This guidelines describe procedures for releasing a smalltooth sawfish incidentally caught in commercial fishing gears. Sawfishes are listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and it is therefore illegal to harm, injure, or kill them.
The 10-year (2008-2018) Cook Inlet beluga whale population trend is declining 2.3% per year. The public is encouraged to report all beluga sightings to provide scientists with clues to help solve the mystery of their lack of recovery.
The NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Cetacean Research Program has been studying whales and dolphins in the Marianas since 2010. We conducted surveys from ships in 2010, 2015, and 2018, and from small boats in 2010–2019.
From January to March in 2015–2019, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, in partnership with the Navy, conducted small-boat surveys off Saipan to look for humpback whales.