Assembly Joint Resolution No. 49

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 98

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 49—Relative to California gray whales.

[Filed with Secretary of State July 23, 2008.]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AJR 49, Nava. California gray whales: assessment: protected status.
This measure would request the United States Congress and the President
of the United States to call upon the National Marine Fisheries Service to
undertake an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the California
gray whale, and request the National Marine Fisheries Service to change
the status of the gray whale to endangered, if the results of the comprehensive
assessment or the body of scientific evidence warrants it.

WHEREAS, Each year, the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus
of the Eastern North Pacific stock) migrates along the California coast to
feeding grounds in the Arctic, a journey of 8,500 to 11,000 miles; and
WHEREAS, The California gray whale is important for public education,
recreational value, aesthetic appeal, economic significance, and scientific
interest to the people of California; and
WHEREAS, Whale watching contributes to local economies in direct
revenues and in the overall economic well-being of coastal communities,
including the creation of jobs; and
WHEREAS, Whale watching generates tens of millions of dollars in
California annually; and
WHEREAS, The California gray whale migrates past one of the most
heavily industrialized coastlines in the world, exposing the California gray
whale to marine pollution, marine vessel traffic, industrial noise, activities
associated with the development of the outer continental shelf resources,
fishing entanglements, bottom trawling, industrial development, and military
and nonmilitary sonar activity; and
WHEREAS, Marine mammals, including the California gray whale, are
vulnerable to underwater sound, including high-intensity mid-frequency
sonar systems used off the California coast; and
WHEREAS, These sonar systems blast across large areas with levels of
underwater noise loud enough to have resulted in deaths of marine mammals
in incidents around the world; and
WHEREAS, The significant threats posed by global warming, melting
sea ice, and the impact of increased sea water temperature in the Arctic
feeding grounds of the California gray whale have very serious implications
for the species; and
93
WHEREAS, The federal government placed the gray whale on the
endangered and threatened species list in 1970 when its estimated population
was approximately 12,000 and removed it in 1994 when the population rose
to 23,000; and
WHEREAS, Prewhaling population estimates used as a factor in
determining species recovered status of the gray whale are now known to
be erroneous and account only for a fraction of actual historical populations;
and
WHEREAS, A major collapse in 1999 and 2000 is estimated to have
wiped out one-third to almost one-half of the population; and
WHEREAS, There has been no proper population estimate published by
the National Marine Fisheries Service since 2001; and
WHEREAS, There is no habitat protection for the Pacific Coast Feeding
Aggregation in California, Oregon, or Washington State; and
WHEREAS, There are inconsistencies in the protection states give to
gray whales; and
WHEREAS, Oregon lists the gray whale as endangered; and
WHEREAS, Washington lists the gray whale as sensitive; and
WHEREAS, California, by law, defers to the federal government and
lists the gray whale as recovered; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly,
That the Legislature respectfully requests the United States Congress and
the President of the United States to call upon the National Marine Fisheries
Service to undertake an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the
California gray whale. This assessment should include all current research
covering the migration routes, population dynamics, and mortality of the
California gray whale, and the impacts of threats to the California gray
whale, including the impact of global warming on critical feeding grounds;
and be it further
Resolved, That the National Marine Fisheries Service publish, and make
available to the public, the results of the comprehensive assessment of the
California gray whale; and be it further
Resolved, That, if the results of the comprehensive assessment or the
body of scientific evidence warrants it, the National Marine Fisheries Service
is requested to change the status of the gray whale to endangered; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this
resolution to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the President and Vice
President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States.

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