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During the Commission's meeting in Honolulu in February 

 1933, several fishermen indicated that the incidence of 

 interactions had increased substantially in several areas 

 and that some fishermen and fisheries were suffering substantial 

 economic loss. As a result of these discussions, the Commission 

 provided funds to compile and summarize existing data (see 

 Chapter II) and, on 30 November 1983, convened a meeting of 

 knowledgeable and interested parties to review the existing 

 data and to identify steps that may be necessary and possible 

 to better document and/or mitigate marine mammal/fishery 

 interactions in Hawaii. 



The meeting report, expected to be completed early in 

 1984, will be reviewed by the Commission in consultation 

 with its Committee of Scientific Advisors to determine what 

 follow-up actions are needed. It is anticipated that the 

 report may serve as a basis for further discussions with 

 fishermen in Hawaii on experimental approaches to mitigation. 



Entanglement in Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear 



The tendency of marine mammals to become entangled in 

 net fragments, packing bands, and other debris lost or 

 discarded at sea has been recognized for many years. The 

 problem appears to be particularly serious for the North 

 Pacific fur seal. During the past two years, data analyses 

 have indicated that entanglement may be a significant cause 

 of both fur seal mortality and the ongoing decline of the 

 northern fur seal population. In addition, incidents of 

 similar entanglement of other marine mammal species in the 

 North Pacific Basin, notably the endangered Hawaiian monk 

 seal, indicate that the problem is not limited to the North 

 Pacific fur seal. Furthermore, data and information from 

 others of the world's oceans show that the problem is, in 

 fact, global. 



Background -- For at least the past decade, the North 

 Pacific Fur Seal Commission has been aware of an increasing 

 number of seals becoming entangled with material lost or 

 discarded by fishermen. In 1975, the Fur Seal Commission's 

 Standing Scientific Committee repeated its previously stated 

 concern about the entanglement problem and noted that, on the 

 Pribilof Island of St. Paul, the incidence of entangled fur 

 seals had increased nearly fourfold between 1967 and 1975. 

 During the following years, the four nations party to the 

 Fur Seal Convention -- Canada, Japan, the United States, and 

 the Soviet Union -- attempted to check this growing problem 



