1987 PROGRESS REPORT PACIFIC HARVEST, HEALTH AND WELFARE STUDY AT DIOMEDE,

By Susan A. Steinacher

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Marine Mammal Project 1011 E. Tudor Anchorage, Alaska 99503 ;

Table of Contents. i Acknowledge~ents - . i i Abstract iii

Introduction . i v Study Area 2

· t1ethods. 4

Orientation. 4

Housing and Food 4 Hunter Is r1ee ti ng 5 Harvest Data 5 Tooth Collection 5

Conta~ination Samples. 6

Results and Discussion 6 Housing and Food 6 Hunter 1 s tleeti ng 6

Nu~bers and Sex of Walrus Harvested. 7 Han Hours of Effort. 7 Weather, Ice and Hunting Patterns. 8

Tooth Collection .9

Other ttarine l"lammals Harvested 9

Contamination Samples. 9

Skin Boats 9

Tables .11 - 16

Literature Cited • 1 7

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I ar.1 not sure that the people of Di or.1ede realize hm>~ r.1uch more they have given me than just the answers to the questions I must ask for. the Fish and Hildlife Service. They have taken me into their hor.1es, graciously fed me their foods and patiently showed me and taught me the \'lays of their 1 ife. They have allowed me to feel a part of a culture very different from r.1y own, but even more importantly, they have he 1 ped r.1e to see ho\'1 a 1 ike we a 11 are. To everyone on Dionede, thank you.

i i ABSTRACT

During the 1987 spring walrus harvest, approximately 44 DioMede hunters expended 3,628.5 man hours in harvesting 334 walrus in 2~ hunting days between May 20 and July 1. Of these 344 , 43 {12.8%) were males, 259 (77.5%) were females and 32 (9.8%) were calves. In addition, hunters harvested 16 bearded seals, three ringed seals, two polar bears and one sea lion. No ribbon seals, spotted seals or whales ~rere taken during the oonitoring progran. No data was collected on the number of seabirds or waterfotll harvested. A total of 72 pairs of teeth from adult \·lalruses were purchased fror.1 hunters; 15 {20.8%) were from ma 1es and 57 ( 79. 2%) \'iere from fema 1es. r~ore single teeth from adult female walruses "'ere also purchased. As part of a contaminant monitoring study samples of liver, blubber, kidney, muscle and rib were collected from one adult r.1ale walrus. Six crews hunted this year; four crews hunted exclusively from skin boats, one crew began the season using an aluminum boat but later switched to a skin boat, and one crew hunted exclusively from an aluminum boat. In the first half of the hunting season oost crews hunted to the south, southeast and southwest of , generally within a radius of 15 miles. Later in the season hunters also travelled north and east, "'ith a few crews travelling as far as 60 miles fror.1 the island.

iii INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Fish and \-lildlife Service (Service) conducted its eighth consecutive Pacific walrus harvest monitoring program at the Eskimo village of Diomede, Alaska, from 13 11ay to 8 July 1987. Currently, monitoring village harvests and purchasing specimens from hunters is the most effective method for determining harvest mortality and collecting biological data necessary for evaluating the health and welfare of the Pacific walrus. Data \·rere collected on the number, sex, age and location of \'lalrus harvested. Information related to the hunting effort made by the hunters was also recorded, regarftless of whether the hunt was successful or not. Pairs of lower canine teeth from adult walruses were purchased from boat captains. Tissue samples \rere collected from one male walrus as part of a contaminant monitoring program. A daily journal of activities was kept. Hunter participation in this program is totally voluntary. lvithout exception, every boat captain collected specimens for sale, and all boat captains and hunters congenially provided the necessary information.

