Taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations

The Secretary shall, within 90 days after April 30, 1994— publish in the Federal Register for public comment, for a period of not less than 90 days, any necessary changes to the Secretary’s list of commercial fisheries published under section 1383a(b)(1) of this title and which is in existence on March 31, 1994 (along with an explanation of such changes and a statement describing the marine mammal stocks interacting with, and the approximate number of vessels or persons actively involved in, each such fishery), with respect to commercial fisheries that have— No authorization may be granted under this section to the owner of a vessel unless such vessel— An owner of a vessel engaged in any fishery listed under paragraph (1)(A)(i) or (ii) shall, in order to engage in the lawful incidental taking of marine mammals in a commercial fishery— An owner of a vessel engaged in a fishery listed under paragraph (1)(A)(i) or (ii) who— The Secretary shall establish a program to monitor incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals during the course of commercial fishing operations. The purposes of the monitoring program shall be to— Pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary may place observers on board vessels as necessary, subject to the provisions of this section. Observers may, among other tasks— In determining the distribution of observers among commercial fisheries and vessels within a fishery, the Secretary shall be guided by the following standards: To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall allocate observers among commercial fisheries in accordance with the following priority: The Secretary is not required to place an observer on a vessel in a fishery if the Secretary finds that— Any proprietary information collected under this subsection shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except— The owner or operator of a commercial fishing vessel subject to this chapter shall report all incidental mortality and injury of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations to the Secretary by mail or other means acceptable to the Secretary within 48 hours after the end of each fishing trip on a standard postage-paid form to be developed by the Secretary under this section. Such form shall be capable of being readily entered into and usable by an automated or computerized data processing system and shall require the vessel owner or operator to provide the following: Each take reduction plan shall include— At the earliest possible time (not later than 30 days) after the Secretary issues a final stock assessment under section 1386(b) of this title for a strategic stock, the Secretary shall, and for stocks that interact with a fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) for which the Secretary has made a determination under paragraph (1), the Secretary may— Where the human-caused mortality and serious injury from a strategic stock is estimated to be equal to or greater than the potential biological removal level established under section 1386 of this title for such stock and such stock interacts with a fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) or (ii), the following procedures shall apply in the development of the take reduction plan for the stock: Where the human-caused mortality and serious injury from a strategic stock is estimated to be less than the potential biological removal level established under section 1386 of this title for such stock and such stock interacts with a fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) or (ii), or for any marine mammal stocks which interact with a commercial fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) for which the Secretary has made a determination under paragraph (1), the following procedures shall apply in the development of the take reduction plan for such stock: In implementing a take reduction plan developed pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary may, where necessary to implement a take reduction plan to protect or restore a marine mammal stock or species covered by such plan, promulgate regulations which include, but are not limited to, measures to— If the Secretary finds that the incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals from commercial fisheries is having, or is likely to have, an immediate and significant adverse impact on a stock or species, the Secretary shall take actions as follows: In the case of a stock or species for which a take reduction plan is in effect, the Secretary shall— In the case of a stock or species for which a take reduction plan is being developed, the Secretary shall— In the case of a stock or species for which a take reduction plan does not exist and is not being developed, or in the case of a commercial fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(iii) which the Secretary believes may be contributing to such adverse impact, the Secretary shall— Emergency regulations prescribed under this subsection— Except as provided in subsection (c), any person who violates this section shall be subject to the provisions of sections 1375 and 1377 of this title, and may be subject to section 1376 of this title as the Secretary shall establish by regulations. The Secretary shall provide assistance to Regional Fishery Management Councils, States, interstate fishery commissions, and Indian tribal organizations in meeting the goal of reducing incidental mortality and serious injury to insignificant levels approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate. For purposes of carrying out this section, the Secretary may accept, solicit, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests. The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior prior to taking actions or making determinations under this section that affect or relate to species or population stocks of marine mammals for which the Secretary of the Interior is responsible under this subchapter. As used in this section and section 1371(a)(5)(E) of this title, each of the terms “fishery” and “vessel of the United States” has the same meaning it does in section 1802 of this title.