The US National Marine Fisheries Service announced this week it will be conducting a five-year review of the endangered North Pacific right whale.
According to a Federal Register notice:
“NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to ensure that listing classifications of species are accurate. The 5-year review must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We request submission of any such information on the North Pacific right whale, particularly information on its status, threats, and recovery that has become available since the previous 5-year review was issued in December 2017.”
Specifically, NMFS is seeking public comments on the status of the North Pacific right whale, with information that could include:
“(1) Species biology including, but not limited to, population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics; (2) habitat conditions including, but not limited to, amount, distribution, suitability, and important features for conservation; (3) status and trends of threats; (4) conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit the species, including monitoring data demonstrating effectiveness of such measures; (5) need for additional conservation measures; and (6) other new information, data, or corrections including, but not limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes and improved analytical methods for evaluating extinction risk.”
NMFS said submissions should be received no later than May 31st, 2022.
Read the full notice here.
