As noted above, the Commission remains convinced that 

 preparation of a recovery plan is of utmost importance for 

 identifying and coordinating priority research and management 

 actions for this and other endangered species of large 

 whales. By mid-December 1986, the Commission had received no 

 formal response to its letter of 31 December 1985 to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service urging development of such 

 a plan. Nor was the Commission aware of any action on the 

 part of the Service either to adopt the report as an interim 

 recovery plan or to constitute a right whale recovery team. 

 Therefore, on 23 December 1986, the Commission wrote the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, briefly reviewed its 

 previous recommendations that the Service develop recovery 

 plans for great whales, and again recommended that the 

 Service: (a) prepare and adopt recovery plans for the right, 

 humpback, and bowhead whale populations in U.S. waters; 

 (b) constitute and convene the necessary recovery team(s) to 

 help develop and oversee implementation of the recovery 

 plans; and (c) seek the necessary funds to carry forward into 

 Fiscal Year 1988 and beyond the priority right whale research 

 and management projects undertaken in Fiscal Year 1986. 



As noted earlier in this chapter in the discussion of 

 humpback whales, the new Director of the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service informally advised the Commission at year's 

 end that the Service would designate a recovery team and 

 prepare a recovery plan for right whales in 1987. The 

 Commission, greatly encouraged by the commitment of the 

 Director to address the issue, looks forward to working with 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service and others to ensure 

 that all possible steps are taken to further protect and 

 conserve this highly endangered species. 



Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) 

 (Central California Population) 



The harbor porpoise is one of the world's smallest 

 cetaceans. It is found in coastal areas throughout most of 

 the Northern Hemisphere, including the waters off Europe, the 

 Far East, and the east and west coasts of North America. 

 Because it prefers inshore waters, the species is par- 

 ticularly vulnerable to impacts from human activities, such 

 as coastal set net fisheries and water pollution. 



Over the past few years, expanding gill net fisheries 

 off central and northern California for halibut, rockfish, 

 and shark have resulted in the incidental take of harbor 

 porpoise, as well as sea otters, sea birds, and other non- 

 target marine species. The California Department of Fish and 

 Game estimated that incidental take of harbor porpoise in 

 these gill net fisheries increased from approximately 20 



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