[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9809-9810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4610]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 022004D]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Updated Status
Review of Eastern North Pacific Southern Resident Killer Whales
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Status review; request for information.
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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a petition to list of the eastern North
Pacific Southern Resident stock of killer whales (Orcinus orca) as
threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NMFS
conducted a status review and determined that the petitioned action was
not warranted at the time because Southern Resident killer whales did
not constitute a species, subspecies, or distinct population segment
(DPS) under the ESA. However, a court set aside NMFS' finding and
remanded the matter back to NMFS for re-evaluation of whether the
Southern Resident killer whales should be listed under the ESA. NMFS
has reconvened a Biological Review Team (BRT) to consider the most
recent scientific and commercial information available on Southern
Resident killer whales in this re-evaluation. NMFS is requesting that
interested parties submit pertinent information to assist NMFS with
updating its status review.
DATES: Information must be received by May 3, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Information on this action should be submitted to Chief,
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500,
Portland, OR 97232. Information may also be submitted electronically by
sending an e-mail message to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Garth Griffin, Northwest Regional
Office, NMFS, Portland, OR (503) 231-2005, or Dr. Thomas Eagle, Office
of Protected Resources, NMFS, Silver Spring, MD (301) 713-2322, ext.
105.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
A list of the references used in this notice and other information
related to this stock of killer whales is available on the Internet
at:http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/mmammals/whales/index.html
Background
On May 2, 2001, NMFS received a petition from the Center for
Biological Diversity and 11 co-petitioners (CBD, 2001a) to list
Southern Resident killer whales as threatened or endangered under the
ESA. On August 13, 2001, NMFS provided notice of its determination that
the petition presented substantial information that a listing may be
warranted and requested information to assist with a status review to
determine if Southern Resident killer whales warranted listing under
the ESA (66 FR 42499). To assist in the status review, NMFS formed a
BRT comprised of scientists from the agency's Alaska, Northwest, and
Southwest Fisheries Science Centers. NMFS convened a meeting on
September 26, 2001, to gather technical information from co-managers,
scientists, and individuals having research or management expertise
pertaining to killer whale stocks in the north Pacific Ocean.
Additionally, the BRT discussed its preliminary scientific finding with
Tribal, State and Canadian co-managers on March 25, 2002. The BRT
considered information from the petition, the September and March
meetings, and comments submitted in response to NMFS' information
request to prepare a final scientific document on Southern Resident
killer whales (NMFS, 2002).
After conducting the status review, NMFS determined that listing
Southern Resident killer whales as a threatened or endangered species
was not warranted because Southern Resident killer whales did not
constitute a species as defined by the ESA. The finding was announced
on July 1, 2002 (67 FR 44133), and the notice contained additional
information on the finding, including DPS status of Southern Residents
under existing killer whale taxonomy and the conclusions of the BRT.
The status review and other documents supporting the finding are
available on the Internet (see Electronic Access) or from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES). Along with the finding, NMFS announced that it would
reconsider the taxonomy of killer whales within 4 years.
The scientific information evaluated during the ESA status review
indicated that Southern Resident killer whales may be depleted under
the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS initiated consultation
with the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) in a letter dated June
25, 2002 and published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR)
on July 1, 2002 (67 FR 44132) to request pertinent information
regarding the status of the stock and potential conservation measures
that may benefit these whales. After considering comments received in
response to the ANPR and from the Commission, NMFS published a proposed
rule to designate the Southern Resident stock of killer whales as
depleted (68 FR 4747, January 30, 2003) and solicited comments on the
proposal. Based on the best scientific information available and
consultation with the Commission, NMFS determined that the Southern
Resident stock of killer whales was depleted under the MMPA (68 FR
31980, May 29, 2003) and announced its intentions to prepare a
Conservation Plan.
On December 18, 2002, the Center for Biological Diversity (and
other plaintiffs) initiated a lawsuit in U.S. District Court
challenging NMFS' not warranted finding. The U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Washington issued an order on December 17,
2003, which set aside NMFS's not warranted finding and remanded the
matter back to NMFS for redetermination of whether the Southern
Resident killer whales should be listed under the ESA. Pursuant to the
court's order, NMFS will make this determination by December 17, 2004.
[[Page 9810]]
Information Solicited
For the original status review, NMFS solicited information
concerning the status of killer whale populations world wide with
emphasis in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska
(66 FR 42499, August 13, 2001). Specifically, the agency requested
available information on: (1) historical and current known ranges of
resident (fish eating) and transient (mammal-eating) killer whales; (2)
spatial and seasonal distribution with particular focus on current and
historical habitat utilization; (3) genetic variability in resident,
transient, and offshore killer whale populations; (4) demographic
movements among resident or transient killer whales; (5) trends in
killer whale foraging habits and seasonal prey abundance; (6) trends in
environmental contamination by persistent organic pollutants (e.g.,
polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) including congener specific data) as
well as other contaminants (e.g. toxic metals); (7) contaminant burdens
in prey species, especially salmonids; (8) impacts caused by human
recreational activities (e.g., whale watching, boating); (9) historic
removals of killer whales including human caused mortality associated
with live capture operations, military activities, or fisheries
interactions; (10) current or planned activities and their possible
impacts on this species (e.g., removals or habitat modifications); (11)
efforts being made to protect resident killer whales or improve their
habitat; and (12) non-human related factors that may have contributed
to the recent decline of the Southern Resident killer whale (i.e.,
climatic or oceanographic regime shifts, diseases, biotoxins).
NMFS also requested information describing the quality and extent
of marine habitats for Southern Resident killer whales, as well as
information on areas that may qualify as critical habitat. Information
on areas that include the physical and biological features essential to
the recovery of the species was requested. Essential features include,
but are not limited to the following: (1) habitat for individual and
population growth, and for normal behavior; (2) food, water, air,
light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements;
(3) cover or shelter; (4) sites for reproduction and rearing of
offspring; and (5) habitats that are protected from disturbance or are
representative of the historic geographical and ecological
distributions of the species. NMFS also requested information and maps
describing natural and manmade changes within the species' current and
historical range in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean from California to
Alaska. For areas potentially qualifying as critical habitat, NMFS
requested information describing (1) the activities that affect the
area or could be affected by the designation, and (2) the economic
costs and benefits of additional requirements of management measures
likely to result from the designation. Comments on Southern Resident
killer whales and critical habitat were received through October 12,
2001.
To ensure that the current status review update is comprehensive
and based on the best available data, NMFS is soliciting information
obtained since October 2001 on the above topics, as well as information
available on resident, transient and offshore killer whale (1)
behavior; (2) communication; (3) reproductive biology and dispersal
patterns; (4) genetics; (5) skeletal and color pattern morphology; (6)
potential impacts of additional human related activities (e.g., marine
noise, oil spills); and (7) cetacean taxonomy, as they relate to the
status of killer whales in the North Pacific and in a global context.
References
A complete list of all references used in this notice and other
information related to the status of this stock of killer whales is
available via the Internet (see Electronic Access) or upon request (see
ADDRESSES).
Dated: February 25, 2004.
P. Michael Payne,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-4610 Filed 3-1-04; 8:45 am]
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