CHAPTER V 



INCIDENTAL TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS IN THE COURSE 

 OF COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act directs the Secretaries 

 of Commerce and the Interior, in consultation with the 

 Commission, to develop regulations governing the incidental 

 taking of marine mammals by persons subject to the 

 jurisdiction of the United States and to develop effective 

 international arrangements, through the Secretary of State, 

 for the purpose of reducing the incidental taking of marine 

 mammals to insignificant levels approaching a zero mortality 

 and serious injury rate. 



Although the incidental taking of marine mammals occurs 

 in the course of several fisheries and involves several 

 different species of marine mammals, the "tuna-porpoise" 

 issue involving the incidental mortality and serious injury 

 of porpoises entrapped in the purse seine nets used by 

 commercial yellowfin tuna fishermen has, over the past 

 years, been the subject of the most intense concern, 

 attention, and controversy. Of more recent concern has been 

 the incidental taking of Ball's porpoise in the course of 

 the Japanese salmon gill net fishery in the North Pacific 

 Ocean, a portion of which occurs within the United States' 

 200-mile Fishery Conservation Zone. The Commission's 

 activities relating to both of these issues are discussed 

 below. 



The Tuna-Porpoise Issue 



A detailed discussion of the Commission's past activities 

 and a historical summary of efforts to resolve the problem 

 are presented in the Commission's previous Annual Reports. 

 During 1982, the Commission continued to devote attention to 

 this issue and consulted with the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service and others in a continuing effort to contribute to 

 the resolution of the tuna-porpoise issue. The pace of 

 progress toward that goal which had characterized recent 

 years, however, was slowed during 1982 as a result of 

 several factors discussed below. 



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