iv STUDY AREA

Little Dior.~ede Island is located in the center of the Bering Straits, 41.6 km west of the Alaskan mainland and 45 km east of the Sovie·t Union mainland. The is to the north and the Bering Sea to the South. The island is 3.75 km east of the 's Island with' the international dateline running North-South bet\·~een the two islands. The island is approximately 3 km in length, 1.5 km in width, steep-sided all around and flat on top. The village of Diomede is located on the \'lest side of the island at the water's edge. The population ef Diomede is approximately 160. There is an elementary and a high school, a village owned and operated store, one city office and one Native Corporation office, a small health clinic, a Catholic church, a small community hall, and approximately 35 hor.~es. There is electricity, but no indoor plumbing. During the \'linter, when the pack ice is solidly frozen, there is daily plane service. For more than half the year travel is by boat to the mainland or on the once-weekly mail helicopter. There is a tremendous reliance on the marine resource as ·a food supply and many of the traditional means of gathering, preparing and storing foods are still practiced. t1en hunt seals from the shoreline and on moving ice through the winter. In the open leads of early spring, beluga 1·1hales are sonetimes taken. In later spring, as the ice breaks up, walruses, bearded seals and other seals are hunted in skin boats. This is usually follm·1ed by hunting. In the summer the younger men maneuvere long handled nets to catch auklets in flight, and climb precipitous sea cliffs freehanded and with ropes collecting murre eggs. Younger children use slingshots and traps to hunt auklets, and collect their eggs amongst the boulders. In the fall young men hunt geese and cranes as they r.1igrate south.

The wor.~en are busy year-round preparing the variey of game brought home by the hunters. t1eat is cut, dried, frozen or aged. t1eat and organ parts from marine mammals are eaten or used for some purpose. Blubber is fleshed from the seal and walrus hides and rendered into oil for eating and preserving foods in. Seal skins are soaked, dried and scrapped to be used for sewing hunting bags, sheaths, hunting pants, mittens, slippers and articles for sale. Walrus skins are carefully split and later sewn together by the women for the hunter's skin boats. In the su~er the women are often gone for nany hours picking 1·1i1 d growing plants from around the island to be eaten fresh or stored in seal oil for later use.

There are only b1o full-time paid postions on Dior.~ede, \'lith a fe\'1 other part-tir.Je and seasonal positions available. 11ost families have at least one ivory carver, sometimes nore. Homen have also taken up carving. Ivory forms the basis for the village's economy. Carvings are traded for groceries, fuel oil, kerosene and Blazo (most cooking is done on Coleman stoves). Electric bills are paid for with carvings, and money is raised for entertainment (such as holiday feasts) through the sale of carvings traded for bingo cards.

1 To give an example of the cost of living on Diomede the following grocery and store item costs are provided: Flour $6.95 10 pounds Sugar 7.1 0 10 pounds Crisco 4.29 3 pound can Cornflakes 3.05 18 ounces box Orange juice 3.95 46 ounce can Tang 16.40 5 pound can Evaporated mild .95 13 ounce can Fresh milk not available

tlotor gas $2.88 one gallon Stove oil 77.50 50 gallons Blazo 5.25 1 gallon Kerosene 5.15 1 gallon

Remington 30-06 Springfield 180 grain core-lockt soft points $15.95 box Federal 270 ~vi nchester 150 grain soft-point hi -shock 19.52 box Remington 7mm Remington 175 grain core-lokt soft-point 17.25 box

(If stor~ runs out special order costs approximately $10.00 additional)

2 t<1ETHODS

Orientation Prior to departure to the villages, a 5 day orientation was conducted by the Service to a acquaint monitors with the objectives of the spring walrus harvest monitoring program to be conducted in Gambell, Savoonga, Nome, Hales and Little Diomede. Training included reviewing literature on walrus biology, past jurisdiction of walrus harvest management by the State of Alaska and the Service, the l·farine Mammal Protection Act, la\·IS pertaining to marine mamals, data collection objectives and techniques, housing and contract administration,•and discussions concerning life in a village.

Housing and Food A small apartment with cooking facilities in the Inalik tJative Corporation building was leased from the Corporation for$ 30.00 per day. This price included electicity and water tokens. Storage space was nade available in another room at no charge. No laboratory space was need~d this year. Groceries ~rere purchased in advance and shipped to the village in addition to setting up an account for $400 worth of groceries at the village store.

