[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 88 (Friday, May 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24590-24592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11398]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 990430116-9116-01; I.D. 042099A]


Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing 
Operations; Tuna Purse Seine Vessels in the Eastern Tropical Pacific 
Ocean (ETP); Initial Finding

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Finding.

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SUMMARY: On April 29, 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS) made the initial finding required by the International Dolphin 
Conservation Program Act (IDCPA). NMFS found that there is insufficient 
evidence that chase and encirclement by the tuna purse seine fishery 
``is having a significant adverse impact'' on depleted dolphin stocks 
in the ETP. Based on this initial finding, and effective on the 
effective date of the final regulations to implement the IDCPA, tuna 
products containing tuna harvested in the ETP by purse seine vessels 
with carrying capacity greater than 400 short tons may be labeled 
``dolphin-safe'' only if no dolphins were killed or seriously injured 
during the set in which the tuna were caught.

DATES: The initial finding will become effective on the effective date 
of the final regulations to implement the IDCPA which will be published 
in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Report to Congress and supporting documentation may be 
found on the internet at http://swfsc.ucsd.edu/mm res.html or http://
www.nmfs.gov/prot_res/main/new.html. Copies may also be obtained from 
the Marine Mammal Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La 
Jolla Shores Drive, P.O. Box 271, La Jolla , California 92038-0271.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Allison Routt, NMFS, Southwest 
Region, Protected Resources Division, (562-980-4020).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    One of the primary fishing methods used to harvest tuna in the ETP 
is dolphin encirclement. Under this method, fishermen set their nets 
around groups of dolphins because schools of tuna swim below them. Over 
the years, fishermen have developed techniques to reduce the number of 
dolphins killed annually by encirclement from over 350,000 animals in 
the early 1970s to approximately 2,000 in 1998. However, the practice 
remains controversial and, in 1989, U.S. tuna canners agreed to use 
only tuna that had been caught by methods other than encirclement and 
began to use dolphin-safe labels on their cans. In 1990, the term 
``dolphin safe'' was defined statutorily to mean no intentional dolphin 
encirclement per trip. Amendments to the statute in 1992 prohibited the 
sale of non-dolphin safe tuna in the United States after June 1, 1994.
    As a result of the U.S. statutes, in 1995 several Latin American 
countries agreed in the Panama Declaration to limit dolphin mortalities 
associated with tuna fishing in the ETP to no more than 5,000 dolphins 
per year, with additional limits on individual stocks. The Panama 
Declaration was signed by the nations participating in the voluntary 
international dolphin

[[Page 24591]]

conservation program in the ETP, including the United States. In 
exchange, the United States agreed to modify its standards for the 
``dolphin safe'' label. In order to implement the Panama Declaration, 
Congress enacted the IDCPA. However, Congress was reluctant to permit 
the labeling standard to change immediately, without additional 
research on fishery impacts on depleted dolphin stocks.

Statutory Requirements

    Section 304(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
revised by the IDCPA, requires the NMFS, in consultation with the 
Marine Mammal Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission (IATTC), to ``conduct a study of the effect of intentional 
encirclement (including chase) on dolphins and dolphin stocks 
incidentally taken in the course of purse seine fishing for yellowfin 
tuna in the ETP.'' The law requires the study to consist of abundance 
surveys and stress studies to address the question of whether 
encirclement is having a significant adverse impact on depleted dolphin 
stocks.
    Under the IDCPA, the dolphin-safe labeling standard could change 
depending upon the results of this study. The IDCPA states that the 
Secretary of Commerce shall make a finding in March 1999, based on the 
initial results of the study regarding whether the intentional 
deployment on or encirclement of dolphins with purse seine nets ``is 
having a significant adverse impact'' on any depleted dolphin stock in 
the ETP. The authority to make this determination has been delegated to 
NMFS. Unless there is an initial finding that the best scientific 
information available in March 1999 supports a scientific conclusion 
that the fishery is causing a ``significant adverse impact,'' the new 
dolphin-safe labeling standard in paragraph (h)(1) of the Dolphin 
Protection Consumer Information Act (DPCIA) (i.e., that no dolphins 
were killed or seriously injured during the sets in which the tuna were 
caught) automatically replaces the prior labeling standard, which 
permitted no intentional encirclement of dolphins during the trip in 
which the tuna was caught. Similarly, NMFS has been delegated the 
Secretary's authority to make a final finding by December 31, 2002, 
after additional research is conducted.

