[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3612-3614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01145]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-FHC-2013-N101; FF08EVEN00-FXFR1337088SSO0-134]
Marine Mammal Protection Act; Stock Assessment Report
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of final report; response to comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972,
[[Page 3613]]
as amended (MMPA), and its implementing regulations, we, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that we have revised our stock
assessment report (SAR) for the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris
nereis) stock in California State, including incorporation of public
comments. We now make our final revised SAR available to the public.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You may obtain a copy of the SAR from
our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/species_information/so_sea_otter/index.html. Alternatively, you may contact the Ventura Fish
and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road,
Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003; telephone: 805-644-1766.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the methods, data,
and results of the stock assessment, contact Lilian Carswell by
telephone (805-612-2793) or by email (Lilian_Carswell@fws.gov).
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 18,
we regulate the taking, possession, transportation, purchasing,
selling, offering for sale, exporting, and importing of marine mammals.
One of the goals of the MMPA is to ensure that stocks of marine mammals
occurring in waters under U.S. jurisdiction do not experience a level
of human-caused mortality and serious injury that is likely to cause
the stock to be reduced below its optimum sustainable population (OSP)
level. OSP is defined under the MMPA as ``. . . the number of animals
which will result in the maximum productivity of the population or the
species, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the habitat and the
health of the ecosystem of which they form a constituent element'' (16
U.S.C. 1362(9)).
To help accomplish the goal of maintaining marine mammal stocks at
their OSPs, section 117 of the MMPA requires the Service and the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to prepare a SAR for each
marine mammal stock that occurs in waters under U.S. jurisdiction. Each
SAR must include:
1. A description of the stock and its geographic range;
2. A minimum population estimate, current and maximum net
productivity rate, and current population trend;
3. An estimate of annual human-caused mortality and serious injury
and, for a strategic stock, other factors that may be causing a decline
or impeding recovery of the stock;
4. A description of commercial fishery interactions;
5. A categorization of the status of the stock; and
6. An estimate of the potential biological removal (PBR) level.
The MMPA defines the PBR 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 [OSP]'' (16
U.S.C. 1362(20)). The PBR is the product of the minimum population
estimate of the stock (Nmin); one-half the maximum
theoretical or estimated net productivity rate of the stock at a small
population size (Rmax); and a recovery factor
(Fr) of between 0.1 and 1.0. This can be written as:
PBR = (Nmin)(\1/2\ of the Rmax)(Fr)
Section 117 of the MMPA requires the Service and NMFS to review the
SARs: (a) At least annually for stocks that are specified as strategic
stocks, (b) at least annually for stocks for which significant new
information is available, and (c) at least once every 3 years for all
other stocks. If our review of the status of a stock indicates that it
has changed or may be more accurately determined, then the SAR must be
revised accordingly.
A strategic stock is defined in the MMPA as a marine mammal stock
``(A) for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the
[PBR] level; (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 of 1973 [, as amended] (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) [the ``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 MMPA].'' (16 U.S.C.
1362(19)).
The southern sea otter SAR was last revised in December, 2008.
Because the southern sea otter qualifies as a strategic stock due to
its listing as a threatened species under the ESA, the Service reviewed
the stock assessment in December of 2009 and again in December of 2010.
Both reviews concluded that the status had not changed, nor could it be
more accurately determined. However, upon review in 2011, the Service
determined that revision was warranted.
Before releasing our draft SAR for public review and comment, we
submitted it for technical review internally and also for scientific
review by the Pacific Regional Scientific Review Group, which was
established under the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1386(d)). In a May 9, 2012 (77 FR
27246), Federal Register notice, we made our draft SAR available for
the MMPA-required 90-day public review and comment period. Following
the close of the comment period, we revised the SAR based on public
comments we received (see Response to Public Comments) and prepared the
final revised SAR. Between publication of the draft and final revised
SARs, we have not revised the status of the stock itself (the southern
sea otter continues to retain its status as a strategic stock).
However, we have updated the SAR to include the most recent information
available.
The following table summarizes the final revised SAR for southern
sea otters in California, listing the stock's Nmin,
Rmax, Fr, PBR, annual estimated human-caused
mortality and serious injury, and status:
Summary: Final Revised Stock Assessment Report for the Southern Sea Otter in California
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Annual estimated human-
Stock Nmin Rmax Fr PBR caused mortality and serious Stock status
injury
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Southern sea otter....................... 2,924 0.06 0.1 8 Figures by specific source, Strategic.
where known, are provided
in the SAR.
