MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
Table 10. Observer coverage of foreign tuna fleets by Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
observers , 1987-1992' 
1987 1988 1989 
Ecuador 9.5 35.9 34.6 
Mexico 26.8 38.4 35.4 
Panama 12.3 30.0 43.5 
Vanuatu 31.0 30.0 35.4 
Venezuela 21.8 SL a2 
1990 1991 1992 
48.3 100.0 100.0 
37.6 35:2 36.6 
47.6 100.0 100.0 
52.2 94.4 98.3 
371 47.9 100.0 
1 Data provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. 
2 Only trips with Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission observers are counted in this figure. Observers were placed on Mexican 
vessels for all other trips under Mexico’s nation program. 
On 9 January 1992 the Service published a notice 
in the Federal Register finding that Ecuador and 
Panama had met the comparability requirements for 
fishing year 1991. These countries had adopted 
legislation prohibiting their vessels from intentionally 
setting on marine mammals and had achieved 100 
percent observer coverage during 1991. The finding 
for Panama was revoked on 22 December 1992 after 
it was learned that a Panamanian vessel intentional set 
on dolphins during two successive trips within a 180 
day period. In addition, Panama enacted a decree on 
20 October 1992 allowing its vessels to fish for tuna 
by setting on dolphins in accordance with dolphin 
mortality limits adopted in April 1992 at a special 
meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Com- 
mission. Inasmuch as its fleet made dolphin sets in 
1992 and experienced a relatively high incidental 
mortality rate, it is unlikely that Panama’s program 
will be found comparable in 1993. 
A comparability finding for Vanuatu was published 
on 23 January 1992. During fishing year 1991, the 
Vanuatu fleet had achieved a mortality rate that was 
0.92 times that for the U.S. fleet. During calendar 
year 1991, eastern spinner dolphins accounted for 
7.46 percent of Vanuatu’s incidental dolphin mortality 
and coastal spotted dolphins accounted for 0.55 
percent. Mexico and Venezuela did not meet the 
comparability requirements and embargoes against 
tuna from these countries imposed in 1991 remained 
in effect during 1992. 
104 
By Federal Register notice of 28 April 1992 the 
Service issued a finding for Colombia. The Service 
determined that Colombia had enacted legislation to 
establish a tuna-dolphin program similar to the U.S. 
program. In addition, Colombia had submitted data 
from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
observer program indicating that its fleet had no 
observed dolphin mortalities during the 1991 fishing 
year. However, observer coverage of the Colombian 
fleet in 1991 was only 40 percent. Because Colombia 
had failed to satisfy the 75 percent observer coverage 
requirement in effect for 1991, yellowfin tuna and 
tuna products from Colombia were embargoed. 
Intermediary Nations — The 1988 amendments 
also restricted tuna imports from third-party nations 
seeking to ship yellowfin tuna to the United States. 
An intermediary nation must certify and provide 
reasonable proof that it has acted to prohibit the 
importation of tuna from any country banned from 
directly exporting tuna to the United States. Interme- 
diary nations have 60 days following the imposition of 
a U.S. import ban to implement a similar prohibition 
on tuna imports from the embargoed harvesting 
nation. Failure to adopt a parallel import ban within 
six months requires certification of the intermediary 
nation under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s 
Protective Act and may result in restrictions on 
imports of some or all fish products from that nation. 
