MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1991 



Protection Act for marine mammal populations 

 known or reasonably believed to be at their opti- 

 mum sustainable population levels; 



• allow the incidental take of marine mammals listed 

 as endangered or threatened under the Endangered 

 Species Act or designated as depleted under the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act when: (1) a 

 recovery plan or conservation plan, including an 

 implementation plan, has been developed, adopted, 

 and put in place; (2) the authorized level of take, 

 by itself and in combination with other sources of 

 mortality, is not likely to cause or contribute to a 

 further population decline or cause more than a 10- 

 percent increase in the estimated time it will take 

 for the affected species or population to recover to 

 its maximum net productivity level; (3) ongoing 

 and planned monitoring and enforcement programs 

 are adequate to ensure that the authorized levels of 

 take are not exceeded and to detect any unforeseen 

 effects on the size or productivity of the affected 

 species or population; and (4) there is good reason 

 to believe that the incidental take has been or will 

 be reduced to as near zero as practicable; 



• authorize, on an experimental basis, for periods of 

 three to five years, the incidental take from species 

 and population stocks whose status is uncertain 

 when: (1) the authorized level of incidental take 

 clearly would have a negligible effect on popula- 

 tion size and productivity; and (2) ongoing or 

 planned assessment, monitoring, and enforcement 

 programs are adequate to ensure that the authorized 

 level of take will not be exceeded, the status of the 

 affected species or population stock will be deter- 

 mined with reasonable certainty within three to five 

 years, and possible ways to avoid or reduce the 

 level of incidental take will be identified and 

 implemented; 



• streamline and continue the vessel registration and 

 reporting programs initiated under the 1988 Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act amendments; 



• grant explicit authority to the Secretary of Com- 

 merce to place observers aboard any commercial 

 fishing vessel operating in U.S. waters; and 



• provide necessary funding or authorize the collec- 

 tion of user fees sufficient for observer and other 

 marine mammal monitoring programs. | 



The Commission noted that one assumption behind 

 the establishment of the interim exemption was that, 

 at the end of the five-year period, sufficient informa- 

 tion would be available on the status of marine 

 mammal stocks taken incidental to commercial fisher- 

 ies and the impact of fisheries on those stocks to 

 enable the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior 

 to authorize specific levels of take based upon sound 

 principles of wildlife management. In developing its 

 reconunended guidelines, the Commission accepted 

 that assumption. However, based on comments 

 received on the draft guidelines, the Commission 

 indicated that it was unlikely that, unless additional 

 population assessments were undertaken by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the information 

 needed to make required status determinations for 

 many marine mammal stocks would be available by 

 1993. To address this problem, the Commission, in 

 the guidelines, recommended that the Service hold a 

 workshop or series of workshops by early 1991 to 

 (1) review available information on the status of 

 marine mammal stocks and the effects of fisheries and 

 other activities on those stocks; (2) identify what 

 additional information, if any, will be needed to make 

 status-of-stocks and other determinations required to 

 authorize the incidental take of marine mammals by 

 fisheries in U.S. waters after 1 October 1993; and (3) 

 describe the research programs necessary to obtain 

 and analyze tiiat information. 



\ 

 The recommended guidelines also noted that 



marine mammals may be affected indirectly, as well 

 as directly, by commercial fisheries. To minimize 

 adverse indirect effects, the Commission recommend- 

 ed that the Service promulgate regulations under the 

 Fishery Conservation and Management Act requiring 

 Fishery Management Councils to assess and take into 

 account the food requirements (and uncertainties 

 related thereto) of marine manraials and other non- 

 target species when calculating the optimal yield of 

 fishery resources. Towards this end, the Commission 

 recommended that the Service organize and hold a 

 workshop or series of workshops in 1991 or 1992 to 

 identify and evaluate possible procedures for assessing 

 interactions and ensuring that fisheries do not directly 

 or indirectly disadvantage marine mammal popula- 



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