Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 1996

Preface

On April 30, 1994, Public Law 103-238 was enacted allowing significant changes to provisions within the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Interactions between marine mammals and commercial fisheries are addressed under three new sections. This new regime replaced the interim exemption that has regulated fisheries-related incidental takes since 1988. Section 117, Stock Assessments, required the establishment of three regional scientific review groups to advise and report on the status of marine mammal stocks within Alaska waters, along the Pacific Coast (including Hawaii), and the Atlantic Coast (including the Gulf of Mexico). This report provides information on the marine mammal stocks of Alaska under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Each stock assessment includes a description of the stock's geographic range, a minimum population estimate, current population trends, current and maximum net productivity rates, optimum sustainable population levels and allowable removal levels, and estimates of annual human-caused mortality and serious injury through interactions with commercial fisheries and subsistence hunters. Under the new regime, these data will be used to evaluate the progress of each fishery towards achieving its goal of zero mortality and serious injury of marine mammals.

This is a working document. Each stock assessment report is designed to stand alone and will be updated as new information becomes available. The MMPA requires stock assessment reports to be revised annually for stocks designated as strategic, annually for stocks where there are significant new information available, and at least once every 3 years for all other stocks. This document represents the first revision since the original development of the stock assessment reports in 1995. Minor formatting and editing changes in most reports have been initiated to allow for better consistency between the reports. In addition, for some stocks, new information (such as new abundance estimates, or new estimates of fishery related modality) have led to substantial revisions in certain sections. Those sections of each stock assessment report containing significant changes are listed in Appendix Table 1. The authors solicit any new information or comments which would improve future stock assessment reports.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has management authority for polar bears, sea otters and walrus. Copies of the stock assessments for these species may be obtained through USFWS, Marine Mammals Management, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK, 99501.

Ideas and comments from the Alaska Scientific Review Group (SRG) have significantly improved this document from its draft form. The authors wish to express their gratitude for the thorough reviews and helpful guidance provided by the Alaska SRG members: Lloyd Lowry (chairman), Milo Adkinson (new member), John Gauvin (new member), Carl Hild, Sue Hills, Brendan Kelly, Matt Kookesh (new member), Denby Lloyd, Beth Mathews, Craig Matkin (new member), Caleb Pungowiyi, Jan Straley, and Kate Wynne.


View Online  (.pdf, 3.54 MB).