modifications to the harbor porpoise take reduction plan - Northeast ...

producing a consensus draft TRP that was submitted to NMFS on August 8, 1996. NMFS
limited the geographic scope of the 1996 GOMTRT to focus only on bycatch off the coast of
New England (Maine to Rhode Island). This was due to the high proportion of incidental
bycatch in the Northeast multispecies sink gillnet fishery that constituted the majority of the total
fishery-related mortality in the U.S. Additionally, there was uncertainty about the extent of
fisheries interactions in waters south of New England. Data on the bycatch of harbor porpoises
in the Mid-Atlantic were not available until 1996 due to low observer effort prior to 1995 and the
lag in availability of appropriate effort data to estimate bycatch. The GOMTRT convened with
the understanding that a separate take reduction team (TRT) would be convened to address
harbor porpoise bycatch in the Mid-Atlantic. The GOMTRT included representatives of the
Northeast sink gillnet fishery, NMFS, state marine resource management agencies, the NEFMC,
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), environmental organizations, and
academic and scientific organizations.
Soon after the GOMTRT submitted its draft TRP to NMFS, the NEFMC enacted Framework
Adjustment 19 (61 FR 55774, October 29, 1996) to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, which
changed the time and area of the Northeast Multispecies FMP Mid-Coast Closure Area within
the Gulf of Maine and established an exemption to allow sink gillnet vessels to fish inside the
reopened area when utilizing pingers on their nets. Based on this action, NMFS modified the
draft HPTRP to be consistent with Framework Adjustment 19 and published a proposed rule to
implement a HPTRP for harbor porpoises in the Gulf of Maine (62 FR 43302, August 13, 1997).
In February 1997, NMFS convened the Mid-Atlantic Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team
(MATRT) to address the incidental bycatch of harbor porpoises in Mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries
from New York through North Carolina. The MATRT included representatives of the Mid-
Atlantic and Northeast gillnet fisheries, NMFS, state marine resource management agencies, the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the NEFMC, the ASMFC,
environmental organizations, and academic and scientific organizations. Although the MATRT
did not reach consensus on all issues discussed, the MATRT submitted a report to NMFS on
August 25, 1997 which included both consensus and non-consensus recommendations.
On September 11, 1998, NMFS published a proposed rule (63 FR 48670) for the HPTRP that
included both the GOMTRT and MATRT proposals as one management plan. This replaced the
first proposed rule that published on August 13, 1997 (62 FR 43302). A final rule implementing
the HPTRP was published on December 2, 1998 (63 FR 66464). Shortly following, a correction
notice to the final rule was published (63 FR 71041, December 23, 1998). On January 11, 2001,
NMFS published a final rule (66 FR 2336) amending the HPTRP by exempting Delaware Bay
from HPTRP regulations landward of the 72 COLREGS demarcation line.
The GOMTRT and MATRT were last convened (separately) in 2000. Both were accustomed to
meeting separately to discuss harbor porpoise interactions with commercial gillnet fisheries and
potential mitigation measures on a regional level. However, to address the recent increase in
harbor porpoise bycatch, NMFS decided to combine the two TRTs and hold one full HPTRT
meeting. First, since it had been nearly eight years since either TRT had met, the updated stock
abundance and bycatch information presented would be pertinent to both TRTs. Additionally,
some members had served on both the GOMTRT and MATRT, and would receive redundant
6