07 may not be clear to Alaska Native hunters and craftspeople; and 08 WHEREAS the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to develop a 09 management plan for sea otters in consultation with any Alaska Native organization, even 10 though Alaska Native organizations have approached the service about developing a 11 management plan; and 12 WHEREAS implementation of a sustainable sea otter management plan would 13 maintain sea otter populations at a level that allows for ecological balance in the state's coastal 14 shellfish habitat and provide for expanded economic activity in the state's coastal regions; and 15 WHEREAS the State of Alaska is a model for the successful and sustainable 16 management and harvest of fish and game resources and is best situated to manage sea otters 17 along the state's coast; and 18 WHEREAS, after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the National Marine 19 Fisheries Service is the next best situated state or federal agency to manage the state's sea 20 otter population because the agency already manages other marine mammals and fishery 21 resources that are being adversely affected by sea otters; and 22 WHEREAS, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the United States Secretary 23 of the Interior is permitted to enter into cooperative agreements with Alaska Native 24 organizations to conserve marine mammals and provide co-management of subsistence 25 resources by Alaska Natives, and an agreement could include a management plan for the 26 harvest of sea otters that also protects shellfish resources adversely affected by an 27 unsustainable sea otter population; and 28 WHEREAS, rather than the United States Fish and Wildlife Service managing sea 29 otters in a manner that allows for ecological balance and human harvest of fishery resources, 30 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has a record of protecting sea otters to the 31 detriment of other fishery resources and human needs, resulting in a situation in which the
01 fishery resources that sea otters feed are imperiled and the sea otter population itself placed at 02 risk of collapse; 03 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 04 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the federal Marine Mammal Commission, to 05 review current data and scientific evidence relating to sea otter abundance and the detrimental 06 effects of sea otters in Southeast Alaska under 16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(3)(A), and, after reviewing 07 the evidence, waive the requirements of 16 U.S.C. 1371 to allow the taking of sea otters in 08 Southeast Alaska; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the appropriate 10 federal agencies to work with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Southeast 11 Alaska's Native and non-Native leaders to establish a plan for sea otter management that will 12 maintain a balance between sustainable human harvest of shellfish resources and the region's 13 reintroduced sea otter population; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 15 Congress to transfer responsibility for sea otter management in the state from the United 16 States Department of the Interior to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game under 16 U.S.C. 17 1379, or, if not to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to the National Marine Fisheries 18 Service in the United States Department of Commerce; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges state and federal 20 agencies, in developing a management plan, actively to consider how the plan may expand 21 and enhance small businesses and provide other economic opportunities for Southeast 22 Alaska's residents; and be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 24 Congress to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to provide for an ecologically 25 balanced sea otter management regime instead of protecting sea otters at the expense of 26 marine ecosystems and fishery resources; expand the scope of allowable uses for harvest of 27 sea otters; permit any Alaska Native residing in the state who is a member of a federally 28 recognized tribe under 25 U.S.C. 5130 or who is enrolled under the Alaska Native Claims 29 Settlement Act, to take sea otters; provide that "authentic native articles of handicrafts and 30 clothing" under 16 U.S.C. 1379 include sea otter pelts that may be sold without restriction; 31 and allow the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or an Alaska Native organization
01 authorized under a cooperative agreement with the United States Secretary of the Interior or 02 the National Marine Fisheries Service to co-manage subsistence uses of sea otters, including 03 the authority to permit the sale and foreign export of sea otter pelts; and be it 04 FURTHER RESOLVED that, when an Alaska Native organization or the Alaska 05 Department of Fish and Game certifies to the United States Secretary of the Interior or the 06 National Marine Fisheries Service, in writing, that a sea otter population poses a threat to 07 Alaska Native subsistence resources and that the population may withstand higher levels of 08 taking without becoming unsustainable, and the Alaska Native organization or the department 09 provides a management plan for the study and taking of the sea otters designed to protect 10 fishery resources used for subsistence purposes, the Alaska State Legislature urges the United 11 States Secretary of the Interior or the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue a scientific 12 permit to the department or Alaska Native organization to carry out the management plan; and 13 be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges that the scientific 15 permit issued by the United States Secretary of the Interior or the National Marine Fisheries 16 Service 17 (1) authorize the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or an Alaska Native 18 organization to take as many sea otters as is necessary to protect subsistence fisheries 19 resources; 20 (2) grant the department or Alaska Native organization the authority to 21 administer the management plan, including the plan's amendment or modification, as 22 circumstances, including changes in the sustainability of the sea otter population or fisheries 23 resources within the same ecosystem, may dictate; and 24 (3) permit the department to delegate all or part of the agency's management 25 authority to an Alaska Native organization. 26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of 27 the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore of the 28 U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ryan Zinke, United States Secretary of the Interior; and the 29 Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the 30 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.