son of porpoise kill rates between U.S. and foreign fleets begin 

 in 1988 and that full comparability be required in 1989; (d) mor- 

 tality data be provided by foreign governments on a stock-by- 

 stock basis; and (e) a showing be made that tuna were caught when 

 a positive finding of comparability was in effect for the export- 

 ing nation before tuna may be imported into the United States 

 from that nation. 



On 18 March 1988, the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 published an interim final rule implementing the 1984 amend- 

 ments. The interim final rule did not address several points 

 raised in the Commission's 29 December 1987 letter and, on 17 May 

 1988, the Commission repeated the above recommendations. 



The Service met with interested parties, including repre- 

 sentatives of the Commission, on 1 June 1988 to discuss the 

 comments received on the interim final rule. The Service planned 

 to respond to the public comments on the interim rule and publish 

 a "permanent" final rule before the end of 1988. However, during 

 reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, amendments 

 were made to the importation provisions further delaying promul- 

 gation of "permanent" final regulations. Among other things, the 

 amendments require that, by the end of the 1989 fishing season, 

 each foreign fleet must have achieved a porpoise mortality rate 

 that is not more than twice that of the U.S. fleet and, by the 

 end of the 1990 season, the foreign nation's mortality rate must 

 be no more than 1.2 5 times that of the U.S. fleet. 



In addition, the amendments require that, beginning in 1990, 

 comparable foreign programs must include all prohibitions on 

 encircling pure schools of marine mammals, conducting sundown 

 sets, and other activities that are applicable to U.S. tuna 

 fishermen. Although no stock-specific numerical quotas were 

 imposed on foreign nations exporting tuna to the United States, 

 the amendments require that no more than 15 percent of their 

 total annual mortality be eastern spinner dolphins and no more 

 than 2 percent be coastal spotted dolphins. To be found com- 

 parable to the U.S. program, the take by a foreign nation must be 

 monitored by the observer program of the Inter-American Tropical 

 Tuna Commission or an equivalent international program in which 

 the United States participates. In addition, observer coverage 

 for the foreign fleet must be equal to that for the U.S. fleet 

 unless the National Marine Fisheries Service determines that an 

 alternative observer program will provide sufficiently reliable 

 documentary evidence of the nation's incidental take rate. 



To implement the 1988 amendments, the Service published 

 revised interim final regulations governing the importation of 

 tuna taken in association with marine mammals on 7 March 1989. 

 The regulations incorporated the statutorily imposed kill rate 

 standards of two times the U.S. rate for 1989 and 1.25 times the 

 U.S. rate for 1990 and subsequent years. The regulations also 



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