Orcasphere

Received this from orcalist@noaa.gov this morning.   Deadline for public comment is 5pm on Oct. 27, 2009.  It’s noteworthy that this announcement came the day after notice that Dawn Noren published a paper that suggests that most surface active behaviors occur when vessels are within ~150 meters. As part of the recovery program for endangered Southern [...]

13:50 Kari Koski, Soundwatch program Soundwatch tries to reach boaters before they get on the water We reinforce that education through education and monitoring patrols Citizen science is done from the same boat (1/2 hour survey for vessel trends) 40 volunteers put in a lot of hours, operating 10 hour days, from May 1 through [...]

10:00 Lynne Barre, NWFSC Critical habitat can be modified.  A future step is designating habitat outside of the inland waters of WA. Recovery plan implementation was started in 2003, well before the endangered listing in 2005. Proposed regulations are under review… no date given for when rule-making will occur. Consultations regarding potential impacts result in [...]