Chapter 11 — Species of Special Concern 



significant numbers of bottlenose dolphins are caught 

 and killed in fisheries for menhaden, shrimp, and 

 other species in the coastal waters of the southeastern 

 United States. In some areas, bottlenose dolphins also 

 may be affected by environmental pollution, coastal 

 and offshore oil and gas development, dumping and 

 dredging, and other human activities. The indepen- 

 dent and collective effects of the mortality have not 

 been determined. It is therefore possible that one or 

 more local bottlenose dolphin populations have been 

 depleted or that continued incidental taking or taking 

 for purposes of public display or scientific research 

 may have caused one or more local populations to be 

 reduced or maintained below the maximum net 

 productivity level. 



Unusually High Mortality and 

 Proposed Depleted Designation 



According to population monitoring surveys 

 conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 the 1987-1988 die-off of bottlenose dolphins along the 

 east coast of the United States may have reduced the 

 population by as much as 60 percent. As noted in 

 previous Annual Reports, on 11 November 1988, the 

 Center for Marine Conservation petitioned the Service 

 to list the coastal mid-Atlantic migratory stock of 

 bottlenose dolphins as depleted under the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act. The Service published an 

 advance notice of proposed rulemaking and a request 

 for comments on the proposal on 1 1 October 1989. 



On 21 December 1989, the Commission com- 

 mented to the Service on the notice. The Commission 

 noted that, in its opinion, the Service would be ill- 

 advised to list the coastal mid-Atlantic bottlenose 

 dolphin population as depleted without, at the same 

 time, describing the steps that would be taken to 

 verify the assumptions upon which the designation 

 was based and to determine when the population no 

 longer was depleted. The Commission recommended 

 also that, before promulgating such a rule, the Service 

 develop and implement a conservation plan for 

 bottlenose dolphins along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast 

 that, in part, would identify the monitoring programs 

 needed to meet this objective. 



On 13 March 1991, the Commission wrote to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service about a nimiber of 

 issues, including the Service's proposed rulemaking to 

 list the nearshore mid-Atlantic stock of bottlenose 

 dolphins as depleted under the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act. The Commission noted that the 

 Service had not published a proposed rule and asked 

 about its plans to do so. The Commission also 

 requested that the Service advise it as to what actions 

 it was taking or planning to take to develop and 

 implement the conservation plan for bottlenose dol- 

 phins that the Commission had recommended in its 21 

 December 1989 letter. 



In its 25 April 1991 response, the Service noted 

 that: (1) it was completing its review of the status of 

 the northwest Atlantic nearshore stock of bottlenose 

 dolphins; (2) a status determination would be made 

 soon; (3) if a determination were made to designate 

 the stock as depleted, the Service would move quickly 

 to develop a conservation plan; and (4) if a plan 

 should be necessary, the Service would consult with 

 the Commission before convening a team to draft it. 



On 15 August 1991, the Service published a 

 Federal Register notice proposing to designate the 

 coastal migratory stock of bottlenose dolphins along 

 the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast as depleted under the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. On 4 November 

 1991, the Commission commented on the Federal 

 Register notice, noting that the main concerns ex- 

 pressed in its 21 December 1989 letter regarding the 

 proposed listing had not been addressed in the notice. 

 The Commission therefore recommended that the final 

 rule address, among other things, how the Service 

 will determine when the affected population no longer 

 is depleted. 



As of the end of 1991, the final rule had not yet 

 been promulgated by the Service. 



Live Capture and Removal from the Wild 



Bottlenose dolphins are most commonly taken for 

 research or public display from populations in the 

 Gulf of Mexico and the Indian River system along the 

 central east coast of Florida. Because of uncertainties 

 stemming from the previously noted mass mortalities, 

 the Commission advised the National Marine Fisheries 



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