Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



boundaries would not be available and, instead of 

 estimating the number of harbor porpoises caught in 

 different regions as in the past, assessments would be 

 limited to regional catch-per-set rates based on observ- 

 er data. 



Based on available information, the team concluded 

 that existing time-area closures were neither large 

 enough nor long enough to account for year-to-year 

 variability in harbor porpoise bycatch. It also con- 

 cluded that the Council's first-year goal had not been 

 met and that the existing closures were not sufficient 

 to achieve the Council's stated bycatch reduction goal. 

 Because it was too late to implement new closure 

 rules for September 1995, the team recommended 

 that, for the fall 1995 fishing season, the mid-coast 

 closure should be expanded to include Jeffreys Ledge 

 and it should cover the months October through 

 December 1995. Noting the promising results from 

 the 1994 acoustic deterrent study, the team also 

 discussed further testing of fishing with acoustic 

 devices in the closed area. No recommendations were 

 made in this regard, however, as the team understood 

 acoustic devices could not be manufactured in time for 

 the fall 1995 fishing season. 



Among other things, the team also noted that 1996 

 spring and summer closures should be expanded in 

 time and area to better cover the periods and areas of 

 harbor porpoise bycatch, that consideration should be 

 given to allowing controlled fishing within portions of 

 those areas to test the effectiveness of acoustic deter- 

 rents, and that a new closure south of Cape Cod 

 should be considered, given new observer data show- 

 ing that harbor porpoise bycatch also occurs in that 

 area. Because further analyses from the 1994 observ- 

 er program was expected before the 1996 fishing 

 seasons, the team deferred offering specific advice on 

 these actions. 



The team also noted that the Service's stock 

 assessment for the regional harbor porpoise stock had 

 established a potential biological removal level of 403 

 porpoises, to include both bycatch in Canada and off 

 U.S. mid- Atlantic states as well as New England. 

 The team therefore noted that the Council should 

 clarify its bycatch reduction goal to ensure its consis- 

 tency with new provisions of the Marine Mammal 



Protection Act that call for incidental-take levels to be 

 reduced below potential biological removal levels. 



Considering the advice of the harbor porpoise 

 review team and others, the Council proceeded with 

 expedited rulemaking to revise the harbor porpoise 

 take-reduction measures for the fall 1995 fishing 

 season in the mid-coast area. The Council recom- 

 mended that the mid-coast closure be redefined to 

 include most of Jeffreys Ledge. At the request of 

 fishermen, a portion of Jeffreys Ledge (i.e., Tillies 

 Bank) where porpoise bycatch rates have been low 

 was excluded from the recommended closed area. 

 Given the required procedural steps, the earliest the 

 new rules could be implemented was November, and 

 the Council therefore recommended a closure period 

 of 1 November through 31 December. It also asked 

 the Service to examine the possibility of further tests, 

 particularly in the Jeffreys Ledge area, of the effec- 

 tiveness of acoustic deterrents in reducing harbor 

 porpoise bycatch. 



On 30 October 1995 the Service published final 

 rules in the Federal Register adopting the 

 Council's recommendations. It also took steps to 

 allow gillnet fishing in the Jeffreys Ledge area, 

 provided nets were equipped with suitable acoustic 

 devices and an opportunity was afforded to place 

 observers aboard vessels. The Service's Federal 

 Register notice also noted that changes were under 

 consideration for other closed areas but that needed 

 changes to regulations for these areas would be 

 evaluated during the Council's next annual review of 

 the harbor porpoise bycatch reduction program. 



As noted above, the peak period of harbor porpoise 

 bycatch in the mid-coast area in 1994 occurred in 

 September and October. Because of the delay in 

 revising provisions for this closure, it was again 

 unclear how effective the measures would be in 

 reducing harbor porpoise bycatch in this key area in 

 1995. Preliminary information on further tests of 

 acoustic devices at Jeffreys Ledge late in 1995, 

 however, was again encouraging. A number of gillnet 

 fishermen were able to obtain acoustic devices and, by 

 pooling funds, they hired a technician to carry out 

 routine maintenance of their acoustic alarms. As of 

 the end of 1995 apparently no harbor porpoise had 



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