Chapter IV 



MARINE MAMMAL-FISHERIES INTERACTIONS 



Marine mammals may be disturbed, harassed, 

 injured, or killed either accidentally or deliberately 

 during fishing operations. They also may take or 

 damage bait and fish caught on lines, in traps, and in 

 nets, damage or destroy fishing gear, or injure fisher- 

 men trying to remove them from fishing gear. 

 Marine mammals also compete with fishermen for the 

 same fish and shellfish resources. In 1994 the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act was amended to establish a 

 new regime to govern fisheries-related incidental take. 

 As in the past, however, the incidental take of dol- 

 phins in the eastern tropical Pacific tuna fishery 

 continues to be regulated under separate provisions of 

 the Act. Amendments related to the tuna fishery were 

 also considered by Congress in 1995. 



Actions taken to implement the new incidental-take 

 regime and to minimize the take of dolphins in the 

 eastern tropical Pacific tuna fishery are discussed 

 below. Also discussed are efforts to assess the causes 

 of recent changes in the structure of the Bering Sea, 

 the Gulf of Alaska, and the Gulf of Maine ecosys- 

 tems. This chapter also provides information on the 

 establishment of pinniped-fishery interaction task 

 forces, as required under the 1994 amendments. 

 Fishery interactions affecting Hawaiian monk seals, 

 Steller sea lions, harbor seals in Alaska, harbor 

 porpoises, vaquitas, right whales, and sea otters are 

 discussed in Chapter III. 



Implementation of the 



New Incidental-Take Regime 



for Commercial Fisheries 



In 1994 two new sections were added to the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act to manage the inci- 

 dental take of marine mammals in commercial fishing 

 operations. New section 117 requires the preparation 

 of stock assessments for all marine mammal stocks in 



U.S. waters. The purpose of the assessments is to 

 provide a scientific basis for implementing marine 

 mammals take- reduction measures. New section 118 

 sets forth requirements for a new incidental-take 

 regime that replaced the interim exemption provisions 

 previously in effect. Specific provisions of both 

 sections and efforts to date to implement them are 

 discussed below. (A more complete summary of the 

 incidental-take provisions and other Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act amendments enacted in 1994 can be 

 found in Appendix D of the annual report for 1994.) 



Stock Assessments 



Section 1 17 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 as amended in 1994 requires the Secretaries of Com- 

 merce and the Interior to establish three regional 

 scientific review groups to help prepare assessments 

 for each marine mammal stock in U.S. waters. These 

 groups were established in 1994 for Alaska, the 

 Pacific Coast, including Hawaii, and the Atlantic 

 Coast, including the Gulf of Mexico. They included 

 experts in marine mammal biology, commercial 

 fishing technology and practices, and Alaska Native 

 subsistence needs. Among other things, the regional 

 groups were to advise the Secretaries on (1) the 

 estimated size, status, and trends of marine mammal 

 stocks, (2) uncertainties and research needs regarding 

 stock separation, abundance, and trends; (3) research 

 on modifications in fishing gear and practices to 

 reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury of 

 marine mammals, and (4) potential impacts of habitat 

 destruction on marine mammals and, for strategic 

 stocks, conservation measures to reduce such impacts. 



By 1 August 1994 the Secretary of Commerce and 

 the Secretary of the Interior, depending on the marine 

 mammal species, were to prepare a draft stock assess- 

 ment for each stock following consultation with the 

 regional review groups. The draft stock assessments 

 were to be made available for a 90-day public com- 



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