NOAAINMFS Developments

Signs Good for Gray,Bowhead Whale Conservation

Therc'~ .l!00l1 ncv\s for two uepletcd~pecies 01' \\hale~. accoruing to NOAAAuminislralor Richard A. Frank.

The Pacilic .l!ray wh~i1e. once ~e­

verely dcpletcd hCl'ause of comnlCrci,i1hunting in thc last cenlury. is no\\' ap­proaching its mid-I HOO's Ievcl of ap­proximately 15.000 animals. And thcmo~t cOlllplete howhead \\hale rcscarchprogram ever undcrtaken has indicatcuthat more animals than expecteu ­2.2M· - rX1SSCU Point Barrov\. Alaska.hetween 15 :\pril and :10 \!lay withothers expected during June.

Frank. who is ~i1so L.S. eOlllmi~­

sioner to the International WhalingCommission OWe) said the Alaskan~pring bowheau whale hunt endeu withEskimo whalers. operaling for the tirsttime under Iwe regulalion. landing 10bowheau and striking but losinganother 5. The quotas. establi~hcd bythe IWC and auopted by the l'nitedStates. permitled the Eskimos to land12 howheads and strike 1H. whicheveroccurred first. The two whales remain­in.l! inthe 197H quota were to be taken inthe September and October hunts.

Pointing out that last year the Es­kimos landed 29 bowheads and slnlckbutlosl another X2. Frank expressed hissatisfaction with thc outcome of thebowhead hunt. and his admiration forthe manner in which Eskimo whalersand Alaskan officials conducted it. Thespring season brought an unprece­dented effort to hunt with new ef­ticiency and to eliminate as far as possi­ble wasteful wounding of the greatanimals. he said.

Praising Eskimo whalers for theirperformance during the spring hunt.Frank said. "the Eskimos entered theseason with strong reservations. andwith a concern for their traditions anu

20

food ncclb. but thl') ,Ieccptcd thenece~sity ror quota~. complied with thcquotas. and c,,~entially regulated thclll­selve~. Wc ~i11 O\"c them a ueht 01'gralitullc. "

Frank. \v ho flC\v to Alaska at theheight of the scJ',()fl to meet with Es­kimo \\halcr~ amI officials. cited Iheseason a" a prime examplc of coopera­tion. Hc prai"cd the Alaska Eskimo\-\'haling Commission (AEWe). theAlaska Department of Fish and Game,and \I0AA', o\\·n National MarineI-isheries Service (NMFS) for highlyefrcclive team\Vork.

The AEWC. he pointed out. estab­lished communications between thewhaling villages which united them incommon purpose <lnd provided them anactive role in the making of decisions.

Frank said that Eskimo reportingofficers and AEWe representativesworked daily with NMFS agents."This relationship." he said. "must becredited with being largely responsiblefor the ultimate success of the pro­gram." The State of Alaska appropri­ated $250,000 to support the work ofthe AEWC.

Thc bowhead research program.costing qXO.OOO. not only carried outthe most comprehensive census of itskinu in history but studied populationdynamics and acoustic techniques.Analysis of population data. includingti.l!ures for Ihe summer and autumnmonths. will continue through the year.with final results anticipated in De­

cember.The rese<lrch program included an

icc-based census camp designed tocount whales going through a nearshorelead near Barro\\. aerial surveys con­ductcd at the site of the census camps tl)help validate observation~ made hy

icc-camp observer~. and land camp ob­servations of thc early and late migra­tion patterns of buwheads taken in con­junction with aerial and vessel survcys.Additionally. the value of active sonarand recordin.l!s as tools for determiningthc distrihution and abundance of\\halc~ \Vas explored.

Rese<.trchers fromlhe ~MFS' M<.trine'vlammal Division m<.tintained a 24­hour ohservation schedule from twohase~. the South and North Camps.Whales moved along the nearshore leadfrom South toward North Camp. Radiochecks between bases served to in­crease accuracy.

The AEWe sponsored a whalecounting camp manned by Barrow resi­dcnts and assisted by two N MFSbiologisls. Eskimo whalers <llso par­tic ipaled independen II y. Observ ingconditions were excellent throughoutthe study.

Aerial surveys-174 hours-helpedval idate the census counts and del ineatethe spati<.tl and temporal distribution ofwhales during migration. Researchers,employing an elabor<lte formula to cor­rect figures for total observation time.duplicate sightings, and vaJiuation ofanimals believed to have been missed,ofkred a preliminary estimate of 1,78:1whales at the lower end of the scale and2,865 at the upper end. with 2,264 con­sidered the best avail<lble estimate.

