Marine Mammals

The European Cetacean Society Conference will be held in Malta from the 23rd to the 25th March 2015. Workshops will be held on the 21st & 22nd March 2015. Registration for the ECS 29th Conference on Marine Mammals is the 16th of January 2015.

Also note that an interesting list of workshops have been proposed for you to consider. As participation may be limited in number or to particular expertise, kindly contact workshop organizers for details soon.

Conference organizers welcome your video submission proposals up until the 16th of January.

Please refer to following for relevant info:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4378145/ECS%20Conf%20REG%20announcement.pdf.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed not to list the Eastern Taiwan Strait population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) under the U.S. Endangered species act. This proposal is based on NMFS’ conclusion that the

“humpback dolphin is not a distinct population segment and therefore does not warrant listing”

In the same Federal Register notice, NMFS proposes to list six other non-marine mammal species under the ESA. Comments on NMFS’ proposed actions must be received by NMFS to list eight species must be received by February 17, 2015.

Click here to read NMFS’ notice of these actions.

The Marine Mammal Authorization Program (MMAP), under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, now has electronic reporting available for marine mammal interactions in commercial fisheries. Fishermen may now fill out MMAP mortality/injury reporting forms online or download the form and email it to nmfs.mireport@noaa.gov.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed designated critical habitat for the Arctic subspecies (Phoca hispida hispida) of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) under the Endangered Species Act.  NMFS proposes to designate one specific area of marine habitat in the northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas.  NMFS solicits comment from the public on all aspects of the proposal, including NMFS’ identification and consideration of the economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of the proposed designation.

Comments on this proposed rule must be received by NMFS by March 3, 2015.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service is revising the taxonomy of Monachus schauinslandi 
(Hawaiian monk seal) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. NMFS is revising the 
Enumeration of endangered marine and anadromous species andCritical habitat for Hawaiian monk 
seals to reflect the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of this species. 
NMFS is revising the scientific name of the species as follows: Neomonachus schauinslandi 
(M. schauinslandi). This rule is effective January 16, 2015 without further action, unless 
NMFS receives significant adverse comment by December 17, 2014. 

Click here to read NMFS’ Federal Register notice of this action.

There is a new publication on education on marine mammal tours. The reference is

Lueck, M. (2015). Education on marine mammal tours – But what do tourists want to learn? Ocean & Coastal Management, 103, 25-33. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.11.002

Ocean & Coastal Management generously offers the opportunity to download the article until 6th January 2015, free of charge, from the following link:
http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Q2mg3RKK-PiW1

To help inform management decisions affecting the Outer Continental Shelf, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management develops, oversees and funds the collection of environmental information as directed by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act through its Environmental Studies Program.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a final rule modifying the subsistence harvest regulations for the Eastern Pacific stock of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) based on a petition from the Pribilof Island Aleut Community of St. George Island, Traditional Council.

The final rule authorizes Pribilovians of St. George Island to harvest up to 150 male young of the year fur seals annually during a new autumn harvest season from all breeding and hauling grounds, consistent with traditional practices, to meet the community’s nutritional and cultural needs. Harvests of sub-adult male fur seals will continue to be authorized during the summer season as under existing regulations, and will be allowed at additional locations.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a Letter of Authorization to the City of Seattle’s Department of Transportation for the take of eight species of marine mammals incidental to pile driving activities associated with the Elliott Bay Seawall . This LOA is issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is effective from October 22, 2014, through October 21, 2015.

Click here to read more.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a permit for a period of three years to authorize the incidental, but not intentional, taking of individuals of three stocks of marine mammals listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by vessels involved in the Hawaii deep-set and shallow-set longline fisheries.  These marine mammals are the humpback whale, (Megaptera novaeangliae), Central North Pacific stock; sperm whale, (Physeter macrocephalus), Hawaii stock; and the false killer whale, (Pseudorca crassidens), Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale (MHI IFKW) stock.

Click here to read NMFS’ Federal Register notice of this permit, which is issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.