海洋哺乳動物的管理是建構在過舊總量數據基礎上,而這些數據所呈現的數量比實際存活的動物數來得多。保育人士警告,準確數據的不足,已危及北極熊、海象、海獺和海牛的生存。
2個保育團體已向美國內政部長柯偉德提出告訴,控訴其在做出保護海洋哺乳動物的管理決策時,沒有考慮到全球暖化和動物總量的最新資訊。
物種總量評估是一項包含物種分佈區,和對物種生存造成威脅等相關資訊的總量預估。
總量評估的目的是作為管理決策的基礎,例如商業捕魚、石油天然氣探勘、遊艇和海上運輸及軍事行動中,允許殺害或干擾海洋動物的程度。
自從2002年北極熊總量評估以來,由於全球暖化的因素,北極熊已被列為瀕危物種法案中生存面臨威脅的物種之一,而一份由官方科學家所做的研究則指出,溫室氣體若無法大幅減少,那麼到了21世紀中葉,北極熊將在阿拉斯加絕跡。
Marine mammals are being managed based on outdated population figures that show more animals than actually exist. Conservationists warn that this failure to provide accurate counts puts shrinking populations of polar bears, walrus, sea otters, and manatees in harms way.
Two conservation organizations have filed a lawsuit against Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for failing to take into account the latest information on global warming and population numbers in management decisions concerning protected marine mammals.
Stock assessments are population estimates that include information on the range of the species and threats to its survival.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce prepare stock assessments for marine mammals.
The assessments are meant to be used as the basis for management decisions such as permitting the killing or harassment of the animals from commercial fisheries, oil and gas exploration, boating and shipping, and military exercises.
Since the last polar bear assessment in 2002, the species has been proposed for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming, and a study by government scientists concluded that polar bears will be extinct in Alaska by mid-century without steep greenhouse gas reductions.
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