Marine Mammals

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service proposes to list the Maui’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) as endangered and the South Island Hector’s dolphin (C. hectori hectori) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NMFS believes the Maui’s dolphin faces serious demographic risks due to critically low abundance, a low population growth rate, a restricted range, low genetic diversity, and ongoing threats such as bycatch in commercial and recreational gillnets. NMFS believes the Maui’s dolphin is currently in danger of extinction throughout its range and, therefore, meets the definition of an endangered species. The relatively more abundant and more widely distributed South Island Hector’s dolphin has experienced large historical declines and is expected to continue to slowly decline due to bycatch and other lesser threats, such as disease and impacts associated with tourism. NMFS believes that this subspecies is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but is likely to become so within the foreseeable future; and therefore, it meets the definition of a threatened species.

The Japan Times published the following article on its website,

“HONOLULU – A decade ago, there were just 115 western gray whales left in the world, and their feeding grounds near Sakhalin Island, off the east coast of Russia and north of Japan, were being drilled for oil.

These massive whales faced a host of deadly threats, from underwater noise to collisions with ships and entanglements in fishing gear, and were listed as critically endangered in 2003.

Soon after, a deal was struck, whereby loans to Russia’s Sakhalin Energy were restricted unless the oil company paid for a panel of marine scientists to advise its offshore operations.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has decided to revise the listing status of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) under the Endangered Species Act. NMFS has decided to divide the globally listed endangered species into 14 distinct population segments, remove the current species-level listing, and in its place list four DPSs as endangered and one DPS as threatened. Based on their current statuses, the remaining nine DPSs do not warrant listing. At this time, NMFS finds that critical habitat is not determinable for the three listed DPSs that occur in U.S. waters (Western North Pacific, Mexico, Central America). NMFS will consider designating critical habitat for these three DPSs in a separate rulemaking.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has begun a 5-year review of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act .  The purpose of this review is to ensure that the listing classification of the species is accurate. The 5-year review has to be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. Therefore, NMFS requests submission of any such information on Mediterranean monk seals that has become available since their original listing as endangered in June 1970. Any information has to be received no later than October 31, 2016. However, NMFS will continue to accept new information about any listed species at any time.

“IPAA Endangered Species Watch”

Weekly Newsletter | August 19, 2016

Issues

Groups threaten to sue again over Pacific development. Over the past two weeks theEnvironmental Defense Center (EDC) and Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) have announced their intention to sue the Interior Department less than three months after the department released an environmental assessment that found there was “no significant impact” from hydraulic fracturing and other drilling activities off the coast of California. The assessment was the result of a settlement with EDC and CBD following their lawsuits in 2014 and 2015 challenging the department’s routine permitting of oil and gas production in the Pacific Ocean.

The National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board is conducting a project entitled “Assessment of the Cumulative Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors on Marine Mammals.” The NAS project website explains:

“The committee will conduct a workshop and review the present scientific understanding of cumulative effects of anthropogenic stressors on marine mammals with a focus on anthropogenic sound. The committee will assess current methodologies used for evaluating cumulative effects and identify new approaches that could improve these assessments. The committee will examine theoretical and field methods used to assess the effect of anthropogenic stressors for:

The International Association of Geophysical Contractors published the following article on the World Ocean Council:

“The World Ocean Council is an unprecedented international, cross-sectoral industry leadership alliance on ‘Corporate Ocean Responsibility’.

The World Ocean Council (WOC) brings together the diverse ocean business community to collaborate on stewardship of the seas. This unique coalition is working to improve ocean science in support of safe and sustainable operations, educate the public and stakeholders about the role of responsible companies in addressing environmental concerns, more effectively engage in ocean policy and planning, and develop science-based solutions to cross-cutting environmental challenges that cannot be solved by one company or industry, such as: invasive species, ocean noise, marine mammal impacts, marine debris, the Arctic, and others.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has announced its 5-year review of the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) under the Endangered Species Act. The purpose of this review is to ensure that the ESA listing classification of the whale is accurate. The 5-year review has to be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review; therefore, NMFS requests submission of any such information on the North Atlantic right whale that has become available since NMFS’ last 5-year review in 2012. Based on the results of the current 5-year review, NMFS will make the requisite determination under the ESA. NMFS must receive any information no later than October 27, 2016.

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.