NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS NE 168
U.S.
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
Marine Mammal Stock Assessments -- 2001
by Gordon T. Waring1,
Janeen M. Quintal1, and Steven L. Schwartz2,
Editors
with contributions from
(listed alphabetically): Phillip J. Clapham1, Timothy V.N. Cole1, Carol P. Fairfield2,
Aleta Hohn3,
Debra L. Palka1, Marjorie C. Rossman1, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service,
and Cynthia Yeung2
1National
Marine Fisheries Serv., Woods Hole Lab., 166 Water St., Woods
Hole, MA 02543
2National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia
Beach Dr., Miami, FL 33149-1003
3National Marine Fisheries Service, 101 Pivers
Island Rd., Beaufort, NC 28516-9722
Print
publication date December 2001;
web version posted September 26, 2002
Citation: Waring GT, Quintal JM, Schwartz SL, editors. 2001. US Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal stock assessments -- 2001. NOAA Tech Memo NMFS NE 168; 307 p.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge contributions by the Northeast
Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Sea Sampling Investigation, Dana Hartley
(Northeast Regional Office), Blair Mase of the Southeast Fisheries Science
Center (SEFSC). Also, we acknowledge advice and comments provided by:
Jon Gibson, Richard Merrick, Fred Serchuk and Fred Wenzel (NEFSC); Patricia
Rosel (SEFSC), Kim Thounhurst (NER); Diane Borggaard and Kathy Wang (Southeast
Regional Office); Solange Brault, Joseph DeAlteris, James Gilbert, Robert
Kenney, James Mead, Daniel Odell, Andrew Read, Randall Wells and Sharon
Young of the Atlantic Scientific Review Group, Tom Eagle and Emily Menashes
NMFS Office of Protected Resources and Gary Stenson of the Dept. of Fisheries
and Oceans, St. John’s, Newfoundland. We also thank the Marine Mammal
Commission, the Ocean Conservancy and the Humane Society of the United
States for their constructive comments and advice.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Under the 1994 amendments of the Marine Mammal Protection
Act (MMPA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) were required to generate stock assessment
reports (SAR) for all marine mammal stocks in waters within the U.S.
Exclusive Econom ic Zone (EEZ). The first reports for the Atlantic (includes
the Gulf of Mexico) were published in July 1995 (Blaylock et al. 1995).
The MMPA requires NMFS and USFWS to review these reports ann ually for
strategic stocks of marine mammals and at least every 3 years for stocks
determined to be non-strategic. The second edition of the SARs (1996
assessments) was published in October 1997 and contained all the previous
reports, but major revisions and updating were only completed for strategic
stocks (Waring et al. 1997). Updated reports were identified by a 1997
date-stamp at the top right corner at the beginning of each report. The
3rd edition of the SARs (1998 assessments) only contained reports for
Atlantic stocks, and updated reports were identified by a 1998 date-stamp
(Waring et al. 1999). The 4th edition of the SARs (1999 assessments)
only contained reports for Atlantic stocks, and updated reports were
identified by a 1999 date-stamp (Waring et al. 1999). The 5th edition
of the SARs contains all NMFS reports for the Atlantic (includes the
Gulf of Mexico), and the USFW S West Indian manatee assessments. Updated
reports were identified by a 2000 date-stamp (Waring et al. 2000). The
current (2001) report contains updated assessments for Atlantic strategic
stocks, and for Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stocks for which significant
new information was available. These reports are identified by a November
2001 date-stamp at the beginning of each report. Further, Appendices
I and II contain the West Indian Manatees
stock assessments and stock assessments not updated in the year 2001,
respectively.
This report was prepared by staff of the Northeast Fisheries
Science Center (NEFSC), Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). NMFS staff presented
the reports at the November 2000 meeting of the Atlantic Scientific Review
Group (ASRG), and subsequent revisions were based on their contributions
and constructive criticism.
Table 1 contains a summary, by species,
of the information included in the stock assessments, and also indicates
those that have been revised since the 2000 publication. A total of 18
of the 60 Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stock assessment reports were revised
for 2001. Most of the proposed changes incorporate new information into
sections on population size and mortality estimates. The revised SARs
include 12 strategic and 6 non-strategic stocks. Information on human
interactions (fishery and ship strikes) between the right whale, humpback
whale, fin whale and minke whale stocks were re-reviewed and updated.
