Marine mammals: Stock assessment reports and guidelines; availability,

[Federal Register: March 9, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 47)]

[Notices]

[Page 12514]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr09mr00-44]

[[Page 12514]]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 021600B]

Notice of Availability of Final Stock Assessment Reports

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of completion and availability of revised marine mammal stock assessment reports; response to comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS has incorporated public comments into revisions of marine mammal stock assessment reports (SARs). The 1999 revisions of the reports are now complete, and copies of the final 1999 SARs are available to the public.

ADDRESSES: Send requests for printed copies of reports to: Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910- 3226, Attn: Stock Assessments.

Copies of the regional reports may also be requested from:

Anita Lopez, Alaska Fisheries Science Center (F/AKC), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE BIN 15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070 (Alaska);

Richard Merrick, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543 (Atlantic); and

Tim Price, Southwest Regional Office (F/SWO3), NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 (Pacific).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Eagle, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, at (301) 713-2322, ext. 105, Anita Lopez (206) 526- 4045, regarding Alaska regional stock assessments; Tim Price, (562) 980-4020, regarding Pacific regional stock assessments; or Richard Merrick, (508) 495-2311, or Steven Swartz, (305) 361-4487, regarding Atlantic regional stock assessments.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 117 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) required NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare stock assessments for each stock of marine mammals that occurs in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States. These reports must contain information regarding the distribution and abundance of the stock, population growth rates and trends, estimates of annual human-caused mortality from all sources, descriptions of the fisheries with which the stock interacts, and the status of the stock. Initial reports were completed in 1995.

The MMPA also requires NMFS and FWS to review these reports annually, or every 3 years for non-strategic stocks, and revise them if the status of the stock has changed or can be more accurately determined. These updated reports represent the 1999 revisions of reports for which NMFS is responsible.

Draft 1999 SARs were made available for a 90-day public review and comment period on May 28, 1999 (64 FR 29000). Prior to release for public review and comment, NMFS subjected the draft reports to internal technical review and to review by regional Scientific Review Groups established under the MMPA. Following the close of the comment period, NMFS revised the reports as needed to prepare final 1999 SARs. Printed copies may be obtained by request (see ADDRESSES).

Response to Comments

NMFS received one comment on the 1999 draft SARs. The affected report was revised to reflect the following response.

Comment: The draft report ignores a significant new analysis of Western North Atlantic right whale mortality and population growth, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Response: The findings regarding right whale survival in the referenced article were incorporated into the final 1999 right whale SAR. Specifically, the decline in crude survival probability is referenced in the Current Population Trend, and Potential Biological Removal sections. Further, these findings will be incorporated into future revisions of the right whale report and used in the estimation of maximum net productivity for this stock.

Dated: March 2, 2000. Art Jeffers, Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00-5782Filed3-8-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F