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Due to U.S. territorial status, management of marine mammal stocks around Guam and the CNMI is the responsibility of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. The U.S. Navy is mandated by permits and Biological Opinions issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to monitor cetacean presence within the Mariana Island Range Complex (MIRC). The ocean surface and undersea area components of the MIRC encompass 1,299,851 km of open ocean and coastal areas that extend from the international waters south of Guam to north of Pagan (CNMI), and from the Pacific Ocean east of the Mariana Islands and west to the middle of the Philippine Sea (U.S. Navy 2010). Within the MIRC, the Navy is authorized to conduct training and testing activities, which may include the use of active sonar, underwater detonations, and explosive ordnance use. Such activities have the potential to harass or harm cetaceans...In an effort to further develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region, as well as to gather photos and biopsy samples and deploy satellite tags for population studies, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) conducted surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the CNMI (Figure 1) during 2010-2014. This research was carried out in partnership with the U.S. Navy and is expected to continue through 2015. Detailed reports for each survey year were submitted to the Navy (Oleson and Hill 2010, Ligon et al. 2011, Hill et al. 2012, Hill et al. 2013). The summary of the combined surveys is reported here. |
