. . . Pacific Marine Mammals 



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Recovery of 

 Protected Species 



Eleven U.S. west coast marine mammal 

 species are listed as endangered or threat- 

 ened under the ESA. Though the data are 

 limited, right whales in the eastern North 

 Pacific Ocean are at a critically low level: 

 Only 5-7 sightings have been made in the 

 past 25 years. There are far too few data 

 on other species, such as blue and hump- 

 back whales, to judge whether any recov- 

 ery is taking place. Some human activities 



may, however, be affecting the recovery of 

 some species. For example, adult female 

 humpback whales with calves have appar- 

 ently been abandoning traditional 

 nearshore calving and calf rearing habitat 

 near Maui, Hawaii, owing to repeated 

 human interference or contact. Recovery 

 plan action will provide a way to gauge 

 progress in the restoration of endangered 

 and threatened resources. 



Conservation and 

 Fisheries Management 

 Conflicts 



Some pinniped populations, such as 

 Steller sea lion, northern fur seal, and har- 

 bor seal, have declined in the last 20 years. 

 During the same period, other pinniped 

 populations farther south along the west 

 coast have increased, such as harbor seal, 

 California sea lion, northern fur seal, and 

 northern elephant seal. Growing marine 

 mammal populations will raise different 

 fishery management concerns. For one, 



fisheries management actions and the 

 MFCMA may be in conflict with protective 

 requirements of the MMPA and ESA, as 

 when marine mammals prey on depleted 

 fish stocks, like Pacific salmon, or if they 

 are in turn accidentally killed in fishing 

 operations. The biological information 

 needed to assess and manage these prob- 

 lems is generally lacking. 



