ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT SECTION 7 CONSULTATION BIOLOGICAL OPINION Action Agency: National Marine Fisheries Service, Greater Atlantic RegionalFisheries Office, through its Sustainable Fisheries Division Activity: Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation on the Continued Implementation of Management Measures forthe American Lobster Fishery [Consultation No. NER-2014-11076] Consulting Agency: National Marine Fisheries Service, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, through its Protected Resources Division Date Issued: Approved by: �� :ro�" ,.r.- .Bv.rlq,-d �j ro111ctf Ad,,,,_,11,st,re:,-1-,:, r GARFO-2014-00013 https://doi.org/GARFO-2014-00013 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 CONSULTATION HISTORY ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Overview of Past Consultations .................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Cause for Reinitiating .................................................................................................................................. 7 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION ....................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Description of the Gear .................................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Description of the Current American Lobster Fishery ............................................................................ 9 2.2.1 Summary of Lobster Trap Fishery Limiting Access Programs ............................................................ 17 2.2.3 American Lobster Fishing Effort ......................................................................................................... 20 2.3 Management of American Lobster Exempted Fishing, Scientific Research, and Exempted Educational Activity .................................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Summary of the American Lobster Fishery ................................................................................................. 23 2.5 Action Area ................................................................................................................................................ 23 3.0 STATUS OF THE SPECIES.................................................................................................................................. 23 3.1 SPECIES THAT ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED ACTION ................................................................ 23 3.2 STATUS OF LISTED SPECIES IN THE ACTION AREA THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED ACTION 29 3.2.1 Status of Large Whales ...................................................................................................................... 29 3.2.2 Status of Sea Turtles .......................................................................................................................... 48 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE .......................................................................................................................... 72 4.1 Fishery Operations .................................................................................................................................... 73 4.1.1 Federal Fisheries .................................................................................................................................. 73 4.1.2 Non-federally Regulated Fisheries ...................................................................................................... 85 4.1.3 Lobster Fishing in Canadian and State Waters .................................................................................... 88 4.2 Military Vessel Activity and Operations .................................................................................................. 88 4.3 Other Activities .......................................................................................................................................... 90 4.3.1 Hopper Dredging ................................................................................................................................. 90 4.3.2 Maritime Industry ................................................................................................................................ 92 4.3.3 Pollution ............................................................................................................................................... 92 4.3.4 Coastal Development ........................................................................................................................... 92 4.3.5 Catastrophic Events ............................................................................................................................. 93 4.4 Reducing Threats to ESA-listed Whales and Sea Turtles ...................................................................... 93 4.4.1 Education and Outreach Activities ...................................................................................................... 93 4.4.2 Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) .......................................................................... 93 4.4.3 Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network (STDN) .................................................................................... 94 4.4.4 Regulatory Measures for Sea Turtles ................................................................................................... 94 4.4.5 Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) .............................................................................. 98 4.4.6 Ship Strike Reduction Program ......................................................................................................... 102 4.4.7 Regulatory Measures to Reduce Vessel Strikes to Large Whales...................................................... 102 4.4.8 Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) .......................................... 105 4.4.9 Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP) ............................................................................... 105 4.4.10 Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan (BDTRP) ......................................................................... 106 4.4.11 Atlantic Trawl Gear Take Reduction Strategy (ATGTRS) ................................................................ 107 5.0 CLIMATE CHANGE ........................................................................................................................................ 107 5.1 Background Information on Global Climate Change ................................................................................ 108 5.2 Effects of Climate Change on Individual Species...................................................................................... 110 5.2.1 Right, Humpback, Fin, and Sei Whales ............................................................................................. 110 5.2.2 Sea Turtles ......................................................................................................................................... 111 6.0 EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSED ACTION ON ESA-LISTED CETACEANS AND SEA TURTLES ........................... 115 6.1 Approach to the Assessment ................................................................................................................... 115 6.1.2 Description of ESA-listed Species Interactions in Lobster Trap/pot Gear......................................... 118 2 6.1.3 Factors Affecting Cetacean Entanglement in Lobster Gear ............................................................... 130 6.1.4 Factors Affecting Sea Turtle Entanglements in Lobster Gear ........................................................... 131 6.2 Anticipated Effects of the Proposed Action ........................................................................................... 133 6.2.1 Anticipated Cetacean Interactions in American Lobster Gear ........................................................... 133 6.2.2 Anticipated Sea Turtle Interactions in American Lobster Gear ......................................................... 136 6.3 Summary of Anticipated Interactions of Cetaceans and Sea Turtles.................................................. 139 7.0 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ................................................................................................................................ 140 8.0 INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS OF EFFECTS ................................................................................................ 143 8.1 North Atlantic Right Whale ....................................................................................................................... 144 8.2 Humpback Whale ...................................................................................................................................... 149 8.3 Fin and Sei Whales .................................................................................................................................... 152 8.4 NWA DPS Loggerhead Sea Turtle ............................................................................................................ 152 8.5 Leatherback Sea Turtle .............................................................................................................................. 157 9.0 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................