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Administration (NOAA), as part of the decision-making on authorizing incidental takes, 

 through an Administrative Law process, was responsible for determining whether or not a 

 given marine mammal population stock was within its Optimum Sustainable Population 

 (OSP). Only after such a determination could the agency issue a general permit authorizing 

 takes, and issue regulations permitting incidental takes of marine mammals. 



In 1984, the agency had issued eight, five-year general permits to domestic 

 commercial fisheries on the West Coast, allowing the annual take of 2,120 Steller's sea lions, 

 45 North Pacific fur seals, 1,835 California sea lions, 2,155 harbor seals, 60 elephant seals 

 and 200 cetaceans. Two small take letters of exemption also had been issued for East Coast 

 fisheries for a take of small numbers of non-depleted species with a negligible impact. In 

 January of 1988, NOAA announced in the Federal Register its intention to prepare an 

 Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed reissuance of domestic and foreign general 

 permits that were scheduled to expire by the end of the year. But while NOAA Fisheries was 

 developing the impact statement, it became clear that there was insufficient scientific 

 information, not only to claim that most of the marine mammal population stocks were within 

 their OSP, but also to determine what the impact of commercial fishing takes would be on the 

 stock. Without the OSP determinations, the agency could not make findings required to waive 

 the MMPA moratorium and promulgate regulations authonzing the incidental take of marine 

 mammals. 



