Composite Training Unit Exercises and Joint Task ... - Govsupport.us

COMPTUEX/JTFEX EA/OEA Final Appendix AThe specific definition of a strategic stock is complex, but in general it is a stock for which humanactivities may be having a deleterious effect on the population and may not be sustainable. In addition,the California/Oregon/Washington Stock of the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)has been designated as strategic. The killer whale is not listed under the ESA, but the Eastern NorthPacific Southern Resident Stock, members of which may occur off California, is considered depleted anda strategic stock. The stocks of minke whales and mesoplodont beaked whales off the coast ofCalifornia/Oregon/Washington have been reclassified as non-strategic (Barlow et al., 1998; Caretta et al.,2005). All marine mammals are protected by the MMPA (MMPA 1972, amended 1994 and 2004;16 C.F.R. § 1431 et seq.).Overall, a comparison of cetacean abundance in 1979/1980 vs. 1991 indicated that numbers of mysticetesand odontocetes increased in offshore California waters over the 12-year period. However, that is not sofor the short-finned pilot whale, which appears to have decreased in numbers (Barlow 1994, 1995; Forneyet al. 1995, 2000). Also, the increased abundance of blue whales reported previously in the ChannelIslands and elsewhere off southern California (e.g., Calambokidis et al., 1990; Barlow 1994, 1995) wasnot confirmed by certain long-term vessel-based surveys (Larkman and Veit, 1998), and there areindications, albeit based on small samples, of a decrease between 2001 and 2003 (Carretta et al., 2005).The status of cetacean stocks and their abundance estimates for California are summarized in Table 1from marine mammal stock assessments prepared by Barlow et al. (1997), Forney et al. (2000), andCarretta et al. (2001, 2005).PinnipedsSix species of pinnipeds may occur in the SOCAL Range Complex (Table A-2). Only one of the species,the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), is abundant in the Southern California Bight. In theSOCAL Range Complex, a small rookery is located on Santa Barbara Island (Le Boeuf and Bonnell,1980; Bonnell and Dailey, 1993), and Guadalupe Island, just south of the Range Complex, is a majorhaul-out site (Bonnell and Dailey, 1993; Ronald and Gots, 2003; Lowry and Forney, 2005). The harborseal (Phoca vitulina) occupies haul-out sites on mainland beaches and all of the Channel Islands,including Santa Barbara and Santa Catalina Islands (Lowry and Carretta, 2003). Small colonies ofnorthern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) breed and haul out on Santa Barbara Island (Bonnelland Dailey, 1993; U.S. Navy, 1998; U.S. Navy, 2002a). All three species are more abundant on theChannel Islands north of the SOCAL Range Complex. The overall abundance of these species increasedrapidly on the Channel Islands between the end of commercial exploitation in the 1920s and the mid-1980s. The growth rates of populations of some species appear to have declined after the mid-1980s, andsome survey data suggested that localized populations of some species were declining. The declines mayhave been a result of either interspecific competition or population numbers having exceeded the carryingcapacity of the environment (Stewart et al., 1993; Hanan, 1996). More recently, most populations areincreasing (Carretta et al., 2004). The aforementioned pinniped species are not listed as endangered orthreatened under the ESA (Barlow et al., 1997).Three of the six pinniped species (the northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus, the Guadalupe fur sealArctocephalus townsendi, and the Steller sea lion Eumetopias jubatus) that could be found in the SOCALRange Complex are less common. The northern fur seal breeds on San Miguel Island to the north, and isoccasionally seen feeding in offshore waters. The Guadalupe fur seal is an occasional visitor to theChannel Islands, and breeds only on Guadalupe Island, Mexico, just south of the SOCAL RangeComplex. This species is thought to have expanded its range from Guadalupe Island in recent years(Maravilla-Chavez and Lowry, 1999). The Steller sea lion was once abundant in the northern portion ofthe SOCAL Range Complex, but has declined rapidly since 1938. No adult Steller sea lions have beensighted since 1983 (NMFS, 1992). The northern fur seal is not listed as endangered or threatened underthe ESA.A-7 February 2007