Marine Mammals

The Mill Valley Patch published an article on the U.S.-Mexico Agreement to Protect the Vaquita Porpoise, which is available in its entirety here, and excerpted in part below:

The Marine Mammal Center Responds to U.S.-Mexico Agreement to Protect Vaquita Porpoise

The tiny vaquita porpoise is the most endangered of the 128 marine mammals alive in the world today.

By Maggie Avants (Patch Staff) – July 22, 2016 8:24 pm ET

SAUSALITO, CA — The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito praised the commitment made Friday by President Barack Obama and Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto to intensify the efforts of both countries to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service committed errors in issuing a marine mammal Take Permit for U.S. Navy peacetime sonar operations.  The Ninth Circuit’s opinion includes the following summary:

“The panel [of Ninth Circuit judges] reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to federal defendants in a case relating to the proper scope under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (“MMPA”) of mitigation measures required to protect marine mammals when the responsible federal agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service, sought to approve incidental “take” relating to military readiness activities, namely, the Navy’s peacetime use of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active sonar.

The U.S.  National Marine Fisheries Service, of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has called for nominees for the U.S. Delegation to the October 2016 International Whaling Commission meeting. The nonfederal representative(s) selected as a result of this nomination process is (are) responsible for providing input and recommendations to the U.S. IWC Commissioner representing the positions of non-governmental organizations.

The IWC is holding its 66^th meeting from October 20–28, 2016, at the Convention Center of the Grand Hotel Bernardin in Portorož, Slovenia. All written nominations for the U.S. Delegation to the IWC meeting must be received by August 26, 2016.

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement posted the following article on the BSEE website:

“WASHINGTON – More than 600 people gathered at the Newseum on May 7-9 to address the variety of challenges the world’s oceans face during Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), the Nation’s premier ocean stewardship event. Sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF), CHOW brings together political leaders, industry heads, and senior staff from nonprofit organizations to discuss a broad array of ocean-related topics, including offshore energy. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) sponsored one of the dozen booths at the conference.”