Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 5.djvu/756

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PUBLIC LAW 100-000—MMMM. DD, 1988

102 STAT. 4762

Federal ^®S|ster, publication.

PUBLIC LAW 100-711—NOV. 23, 1988

Such guidelines shall be developed by the Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisers on Marine Mammals and shall— "(A) be designed to provide a scientific rationale and basis for determining how many marine mammals may be incidentally taken under a regime to be adopted to govern such taking after October 1, 1993; "(B) be based on sound principles of wildlife management, and be consistent with and in furtherance of the purposes and policies set forth in this Act; and "(C) to the maximum extent practicable, include as factors to be considered and utilized in determining permissible levels of such taking— "(i) the status and trends of the affected marine mammal population stocks; "(ii) the abundance and annual net recruitment of such stocks; "(iii) the level of confidence in the knowledge of the affected stocks; and "(iv) the extent to which incidental taking will likely cause or contribute to their decline or prevent their recovery to optimum sustainable population levels. "(2) The Secretary shall advise the Chairman of the Commission in writing if the Secretary determines that any additional information or explanation of the Chairman's recommendations is needed, and the Chairman sheill respond in writing to any such request by the Secretary. "(3) On or before February 1, 1991, the Secretary, after consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, Regional Fishery Management Councils, and other interested governmental and nongovernmental organizations, shall publish in the Federal Register, for public comment, the suggested regime that the Secretary considers should, if authorized by enactment of any additional legislation, govern incidental taking of marine mammals, other than those subject to section 104(h)(2), after October 1, 1993. The suggested regime shall include— "(A) the scientific guidelines to be used in determining permissible levels of incidental taking; "(B) a description of the arrangements for consultation and cooperation with other Federal agencies, the appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils and States, the commercial fishing industry, and conservation organizations; and "(C) a summary of such regulations and legislation as would be necessary to implement the suggested regime. "(4) On or before January 1, 1992, the Secretary, after consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, and consideration of public comment, shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives recommendations pertaining to the incidental taking of marine mammals, other than those subject to section 104(h)(2), after October 1, 1993. The recommendations shall include— "(A) the suggested regime developed under paragraph (3) of this subsection as modified after comment and consultations; "(B) a proposed schedule for implementing the suggested regime; and