Chapter 11 — Species of Special Concern 



therefore recommended that the draft plan be refor- 

 matted and substantially revised. In this regard, the 

 Commission developed and attached to its comments 

 a revised outline of research and management tasks. 



In light of comments by the Commission and 

 others, the Service decided that the recommended 

 draft plan should be revised. The Commission 

 subsequently offered to assist the Service in this 

 effort, and the Service agreed. The Commission 

 completed a suggested revised draft plan in the fall of 

 1990, taking into account its earlier comments as well 

 as those of others. The Commission and its Commit- 

 tee of Scientific Advisors reviewed the revised draft 

 plan and, by letter of 21 November 1990, forwarded 

 it to the Service. In its letter, the Commission noted 

 that the revision addressed most of the comments on 

 the recommended plan. Because it included a number 

 of substantive changes, however, the Commission 

 suggested that, if the Service were to put forward the 

 revised draft plan, it should be circulated for agency 

 and public review as the Service's proposed plan. 



Among other points, the revision identified steps to 

 monitor right whale occurrence and habitat use 

 patterns in known high-use areas; improve the salvage 

 and necropsy program for right whales; develop and 

 implement area, season, gear, and/or other fishing 

 restrictions in important right whale habitat areas; 

 establish public awareness programs to advise vessel 

 operators of ways to reduce the likelihood of vessel- 

 whale collisions in areas where right whales occur 

 most frequently; consider vessel speed restrictions in 

 areas where right whales occur frequently; establish 

 interim whale-watching regulations setting forth 

 allowable approach distances for right whales; limit 

 approval of research permit applications involving 

 right whales to studies that would further the objec- 

 tives and provisions of the approved right whale 

 recovery plan or involve other essential research 

 whose expected results would outweigh likely adverse 

 effects on the whales; and designate critical habitat for 

 right whales. 



The Service did not respond to the Commission's 

 suggestions and, on 13 March 1991, the Commission 

 asked to be advised of the steps and schedule that the 

 Service would follow to complete, adopt, and imple- 

 ment a final recovery plan. The Service replied on 25 



April, noting that it believed the November 1990 

 revision placed too much emphasis on research and 

 that information was sufficient to begin management 

 actions. The Service advised the Commission that it 

 was drafting another version that would be sent to the 

 Recovery Team in the first week of May for a ten-day 

 review. It also stated that it did not believe another 

 public comment period was warranted. 



By July, the Commission had not been advised of 

 any further efforts to complete or adopt the recovery 

 plan. On 12 July 1991, the Commission requested 

 information on the status of efforts to complete the 

 plan and what the Service proposed to include in it. 

 The Service's 18 October 1991 reply noted that it was 

 sending the plan to its regional offices and science 

 centers for review, after which it would be submitted 

 to the Service's Director for approval. The letter did 

 not indicate what actions were called for in the plan or 

 when it would be submitted for approval. 



Inasmuch as the Service provided no comments on 

 the provisions recommended by the Recovery Team 

 when it circulated the initial recommended plan and it 

 has not announced publicly its views as to appropriate 

 research and management measures, it is not clear 

 what the Service contemplates including in the right 

 whale recovery plan. 



Critical Habitat for Right Whales 

 in the Northwest Atlantic 



Certain coastal waters off the eastern United States 

 and Canada are used seasonally by a significant 

 portion of the right whale stock in the western North 

 Atlantic Ocean. Five key areas have been document- 

 ed over the past ten years, three of which occur in 

 U.S. waters: (1) nearshore waters within 10 to 15 

 miles of the coast of southern Georgia and northern 

 Florida (a calving ground and nursery area used 

 between January and March); (2) Cape Cod Bay and 

 Massachusetts Bay (a feeding area often used by cow- 

 calf pairs as well as others in March and April); and 

 (3) the Great South Channel, 40 to 60 miles east of 

 Cape Cod (a feeding and migratory corridor for a 

 substantial number of right whales in May and June). 



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