evidence that it has adopted a program to regulate the incidental 

 take of marine mammals that is comparable to that of the U.S. and 

 that the average rate of incidental take by its fleet is 

 comparable to that of the U.S. fleet. Failure to meet these 

 requirements would result in a ban on the import of tuna and tuna 

 products from the nation involved. 



On 21 July 1984, the Commission wrote to the Service noting 

 that the existing foreign nation reporting and certification 

 standards were not as stringent as those required by the 1984 

 amendments. By early 1986, no regulations had been proposed and 

 the Commission again wrote to the Service on 22 May 1986, 

 pointing out the need for immediate action. 



On 13 August 1986, the Service published proposed regu- 

 lations to implement the foreign nation reporting and certifi- 

 cation requirements of the 1984 amendments. The proposed 

 regulations would have required foreign nations to demonstrate 

 that their regulatory program is comparable to that of the United 

 States and that reliable data indicate a level of take in their 

 tuna fleet that is comparable to that of the U.S. fleet. The 

 proposed regulations stated that a comparable level of take would 

 be one that is not more than 50 percent higher than the U.S. 

 level. For each nation that is certified as satisfying U.S. 

 standards, an annual review would be conducted to assess whether 

 the program remains in compliance. 



By letter of 14 November 1986, the Commission advised the 

 Service that it supported the proposed regulations subject to 

 certain modifications. In its letter, the Commission recommended 

 that the regulations specify that the only method of monitoring 

 take levels that would be in compliance with U.S. standards is 

 one that is based on observer data. The Commission also 

 expressed its view that a level of take that is 50 percent higher 

 than that of the U.S. is unacceptably high and does not satisfy 

 the requirements of the 1984 amendments that the level of take be 

 comparable to that of the U.S. fleet. 



Publication of the rule was delayed, in part, to accommodate 

 consultations between the Service and the Inter-American Tropical 

 Tuna Commission on developing a system to provide reliable data 

 with which to compare U.S. and foreign fleet performance. 



During 1987, the Commission worked closely with the Service 

 to prepare final regulations. By letter of 29 December 1987, the 

 Commission recommended that regulations be adopted, with certain 

 modifications. Among the modifications recommended by the 

 Commission were that: (a) the comparability of foreign and 

 domestic kill rates reflect the variability found in the U.S. 

 kill rate and the number of vessels in the foreign fleet; (b) the 

 Service fully explain why the standards it eventually adopts for 

 foreign nations are considered to be comparable; (c) the compari- 



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