Dan Hull, Chairman
David Witherell, Executive Director
SUBJECT: title
Protected Species Report
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STAFF CONTACT: Steve MacLean (NPFMC)
ACTION REQUIRED: recommended action
* Review Protected Species Report
* Action as necessary
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BACKGROUND:
Bearded Seal ESA determination
The U.S. Supreme Court declined, on Monday, January 21, to review a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that confirmed the ESA listing of bearded seals in Alaska. Bearded seals were listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2012, based on the prediction that a changing climate will reduce the sea-ice habitat upon which the seals depend for molting, pupping, and resting. That ruling was successfully challenged by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, the State of Alaska, and several municipalities and development groups in the U.S District Court for Alaska in 2014. The Court determined that NMFS should not have listed the species based on projections of sea ice loss 100 years into the future. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the District Court's ruling and restored protections in 2016. By declining to hear the appeal, the Supreme Court maintains the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that confirmed the ESA listing, and protections remain in place.
In a related decision, the Center for Biological Diversity has notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it plans to sue over the decision not to grant federal protection to walruses, based on 100-year climate projections.
Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers meet with AEWC
Shortly after Dr. Craig George from the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management updated the Council on bowhead whale entanglement in pot or longline gear (December 2017), representatives from the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC) met with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC). ABSC representatives are also meeting with the AEWC in Utqiagvik, Alaska on February 5-6, 2018. Staff will continue ...
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