The gray whale. according 10 Frank.represents "a triumph of conservation.It vividly demonstrates that humankindcan indeed protect endangered specics,and that. once protected. they can re­cover." Ruthlessly exploited for morethan a century, the gray whale has beenon the IWCs protected list since 1946.

Fr<lnk cited a study conducted byAllen A. Wolman and Dale W. Rice ofthe NMFS. It showed a 1978 count in­dicating a total population of about11,000. plus or minus 2,000 animals,as the whales passed southward offMonterey in California. In ~ovember

and December 1977. other researcherscounted gray whales leaving the BeringSea at Unimak Pass. Alaska, and esti­mated a population of 15,120. ~OAAofticials. laking into account a varietyof factors. estimate the probable popu­lation at between I 1.000 and 15.000.

Murille Fisheries R('I'iell'

There are two geographically iso­lated stocks of gray wha!':s: the easternPacific or Cali fLlrn ia and the westernPaci fic or Asian.

The Asian stock summers in thenorthern Sea of Okhotsk and migratesdown the Asian coast tLl calvinggrounds off the south coast of Korea. Itspopulation is believed to be low. or itmay even be extinct. The Californiastock summers in the northern BeringSea. migrates down the ~orth Ameri­can coast. and \\inters otl 'vIexico'swest coast.

There is general agreement that the[)opUlalion did not exceed 15.000 priorto the initiation of exploitation in IX46.

After the IWC placed the gray whaleon the protected list in 1946. intermit­tent counts were made. They indicatcdsteadily inpreasing populations. forseveral yea'rs,

Starting in 1967-6~. the YankeePoint-Grand Canyon site ncar Mon­terey was the scene of a winter shorecount. There 95 percent of the whalespass within :2 km of shore. and boat

.!V(!\'('I/I/J('f /978

Above. bowhead whale.Illustration: Don Sineli. Left.California tlray whale.sh()win~ baleen. NOAAphOIOl!;:;tph.

traffic is at a minimum. The counts in­dicate a stable population,

Subsistence hunting by Eskimos isvirtually nil on the American side. sincethe Eskimos prefer other stocks. On theAsiatic side. the gray whale catch isabout 165 per year. taken by Soviets fortheir aboriginal people.

Frank said the Wolman-Rice reportpointed to a potential problem for theCalifornia stock,

. 'The greatest threat ... is increas­ing industrial development and vesseltraffic in the calving lagoons." the re­port stated. "Considerable harassmentis caused by commercial cruise boatswhich take people into the calving la­goons to seek the whales ..

"Oil exploration is proceeding nearsome of the calving lagoons and mayhave an adverse effect on the habitat.

"In Scammon's Lagoon salt bargesmake daily trips and increasing visits byyachts. fishing boats. and small trailer­transported boats have occurred aswell. ..

Program CompensatesFishermen for Losses

U.S. commercial fishermen whosevessels or gear are damaged or de­stroyed by foreign fishing vesselsoperating within the U.S. 200-milefishery conservation zone will be eligi­ble for compensation. the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administra­tion (NOAA) has announced. A systemdesigned 10 reimburse fishermenquickly for any loss from incidentswhich occurred after I July 1976, hasbeen instituted by NOAA's NationalMarine Fisheries Service (NMFS) toimplement recent legislation.

Under the system. fishermen mayapply for a loun iI' the replacement valueof the damaged gear or vessel. less de­preciation. exceeds $2,000. Loans willbe made shol1ly after the application isreceived and approved by the NMFS,and will carry an interest rate of 3.5percent.

After the loan is made. an effort willbe made to determine who was at fault.If it is determined that the U.S. fisher­man was not. the loan will be cancelled.all payments made on the loan will berefunded, and the fisherman will keepthe loan funds as full compensation. Ifthe U.S. fisherman was at fault. theloan will become due in full at anearl ier- but st ill reasonable -datethan originally set. If fault cannot bedetermined. the loan must be repaidaccording to the original terms whichwould correspond to the expected lifeof the equipment.

Presidential approval was also ex­pected on a new program that wouldsupercede the present compensationsystem. Fisheries officials said. Underthat program. proposed to be effective IJanuary 1979. fishermen would be paidfor losses caused by foreign fishing ves­sels without regard to who was at fault.This program would not be retroactive.

Applications fur the loan shoull! bcsent to the National Marine FisheriesService. NOAA. );-25. Washington.DC. 20235. Assistance may be ob­tained from NMrS Regional Offices inGloucester. M~lss.: St. Petersburg,Fla.: Terminal Island, Calif.; Scuttle.Wash.; and Juneau. Alaska .

