Chapter 31, Subchapter II, Section 1389, Subsection (f) · 16 U.S.C. Chapter 31

Contents

(f)

(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Secretary may issue a permit to an eligible entity to authorize the intentional lethal taking on the waters of the Columbia River and its tributaries of individually identifiable sea lions that are part of a population or stock that is not categorized under this chapter as depleted or strategic for the purpose of protecting—

(A)species of salmon, steelhead, or eulachon that are listed as endangered species or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and

(B)species of lamprey or sturgeon that are not so listed as endangered or threatened but are listed as a species of concern.

(2)

(A)An eligible entity may apply to the Secretary for a permit under this subsection.

(B)The timelines and procedures described in subsection (c) shall apply to applications for permits under this subsection in the same manner such timelines apply to applications under subsection (b).

(C)The Secretary shall establish procedures to coordinate issuance of permits under this subsection, including application procedures and timelines, delegation and revocation of permits to and between eligible entities, monitoring, periodic review, and geographic, seasonal take, and species-specific considerations.

(D)A permit under this subsection shall be effective for a period of not more than 5 years, and may be renewed by the Secretary.

(3)The Secretary shall apply the process for determining limitations on annual take of sea lions under subsection (c) to determinations on limitations under this subsection, and the cumulative number of sea lions authorized to be taken each year under all permits in effect under this subsection shall not exceed 10 percent of the annual potential biological removal level for sea lions.

(4)Intentional lethal takings under this subsection shall—

(A)be humane within the meaning of such term under section 1362(4) of this title;

(B)require that capture, husbandry, transportation, and euthanasia protocols are based on standards propagated by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and that primary euthanasia be limited to humane chemical methods; and

(C)be implemented by agencies or qualified individuals described in subsection (c)(4), or by individuals employed by the eligible entities described in paragraph (6).

(5)If, 5 years after December 18, 2018, the Secretary, after consulting with State and tribal fishery managers, determines that lethal removal authority is no longer necessary to protect salmonid and other fish species from sea lion predation, the Secretary shall suspend the issuance of permits under this subsection.

(6)

(A)In this subsection, the term “eligible entity” means—

(i)with respect to removal in the mainstem of the Columbia River, from river mile 112 to the McNary Dam and its tributaries in the State of Washington, and its tributaries in the State of Oregon above Bonneville Dam, the State of Washington, the State of Oregon, and the State of Idaho;

(ii)with respect to removal in the mainstem Columbia River from river mile 112 to the McNary Dam and its tributaries within the State of Washington and in any of its tributaries above Bonneville Dam within the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; and

(iii)with respect to removal in the Willamette River and other tributaries of the Columbia River within the State of Oregon below Bonneville Dam, a committee recognized by the Secretary under subparagraph (D).

(B)The Secretary may allow eligible entities described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) to delegate their authority under a permit under this subsection to the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission for removal in the mainstem of the Columbia River above river mile 112 and below McNary Dam, in the Columbia River tributaries in the State of Washington, or in tributaries within the State of Oregon above Bonneville Dam and below McNary Dam.

(C)The Secretary may allow an eligible entity described in subparagraph (A)(i) to delegate its authority under a permit under this subsection to any entity described in subclause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) with respect to removal in the mainstem of the Columbia River above river mile 112 and below McNary Dam, in the Columbia River tributaries in the State of Washington, or in tributaries in the State of Oregon above Bonneville Dam and below McNary Dam.

(D)

(i)The Secretary shall recognize a committee established in accordance with this subparagraph as being eligible for a permit under this subsection, for purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii).

(ii)A committee established under this subparagraph shall consist of the State of Oregon and each of the following:

(I)The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians or the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, or both.

(II)The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs or the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, or both.

(iii)A committee established under this subparagraph may take action with respect to a permit application and removal under this subsection only with majority agreement by the committee members.

(iv)The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 1 shall not apply to a committee established under this subparagraph.

(7)For purposes of this subsection, any sea lion located upstream of river mile 112 and downstream of McNary Dam, or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead is deemed to be individually identifiable.

(8)For purposes of this subsection, any sea lion located in the mainstem of the Columbia River upstream of river mile 112 and downstream of McNary Dam, or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead is deemed to be having a significant negative impact, within the meaning of subsection (b)(1).

(9)In this subsection, the term “Indian tribe” has the meaning given such term in section 5304 of title 25.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

