Can I legally purchase baleen from a road vendor? Are there any restrictions on what I can do with it?
Yes, baleen (usually this is from the endangered bowhead whale) may be legally sold by Alaska Natives as Traditional Native Handicraft underneath both the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA). The baleen should be cleaned. Polished to qualify as handicraft. Once bought, bowhead baleen may be transported out of State, however will not be subsequently sold or taken outside of the United States.
Can I legally buy or sell bowhead whale meat or muktuk or Cook Inlet beluga whale meat or muktuk?
No. It is against the law for anybody, including Alaska Natives, to buy or sell bowhead whale or Cook Inlet beluga whale meat or muktuk.
I’ve discovered some marine mammal bones, can I legally retain these for personal use?
Maybe. Federal regulations at 50 CFR 216.26 state that any bones, teeth, or ivory of any dead marine mammal could also be collected from a seashore or from land inside ¼ of a mile of the ocean, including bays and estuaries. These marine mammal components must be registered and identified by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, and will then be transferred or in any other case possessed. If you have any concerns about where by and how to use marine hinge buy, you can contact us at our website. Call Robert Marvelle, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, (907) 586-9329. Parts from marine mammals which might be listed as endangered under the ESA will not be collected, with sure exceptions (similar to collection by Alaska Natives for the production of genuine handicrafts). Humpback whales, gray whales, and Steller sea lions in Alaska embody animals from ESA-listed and non-ESA-listed Distinct Population Segments (DPSs). The Beringia DPS bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal were listed as threatened species under the ESA on December 28, 2012. However, NOAA Fisheries has not but issued rules under part 4(d) of the ESA to prohibit «take» of these threatened species and at the moment, bearded and boat hinge ringed seal bones or teeth could also be collected from beaches in Alaska. A October 20, 2020, NOAA Fisheries steering document explains how NOAA Fisheries will deal with the collection of bones, teeth, or ivory from these 5 species in Alaska. You should contact NOAA Fisheries prior to gathering any marine mammal elements to make sure their scientific worth is just not misplaced, for assistance in determining whether or not the elements are from a threatened or endangered species, and to legally register the elements. Contact NOAA Fisheries in Juneau at (907) 586- 7285, or Anchorage: (907) 271-1823.
Can marine fitting mammal bones or skeletons be collected by public institutions or museums for display and/or education?
Yes. Again, NOAA Fisheries can register such parts and provide certification for the bones to be retained for these functions. Contact NOAA Fisheries in Juneau at (907) 586- 7285, or Anchorage: (907) 271-1823.
How do I know if ivory artwork is real?
Artwork bought from gift stores and main shops often has a label identifying it as Authentic Alaska Native handicraft. Buyers must be cautious of buying handicraft from marine mammal parts which aren’t marked as such.
I have marine mammal components which pre-date the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Are there any restrictions on what I can do with these?
If you’ll be able to establish the elements have been obtained before 1972, neither the MMPA nor ESA apply, and there aren’t any legal restrictions or prohibitions on what you might do with these. However, the burden of proof lies with you, and also you may be asked to produce proof of the history of such elements within the occasion you wish to promote them. This prior standing may be established by submitting an affidavit to NOAA Fisheries (50 CFR 216.14). Fossilized ivory is assumed to predate both Acts; no prohibitions apply.
I am an Alaskan Native…
Do I have to register or require a license to harvest marine mammals? What marine mammals can I harvest?
Provided you might be at least one-quarter Alaska Native by blood, no authorization from the Federal Government is needed to harvest most marine mammals for subsistence. Tribal government authorities needs to be contacted before hunting in any space of the State of Alaska. The Cook Inlet beluga whale could solely be hunted under an settlement between NOAA Fisheries and an Alaska Native Organization. Contact NOAA Fisheries in Anchorage at (907) 271-5006 for data on these whales. Large whales (akin to bowheads, gray, and humpbacks) are regulated below international agreements and might not be hunted except particular quotas have been set by the International Whaling Commission.
Can I take a parka or other clothes made from marine mammal skins outside of the United States?
It depends. The Marine Mammal Protection Act supplies that non-endangered marine mammal elements and handicrafts, excluding edible portions, may be both imported and exported by Native peoples of Alaska, Russia, Canada, and Greenland for cultural exchange functions. So if you’re an Alaska Native, it’s possible you’ll put on a parka fabricated from seal skins when traveling to those countries as a part of a cultural alternate. For all other circumstances and marine hardware earlier than leaving the United States, please verify with the U.S. Customs Service and the customs department of the international nation you may be entering for info pertaining to this import.
I’m not an Alaskan Native…
Can I purchase some muktuk to eat?
Maybe. It is illegitimate to purchase or promote bowhead whale or Cook Inlet beluga whale meat or muktuk. Edible parts of different threatened or endangered marine mammals may be sold, however solely by Alaska Natives in Native towns or villages for Native consumption. Edible portions of marine mammals that are not listed as threatened or endangered may be offered either A) for Native consumption or B) to non Natives if sold in Native towns and villages in Alaska (Native villages include Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau). Once bought, these products do not must be consumed within the Native village or town.
Can I eat muktuk if I’m I’m attending a local potlatch celebration?
Yes. Provided it was legally harvested, edible parts from a marine mammal could also be consumed by each Natives and non Natives.
Can I take part in marine mammal searching?
No, until you are regarded as a member of an Alaska Native village or group, and your father or marine hinge buy mother were also thought to be a member of that village or group. Marriage to an Alaska Native does not convey the precise to harvest marine mammals beneath the Native exemption to those Acts.