ABSTRACT
Marine mammals have become both subjects of great popular interest, and objects of widespread concern. This chapter is concerned with problems in research and management of marine mammals in polar regions. Regulations preventing over-investment would seem to be essential management of polar marine mammals. Hydrocarbon and mineral exploration and eventual production pose a threat to arctic marine ecosystems, and in the near future will probably pose similar threats in the antarctic. Significant conflicts between fisheries and marine mammal populations in the polar regions have probably not been significant, but those that may have occurred are certainly not well documented. The influence of possible increased numbers of fish or invertebrate predators on marine mammals can only be speculated on. A case where the impact of fisheries on marine mammals is probably extant as there exists a concern that fisheries in the Bering Sea may well have reduced the carrying capacity for the norther fur seal.
