Department of Fish and Game to augment ongoing studies of the 

 problem and to help coordinate work being supported by 

 various organizations in order to expedite collection of 

 needed data. In 1983, the Commission provided funds to 

 continue and expand observations of gill and trammel net 

 fisheries in and near Morro Bay and Monterey Bay. The 

 Commission continued funding for this work during 1984 and 

 the major portion of 1985. As noted in previous Annual 

 Reports, the reports submitted by Commission-funded observers 

 and the studies undertaken by the California Department of 

 Fish and Game provided the first reasonably good documen- 

 tation of the magnitude of the incidental take problem. In a 

 report issued in 1984 by the California Department of Fish 

 and Game, it was estimated that between 1973 and 1983 an 

 average of 105 otters were killed annually through 

 entanglement in gill and trammel nets. Available information 

 indicates that most losses due to incidental take occur in 

 the large-mesh nets that are set for halibut within the 15- 

 fathom depth curve. A complete breakdown of estimated 

 incidental take mortality for the period from 1973 through 

 1983 is shown in the following table prepared by the 

 California Department of Fish and Game. Data covering the 

 years 1984-1986 are now being compiled by the Department. 



Estimated Mortality of Sea Otters Taken 

 Incidental to California Gill and Trammel Net Fisheries 



Number of Estimated 



Year Landings Mortality 



1973 457 49 



1974 645 69 



1975 [no data provided] 69 



1976 980 105 



1977 663 71 



1978 874 93 



1979 1449 154 



1980 1407 150 



1981 1578 168 



1982 1057 113 



1983 696 74 



Thousands of sea birds as well as sea otters and other 

 marine mammals are caught in gill and trammel nets off the 

 coast of California. In an effort to address the incidental 

 take problem, the State of California has imposed area 

 closures to prohibit gill and trammel net fishing in certain 

 areas. In 1982, the use of entangling fishing nets within 

 the 10-fathom isobath in Monterey Bay was prohibited by State 

 legislation. This closure was intended primarily to reduce 



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