management decisions, marine mammals and fisheries should be 

 managed cooperatively in areas where they may be competing 

 for or otherwise affecting the same fish or shellfish stocks; 

 (4) because funding is limited and direct interactions are 

 less complex and therefore easier to assess and to deal with, 

 higher priority should initially be afforded to research on 

 direct rather than indirect interactions; (5) ongoing efforts 

 to determine and document the nature and extent of impacts on 

 both the involved fisheries and marine mammal populations 

 should be expanded to identify and evaluate the relative cost 

 and benefits of possible mitigation measures; and (6) when 

 remedial measures are determined to be necessary, non-lethal 

 measures should be considered before considering lethal 

 measures. 



The workshop findings have guided subsequent Commission 

 activities as described below. 



Interactions in California Coastal Waters 



Investigations to determine the nature and extent of 

 marine mammal/fisheries interactions in California coastal 

 waters have been underway since 1979 as a cooperative project 

 of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the California 

 Department of Fish and Game. As noted in previous Annual 

 Reports, these investigations indicate that marine mammals 

 are affecting a number of California fisheries including the 

 commercial salmon troll fishery, the commercial passenger 

 fishing vessel fishery, the Pacific herring seine fishery, 

 the market squid dip net fishery, the drift net fishery for 

 sharks, and the set net fisheries for halibut, croaker, and 

 rockfish. They also indicate that substantial numbers of sea 

 otters, harbor porpoise, sea lions, harbor seals, and other 

 non-target species are being caught and killed, particularly 

 in the gill net fisheries. 



As noted in Chapter IX of this report and in previous 

 Annual Reports, the California Department of Fish and Game 

 and the California State Legislature have taken steps, 

 beginning in 1982, to prohibit the use of gill nets at 

 certain times and places so as to prevent or reduce the 

 incidental take of sea birds, sea otters, gray whales, and 

 other marine mammals. In addition, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service has modified its regulations governing 

 incidental take to allow the owners and operators of commer- 

 cial passenger fishing vessels to use seal bombs, cracker 

 shells, and acoustic harassment devices to prevent California 

 sea lions and other marine mammals from taking fish caught by 

 passengers. 



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