STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE The family Odobenidae

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anadyr; Anadyr’; Bering Sea; Chukchi Sea; East Siberian Sea; Pacific; Anadyr'; Beaufort Sea; Chukchi; Odobenus rosmarus; walrus*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.113.128; http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/stock/finalpwalrusalaska.pdf

is represented by a single modern species Odobenus rosmarus of which two subspecies are generally recognized: the Atlantic walrus (O. r. rosmarus), and the Pacific walrus (O. r. divergens). The two subspecies occur in geographically isolated populations. The Pacific walrus is the only form occurring in U.S. waters and considered in this account. Pacific walrus range throughout the continental shelf waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas, occasionally moving into the East Siberian Sea and the Beaufort Sea (Fig. 1). During the summer months most of the population migrates into the Chukchi Sea, however several thousand animals, primarily adult males, congregate near coastal haulouts in the Gulf of Anadyr and in Bristol Bay. During the late winter breeding season walrus are found in two major concentration areas of the Bering Sea where open