MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



As discussed in previous annual reports, the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service has established five 

 take reduction teams, the Gulf of Maine Harbor 

 Porpoise Take Reduction Team, the Pacific Offshore 

 Cetacean Take Reduction Team, the Atlantic Offshore 

 Cetacean Take Reduction Team, the Atlantic Large 

 Whale Take Reduction Team, and the Mid-Atlantic 

 Coastal Gillnet Take Reduction Team. A representa- 

 tive of the Commission participated as a member of 

 the Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise and Atlantic large 

 whale teams. 



Activities of the Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoise 

 Take Reduction Team and the Mid-Atlantic Coastal 

 Gillnet Take Reduction Team are discussed in the 

 Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise section of Chapter IL 

 Actions to adopt and implement the draft take reduc- 

 tion plan developed by the Atlantic Large Whale Take 

 Reduction Team to address the bycatch of northern 

 right whales and humpback whales in coastal gillnet 

 and lobster pot fisheries are discussed in the northern 

 right whale section of Chapter IL 



The Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction 

 Team was constituted to address the incidental take of 

 several species of beaked whales, short-finned pilot 

 whales, pygmy sperm whales, sperm whales, and 

 humpback whales in the category I drift gillnet fishery 

 targeting thresher shark and swordfish in waters off 

 California and Oregon. The team submitted its draft 

 take reduction plan to the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service in 1996. This plan formed the basis for 

 implementing regulations published by the Service on 

 3 October 1997. The regulations require that the top 

 of the nets be set a minimum of 36 feet (11m) below 

 the water surface because the majority of cetaceans 

 incidentally taken in the drift gillnet fishery are taken 

 in the upper one-third of the net. The regulations also 

 require the use of low-intensity acoustic deterrent 

 devices (pingers) on nets used in this fishery. The 

 regulations further require operators in the fishery to 

 attend a skipper education workshop before each 

 fishing season. The notice indicated that the Service 

 intended to reconvene the take reduction team annual- 

 ly until the long-term take reduction goals of the Act 

 have been achieved. 



The Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction 

 Team met on 1-2 June 1998 to review the effective- 



ness of the regulations in reducing marine mammal 

 mortalities and serious injuries. During the 

 1997-1998 fishing season, overall mortalities were 

 down approximately 65 percent and were below the 

 potential biological removal level for all strategic 

 stocks. Because of the effectiveness of setting nets 

 deeper and using pingers in reducing mortalities, the 

 team members recommended that the plan be main- 

 tained without modification during the 1998-1999 

 fishing season. 



The Atlantic Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction 

 Team was established in 1996 to address the take of 

 several species of cetaceans, including right whales, 

 humpback whales, sperm whales, beaked whales, 

 long-finned and short-finned pilot whales, and com- 

 mon, spotted, and bottlenose dolphins, incidental to 

 operation of the Atlantic pair trawl, longline, and drift 

 gillnet fisheries for swordfish and other species. The 

 team submitted a draft take reduction plan to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service in November 1996. 

 Recognizing the threat that drift gillnets pose to right 

 whales and the large numbers of other marine mam- 

 mals taken as bycatch in these nets south of the New 

 York Bight in winter and spring, the team recom- 

 mended that drift gillnet fisheries for swordfish, tuna, 

 and sharks south of the Hudson Canyon be closed 

 seasonally from 1 December to 31 May. The plan 

 also recommended that all drift gillnet vessels be 

 required to carry marine mammal observers, that new 

 entrants into the fishery be limited, and that the 

 fishery catch limits be allocated to avoid the derby 

 nature under which fishing now occurs. 



As discussed in the right whale section of the 

 Commission's previous annual report, the take reduc- 

 tion team's recommendations and the results of 

 consultations under section 7 of the Endangered 

 Species Act prompted the Service to implement 

 closures of the offshore swordfish fishery for much of 

 1997. Action was also taken in late 1997 to close the 

 mid-Atlantic and northeast segments of the offshore 

 drift gillnet fisheries for tuna and sharks during the 

 first half of 1998. 



On 20 October 1998 the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service published a proposed rule to prohibit the use 

 of driftnets in the Atlantic swordfish fishery on a 

 permanent basis. In making this proposal, the Service 



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