MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



nationwide prohibition of such activities within 

 national parks. The proposed rule, published on 5 

 August, would allow commercial fishing to continue 

 in the bay until 31 December 1997 to allow existing 

 fishermen time to amortize their investments by phas- 

 ing out or relocating elsewhere. In support of its 

 proposed rule, the Service noted that commercial 

 fishing had occurred in Glacier Bay since before it 

 was designated a national monument in 1925. 



On 8 November 1991, the Commission, in consul- 

 tation with its Conmiittee of Scientific Advisors on 

 Marine Mammals, provided comments to the Service 

 on the proposed rule and associated environmental 

 assessment. It noted that, notwithstanding the nation- 

 wide prohibition on commercial fishing in national 

 parks, the proposed rule leaves open the possibility of 

 an indefinite extension of authorization to permit 

 commercial fishing in the Park if the Service deter- 

 mines that the fisheries are compatible with objectives 

 for conserving park resources. In this regard, the 

 Commission noted that the Service did not explain 

 why a seven-year period was chosen, how many 

 vessels or what fisheries were involved, or why 

 commercial fishermen could not shift their operations 

 elsewhere in a shorter period of time. Without such 

 information, the Commission noted that it was diffi- 

 cult to determine how either the proposed rule or 

 alternative actions would affect park resources and 

 commercial fishermen. 



With respect to marine mammals, the Commission 

 noted that eliminating commercial fishing within 

 Glacier Bay could benefit humpback whales and other 

 wildlife that utilize the bay. Doing so would reduce 

 vessel noise and disturbance, the risk of vessel-whale 

 collisions, the potential for whales to become entan- 

 gled in fishing gear, and the possibility of further 

 altering the Park's natural ecosystem. The Commis- 

 sion also noted that the proposed rule addressed 

 subsistence fishing, which was prohibited by the 1980 

 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. 

 Therefore, the Commission recommended that the 

 Service: (1) reconsider its proposed rule to allow 

 commercial fishing to continue within Glacier Bay 

 National Park; (2) refrain from proceeding with a 

 final rulemaking unless sufficient information became 

 available to support a finding that commercial fishing 

 will not conflict with the values and purposes for 



which the Park was established; and, (3) before 

 publishing a final rule, circulate information on the 

 anticipated level and possible effects of commercial 

 fishing in the Park for public review and comment. 



At the end of 1991, the National Park Service had 

 not yet published a final rule on conmiercial fishing 

 within Glacier Bay National Park. 



Humpback Whales in Hawaii 



Hawaii is the principal calving ground of the 

 central North Pacific stock of humpback whales. 

 During 1991, the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division 

 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 

 tion's National Ocean Service considered a possible 

 national marine sanctuary designation in Hawaii that 

 could enhance protection of humpback whales as well 

 as other marine resources in Hawaii. Title HI of the 

 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 

 1972 directs the Secretary of Commerce to designate 

 marine sanctuaries to protect and manage areas of the 

 marine environment that are of national significance. 



The major goals of the National Marine Sanctuary 

 Program, the group designated to carry out this 

 directive, are to provide enhanced resource protection 

 through comprehensive and coordinated conservation 

 and management; support, promote, and coordinate 

 scientific research and monitoring related to the 

 specific marine resources that sanctuaries are designat- 

 ed to protect; enhance public awareness, understand- 

 ing, appreciation, and wise use of the marine environ- 

 ment; and, facilitate multiple use, to the extent com- 

 patible, with the primary objective of sanctuary 

 resource protection. 



Proposals to designate a marine sanctuary to 

 protect humpback whales in Hawaii also received 

 extensive consideration in the 1970s and 1980s. 

 However, actions to designate a sanctuary in Hawaii 

 were not taken. In 1990, Congress directed that the 

 Sanctuaries and Reserves Division study the feasibility 

 of establishing a national marine sanctuary in the 

 waters adjacent to Kahoolawe, the smallest of the 

 main Hawaiian Islands. The purpose of the study was 

 to assess the contribution sanctuary management of 

 the area might make to protecting the population of 



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