Draft 2022 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports
NOAA Fisheries prepares marine mammal stock assessment reports annually, as directed by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The reports are prepared in consultation with one or more of three regional Scientific Review Groups.
NOAA Fisheries currently tracks 259 stocks of marine mammals and have an associated Stock Assessment Report for each species. We are accepting public comments on the draft 2022 reports through April 24, 2023.
In the 2022 reports, 10 stocks changed in status from ‘strategic’ to ‘non-strategic.' Common bottlenose dolphin: Northern Gulf of Mexico Bay, Sound, and Estuary Stocks. NOAA Fisheries also proposes to revise the stock structure of North Pacific humpback whales and Southeast Alaska harbor porpoise based on the new scientific information available.
Strategic Stock is defined by the MMPA as a marine mammal stock:
- for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the potential biological removal level;
- which, based on the best available scientific information, is declining and is likely to be listed as a threatened species under the ESA within the foreseeable future; or
- which is listed as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA, or is designated as depleted under the MMPA.
More Information
Pair of bottlenose dolphins. Credit: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center/Lisa Morse.
A humpback mother and calf swimming off the West Coast. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Ed Lyman. NOAA Fisheries Permit #14682.
North Atlantic right whale Catalog #3560 ‘Snow Cone’ sighted December 2, 2021 entangled and with a new calf. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA permit 20556.
North Pacific right whale #87 also known as “Smudgy” interacts with a log floating on the water. There are only around 30 individuals in the eastern population, so to spot a North Pacific right whale is rare and to see one interacting with a log in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. NOAA Fisheries permit 782-1719.