114 STAT. 2763A-178 PUBLIC LAW 106-554—APPENDIX D (4) The Secretary shall amend these regulations by January 20, 2001, after consultation with the North Pacific Council and in a manner consistent with all law, including the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and consistent with the Alternatives to the maximum extent practicable, subject to the other provisions of this subsection. (5) The harvest reduction requirement ("Global Control Rule") shall take effect immediately in any 2001 groundfish fishery in which it applies, but shall not cause a reduction in the total allowable catch of any fishery of more than 10 percent. (6) In enforcing regulations for the 2001 fisheries, the Secretary, upon recommendation of the North Pacific Council, may open critical habitat where needed, adjust seasonal catch levels, and take other measures as needed to ensure that harvest levels are sufficient to provide income from these fisheries for small boats and Alaskan on-shore processors that is no less than in 1999. (7) The regulations that are promulgated pursuant to paragraph (4) shall not be modified in any way other than upon recommendation of the North Pacific Council, before March 15, 2001. (d) SEA LION PROTECTION MEASURES. —$20,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce to remain available until expended to develop and implement a coordinated, comprehensive research and recovery program for the Steller sea lion, which shall be designed to study— (1) available prey species; (2) predator/prey relationships; (3) predation by other marine mammals; (4) interactions between fisheries and Steller sea lions, including the localized depletion theory; (5) regime shift, climate change, and other impacts associated with changing environmental conditions in the North Pacific and Bering Sea; (6) disease; (7) juvenile and pup survival rates; (8) population counts; (9) nutritional stress; (10) foreign commercial harvest of sealions outside the exclusive economic zone; (11) the residual impacts of former government-authorized Steller sea lion eradication bounty programs; and (12) the residual impacts of intentional lethal takes of Steller sea lions. Within available funds the Secretary shall implement on a pilot basis innovative non-lethal measures to protect Steller sea lions from marine mammal predators including killer whales. (e) ECONOMIC DISASTER RELIEF. —$30,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce to make available as a direct payment to the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference to distribute to fishing communities, businesses, community development quota groups, individuals, and other entities to mitigate the economic losses caused by Steller sea lion protection measures heretofore incurred; provided that the President of such organization shall provide a written report to the Secretary and the House
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