MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



The two areas in Canadian waters are in the lower 

 Bay of Fundy near the U.S. -Canadian border (a 

 feeding and nursing area for cow-calf pairs from July 

 to November) and near Browns Bank, 25 miles 

 southeast of southern Nova Scotia (a feeding and 

 mating area for adult and juvenile animals between 

 July and November). 



On 12 July 1990, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service published a Federal Register notice announc- 

 ing receipt of a petition from the Right Whale Recov- 

 ery Team asking that three right whale habitats in 

 U.S. waters be designated as critical habitat under 

 section 4 of the Endangered Species Act. The petition 

 identified proposed boundaries and briefly discussed 

 why each area was important. The Service's notice 

 stated that, within 12 months, it would conduct a 

 review to determine if the requested action was 

 warranted. To help with the review, the Service 

 asked for comments on the petitioned action and other 

 relevant information or publications. 



Based on a review of the notice and petition, the 

 Commission concluded that there appeared to be 

 sufficient grounds for designating critical habitat in 

 each area. However, a synthesis and analysis of 

 information on right whale sighting data and special 

 management considerations had not been developed to 

 properly evaluate the merits of designating the three 

 areas as critical habitat. The Commission, therefore, 

 contracted for a study to synthesize and evaluate 

 relevant information according to criteria established 

 by the Service for designating critical habitat. On 26 

 September 1990, the Commission wrote to the Service 

 noting its views on the petitioned action and advising 

 that it had contracted for a synthesis of relevant 

 information to help evaluate the petition. The Com- 

 mission also provided the Service with copies of 

 relevant reports prepared for the Commission. 



In May 1991, the Commission and its Committee 

 of Scientific Advisors accepted a final contract report 

 entitled "Information on Right Whales (Eubalaena 

 glacialis) in Three Proposed Critical Habitats in U.S. 

 Waters of the Western North Atlantic Ocean" (see 

 Appendix B, Kraus and Kenney 1991). By letter of 

 31 May 1991, the Commission forwarded the report 

 to the Service. In its letter, the Commission noted 

 that the analysis indicated that all three areas are used 



seasonally each year by a substantial percentage of the 

 remaining right whale population and/or by a vital 

 stock component (e.g., cow-calf pairs). It also noted 

 that each area appeared to meet established criteria for 

 designating critical habitat. 



The Commission, therefore, recommended that the 

 Service proceed with actions to propose and designate 

 as critical habitat all three areas identified in the 

 petition. The Commission also noted, however, that 

 the Commission-sponsored study did not fully evaluate 

 data on right whale sighting effort and that such 

 analyses might justify designating additional areas 

 adjacent to the petitioned boundaries. Therefore, the 

 Commission also recommended that the Service 

 evaluate effort data associated with right whale 

 sightings to determine if additional adjacent areas also 

 merit designation. In recommending the additional 

 analysis, the Commission noted that it should in no 

 way delay action to designate the areas already 

 identified. 



On 18 October 1991, the Service advised the 

 Commission that an environmental assessment was 

 being written to accompany a proposed rule to desig- 

 nate critical habitat and that it expected to publish the 

 proposed rule in January 1992. 



Right Whale Status Review 



Section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 

 requires that, at least once every five years, a review 

 of listed species be conducted to determine whether 

 changes in their listing status are warranted. In June 

 1991, the Service completed a status review of endan- 

 gered whales, including right whales and, on 27 June, 

 it published a Federal Register notice requesting 

 comments. 



The Service's review concluded that right whales 

 were the most severely depleted and least abundant of 

 all large whale species. In the eastern North Pacific, 

 the review noted, no more than seven animals had 

 been sighted over the past 25 years in spite of consid- 

 erable effort to locate them in areas where they once 

 were common. Regarding right whales in the western 

 North Atlantic, the Service cited two recent population 

 estimates that were in close agreement with each 

 other. One placed the population size at 71-333 



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