Hunters f-feeti ng Prior to the start of hunting; a meeting for all hunters \•tas announced on the television, posted at the store and Post Office, and discussed personally w.ith individuals. It was sponsored jointly with the village's Eskimo Walrus Commission (EWC) representative. The meeting objectives included; discussing the anti-walrus hunting campaign being launched by severa·l anir.1a.l-rights groups, and the political ramifi~ations of the upcoming reauthorization of the 1-fari ne f1ammal Protection Act U·U1PA) by Congress, presenting reports attesting to the size and health of the walrus herd; and reviewing the details of specimens and hunt-related information being collected this year. Also discussed was the need for the recent slide-tape video produced about Dionede and how it could help educate others about subsistence practices. Reports and other relevant materials were made available for review and were later posted at the Post Office. Hunter kits were also distributed. Each kit consisted of a large zip-lock bag that held approximately 30 small zip-lock bags for holding pairs of teeth, 30 small white plastic tags (for labeling) and two grease pencils.

3 Harvest Data Every possible effort Has made to rneet all returning boats. Help was provided in pulling boats ashore and unloading meat and gear. During that .time the boat captain and crew rnernbers were asked about the number and sex of the walrus taken on ice or in the water, the hunting location, herds observed, hunting conditions, and departure time if not observed by the biologist. Information about the number of walrus 11 Sunk 11 was not actively sought and only recorded incidentally. Other information could be directly observed by the biologist: crew size, boat type and size, rnotor(s) used and other animals collected. This information \las recorded in a Rite-in-the-Rain notebook and later transcribed onto a standardized form. Also, at this time specimens were inspected and either rejected or purchased.

Tooth Collection Hunters were instructed to collect two lower canine teeth to be used later to determine the age of the individual walrus. These teeth were not to be broken, significantly chipped or cracked, and were to include a tag indicating the sex of the walrus and, if from a female, the reproductive status. Hunters were given a receipt worth $8.00 in cash or trade at the village store for each pair of properly labeled teeth. Collection of single teeth \'tas discouraged but occasionally the situation justified the purchase of a single tooth, or pair \'lith one tooth broken, for $4.00. Funding allowed for the purchase of 150 pairs of teeth. In an effort to spread the collection of teeth t.t;roughout the entire hunting season and to rernain consistent with last year's system, a purchase quota of four pairs of teeth per boat, per trip, was established at the hunter's meeting. Later in the hunt this was raised to six, and eventually no limit Has given. The teeth were scraped clean, placed in a manilla envelope and labeled with a succesive number.

Contamination Samples As part of a heavy metal and hydrocarbon contamination study of walrus, 1/4 lb. sarnples \'lere to be taken of kidney, liver, muscle and blubber (2 sarnples), and a 2 lb. sample of rib (closest to the spine), from older adult walruses. A set of lo\ver front canine teeth were to be collected for age determination. The hunters were asked to collect samples somewhat larger than the above description, using a stainless steel knife and keeping their hands clean and free of any netal rings, and to place them individually into zip-lock bags. They uere later trimmed to the required size by the monitor, also using a stainless steel knife and clean hands, wrapped in alurninum foil (shiny side out), and frozen.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Housing and Food The corporation apartment was rented from 13 f,1ay through· 8 July for a total of 57 days. At $30.00 per day, the final bill was $1,710. The final bill for purchases nade at the village store was $359.81. , It is imperative that the Inalik Native Corporation be contacted r1ell in advance of the monitors annual, to establish a mutually agreed upon rental price. If at all possible this agreement should be in writting to prevent any later disputes or misunderstandings. The corporation apartment is an excellent location for housing the monitor as it is quiet, private, and offers and excellent view of the hunters as they depart and return.

