that levels of take were exceeding the rates for comparable 

 periods in previous years. Concerned about this development, 

 the Commission wrote to the Service on 12 June 1986 to ask 

 that special consideration be given to this problem. In 

 addition, the Commission asked that a meeting be convened to 

 address questions concerning the methodology for estimating 

 mortality and enforcement options that could be used when the 

 quota was reached. This meeting was convened by the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service on 14 July; it was attended by 

 representatives of the Service, the Commission, and the tuna 

 industry. Representatives of concerned environmental groups 

 were not invited to attend the meeting and, by letter of 

 18 July 1986 to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the 

 Commission indicated its concern about the procedures that 

 had been used to convene the 14 July meeting. The Commission 

 pointed out that when one group of non-governmental parties, 

 in this case the fishing industry, is invited to attend 

 meetings of this type, other interested parties should be 

 extended the same courtesy. 



Questions concerning the methodology that should be used 

 to estimate porpoise mortality in future years continued to 

 be reviewed after the 14 July meeting and at a follow-up 

 meeting held 6 December 1986. As a result of the deliber- 

 ations, it was decided that the same methodology that had 

 been used previously would be used again in 1987 and that 

 additional review of alternative approaches would take place. 

 In addition, the decision was made to provide 100 percent 

 observer coverage for the first trip of the U.S. tuna fleet 

 in 1987. This represents a significant increase over the 

 level of observer coverage provided in 1986. The Service's 

 actions on these points are consistent with the recommen- 

 dations included in the Commission's letter of 2 3 December 

 1986. In that letter, it was recommended that further 

 consideration be given to the methodology used to estimate 

 mortality and that the level of observer coverage be 

 increased. 



As noted previously, by letter of 12 June 1986, the 

 Commission expressed to the Service its concerns about the 

 increased level of porpoise mortality and asked to be advised 

 on the steps the Service intended to take to address the 

 problem. In anticipation of the quota being reached, on 

 16 September 1986 the Service published in the Federal 

 Register emergency interim regulations to enforce the quota. 

 The regulations imposed a ban on catching, possessing, or 

 landing yellowfin or bigeye tuna from the eastern tropical 

 Pacific once the quota had been reached. An exception to the 

 ban was established for vessels that voluntarily carried a 

 National Marine Fisheries Service observer to verify compli- 

 ance with the prohibition on fishing on porpoise. Finally, 

 the regulations imposed a ban on the importation of tuna 

 caught in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean unless certain 

 conditions were met to demonstrate that the tuna were not 



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