Unless these catch rates are exceeded, the opinion is good through the end of the year 2001, at which time consultation over the impact of the fishery on endangered species is to be reinitiated. The take limit for some turtle species has been diminished, while for others, it has increased. Allowable leatherback kills, previously set at 23, now are set at 19.
Loggerheads are less fortunate.
The number of allowable takes increases to 489 from 355, while the number of kills included in that figure rise from 46 to 103. Should the actual catch exceed these anticipated levels, then the process of consultation, set forth in the federal Endangered Species Act, must be reinitiated. Thus, instead of reinitiating consultation at the point where the turtle takes reach past thresholds, the authors of the biological opinion have proposed that consultation be triggered at a much later point. Several mandatory conditions are attached to the biological opinion. The nesting populations in Irian Jaya and New Guinea are also reported to be declining.