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

COMPTUEX/JTFEX EA/OEA Final Appendix AThe historic range of the North Pacific right whale included the entire North Pacific north of 35ºN, andincluded occasional sightings as far south as 20ºN. Thus, the SOCAL Range Complex is along thesouthern boundary of its expected range. Recent sightings have been near shore in continental shelfwaters, but it must be noted that there have been more opportunities for sightings in nearshore than inoffshore waters.Current distribution patterns and migration routes of North Pacific right whales are not known (Scarff1986; NMFS, 2002), nor is the extent to which they engage in north-south migrations in the eastern NorthPacific Ocean (Scarff, 1986). The location of winter calving grounds for the eastern North Pacificpopulation is unknown (Scarff, 1986; NMFS 2002; Clapham et al., 2004). In summer, the eastern BeringSea is used for foraging (NMFS 2002). Right whales have been observed each summer since 1996 in theeastern Bering Sea in roughly the same location (Goddard and Rugh, 1998; Moore et al., 2000; Tynan etal., 2001).In the North Pacific Ocean south of 50ºN, only 29 reliable sightings were recorded from 1900 to 1994(Scarff, 1986; Scarff, 1991; Carretta et al., 1994). Despite many miles of systematic aerial and ship-basedsurveys for marine mammals off the coasts of Oregon/Washington/California over the years, only sevendocumented sightings of right whales were made from 1990 to 2000 (Waite et al., 2003). Twenty-threereliable sightings of right whales in California waters have been reported, plus one additional stranding,for the years 1855–1982 (Scarff, 1986). Most of the sightings have been of single animals, and mostoccurred in winter or early spring (March–May) and very close to shore (Scarff, 1991). Two of therecords, one whale 38 nm (70 km) southwest of San Clemente Island on 24 March 1992 (Carretta et al.,1994) and one whale 8 nm (15 km) off Santa Catalina Island on 9 May 1990, were in the general vicinityof the SOCAL Range Complex.Since 1982, five additional sightings of right whales in California or Baja waters have been reported: One whale off La Jolla on 5 February 1988 (Scarff 1991) A stranding on Santa Cruz Island in 1916 (Scarff 1986) One whale WNW of Point Mugu on 17 April 1981 (Woodhouse and Strickley 1982) One whale off Piedras Blancas on 3 May 1995 (Rowlett et al. 1994) One whale 8 nm (15 km) off Cabo San Lucas by D. Gendron on 20 February 1996 (Gendron etal. 1999) Off the Big Sur coast on 27 February 1998 (Evans 1998 in Brownell et al. 2001)Humpback WhaleThe humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is listed as endangered under the ESA, and theCalifornia/Mexico stock is, therefore, considered depleted and strategic under the MMPA. Humpbackwhales occur worldwide, migrating from tropical breeding areas to polar or sub-polar feeding areas(Jefferson et al. 1993). The California/Mexico stock inhabits waters from Costa Rica (Steiger et al.,1991) to southern British Columbia (Calambokidis et al., 1993). This stock is most abundant in coastalwaters off California during spring and summer and off Mexico during autumn and winter. The mostrecent estimate of population size for the California/Washington stock is 943 (Carretta et al., 2005).Although humpback whales typically travel over deep, oceanic waters during migration, their feeding andbreeding habitats are mostly in shallow, coastal waters over continental shelves (Clapham and Mead,1999). Shallow banks or ledges with high sea-floor relief characterize feeding grounds (Payne et al.,1990; Hamazaki, 2002). North Pacific humpback whales are distributed primarily in four more-or-lessdistinct wintering areas: the Ryukyu and Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands (south of Japan), Hawai’i, theRevillagigedo Islands off Mexico, and along the coast of mainland Mexico (Calambokidis et al., 2001).During summer months, North Pacific humpback whales feed in a nearly continuous band from southernCalifornia to the Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Bering and Chukchi seas (Calambokidiset al., 2001).A-19 February 2007