U.S. delegation noted that, although there were differing 

 views as to the type of agreement needed, the need for 

 multi-national efforts to protect and conserve North Pacific 

 fur seals and their habitat was generally recognized. He 

 therefore noted that, based on the discussions, he would 

 recommend to the Government of the United States that it 

 proceed with efforts to initiate formal talks to negotiate a 

 new international agreement on fur seal research and 

 conservation . 



On 4 April 1988, the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 provided the Commission with a proposed draft of a new 

 international agreement on North Pacific fur seals as a first 

 step toward pursuing formal international negotiations. 

 Among other things, the proposed text for the agreement called 

 upon parties to: prohibit commercial exploitation of fur 

 seal populations that are below maximum net productivity 

 levels; reduce and eventually eliminate incidental take of 

 fur seals during commercial fishing operations; prohibit 

 pelagic sealing; collect and share data on certain aspects of 

 fur seal biology and management; and coordinate fur seal 

 research and management. 



By letter of 26 May 1988, the Commission, in consul- 

 tation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, provided 

 the Service with comments and recommendations on the proposed 

 text. In its letter, the Commission noted that neither the 

 draft agreement nor other available information made it clear 

 how the National Marine Fisheries Service expected the United 

 States to meet the objectives and obligations set forth in 

 the proposed text and that it therefore was not possible to 

 determine whether the proposed agreement would be a desirable 

 and effective means of protecting and conserving fur seals and 

 their habitat, as reguired by the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act. In this regard, the Commission noted that, to provide a 

 basis for identifying and undertaking domestic and inter- 

 national actions necessary to protect and conserve fur seals 

 and their habitats, it had recommended that the Service develop 

 a fur seal conservation plan. 



The Commission further noted that the relative advan- 

 tages and disadvantages of any proposed agreement should be 

 evaluated within the context of a conservation plan, and 

 recommended that the Service suspend efforts to draft and 

 negotiate a new fur seal agreement until: (1) a comprehensive 

 fur seal conservation plan has been completed and, (2) in 

 consultation with the Commission and others, it has assessed 

 the relative merits of a new agreement within the context of 

 that plan. In the Service's 16 May 1988 Federal Register 

 notice designating fur seals as depleted (see above) , the 

 Service announced that it was in the process of preparing a 

 conservation plan for fur seals. Given the amount of thought 



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