30706 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 051101B]

Notice of Availability of Draft Stock

Assessment Reports

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request

for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS revised the Alaska,

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific

marine mammal stock assessment

reports (SARs) in accordance with the

Marine Mammal Protection Act

(MMPA). Draft 2001 reports are

available for public review and

comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by

September 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments or requests

for printed copies of the draft 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.

Comments may also be sent via

facsimile (fax) to 301–713–0376. NMFS

will not accept comments submitted via

e-mail or Internet. Copies of the regional

reports may also be requested from

Robyn Angliss, Alaska Fisheries Science

Center (F/AKC), NMFS, 7600 Sand

Point Way, NE BIN 15700, Seattle, WA

98115–0070 (Alaska); Janeen Quintal,

Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166

Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543

(Northwest Atlantic); Steven Swartz,

Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75

Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL 33149

(Mid-Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico); and

Tim Price, Southwest Regional Office

(F/SWO3), NMFS, 501 West Ocean

Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213

(Pacific).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Emily Hanson, Office of Protected

Resources, 301–713–2322, ext. 101, email Emily.Hanson@noaa.gov; Robyn

Angliss 206- 526-4032, e-mail

Robyn.Angliss@noaa.gov, regarding

Alaska regional stock assessments;

Janeen Quintal, 508–495–2252, e-mail

Janeen.Quintal@noaa.gov, regarding

Northwest Atlantic regional stock

assessments; Steven Swartz, 305–361–

4487, e-mail Steven.Swartz@noaa.gov,

regarding Mid-Atlantic and Gulf of

Mexico regional stock assessments; or

Tim Price, 562–980–4020, e-mail

Tim.Price@noaa.gov, regarding Pacific

regional stock assessments.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

117 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1386)

requires NMFS and the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare SARs

for each stock of marine mammals that

occurs in waters under the jurisdiction

of the United States. The SARs contain

information about 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.

The MMPA also requires NMFS and

FWS to review the SARs annually for

strategic stocks of marine mammals and

at least every three years for stocks

determined to be non-strategic. NMFS,

in conjunction with the Alaska,

Atlantic, and Pacific Scientific Review

Groups, reviewed the status of marine

mammal stocks as required and revised

reports for which new information was

available. Summary tables for all stocks

of marine mammals in the three regions

(Tables 1-3) indicate revisions to the

SARs. NMFS solicits public comments

on the draft Alaska, Atlantic and Gulf of

Mexico, and Pacific reports.

Alaska Stocks

The Alaska SARs present revised

stock assessments for 15 marine

mammal stocks under NMFS’

jurisdiction. New information for all

strategic stocks, Pacific white-sided

dolphins, harbor porpoise, Dall’s

porpoise, and gray whales were

reviewed in late 2000, leading to the

revision of the following SARs for 2001:

Alaska stock of bearded seals;

Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales;

Western Arctic stock of bowhead

whales;

Northeast Pacific stock of fin whales;

Central and Western North Pacific

stocks of humpback whales;

Eastern North Pacific and Northern

Resident stocks of killer whales;

Alaska stock of minke whales;

North Pacific stock of Northern right

whales;

Eastern North Pacific stock of

northern fur seals;

Alaska stock of ribbon seals;

Alaska stock of ringed seals;

Alaska stock of spotted seals; and

Eastern and Western U.S. stocks of

Steller sea lions. The new information

on abundance and mortality did not

change the status of any of the Alaska

stocks from the 2000 SARs.

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Stocks

The Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico SARs

present revised stock assessments for 17

marine mammal stocks under NMFS’

jurisdiction. The 2001 draft SARs for the

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico contain

updated assessments for Atlantic

strategic stocks and for Atlantic and

Gulf of Mexico stocks for which

significant new information was

available. This review led to the

revision of the following stock

assessments for 2001:

Western North Atlantic (WNA) stock

of harbor seals;

WNA stock of gray seals;

WNA stock of harp seals;

Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy stock of

harbor porpoise;

WNA stock of Risso’s dolphins;

WNA stock of Atlantic white-sided

dolphins;

WNA stock of common dolphins;

WNA stock of Cuvier’s beaked

whales;

WNA stock of mesoplodon beaked

whales;

WNA stock of long-finned pilot

whales;

WNA stock of short-finned pilot

whales;

North Atlantic stock of sperm whales;

WNA stock of North Atlantic right

whales;

Gulf of Maine stock of humpback

whales;

WNA stock of fin whales;

Canadian east-coast stock of minke

whales; and

WNA stock of blue whales.

Most of the proposed changes

incorporate new information into

sections on population size and

mortality estimates. Information on

human interactions (fishery and ship

strikes) between the right whale,

humpback whale, fin whale, and minke

whale stocks were reviewed and

updated. The new information on

abundance and mortality did not change

the status of any of the Atlantic or Gulf

of Mexico stocks from the 2000 SARs.

The draft 2001 SAR for the Gulf of

Maine/Bay of Fundy population of

harbor porpoise presents a revised

abundance estimate of 89,700 animals,

with a corresponding potential

biological removal (PBR) level of 747

animals. The revised estimate is based

on a 1999 survey that covered a larger

area than covered by earlier surveys.

Additionally, NMFS reported the

estimated mortality and serious injury

for harbor porpoise for 1999, the year

the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction

Plan (HPTRP) was implemented. The

estimated mean annual mortality in

1999 was 323 animals in U.S. fisheries,

which is a significant reduction in

mortality relative to levels before the

HPTRP was implemented. Based on a

comparison of the PBR resulting from

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2001 / Notices 30707

the 1999 abundance data and the 1999

mortality and serious injury data, this

stock no longer qualifies as a strategic

stock. However, because the reported

estimated mortality and serious injury

reflects only one year of data, NMFS

proposes to maintain this stock as

strategic until additional data

corroborate that serious injury and

mortality continue to be below the PBR

level.

Pacific Stocks

The Pacific SARs present revised

stock assessments for 10 Pacific marine

mammal stocks under NMFS’

jurisdiction. New estimates of

abundance are available for 9 stocks,

which are revised in the 2001 stock

assessment reports:

California stock of harbor seals

(Channel Islands only);

Hawaii stock of Hawaiian monk seals;

Northern and Central California

stocks of harbor porpoise;

California coastal stock of bottlenose

dolphins;

Eastern North Pacific southern

resident stock of killer whales;

Eastern North Pacific stock of

humpback whales;

California/Oregon/Washington (CA/

OR/WA) stock of sperm whales; and,

CA/OR/WA stock of fin whales. The

new information on abundance and

mortality did not change the status of

any of the Pacific stocks from the 2000

SARs.

New information on changes in the

Hawaiian longline fishery is presented

in the Hawaii false killer whale report.

The stock of humpback whale

previously referred to as the ‘‘CA/OR/

WA - Mexico’’ stock has been renamed

the ‘‘Eastern North Pacific’’ stock,

reflecting increased knowledge of the

whale’s range and movements. In the

past, the PBR level for Hawaiian monk

seals was listed as zero, assuming that

the Endangered Species Act took

precedence in the management of this

stock. However, this statement was

incorrect, and NMFS proposes to change

the PBR level to 5 animals.

Electronic Access

Electronic copies of the SARs are

accessible via the Internet at http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/protlres/PR2/

Stockl AssessmentlProgram/

sars.html.

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Dated: May 31, 2001.

Wanda L. Cain,

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–14406 Filed 6–6–01; 8:45 am]

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