Scientific Results

    The initial results from the NMFS study are presented in a Report 
to Congress. This report also describes the research program's 
development of a decision analysis framework to quantitatively evaluate 
the various types of information gathered in the study in order to make 
the ``significant adverse impact'' determination required by the IDCPA.
    The study looked at three dolphin stocks: the northeastern offshore 
spotted dolphin, the eastern spinner dolphin, and the coastal spotted 
dolphin stocks. The first two stocks are listed as depleted under the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The status of the coastal spotted 
dolphin is uncertain but since it might also be considered depleted, 
the research survey was designed to produce an estimate of abundance 
for this stock as well.
    When the eastern spinner dolphin stock was listed as depleted under 
the MMPA in 1993, the population was estimated to be approximately 44 
percent of its pre-exploitation population size. The northeastern 
offshore spotted dolphin in 1993 was estimated to be between 19 and 28 
percent of its pre-exploitation population.
    According to new abundance estimates from data collected during the 
1998 research abundance survey and other available data noted above, 
the number of the northeastern offshore spotted dolphin is now 
estimated to be 1,011,104 animals, and the estimated number of eastern 
spinner dolphins is now 1,157,746 animals. These numbers are large; 
however, the population assessment model and analysis indicate that 
these populations are apparently not increasing at the expected rate 
despite the low level of reported mortalities from the ETP purse seine 
fishery since 1991 and the reproductive potential for these 
populations.
    With respect to the coastal spotted dolphin, the 1998 population 
number is estimated to be 108,289 animals. However, much of the 
essential information is lacking for coastal spotted dolphins, 
especially from the early years of the fishery when the impact on the 
stocks would have likely been the greatest. The Report to Congress 
concludes that a direct comparison to a 1988 estimate of 29,800 coastal 
spotted dolphins is of questionable value since the difference is too 
large in size to ``solely be attributable to population growth.''
    The Report endeavors to address the issue of slow recovery of the 
populations but admits that attributing causality is even more 
difficult than interpreting abundance and trend data. The report 
attempted to address two sources identified as possible causes for slow 
recovery: changing environmental conditions and indirect or unobserved 
effects of tuna fishing.
    With regard to changing ocean conditions, the environmental data 
examined to date shows no evidence of a recent ocean environmental 
shift or other long-term change that might affect population growth 
rates for depleted ETP dolphin stocks. Therefore, NMFS looked closely 
at whether fishing might be the cause. NMFS conducted a literature 
review that led to the conclusion that stress caused by encirclement 
could not be dismissed as a possible source of the observed failure to 
recover at expected rates. Although the stress literature review 
concluded that fishery-related stresses could possibly affect mortality 
or reproduction in dolphin stocks, it could not attribute population 
level impacts of stress as a cause of the failure of the northeastern 
offshore spotted dolphin and eastern spinner dolphin stocks in the ETP 
to recover as expected. In addition, separation of dolphin cows and 
calves and underreported direct kills are two other possible causes of 
the failure to recover. Moreover, these potential causes are not 
mutually exclusive.
    Although NMFS considered the best available scientific data in the 
Report, there are several sources of uncertainty regarding these data. 
For example, the Report to Congress's conclusion that two of the 
depleted dolphin stocks have failed to recover as expected could be 
affected substantially because the Tuna Vessel Observer Data (TVOD) may 
be biased because of inconsistencies in data collection. For the final 
report and finding, NMFS will pursue a careful evaluation of the data 
focusing on the recently identified concerns and will conduct a peer-
reviewed analysis of these various data sources. In addition it is 
possible that, since observed mortality has been substantially reduced 
only in the last ten years, insufficient time has passed to allow 
detection of recovery because of lags resulting from the time between 
birth and sexual maturity.
    More scientific research is necessary to better evaluate the effect 
of the tuna purse seine fishery on depleted dolphin stocks in the ETP. 
As mandated by the IDCPA, NMFS, in cooperation with other IDCP member 
countries, will continue to collect data for estimating population 
abundance of dolphin stocks in the ETP in order to determine whether 
there are significant adverse impacts to depleted dolphin stocks for 
the final finding. A final finding will be made between July 1, 2001, 
and December 31, 2002.

[[Page 24592]]

Rationale for Finding

    The initial finding relies on two determinations: that there is a 
significant adverse impact on the depleted stocks; and that the 
significant impact is due to the practices of the purse seine fishery. 
For the reasons briefly outlined below, NMFS has determined that there 
is insufficient evidence to conclude that intentional deployment on or 
encirclement of dolphins with purse seine nets is having a significant 
adverse impact on any depleted dolphin stock in the ETP. Because of 
this initial finding, the ``dolphin safe'' labeling standard specified 
in paragraph (h)(1) of the DPCIA will change on the effective date of 
the final regulations to implement the IDCPA.
    While the rate of recovery of the dolphin stocks may be lower than 
expected, there is insufficient information to conclude that there has 
been a significant adverse impact on the depleted stocks. Additionally, 
observed dolphin mortality is extremely low. The numbers of dolphins 
currently killed by the purse seine fishery is in the low thousands, as 
opposed to the hundreds of thousands in the early 1970s. Furthermore, 
the total annual mortality of all dolphins in the ETP due to the purse 
seine fishery is capped at 5,000 by a binding international agreement. 
The dramatic reduction in dolphin mortality over the past 12 years can 
be attributed to continued cooperation in the International Dolphin 
Conservation Program through the auspices of the IATTC. The current low 
level of observed dolphin mortalities in the ETP tuna purse seine 
fishery creates an expectation that the fishery will not prevent the 
depleted populations from recovering.
    Finally, there is no solid evidence in any of the scientific 
studies to date that links the apparent failure of dolphin stocks to 
recover at the rate expected based on historical data to the current 
tuna purse seine fishery practices. The Report to Congress does not 
provide evidence that the ETP tuna purse seine fishery is the cause of 
the apparent failure of the northeastern offshore spotted dolphin and 
eastern spinner dolphin stocks to recover as expected; nor does it 
dismiss the fishery as a possible cause. Due to the large disparity in 
population abundance estimates of coastal spotted dolphins in the late 
1980s versus 1998, it is difficult to evaluate whether the coastal 
spotted dolphin population in the ETP has been affected by the ETP tuna 
purse seine fishery. As mandated under the IDCPA, NMFS will continue to 
conduct IDCPA research on population abundance and stress of dolphins 
affected by the ETP tuna purse seine fishery. The final finding will be 
made between July 1, 2001, and December 31, 2002.

    Authority: Section 5(c) of Pub. L. 105-42; 16 U.S.C. section 
1385

    Dated: April 30, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-11398 Filed 5-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F