vessel provided by the Japanese. After reviewing the 

 application, the Commission transmitted its comments to 

 the Service by letter of 22 March 1982, recommending that 

 the application be approved provided that certain steps 

 be taken to ensure that the method of taking is humane 

 and that a control sample be collected and analyzed so as 

 to develop a correction factor to treat bias in the 

 sample before additional animals are collected. In 

 addition to these conditions, the Commission requested 

 information about the research design and rationale of 

 the proposed activities in the context of the overall 

 U.S. -Japan cooperative research program on Dall's porpoise, 

 The Service issued the permit on 13 May 1982 and responded 

 to the Commission by letters of 13 and 17 May 1982. 

 In August 1982, in response to expressions of opposition 

 and concern from several quarters, the Service cancelled 

 the research activities which were about to commence. No 

 alternative research plan had been developed for use of 

 the Japanese dedicated vessel and it therefore was not 

 utilized during 1982. 



The 1982 Fishing Season 



Preliminary analyses of data obtained by U.S. observers 

 aboard Japanese salmon fishing vessels indicate that 4,187 

 Dall's porpoise were incidentally taken within the U.S. 

 Fisheries Conservation Zone and a total of 5,903 were 

 taken within and outside the Zone by the Japanese 

 mothership fishery in 1982. The kill per set rate was 

 0.63 in 1982. While the 4,187 figure is below the 5,500 

 quota, the incidental take levels and rate have increased 

 substantially from an estimated 2,039 within the Zone, 

 2,892 within and outside the Zone, and 0.32 porpoise per 

 set in 1981. 



Congressional Action 



In apparent recognition of the difficulties associated 

 with efforts to resolve the Dall's porpoise problem, the 

 Congress included provisions relating to Dall's porpoise 

 in H.R. 3942, the Fisheries Amendments of 1982. The House 

 of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill on 

 10 December 1982 and the President signed the enrolled bill 

 into law on 29 December 1982. Section 201 of the Fisheries 

 Amendments of 1982 amends the North Pacific Fisheries Act by 

 adding certain provisions specifically dealing with the 

 Dall's porpoise problem. The amendments require, among other 

 things, that all Japanese fishing vessel adopt over the 



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