MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



Budget limitations have not allowed the Service to 

 initiate studies on other research priorities identified 

 in the draft five-year plan. 



Potential Threats to Gray Whale Habitat 



As noted above gray whales spend much of their 

 lives in nearshore waters and are therefore exposed to 

 a variety of human activities and development. 

 Particular concern in this regard has arisen recently 

 with respect to potential development in lagoons along 

 the coast of Mexico used by wintering gray whales. 

 To help assess and avoid possible adverse impacts in 

 these areas, the Commission contracted in 1993 for a 

 study of ongoing and planned development in two 

 major breeding lagoons along the west coast of Baja 

 California, Mexico: San Ignacio Lagoon and Magda- 

 lena Bay. Results of that study were published in 

 1995 (see appendix B, Dedina and Young 1995). 



The contract report identifies and describes potential 

 threats to the breeding lagoons, including whale- 

 watching, coastal development, and industrial activi- 

 ties; provides a summary of relevant mechanisms 

 utilized in Mexico for resource conservation; de- 

 scribes efforts that have been made to limit the 

 activities or mitigate potential impacts to gray whales 

 and their habitat; and provides suggestions of actions 

 that might be taken to avoid or mitigate potential 

 adverse affects from human activities. The sugges- 

 tions include increasing fees for whale-watching 

 permits to support gray whale habitat protection and 

 other local conservation programs, and increasing 

 public involvement in the review of plans and envi- 

 ronmental assessments of proposed industrial and 

 coastal development activities near the lagoons. Early 

 in 1996 the Commission expects to transmit the report 

 to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration and key scientists in the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. 



Among the potential threats is the proposed con- 

 struction of new salt production facilities at San 

 Ignacio Lagoon, one of the principal breeding/calving 

 lagoons. Construction of the salt processing facilities 

 would include substantial alteration of parts of the 

 lagoon and construction of conveyor belts and a deep- 

 water pier for loading and transporting salt. An 

 environmental impact assessment was prepared by the 



salt-works owners and submitted to the Mexican 

 government. The assessment was turned down due to 

 insufficient information on the project's location, size, 

 and potential environmental consequences. Apparent- 

 ly, there are plans to submit a revised environmental 

 impact assessment. 



On a related point, a Commission-sponsored 

 contract report completed in 1994 described the 

 reaction of gray whales to noise experiments conduct- 

 ed in San Ignacio Lagoon in 1983 and 1984 (see 

 Appendix B, Jones et al. 1994). The authors con- 

 cluded that gray whales left the lagoons, at least 

 temporarily, in response to underwater projection of 

 noises of boats, industrial activities, and other sounds. 

 These results suggest that noise associated with coastal 

 development and related activities could cause whales 

 to avoid or abandon areas that may be essential to 

 calving, nursing, and breeding. This report was 

 transmitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration on 16 December 1994 with the com- 

 ment that noises generated by various human activities 

 have the potential to adversely affect gray whales 

 using the lagoons. 



IWC Consideration of Threats to 

 Gray Whale Habitat 



Potential development effects on the species' 

 breeding lagoons also has been a recent subject of 

 concern within the International Whaling Commission. 

 At its May 1994 meeting, the IWC's Scientific Com- 

 mittee reviewed the effects of tourism and other 

 developments in gray whale critical habitats. The 

 Committee took special note of the Mexico's recogni- 

 tion of the importance of gray whale breeding lagoons 

 and its action to conserve these critical habitats. The 

 Committee recommended that efforts should be made 

 to protect and maintain the integrity of the lagoon 

 habitats by (1) evaluating and considering the effects 

 of lost habitats elsewhere, (2) careful planning of any 

 development to accommodate the needs of developers 

 and wildlife, and (3) implementing an ongoing re- 

 search and monitoring program to allow detection and 

 analysis of any changes in use of the lagoon by gray 

 whales that could be associated with development, 

 including tourism. 



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