§1389 Pacific Coast Task Force; Gulf of Maine

Summary

The Secretary may allow the intentional killing of certain seals and sea lions (pinnipeds) when a State shows that specific, named animals are seriously hurting the recovery of salmon or similar fish listed as threatened or endangered, are close to being listed, or move through the Ballard Locks. The State must identify the individual animals and explain the problem and expected benefits. Within 15 days the Secretary decides if there is enough evidence to form a Pinniped‑Fishery Interaction Task Force and asks for public comment. That Task Force (made of agency staff, scientists, fishing and conservation groups, tribes, States, and others) has 60 days to recommend approval or denial and to suggest nonlethal options. The Secretary then has 30 days to decide. If approved, federal or state agencies or qualified contractors carry out the action, and the Task Force checks whether it worked and recommends more steps or ends the effort. Decisions must consider population trends, feeding habits, location/time/number of animals, past nonlethal attempts, ecosystem effects, and public safety. The Secretary cannot approve killing animals that are listed under the Endangered Species Act, are classified as depleted, or are a strategic stock. For the Columbia River, the Secretary may issue permits to eligible States, certain tribes, or a Secretary‑recognized committee to remove individually identifiable sea lions upstream of river mile 112 and downstream of McNary Dam (and in tributaries with spawning habitat) to protect listed salmon, steelhead, eulachon, and certain lamprey or sturgeon. The same timelines and Task Force process apply. Permits last no more than 5 years and can be renewed. All permits together cannot allow more than 10 percent of the annual potential biological removal of sea lions. Removals must be humane, follow Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee standards, and favor chemical euthanasia when used. If, five years after December 18, 2018, the Secretary finds removals are no longer needed, permit issuance must stop. The Secretary may study at least three high‑predation areas in the Northwest Region, report results within 18 months if funds allow, and must not use the study to delay the Task Force process. The Secretary must also set up a Task Force for pinniped problems with aquaculture in the Gulf of Maine and report mitigation options within 2 years of April 30, 1994. All Task Forces should have a balanced mix of interests, hold public meetings with notice, and are not subject to chapter 10 of title 5. The Secretary may speed up a Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise stock assessment and may shorten compliance timing for a take‑reduction plan but not past April 1, 1997.