and ecology so as to provide a better basis for developing 

 and evaluating potential recovery actions. 



A great deal of vital information on right whales can be 

 developed through long-term observation of known individuals 

 identifiable through scars, marks, callosity patterns, and 

 other unique features. Among other things, observing known 

 animals over time and space can help identify and detect 

 changes in habitat use patterns, movements, survival rates, 

 and reproductive rates. For the past several years, scientists 

 have been using photographs to identify individual animals. 

 To increase the amount of information that can be developed 

 through photo-identification, there is a need to continue to 

 compile and distribute a catalogue of photographs to aid 

 researchers in identifying individual whales. The National 

 Marine Fisheries Service has been unable to fully support 

 preparation of such a catalogue and, in 1988, the Commission 

 provided partial support to the New England Aquarium to copy 

 and print photographs provided by cooperating scientists, as 

 described in previous Reports (see also Chapter XI) . 



In addition to actions noted above, the Commission has 

 recommended on several occasions that the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service constitute a recovery team and prepare a 

 recovery plan for right whales, as required by the Endangered 

 Species Act. In response to these recommendations, in July 

 1987, the Service extended invitations to selected scientists 

 and resource managers, including a representative of the 

 Marine Mammal Commission, to serve on the Recovery Team. In 

 September 1987, the Service provided Team members with terms 

 of reference governing its activities. Among other things, 

 the Recovery Team is responsible for providing advice and 

 assistance to the Service on: developing and implementing 

 the recovery plan; reviewing the status of the species and 

 recovery efforts; and considering technical and scientific 

 matters such as research permits and section 7 consultations 

 under the Endangered Species Act. During the Commission's 

 Annual Meeting on 10-12 December 1987, representatives of the 

 Service advised the Commission that its staff was developing 

 a draft recovery plan, which would be provided to the Recovery 

 Team for review shortly, and that the first Team meeting 

 would be early in 1988. 



By early May, the Service had not yet provided the Recovery 

 Team with a draft plan and, on 6 May, the Commission wrote to 

 the Service urging that the draft be completed and forwarded 

 to the Team as soon as possible. In late May, members of the 

 Team were sent copies of a draft recovery plan that included 

 sections addressing right whale populations in both the North 

 Pacific and western North Atlantic Oceans. After reviewing 

 and submitting comments on the draft plan to the Recovery 

 Team leader, Team members met in Boston, Massachusetts, on 30 



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