Notice2025-04861
Draft 2024 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports
Primary source
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Published
March 21, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS reviewed the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regional marine mammal stock assessment reports (SAR) in accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). SARs for marine mammals in the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regions were revised to include new information. NMFS is soliciting public comments on the draft 2024 SARs and requesting new information for strategic stocks that were not updated in 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 54 (Friday, March 21, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 54 (Friday, March 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13344-13346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04861]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE739]
Draft 2024 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments and new information.
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SUMMARY: NMFS reviewed the Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regional
marine mammal stock assessment reports (SAR) in accordance with the
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). SARs for marine mammals in the
Alaska, Atlantic, and Pacific regions were revised to include new
information. NMFS is soliciting public comments on the draft 2024 SARs
and requesting new information for strategic stocks that were not
updated in 2024.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 20, 2025.
ADDRESSES: The 2024 draft SARs are available in electronic form via the
internet at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/draft-marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/draft-marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports</a>.
You may submit comments or new information, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2025-0019, via electronic submission through the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and
type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0019 in the Search box (note: copying and pasting
the FDMS Docket Number directly from this document may not yield search
results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields,
and enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after
the end of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Schakner, Office of Science
and Technology, 301-427-8106, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#de84bfbdb6bfaca7f08dbdb6bfb5b0bbac9eb0b1bfbff0b9b1a8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="237942404b42515a0d70404b42484d4651634d4c42420d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>; Nancy Young,
206-526-4297, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#145a757a776d3a4d7b617a73547a7b75753a737b62"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="430d222d203a6d1a2c362d24032d2c22226d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>, regarding Alaska regional stock
assessments; Jessica McCordic, 508-495-2396, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f49e9187879d9795da9997979b86909d97b49a9b9595da939b82"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e68c8395958f8587c88b85858994828f85a688898787c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>,
regarding Atlantic regional stock assessments; or Jim Carretta, 858-
546-7171, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#074d6e6a294466757562737366476968666629606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91dbf8fcbfd2f0e3e3f4e5e5f0d1fffef0f0bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>, regarding Pacific regional stock
assessments.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 117 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) requires NMFS and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to prepare stock assessments
for each stock of marine mammals occurring in waters under the
jurisdiction of the United States. These SARs must contain information
regarding the distribution and abundance of the stock, population
growth rates and trends, estimates of annual human-caused mortality and
serious injury (M/SI) from all sources, descriptions of the fisheries
with which the stock interacts, and the status of the stock. Initial
SARs were completed in 1995.
The MMPA requires NMFS and USFWS to review the SARs at least
annually for strategic stocks and stocks for which significant new
information is available and at least once every three years for non-
strategic stocks. The term ``strategic stock'' means a marine mammal
stock: (A) for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds
the potential biological removal level or PBR (defined by the MMPA as
the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that
may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to
reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population); (B) which, based
on the best available scientific information, is declining and is
likely to be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) within the foreseeable future; or (C) which is listed
as a threatened species or endangered species under the ESA or is
designated as depleted under the
[[Page 13345]]
MMPA. NMFS and USFWS are required to revise a SAR if the review
indicates that the status of the stock has changed or can be more
accurately determined.
In order to ensure that marine mammal SARs include the best
scientific information available at the time of publication, the
updated SARs under NMFS' jurisdiction are peer-reviewed within NMFS'
Science Centers and by members of three regional independent scientific
review groups established under the MMPA to independently advise NMFS
and USFWS. As a result of the time involved in the assessment of new
scientific information, revision, and peer-review of the SARs, the
period covered by the 2024 draft SARs is generally 2018 through 2022.
NMFS reviewed the SARs of all strategic stocks and considered
whether significant new information was available for all other stocks
under NMFS' jurisdiction. As a result of this review, NMFS revised or
developed new reports for 21 stocks in the Alaska, Atlantic, and
Pacific regions. The 2024 revisions to the SARs consist primarily of
updated or revised human-caused M/SI estimates and updated abundance
estimates.
NMFS solicits public comments on the draft 2024 SARs. To ensure
NMFS is aware of new information relevant to all strategic stocks, NMFS
also requests new information for strategic stocks that were not
updated in 2024. Specifically, new relevant information could include
peer-reviewed information on human-caused M/SI, fishery interactions,
abundance, distribution, population structure, and other information on
emerging concerns for strategic stocks that could be incorporated into
the SARs.
Alaska Reports
NMFS reviewed new information for 35 existing stocks (including all
of the strategic stocks) in the Alaska Region for the 2024 SAR cycle
and revised information for five stocks contained in five SARs under
NMFS' jurisdiction: Three strategic stocks (Eastern Pacific stock of
northern fur seals, Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales, and Gulf of
Alaska stock of harbor porpoise) and two non-strategic stocks (Bristol
Bay stock of beluga whales and Bering Sea stock of harbor porpoise). In
the 2024 draft SAR, the Bering Sea stock of harbor porpoise is no
longer considered ``strategic,'' as a result of an analysis using new
guidance (NMFS 2023) on determining strategic status when a minimum
population abundance estimate is unavailable and information on human-
caused M/SI is incomplete. Information on the remaining Alaska region
stocks can be found in the final 2023 SARs (Young et al. 2024).
A list of the new or revised SARs in 2024 for the Alaska region is
presented in table 1.
