reviews. Raptors are occasionally identified as predators of federally threatened and endangered species. Those that have been identified preying on least terns or snowy plovers are live trapped and relocated or removed until breeding is complete, in accordance with the USDA MBTA permit.
Listed below is an Action that supports raptor population management on Camp Pendleton (see Appendix M for more details on this action).
• Track population changes of raptors.
4.3.6. Marine and Fisheries Management Program
Mission: 1) Develop and implement proactive marine and fisheries management programs that support populations of threatened, endangered and native species so that all applicable conservation measures are met in order to provide maximum flexibility for military training requirements; 2) continue to utilize the best technology and research methodology to characterize aquatic habitat and species interactions in support of enhanced flexibility for military training requirements; and 3) develop exceptional recreational sport-fishing conditions for service members and their families stationed aboard Camp Pendleton.
The Wildlife Management Branch is responsible for coordinating saltwater fisheries and marine fauna issues for Camp Pendleton, and the management of freshwater fisheries on Base. While Camp Pendleton’s authority/control for management activities ends at the mean high-tide line, the Base is responsible to ensure that any of its actions or activities that may impact resources beyond the beaches are conducted in accordance with regulations and laws governing those resources. Camp Pendleton takes this responsibility seriously since a large portion of the military training mission requires use of sea-space and the airspace over it. Management of aquatic fauna on Base balances the needs of the training mission with the support of recreational game programs, as well as with the protection of federally listed threatened and endangered species, and other natural resources as required by law. In addition to the CWA and other laws that govern the minimization of pollution into our waterways, aquatic resources on Base and offshore are subject to natural resources management laws including the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and ESA (see Section 4.3.2. regarding the management of federally listed threatened or endangered marine or anadromous species). The Base also has a recreational fishing program that is subject to additional applicable federal and State regulations (Section 5.2.3.).
Goal: Develop and implement a marine and fisheries management program that supports sustainable populations of native species, meets the conservation objectives of applicable regulations and provides maximum flexibility for military training requirements.
The Wildlife Management Branch’s Marine and Fisheries Issues Program groups-efforts that are supported by the Base’s fisheries biologist into one program, for ease of management. This program is organized into seven elements. These Elements are: 1) Magnuson-Stevens Act Compliance; 2) MMPA Compliance; 3) Estuary Management; 4) Steelhead Management; 5) Marine Threatened and Endangered Issues; 6) Sport Fish Management; and 7) Exotic Fish Control.
4.3.6.1. Magnuson-Stevens Act Compliance
Objective: Comply with Magnuson-Stevens Act, notably the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) and the Southern California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy aspects.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Public Law 94-265, 1996) is a national program for the conservation and management of the fishery resources of the U.S. Its purpose is to prevent overfishing, to rebuild overfished stocks, to ensure conservation, to facilitate long-term protection of EFHs, and to realize the full potential of the Nation’s fishery resources. On Base, the Santa Margarita estuary is considered an EFH under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
The 1996 amendments to this Act set forth a number of mandates for NOAA National Marines Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service), Regional Fishery Management Councils, and federal action agencies to identify and protect important marine and anadromous fish habitat. The Councils, with assistance from NMFS, are required to delineate EFH in fishery management plans for all managed species. EFH is defined as those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity.
All of Camp Pendleton’s nearshore resources are designated as EFH (those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity), falling under either the Pacific Groundfish Management Area or the Pacific Coastal Pelagic Fishery Management Area (all marine and estuarine waters from the shoreline along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington offshore to the limits of the exclusive economic zone [200 miles]). EFH at Camp Pendleton may include streams, estuaries, and offshore subtidal habitats that may be important for marine and anadromous fish species. The Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan includes 81 species potentially found offshore of the Base, and the Pacific Coastal Pelagic Fishery Management Area is specifically designed to protect lower trophic species (e.g., anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and market squid) and pertains to five listed species know to occur offshore of the Base (NMFS 1991, 1998 & Rouse pers. comm. 2011).
Although the concept of EFH is similar to that of “Critical Habitat” under the ESA, measures recommended to protect EFH by NMFS or a Council are advisory, not prescriptive. To maintain compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Wildlife Management Branch coordinates with NMFS (as part of the NEPA process) to ensure that Base projects and activities that occur within waterways on the Base or offshore of the Base do not adversely affect EFH.
The Southern California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy was developed, in collaboration by the NMFS, USFWS and CDFG, in order to standardize and maintain a consistent policy regarding mitigating adverse impacts to eelgrass resources. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) vegetated areas are recognized as important ecological communities in shallow bays and estuaries because of their multiple biological and physical values. Eelgrass habitat functions as an important structural environment for resident bay and estuarine species, offering both predation refuge and a food source. Eelgrass functions as a nursery area for many commercially and recreational important finfish and shellfish species, including
those that are resident within bays and estuaries, as well as oceanic species that enter estuaries to breed or spawn. Eelgrass also provides a unique habitat that supports a high diversity of non-commercially important species whose ecological roles are less well understood (NMFS 1991).
4.3.6.2. Marine Mammal Protection Act Compliance
Objective: Understand and comply with the MMPA.
The 1972 MMPA established a federal responsibility to protect and manage marine mammals and their products (e.g., the use of hides and meat). The primary authority for implementing the Act belongs to the DOI (USFWS division) and Commerce (NOAA Fisheries division). The USFWS manages walruses, polar bears, sea otters, dugongs, marine otters, and manatees. NMFS (of NOAA Fisheries) manages cetaceans and pinnipeds (namely whales, porpoises, seals, and sea lions). The MMPA prohibits, with certain exceptions, the take of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens in international waters, and the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S. Take of a marine mammal is defined to include harassment, hunting, capturing or killing, or the attempt of such actions. Harassment is further defined to include an act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to injure or disturb a marine mammal by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
The USFWS and NMFS may issue permits under MMPA Section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374) to persons, including federal agencies, that authorize the taking or importing of specific species of marine mammals. Federal agencies that fund, permit, or carry out activities that may adversely impact marine mammals are required to consult with the USFWS or NMFS regarding potential adverse effects of their actions on marine mammals.
Marine mammals are generally not known to use beach or estuarine habitats along Camp Pendleton’s coast. However, offshore of the Base, the presence of cetaceans and pinnipeds are fairly common. At least 21 species of cetaceans have been reported off the coast of southern California (Eder 2002). Cetacean species include toothed whales or odontocetes, such as sperm whales, beaked whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Baleen whales or mysticetes include six rorquals, the northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), and the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Off Camp Pendleton, six species of cetaceans occur in moderate to high numbers, either regularly or seasonally. These include the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis), the coastal and offshore stocks of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), and Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). Of the pinnipeds that regularly occur off the coast of southern California, only the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii)