the permit with a maximum annual take of 2,942. The take of 

 other marine mammal species was not explicitly authorized. 



Shortly after the permit was issued, Alaska Native fishing 

 groups and environmental organizations filed lawsuits, claiming, 

 among other things, that the permit violated the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act because it applied only to Dall's porpoise when 

 there was a virtual certainty that other marine mammals would 

 also be taken. On 15 June 1987, the court issued a preliminary 

 injunction invalidating the permit. This ruling was upheld on 

 appeal and the Secretary of Commerce, on 9 September 1988, 

 petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the case. The 

 Supreme Court denied the petition, declining to review the Court 

 of Appeals decision, on 9 January 1989. On 21 March 1989, the 

 District Court entered an order granting summary judgment for the 

 environmental and Alaska Native plaintiffs, thus ending the case. 



The decision in the Dall's porpoise case (Kokechik 

 Fishermen ' s Association v. Secretary of Commerce ) cast serious 

 doubt on the ability of the Secretary to issue incidental take 

 permits for several other fisheries, including many domestic 

 fisheries. In response, in 1988, the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act was amended to provide a limited five-year exemption from the 

 incidental take prohibition for domestic fisheries other than the 

 tuna industry. In establishing this exemption, Congress made 

 clear that it did not apply to the Japanese salmon gillnet fleet. 

 Provisions of this amendment and its implementation during 1989 

 are discussed in Chapter II of this Report. 



High Seas Driftnet Fisheries 



The development of lightweight monofilament and multi- 

 filament fishing nets in recent decades has permitted the 

 development and expansion of several high seas driftnet 

 fisheries. These fisheries catch large numbers of marine 

 mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, and non-target as well as target 

 finfish. In addition, the synthetic materials used to construct 

 these nets are not readily degraded; thus, nets and net fragments 

 that are lost or discarded may continue to entangle marine 

 mammals and other marine organisms indefinitely. 



The three fisheries of particular concern to the United 

 States occur in the North Pacific Ocean. They are: the high 

 seas squid driftnet fishery operated by Japan, Korea, and Taiwan; 

 the high seas salmon driftnet fishery operated by Japan; and the 

 Japanese large-mesh driftnet fishery for billfish and tuna. 

 Together these fisheries involve approximately 1,000 vessels 

 ranging in size from 100 to 200 metric tons. Each driftnet 

 vessel sets from 15 kilometers (salmon fishery) to more than 50 

 kilometers (squid fishery) of gillnet daily. The nets consist of 

 sections, or "tans," 50 meters long and 8-9 meters deep with a 



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