Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion Office of Naval Research (ONR) Arctic Research Activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas Year 4 (2021-2022)
NMFS Consultation Number: AKRO-2021-01926.
This proceeding concerns a request by the Makah Indian Tribe of Neah Bay, Washington (Makah Tribe), to hunt and kill Eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales in waters off the northwest coast of Washington State.
This report presents a new estimate of abundance for ENP gray whales migrating southward off the central California coast between December and February 2019/20.
Biologists conducted survey flights of the shifting sand shoals of the Copper River Delta to search for marine mammal carcasses and to conduct necropsies of any observed carcasses in order to establish the cause of death and collect biological samples.
Annual summary reports of strandings of cetaceans (whales) and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) that occurred in Alaskan waters and were reported to NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Region.
Each year, NOAA Fisheries collects, verifies, documents, and responds to reports of large whale entanglements. The 2019 U.S. West Coast reports, and other relevant information and developments are included in this summary.
