Estimation of Hunter Compliance with the Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Program for Walrus

The harvest of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) by Alaska Natives has been monitored since 1988 by the Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Program (MTRP) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I compared MTRP data with information from the Walrus Harvest Mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wildlife Society bulletin 1998-04, Vol.26 (1), p.68-74
Main Author: Burn, Douglas M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska Natives
Calves
Compliance
Datasets
Human Interactions
Hunting
Indigenous people
Marine
Marine fishes
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Marine mammals
Odobenus rosmarus
Odobenus rosmarus divergens
Otters
Seas
Tusks
Walrus hunting
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife management
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Summary:The harvest of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) by Alaska Natives has been monitored since 1988 by the Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Program (MTRP) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I compared MTRP data with information from the Walrus Harvest Monitoring Project (WHMP) to estimate the level of compliance with the MTRP in Diomede, Gambell, and Savoonga, 3 major villages where walrus hunting occurs in Alaska. During the 1994 and 1995 spring harvests of walrus, estimated maximum compliance in Diomede was 99 and 99%; in Gambell, 77 and 64%; and in Savoonga, 69 and 66%, respectively. Of those tusks that were tagged, >50% were tagged within the required 30-day period, with the majority of those tagged within 1-2 weeks. Walrus calves generally were unreported to the MTRP. Estimates of the walrus harvest from MTRP data should be considered biased low. Continued information and education efforts are necessary to improve understanding and acceptance of this program.
ISSN:0091-7648
1938-5463