October 4,
2017

Contact: Andrea Medeiros,
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that the Pacific walrus does
not require protection as threatened or endangered under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). The finding follows a comprehensive review and analysis
of the best available scientific information concerning the species, as
well as local and traditional ecological knowledge of Alaska Native peoples.

The Pacific walrus is found throughout the continental shelf waters of the
Bering and Chukchi seas and occasionally in the East Siberian Sea and
Beaufort Sea. In its review, the Service paid particular attention to the
impact to the species of the ongoing loss of sea ice in the walrus’s range.

While walruses use sea ice for a variety of activities, including breeding,
birthing, resting and avoiding predators, they have shown an ability to
adapt to sea ice loss that was not foreseen when the Service last assessed
the…