MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



been caught in nets equipped with the alarms and 

 monitored by the Service's observer program. 



Harbor Porpoise Program Oversight 



As indicated above, the bycatch of harbor porpoise 

 in sink gillnets off New England is one of the most 

 urgent marine mammal incidental-take problems in the 

 United States. Actions in 1994, however, failed to 

 prevent an increase in harbor porpoise bycatch levels 

 and actions taken in 1995 proved to be problematic 

 and late. 



Based on information presented at the September 

 1995 harbor porpoise review team meeting discussed 

 above, the Service was unable to provide to the 

 Council timely or complete analyses of harbor por- 

 poise bycatch from its 1994 observer program. This 

 was due to a new computer data management system 

 and an ad hoc data editing procedure. In addition, 

 because of a change in the way fishing effort data was 

 collected in 1994, analyses of the spatial distribution 

 of bycatch, which had provided the basis for defining 

 area closure boundaries, are no longer possible. As 

 a result, even when bycatch analyses are completed, 

 they likely will provide a poor and perhaps question- 

 able basis for evaluating the effectiveness of individual 

 area closures or needed changes. 



Concerned that Service planning and responsive- 

 ness to management needs was not adequate, the 

 Commission wrote to the Service on 10 October 1995. 

 In its letter, the Commission asked to be advised as to 

 the schedule for completing analyses of 1994 bycatch 

 levels and the steps and schedule for ensuring more 

 timely analyses of bycatch data in 1995 and beyond. 

 Given the fundamental change in the way bycatch is 

 measured, the Commission also asked to be advised 

 how the Service plans to identify and evaluate appro- 

 priate changes in area closures to reduce harbor 

 porpoise bycatch without the fine-scale geographic 

 information on fishing effort and bycatch levels that 

 was previously available for particular fishing areas. 



The Commission also noted that timely action to 

 adjust the time-area closures under the four-year 

 harbor porpoise bycatch reduction program had not 

 been taken even though the third year of the program 

 would begin in a few months. In addition, the Com- 



mission noted that, while it was advised earlier in 

 1995 that the Service planned to establish a harbor 

 porpoise incidental-take reduction team in March, that 

 team had not yet been designated, and the Service also 

 had still not announced a decision on its January 1993 

 proposal to designate harbor porpoises as threatened 

 under the Endangered Species Act. The Commission 

 therefore also asked to be advised as to the current 

 schedule for addressing these issues and the steps the 

 Service would take to assure that future deadlines and 

 schedules would be met. 



Following its 10 October 1995 letter, the Commis- 

 sion gave further thought to how it might assist in 

 resolving data management and analysis problems 

 related to estimating total bycatch levels. Based on its 

 deliberations, it wrote to the Service on 31 October 

 offering the services of a member of its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, an expert statistician, as a consul- 

 tant to the Service to examine and provide advice on 

 related data management issues. By letter of 17 

 November 1995, the Service accepted the Commis- 

 sion's offer. 



As of the end of 1995, the Commission had not 

 received a response to its 10 October letter, but it 

 expected that its Committee member would meet with 

 Service staff responsible for harbor porpoise bycatch 

 analyses early in 1995. As noted above, the Service 

 also invited the Commission on 22 November 1995 to 

 participate on a harbor porpoise incidental-take 

 reduction team scheduled to meet early in 1996 to 

 develop a plan for reducing harbor porpoise inciden- 

 tal-take levels. 



Endangered Species Act Status Review 



In September 1991 the Sierra Club Legal Defense 

 Fund petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 to list the Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise population 

 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The 

 petition was submitted in light of the large harbor 

 porpoise bycatch in the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of 

 Fundy, the absence at that time of any management 

 action to reduce the take, and the possible impact of 

 the bycatch on the regional harbor porpoise stock. As 

 discussed in previous annual reports, the Service 

 requested public comments on the action and on 7 



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