[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9809-9810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4610]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 022004D]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Updated Status 
Review of Eastern North Pacific Southern Resident Killer Whales

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Status review; request for information.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a petition to list of the eastern North 
Pacific Southern Resident stock of killer whales (Orcinus orca) as 
threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NMFS 
conducted a status review and determined that the petitioned action was 
not warranted at the time because Southern Resident killer whales did 
not constitute a species, subspecies, or distinct population segment 
(DPS) under the ESA. However, a court set aside NMFS' finding and 
remanded the matter back to NMFS for re-evaluation of whether the 
Southern Resident killer whales should be listed under the ESA. NMFS 
has reconvened a Biological Review Team (BRT) to consider the most 
recent scientific and commercial information available on Southern 
Resident killer whales in this re-evaluation. NMFS is requesting that 
interested parties submit pertinent information to assist NMFS with 
updating its status review.

DATES: Information must be received by May 3, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Information on this action should be submitted to Chief, 
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, 
Portland, OR 97232. Information may also be submitted electronically by 
sending an e-mail message to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Garth Griffin, Northwest Regional 
Office, NMFS, Portland, OR (503) 231-2005, or Dr. Thomas Eagle, Office 
of Protected Resources, NMFS, Silver Spring, MD (301) 713-2322, ext. 
105.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    A list of the references used in this notice and other information 
related to this stock of killer whales is available on the Internet 
at:http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/mmammals/whales/index.html

Background

    On May 2, 2001, NMFS received a petition from the Center for 
Biological Diversity and 11 co-petitioners (CBD, 2001a) to list 
Southern Resident killer whales as threatened or endangered under the 
ESA. On August 13, 2001, NMFS provided notice of its determination that 
the petition presented substantial information that a listing may be 
warranted and requested information to assist with a status review to 
determine if Southern Resident killer whales warranted listing under 
the ESA (66 FR 42499). To assist in the status review, NMFS formed a 
BRT comprised of scientists from the agency's Alaska, Northwest, and 
Southwest Fisheries Science Centers. NMFS convened a meeting on 
September 26, 2001, to gather technical information from co-managers, 
scientists, and individuals having research or management expertise 
pertaining to killer whale stocks in the north Pacific Ocean. 
Additionally, the BRT discussed its preliminary scientific finding with 
Tribal, State and Canadian co-managers on March 25, 2002. The BRT 
considered information from the petition, the September and March 
meetings, and comments submitted in response to NMFS' information 
request to prepare a final scientific document on Southern Resident 
killer whales (NMFS, 2002).
    After conducting the status review, NMFS determined that listing 
Southern Resident killer whales as a threatened or endangered species 
was not warranted because Southern Resident killer whales did not 
constitute a species as defined by the ESA. The finding was announced 
on July 1, 2002 (67 FR 44133), and the notice contained additional 
information on the finding, including DPS status of Southern Residents 
under existing killer whale taxonomy and the conclusions of the BRT. 
The status review and other documents supporting the finding are 
available on the Internet (see Electronic Access) or from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES). Along with the finding, NMFS announced that it would 
reconsider the taxonomy of killer whales within 4 years.
    The scientific information evaluated during the ESA status review 
indicated that Southern Resident killer whales may be depleted under 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS initiated consultation 
with the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) in a letter dated June 
25, 2002 and published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) 
on July 1, 2002 (67 FR 44132) to request pertinent information 
regarding the status of the stock and potential conservation measures 
that may benefit these whales. After considering comments received in 
response to the ANPR and from the Commission, NMFS published a proposed 
rule to designate the Southern Resident stock of killer whales as 
depleted (68 FR 4747, January 30, 2003) and solicited comments on the 
proposal. Based on the best scientific information available and 
consultation with the Commission, NMFS determined that the Southern 
Resident stock of killer whales was depleted under the MMPA (68 FR 
31980, May 29, 2003) and announced its intentions to prepare a 
Conservation Plan.
    On December 18, 2002, the Center for Biological Diversity (and 
other plaintiffs) initiated a lawsuit in U.S. District Court 
challenging NMFS' not warranted finding. The U.S. District Court for 
the Western District of Washington issued an order on December 17, 
2003, which set aside NMFS's not warranted finding and remanded the 
matter back to NMFS for redetermination of whether the Southern 
Resident killer whales should be listed under the ESA. Pursuant to the 
court's order, NMFS will make this determination by December 17, 2004.

[[Page 9810]]

Information Solicited

    For the original status review, NMFS solicited information 
concerning the status of killer whale populations world wide with 
emphasis in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska 
(66 FR 42499, August 13, 2001). Specifically, the agency requested 
available information on: (1) historical and current known ranges of 
resident (fish eating) and transient (mammal-eating) killer whales; (2) 
spatial and seasonal distribution with particular focus on current and 
historical habitat utilization; (3) genetic variability in resident, 
transient, and offshore killer whale populations; (4) demographic 
movements among resident or transient killer whales; (5) trends in 
killer whale foraging habits and seasonal prey abundance; (6) trends in 
environmental contamination by persistent organic pollutants (e.g., 
polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) including congener specific data) as 
well as other contaminants (e.g. toxic metals); (7) contaminant burdens 
in prey species, especially salmonids; (8) impacts caused by human 
recreational activities (e.g., whale watching, boating); (9) historic 
removals of killer whales including human caused mortality associated 
with live capture operations, military activities, or fisheries 
interactions; (10) current or planned activities and their possible 
impacts on this species (e.g., removals or habitat modifications); (11) 
efforts being made to protect resident killer whales or improve their 
habitat; and (12) non-human related factors that may have contributed 
to the recent decline of the Southern Resident killer whale (i.e., 
climatic or oceanographic regime shifts, diseases, biotoxins).
    NMFS also requested information describing the quality and extent 
of marine habitats for Southern Resident killer whales, as well as 
information on areas that may qualify as critical habitat. Information 
on areas that include the physical and biological features essential to 
the recovery of the species was requested. Essential features include, 
but are not limited to the following: (1) habitat for individual and 
population growth, and for normal behavior; (2) food, water, air, 
light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements; 
(3) cover or shelter; (4) sites for reproduction and rearing of 
offspring; and (5) habitats that are protected from disturbance or are 
representative of the historic geographical and ecological 
distributions of the species. NMFS also requested information and maps 
describing natural and manmade changes within the species' current and 
historical range in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean from California to 
Alaska. For areas potentially qualifying as critical habitat, NMFS 
requested information describing (1) the activities that affect the 
area or could be affected by the designation, and (2) the economic 
costs and benefits of additional requirements of management measures 
likely to result from the designation. Comments on Southern Resident 
killer whales and critical habitat were received through October 12, 
2001.
    To ensure that the current status review update is comprehensive 
and based on the best available data, NMFS is soliciting information 
obtained since October 2001 on the above topics, as well as information 
available on resident, transient and offshore killer whale (1) 
behavior; (2) communication; (3) reproductive biology and dispersal 
patterns; (4) genetics; (5) skeletal and color pattern morphology; (6) 
potential impacts of additional human related activities (e.g., marine 
noise, oil spills); and (7) cetacean taxonomy, as they relate to the 
status of killer whales in the North Pacific and in a global context.

References

    A complete list of all references used in this notice and other 
information related to the status of this stock of killer whales is 
available via the Internet (see Electronic Access) or upon request (see 
ADDRESSES).

    Dated: February 25, 2004.
P. Michael Payne,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-4610 Filed 3-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S