Hunter's Meeting This year's meeting uas attended by approximately 25 hunters. Pat liniak, the EWC representative for Diomede, who helped advertise and cosponsor the meeting, felt the turn-out was very good considering the 'excellent weather and everone's desire to be out crabbing or fishing. Coffee and fresh baked bread were served-as advertised. Much time was spent discussing the current politics of ivory and \'falrus hunting. Dale Taylor, then in charge of the \'/alrus r.~onitoring prograr.J, had sent along examples of the negative publicity that \·lalrus hunting is receiving. These \1/ere posted later at the Post Office. Only a few hunters actively spoke up, but probably expressed·many of the concerns and frustrations of the others. Not all of the hunters r1ere in agreement over \'lhat to do. Some felt that the village should impose a voluntary quota system. Sor1eone suggested studying just how much ivory the vill~ge needs and how it could be used more econor.Jically - such as reduced sales of headmounts and of raw ivory to other villages. Also suggested was the possibility of selling excess walrus meat. All hunters that spoke seemed to feel that their dependency on walrus meat and ivory was not understood by most non-natives. They felt that a visit to Diomede by members of the animal rights groups and by members of Congress would help these people to better understand their subsistence life style. For the most part, everyone thought the slide-tape video on Dior.1ede 1·1as a good idea, but not everyone had seen it. Throughout the monitoring program, these feelings of being misunderstood by non-natives continued to surface, from the women as well as the hunters. A genuine fear of loosing their right to hunt walrus and thereby loosing a critical source of . income and econor:li c self-sufficiency \vas expressed. Another point strongly stressed by many villagers \'las their tremendous dependencey on ualrus meat and organs in their diet, as well as for the nanufacture of their skin boats and drums for dancing. They questioned what the quality of their life and cultural traditions would become without walrus hunting. One other point frequently raised was that monitors should be placed in all the villages that harvest walrus not just certain select ones. The hunters feel that too much attention is focused on Diomede harvest and that not enough infonnation is covered from other villages harvesting \'lalrus. 5 Numbers and Sex of Walrus Harvested Between 21 11ay and 1 July, inclusive, a total of 334 walrus 1·tere harvested. Of these, 43 {12.8%) were adult males, 259 (77.5%) \'/ere ~dult females, and 32 (9.8%) were calves. In addition, five adult female "floaters 11 (killed earlier by soneone else and found floating in the 1·1ater) \'/ere brought in. These are not included in the Diomede tally as it cannot be detennined 1·1hich village shot ther.t. This is the second lowest harvest for Diomede in the eight years that the Service has been r.tonitoring the harvest. Hunters expressed concern over the 1ow harvest and. its economic effect. llany of the \'/Omen expressed concern over needing more neat. At least one skin boat o1·mer did not collect enough skins for his boat for next year. One boat captain with a low catch was not as concerned as the other's, but explained he was the only one who had a steady job. f1an Hours of Effort Approximately 44 hunters participated in this year's walrus harvest, making up five skin boat crews and one aluminum boat crew. The total nunber of man hours of effort invested expressly in hunting, was 3,628.5 or 10.9 hours per walrus. The boats made a collective total of 78 hunting forays, of which 29 were successful. The total number of man-hours given in reports for the past eight yea•·s have varied so widely that it would be advisable to review the raw data and the methods of calculation used. For the purpose of this report the total of nan-hours invested was calculated by multiplying the nunber of ttours a11ay (to the nearest half hour) per trip, per boat. The number of. hours ,away hunting per trip \'las calculated from the time the boat left either the ice edge or the beach, to the tir.~e it returned. Any additional forays in a day 1·1ere counted as separate trips. The resting time spent bet1·1een trips when the hunters returned to the island and unloaded neat 1tas not counted, whereas rest times while taken away from the island in the course of a trip 1·1ere counted. Both unsuccessful and successful hunting trips \'/ere counted. nan hours do not include the time spent getting the boat and gear ready for hunting season, hauling boats to and from put-in points, or unloading and hauling meat and gear hone. Nor does it include the time spent collecting, splitting, preparing, sewing and fitting skins for the boats. All of these activities consume a considerable anount of additional time and should be considered when attempting to appreciate the true hours of hunting effort.

