The MMPA was enacted in 1972 to ensure that marine mammals are maintained at or restored to healthy population levels. Among other things, this act established the Marine Mammal Commission, which must continually review the condition of marine mammal stocks and recommend to the appropriate federal officials and Congress any steps it deems necessary or desirable for the protection and conservation of marine mammals. In 1994, the MMPA was amended to create a process for establishing take reduction teams to manage incidental takes––serious injury or death––in the course of commercial fishing operations. Commercial fishing in areas where marine mammals swim, feed, or breed is considered one of the main human causes of incidental take. Marine mammals can become entangled in fishing equipment such as nets or hooks, although specific threats vary by the fishing techniques used. Appendix II provides details on commercial fishing techniques that can result in incidental take, including gillnetting, longlining, trap/pot fishing, and trawling, as well as examples of the marine mammals affected. Under the 1994 amendments to the MMPA, NMFS must establish take reduction teams when two requirements are satisfied: (1) NMFS designates the stock as strategic in a final stock assessment report, and (2) the stock interacts with a commercial fishery listed as Category I or II in the current list of fisheries. According to the MMPA, if there is insufficient funding to develop and implement take reduction plans for all stocks that meet the requirements, NMFS should establish teams based on specified priorities. For the majority of stocks, NMFS determines strategic status by comparing whether human-caused mortality exceeds the maximum removal level (see fig. 1). Human-caused mortality and serious injury (hereafter known as human-caused mortality) is estimated by adding fishery-related mortality estimates to mortality caused by other human sources, as follows: Fishery-related mortality and serious injury estimates (hereafter known as fishery-related mortality estimates) are generated based on data from NMFS’s fishery observer programs, whereby individuals board commercial fishing vessels and document instances of incidental take. NMFS also uses anecdotal information from scientists, fishermen, and others about additional incidental take to make these estimates. Mortality and serious injury caused by other human sources such as collisions with large ships or authorized subsistence hunting of marine mammals by Alaska natives. The maximum removal level—technically known as the potential biological removal level––is calculated for each marine mammal stock by multiplying three factors: The minimum population estimate (hereafter known as the population size estimate) for the specific stock of marine mammals. Two adjustments designed to (1) factor in the expected rate of natural growth for a stock and (2) reduce the risks associated with data uncertainties, especially for stocks listed as endangered or threatened or designated as depleted. By altering the values of these adjustments, NMFS can make the maximum removal level more conservative––meaning that fewer incidental takes will be allowed––in cases of uncertain data, and therefore make it less likely that they will identify a stock as nonstrategic. The MMPA requires NMFS to assess the status of each stock under its jurisdiction and determine whether it is strategic or not. NMFS publishes annual stock assessment reports that include, among other things, the strategic status of each marine mammal stock and the information used to make these strategic status determinations. Information contained in the reports must be based on the best scientific information available. NMFS’s Fishery Science Centers are responsible for publishing the stock assessment reports, and the Office of Protected Resources, along with NMFS regional offices, is responsible for using the data from the reports to decide whether to establish a take reduction team. Regional Scientific Review Groups––composed of individuals with expertise in marine mammal biology, commercial fishing technology and practices, and other areas––review all stock assessment reports prior to publication. NMFS also uses fishery-related mortality estimates and maximum removal levels in the stock assessment reports to categorize fisheries in its annual list of fisheries. Under the amended MMPA, commercial fisheries are classified as Category I if they have frequent incidental take of marine mammals and as Category II if they have occasional take. Once a stock is identified as requiring a take reduction team––because it is strategic and interacts with a Category I or II fishery––the MMPA requires NMFS to establish a team and appoint take reduction team members. The MMPA requires the take reduction team members to develop and submit a draft take reduction plan designed to reduce the incidental take of marine mammals by commercial fishing operations. If NMFS lacks sufficient funding to develop and implement a take reduction plan for all stocks that satisfy the MMPA’s requirements, the MMPA directs NMFS to give highest priority to take reduction plans for those stocks (1) for which incidental mortality and serious injury exceed the maximum removal level, (2) with a small population size, and (3) that are declining most rapidly. The MMPA requires that draft take reduction plans be developed by consensus among take reduction team members. If take reduction team members cannot reach consensus, the