AKRO Protected Resources (PR) Division Metadata Portfolio

The Protected Resources Division (PRD), with offices in Juneau and Anchorage, is responsible for developing management and conservation programs for all but three species of marine mammals in Alaska, and for providing regional policy guidance on marine mammal and other protected species issues. In administering provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Fur Seal Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act, the biologists and staff of the PRD work with other NMFS offices to develop regulations and management measures to protect, conserve and restore marine mammal populations.

A few of the areas that the PRD is specifically involved in are managing commercial fishery interactions with marine mammals and seabirds, coordinating Steller sea lion recovery efforts, co-management of marine mammal subsistence harvests with Alaska Native organizations, coordinating the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, establishing responsible marine mammal viewing guidelines, and developing and distributing public information and educational materials about marine mammals in Alaska. The division also consults on permit requests for scientific research, capture of marine mammals for public display, and takes of marine mammals incidental to other activities. Additionally, PRD consults with Federal agencies under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act to ensure that Federal agency activities do not adversely affect threatened or endangered marine mammal species or their critical habitat.