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April 20, 2023

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• Endangered Species Act

• Marine Mammal Protection Act

Key Legal Mandates for Protected Species

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Endangered Species ActCore sections:

• Section 4 - Listing and Recovery (via Recovery Plans)

• Section 6 - Cooperation with the States• Section 7 - Interagency Cooperation

(consultations and biological opinions)• Section 9 - Prohibited Acts• Section 10 - Exceptions (research,

enhancement, and incidental take permits)

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Marine Mammal Protection Act• Issuing permits for direct and indirect take• Conducting stock assessments• Promulgating regulations• Enforcing the prohibitions• Coordinating effective responses to

strandings and unusual mortality events• Entering into co-management and

international agreements

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NOAA’s Protected Species Responsibility• NOAA works to conserve and recover

primarily marine and anadromous species• 300 species of corals, fish, marine mammals,

and sea turtles

• Some of these listings are global, such as sea turtles

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Science Needed to Support Species Conservation

• Abundance Estimates• Habitat Use• Genetic Stock Assessment• Observer Data on bycatch of protected species• Status Reviews of Listed Species• Mitigation Measures, e.g., bycatch reduction

devices

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Loggerhead turtle tracks.34 satellite tags deployed on pound net by-catch, 2002-2008.

Tracked for total of 5680 individual days.

Turtle size 64-92 cm SCL.

Turtle movement in East China Sea area

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Animation of first 70 days

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East China Sea “Hotspot” covers ~433,549 square kilometers of ocean.

Shallow, productive, effects of rivers/currents, multinational, location of many fisheries.

East China Sea “Hotspot”

Aggregated loggerhead track data from many sources

Mixture of wild-caught bycatch and reared individuals

Loggerhead turtle Loggerhead turtle pelagic habitat pelagic habitat closely correlated closely correlated with temperaturewith temperature

Turtle Watch: A tool to aid in the bycatch reduction of loggerhead turtles in the Hawaii-based LL fishery.

Evan Howell, Donald Kobayashi, Denise Parker, George Balazs, Jeffrey Polovina

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Humpback Whale Conservation

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Shared SpeciesSea Turtles –

Loggerhead, Green, and Hawksbills

Whales -- Humpback, Sei, Sperm, Gray, Blue and Fin

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Possible CollaborationsSea Turtle

Habitat UseForaging StudiesWorkshop on the status of sea turtles

Marine Mammal