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Marine Impact of Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill Reviewed

the beaches by oil, or possibly by dis­persants. appeared to be the main lethalfactor in the large kills of intertidal or­ganisms. Even after beaches had beenextensively cleaned, the ground waterbetween sand and sediment particlesremained severely oiled.

7) Marine populations along 90 miles(150 km) of shoreline were stressed bythe oil. with intertidal populations. aswell as populations in marshlands andother enclosed areas. particularly hardhit. The adverse effects were amplifiedby high spring tides. .

8) Many bird species were migratingto nesting grounds when the spill oc­curred, and some 3,200 dead birds, ofmore than 30 species. were counted.About 85 percent of these were shagcormorant. guillemot, razorbill, andpuffin. the latter three considered rareor threatened in France. (Populations inthe bird sanclllary at Sept lies. greatlyreduced by the Torre." Callyo/l spill in1973, could be further reduced by oilfrom the Amoco Cadi;:,. )

9) The spill had major impacts oncommercial mari ne product harvests,with the French seaweed industry af­fected to an uncertain extent. oystermaricullllrc operat ions hardh it. andlobster holding pens in the spill areas sothoroughly oiled that scientists say theycould be out of service for a year. Little

Porlsoll

FRANCE

* WRECK SITE:) ::;'1

'.'

The wreck of the Amoco Cadiz. \JOAA photograph.

Amoco Cadi::. wreck site off the BrittanyCoast.

I km!

(~~ ... ... 1'0..._.. _.../"'_' 0

l~(),

,- .. ,

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incident, ~uggesting that it can be Llsedas part of contingency plans for suchsimilar, complex shorelines as those ofAlaska and New England.

5) Several weeks after the spill,natural and human cleanup had reducedthe amount of oil on the shon:linc by anestimated 84 percent. However, a shiftof winds from west to east. and thebrea k up 0 f Iarge masses of oi Ioffshore,extended contamination from the initial.+3 miles (n km) of shoreline to 192miles (320 km) h) late April. of whichabout 100 mile~ (180 km) wen: heavilyoiled.

6) Contamination of ground \\ ater in

3U

Oil spilled by the wrecked super­tanker Amoco Cadi;:, last March per­meated the marine habitats of the Brit­tany shoreline to an unprecedenteddegree, a scientific report indicates.The oil's impact varied greatly withtime after the spill, and was stronglyintluenced by the shape and natun: ofthe shorel ine invol ved, according to thereport .

These were among preliminaryfindings of government Clnd univen;ityscientists in their analysis of the largestoil spill in maritime history. The report,"The Amoco Cadi;:, Oil Spill - A Pre­liminary Scientific Report.·' was pre­pared by the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration in cooper­ation with the Environmental ProtectionAgency. A complete analysis of the in­cident could take several years .

. 'We had never seen biological dam­age of this geographic extent in anyprevious oil spill," Wilmot N. Hess.director of 'JOAA's EnvironmentalResearch Laboratories. said. Hess ledthe Commerce Department agency'sscientific sllldy for several weeks inFrance, and is editor of the NOAA/EPAreport. By making the spill the subject ofa major study, important new insightswere gained into how oil moves andchanges in the marine environment. TheNOAA/EPA repol1 presented the fol­lowing preliminary findings.

I) Coastal processes and the shapeand nature of shorel ine played a majorrole in dispersing and accumulating oil.

2) About one-third of the 220,000tons of spilled oil came ashore. andabout two-thirds was lost to evapora­tion and the sea.

3) A significant amount of the spilledoil appeared to si nk to the seafloor,where high concentrations were mea­sured, and become dispersed in the ver­tical water column. The impact of thislarge-scale sinking on bottom life re­mains to be assessed.

4) An American index that helps es­timate the vulnerability of variouscoastal environments to oil-spill dam­age worked 'Nell in ':1(' AIiIOCO Cadi;:,

is known thus far of the spill's impacton commercial hn hsheries.

10) Hydrocarbons blown ashore bygale-force winds could have contami­nated crops in the nearshore area. anucould have entered the human foodchain by adhering to plants consumedby food animals ashore. This kind ofoil-spill side effect is not well under­stood.

I I) The impact of an oil spill isgreatly enlarged by the creation of awater-in-oil emulsion called a. 'mousse" (for i Is resembl ance tochocolate puuding). the volume ofwhich is about 2.5 times that of thespilled oil.

