MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
agreements will not be subject to the tuna embargo 
that may otherwise be applicable. The Act requires 
U.S. tuna fishermen to cease the practice of setting on 
dolphins effective 1 March 1994 if any major tuna 
fishing nation conumits to the moratorium on marine 
mammals sets, or effective 31 December 1999 if no 
such commitment is made. The Act also reduces the 
allowable quota of animals that may be taken by U.S. 
fishermen in the tuna fishery to 1,000 in 1992 and 
800 during the period from 1 January 1993 to 28 
February 1994. In addition, after 1 June 1994 it will 
be illegal to purchase or sell any tuna or tuna product 
in the United States that is not “dolphin safe.” 
Public Law 102-582, the High Seas Driftnet 
Fisheries Enforcement Act, was enacted on 2 Novem- 
ber 1992. As discussed in Chapter V, the Act focuses 
on strengthening U.S. efforts to implement the United 
Nations moratorium on high seas driftnet fishing. The 
Act also amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
by defining “intermediary nations” that may be 
subject to secondary tuna embargoes. 
The Oceans Act of 1992 was enacted as Public 
Law 102-587 on 4 November 1992. Title III of the 
Oceans Act, the Marine Mammal Health and Strand- 
ing Response Act, amends the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act by adding a new Title III.'| These 
amendments, which include the establishment of a 
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 
Program and formalization of the National Marine 
Mammal Tissue Bank, are discussed in Chapter VI. 
While it did not amend the Marine Mammal Pro- 
tection Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992, Public Law 
102-567, also contains provisions relating to marine 
mammals. Section 302 of the Act specifies that, in 
each of Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, $1 million is to 
be appropriated for the purpose of developing dol- 
phin-safe methods of locating and catching yellowfin 
tuna. This provision is discussed in Chapter IV. 
Section 306 of the Act directs the Secretary of Com- 
merce to conduct a study of the effects of feeding wild 
dolphins. This provision is discussed in Chapter XI. 
Reauthorization of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act and Related Statutes 
As noted above, the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act was reauthorized in 1988 for a five-year period. 
As such, the Act will be up for reauthorization in 
1993, and hearings are expected in the spring. 
During the reauthorization process, much attention 
is likely to be focused on a new regime to govern the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial 
fishing operations. The interim exemption that cur- 
rently governs such taking expires on 1 October 1993. 
Unless Congressional action is taken before then, 
marine mammal-fisheries interactions will once again 
be governed by the general permit and small-take 
provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. As 
was the case in 1988 when the interim exemption was 
enacted, there is concern that some fisheries may be 
unable to obtain authority to take marine mammals 
under those provisions. As noted above and discussed 
in Chapter IV, on 4 December 1992 the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, submitted to Congress its 
recommendation for a new incidental taking regime. 
It is expected that the Service’s proposal will be the 
starting point for considering this issue during the 
reauthorization process. 
Reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act 
(originally scheduled for hearings in 1992) and the 
Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
is expected to be considered by Congress during the 
1993 legislative session. 
1 Asenacted, both the International Dolphin Conservation 
Act of 1992 and the Oceans Act of 1992 added a new 
Title III to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The 
first Title III, the Global Moratorium to Prohibit Certain 
Tuna Harvesting Practices, has been codified at 16 
U.S.C. §§ 1411-1418. The second Title III, Marine 
Mammal Health and Stranding Response, has been 
codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 1421-1421h. Technical 
amendments are expected in the 1993 reauthorization to 
correct this duplication. 
