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privileges for violations of the MMPA, when deemed appropriate by 

 the Secretary. The wording of subsection 118(g) may unduly 

 restrict the Secretary's discretion and ability to establish 

 violations. The subsection reguires that provisions of the MMPA 

 be knowingly violated, which will be difficult, if not 

 impossible, to substantiate. Therefore, the word "knowingly" 

 should be deleted, and the word "shall" should be changed to 

 "may." Additionally, in order to clarify when the Secretary may 

 seek withdrawal of Federal fishing permits under the bill, 

 subsections 118(g)(1) and (2) should be revised. These 

 subsections should state that action by the Secretary may be 

 taken only after a conviction has been obtained for an 

 appropriate MMPA violation. Subsections (1) and (2) should also 

 specify that the Secretary can only withdraw Federal fishing 

 rights and privileges. 



Further, the Secretary would not have authority to withdraw 

 state-granted fishing rights. To address these fisheries, NMFS 

 recommends including a provision for withdrawing rights or 

 privileges to operate under the general authorization established 

 by this bill so that, even if fishermen could continue to operate 

 in state fisheries, they would not be authorized to take marine 

 mammals. 



The effect of the penalties, as proposed, could, in many cases, 

 be meaningless. For example, in a fishery that operates from 



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