Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act implementation program 1998

313 Pages·2009·18.67 MB·English

by  A. L. Lopez

National Marine
Fisheries Service
U.S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
AFSC PROCESSED REPORT 99.08
Marine Mammal Protection Act and
Endangered Species Act
lmplementation Program gg8
1
December 1999
This report does not constitute a puHication and is for infrcrmation only
All data herein are to be considered provisiona,l.
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Marine Mammal Protection Act and
Endangered Species Act Implementation program
1998
Edited by:
Anita L. Lopez
Douglas P. DeMaster
Annual Reports ofresearch carried out on
the population biologt of marine mammals
by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory
to meet the 1994 amendmenîs to the
Marine Mammal Protection Act and
the Endangered Species Act
Submitted to:
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1335 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
Alaska Fisheries Science Center
National Marine Mammal Laboratory
7600 Sand Point Way Northeast
Seattle, WA 9S115-0070
December 1999

Preface
Beginning in 1991, the National Marine Mammal Laboratory GllÀ/ßifl.) has been partially
funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NÀ/mS) Office of Protected Resources to
determine the abundance of selected species in U.S. waters of the eastern North Pacific Ocean.
On 30 Ãpril1994, Public Law IO3-238 was enacted allowing significant changes to provisions
within the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Interactions between¡¡ãrin. mammals and
commercial fisheries are addressed under three new Sections. This new regime replaced the
interim exemption that had regulated fisheries-related incidental takes since 1988. The 1994
MMPA amendments continue NMFS' responsibility to carry out population studies to determine
the abundance, distribution and stock identification of marine mammal species that might be
impacted by human-related or natural causes.
The following report, containing 20 papers, is a compilation of studies carried out with
fiscal year l99S (FY98) funding as part of the NMFS MMPAÆSA Implementation program.
The report contains information regarding studies conducted on beluga whales, California sea
lions, gray whales, harbor porpoise, harbor seals, humpback whales, ice seals, northern fur seals,
and Steller sea lions.
This report does not constitute a publication and is for information only. All data herein
are to be considered provisional. Further, most of the papers included in this ieport may be
published elsewhere. Any question concerning the material contained in this document should be
directed to the authors, or ourselves. Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by
the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.
Anita L.Lopez
Douglas P. DeMaster
llt

