3.10 Marine Species
human-caused mortality exceeding the stock’s Potential Biological Removal level (see Glossary). Tese TRTs consist of a balance of representatives from the fshing industry, fsh- ery management councils, state and federal resource management agencies, the scientifc community, and conservation organizations. To date, six TRTs have been established and four represent Atlantic coast resources:
• Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team
• Atlantic Ofshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team
• Mid-Atlantic Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team
• Western North Atlantic Coastal Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team
More information on the TRTs and the take reduction plans developed for marine mammal stocks can be found online at the following web page: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ interactions/trt/. Marine mammal stock assessment reports for all Atlantic species can be found online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Stock_Assessment_Program/individual_sars. html. Additional FMPs are available for highly migratory Atlantic tuna, swordfsh, and shark species and can be found online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/documents/fmp/ tss_fmp/index.html. 3.10.9 Recommendations In general, protection and restoration of natural community composition and function and protection of surrounding natural areas under current conditions are the best ways to ensure suitable habitats are available for marine species. Measures that protect a large and diverse pool of populations are the best ways to ensure that species are able to survive future stresses and adapt to changing climate conditions. Te following recommendations apply broadly to all eforts toward marine species conservation. Surveys. Distribution and status surveys should focus on SGCN (see Table 3.29) and other priority species believed to be declining or dependent on at-risk or sensitive communities. Specifcally, eforts to develop more precise population estimates for all marine taxa are needed. Monitoring. Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to continued impacts to waters of the
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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