This is a working document and individual stock
assessment reports will be updated as new information becomes available and
as changes to marine mammal stocks and fisheries occur. The authors solicit
any new information or comments which would improve future stock assessment
reports.
INTRODUCTION
Section 117 of the 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) requires that an annual stock assessment report
(SAR) for each stock of marine mammals that occurs in waters under USA
jurisdiction, be prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in consultation with regional
Scientific Review Groups (SRG). The SRGs are a broad representation of
marine mammal and fishery scientists and members of the commercial fishing
industry mandated to review the marine mammal stock assessments and provide
advice to the Assistant Administrator for NMFS. The reports are then
made available on the Federal Register for public review and comment
before final publication.
The MMPA requires that each SAR contain several items,
including: (1) a description of the stock, including its geographic range;
(2) a minimum population estimate, a maximum net productivity rate, and
a description of current population trend, including a description of
the information upon which these are based; (3) an estimate of the annual
human-caused mortality and serious injury of the stock, and, for a strategic
stock, other factors that may be causing a decline or impeding recovery
of the stock, including effects on marine mammal habitat and prey; (4)
a description of the commercial fisheries that interact with the stock,
including the estimated number of vessels actively participating in the
fishery and the level of incidental mortality and serious injury of the
stock by each fishery on an annual basis; (5) a statement categorizing
the stock as strategic or not, and why; and (6) an estimate of the potential
biological removal (PBR) level for the stock, describing the information
used to calculate it.
The MMPA also requires that SARs be updated annually for
stocks which are specified as strategic stocks, or for which significant
new information is available, and on ce every three years for nonstrategic
stocks. Following enactment of the 1994 amendments, the NMFS and FWS
held a series of workshops to develop guidelines for preparing the SARs.
The first set of stock assessments for the Atlantic Coast (including
the Gulf of Mexico) were published in July 1995 in the NOAA Technical
Memorandum series (Blaylock et al. 1995). In April 1996, the NMFS held
a workshop to review proposed additions and revisions to the guidelines
for preparing SARs (Wade and Angliss 1997). Guidelines developed at the
workshop were followed in preparing the 1996 (Waring et al. 1997), 1998
(Waring et al. 1999), 1999 (Waring et al. 1999), 2000 (Waring et al.
2000) SARs. A 1997 SAR was not produced.
In this document, major revisions and updating of the SARs
were only completed for Atlantic Coast strategic stocks and Atlantic
Coast stocks for which significant new information were available. These
are identified by the November 2001 date-stamp at the top right corner
at the beginning of each report.
REFERENCES
Blaylock, R.A., J.W. Hain, L.J. Hansen, D.L. Palka and
G.T. Waring. 1995. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal stock
assessments. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-363, 211 pp.
Wade, P.R. and R.P. Angliss. 1997. Guidelines for assessing
marine mammal stocks: Report of the GAMMS workshop April 3-5, 1996, Seattle,
Washington. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-OPR-12, 93 pp.
Waring, G.T., D.L. Palka, K.D. Mullin, J.H.W. Hain, L.J.
Hansen and K.D. Bisack. 1997. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine
mammal stock assessments. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE-114, 250 pp.
Waring , G.T., D.L. Palka, P.J. Clapham, S. Swartz, M .
Rossman, T.V.N. Cole, K.D. Bisack and L.J. Hansen. 1999. U.S. Atlantic
marine mammal stock assessments-1998. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE-116, 182
pp.
Waring, G.T., D.L. Palka, P.J. Clapham, S. Swartz, M.C.
Rossman, T.V.N. Cole, L.J. Hansen, K.D. Bisack, K.D. Mullin, R.S. Wells,
D.K. Odell and N.B. Barros. 1999. U. S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine
mammal stock assessments - 1999. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE-153, 196 pp.
Waring, G.T., J.M. Quintal and S. Swartz. 2000. U. S. Atlantic
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