#r015

Prepared by National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Regional Office (2008)

There is considerable uncertainty regarding which threats may beresponsible for the decline in the population or which is the most important to address for recovery. The plan lays out an adaptive management approach and a recovery strategy that addresses each of the potential threats based on the best available science. The recovery program outline links the management actions to an active research program to fill data gaps and a monitoring program to assess effectiveness. The recovery plan addresses several topics, including prey availability, oil spills, vessel interference, etc.