, MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION Annual Report to Congress 1994 Marine Mammal Commission 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009 31 January 1995 Table of Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures iv Executive Summary ............................................... .. v I. Introduction. .............................................. .. 1 Personnel ................ .. ......... .. ................ .... 1 Funding. ............................................... .. 1 II. Reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Related Legislation ... ..................................... .. 3 Marine Mammal Protection Act ................. .. 3 Endangered Species Act ...................................... .. 8 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act ................... .. 9 III. Principles for Wildlife Conservation ............................... .. 11 Workshop on Principles for the Conservation of Wild Living Resources .......... 11 Analysis of Fishery Conservation Agreements 14 IV. Species of Special Concern ..................................... .. 17 West Indian Manatee ....................................... .. 17 Dugong. .. .. 26 Hawaiian Monk Seal ....................................... .. 27 Steller Sea Lion .......................................... .. 37 Harbor Seal in Alaska ...................................... .. 44 Northern Fur Seal. ........................................ .. 47 Pacific Walrus ........................................... .. 52 Northern Right Whale ...................................... .. 59 Humpback Whale ......................................... .. 66 Bowhead Whale ............................................. 71 Killer Whale ............................................ .. 75 Gray Whale 77 Vaquita 82 Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoise 86 Polar Bear 92 Sea Otter 96 V. Marine Mammal-Fisheries Interactions ............................ .. 107 Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994 107 The Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska Ecosystems 114 The Gulf of Maine Ecosystem ................................. .. 116 The Tuna-Dolphin Issue .................................... .. 116 Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Forces 125 Fisheries-Related Litigation under the Marine Mammal Protection Act ....... .. 131 VI. futemational Aspects of Marine Mammal Protection and Conservation •...... .. 133 Compendium of International Treaties and Agreements ................. .. 133 Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks 134 International Whaling Commission 136 Conservation and Protection of Marine Mammals in the Southern Ocean ...... .. 143 Protection of the Arctic Enviromnent ............................ .. 153 Agreements Related to Polar Bears 157 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora .. 162 VII. Marine Mammal Strandings and Die-Offs •..••...•.................. .• 167 Unusual Mortality Events in 1994 ............................... .. 167 The Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Networks 168 Response to Unusual Mortality Events " 169 National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank " 170 VIII. Impacts of Marine Debris •...••••...•••.....••••...••••........ 171 Review of Biological Impacts " 171 Third International Conference on Marine Debris 173 Pilot Fishing Gear Retrieval Project. ............................. .. 175 The Marine Entanglement Research Program ....................... .. 176 Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships .................................... .. 177 Monitoring Marine Debris Pollution 181 Activities in the Wider Caribbean Region ................. .. 182 IX. Marine Mammal Management in Alaska ...••....••••...•••...••••• .. 185 Species Accounts, Conservation Plans, and Recovery Plans .............. .. 185 Federal Marine Mammal Marking and Tagging Regulations .............. .. 186 Litigation Related to Marine Mammals in Alaska 188 X. Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Exploration and Development .•••..•..... 191 Proposed Offshore Lease Sales " 191 Small-Take Exemptions .." 196 XI. Research and Studies Program •••.....•...•••....•.•..•••...•.... 203 Survey of Federally-Funded Marine Mammal Research 203 Research Program Reviews, Workshops, and Planning Meetings. .......... .. 203 Commission-Sponsored Research and Study Projects 205 Data Acquisition and Management 210 XII. Permits for Marine Mammal Research, Public Display, and Enhancement. ..•• •• 213 Permit Application Review 214 Review of Scientific Research Permit System. ...................... .. 216 Permit Regulations 217 Swim-with-the-Dolphin Programs ...................... .. 218 Feeding Wild Marine Mammals 219 Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate Program 221 Navy Request for Small-Take Exemption 224 Other Small-Take Authorizations 228 ii XIII. Marine Mammals in Captivity .......................••••••...••• 229 Care and Maintenance Standards ............................... .. 230 Foreign Facilities ................................. .. 231 Releasing Marine Mammals to the Wild ........................... .. 231 Appendix A: Marine Mammal Commission Recommendations in 1994 ...••••.... .. 233 Appendix B: Reports of Commission-Sponsored Activities Available from the National Technical Information Service .•..••••............ 245 Appendix C: Selected Literature Published Elsewhere Resulting from Commission-Sponsored Activities ..•••••.......•..••••... 253 Appendix D: Summary of the 1994 Amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act •• 261 iii I List of Tables Table 1. Marine mammal species and populations listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as of 31 December 1994 18 Table 2. Known manatee mortality in the southeastern United States (excluding Puerto Rico) reported through the manatee salvage and necropsy program, 1978-1994 19 Table 3. Steller sea lion population estimates (not including pups), 1960s to 1994 39 Table 4. Subsistence harvest levels for northern fur seals in the PribiiofIslands, 1985-1994 50 Table 5. Catch of Pacific walruses in Alaska and the former Soviet Union, 1970-1994 55 Table 6. Quotas and number of bowhead whales taken by Alaska Eskimos, 1973-1994 73 Table 7. California sea otter population counts by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game, 1982-1994 97 Table 8. Estimated incidental kill of dolphins in the tuna purse seine fishery in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, 1973-1994 117 Table 9. Estimated U.S. and foreign dolphin mortality, kills per set, sets on dolphins, percent observer coverage, and number of vessels, 1988-1994 .................. .. 123 Table 10. The number and percentage of marine species worldwide with documented marine debris entanglement and ingestion records by species group 172 Table 11. Summary of garbage discharge limitations under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (1973/1978) and the U.S. Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, as Amended .................................... .. 179 Table 12. Number of sea otters, walruses, and polar bears presented for marking and tagging by Alaska Natives, 1988-1994 187 List of Figures Figure 1. The Hawaiian Archipelago ...................................... 28 Figure 2. Range and breeding islands of the northern fur seal 48 Figure 3. Range of the Pacific walrus ........................... 54 Figure 4. Boundaries of the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean Sanctuaries ........... .. 140 Figure 5. Process by which permit applications to take marine mammals are reviewed. ..... 215 iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the 22nd Annual Report to Congress of the Marine Mammal Connnission and its Connnittee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals. The Connnission, established under Title II of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, provides policy and progrannnatic guidance on Federal activities, both domestic and international, affecting marine mammal conservation. The purpose ofthe Annual Report is to provide timely information on relevant issues and events to Congress and to appropriate Federal and state agencies, public interest groups, the academic connnunity, private citizens, and the international connnunity. When combined with previous reports, it provides a historical record of progress in identifying and resolving issues related to the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. To ensure factual accuracy, the draft report was provided to representatives of fifteen Federal and state agencies as well as other involved persons for connnent prior to publication. A sunnnary of the report's contents is provided below. Introduction (Chapter I) Members ofthe Connnission, its Connnittee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mannnals, and staff are listed in this chapter, as is a brief sunnnary of the Connnission's recent appropriations history. Reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Related Legislation (Chapter II) On 30 April 1994 the President signed into law the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994 reauthorizing the Act through fiscal year 1999. Among other things, the amendments provide for the taking of marine mammals incidental to connnercial fishing operations under a new regime based in part on guidelines developed by the Marine Mannnal Connnission, legislation proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a proposal provided by fishing industry and environmental groups. Under the amendments, all marine mannnal stocks in U. S. waters are being assessed to provide a scientific basis for determining