National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration June 11, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its proposed List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2010, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The proposed LOF for 2010 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must categorize each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The categorization of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan requirements.