53 



NOAA's ESA authority includes the ability to limit the level of 

 lethal takes. The MMPA process should instead be directed at the 

 regulation of incidental takes in commercial fishing in order to 

 avoid an ESA listing and laster disbanded if the animal, nonethe- 

 less, is listed under the ESA. 



Fifth, stakeholders should be granted meaningful participation 

 on both the conservation teams and the scientific peer review 

 group. We consider coastal communities, Alaska Natives, treaty 

 tribes, fishermen, and the environmental community as interested 

 stakeholders, depending on the mammal stock in question. 



Stakeholder participation is vital to minimizing confrontation 

 and encouraging cooperative problem resolution. It is the fishermen 

 on the grounds that are going to have to enforce this regime. 



The coaHtion understands the need to limit participation to in- 

 crease the effectiveness and reduce cost for administering the con- 

 servation team process. This can be done through regionalization 

 of the conservation teams and representation of a class of stake- 

 holder, instead of each individual group having participation. 



All meetings of conservation teams should be open to the public, 

 so nobody feels excluded. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Oilman follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Brad Oilman 



The Gulf of Alaska Coalition is comprised of coastal communities and fishing 

 grroups located and operating in the southwest region of Alaska. Its members include 

 me Aleutians East Borough, the Kodiak Island Borou^, the Peninsula Marketing 

 Association, and the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank. 



The Aleutians East Borough and Kodiak Island Borough have a number of coastal 

 communities which depend entirely on commercial fishing for their livelihood. Some 

 of these communities are also recognized under the Alaska Native Claims Settle- 

 ment Act. The Peninsula Marketing Association represents resident fishermen in 

 the East Aleutian Islands/Alaska Peninsula area. Many of these fishermen are of 

 Aleut descent. Some continue the historic practice of subsisting on marine mam- 

 mals. The Alaska Groundfish Data Bank represents shorebased groundfish trawlers 

 and shorebased processors in Kodiak, Alaska. All have a vital interest in reauthoriz- 

 ing 114 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in a manner which is fair to the fish- 

 ing industry, Alaska Native subsistence users, and coastal economies. 



BACKGROUND 



The issue of the accidental (commonly referred to as "incidental") take of marine 

 mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations has long been recognized 

 as a continuing problem. Fishing operations cause a large amount of fish to be im- 

 mobilized for brief periods of time. The potential for a "free meal" presents a natural 

 attraction for highly intelligent marine mammals to interact with fishermen. This 

 has resulted in both the intentional and accidental killing of marine mammals ("le- 

 thal takes"). 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act includes a general moratorium on the taking 

 of marine mammals which are below their "optimum sustainable population". The 

 MMPA authorizes exceptions to the rule, including the ability for fishermen to take 

 marine manmials in the course of commercial fishing operations. Prior to 1988, this 

 came in the form of a small take exemption or a general incidental take permit. 

 This system dramatically changed as a result of Federal litigation aimed at the cur- 

 tailing the take of marine mammals by the Japanese high seas driflnet fleet which 

 was operating within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. In Kokechik Fishermen's 

 Association v. The Secretary of Commerce, 839 F.2d. 795, the plaintiffs succeeded in 

 their challenge to the permit which authorized the incidental lethal take of marine 

 mammals in the course of the Japanese fishery. 



The Kokechik decision also applied to how the Department of Commerce, through 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service, authorized the incidental take of marine 

 mammals in domestic fishing operations. Kokechik held that NMFS had no author- 

 ity under the MMPA to issue incidental take permits when a species of mammal 



