92 



5 



1 section shall govern the incidental taking of Califor- 



2 nia sea otters during the course of commercial fish- 



3 ing operations. 



4 "(b) Scientific Working Group. — (1) Not later 



5 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Ma- 



6 rine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1993, the 



7 Secretary, in consultation with the Marine Mammal Com- 



8 mission and the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish 



9 a Scientific Working Group consisting of individuals with 



10 expertise in marine mammal biology and ecology, popu- 



11 lation dynamics and modeling, and commercial fishing 



12 technology and practices, to advise the Secretary 



1 3 regarding — 



14 "(A) population estimates for those marine 



15 mammal stocks taken incidental to commercial fish- 



16 ing operations; 



17 "(B) the population status and trend of such 



18 marine mammal stocks; 



19 "(C) studies needed to resolve uncertainties re- 



20 garding stock separation, abundance, or trends and 



21 factors affecting the distribution, size, or productiv- 



22 ity of the stock; 



23 "(D) studies needed to resolve uncertainties re- 



24 garding the species, numbers, ages, gender, and re- 



25 productive status of marine mammals being inciden- 



•HR 2760 IH 



