MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



drafting proposed regulations to designate critical 

 habitat. 



At the end of 1991, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service had not yet published proposed rules for 

 Steller sea lion critical habitat designation. The 

 Commission also understood that, on 3 October 1991, 

 the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Team forwarded a 

 revised draft recovery plan to the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. At the end of 1991, it was the 

 Commission's understanding that the plan was under- 

 going final review by the Service and adoption of the 

 plan was expected in 1992. 



Recognizing the need for a complete, up-to-date 

 summary of information on Steller sea lions, given the 

 considerable amount of new information on this 

 species generated over the past three years, the Com- 

 mission provided funds to the Alaska Department of 

 Fish and Game in September 1991 to update the 

 Steller sea lion species report (see Appendix B, 

 Lentfer 1988). The updated report, expected to be 

 published in mid-1992, will improve the basis for 

 evaluating and implementing priority tasks identified 

 in the recovery plan. The Commission, in consul- 

 tation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, will 

 review the revised species report and recommend 

 appropriate follow-up actions. 



Steller Sea Lion-Fisheries Interactions 



As noted above, a possible cause of observed 

 declines in Steller sea lion abundance is the over- 

 exploitation of prey species, particularly walleye 

 pollock, by conunercial fisheries. In December 1990, 

 the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 

 proposed increasing the total allowable catch of 

 pollock in the Gulf of Alaska from 73,400 metric tons 

 in 1990 to 133,400 metric tons in 1991. In response, 

 the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, on behalf of 

 Greenpeace and several other environmental groups, 

 wrote to the Service on 28 January 1991 advising that 

 it intended to file suit under the Endangered Species 

 Act and the National Environmental Policy Act if an 

 increased harvest level were adopted. 



Approval of the 1991 pollock catch level was 

 deferred by the National Marine Fisheries Service to 



allow for ftjrther analysis of the effects on Steller sea 

 lions. Based upon a reassessment of available fisher- 

 ies data, the Service's Northwest and Alaska Fisheries 

 Science Center recommended that the total allowable 

 catch of pollock for 1991 be set at 103,400 metric 

 tons. The Center also recommended that measures be 

 taken to protect the Steller sea lions' food supply, 

 including allocation of the quota by region, as well as 

 by quarter, and imposition of a trawling prohibition 

 around Steller sea lion rookeries. The Service also 

 solicited the views of the Recovery Team on the 

 proposed catch limit. The Recovery Team, consider- 

 ing "only what is best for conservation and recovery 

 of sea lions," recommended a total allowable catch of 

 zero, or one equal to or less than the 1990 level. 



Based on this and other advice and information, the 

 Service prepared an Environmental Assessment and 

 undertook consultations pursuant to section 7 of the 

 Endangered Species Act on a recommended 1991 

 pollock catch level of 103,400 metric tons. Based on 

 these further steps, the Service adopted the Northwest 

 and Alaska Fisheries Science Center's recommended 

 catch quota on 13 June 1991. Emergency regulations 

 were also issued on that date allocating the quota 

 among sub-areas, limiting the amount of unharvested 

 pollock that may be taken during subsequent quarters 

 in a fishing year, and prohibiting fishing within 10 

 nautical miles of 14 designated sea lion rookeries. 



On behalf of Greenpeace and other environmental 

 groups, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund filed a 

 lawsuit {Greenpeace v. Mosbacher) in the U.S. 

 District Court for the Western District of Washington 

 on 26 June I99I. Plaintiffs alleged, among other 

 things, that the Service had violated the Endangered 

 Species Act by improperly finding that the 1991 

 pollock catch level was not likely to jeopardize the 

 continued existence of the Steller sea lion and by 

 failing to use the best scientific and conmiercial 

 information available in determining the allocation. 

 Plaintiffs also contended that the Service's conclusion 

 that the 1991 pollock catch level would not have 

 significant environmental impacts and its decision not 

 to prepare an environmental impact statement on the 

 action violated the National Environmental Policy Act. 



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