of impacts or risks associated with various harvest levels 

 or strategies is a scientific matter, but the determination 

 of what risk levels are acceptable is a policy matter. The 

 science and policy aspects of risk assessment need to be 

 addressed separately. 



Some fishery managers, anong others, perceive the FCMA 

 and MMPA to be incompatible, i.e., suspect that the objectives 

 of both Acts cannot be attained simultaneously. However, 

 this incompatibility appears to be more perceptual than real, 

 and probably results from an overly narrow interpretation 

 of the concept of optimum yield. The NMFS operational def- 

 inition of optimum sustainable population appears to be 

 that which will sustain optimum yield, as defined by the 

 FCMA to take account of relevant biological, ecological, eco- 

 nomic and social factors. The maintenance of optimum sus- 

 tainable populations of marine mammals and endangered species 

 is a reasonable ecological consideration in the selection of 

 optimum yield levels. 



Levels of risk of adverse impact on marine ecosystems 

 or fishery resources and the acceptability of those risks 

 have not been considered explicitly in fishery management 

 plans. Perceptions of responsibility for assessing risks 

 associated with fish harvesting and for providing documenting 

 data differ. These differences need to be discussed and 

 resolved . 



Given that the objectives of the FCMA, the MMPA and 

 the ESA are not mutually exclusive, and that available data, 

 theory and models are sufficient to develop fishery manage- 

 ment plans which are consistent with the intents and pro- 

 visions of the three Acts , a multidisciplinary group of sci- 

 entists and managers should be convened to discuss ecosys- 

 tem level fishery management. If possible, the group should 

 establish procedures for developing fishery management plans 

 based upon consideration of impacts on nontarget as well as 

 target species rather than traditional single species MSY 

 concepts . 



VI. ^COMMENDATIONS 



The FCMA, the MMPA and the ESA along with other rele- 

 vant environmental legislation should be reviewed from 

 both scientific and policy perspectives. The scientific 

 review should address ecosystem level management considera- 

 tions feasible with existing data and theory, as well as 



49 . 



