NOAA Technical Memorandum
NMFS-AFSC-103
Status review of the eastern north Pacific stock of gray whales
Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted a review of the status of the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). This review culminated in a workshop held by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) in Seattle, Washington, on 16-17 March 1999. Based on the continued growth of this population (rising at 2.5% annually; currently at an estimated 26,600 individuals) and the lack of evidence of any imminent threats to the stock, workshop participants recommended the continuation of this stock's classification as non-threatened. They also concluded that abundance monitoring should continue at some level, especially as this stock approaches its carrying capacity, and that, ideally, research should continue on human impacts to critical habitats. This stock's annual migrations along the highly populated coastline of the western United States and their concentration in limited winter and summer areas may make them particularly vulnerable to impacts from commercial or industrial development or local catastrophic events. The Western North Pacific gray whale stock has not recovered and should continue to be listed as endangered.
The workshop and status review conclude the 5-year assessment of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale stock following its removal from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants on 16 June 1994.
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