Chapter IX 



PERMITS AND AUTHORIZATIONS 

 TO TAKE MARINE MAMMALS 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act places a 

 moratorium, subject to certain exceptions, on the 

 taking and importing of marine mammals and marine 

 mammal products. The Act defines taking to mean 

 "to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, 

 hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal." One 

 exception to the moratorium provides for the issuance 

 of permits by either the Secretary of Commerce or the 

 Secretary of the Interior, depending on the species of 

 marine mammal involved, for the taking or impor- 

 tation of marine mammals for purposes of scientific 

 research, public display, or enhancing the survival or 

 recovery of a species or stock. 



Amendments enacted in 1994 allow the issuance of 

 permits to authorize the taking of marine mammals in 

 the course of educational or commercial photography 

 and the importation of polar bear trophies from sport 

 hunts conducted in Canada. Permit-related activities 

 other than those involving polar bear trophies are 

 discussed in this chapter. Activities with respect to 

 authorizing imports of polar bear trophies are dis- 

 cussed in Chapter II. The export of marine mammals 

 to foreign facilities, is discussed in Chapter X. 



Also discussed in this chapter are recreational 

 interactions between wild marine mammals and 

 members of the public who seek to approach, swim 

 with, photograph, or feed wild marine mammals. 

 Such direct interactions have become increasingly 

 common in recent years. In many cases, the activities 

 clearly constitute harassment as defined under the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act and its implementing 

 regulations. In other instances the responsible agen- 

 cies must determine on a case-by-case basis whether 

 marine mammals have been harassed. Steps to 

 address interactions involving the feeding of wild 

 bottlenose dolphins and approaching elephant seals on 

 beaches are discussed. 



Other provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act allow the Secretaries of Commerce and the 

 Interior to authorize the take of small numbers of 

 marine mammals incidental to activities other than 

 commercial fisheries, provided the taking will have 

 only a negligible impact on the affected stocks. 

 Small-take authorizations for several activities are dis- 

 cussed later in this chapter. 



Permit-Related Regulations 



As noted in previous annual reports, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service published a proposed rule in 

 1993 that would have made extensive revisions to its 

 permit regulations. However, some of the Service's 

 proposals, particularly those with respect to public 

 display permits, were nullified by the 1994 amend- 

 ments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Other 

 parts of the proposed rule were either unaffected by 

 the 1994 amendments or affected only to a minor 

 extent. The Service therefore determined that it could 

 issue final regulations for some elements of its permit 

 program based on the 1993 proposal, but that it would 

 need to publish a new proposed rule for others. 



The Service issued a final rule on 10 May 1996 

 instituting several changes to its permit regulations, 

 including some of the provisions of the 1994 amend- 

 ments. These regulations are discussed in the Com- 

 mission 1997 annual report. The 1996 rule did not 

 include requirements specific to permits for education- 

 al and commercial photography; neither did it reflect 

 many of the 1994 amendments pertaining to public 

 display. The Service expects to publish proposed 

 public display regulations in the spring of 1999. It 

 also is planning a separate rulemaking late in 1999 for 

 educational and commercial photography permits. 

 Pending new regulations, the Service intends to 



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