U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments: 2018

Pacific region stock assessments include those studied by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC, La Jolla, CA), the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC, Honolulu, HI), the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML, Seattle, WA), and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC, Seattle, WA). The 2018 Pacific marine mammal stock assessments include revised reports for 16 Pacific marine mammal stocks under NMFS jurisdiction, including 7 “strategic” stocks: Hawaiian monk seal, Eastern North Pacific blue whale, Western North Pacific gray whale, California/Oregon/Washington humpback whale, California/Oregon/Washington fin whale, Eastern North Pacific sei whale and Southern Resident killer whale. New abundance estimates are available for 8 stocks: California sea lions, Hawaiian monk seals, Eastern North Pacific Offshore killer whales, Southern Resident killer whales, Eastern North Pacific gray whales, Western North Pacific gray whales, California/Oregon/Washington humpback whales, and Hawaii Island spinner dolphins. Information on sea otters, manatees, walrus, and polar bears are published separately by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.