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Focus Research and Management Efforts 



NMFS will use information collected during the Interim 

 Exemption to focus research and management activities under the 

 new regime where they are most needed. As additional data are 

 accumulated, these will be used to revise our research and 

 management direction. The status of each marine mammal stock 

 will be assessed, and the populations in the most trouble will 

 receive highest priority for additional research efforts. 

 Management and monitoring efforts will be concentrated on those 

 fisheries that interact with these populations of marine mammals 

 at levels that have the potential to result in significant 

 adverse impacts to the populations. 



Potential Biological Removals 



The proposal would provide the framework for calculating the 

 total number of animals that may be removed from marine mammal 

 populations while allowing the stock to remain within, or recover 

 to, OSP. This number is the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) . 

 Using data collected during the Interim Exemption period, NMFS 

 would prepare Stock Assessment Reports for each stock of marine 

 mammal that interacts with commercial fishing operations in U.S 

 waters. These reports would contain information concerning the 

 abundance, growth rate, status with respect to OSP, and future 

 research needs for stocks of marine mammals. This information 

 would be used to calculate a PBR for each stock of marine mammal 

 that interacts with commercial fisheries. 



