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As discussed in the Commission's previous Annual 

 Reports, on 15 May 1981, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service published final regulations and issued a permit 

 to the Federation of Japan Salmon Fisheries Cooperative 

 Association allowing fishermen to incidentally take up 

 to 5,500 Dall's porpoise, 450 northern fur seals, and 

 25 northern sea lions each year during the 1981 through 

 1983 fishing seasons. The permit required the Japanese 

 fishermen to accept U.S. Government observers onboard 

 their fishing vessels and to assist as requested in 

 meeting the objectives of the research program agreed 

 to by the Governments of the United States and Japan. 

 The duration of that permit was extended through the 

 1986 fishing season by the Fisheries Amendments of 1982 

 which also require, among other things, that all Japanese 

 fishing vessels adopt over the next three years new 

 fishing gear and techniques to reduce or eliminate the 

 incidental taking of porpoise and that the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service develop detailed annual action plans 

 for the 1984 through 1986 fishing seasons relating to 

 monitoring, research and development, and other necessary 

 actions. 



Preliminary analyses of data obtained by U.S. 

 observers aboard Japanese salmon fishing vessels indicate 

 that 2,906 Dall's porpoise were incidentally taken within 

 the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and a total of 4,280 

 were taken within and outside the zone by the Japanese 

 mothership fishery during the 1983 season. The observed 

 mean kill per set was 0.47 in 1983. The 2,906 figure is 

 well below both the 5,500 quota and the comparable figure 

 of 4,187 animals estimated to have been taken within the 

 zone during 1982. 



The Commission will consult with the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and others during 1984 with special 

 reference to the Service's preliminary action plan for 

 the 1984 fishing season which is to be available to the 

 Commission and others for review and comment on 1 January 

 1984. 



