i
Evaluation of Mexico Distinct Population Segment of Humpback Whales as units under the Marine Mammal Protection Act
-
2021
-
[PDF-714.90 KB]
Details:
-
Personal Author:
-
Corporate Authors:
-
NOAA Program & Office:
-
Description:The Guidelines for Preparing Stock Assessment Reports Pursuant to the 1994 Amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act specify that a stock under the Act should, whenever possible, comprise a demographically independent population (DIP). Considerable new data suggest the existence of potential DIPs within some distinct population segments (DPSs) of the North Pacific subspecies of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira). One putative DIP is composed of whales that winter in the waters off mainland Mexico (MMex) and summer off of the contiguous U.S. west coast (referred to here as the MMex-CA/OR/WA unit). The Mexico DPS also includes whales that winter in mainland Mexico and the Revillagigedo Archipelago and that feed in more northerly waters (mainly in Alaska and to a lesser extent in Russia). We refer to these whales as the Mexico-Northern Pacific unit (Mex-NPac). We consider whether there are data to suggest that these Mex-NPac whales represent a single or multiple DIPs, and if so whether there are adequate data to delineate them.
-
Keywords:
-
Series:
-
DOI:
-
Document Type:
-
Rights Information:Public Domain
-
Compliance:Submitted
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
