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Despite this apparent comeback, the threat of extinction 

 has not been eliminated, and on 21 November 1983, the Center 

 for Environmental Education petitioned the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service to list the Guadalupe fur seal as "endangered" 

 under the Endangered Species Act. The Center based its 

 petition on the small and concentrated nature of the population 

 and the threat posed by human activities. These activities 

 include potential competition with fishermen for the same 

 fish, disturbance from fishing camps set up near breeding 

 areas, possible adverse impacts, including oil spills, from 

 planned offshore oil and gas activities, sonic booms resulting 

 from U.S. military and space programs, and tourism. The 

 Center's petition recommends, among other things, a prohibition 

 on fishing and tourist activities near the breeding grounds 

 on Isla de Guadalupe. It also calls for establishment of 

 critical habitat for the species in both Mexican and U.S. 

 waters and for a joint U.S. -Mexican research program on the 

 species . 



The Service is expected to publish the results of its 

 status review early in 1984 and the Commission, in consultation 

 with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, will review the 

 issue further and provide comments and recommendations, as 

 appropriate. 



Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) 

 Central California Population 



The harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena , is found 

 throughout the world's oceans, including the waters off 

 Europe, the Far East, and North America. Because of its 

 inshore distribution, the species is especially vulnerable 

 to adverse effects of human activities, including deterioration 

 and loss of habitat resulting from development and/or 

 environmental contamination and interactions with fisheries. 



As discussed in Chapter IV of this Report, in 1983, 

 information became available suggesting that the rapidly 

 growing use of gill and trammel nets in coastal fisheries 

 off northern and central California was causing a large 

 incidental kill of harbor porpoises as well as other marine 

 species. On 10 November 1983, following a careful review of 

 the available information, the Commission, in consultation 

 with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, recommended that 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service take certain steps to 

 better assess and prevent or reduce the incidental take. 



