[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20599]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 23, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 

Marine Mammals; Stock Assessment Reports

Agency: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

Action: Availability of marine mammal draft stock assessments and 
Potential Biological Removal workshop reports; request for comments.

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Summary: The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) amendments of 1994 
require the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) to prepare draft stock assessments by August 
1, 1994, for all marine mammal stocks that occur in waters under the 
jurisdiction of the United States. The NMFS, with participation by the 
Service, convened a workshop to develop an initial approach for 
promoting a consistent national interpretation of parameters used in 
draft stock assessments.

Dates: Comments on the draft stock assessments and the report of the 
PBR workshop must be received by November 21, 1994.

Addresses: Copies of the draft stock assessments and PBR workshop 
reports are available from the Division of Fish and Wildlife Management 
Assistance, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Room 820-ARLSQ, 4401 N. 
Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203, Telephone (703) 358-1718.
    Comments on the draft stock assessments for polar bears, Pacific 
walrus, and Alaska sea otters in Alaska, along with related comments on 
the report of the PBR workshop, should be sent to Dave McGillivary, 
Supervisor, Office of Marine Mammals Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.
    Comments on the draft stock assessments for West Indian manatees, 
along with related comments on the report of the PBR workshop, should 
be sent to Robert Turner, Manatee Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 6620 South Point Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, 
Florida 32216.
    Comments on the draft stock assessments for California sea otters 
and Alaska sea otters in Washington State, along with related comments 
on the report of the PBR workshop, should be sent to Carl Benz, Sea 
Otter Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2140 Eastman Avenue, 
Suite 100, Ventura, California 93003.

For Further Information Contact: Jeff Horwath in the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service's Division of Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance, 
Arlington, Virginia at (703) 358-1718. For information about the Alaska 
marine mammals identified in the ADDRESSES Section above, contact Dave 
McGillivary at (907) 786-3800. For information about West Indian 
manatees as identified in the ADDRESSES Section above, contact Robert 
Turner at (904) 232-2580. For information about California sea otters 
and Alaska sea otters in Washington State as identified in the 
ADDRESSES Section above, contact Carl Benz at (805) 644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Draft Stock Assessment Reports

    On April 30, 1994, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) 
Amendments of 1994 were enacted into public law (Pub. L. 103-238). As 
amended by new Section 117 of the MMPA, the Service and the NMFS (as 
appropriate) are required to prepare, and periodically revise, stock 
assessments for marine mammals that occur in waters under the 
jurisdiction of the United States. Drafts of these stock assessments 
were to be completed by August 1, 1994. New Section 117 also requires 
publication in the Federal Register of a notice of availability of the 
draft stock assessments with a 90-day public review and comment period.
    In addition, the NMFS, in consultation with the Service and others, 
was required to establish by June 30, 1994, three independent regional 
Scientific Review Groups representing Alaska, the Pacific Coast 
(including Hawaii), and the Atlantic Coast (including the Gulf of 
Mexico). These Scientific Review Groups are to provide advice on the 
stock assessments and other issues appropriate for pursuing the goals 
of the NMPA. These Groups were established and the Service's draft 
stock assessments have been provided to them for their review and 
comment.
    Paralleling actions by the NMFS, the Service's draft stock 
assessments have been divided into the Alaska, Pacific, and Atlantic 
regions to correspond with the appropriate Scientific Review Group. As 
specified by the 1944 amendments each stock assessment must, based on 
the best scientific information available:
    (1) Describe the geographic range of the affected stock, including 
any seasonal or temporal variations in such range;
    (2) Provide minimum population estimates, current and maximum net 
productivity rates, and the current population trend, including a 
description of the information upon which these are based;
    (3) Estimate the annual human-caused mortality and serious injury 
of the stock by source and, for a strategic stock, other factors that 
may be causing a decline or impeding recovery of the stock, including 
effects on marine mammal habitat and prey;
    (4) Describe commercial fisheries that interact with the stock, 
including:
    (A) The approximate number of vessels actively participating in 
each such fishery;
    (B) The estimated annual level of incidental mortality and serious 
injury of the stock by each fishery;
    (C) Any seasonal or area differences in such incidental mortality 
or serious injury; and
    (D) The rate, based on the appropriate standard unit of fishing 
effort, of such incidental mortality and serious injury, and an 
analysis stating whether such level is insignificant and approaching a 
zero mortality and serious injury rate.
    (5) Categorize the status of the stock as one that either:
    (A) Has a level of human-caused mortality and serious injury that 
is not likely to cause the stock to be reduced below its optimum 
sustainable population (OSP); or
    (B) Is a strategic stock, with a description of the reasons 
therefor.
    (6) Estimate the potential biological removal (PBR) level for the 
stock describing the information used to calculate it, including the 
recovery factor.
    Congress defined the PBR level as the maximum number of animals, 
not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine 
mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its OSP 
level.
    Congress defined strategic stocks as those:
    (1) For which the level of direct, human-caused mortality exceeds 
the PBR level;
    (2) Which, based on the best available scientific information, are 
declining and are stocks likely to be listed as threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) within 
the foreseeable future; or
    (3) Which are listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA or 
designated as depleted under the MMPA.
    The Amendments required the Service to provide, through a notice of 
availability in the Federal Register, a summary of the draft stock 
assessments and a list of sources of information or published 
documentation on which each draft assessment is based. To satisfy this 
requirement and minimize unnecessary duplication, a table that 
summarizes draft stock assessments appears at the end of this document. 
The table lists each stock, its regional designation, geographical 
range, minimum abundance estimate, PBR level, annual estimated average 
human-caused mortality, and whether or not the stock would be regarded 
as strategic or nonstrategic.
    To maximize the opportunity for full consultation with the 
Scientific Review Groups, Alaska Native organizations, and the public, 
the Service is pursuing parallel tracks of review. In addition to the 
comment period initiated by this notice, the Service began consultation 
with the Scientific Review Groups by forwarding draft stock assessments 
on July 29, 1994, to the appropriate Scientific Review Groups for their 
review and comment. In recognition of the value of traditional Native 
knowledge and the need for full and equal participation by Alaskan 
Natives in the decisions that affect the management of marine mammals 
and, therefore, the subsistence harvest upon which they depend, the 
Service is seeking direct input from Alaskan Natives, particularly with 
regard to stocks taken for subsistence. It is important to note that 
under new Section 117(b)(2) of the MMPA, a formal mechanism is 
available to Alaskan Natives to require a proceeding on the record 
pertaining to the development of a stock assessment prior to its 
finalization.
    At the close of the public comment period, the Service will 
continue on-going consultation with the Scientific Review Groups by 
providing the public comments for each draft stock assessment for their 
additional review and consideration.

