Evaluation of the Western North Pacific Distinct Population Segment of Humpback Whales as units under the Marine Mammal Protection Act

The Guidelines for Preparing Stock Assessment Reports Pursuant to the 1994 Amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) specify that a stock under the MMPA should identify a demographically independent population (DIP). Considerable new data suggest the existence of potential DIPs within the Western North Pacific (WNP) distinct population segment (DPS) of the North Pacific subspecies of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira). Animals that winter near Pacific island nations off the Asian continent, including the Philippines and Japan, and other unidentified breeding areas in the western North Pacific, and summer off of Russia and in U.S waters surrounding the central and western Aleutian Islands together are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as the WNP DPS. However, even at the time of listing, this group was considered to comprise two discrete units, those wintering in the Philippines and Okinawa and those wintering in an as-yet unidentified location (or locations) in the western North Pacific. 2022 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) PIFSC (Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center) AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) Submitted https://doi.org/10.25923/n5p9-4m02 Public Domain 2041