Beyond Dichotomy in the Protection and Management of Marine Mammals

Abstract

Marine mammals are natural resources and some are considered as pest animals. The main factors driving the relationship between humans and marine mammals changed from the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first century. This is the result of changes in their extinction risk, resource demand, and animal welfare for wildlife. In this chapter, we selected Steller sea lions to investigate changes in Japanese marine mammal policies. Japan’s policy of Steller sea lion has changed from resource utilization in the mid-twentieth century to conservation in the second half of the twentieth century and pest control since 2014. Japanese environmental groups have played an important role in building consensus on these policy changes. We call for a comprehensive policy that implements a balanced approach to address the three different roles of marine mammals: natural resources, pest animals, and targets of animal welfare. We also discuss the importance of stakeholder involvement in aiming for population management that is neither overfishing nor full protection.