6 \-leather, Ice and Hunting Patterns Walrus hunting began 20 11ay with the first walruses being brought in 21 f1ay. Because the ice between Big and Little was still solid, boats were towed by snO\machine and had approximately 2 kr.1 to a launching spot along the shorfast ice on the south end of the island. One crew, which later hunted from the village in a skin boat, used an aluminum boat during this time. Another crew, which later hunted from the village in a large skin boat (28'), used a smaller skin boat (20') during this time. The boats hunted from this location until 2 June, when enough ice had gone out between the two islands to allow launching from the village. During this time the weather ~2s generally calm with lots of scattered ice present. Initially there \vere reports of herds of female·walruses with calves on the ice, but shortly after came reports of no game, even though there was ice. Boats travelled up to 15 miles away in a south, southwest and southeast direction. For the rest of the hunting season the hunters were plagued by strong north, northeast and east winds which pushed most of the northward travelling ice, and walruses to the ~1est of Big Diomede. Fog \·las also a chronic problen. After 8 June, when the rest of the ice between the islands \~nt out,' hunters began travelling north in search of ice that had passed the islands, but most of the hunting \tas still conducted to the south or around the island. On 13 June, the winds shifted to the southwest bringing some ice within reach of Diomede but there \tere few walruses on it. With the return of northerly ~1inds on 17 June, the hunters resumed travelling up to 25 niles to the north and northeast in search of loose shore ice floating north. Hunters reported seeing more bulls and more walruses travei1ing in the ~1ater, but their nunbers were low. By 23 June, most hunters had turned their attention tO\vards hunting gray \·lha 1es - a cooperative venture among a11 the boat crews. Ho\'tever, a report on 1 July of ice north of Wales with walruses on it spurred ·a final· push by most boats to the northeast, with t\o1o boats traveling up to 60 niles. T\·IO polar bears were taken on the ice but the only walruses seen were in the water. The general consensus among the hunters this year, is that the predominantly northeast and east winds, and absence of any prolonged southwest and west winds, kept the ice and the walrus in Soviet waters. In addition, persistent high winds and fog hindered hunting. The crews that began hunting as early as conditions pernitted were able to capitalize on the first \•tave of ~talruses to pass by. Except for one additional good day of hunting, 3 June, hunting conditions remained unfavorable and no other large groups of walruses on ice were seen.

7 Tooth Collection A total of 72 pairs of teeth and three single teeth were purchased from boat captains. Of these, 57 pairs (79.2%} were fro~ fe~ales, 15 pairs (20.8%} were from males. Three single teeth were from females. Sing1e teeth were usually purchased when one of a pair \'las badly chipped or broken. , It is possible that a bias exists towards the offerring for sale of smaller teeth, or female teeth, as the larger teeth may be kept by hunters to be carved for sale or to be ~ade into utilitarian objects.

Other 11ari ne 11ar.1111al s Harvested During the walrus harvest monitoring period 16 bearded seals, three ringed seals, one female sea lion and two female polar bears Here taken. In addition there \·lere a number of sightings of gray whales and an occasional sighting of bowhead whales and killer whales, but no \'/hales were landed. Prior to the start of the \'lalrus monitoring study approximately six beluga whales were taken. The harvest of bearded seals and ringed seals was below previous years. Bearded and ringed are important food sources and the need for more neat was commonly expressed by the villagers. The polar bears were taken at the end of walrus hunting on late shore ice along the nainland NE of Dionede. The sealion taken represents a rare occurence. This meat Has also eaten. In previous years a year-round monitor from the village has been enployed by Kauerak, Inc. to ~aintain a record of the number of marine mammals harvested. Due to lack of funding this position ~tas no longer being filled.

Contamination Samples Samples were collected from one adult male walrus. Originally there was no intention to collect contamination samples from Diomede as they had been collected the previous year. However, at the hunters meeting, several hunters expressed a desire to have additional sa~ples collected from Dio~ede as they were concerned about the health implications of eating contaminated walrus ~eat. Because of the delay in receiving collection directions and the low hunting success during the later half of the hunting season, samples \'lere collected from one animal.