members must submit the range of possibilities they considered and the views of both the majority and minority to NMFS. These draft plans may include regulatory measures (known as take reduction regulations) such as gear modifications or geographical area closures that fisheries would be required to follow and voluntary measures such as research plans for identifying the primary causes and solutions for incidental take or education and outreach for commercial fishermen. After the take reduction team members develop and submit a draft take reduction plan to NMFS, the agency must publish a proposed plan in the Federal Register. The MMPA requires NMFS to take the team’s draft plan into consideration when it develops a proposed plan but does not require adoption of the draft plan. If the team fails to meet its deadline for submitting a draft plan to NMFS, the MMPA requires NMFS to develop and propose a plan on its own. For strategic stocks, the proposed plan must include measures NMFS expects will reduce incidental take below the maximum removal level within 6 months of the plan’s implementation. Once the proposed plan is published in the Federal Register, NMFS must solicit public comments on the plan before the agency finalizes and implements it by publishing a final plan in the Federal Register. NMFS’s development and publication of proposed and final plans are subject to several laws, including the following: Endangered Species Act: The act requires consultation among federal agencies including NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that any take reduction plan is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species. National Environmental Policy Act: The act requires NMFS to evaluate the likely environmental effects of any take reduction plan using an environmental assessment or, if the plans will likely have significant environmental effects, a more detailed environmental impact statement. Regulatory Flexibility Act: The act requires NMFS to assess the economic impact of any take reduction plan on small entities. The proposed and final take reduction plans are also subject to the requirements of the Coastal Zone Management Act, Information Quality Act, Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act, among others. In addition to these laws, the proposed and final take reduction plans are subject to the requirements of four executive orders. For example, one executive order requires NMFS to submit the proposed and final take reduction plans to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review if NMFS or OMB determines that the plan is a significant regulatory action. The 1994 amendments to the MMPA provide deadlines to establish take reduction teams and develop and publish proposed and final plans. Table 1 outlines these statutory requirements and deadlines. Significant limitations in available information make it difficult for NMFS to accurately determine which marine mammal stocks meet the statutory requirements for establishing take reduction teams. The MMPA states that stocks are strategic––one of two triggers for establishing a take reduction team––if their human-caused mortality exceeds maximum removal levels. However, the information NMFS uses to calculate human-caused mortality or the maximum removal level for most stocks is incomplete, outdated, or imprecise, a fact that may lead NMFS to overlook some marine mammal stocks that meet the statutory requirements for establishing take reduction teams and inappropriately identify others as meeting them. NMFS officials said that funding constraints limit their ability to gather sufficient data, although the agency has taken steps to identify its data needs. Our review of stock assessment reports from 2007 found that NMFS was missing key information to make well-informed strategic status determinations for a significant number of marine mammal stocks. According to the MMPA, a stock is designated strategic––one of two triggers for establishing a take reduction team—if the human-caused mortality estimate exceeds the maximum removal level. Our review of stock assessment reports from 2007 found that 39 of 113 stocks are either missing human-caused mortality estimates or maximum removal levels, making it impossible to determine strategic status in accordance with the MMPA requirements. As a result, for these 39 stocks, NMFS is determining strategic status without key information and therefore might not accurately determine whether a stock requires a take reduction team. According to NMFS officials, maximum removal level and human-caused mortality estimates are often missing because scientists have been unable to gather the necessary data to make these determinations. In the absence of human-caused mortality estimates or maximum removal levels, NMFS must make more subjective––and potentially inaccurate–– strategic status determinations for some marine mammal stocks. In these cases, NMFS guidance directs scientists to use professional judgment to determine whether a stock is strategic. According to NMFS officials, scientists may use a variety of sources to make these decisions, including scientists’ field observations of the marine mammals. However, Marine Mammal Commission officials we spoke with stated that decisions based on professional judgment are less certain than those based on data about human-caused mortality and maximum removal levels and could result in some marine mammal stocks that should be identified as strategic not being identified as such.