It was expected that the Service would incorporate the 

 provision providing additional protection in cow/calf areas 

 into the interim regulations and adopt them as final regula- 

 tions. However, the Service subsequently decided not to 

 proceed with adoption of final regulations until it had 

 considered the findings of the November 1988 whale watching 

 workshop, described below. At the end of 1988, no further 

 action had been taken by the Service, and interim regulations 

 were still in effect. 



Alaska -- Glacier Bay and surrounding waters in south- 

 east Alaska provide summer habitat for a portion of the North 

 Pacific population of humpback whales. In the late 1970s, it 

 became apparent that fewer whales were using the Bay than had 

 done so previously. It was believed that increased vessel 

 traffic in the area could have been a contributing cause and, 

 in 1979, the National Park Service initiated steps to limit 

 vessel traffic during the period when whales are present. 



As discussed in previous Annual Reports, the Commission 

 assisted in efforts to assess the situation and identify 

 appropriate research and management actions by, among other 

 things, convening research reviews and planning meetings in 

 October 1979 and December 1981. Both meetings were organized 

 and held in consultation with the National Park Service and 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service. In addition, the 

 National Park Service initiated consultations with the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered 

 Species Act to ensure that permitted vessel access into the 

 Bay would not adversely jeopardize the humpback whale or its 

 critical habitat. 



Based on the results of the meetings and consultations, 

 the National Park Service initiated a multi-year research 

 program in 1980 to assess factors possibly affecting the 

 distribution of humpback whales in Glacier Bay and surround- 

 ing waters. It also promulgated temporary regulations which, 

 among other things, limited to 1976 levels the number of 

 large commercial tour ships and smaller recreational vessels 

 that could enter the Bay (i.e., the level of use during the 

 year before the marked decline in whale numbers was observed 

 in the Bay) . The temporary regulations also established a 

 mechanism for designating temporary "whale waters" in which 

 certain vessel operating restrictions were to apply. In 

 subsequent years, these regulations were modified and reissued 

 annually until 1985, when the National Park Service published 

 permanent regulations for the protection of humpback whales 

 in the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. These regula- 

 tions established a permit system for vessel entries, prohibit 

 the harvest of certain humpback whale prey species in the 

 Bay, and provide for designating "whale waters." 



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