45 



f>lete conservation and recovery plans, while at the same time allowing commercial 

 ishing operations to continue in return for the temporary exemption from incidental 

 take regulations, the commercial fishing industry was to participate in the data- 

 gathering program by carrying mandatory on-board observers, compiling log books, 

 and reporting marine mammal interactions. 



The Exemption was meant to be temporary; the interim period is over. It is time 

 to move on to a new regime for a number of reasons. The Marine Mammal Exemp- 

 tion Program (MMEP) created to implement the 1988 Amendments has given us a 

 picture of incidental take sufficient to identify what are probably the true problem 

 areas. It has also pointed up the problems associated with universal registration re- 

 auirements and reliance on self-reporting by fishennen. Finally, it has demonstrated 

 tne importance of industry endorsement and education as a critical element in the 

 success of any regulatory regime. The following sununaries of results from the pro- 

 gram are taken from an analysis on incidental take in commercial fisheries to be 

 published next month by the Center for Marine Conservation. 



• Level of Interaction. Data from the Marine Mammal Exemption Program vessel 

 logbooks and observer reports indicate that in 1990 76,450 marine mammals were 

 harassed, and 8,750 killed. In 1991 51,475 and 6,207 animals were harassed and 

 killed respectively. 



• Significance of Incidental Take. Whether fishing caused significant mortality 

 for a marine manmial population depends on the size of the population, the trend, 

 and the level of the takes. For the purpose of our analysis, we have defined "signifi- 

 cant" as takes of more than 0.5 percent of a cetacean population or more than 1.0 

 percent of a pinniped population because at that level population recovery would be 

 delayed by approximately 10 years. Marine mammal mortality in fishing operations, 

 as reported by observers and vessel/owner logs in registered fisheries in 1990 and 

 1991, shown a significant impact on seven species of marine mammals, including 

 14 separate stocks within those species.^ 



Another six stocks merit attention because data on marine mammal population 

 abundance is insufficient to determine whether the incidental mortality nas a sig- 

 nificant impact on the population. New stock assessments to be released by NMFS 

 in the coming months may change this picture slightly. 



• Participation. According to MMEP reports, about 15,756 vessels registered in 

 1990, and 12,156 in 1991. Of those, about 12,978 and 10,313 submitted reports in 

 1990 and 1991. All vessels in two categories of fisheries are required to register, but 

 because NMFS is unable to quantify the number of vessels engaged in every fishery, 

 the rate of registration is unknown. Furthermore, of those vessels that registered, 

 in 39 percent of the fisheries during 1990 and in 21 percent of the fisheries in 1991 

 fewer than half reported. In some cases, the categories of fisheries are so broad or 

 combine so many different types of fisheries that they are not illustrative or com- 

 parable to the way state and federal fishery managers characterize either the fish- 

 eries, the effort or the permits. 



• Data Verification. Comparison of observer data to logbook data indicates that 

 on average mortality rates recorded in observer data were five to eight times greater 

 than those recorded in logbook data. Delays in reporting and data entry made it im- 

 possible to address misidentifications, discrepancies in incidental take between 

 years. Finally, statistical analyses of observer data were too late to verify logbook 

 data, analyze and respond to trend data or reclassify fisheries on annual basis. 



• Assessment of Effort. The Program did not specify a uniform, consistent manner 

 for recording fishing effort, so it is difficult to analyze the results of reports. Since 

 an assessment of the nature and extent of incidental take is linked to fishing effort, 

 it is necessary to understand how a vessel was reporting days fished or number of 

 sets and whether it was reported as per net, the number of nets, or soak time or 

 some other variable in relation to the number of marine mammal interactions. 

 Therefore, recorded effort in days was different both within a fishery and between 

 fisheries. 



• Education. Industry-sponsored education efforts were to have supplemented the 

 agency's information and outreach about the Marine Mammal Exemption Program. 

 It is noteworthy that registration and reporting occurred at greater rates in regions 

 and fisheries where industry associations conducted education efforts. Despite the 

 continued prohibition on intentional killing except to protect gear or catch, marine 

 mammal shootings increased during the period. According to The Marine Mammal 

 Center, more marine mammals stranded with bullet wounds in 1992 than in the 

 prior eight years combined. In a half dozen fisheries in 1990 and 1991, more marine 

 mammals were killed by "deterrence" actions than by interactions with gear. 



^Bottlenose dolphin, northern right whale dolphin, Risso's dolphin, pilot whale, harbor por- 

 poiBe, California sea lion, harbor seal. 



