Marine Mammals

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.”

The 2017 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference will be held February 6-9, 2017, at Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 601 Loyola Ave., New Orleans, LA 70113, USA,  504 561 1234.

A conference notice explains:

“The 2017 conference theme, ‘Ecosystem Approaches to Gulf Response and Restoration,’ encourages researchers to consider the application of their results to practical use.  Looking across a broad range of disciplines, what have we learned about oil spills and their impacts that can reduce uncertainty, mitigate ecological, social and health impacts of a future spill, advance response strategies, and improve how we approach restoration? Using scientific research will be critical to informing planning, preparedness, response and recovery for future events, and connecting this to decision makers in the response and restoration communities will be key.

The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission met from June 7, 2016 through June 20, 2016 at Bled, Slovenia.  The Committee’s website includes the following description of this meeting:

“Proceedings will begin with two pre-meetings.  The first will discuss ship noise, including sound measurement and acoustic mapping, and techniques for understanding the impact of noise on whales.  The second will review proposals for a new whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic.

The Scientific Committee begins formally on 7 June with a plenary session.  Fifteen sub-groups will then form and run simultaneously, covering a wide variety of subjects, which range from ecosystem modelling and whalewatching to stock definition and aboriginal whaling management.  Some groups also cover specific regions, species or groups, including small cetaceans.

As required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has considered and responded to public comments on revisions of the 2015 marine mammal stock assessment reports for each stock of marine mammals occurring in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States. These reports contain information regarding the distribution and abundance of the stock, population growth rates and trends, the stock’s Potential Biological Removal level, 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.

NOAA/NMFS have published the following article about recent studies of Killer whale evolution:

“Killer whale behavior and social structure evolved through the expansion of a small number of pioneering groups into new environments, reports a genetics-based study published this week in Nature Communications. The study seeks to unravel the population history of killer whales based on the newly sequenced genomes of 50 individuals.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) — the largest species in the dolphin family — are highly social animals spanning a wide range of habitats, from Antarctic to Arctic regions. In several locations, killer whales have evolved into specialized groups known as ecotypes based on diet and hunting strategies adapted to exploit narrow ecological niches.

June 2016 is National Ocean Month. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a website that discusses several aspects of the oceans, in celebration of this month. Click here for NOAA’s National Ocean Month website.

Click here to read more. 

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has published its 90-day finding on a petition to list the Taiwanese humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis taiwanensis) range-wide as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

NMFS has found find the petition and information in NMFS’ files present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for the Taiwanese humpback dolphin.

NMFS will conduct a status review of the species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted.

To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, NMFS solicits scientific and commercial information pertaining to the species from any interested party.

The 2017 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference is now accepting submissions for scientific sessions.

The 2017 conference theme is “Ecosystem Approaches to Gulf Response and Restoration.

The 2017 conference invites sessions focused on the following objectives:

Restoration and recovery

Oil spill response and management strategies

Human dimensions

Ecological impacts

Long-term fate and impacts

Breakdown and transport

Data management

Outreach and science communications

The Deadline to submit a session proposal is June 24th, 2016.

Click here for the conference website.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Management publishes a monthly Science Notes. This month’s publication presents new findings from the 2015 field season of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Observing Network study, or AMBON.

In August 201, researchers began monitoring biodiversity in the Arctic Chukchi Sea from an ecosystem perspective, looking at microbes, whales and everything in between. BOEM is supporting this study to enhance environmental impact assessments and develop better metrics for cumulative impact analysis and a broader perspective of the ecosystem.

Click here to read more.