12) While it is generally recognizedthat dispersing oil on the high seas is thepreferred method of handling a largespill. any contingency plan aimed atcombatting a spill of this magnitudeunder conditions of high onshore windsand heavy seas must focus on allackingthe oil on the beach. The longer thecleanup takes, the more deeply thespilled oil penetrates the coastal eco­system, and the broader its impact islikely to be.

Glazer Named to HeadNOAA Policy, Planning

Michael Glazer, former Chairman ofthe California Water Commission, hasbeen appointed Assistant Administratorfor Policy and Planning of the :'-JationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administra­tion (NOAA). In announcing Glazer'snew appointment in the Commerce De­partment agency, NOAA Adminis­trator Richard A. Frank said the Policyand Planning job was one crucial to themission of the Administration.

"Michael Glazer comes to NOAA."[-rank said. "at a time when increasingpressures are being fel t for balancedenvironmental programs on local. na­tional, and worldwide scales. We aremost fortunate to have someone so wellqualified to help NOAA in its evolvingoceanic and atmospheric programs ofresource management and scientihcservices. "

Glazer is a native of Los Angeles.receiving a B.S. degree in industrial

NO\'cll//Ja / \178

engineering from Stanford L!niversityin 1962. He received a 'Vlaster's degreefrom Harvard Graduate School ofBusiness Administration in 196-1. anu aJ.D. degree from the UCLA School ofLaw in 11)67.

In 1968 he joineu Tuttle and Tayllll'.a general business and securities lawpractice. representing a wiue range ofcl ients from publicly held corporationsto Indian tribes. He was commissionerof the Los Angeles Deparlment ofWater and Power from 1973 to 1076.and serveu on the Blue Ribbon Com­millee on Water and Power Rate Re­structuring for Los Angeles MayorTom Brauley. Earlier this year he en­tered Federal service as Special Assis­tant to the NOAA Administrator.

NOAA Fisheries ResearchVessel Contract Issued

A $2.875.000 contract fora I27-footresearch vessel has been awarded theBender Shipbuilding Company' orMobile. Ala., by the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). The multiple purpose hsher­ies research ship will be used for stockassessment in the nOl1h Pacihc 200­mile hsheries zone.

The NOAA ship. to be delivered bySeptember 1979. will be a modifiedstock design combination crabber/trawler. with accommodations for 17crew members and scientists. The con­tract will be administered by theMaritime Administration. a componentof the Commerce Department.

The research vessel, ".. ith a beam ofapproximately 30 feet and a 13-footdraft. will have a range of 6.000 milesat II knots. The power plant will de­Iiver 1.250 shaft horsepower at 1.225r.p.m. The ship will provide stock as­sessments as a basis for fishery man­agement actions by using conventionaltypes of commercial gear. includingbOl!om trawls. mid\vater trawls. bot­tom and surface longlines, gill nets. and

I V1l'nli(m of Irati..: names or cOlllmercial tinll~

d"", n," imply c"Hlor'''I11"nl h~ Ih" Na,ional\hrinc' Fi,h"ri", SC·I"\"i"". NOAA.

pot hshings. It v,ill have t\Hl researchlaboratories. and an 8- x 20-foot port­able scientific van. Two trawl winches.typical of this size commercial fishingvessel. will have a pull of about 20.000pounds net. and each ".... ill be equippedwith I .000 fathoms of '14-inch trawlwire.

NOAA Grant EmphasizesImprovements inFishery Communications

A s[Jccial task force designed to im­prove cOlllll1unications among fisher­men and hsheries organizations in the1\;ortheasl has been establ ished by theNew England Marine Advisory Serviceunuer a $59.200 grant awarded by theNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA). Recognizingthat controversy exists among New En­g land fi shcrmen concern ing lim itat ionsimposed under the 200-mile limit. thetask force will focus much of its efforton resolving the issues. using work­shops anu other programs.

The auvisory service also willstrengthen its liaison with NOAA's Na­tional Marine Fisheries Service as wellas the Northeast Regional FisheriesManagement Council. which overseeshshing limits for both foreign anddomestic fishermen under the 200-mileextended jurisdiction. The advisoryservice plans expanded use of CoastGuard and National Weather Serviceradio channels in providing informationto hshermen. and hopes to use imageryfrom NOAA satell ites to assist fisher­men in Im:ating fish.

An additional $30.800 in funds sup­plementing the Commerce Departmentagency grant has been pledged by theSea Grant programs of the Massachu­setts Institute of Technology, StateUniversity of New York/Cornell Uni­versity. Uni versity of Maine, Univer­sity of Massachusetts, University ofNew Hampshire. University of RhodeIsland. New England Aquarium. NewEngland Center for Continuing Educa­tion. and the Council of Presidents.Land Grant Universities of New Eng­land.