MMPAÆSA Implementation Program
Report for 1998
Center:
Reporting National Marine Mammal Laboratory
Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Office:
Administrative Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
Page
No.
Beluga'Whales:
Rugh, D.J., R.C. Hobbs, K.E.V/. Shelden, B.A. Mahoney and L.K. Litzky
1998.
Aerial surveys of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, June
1
Califomia Sea Lions:
Melin, S., R.L. Delong, and J.L. Laake
Survival and natality rates of Califomia sea lions (Zalophus
californianøs) from a branding study at San Miguel Island,
California.
13
Cetaceans (small):
Waite, J.M., and R.C. Hobbs
Small cetacean aerial survey in Prince William Sound and the
western Gulf of Alaska in 1998 and preliminary harbor porpoise
Abundance estimates for the Southeast Alaska and the Gulf of
Alaska stocks. 39
Hanson, M.8., and W. Xu
A preliminary evaluation of the relationship between small
cetacean tag design and attachment durations: a bioengineering
approach. 55
Gray Whales:
Rugh, D.J., R.C. Hobbs, R.P. Angliss, L.S. Baraff, C.D'Vincent, S. Hill,
M.M. Muto, M.A. Scillia, K.E.W. Shelden, and J.M.Waite
Field report of the 1997198 study of gray whales during their
southbound migration. 69
Harbor Porpoise:
Hanson, M.8., R.W. Baird, and R.L. Delong
Movements of a tagged ha¡bor porpoise in inland'Washington
waters from June 1998 to January 1999. 85
Laake, J.L., P.J. Gearin and R.L. Delong
Further evaluation of harbor porpoise habituation to pingers
in a set gillnet fishery. 97
Hughes, K.M., L.L. Lehman, P.J. Gearin, J.L.Laake, R.L. Delong,
and M.E. Gosho
Acoustic alarms and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi). 109
Harbor Seals:
Withrow, D.E., J.C. Cesarone, and J.L. Bengtson
Abundance and distribution of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina
richardsi) for southern Southeast Alaska from Frederick
1998.
Sorurd to the US/Canada border in 119
Orr,4., A. Banks, S. Mellman, and H. Huber
Food habits of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at the Umpqua
River dwing 1997 and 1998. 151
Jeffries, S., J. Laake, H. Huber, and R. Delong
Report on'Washington harbor seal OSP workshops. t67
Withrow, D.E., and J.C. Cesarone
An estimate of the proportion of harbor seals missed during
aerial surveys over glacial ice in Alaska. 191
Humpback Whales:
Mizroch, S.4., and S.A.D. Harkness
Update on the north Pacific humpback whale fluke photograph
collection, August 1999. 225
Ice Associated Seals:
Bengtson, J.L., and H. Huntington
Incorporating traditional knowledge into testable hypothes es
ecology
of Arctic ice seal 233
vl
Northern Fur Seals:
Loughlin, T.R., and E.H. Sinclair
Northem fur seal studies conducted on the Pribilof Islands,1997. 239
Pinnipeds:
Huber, H., L. Park, E. LaHood, G. Mackey and M. purcell
Genetic identification of salmonid bone from pinniped food
samples.
habits 243
Gearin, P.J., K.M. Hughes, L.L. Lehman, R.L. Delong, S.J. Jeffries,
and M.E. Gosho
1983-1998.
Washington state pinniped diet studies 249
Steller Sea Lions:
Chumbley, K.
V/inter Steller sea lion prey and foraging studies, (Cruise
SMMOCI-99I) 4-25 March 1998. 259
Loughlin, T.R., and S. D. Rice
Fatty acid profiles of Steller sea lions and north Pacific Ocean
fishes.
forage 271
Other:
Gearin, P.J., K.M. Hughes, L.L. Lehmffi, L.Cooke, R.L. Delong,
and M.E. Gosho
Investigations of marine mammal interactions with Lake
nerkn,1998.
Ozette sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus 275
vll
AERIAL SURVEYS OF BELUGA WHALES IN COOK INLET, ALASKA,
JUNE 1998
David J. Rughl, Roderick C. Hobbsr, Kim E.W. Sheldenr,
Barbara A. Mahonel' *d Laura K. Litzþl
lNational
Marine Mammal Laboratory
Alaska Fisheries Science Center
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, V/ashington 98 1 15, U.S.A.
and
'Alaska Regional Office
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA
222W 7th Ave., Box 43
Anchorage, Alaska 99513, U.S.A.
Abstract
The National Marine Mammal Laboratory G\MML), in cooperation with the NMFS Alaska
Regional Office, the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee (ABWC) and the Cook Inlet Marine
Mammal Council (CIMMC), conducted an aerial survey of the beluga whale population in Cook
Inlet, Alaska, during 9-15 June 1998. The 39.4hr survey was flown in a twin-engine, high-wing
aircraft at an altitude o1244 m (800 ft) altitude and speed of 185 km/hr (100 kÐ along a trackline
1.4 km from shore. This provided complete coverage of coastal areas around the entire inlet
(1,388 km) one or more times and 1,320 krn of transects across the inlet. Throughout most of
this survey, a test of sighting rates was conducted with multiple independent observers on the
coastal (left) side of the plane, where virtually all sightings occur. A single observer and a
computer operator/data recorder were on the right side. After finding beluga groups, a series of
aerial passes were made to allow at least two pairs of observers to make 4 or more counts of each
group. The sum of the aerial estimates (using median counts from each site, not corrected for
missed whales) ranged from 173 to 192 whales, depending on survey day. There were 57-109
belugas counted near the Susitna River, 42-93 in Knik Arm and 23-42 in Chickaloon Bay, but
only one (dead) beluga whale was found in lower Cook Inlet. Abundance estimates are being
developed for this and other recent years.
Introduction
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are distributed around most of Alaska from
Yakutat to the Alaska/Yukon border (Hazañ 1988). Five stocks are recognized: Cook Inlet,
Bristol Bay, Eastern Bering Sea, Eastern Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea (Hill and DeMaster
1998; O'Corry-Crowe et al. 1997). The most isolated of these is the Cook Inlet stock, separated
from the others by the Alaska Peninsula. Beluga whales in Cook Inlet are very concentrated in a
few river mouths during parts of the year (as reviewed in Shelden 1994). The geographic and
genetic isolation of the whales in Cook Inlet, in combination with their tendency towards site