coasts of the United States; and that it would be provided to 

 the Recovery Team early in 1988 for review and comment. 



A matter of general concern regarding humpback whales 

 and certain other endangered whales in U.S. waters (e.g., 

 right and gray whales) is disturbance by whale-watching boats 

 and other vessels. The problem has been a matter of particular 

 concern in Hawaiian waters as well as waters off southeast 

 Alaska, New England, and California. As illustrated below, 

 past efforts to address these problems have been made on a 

 regional or local basis. As similar problems requiring similar 

 solutions have arisen in different geographic areas, however, 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service has begun to examine 

 possible advantages and disadvantages of promulgating general 

 regulations that would provide a more consistent approach to 

 establishing and applying whale-watching standards. At the 

 Commission's Annual Meeting in Miami on 10-12 December 1987, 

 the Service advised the Commission that, during 1988, it 

 expects to consider such an approach within the context of 

 efforts to prepare a Recovery Plan for humpback whales. 



Humpback Whales in Hawaii 



The importance of Hawaii's coastal waters to humpback 

 whales for calving, nursing, and breeding is well documented. 

 In order to protect whales from deliberate or inadvertent 

 harassment, the National Marine Fisheries Service published a 

 "Notice of Interpretation of Harassment of Humpback Whales in 

 Hawaiian Waters" in 1979. This notice provided guidelines 

 for approaching whales and advised boat and aircraft operators 

 of proper conduct when in the vicinity of humpback whales. 

 In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in 

 boat and aircraft traffic in Hawaiian waters and a corres- 

 ponding increase in the number of reported incidents of aircraft 

 and vessel operators violating the guidelines outlined in the 

 Service's Notice of Interpretation. However, because guidelines 

 do not have the legal force of regulations, the Service has 

 had difficulty in prosecuting violators. To overcome this 

 problem, the Service, on 24 November 1986, proposed formal 

 regulations to replace the 1979 Notice of Interpretation. 

 The proposed regulations would apply within 200 nautical 

 miles of the Hawaiian Islands and would prohibit, except 

 under permit: (a) operating an aircraft at altitudes lower 

 than 1,000 feet above a humpback whale; (b) approaching by 

 boat or other means closer than 100 yards from a whale; 

 (c) causing a vessel or other object to approach closer than 

 100 yards of a whale; or (4) disrupting the normal behavior or 

 activity of a whale by any other act or omission. 



As discussed in its previous Report, the Commission, in 

 consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, reviewed 

 and, by letter of 23 December 1986, provided comments on the 



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