Skin Boats This year five crews hunted in skin boats, carrying a total number of approximately 40 hunters, and harvested 320 walrus. Only one cre\"1 of four hunters, used an aluminum boat, and harvested 14 walrus.

8 Dionede hunters continue to display a preference for hunting walrus in skin boats as opposed to aluminum boats. They continue to like the skin hoats greater stability, its ability to carry more hunters and heavier loads, and the relative ease with \·lhich it can be repaired. There were additional a 1uni num boats on the island which \-Jere 1ater used for egg co 11 ecti ng trips around the island, but which were not considered safe enough for the rigors, risk and travelling distance required of walrus hunting. Aluminum boats are expensive {18 1 Lund aluminum boat, delivered, is approximately $3,400) while skin boats require an investment of time and labor. The skins generally need to be replaced every other year. The boats require from four to six female walrus skins each. The skins must be split with an ulu by the women (appreximately 12 hours each), aged, stretched on large racks and scraped and dried, stored fer the winter, soaked in seaHater for several weeks to soften, trimmed by the men, sewn together by the women (approximately 10 uomen for 12 hours) and then fitted and 1a shed onto the \·tOoden frame. In addition, the wooden frame periodically needs repair, modifications, or parts replaced. The traditional use of skin boats for walrus hunting on Diomede appears to be alive and well.

9 Table 1. Sur.tmary of \'lal rus nur:1bers harvested by Di orne de hunters and man-hours expended during the spring r.tonitoring periods, 1980 through 1987 inclusively.

No. No. No. Adults No. Total Total Avg.Man-hours Year 14al es Females Unknown Sex Calves Harvest Man-hours per walrus

1980 229 437 27 16 709 40,653 57.3 (32%) (62%) ( 4%) {2%) 1981 458 • 304 10 36 808 data unavailable {57%) {38%) {1 %) (4%) 1982 162 315 46 35 558 10,689 19.6 {29%) {56%) (8%) (6%)

1983 114 46 1 6 166 5,256 32.8 (69%) (28%) ( 4%) 1984 269 657 77 40 1,043 4,360 4.2 {26%) (63%) ( 7%) (4%) 1985 119 1 ,020 22 47 1 '208 3,643 3.0 (1 0%) (84%) ( 2%) {4%) 1986* 127 569 0 63 759 5,702.4 7.5 1987 43 259 0 32 334 3,628.5 10.9

* Recalculated by the author.

10 !able 2. lllome.te huat captams, boats and motors used, and r~alrus harvest diita fur spr•n!J I9U7.

IJodl Capta m lloat fype Boat llotor llv. Cre~1 Uo. of Total llo. Total No. No. tlan-flours No. walrus {spare motor) SIZe tr1ps of walrus l·lan-hours per walrus per hunter

T- •- ,. ~------·-- --~ ------~--- ~------~------·------·--- -· ---- Orv•lle llnkinga Sr.* sk m 20' Evin. 35hp b.9 II 3 480.0 160.0 0.4 (Evm. 35hp) Peter Ahkvaluk alum. Hl' Ev m 25hp 3.6 9 14 250.5 17.9 3.9 Glenn Iyakuk** skin 20' Suz. 40hp 8.8 12 28 837 .o 29.9 3.2 (Evin. 35hp) Ed!Jar Iyapana** alum. 18' Evin. 35hp 6,3 3 49 161.0 3.3 7.8 TonlliY llenadelook Sr. skin 20' Evin 30hp*** 9.3 18 105 859.0 8.2 11.3 (John. 55hp) ,_. (Evin. 35hp) ,_. Roger/Ronald Ozenna skin 20' /lerc. 50hp 10.0 12 99 592.0 6.0 9.9 {Evin. 30hp) David Soolook Sr. skin 20' Ev in. 55hp 5.5 13 36 449.0 12.5 6.6 {Evin. 35hp)

k o. Ahkinga Sr. was working so his boat was capta1ned at various times by his older sons or other relatives. •• These two boat captains hunted together -first in the aluminum boat, later in the skin boat •

*k-k ThiS boat captain switched to the larger boat motor when he switched from a smaller sk1n boat to a larger skin boat. ..

