Chapter IV — Marine Mammal-Fisheries Interactions 



Fisheries Service jurisdiction that occur in Alaska, 

 none has an estimated incidental fisheries mortality 

 that exceeds its calculated potential biological removal 

 level. 



In addition to those stocks determined to be strate- 

 gic because of take by commercial fisheries, 21 

 stocks, primarily large whales, are also considered 

 strategic stocks by virtue of being listed as endangered 

 or threatened under the Endangered Species Act or 

 designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act. The only pinniped stocks determined 

 to be strategic are the endangered Hawaiian monk 

 seal, two Alaskan stocks of Steller sea lions and the 

 Guadalupe fur seal, which are listed as threatened, 

 and the Alaskan stock of northern fur seals, which is 

 depleted. 



Six other stocks of cetaceans were designated by 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service as strategic 

 stocks even though the estimated annual incidental 

 mortality in fisheries does not exceed potential biolog- 

 ical removal levels. The stocks of dwarf sperm whale 

 and pygmy sperm whale that occur in the western 

 North Atlantic and in the northern Gulf of Mexico 

 were designated as strategic because difficulty distin- 

 guishing between the two species prevented the 

 Service from calculating separate potential biological 

 removal levels for the stocks and because of suspected 

 mortality from ingesting plastic bags. The Service 

 also designated 33 localized stocks of bottlenose 

 dolphin that inhabit bays, sounds, and estuaries in the 

 Gulf of Mexico as strategic after concluding that the 

 take of a single animal in most of those areas would 

 exceed the stock's potential biological removal level. 

 The Gulf of Mexico stock of short-finned pilot whale 

 was also determined to be a strategic stock because of 

 its low population size and a relatively high mortality 

 level observed in the longline fishery for swordfish, 

 tuna, and billfish compared to the estimated potential 

 biological removal level. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service did not 

 calculate a potential biological removal level or make 

 a strategic stock determination for Alaska marine 

 mammals that met three criteria: (1) the stock is not 

 listed as threatened, endangered, or depleted, (2) the 

 stock is subject to taking by Alaska Natives for 

 subsistence purposes but fisheries-related mortality is 



absent or relatively minor, and (3) the estimated 

 human-caused mortality may not be sustainable on a 

 long-term basis. The Service identified three stocks 

 meeting these criteria — harbor seals in the Gulf of 

 Alaska and the Cook Inlet and Norton Sound stocks of 

 beluga whales. The Service believes that developing 

 co-management agreements with Alaska Natives is the 

 appropriate mechanism to address such removals from 

 these stocks and it intends to calculate potential 

 biological removal levels and make status determina- 

 tions in the course of developing those agreements. 



On 4 October 1995 the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 published assessments for the eight stocks of marine 

 mammals under its jurisdiction. Three stocks, the 

 Florida and Antillean stocks of the endangered West 

 Indian manatee and the threatened California stock of 

 sea otter, were determined to be strategic stocks. 



The assessments for strategic stocks are to be 

 reviewed at least annually. For other stocks, assess- 

 ments must be reviewed at least once every three 

 years. As a first step in the review, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service plans to re-examine the its 

 guidelines for preparing the initial stock assessments. 

 Among other things, the Service intends to look at the 

 guidelines pertaining to migratory stocks and the 

 appropriateness of recovery factors used for certain 

 stocks. 



The New Incidental-Take Regime 



Section 118 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 establishes the new regime governing the take of 

 marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing 

 operations. Replacing the interim exemption that had 

 regulated fisheries-related incidental taking since 

 1988, the new regime became effective on 1 Septem- 

 ber 1995. Responsibility for the new regime rests 

 with the Secretary of Commerce. The amendments 

 require, however, that the Secretary consult with the 

 Secretary of the Interior before taking any action that 

 affects or relates to marine mammal stocks under 

 jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior — i.e., 

 manatees, dugongs, sea otters, polar bears, and 

 walruses. 



Requirements of the Act — The new fisheries 

 regime shares certain elements with the interim 



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