3/

Sea Turtle Protection Plan Announced

A comprehensive program under theEndangered Species Act to prevent theextinction of the oceans' largest tur­tles-some weighing over 1,000pounds-has been unveiled by the Na­tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad­ministration ('JOAA) of the Depart­ment of Commerce and the Departmentof the Interior's l'.S. Fish and WildlifeService. The program. announced byRichard A. Frank, Administrator of'JOAA, will protect green, olive (Pa­cific) ridley, and loggerhead turtles bylargely banning the intentional killingof these animals. prohihiting trade inturtle meat and products. and rreserv­ing habitat.

In recent years, dangerous decl inesin the numbers of sea turtles have re­sulted from destruction of habitats andcommercial exploitation of the ani­mals. "Condominium and apartmentconstruction. opening up of ne\\­beaches for recreation. and otherhuman activities have destroyed or putpressures on the traditional turtlc nest­ing areas," Frank said. "Moreover.turtle meat is often considered a del i­cacy. as are turtle eggs, and productsmade from shell and hides have been ingreat demand. The survival of sea tur­tles depends upon lessening these pres­sures." In addition, Frank noted thatturtles are taken incidentally in U.S.commercial fishing operations. particu­larly the Gulf and South Atlantic

32

shrimp industry.Frank stated that the new program

\vill provide needed rrotection for thethree species ohea turtles. "permittingthem to survive and recover in the fu­ture." The new program includes thcfollowing elernents:

I) Designation of green turtles withbreeding grounds in Florida and thePaci fie Coast of Mex ico as endangered,and all other green turtles as threatened:

2) designation of olive ridley turtlesbreeding on the Pacific Coast of Mexicoas endangered, and all other olive rid­leys as threatened:

.1) designcltion of loggerhead turtlesthroughout the world as threatened:

-'I) a stepped-up effort tu developexcluder trawls that will permit fisher­men to continuc to catch shrimp whilereducing the number of turtlcs acciden­tally caught in nets:

)) upcoming proposals to designateportions of the Cape Canaveral ShipCanal in Florida and nearshore areas ofSI. Croix, Virgin Islands, as criticalhabitats;

0) an expanded monitoring programwith a view IowaI'd designation of addi­tional areas for habitat protection;

7) a ban on the importation of turtleproducts from mariculture operations;and

H) a ban on subsistence taking of seaturtles except for limited taking in theTrust Territor) of the Western Pacific.

A rare. white.2-week-oldloggerhead seaturtle hatched atNova University'sOcean ScienceCenter. NOAAphotograph byRalph F. Kresge.

The effect of the action is to prohibittrade in ,tnd the intc:ntional taking of thethree species of sea tUt1les. except forscientific research. public display, andthe limited subsistence take in the TrustTcrritory. While some incidental takingof the sea turtles may continue infishing operations. such operations areto be strictly regulated to preserve thespecies. Commercial interests that willbe affected by the regulation includeleather goods, food, cosmetics. andcurio and jewelry concerns. A I-yeargrace period will be allowed for in­terstate commerce to enable dealers.shopkeepers. and others to clear theirshelves.

The green sea turtle. perhaps themost commercially valuable reptile inthe world. is found in numerous areasaround the globe. but has suffered asharp drop in numbers. I--'or example.I\JMFS scientists believe that the unceabundant r'lorida population has nowdeclined to less than 100 mature adults.The total world population of gn:cn seaturtles is believed to be no more than600.000 adults.

Olive ridley turtles. which are notknown to nest in the continental LnitedStates. have been taken commerciallyat the rate of between 500,000 and1,000.000 annually since the 1960·s. Inone area of Mexico. females were re­portedly taken last year from a popula­tion cstimated to be 150,000. Scientistssay that the stocks are beginning tosho\\ stress. ancl that if the take con­tinues at the present rate. stocks may bebcyond recovery in as fe\\ as X years.The olive ridley is hunted primarily forturtle leather.

Loggerhead turtles. like green tur­tIes. are found throughout the world.They are estimated to number betwecn25,000 and 50.000 in thc Lnited States.but are not now in imlllediate danger ofextinction. They are exploited for theirmeat. for soup. and for other products.

Three other species of sea tunles. theAtlantic ridley. leatherback. anclhawksbill, arc already listed as en­dangered. The Department of COlll­merce has jurisdiction over sea tunlesfrom the edge of thc water seaward andthe Department of the Interior has juris­diction on land.

Murini' Fisherii'S R('l'ii'll'