Table 3. Chronology of numbers of walrus harvested on Diomede during the spring monitoring program, 1987.

Date Males Females Calves Daily Totals

5/21 0 31 6 37 5/22 3 28 3 34 5/23 3 31 6 40 5/27 1 5 0 6 5/28 0 1 1 2 5/29 0 4 4 8 6/2 0 1 0 6/3 21 142 10 173 6/7 0 1 0

6/9 4 3 2 9 6/13 0 1 0 6/15 5 0 0 5 6/17 3 0 0 3 6/18 0 1 0 1 6/20 2 9 (+5)* 0 11 (+5)

7/1 1 1 0 2 TOTALS 43 259 (+5} 32 334 (+5}

* Nunbers in parenthesis represent "floaters" - walrus that are found dead and retreived. The origin of these walrus cannot be determined and are not included in total \talrus harvest calculations.

12 Table 4. Chronology of specimen acquisition from Diomede hunters, 1987.

Date Pairs of Teeth Single Teeth Contam1nation Samples t1ale Female t1ale Female t1al e Female

5/21 12 5/22 4 5/23 4

5/27 l 3 5/29 4 6/3 3 16 3 6/7 1 6/9 2 3 6/13 1 6/15 5 6/17 3 collected 6/18 1 6/20 7 7/1 1 TOTALS 15 57 0 3 0 0

13 Table 5. Chronology of other marine mammals harvested on Piomede during the 1987 period.

Date Ringed Seal Sea Lion Polar Bear 5/20 ·1 5/27 1 5/28 3 2 5/29 2 1 6/2 2

6/3 6 6/7 1 7/1 2 7/7 1

TOTALS 16 3 1 ' 2

+ Hunting for gray whales began approximately 6/14, and was conducted as the opportunity arose. Numerous gray whales and at least one bO\·Jhead whale \'/ere observed but none were 1anded.

++ No seabirds or waterfowl were observed being taken by hunters during the walrus hunting season.

14 Table 6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expenditures on Dior.1ede during the spring walrus nonitoring period, 1987.

Vendor Items Bought Total Paid {$) Diomede Native Store* 72 pairs of teeth @ $10/pr $720.00 3 single teeth @ $5.00 ea 15.00 Groceries and supplies 359.81 sub total $1 ,094.81 Inalik Native Corp 57 days 1odgi ng @ $30/day . $1,71 d.oo TOTAL $2,804.81

* Store receives a 20% mark-up over hunter 1 s credit.

15 LITERATURE CITED

Halpin, L. 1981. Walrus Harvest, Health, and l1elfare Study. Little Diomede, Alaska. USFWS unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska. 21 pp.

Lourie, K.S. 1982. Biological Data and Harvest t1onitoring t,1anual. Eskimo Walrus Comoission. Nome, Alaska.

Herk, J. 1982. Halrus Harvest, Health and \~elfare Study. Little Diomede, A1 aska. USF\~S unpub 1 i shed report. Anchorage, A1 ask a. 30 pp. 1!83. Walrus Harvest, Health and Welfare Study. Little =D,~·o-m-ed~e-,-A~l~a~ska. USFWS unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska. 17 pp.

Rabinowitz, t1. 1984. Pacific \~alrus Harvest, Health and Helfare Study at Little Diomede Island, Alaska. USHJS Unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska. Smith, T. E. 1980. Walrus Study Project. 1980 Field Collection Report, Diomede, Alaska. USFI~S unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska.. 15 'pp • Steinacher, s. 1985. Progress Report, 1985 Pacific Halrus Harvest and Health Study at Diof.lede, Alaska. USF\lS unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska. 15 pp.

Turco, K. 1986. 1986 Progress R~port, Pacific Walrus Harvest, Health and \ielfare Study at Little Diomede, A1aska. USFIJS unpublished report. Anchorage, Alaska. 25 pp.

16