Introduction 



The 1978 amendments of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) contained a requirement 

 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 (NMFS) develop and implement recoverv' plans for species under their jurisdiction. During the 

 1988 reauthorization of the ESA, an amendment was added to the ESA requiring the Secretaries 

 of Commerce and the Interior to prepare a biennial report "on the status of efforts to develop and 

 implement recover\' plans for all species listed pursuant to this section and on the status of all 

 species for which such plans have been developed." 



To satisfy this reporting requirement, a summar\' of recovery efforts for species under NMFS 

 jurisdiction for the period July 1994 through September 1996 has been prepared. Included in this 

 report is the most current species status and trends information available. Recovery plans can be 

 obtained by writing to: 



Endangered Species Division - Recover>' Plans 

 Office of Protected Resources - F/PR3 

 National Marine Fisheries Service 

 1315 East- West Highway. 13th Floor 

 Silver Spring. MD 20910-3226 



NMFS manages an information database that tracks: (1) the status of endangered or threatened 

 marine species; and (2) the development and implementation of recovery plans to promote 

 survival of species. This report was generated from the data in that system. The information is 

 also available on the Internet at the following address: 

 http://kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/tmcintyr/prot_res.html. 



The ESA requires development and implementation of recovery plans unless such plans will not 

 promote the conservation of the species. Although the ESA does not differentiate between 

 domestic and foreign species in this regard, specific management actions are often not feasible 

 for species whose range is either totally or primarily outside of U.S. jurisdiction. The range of a 

 number of listed marine species is totally outside U.S. jurisdiction. In other cases, the range in 

 areas under the jurisdiction of the United States is limited, and management actions in the U.S. 

 portion of their range are not likely to contribute to recovery. Therefore, NMFS has focused 

 recovery plans to those species primarily under U.S. jurisdiction. 



NMFS believes that local efforts and initiatives are key to restoring environmental health and 

 fisheries resources. It is our view that collaboration between Federal, state, tribal, and local 

 authorities, and private entities, has the greatest chance of ensuring the recovery of listed species. 

 Aggressive initiatives in habitat, hatcheries, and harvest have the potential to restore species to 

 levels such that listing under ESA is unwarranted. In perhaps the most complex and 

 controversial program ever attempted under the ESA. the Pacific Northwest, under NMFS 

 leadership, is moving ahead with significant actions to improve overall environmental health and 

 recover listed Snake River salmon. NMFS is also investing substantial funding, technical 

 expertise, and policy guidance in support of state, tribal, and local initiatives to restore salmon, 

 steelhead. and cutthroat trout populations in coastal areas of California. Oregon, and Washington. 



Since NMFS' last Report for FY 1992-1994. the gray whale has been delisted. Subsequent to 

 delisting, all previously-listed species undergo a 5-year monitoring period. 



