Pacific Walrus Management and Research

Publications & Reports

Management

In 1941, the commercial harvest of walruses was banned in the United States. Passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972 further protected walruses from overharvest by restricting the harvest to only Alaska Natives for subsistence and handicraft purposes. The annual harvest in Alaska is monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Management issues are jointly addressed by the USFWS and the Native co-management organization the Eskimo Walrus Commission (EWC). The EWC was established in 1978 to represent coastal walrus hunting communities in Alaska. In 1997, the EWC and USFWS signed a cooperative management agreement for the conservation and management of walruses.

The Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary in northern Bristol Bay, approximately 65 miles southwest of Dillingham, was created in 1960 to protect a group of 7 small islands and their adjacent waters, including Round Island, a terrestrial haulout for mostly male Pacific walruses in summer. The sanctuary provides important habitat for walruses and is one of 4 regularly active haulout sites in Bristol Bay. The sanctuary also protects habitats important for other wildlife including Steller sea lions and nesting seabirds. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) manages the sanctuary primarily to protect the habitats and the species that use them, but also to provide for public use and enjoyment of these resources including the opportunity for scientific and educational study, viewing, and photography. The subsistence hunting of walruses is allowed on Round Island and cooperatively regulated by the USFWS, ADF&G, and the Qayassiq Walrus Commission.

Research

ADF&G collaborates with federal agencies, universities, coastal communities, and other researchers on walrus-related research projects, with the following three active projects:

  • A satellite telemetry and observational study of walruses that includes working with walrus hunters to deploy tags near villages and to conduct observations of walruses on land haulouts. Learn more about the village-based walrus habitat use studies in the Chukchi Sea.
  • Pacific walrus numbers at the Round Island haulout, within Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary, are seasonally monitored as well as the Round Island visitors program and the effects of boat and airplane traffic on the haulout. Additionally, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey (Biological Research Division) have all worked cooperatively to sponsor other walrus research on Round Island; past research projects have included: radio-tagging studies to determine movements and diving behaviour of walrus in Bristol Bay; a study on walrus monitoring observer variability and a study on the behavioral changes of walrus in response to human activities.

Additional research of the Pacific walrus population is conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.