Defined terms · 64

Show every defined term

Agreement
means the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population, signed at Washington, D.C., on October 16, 2000.
Alaska Nanuuq Commission
means the Alaska Native entity, in existence on January 12, 2007, that represents all villages in the State of Alaska that engage in the annual subsistence taking of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka population and any successor entity.
Alaska Native organization
means a group designated by law or formally chartered which represents or consists of Indians, Aleuts, or Eskimos residing in Alaska.
appropriate committees of Congress
means—
Arctic
has the meaning given the term in section 4111 of title 15.
authentic Alaska Native article of handicrafts and clothing
means an item composed wholly, or in some significant respect, of natural materials and that is produced, decorated, or fashioned in the exercise of traditional Alaska Native handicrafts by an Alaska Native who resides in Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean without the use of a pantograph, multiple carvers, or any other mass copying device.
barter
means the exchange of marine mammals or their parts, taken for subsistence uses—
bona fide research
means scientific research on marine mammals, the results of which—
Commission
means the commission established under article 8 of the Agreement.
cultural exchange
means the sharing or exchange of ideas, information, gifts, clothing, or handicrafts between an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo residing in Alaska and a Native inhabitant of Russia, Canada, or Greenland, including rendering of raw marine mammal parts as part of such exchange into clothing or handicrafts through carving, painting, sewing, or decorating.
Declaration of Panama
means the declaration signed in Panama City, Republic of Panama, on October 4, 1995.
depleted
means any case in which—
district court of the United States
includes the District Court of Guam, District Court of the Virgin Islands, District Court of Puerto Rico, District Court of the Canal Zone, and, in the case of American Samoa and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the District Court of the United States for the District of Hawaii.
driftnet
has the meaning given such term in section 4003 of the Driftnet Impact Monitoring, Assessment, and Control Act of 1987 (16 U.S.C. 1822 note), except that, until January 1, 1994, the term “driftnet” does not include the use in the northeast Atlantic Ocean of gillnets with a total length not to exceed five kilometers if the use is in accordance with regulations adopted by the European Community pursuant to the October 28, 1991, decision by the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the Community.
eastern tropical Pacific Ocean
means the area of the Pacific Ocean bounded by 40 degrees north latitude, 40 degrees south latitude, 160 degrees west longitude, and the western coastlines of North, Central, and South America;
eligible entity
means—
emergency assistance
means—
entanglement
means an event in the wild in which a living or dead marine mammal has gear, rope, line, net, or other material wrapped around or attached to the marine mammal and is—
family
means all persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or any person living within a household on a permanent basis.
fishery
has the same meaning as it does in section 1802(8) 2 of this title.
Fund
means the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund established by section 1421d(a) of this title.
harassment
means any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which—
Health MAP
means the Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform established under section 1421f–2(a)(1) of this title.
import
means to land on, bring into, or introduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, without regard to whether the landing, bringing, or introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning of the customs laws of the United States.
Indian tribe
has the meaning given such term in section 5304 of title 25.
intermediary nation
means a nation that exports yellowfin tuna or yellowfin tuna products to the United States and that imports yellowfin tuna or yellowfin tuna products that are subject to a direct ban on importation into the United States pursuant to section 1371(a)(2)(B) of this title.
International Dolphin Conservation Program
means the international program established by the agreement signed in LaJolla, California, in June, 1992, as formalized, modified, and enhanced in accordance with the Declaration of Panama.
label
means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter on or affixed to the immediate container of any article;
Level A harassment
means harassment described in subparagraph (A)(i) or, in the case of a military readiness activity or scientific research activity described in subparagraph (B), harassment described in subparagraph (B)(i).
Level B harassment
means harassment described in subparagraph (A)(ii) or, in the case of a military readiness activity or scientific research activity described in subparagraph (B), harassment described in subparagraph (B)(ii).
marine mammal
means any mammal which (A) is morphologically adapted to the marine environment (including sea otters and members of the orders Sirenia, Pinnipedia and Cetacea), or (B) primarily inhabits the marine environment (such as the polar bear);
marine mammal ivory
includes a tooth or tusk from a walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) or a species of cetacean.
marine mammal product
means any item of merchandise which consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of any marine mammal.
maximum extent practicable
means to the lowest level that is feasible for such fisheries within the 6-month period.
minimum population estimate
means an estimate of the number of animals in a stock that—
moratorium
means a complete cessation of the taking of marine mammals and a complete ban on the importation into the United States of marine mammals and marine mammal products, except as provided in this chapter.
Native inhabitant of Russia, Canada, or Greenland
means a person residing in Russia, Canada, or Greenland who is related by blood, is a member of the same clan or ethnological grouping, or shares a common heritage with an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo residing in Alaska;
net productivity rate
means the annual per capita rate of increase in a stock resulting from additions due to reproduction, less losses due to mortality.
Observation System
means the National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System established under section 3603 of title 33.
Office
means the Office of Protected Resources, in the National Marine Fisheries Service.
optimum sustainable population
means, with respect to any population stock, the number of animals which will result in the maximum productivity of the population or the species, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the habitat and the health of the ecosystem of which they form a constituent element.
part or product of a polar bear
means any polar bear part or product, including the gall bile and gall bladder.
person
includes (A) any private person or entity, and (B) any officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any State or political subdivision thereof, or of any foreign government.
potential biological removal level
means the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population.
Regional Fishery Management Council
means a Regional Fishery Management Council established under section 1852 of this title.
Secretary
has the meaning given that term in section 1362(12)(A) of this title.
stock
means a group of marine mammals of the same species or smaller taxa in a common spatial arrangement, that interbreed when mature.
stranding
means an event in the wild in which—
stranding network participant
means a person who is authorized by an agreement under section 1382(c) of this title to take marine mammals as described in section 1379(h)(1) of this title in response to a stranding.
stranding region
means a geographic region designated by the applicable Secretary for purposes of administration of this subchapter.
strategic stock
means a marine mammal stock—
subsistence uses
means the customary and traditional uses by rural Alaska residents of marine mammals for direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, or transportation;
take
means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.
take reduction plan
means a plan developed under section 1387 of this title.
take reduction team
means a team established under section 1387 of this title.
taking
has the meaning given the term in the Agreement.
Tissue Bank
means the National Marine Tissue Bank provided for under section 1421f(a) of this title.
traditional Alaska Native handicrafts
includes weaving, carving, stitching, sewing, lacing, beading, drawing, and painting.
tuna product
means a food item which contains tuna and which has been processed for retail sale, except perishable sandwiches, salads, or other products with a shelf life of less than 3 days.
United States
includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands.
unusual mortality event
means a stranding that—
vessel engaged in a fishery
means a fishing vessel as defined in section 2101(12) of title 46 or a fish processing vessel as defined in section 2101(13) of that title, which is engaged in fishery.
vessel of the United States
has the same meaning it does in section 1802 of this title.
waters under the jurisdiction of the United States
means—