taken incidentally by commercial fishermen in gillnets, including nets set illegally to catch 
an endangered species of fish called the totoaba. Totoaba fillets are exported illegally for 
sale in United States markets, and this practice helps to sustain the fishery in which vaquitas 
are incidentally killed. 
In response to Marine Mammal Commission recommendations in 1991, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, in 1992, developed a technique to biochemically distinguish 
totoaba fillets from closely related species. Then, in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, the Service strengthened enforcement efforts to interdict illegal totoaba imports. 
Also in 1992, the President of Mexico established a special committee to determine what 
must be done to protect vaquitas and totoabas. In support of this effort, the Commission 
made funds available to assist Mexican scientists in developing a recovery plan for vaquitas. 
Gray Whales — Both the eastern and the western North Pacific stocks of gray 
whales were nearly eliminated by commercial whaling. The eastern, or California stock, 
migrates between breeding and calving lagoons in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and 
feeding grounds off Alaska and Siberia. A ban on commercial exploitation of gray whales 
was adopted in the 1940s and, in the 1970s, gray whales were listed as endangered under 
the Endangered Species Act. Since then, the eastern stock has increased to about 24,000 
animals, a number approaching, if not equaling, its pre-exploitation size. 
In 1991, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed removing the species from 
the endangered list. While the stock has increased, so too have human activities which 
threaten vital habitats. Since protection under the Endangered Species Act has helped 
minimize these threats, the Commission urged that the Service consider carefully the effects 
of reduced protection for gray whales. Late in 1992, the Service concluded that the 
protection afforded by being listed was no longer necessary, and decided to recommend 
removal of the California stock of gray whales from the List of Endangered and Threatened 
Species. The action marks the first time a marine mammal species or population listed as 
endangered or threatened has been determined to have recovered to a point where protection 
under the Endangered Species Act is no longer required. The Service will continue to 
monitor the stock to assess the effect of its action. The western stock, which has not 
recovered, will remain listed. 
Marine Mammal-Fisheries Interactions (Chapter IV) 
Marine mammals affect and are affected by many commercial fisheries. Among 
other interactions, marine mammals may be caught and killed in fishing gear, remove 
caught fish from nets and lines, damage fishing gear, and compete with fishermen for the 
same fish resources. The incidental take of marine mammals in commercial fisheries is 
currently authorized under a five-year interim exemption from the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act’s general permit and "small take" provisions. 
Vil 
