MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1995 



As noted earlier, the 1994 amendments to the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act called on the Secre- 

 tary of Commerce to establish a task force to assess 

 possible means for minimizing the impacts of the 

 pinniped populations on the salmon aquaculture 

 industry in the Gulf of Maine. The amendments 

 directed the Secretary to report to Congress no later 

 than 30 April 1996 describing recommended alterna- 

 tives for mitigating damaging interactions. 



Following consultations with the Commission and 

 others, the National Marine Fisheries Service in 

 January 1995 established a seven-member task force 

 made up of scientists and representatives of the 

 aquaculture industry and the environmental communi- 

 ty. The task force met three times in 1995, visited 

 representative aquaculture sites, and met with aquacul- 

 ture operators in the region. The task force report is 

 expected to be completed and made available for 

 public comment early in 1996. 



The growing populations of harbor and gray seals 

 in the Gulf of Maine also could affect and be affected 

 by other fisheries in the area. As noted in the previ- 

 ous annual report, the Commission wrote to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service on 19 December 

 1994 to call attention to this possibility. The Com- 

 mission pointed out the many uncertainties concerning 

 the diets, feeding habits, and foraging ranges of 

 harbor seals and gray seals and uncertainties as to 

 how pinniped predation may affect the recovery and 

 maintenance of important finfish stocks in the New 

 England area. As a first step toward anticipating 

 possible pinniped-fishery conflicts and ensuring that 

 they are addressed in ecologically and economically 

 sound ways, the Commission recommended that the 

 Service assess available information to determine (1) 

 the types of conflicts likely to arise from the continu- 

 ing growth of gray seal and harbor seal populations in 

 the region, (2) when and where such conflicts are apt 

 to arise, (3) additional information needed to make 

 sound judgments concerning probable cause-effect 

 relationships, (4) the research and monitoring pro- 

 grams that would be required to obtain the needed 

 information, and (5) how potential conflicts might best 

 be avoided. 



The Service responded by letter of 13 February 

 1995, noting that the 1994 Marine Mammal Protection 



Act amendments had directed the Service to convene 

 workshops or task forces to examine possible conflicts 

 on both coasts and to report the findings to Congress. 

 It indicated that the Service had initiated the congres- 

 sionally mandated assessments and that it believed 

 these assessments would address the Commission's 

 concerns. 



On a related matter, the New England Aquarium 

 convened a forum on 14-15 June 1995 to discuss 

 issues concerning interactions between commercial 

 fisheries and the growing pinniped populations in the 

 Gulf of Maine. Participants included representatives 

 of the Commission, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, other Federal agencies, the academic commu- 

 nity, the fishing industry, and environmental groups. 

 The forum proceedings, published by the New Eng- 

 land Aquarium in September 1995, provide a thor- 

 ough assessment of the various issues and how they 

 might be approached. 



[The forum proceedings, titled "Pinniped Populations 

 in [the] Gulf of Maine: Status, Issues, and Manage- 

 ment, " can be obtained from the New England Aquar- 

 ium, Central Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts 02110]. 



Investigation of Possible Pinniped Impacts on 

 Endangered West Coast Salmonid Stocks 



The 1994 Marine Mammal Protection Act amend- 

 ments directed the Secretary of Commerce to investi- 

 gate whether California sea lions and Pacific harbor 

 seals are having significant negative impacts on the 

 recovery of salmonid stocks that are listed or are 

 candidates for listing under the Endangered Species 

 Act. In addition, the Secretary is to determine 

 whether these pinnipeds are having broad impacts on 

 the coastal ecosystems of Washington, Oregon, and 

 California. A report on the results of the investigation 

 was to be completed by 1 October 1995. 



As a first step in the required investigation, the 

 Service constituted a working group to compile and 

 evaluate existing data. At the end of 1995 it was the 

 Commission's understanding that the working group 

 had prepared a draft report, but that the report would 

 not be completed until sometime early in 1996. 



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