1973 Alaska Fur Seal Investigations

July 01, 1973

The National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for the conservation of the northern fur seal because of its role in harvesting the resource on St. Paul Island (Pribilof Islands) and because of terms set forth in the Interim Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals (1957) and its amending Protocol (1963). More recently, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 have reinforced obligations of the National Marine Fisheries Service with respect to the northern fur seal.