CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13(RES)

• Alaska Department of Fish and Game reintroduced approximately 400 sea otters between 1965-1969 in Southeast Alaska; the population grew from 5,800 in 2003 to over 27,712 by 2012, with a 13% annual growth rate placing the 2018 population at an estimated 51,058.

• Growing sea otter population is depleting shellfish resources (crab, abalone, urchins, sea cucumbers, clams) that Southeast Alaska residents depend on for subsistence and commercial harvesting, with some areas experiencing unsustainably depleted shellfish stocks.

• Resolution urges the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to review scientific evidence and waive moratorium provisions under 16 U.S.C. 1371 to allow sea otter taking in Southeast Alaska.

• Resolution urges Congress to transfer sea otter management responsibility from the U.S. Department of the Interior to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or National Marine Fisheries Service, and to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to permit Alaska Natives to sell sea otter pelts and to allow co-management authority for subsistence uses.

• Resolution requests scientific permits authorizing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or Alaska Native organizations to take sea otters as necessary to protect subsistence fisheries resources and administer management plans.