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SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 



I. Establishment of fishery-specific regulations limitincf take of 

 marine mammals, to be in place within two y^^^^ °^ reauthorization 

 of the MMPA (the Act) . 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act was constituted in 1972 to protect 

 marine mammals, and the public has long supported a level of 

 protection which has never been fully realized. This goal of 

 reducing mortality to "insignificant levels approaching zero 

 mortality" can only be realized with the establishment of 

 regulations which establish quotas, timetables for and levels of 

 mandatory reduction of take. Monitoring programs and restrictions 

 need to be in place expeditiously in order to provide the fishing 

 industry with concrete expectations of reduction in take and 

 penalties for failure to comply. 



Despite the critical need for these regulations, NMFS has proposed 

 to delay such actions. Their proposal states that fishery specific 

 regulations will not be in place for more than two years after 

 signing of the legislation. Instead NMFS proposes to concentrate 

 on the establishment of scientific review committees, review of 

 marine mammal stocks, categorizing fisheries and collecting more 

 information on fisheries interactions with marine mammals. Which 

 much of this effort is necessary, it is both time and resource 

 consumptive to fill all of the known data gaps in the populations' 

 biology information for marine mammal stocks. The timelines for 

 correcting erroneous information and filling information gaps would 

 need to be at least 3-5 years and would consume tens of millions of 

 dollars. NMFS is already spending $12 million a year for the 

 interim exemption program whose sole purpose is data gathering. 



It is far more cost effective to begin the program by utilizing 

 data which NMFS has already collected during the past five years of 

 the exemption program. In 1988, Congress mandated collection of 

 data on marine mammals and fisheries interactions. From this 

 program, NMFS has information available on how many animals of each 

 stock are taken by what fisheries in specific times and locales. 

 These data should form the basis for determining reductions in 

 incidental take which are necessary for each fishery. 



Providing incentive to conduct stock assessment has been lacking in 

 the past. Expeditious establishment of fishery specific 

 regulations which mandate reduction in take based on existing 

 information would provide the needed incentive for conducting stock 

 assessment. This information would be critical to making OSP 

 determinations and to making more accurate determinations of 

 necessary levels of reduction in incidental take. 



Thererore, we believe that the MMPA should be amended to 

 establish fishery-specific regulations limiting the take of 

 marine mammals within two years of reauthorization of the 

 MMPA (the Act) . 



