Increased hunting pressure for export, commencing about 1975, resulted in a serious decline in the populations of the Yap fruit bat (Pteropu.s mariannu.s yapensis). Factors causing this pressure included an export market in the U.S. Territory of Guam and in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and increased use of firearms. Research on Yap fruit bat populations generated legislative support for hunting regulations and gun control. As a result, bat populations have increased two to five-fold between 1981 and 1986. Biological, social, and economic considerations pose a challenge for sustainable management of Yap State's fruit bats in the future.
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