eBay Powerseller and scrimshaw artist Dave Stanbrough said eBay terminated two auctions for fossil walrus ivory scrimshaw last March because, according to the auction site, he had listed banned or prohibited items. Dave said the email notice cited eBay's policy on marine mammals and referred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and their state wildlife regulatory agency (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/wildlife.html).

Dave, a retired USFWS employee, said, "The USFWS has declared fossil walrus ivory as mineral, not animal and therefore it does not apply to eBay's policy statements concerning banned and restricted animal products."

The difference between fossil walrus ivory and "normal" walrus ivory, which is considered an animal product, is age and composition. Ivory from species still living is called "green ivory" in reference to the fact that it has been harvested from recently killed animals. Trade of green walrus ivory is restricted by the Marine Mammals Act of 1972.

Fossil walrus ivory, however, is the partially mineralized remains of walrus dead for thousands of years and is not protected under the Marine Mammal Act because it has been declared to be mineral (http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/qa.htm).

Dave says it appears to him that eBay is acting overly cautious, applying the Marine Mammal Act to all items containing the words "walrus" and "ivory." But he points out that illegal elephant ivory can be very easily stained to look old and sold as mammoth ivory, "but eBay still permits mammoth ivory."

Dave said the change means he will be limited to selling mammoth ivory on eBay, which could mean as much as 20% loss in his sales this year. Other sellers have also had auctions of fossil walrus ivory cancelled, says Dave, and there has been an outcry, because, "we have been basically shut down on eBay for the fossil walrus ivory." eBay did not return requests for an interview for this article.

The scrimshaw community will now be limited to trade shows, and some dealers and artists will adjust by switching to mammoth ivory, according to Dave.

The most serious change, however, may take place further up the supply chain, Dave says. "This could work its way back up to the Alaskan tribes on St Lawrence and King Island," where the ivory gatherers will be hurt as sales slow down. Dave worries that if the market drops out, the price will plunge, and the tradition and beauty of fossil walrus ivory scrimshaw, with its unique properties, may be lost to a generation.