Implementation of 1981 Amendments to the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act 



Marine mammals and the ecosystems of which they are a 

 part clearly can be affected by oil spills resulting from 

 exploration and exploitation of offshore oil and gas resources. 

 They may also be affected by other aspects of offshore oil 

 and gas-related activities, including noise. Studies conducted 

 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 19 79, for 

 example, suggest that ringed seals react to geophysical 

 seismic activities used in oil and gas exploration by either 

 abandoning or avoiding such areas of activity. 



Under terms of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, such 

 a response is defined as a "taking." In 1981, the Act was 

 amended to provide, among other things, for authorizing the 

 incidental take of marine mammals in association with activities 

 in addition to commercial fishing and including offshore oil 

 and gas exploration and development. These amendments are 

 discussed in Chapter III of the Commission's Annual Report 

 for Calendar Year 1981. Under the new Section 101(a)(5) of 

 the Act, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior are 

 directed to authorize such incidental take if it is determined 

 that the total of such taking will have a negligible impact 

 on the affected population of marine mammals, on its habitat, 

 and on the availability of the population for subsistence 

 uses in Alaska. The Secretaries must also prescribe regulations 

 setting forth permissible methods of taking to minimize the 

 effects on the population and its habitat and set forth 

 requirements for monitoring and reporting on the incidental 

 taking. 



As a preliminary step toward implementing the new 

 provisions of Section 101(a) (5) of the Act, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, on 3 March 1982, published proposed 

 regulations in the Federal Register . This proposal consisted 

 of two parts: (1) a general scheme setting out the criteria 

 and procedures for applications, review, and issuance of 

 authorizations for applicable incidental taking; and (2) 

 proposed regulations to govern the incidental taking of 

 ringed seals in the course of seismic exploration activities 

 in the Beaufort Sea. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, reviewed the proposed regulations and 

 recommended that they be adopted, with certain modifications 

 and conditions. The National Marine Fisheries Service generally 

 concurred with the Commission's recommendation and published 



- 75 - 



