Pacific Walrus Protection and Management in a Changing Climate

AuthorE. Ristroph
PositionRistroph Law, Planning, and Research (Fairbanks, USA)
Pages6-39
BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume IV (2017) Issue 2
ARTICLES
PaCIFIC waLRuS PRoTECTIon anD ManaGEMEnT
In a CHanGInG CLIMaTE
ELIZAVETA RISTROPH,
Ristroph Law, Planning, and Research (Fairbanks, USA)
DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2017-4-2-6-39
This article identies and evaluates strategies and policies for walrus management in
both Chukotka and Alaska. As the climate and walrus migration continue to change, it is
important to follow adaptable strategies that are not xed to specic geographic areas.
Many of the recommendations may be easier to accomplish in the United States, which
oers more opportunities for co-management and stakeholder involvement. The United
States government can implement most recommendations without making substantive
changes to law. This was signicant to most participants – hunters as well as regulators –
who supported voluntary approaches over those requiring legal changes.
Keywords: International law; climate changing; Alaska; Chukotka.
Recommended citation: Elizaveta Ristroph, Pacic Walrus Protection and Management
in a Changing Climate, 4(2) BRICS Law Journal 6–39 (2017).
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Current and Future Environmental Situation
2. Management of Walrus Disturbances in Alaska
2.1. Regulatory Framework
2.1.1. Mandatory Measures
2.1.1.1. International
ELIZAVETA RISTROPH 7
2.1.1.2. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
2.1.1.3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
2.1.1.4. Cooperative Agreements with Eskimo Walrus Commission and Qayassiq
Walrus Commission
2.1.1.5. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
2.1.1.6. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
2.1.1.7. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
2.1.1.8. Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
2.1.2. Voluntary Measures
2.1.2.1. FAA
2.1.2.2. USFWS
2.1.2.3. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
2.2. Practical Steps to Avoid Disturbance
2.3. Coordination and Information Sharing
3. Management of Walrus Disturbances in Russia
3.1. Regulatory Framework
3.2. Practical Steps to Avoid Disturbance
4. Potential Protective Measures
4.1. Protected Areas
4.2. Altitude Restrictions
4.3. Endangered Species Act Measures
4.4. Speed Limits
4.5. Tracking of Vessels and Airlines
4.6. Use of Drones for Monitoring
4.7. Tribal Regulation
4.8. Improved Communication
4.9. Seasonal Calendar
5. Areas of Cooperation between Russians and Alaskans
5.1. Scientic Cooperation
5.2. Management Agreements
5.3. Other Forms of Exchange
6. Recommendations on Policies and Practical Steps
6.1. Protected Areas
6.2. Transferring Management Responsibilities
6.3. Cooperation with the Private Sector
6.4. Adaptable Calendar Map with Regulatory Option
6.5. Coordinating Website, Newsletters, and Calls
6.6. Ensure that Consideration of Walrus Haulouts is “Mainstreamed” into
Bering/Chukchi Planning
6.7. Future Exchanges
Conclusion
BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume IV (2017) Issue 2 8
Introduction
On both sides of the International Date Line, indigenous communities and
scientists are seeing less sea ice and more walruses hauling out on land. While
land-based haulouts are not a new phenomenon, the large numbers of walruses
involved and changes in haulout patterns have sparked interest and concern. There
are particular concerns for indigenous marine mammal hunters in Alaska (USA)
and Chukotka (Russia), as they face hunting challenges due to reduced sea ice,
unpredictable weather, and the northward shift in walrus movement.
1. Current and Future Environmental Situation
Since the 1980s, there has been a decline in sea ice in the Bering and Chukchi
Seas.1 Ice oes are now smaller and thinner, supporting fewer walruses.2 Less sea ice
or sea ice that is not solid complicates marine mammal hunting. If walruses are on
other side of rough, landfast ice from hunters or in open water, hunting is dicult
and more dangerous.3 Hunters may have to hunt at dierent times (i.e., earlier in the
spring, when there is more ice).
With less sea ice available for walrus haulouts, walruses have been hauling out in
greater numbers on land at various points along the Alaska and Chukotka coasts.4
A 2011 haulout near Point Lay had 20,000 to 25,000 walruses.5 Numbers are even
greater at Cape Serdtse -Kamen in Chukotka, where one haulout may consist of
70,000 to 100,000 walruses.6
1 The information in this paragraph was discussed by several participants at the Fairbanks Seminar
and also noted in research publications where specically cited, including Climate Change 2014:
Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Summaries, Frequently Asked Questions, and Cross-Chapter Boxes,
A Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (C.B. Field et al. (eds.), Geneva: World Meteorological Organization, 2014), at 32.
2 Henry P. Huntington et al., Traditional Knowledge Regarding Walrus, Ringed Seals, and Bearded Seals near
Barrow, Alaska, Final report to the Eskimo Walrus Commission, the Ice Seal Committee, and the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management for contract (2015), at 6 (May 10, 2017), available at https://www.adfg.alaska.
gov/static/research/programs/marinemammals/pdfs/2015_traditional_knowledge_barrow.pdf.
3 Id.
4 Karen L. Oakley et al., Changing Arctic Ecosystems: Polar Bear and Walrus Response to the Rapid Decline
in Arctic Sea Ice, 2012-3131 USGS Fact Sheet (2012) (May 10, 2017), also available at http://pubs.usgs.
gov/fs/2012/3131/.
5 Justin Crawford et al., Results from Village-Based Walrus Studies in Alaska, 2011, Alaska Marine Science
Symposium, January 16–20, 2012, Anchorage, AK (May 10, 2017), available at https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/290437169_Results_from_village-based_walrus_studies_in_Alaska_2011.
6 This information was provided by Fairbanks Seminar participant Anatoly Kochnev, Institute of Biological
Problems of the North, Far-Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, Russia; see also
Mark S. Udevitz et al., Potential Population-Level Eects of Increased Haulout-Related Mortality of Pacic
Walrus Calves, 36(2) Polar Biology 291 (2013).

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