1999 

 NATIONAL OVERVIEW 



salmon in the rivers of tiie Pacific Coast), or from overfishing (e.g. for Pacific sardine in the 

 1970s), and may prolong the period oi low ahundance. 



Marine Mammals and Protected Species 



Many protected marine mammal stocks and all U.S. sea turtles are listed as either 

 endangered or threatened under the ESA. Developing and implementing management 

 strategies to minimize the adverse impact of human activities on these animals and aiding 

 their recovery, while not unnecessarily restricting commercial and recreational fisheries, is a 

 major challenge. 



Significant progress has been made towards the recovery of turtle stocks during the 

 last decade. Management strategies are being strengthened in order to ensure that these 

 stocks continue on the path to recovery. In 1998, NMFS and the USFWS published recov- 

 ery plans tor five species ol Pacific turtles and lor one distinct turtle nesting population. 

 Efforts are also underway to revise some of the existing recovery plans for Atlantic popula- 

 tions. 



Much progress has also been made towards the protection and recovery of marine 

 mammal stocks. The 1994 reauthorization of the MMPA strengthened requirements for 

 classification of stocks in terms of the magnitude of levels of bycatch compared to popula- 

 tion size and productivirv. Efforts at reducing human-induced mortality, especially bycatch, 

 are being focused on those stocks where the problem is more severe. Bycatch mitigation 

 efforts have been focused through take reduction teams, and take reduction plans are in 

 preparation or have been adopted for several stocks and fisheries. 



The main issues for several selected high profile marine mammal species are summa- 

 rized here. 



Southeastern U.S. bottlenose dolphins Ouv understanding of the status of bottlenose 

 dolphins in the soiuheastern United States has improved greatly through use of photo- 

 graphic identification, radiotracking, and biomolecular analyses. In the Atlantic, two dis- 

 tinct ecorypes have been identified, a coastal form occurring in shallow warm waters and an 

 offshore form occurring in deep colder water. The coastal form is considered to be a strate- 

 gic stock because it is classified as depleted under the MMPA due to an earlier epizootic. 



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