Table 1--List of Marine Mammal SARs in the Alaska Region Revised in 2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strategic stocks Non-strategic stocks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<bullet> Northern fur seal, Eastern <bullet> Beluga whale, Bristol
Pacific *. Bay.*
<bullet> Beluga whale, Cook Inlet *.... <bullet> Harbor porpoise,
<bullet> Harbor porpoise, Gulf of Bering Sea.
Alaska.
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* Includes updated abundance estimates.
Atlantic Reports
In 2024, NMFS reviewed all stocks in the Atlantic region under
NMFS' jurisdiction for new information. Eleven stocks from the Western
North Atlantic were revised (table 2), primarily with updated abundance
estimates, and some were also updated with recent bycatch estimates.
NMFS is not revising the SAR for the Gulf of Maine stock of humpback
whales. Since the last revision of this SAR in 2019, NMFS has been
reviewing and considering the implications of recent information on
stock structure of humpback whales in the North Atlantic. In addition,
NMFS is not revising the North Atlantic right whale (NARW) SAR since
the final 2023 NARW SAR (89 FR 104989, Dec. 26, 2024) incorporated best
available scientific information available to date on NARW population
abundance and human-caused mortality and serious injury of the stock.
While not yet reflected in the draft 2024 SAR revisions, pursuant to
Executive Order 14172 Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness
(January 20, 2025), NMFS will be revising relevant SARs to reflect the
renaming of the ``Gulf of Mexico'' to the ``Gulf of America'' in future
SAR revisions.
A list of the new or revised SARs in 2024 for the Atlantic region
is presented in table 2. Information on the remaining Atlantic region
stocks can be found in the final 2023 SARs (Hayes et al. 2024).
Table 2--List of Marine Mammal SARs in the Atlantic Region Revised in
2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strategic stocks Non-strategic stocks
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<bullet> WNA common bottlenose <bullet> Harbor porpoise, Gulf
dolphin, Biscayne Bay Stock *. of Maine/Bay of Fundy.*
<bullet> WNA Tamanend's bottlenose <bullet> Cuvier's beaked whale,
dolphin, South Carolina/Georgia Western North Atlantic.
Coastal Stock \2\. <bullet> Blainville's beaked
<bullet> WNA Tamanend's bottlenose whale, Western North Atlantic.
dolphin, Northern Florida Coastal <bullet> Gervais' beaked whale,
Stock *. Western North Atlantic.
<bullet> WNA Tamanend's bottlenose <bullet> Sowerby's beaked
dolphin, Central Florida Coastal Stock whale, Western North Atlantic.
*. <bullet> True's beaked whale,
Western North Atlantic.
<bullet> Gray seal, Western
North Atlantic.*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western North Atlantic = WNA.
* Includes updated abundance estimates.
Pacific Reports
In 2024, NMFS reviewed all 85 stocks in the Pacific region (waters
along the U.S. West Coast, within waters surrounding the main and
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and within waters surrounding U.S.
territories in the Western Pacific) for new information and revised
five stocks contained in five SARs under NMFS' jurisdiction: three
strategic stocks (Monk seal, Guadalupe fur seal, and Eastern North
Pacific Southern Resident killer whale) and two non-strategic stocks
(California breeding Northern elephant seal and California
[[Page 13346]]
Northern fur seal). A list of revised SARs in 2024 for the Pacific
region is presented in table 3. Information on the remaining Pacific
region stocks can be found in the final 2023 SARs (Carretta et al.
2024).
Table 3--List of Marine Mammal SARs in the Pacific Region Revised in
2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strategic stocks Non-strategic stocks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<bullet> Monk seal, Hawai[revaps]i *... <bullet> Northern elephant
<bullet> Killer whale, Eastern North seal, California breeding
Pacific Southern Resident *. stock.*
<bullet> Guadalupe fur seal *.......... <bullet> Northern fur seal,
California stock.*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes updated abundance estimates.
References
Carretta et al. 2024. U.S. Pacific marine mammal stock assessments:
2023. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-
SWFSC-704.2024
Hayes, S.A., E. Josephson, K. Maze-Foley, P.E. Rosel, and J.
McCordic, eds. 2024. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal
stock assessments 2023. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE-321, 375 p.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2023a. Guidelines for
preparing stock assessment reports pursuant to the Marine Mammal
Protection Act. Protected Resources Policy 02-038-01. Available
online: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-05/02-204-01-Final-GAMMS-IV-Revisions-clean-1-kdr.pdf">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-05/02-204-01-Final-GAMMS-IV-Revisions-clean-1-kdr.pdf</a>. Accessed September 2024.
Young, N.C., Brower, A.A., Muto, M.M., Freed, J.C., Angliss, R.P.,
Friday, N.A., Birkemeier, B.D., Boveng, P.L., Brost, B.M., Cameron,
M.F., Crance, J.L., Dahle, S.P., Fadely, B.S., Ferguson, M.C.,
Goetz, K.T., London, J.M., Oleson, E.M., Ream, R.R., Richmond, E.L.,
Shelden, K.E. W., Sweeney, K.L., Towell, R.G., Wade, P.R., Waite,
J.M., and Zerbini, A.N. 2024. Alaska marine mammal stock
assessments, 2023. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-
XXX, 327 p.
Dated: March 17, 2025.
Evan Howell,
Director, Office of Science and Technology, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-04861 Filed 3-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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