The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission has published its Annual Report for 2014. Listed below are a few highlights of this Report:
- Offshore Energy: In response to a request by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for comments on planned oil and gas lease sales off Alaska, we mapped and provided recommendations on environmentally sensitive areas in the Arctic and in Cook Inlet aimed at minimizing the impacts of offshore energy exploration and development on marine mammal populations and subsistence communities that depend on them.
- Species Conservation: We provided technical and funding support for the conservation and recovery of the vaquita, the world’s most endangered small cetacean. We also provided analyses in support of extending a rule aimed at reducing ship strike deaths of right whales and participated in consultations on the risks posed by ship traffic in Bering Strait to both whales and Alaskan Native hunters.
- Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform: We are co-leading the development of a web-based data management and visualization platform for marine mammal health information. This will allow ready access to data on trends in marine mammal health by the public, scientists, and decision-makers.
- Commission Letters: In 2014 we submitted 122 letters to federal agencies and various action proponents with specific recommendations aimed at minimizing impacts of human activities on marine mammals.
Click here for this Annual Report.