MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
reports published in 1992, the Service believes that 
the northern offshore stock of spotted dolphins should 
be reclassified as the northeastern stock. In light of 
the new information on stock structure and the geo- 
graphical distribution of those stocks, the Service 
reopened the comment period on the proposed deple- 
tion designation until 4 January 1993. 
As of the end of 1992 the Service had yet to issue 
a final rule regarding the designation of the eastern 
spinner dolphin as depleted. Also, the Service had 
not provided the Commission with an assessment of 
whether depletion designations for other stocks of 
dolphins affected by the eastern tropical Pacific tuna 
fishery may be warranted. 
The National Marine Fisheries Service on 19 
October 1992 published a determination that listing 
the eastern spinner dolphin under the Endangered 
Species Act as threatened was not warranted. The 
Service’s determination was based primarily on 
population persistence analyses it had done. Given 
the current level of taking incidental to the tuna 
fishery, the Service determined that the population 
will remain viable in perpetuity. 
No finding with respect to the petition to list the 
northern offshore spotted dolphin as threatened had 
been issued as of the end of 1992. 
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission is 
an international body established in 1949 to study the 
tuna resources of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean 
and make recommendations for the management and 
conservation of those resources. As the foreign share 
of the purse seine fishery grew, and the associated 
marine mammal mortality increased, the role of the 
Tuna Commission was expanded. Beginning in 1977 
the Tuna Commission was charged with monitoring 
incidental mortality of dolphins throughout the fish- 
ery, assessing the impact of that mortality on dolphin 
stocks, and introducing measures to reduce the level 
of take to the maximum extent possible. 
At a special meeting of the Inter-American Tropi- 
cal Tuna Commission held in September 1990, partici- 
pants from all nations with a significant interest in the 
108 
eastern tropical Pacific tuna fishery, whether members 
of the Commission or not, met and adopted a resolu- 
tion calling for an expanded dolphin conservation 
program. The program has a short-term goal of 
significantly reducing dolphin mortality and a long- 
term goal of reducing dolphin mortality to insignifi- 
cant levels approaching zero. Under the agreement, 
these goals are not paramount, but are to be pursued 
in concert with the goal of maintaining optimal 
utilization and conservation of the tuna resource. 
Among other things, the international program calls 
for (1) limits on dolphin mortality; (2) 100 percent 
observer coverage; (3) research programs to improve 
existing fishing gear and techniques and to investigate 
possible alternative fishing methods that may eliminate 
dolphin mortality; and (4) a training program to 
improve operator performance throughout the interna- 
tional fleet. 
At a subsequent meeting held in January 1991 
parties to the intergovernmental agreement expressed 
their willingness to make their best efforts to 
(1) achieve 100 percent observer coverage; (2) con- 
tribute to the funding of the Inter-American Tropical 
Tuna Commission’s observer program; (3) support 
research programs to identify and develop alternative 
fishing techniques to catch large yellowfin tuna 
without setting on dolphins; (4) reduce dolphin 
mortality in 1991 by 50 percent as compared to 1989; 
and (5) continue to develop and implement a dolphin 
conservation program in 1992 and subsequent years. 
Further efforts to achieve a reduction in dolphin 
mortality were undertaken at a special meeting of the 
Tuna Commission held on 21-23 April 1992. Partici- 
pating governments resolved to adopt a multilateral 
program to reduce incidental dolphin mortality in the 
eastern tropical Pacific to levels approaching zero by 
setting annual limits. The annual limits on total 
incidental dolphin mortality established under the 
resolution are 19,500 in 1993, 15,500 in 1994, 12,000 
in 1995, 9,000 in 1996, 7,500 in 1997, 6,500 in 
1998, and less than 5,000 in 1999. The parties 
further agreed to adopt a mechanism by 1 July 1992 
to ensure compliance with these limits. Other aspects 
of the program adopted under the resolution are (1) 
the continuation of the international observer program 
with the additional requirement that at least 50 percent 
of the observers deployed by a nation each year are to 