PBR Workshop and Reports

    Recognizing the need to provide consistent parameters in 
calculating stock assessments, the NMFS convened a workshop, composed 
of NMFS and Service scientists, to develop an initial approach for 
promoting consistent national interpretation of parameters to be used 
in draft stock assessments, including the calculation of PBR levels, a 
required component of stock assessments. PBR is calculated as the 
product of three elements: the minimum population estimate (NMIN); half 
the maximum net productivity rate (0.5RMAX); and a recovery factor (FA) 
ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 (i.e., PBR=NMIN x 0.5RMAX x FR).
    The NMFS convened the workshop to agree on an initial approach for 
calculating PBR, defining stock structure, and analyzing whether 
fishery-related incidental mortality and serious injury have reached 
insignificant levels approaching zero mortality and serious injury 
rates for use in preparing draft stock assessments. It was the workshop 
participants' principal objective to identify quantitative criteria for 
defining input values that could serve as a nationwide standard for 
calculating PBR.
    The workshop participants concluded that the three PBR parameters 
must be evaluated together, rather than independently, in the context 
of meeting the goals of the MMPA. In this regard, they concluded that 
FR should serve to weight the PBR so as to take into account 
uncertainty in estimates of NMIN, and serve as a ``safety factor'' that 
would allow the taking of individuals from stocks below OSP while 
continuing to promote their recovery and that would provide a safety 
margin to account for unknown bias in stock status information (e.g., 
estimation of abundance, productivity, mortality) for stocks of unknown 
status or trends.
    The workshop was held in LaJolla, California, June 27-29, 1994. A 
copy of the Report of the PBR Workshop is available from the office 
identified in the ADDRESSES Section.
    The Service, along with the NMFS, is seeking comments on the 
methodologies for calculating PBR and other parameters that were agreed 
to by the workshop participants and employed in the preparation of the 
draft stock assessments, as well as seeking comments on the individual 
draft stock assessments.

                                  Table of Marine Mammal Draft Stock Assessments for Fish and Wildlife Service Species                                  
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                                                                                                                  Annual est. avg.                      
   Marine mammal stock          Regional          Geographical range       Minimum population     PBR level\1\      human-caused      Strategic or non- 
                              designation                                       estimate                             mortality           strategic      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Polar bear:                                                                                                                                             
    Beaufort sea stock....  Alaska..........  Beaufort Sea- Alaska &      1,778 (S.D.803).                             Canada.                              
    Chukchi/Bering Seas     Alaska..........  Chukchi & Bering Seas-      1,222-3,222.........  Not determined..  86 Alaska only..  Non-strategic.      
     stock.                                    Alaska & Russia.                                                                                         
Pacific walrus Bering/      Alaska..........  Alaska & Russia...........  188,316.............  5,649...........  7,500...........  Strategic.          
 Chukchi Seas stock.                                                                                                                                    
Sea otter:                                                                                                                                              
    Alaska stock..........  Alaska..........  Alaska....................  100,000.............  6,000...........  Not determined..  Non-strategic.      
    Washington stock......  Pacific.........  Makah Bay to Destruction    307.................  9...............  Unknown.........  Non-strategic.      
                                               Island, WA.                                                                                              
West Indian Manatee:                                                                                                                                    
    Florida stock.........  Atlantic........  Southeastern U.S.A........  1,856...............  4...............  49\2\...........  Strategic.          
    Antillean stock.......  Atlantic........  Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin   86..................  0...............  2...............  Strategic.          
                                               Islands.                                                                                                 
Southern sea otter          Pacific.........  Central California & San    2,376...............  Not               Unknown.........  Strategic.          
 California stock.                             Nicolas Island.                                   determined\3\.                                         
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\1\Levels of harvest that are below PBR levels could result in negative impacts to local populations.                                                   
\2\Estimated average annual mortality for the West Indian manatee-Florida stock from 1984-1992. The estimated annual mortality from 1974-1992 is 36     
  animals.                                                                                                                                              
\3\The PBR level for the southern sea otter-California stock was not determined because their incidental take is not governed under Section 118 of the  
  1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.                                                                                                  

    Dated: August 15, 1994.
Jay L. Gerst,
Acting Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-20599 Filed 8-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M