99 



I hope this helps to illustrate and emphasize our position regarding exclusion of 

 these species from NMFS's incidental take proposal. I would be very nappy to dis- 

 cuss this further if you wish. 

 Sincerely, 



Richard N. Smith, 



Director. 



LETTER FROM NANCY FOSTER, PH.D., ACTING ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR 



FISHERIES, NOAA, DOC 



May 5, 1993. 

 Mr. Donald C. Baur, 

 Perkins Coie, 

 Washington. DC 20005-2011 



Dear Mr. Baur: Thank you for your letter regarding the inclusion of southern 

 sea otters and manatees under the proposed regime for governing interactions be- 

 tween marine mammals and commercial fishing operations. You requested a clari- 

 fication of the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) position concerning ex- 

 cluding southern sea otters and manatees from the regime. 



We feel strongly that our proposal would not authorize incidental take ore sea ot- 

 ters at levels that would delay the recovery of this species. However, NMFS would 

 defer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service management decisions regarding species 

 governed by applicable wildlife protection laws, including the Marine Mammal Pro- 

 tection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act, and other special legal require- 

 ments enacted by Congress to address sea otter management. 



Our approach is consistent with our interpretation of section 114(/) of the MMPA, 

 which directs NMFS to develop a regime to "govern incidental taking of marine 

 mammals, other than those subject to section 104(hX2) of this title." 



I hope this letter provides adequate clarification of this matter. 

 Sincerely, 



Nancy Foster, Ph.D., 

 Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. 



O 



70-333 (104) 



