§1414a Research

Summary

The Secretary must study how deliberately surrounding and chasing dolphins during purse seine fishing for yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean affects dolphins and dolphin stocks. The study, started October 1, 1997, must include abundance surveys in calendar years 1998, 1999, and 2000 and stress work that covers three years of dolphin autopsy samples from commercial vessels, one year of historical biological and demographic data, and an experiment that repeats chasing and capturing dolphins by encirclement. The Secretary must consult with the Marine Mammal Commission and the Inter‑American Tropical Tuna Commission. No later than 90 days after the Secretary publishes the finding required under subsection (g)(2) of section 1385 of this title, the Secretary must finish and send a report of the results to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the U.S. House Committees on Resources and on Commerce, and the Inter‑American Tropical Tuna Commission. The Secretary must also work with the Marine Mammal Commission, the International Dolphin Conservation Program nations, and the Inter‑American Tropical Tuna Commission to fund and support science to meet program goals. That research may include projects to create cheaper, safer gear and methods to reduce or eliminate dolphin deaths, ways to fish for mature yellowfin without setting nets on dolphins, stock assessments (including outside U.S. waters), and studies of incidental catches of nontarget species like juvenile tuna and their effects. Authorized funding is $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, plus an additional $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.