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NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE CHART OF REGISTERED 

 COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS 

 (Submitted by Dr. Nancy Foster, National Marine Fisheries Service) 



Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates 

 that there are 183,849 commercial fishing vessels and/or 

 commercial fishing operations in the United States and its 

 territories. Of these, approximately 25,246 operate in Category 

 I or II fisheries. Category I and II fisheries are those 

 fisheries which have either a freguent or occasional interaction 

 with marine mammals (> one marine mammal interaction per 2 

 days). To date for 1993, NMFS has registered a total of 8,105 

 vessel owners. Since vessel owners may register for more than 

 one fishery, NMFS considers the total number of registrants, by 

 fishery, to be a better indicator of compliance with the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act Interim Exemption Program (MMEP). In 1993, 

 NMFS has registered a total of 9,669 vessel owners, by fishery. 

 Compliance with the MMEP has ranged from 91 percent in 1990 to 50 

 percent in 1992 (1993 data are incomplete). 



* - As registrations are still being issued, these data reflect 

 number of registrants as of July, 1993. 



Estimated Total Number of Vessels in all U.S Fisheries - NMFS 

 estimated the total number of vessels in all fisheries through a 

 process which reveiwed current estimates of the number of State 

 and Federal permits and licenses issued, the number of vessels 

 operating in non-permitted fisheries (including charter boats), 

 and the number of individual set nets, fish traps, pots, net pens 

 and ponds, and bait pens. 



Estimated Number of Vessels in Category I and II Fisheries - that 

 subset of the total number of vessels that is reguired to 

 register for an exemption certificate. 



Total Number of MMEP Registrants - the actual number of 

 individual MMEP registrants, keeping in mind that an exemption 

 certificate may be issued to registrants that participate in more 

 than one fishery. 



Total Number of MMEP Registrants, by Fishery 



number of registrants, summed by fishery. 



the collective 



