Chapter n — Species of Special Concern 



versely affect this population, such impacts were not 

 likely to jeopardize its continued existence. The 

 Service, therefore, believed that the population should 

 be removed from the List of Endangered and Threat- 

 ened Species, not merely down-listed to threatened. 



At the end of 1991, the Marine Mammal Com- 

 mission was reviewing and preparing comments on 

 the proposed rule to be sent to the Service early in 

 1992. Based on its preliminary review, the Commis- 

 sion anticipates reconmiending that the eastern North 

 Pacific gray whale population be down-listed to threat- 

 ened rather than being removed from the list unless 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service can (1) provide 

 assurances that habitat degradation and destruction do 

 not present significant threats to the survival of the 

 population, (2) develop and undertake a program to 

 effectively assess and monitor essential habitat, as 

 well as the population's status and trends, throughout 

 its range, or (3) have the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act amended to provide a mechanism for protecting 

 essential habitats. 



KiUer Whale 

 (Orcinus orca) 



Killer whales are found in all the world's oceans 

 and major seas from polar to equatorial latitudes. 

 Although most common in colder waters, they occur 

 in both coastal and pelagic areas and may be found in 

 any area in all seasons. Two new killer whale species 

 {0. nanus and O. glacialis) in Antarctic waters have 

 been proposed based on size and color differences. 

 However, the IWC has determined that these are 

 probably different forms of a single, highly variable 

 species, O. orca. 



Killer whales are highly social. Individual whales 

 form long-term associations along maternal lines. The 

 basic social unit is the "pod." Most pods contain 5 to 

 20 animals, although some may have as few as two or 

 three whales and others more than 100 animals. In 

 the United States, killer whales are most common in 

 Puget Sound, Washington, and the coastal waters of 

 Alaska. While the species is not considered endan- 

 gered or threatened in any ocean or region, its highly 



organized pod structure could make local groups 

 vulnerable to adverse impacts. 



In the past, commercial whalers took some killer 

 whales; however, exploitation was typically opportu- 

 nistic and never large-scale. The most recent com- 

 mercial take of killer whales was by Soviet whalers in 

 the Antarctic in 1979-1980. 



Since the early 1960s, killer whales also have 

 been taken live for public display in oceanaria and 

 zoos. Killer whales were taken for this purpose from 

 coastal waters of British Columbia and Puget Sound 

 from 1962 to 1976. A permit to take killer whales in 

 Alaska waters for public display was issued in 1983. 

 In response to a lawsuit, however, the permit was 

 ruled invalid in 1985 because it had not met require- 

 ments of the National Environmental Policy Act. As 

 a result, no animals were taken. Since the mid-1970s, 

 most animals taken for public display have been from 

 waters off Iceland. 



As a top-level predator, killer whales feed on 

 other marine mammals, including large whales, 

 dolphins, and seals, as well as seabirds, turtles, and 

 fish. Their prey includes species of fish taken com- 

 mercially. In some areas, killer whales are attracted 

 to commercial fishing operations where they damage 

 catch and gear. As a result, some fishermen consider 

 killer whales as competitors and nuisance animals. In 

 some regions, they have been the target of culling 

 programs to reduce interference with fishing opera- 

 tions. 



In the United States, killer whales are known to 

 interact with the blackcod, or sablefish, longline 

 fishery in waters off Alaska. In the 1960s, Japanese 

 longline fishermen operating off the Aleutian Islands 

 began noticing killer whales removing or damaging 

 hooked fish as lines were retrieved. Begiiming in 

 1985, longline fishermen in Prince William Sound 

 reported similar interactions. Field surveys in Prince 

 William Sound in 1986 suggested that fishermen lost 

 more than 20 percent of their catch to killer whales. 



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