MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
A revised State Department proposal, under which 
tuna embargoes would be lifted for those tuna harvest- 
ing nations that committed to a five-year moratorium 
on the practice of setting purse seine nets on dolphins, 
was submitted to Congress in 1992. That proposal 
formed the basis of the International Dolphin Conser- 
vation Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-523), which was 
enacted on 26 October 1992 to amend the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act by adding a new Title III. [It 
should be noted that subsequent legislation (the 
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Act) 
added a second Title III to the Act. The amendments 
enacted by the International Dolphin Conservation Act 
of 1992 were codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 1411-1418.] 
The amendments call on the Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, to enter 
into international agreements to establish a global 
moratorium of at least five years duration on harvest- 
ing tuna by setting purse seine nets on marine mam- 
mals. The moratorium called for in the amendments 
would take effect on 1 March 1994, but would be 
binding on the United States only if a major tuna 
harvesting nation (one with 20 or more active purse 
seine vessels in its tuna fleet) commits to the mora- 
torium. The amendments require that such agree- 
ments provide for an international research program 
to develop methods of catching large yellowfin tuna 
without setting nets on dolphins or other marine 
mammals, or if marine mammal sets are made, 
without any incidental mortality. In addition, parties 
to these agreements must take all necessary and 
appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the 
moratorium. Countries that commit to the moratori- 
um but that do not meet their commitments, would be 
subject to an embargo of yellowfin tuna and other fish 
and fish products. 
Research conducted pursuant to these agreements 
is to be reviewed and authorized by a competent 
regional organization, which, for the eastern tropical 
Pacific, is the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commis- 
sion. Under the program called for by the amend- 
ments, no more than 400 research sets on dolphins 
may be made annually, and incidental dolphin mortali- 
ty that results from the research may not exceed 1,000 
per year. The Act authorizes $3 million to be appro- 
priated to the National Marine Fisheries Service for 
each of the fiscal years 1993-1998 to be used for the 
110 
research program. Research funds provided by the 
United States, however, may only be used for investi- 
gating fishing methods that do not involve setting on 
marine mammals. The amendments also require that 
the Marine Mammal Commission review and com- 
ment on all research proposals submitted to the Inter- 
American Tropical Tuna Commission. 
A tuna fishing nation that transmits to the United 
States a formal commitment to abide by the moratori- 
um on harvesting tuna by setting on marine mammals 
beginning on 1 March 1994, and meets other require- 
ments, will not be subject to an embargo of its tuna 
that may otherwise apply under section 101(a)(2) of 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In addition to 
committing to the moratorium, the fishing nation must 
require an observer to be carried on board each vessel 
larger than 400 short tons ‘carrying capacity that uses 
purse seine nets to fish for yellowfin tuna in the 
eastern tropical Pacific. The nation also must reduce 
incidental dolphin mortality resulting from operation 
of its fleet by a statistically significant margin in 
1992, as compared to 1991, and in 1993, as compared 
to 1992. Under the amendments, at least 50 percent 
of the observers placed on a nation’s vessels must be 
responsible to, and supervised by, a competent 
regional organization such as the Tuna Commission. 
If a country fails to meet its commitment to abide 
by the moratorium or to satisfy the observer or 
mortality reduction requirements, the Secretary of 
Commerce is to notify the President and Congress of 
such failure. Fifteen days after that notification, the 
Secretary of the Treasury is to ban the importation of 
yellowfin tuna and yellowfin tuna products from the 
offending country. If within 60 days of the imposition 
of such a ban, the country does not provide reasonable 
proof that it has fully implemented its commitments or 
has taken actions to remedy its failure, a ban on the 
importation of other fish and fishery products from 
the offending nation is to be imposed. While the 
President has some latitude as to what fish and fishery 
products will be banned, the aggregate amount must 
equal 40 percent of the value of all fishery products 
imported from the offending nation during the preced- 
ing year. These import bans will remain in effect 
until such time as the Secretary of Commerce deter- 
mines that the nation is meeting its commitments with 
respect to the dolphin conservation program. 
