[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 135 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40299-40300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15995]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XI43


Notice of Availability of Draft Stock Assessment Reports

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

ACTION:  Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS reviewed the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regional 
marine mammal stock assessment reports (SARs) in accordance with the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). SARs for marine mammals in the 
Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regions were revised according to new 
information. NMFS solicits public comments on draft 2008 SARs.

DATES:  Comments must be received by October 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES:  The 2008 draft stock assessment reports are available in 
electronic form via the Internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/.
    Copies of the Alaska Regional SARs may be requested from Robyn 
Angliss, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE 
BIN 15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070.
    Copies of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Regional SARs may be 
requested from Gordon Waring, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 
Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543.
    Copies of the Pacific Regional SARs may be requested from Jim 
Carretta, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores 
Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037-1508.
    Send comments or requests for copies of reports to: Chief, Marine 
Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226, Attn: Stock Assessments. Comments may 
also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 301-427-2526 or via email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Tom Eagle, Office of Protected 
Resources, 301-713-2322, ext. 105, e-mail [email protected]; Robyn 
Angliss 206- 526-4032, e-mail [email protected], regarding Alaska 
regional stock assessments; Gordon Waring, 508-495-2311, e-mail 
[email protected], regarding Atlantic regional stock assessments; 
or Jim Carretta, 858-546-7171, e-mail [email protected], regarding 
Pacific regional stock assessments.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 117 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) requires NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS) to prepare stock assessments for each stock of marine mammals 
occurring in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States. These 
reports must contain information regarding the distribution and 
abundance of the stock, population growth rates and trends, estimates 
of annual human-caused mortality and serious injury from all sources, 
descriptions of the fisheries with which the stock interacts, and the 
status of the stock. Initial reports were completed in 1995.
    The MMPA requires NMFS and FWS to review the SARs at least annually 
for strategic stocks and stocks for which significant new information 
is available, and at least once every 3 years for non-strategic stocks. 
NMFS and the FWS are required to revise a SAR if the status of the 
stock has changed or can be more accurately determined. NMFS, in 
conjunction with the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific Scientific Review 
Groups (SRGs), reviewed the status of marine mammal stocks as required 
and revised reports in the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regions to 
incorporate new information. NMFS solicits public comments on the draft 
2008 SARs.

Alaska Reports

    Nineteen reports (15 strategic stocks and four non-strategic 
stocks) were revised, and 13 reports were not revised. Most revisions 
included updates of abundance and mortality estimates and did not 
indicate a change in status of the affected stocks. The Potential 
Biological Removal (PBR) levels for the following stocks are proposed 
to be changed to ``undetermined'' because the abundance estimates are 
based on data that are more than 8 years old: beluga, Beaufort Sea; 
beluga, E. Chukchi Sea; harbor porpoise, Gulf of Alaska; harbor 
porpoise, Bering Sea; harbor porpoise, Southeast Alaska; humpback 
whale, western North Pacific; humpback whale, central North Pacific.
    A ``Habitat Concerns'' section was added or substantially updated 
for all beluga whale stocks with the exception of the Cook Inlet stock, 
for all harbor porpoise stocks, and for gray whales. As ice-associated 
species, beluga whales (inhabiting the Bering Seas and farther 
northward) and gray whales may be vulnerable to loss of sea ice; 
however, there is insufficient supporting information to predict the 
types and magnitudes of impacts to these species at this time. As 
inhabitants of nearshore areas, harbor porpoise may be vulnerable to 
habitat modifications accompanying urban or industrial development; 
accordingly, increased development could have localized effects on 
harbor porpoise abundance or distribution. The gray whale report was 
updated to incorporate findings from a recent paper that used genetics 
data to estimate the historical abundance of gray whales in the Pacific 
Ocean.

Atlantic Reports

    Forty-three reports (11 strategic and 32 non-strategic) were 
revised in the Atlantic region, including all reports for marine 
mammals in the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen reports were not revised. Most 
updates were minor and did not change the status of the affected 
stocks. NMFS revised the status of beaked whales from strategic to non-
strategic due to the absence of observed fishery bycatch in recent 
years and the lack of confirmed serious injuries or mortalities due to

[[Page 40300]]

acoustic trauma as recommended by the SRG. A new report was added this 
year for the Western North Atlantic stock of rough-toothed dolphins, 
which is a non-strategic stock.
    Extensive revision was made to the report on the Atlantic coastal 
stocks of bottlenose dolphins. The revisions incorporate new 
information on structure and migratory pattern, which indicate a second 
(southern) migratory stock that inhabits waters off the coast of NC and 
VA in summer and migrates to areas off the coasts of SC to northern FL 
during winter. The revised report excludes dolphins inhabiting bays, 
sounds, and estuaries from the coasts and does not contain stock-
specific mortality estimates. A separate report for the bay, sound, 
estuary stocks and stock-specific mortality estimates are expected to 
appear in revisions for 2009.

Pacific Reports

    Revisions for 2008 include 27 Pacific marine mammal stocks under 
NMFS jurisdiction, including nine ``strategic'' stocks and 18 ``non-
strategic'' stocks (see summary table). Thirty-seven reports were not 
revised. New abundance estimates are available for 20 stocks, including 
five endangered species of large whales, the Hawaiian monk seal, and 
southern resident killer whales.
    False killer whales in the Hawaii Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 
have been divided into two separate stocks based upon recent sighting 
and genetic data indicating that false killer whales within 25-75 nmi 
of the main Hawaiian Islands are demographically independent of false 
killer whales further offshore. Accordingly, the 2008 draft SAR 
recognizes Hawaii pelagic and Hawaii insular stocks within the Hawaii 
EEZ. As included since the 2007 final SAR, there is a third stock of 
false killer whales found in the EEZ surrounding Palmyra Atoll. The 
Hawaii pelagic stock is a strategic stock, and the other two stocks are 
non-strategic.
    The status of one U.S. west coast cetacean stock ('California long-
beaked common dolphin') has changed from ``strategic'' to ``non-
strategic'', based on new estimates of abundance, a revised PBR, and 
updates of incidental fishery mortality levels. A SAR for the Eastern 
Tropical Pacific stock of Bryde's whale will no longer be prepared, as 
recommended by the Pacific SRG, because whales of this stock rarely 
enter U.S. waters; however, the SAR for the Hawaiian stock of Bryde's 
whales will be retained in the 2008 and subsequent reports.

    Dated: July 8, 2008.
Helen M. Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-15995 Filed 7-11-08; 8:45 am]
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