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Response to Public Comments
We received comments on the draft SAR (77 FR 27246) from the Marine
Mammal Commission and the Center for Biological Diversity. We present
substantive issues raised in those comments that are pertinent to the
SAR, along with our responses, below.
Comment 1: While the SAR states that southern sea otter mortalities
in gillnets
[[Page 3614]]
are believed to be currently at or near zero, there is insufficient
observer coverage for reliable estimates. In 2010, observations in the
swordfish and thresher shark fishery were only 11.9 percent observer
coverage. In the halibut and white seabass set gillnet fishery,
observer coverage was at 12.5 percent. In the yellowtail, barracuda,
and white seabass drift gillnet only, 4.6 percent of sets were
observed. These levels of observer coverage are far below NMFS's goal
of 20 percent observer coverage to achieve reliable estimates of marine
mammal take. The Service should update its data for observer reports to
the present and note that the observer coverage is too low for reliable
estimates for take.
Response: We state that southern sea otter mortalities resulting
from entanglement in gill nets are likely to be at or near zero because
of the depth restrictions that are in place and the current extent of
the southern sea otter's range. However, we acknowledge that individual
sea otters may occasionally transit areas that are not subject to
closures and that levels of observer coverage of gill and trammel net
fisheries that may interact with sea otters are low (for those
fisheries that are observed at all). We have added the statement that
levels of observer coverage of gill and trammel net fisheries are
insufficient to confirm an annual incidental mortality and serious
injury rate of zero in these fisheries. We have updated the SAR to
include the most recent information currently available on observer
coverage (through 2012).
Comment 2: The SAR should estimate disease mortalities and report
them. Studies have linked the diseased sea otters with Toxoplasma,
which is likely a result of cat feces in land-based freshwater runoff.
Response: We have added an estimate of mortality due to microcystin
intoxication to our discussion of non-fishery-related anthropogenic
mortality in the SAR. We discuss protozoal encephalitis, including that
caused by Toxoplasma gondii, in this same section of the SAR (``Other
Mortality''), but we do not include an estimate of the deaths caused by
T. gondii in our estimate of annual anthropogenic mortality due to non-
fishery-related causes because the anthropogenic contribution to these
disease levels in sea otters is not sufficiently understood.
Comment 3: The habitat section should also include information
about ocean acidification threats to habitat and prey of the southern
sea otter. Sea otters consume calcifying organisms that are at risk
from ocean acidification. Coastal waters of California are among the
most vulnerable to ocean acidification. Survey observations reported
that during the upwelling season California's coast is already being
exposed to corrosive waters. This can have a detrimental effect on
marine habitats, by reducing growth, calcification, survival, and
reproduction of many marine organisms. Ocean acidification has been
definitively linked to massive oyster die-offs in Oregon.
Response: We have added information about the potential threat to
sea otters posed by ocean acidification to the ``Habitat Issues''
section of the SAR.
Comment 4: The threat of entanglement in marine debris, derelict
fishing gear, and plastic should be discussed in the habitat section.
Response: We list the number of known sea otter entanglements in
marine debris and fishing gear under the heading ``Human-Caused
Mortality and Serious Injury.'' Therefore, we have not added a
discussion of these threats to the ``Habitat Issues'' section of the
SAR.
Comment 5: The SAR should be updated with the current status of
progress on ending the no otter zone.
Response: We have updated the SAR to indicate that the
translocation program and its respective translocation and management
zones were terminated by a rulemaking published on December 19, 2012
(77 FR 75266).
Additional References Cited
Kroeker, K.J., R.L. Kordas, R.N. Crim, and G.G. Singh. 2010. Meta-
analysis reveals negative yet variable effects of ocean
acidification on marine organisms. Ecology Letters 13:1419-1434.
Kurihara, H., T. Asai, S. Kato, and A. Ishimatsu. 2008. Effects of
elevated pCO2 on early development in the mussel Mytilus
galloprovincialis. Aquatic Biology 4:225-233.
Monson, D.H., J.A. Estes, J.L. Bodkin, and D.B. Siniff. 2000. Life
history plasticity and population regulation in sea otters. Oikos
90:457-468.
Stumpp, M., J. Wren, Frank Melzner, M.C. Thorndyke, and S.T. Dupont.
2011. CO2 induced seawater acidification impacts sea
urchin larval development I: Elevated metabolic rates decrease scope
for growth and induce developmental delay. Comparative Biochemistry
and Physiology, Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology
160(3):331-340.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).
Dated: January 8, 2014.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-01145 Filed 1-21-14; 8:45 am]
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