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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Notices
3 Endangered Species Act ESA status: Endangered E, Threatened T/MMPA status: Depleted D. A dash - indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Any species listed under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA as depleted. IUCN status: Endangered EN, Vulnerable VU, Near Threatened NT, Least Concern LC, Data Deficient DD.
4 CV is coefficient of variation. All abundance estimates, except for those from Reilly et al., 2004 right, humpback, minke, and fin whales, are for entire Southern Ocean i.e., waters south of 60S and not the smaller area comprising the Southwest Fisheries Science Center SWFSC research area.
5 Abundance estimates reported in Reilly et al., 2004 for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources CCAMLR survey area from 2000. Surveys include Antarctic Peninsula 473,300 km2 and Scotia Sea 1,109,800 km2 strata, which correspond roughly to SWFSCs Antarctic Research Area ARA, as reported by Hewitt et al., 2004.
6 Southern Ocean abundance estimate Branch et al., 2007.
7 Southern Ocean abundance estimate IWC, 2001 in Whitehead, 2002.
8 Southern Ocean abundance estimate from circumpolar surveys covering 68 percent of waters south of 60S from 199198 Branch and Butterworth, 2001.
9 Southern Ocean abundance estimate derived from surveys conducted from 197688 Kasamatsu and Joyce, 1995.
10 South Georgia abundance estimate; likely >95 percent of range-wide abundance Forcada and Staniland, 2009. Genetic evidence shows two distinct population regions, likely descended from surviving post-sealing populations at South Georgia, Bouvet11 Four genetically distinct populations are recognized: the Peninsula Valde s population in Argentina, the South Georgia population in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Kerguelen population in the South Indian Ocean and the Macquarie population in the South Pacific Ocean Slade et al., 1998; Hoelzel et al., 2001. Animals occurring in ARA are likely to belong to South Georgia population, which includes subpopulations at South Georgia Island >99 percent of population and at the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands; South Georgia population abundance estimate from 2001 McMahon et al., 2005.
12 Range-wide abundance estimates Thomas and Terhune, 2009; Bengtson, 2009; Rogers, 2009.
13 Southern Ocean abundance estimate Branch et al., 2007. CI is confidence interval.
14 South of 60S.

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Antarctic Minke Whale Antarctic minke whales are similar in shape and coloration to the more global species of minke whale B.
acutorostrata. The two species differ in relative size and shape of several cranial features, and Antarctic minke whales lack the distinct white flipper mark of the more common minke whale.
The seasonal distribution and migration patterns of nearly all populations of minke whales are poorly understood Risch et al., 2019.
Antarctic minke whales are abundant from 60S to the ice edge during the austral summer then retreat in the austral winter to breeding grounds in mid-latitudes in the Pacific and other locations off Australia and South Africa.
Antarctic minke feed mainly on euphausiids krill Euphausia superba.
This species is highly associated with sea ice and is generally less abundant in ice-free waters. In general, minke whales are commonly observed alone or in small groups of two or three individuals. Aggregations of up to 400
may form on occasion in high latitudes.
During the feeding season, mature females are found closer to the ice than immature females, and immature males are more solitary than mature males.
Over the period January 21, 2019
through March 31, 2020, one minke whale was observed during bird observation studies at Palmer Station in Arthur Harbor, which is on the other side of the peninsula separated from Hero Inlet. The whale was observed feeding about 300 m offshore. A lead Principal Investigator studying marine mammals as part of the Long-Term Ecological Research Program at Palmer Station notes minke whales are common within a few miles of the station Ari Friedlander, personal communication.
Fin Whale Fin whales are closely related to blue and sei whales. Northern and southern
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populations remain separated leading to genetic isolation of the populations. The fin whale is found in most large water masses of the world, from tropical to polar regions. However, in the most extreme latitudes individuals may be absent near the ice limit. Overall, fin whale densities in the southern hemisphere tend to be higher outside the continental slope than inside it.
Fin whales feed on an assortment of prey items, depending on their availability Kawamura 1980; as cited in Wursig et al., 2018; their diet varies with season and locality. Southern Hemisphere fin whales have a diet of almost exclusively krill, and other planktonic crustaceans. In the Southern Hemisphere, fin whales seasonally migrate north to south; they feed in the summer at high latitudes and breed and fast in the winter at low latitudes.
One fin whale was recently seen within a few miles of the station Ari Friedlander, personal communication.

minke whales, with summer concentrations mainly between the subtropical and Antarctic convergences between 40S and 50S. Sei feed on copepods, euphausiids, shoals of fish, and squid if they are encountered.

Blue Whale Blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere are on average larger than those in the Northern Hemisphere. Blue whales are a cosmopolitan species with North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Southern hemisphere populations. They were historically most abundant in the Southern Ocean, but are very rare today in the Project Area. Due to food availability they are found predominantly offshore. Blue whales feed almost exclusively on euphausiids in areas of cold water upwelling.

Hourglass Dolphin Hourglass dolphins are pelagic and circumpolar in the Southern Ocean;
they are found in Antarctic and subAntarctic waters. Most sightings of live hourglass dolphins reflect observer effort, and are centered on the Antarctic convergence with most sightings from the Drake Passage. Hourglass dolphins often feed in large aggregations of seabirds such as great shearwaters and black-browed albatrosses, and in plankton slicks White et al., 1999; as cited in Wursig et al., 2018. Their prey items include small fish about 2.4 g and a length of 55 mm, small squid, and crustaceans. They are believed to feed in surface waters.
Migratory movements of this species are not well known. It is thought that hourglass dolphins from the Antarctic convergence zone and the continental shelf break may move into sub-Antarctic waters in winter. Thus, the range of the species thus probably shifts north and south with the seasons Carwardine 1995; as cited in Wursig et al., 2018.
Although oceanic, hourglass dolphins are often observed near islands and banks, in areas with turbulent waters;
they have been observed in the Project Area Ari Friedlander, personal communication.

Sei Whale Sei whales inhabit all ocean basins;
they are oceanic and not commonly found in shelf seas. Sei whales migrate seasonally, spending the summer months feeding in the subpolar higher latitudes and returning to the lower latitudes to calve in winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are rarely found as far south as blue, fin, and
Humpback Whale Humpback whales are distributed throughout the world. They are highly migratory, spending spring through fall on feeding grounds in midor highlatitude waters, and wintering on calving grounds in the tropics, where they do not eat Dawbin 1966; as referenced in Wursig et al., 2018. Seven populations of humpback whales are
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