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addressing uncertainty with respect to the status of and 

 functional relationships among fisheries resources and other 

 components of the marine ecosystem; and research and management 

 programs needed to fill critical gaps in knowledge of the 

 structure and dynamics of marine ecosystems. 



The Commission's Recommended Guidelines were used by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service as the basis for developing its 

 Proposed Regime to Govern Interactions between Marine Mammals and 

 Commercial Fishing Operations. The Service also took into 

 account comments and suggestions provided by other agencies and 

 by the fishing industry and environmental community. The 

 proposal, forwarded to Congress in December 1992, differs in some 

 respects from the Recommended Guidelines provided by the 

 Commission. For example, the Service's proposal would not 

 require that a recovery plan or conservation plan be in plfice 

 before authorizing take from stocks listed as endangered or 

 threatened under the Endangered Species Act, or depleted under 

 the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Likewise, it would not limit 

 the time period that incidental take could be permitted from 

 species and population stocks whose status is uncertain, before 

 OSP determinations must be made. 



Although the Commission has questions as to how certain 

 elements of the Seirvice's proposal would be implemented, it 

 believes that the proposal is both practical and conceptually 

 sound. If accepted and implemented effectively, the proposed 

 regime would benefit fishermen by streamlining the process for 

 obtaining incidental take authorization, and by authorizing take 

 from population stocks whose status is uncertain and from stocks 

 listed as endangered, threatened, or depleted when the taking 

 would not significantly delay recovery of the affected stock. 

 The proposal would benefit marine mammals by reducing the 

 possibility that incidental take in fisheries, by itself and in 

 combination with other sources of non-natural mortality, will 

 cause any species or population stock to be reduced or maintained 

 below its maximxim net productivity level, by enforcing compliance 

 with the authorized take level, and by monitoring key parameters 

 of those stocks most likely to be affected by incidental taking 

 in fisheries. 



Both fisheries and marine mammals would benefit from the 

 proposed program to identify ways whereby fishing gear and 

 practices might be altered to avoid or reduce incidental taking. 

 Fisheries would benefit by reduction of regulation, by reduction 

 of gear damage caused when marine mammals are caught, and by 

 reduction of the time fishermen must spend removing and dealing 

 with marine mammals caught in fishing gear. Marine mammals would 

 benefit by reducing incidental mortality and serious injury to 

 the lowest levels practicable. 



