Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan Regulations

The Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan -- The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) directs NOAA Fisheries Service to reduce marine mammal injuries and deaths caused by fishing gear. In particular, the MMPA requires the federal government to protect any marine mammal stock in which the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level is being exceeded. PBR is defined as the number of human-caused deaths the stock can withstand annually and still reach and maintain an optimum population level.

On September 11, 1998, NOAA Fisheries Service published a proposed rule to implement the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP). That proposed rule addressed both the Gulf of Maine and the Mid-Atlantic coastal waters. At the same time, NOAA Fisheries Service published the HPTRP and an Environmental Assessment and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

A proposed rule for the Gulf of Maine only was published earlier (in August 1997). The September 1998 proposed rule replaced the earlier proposed rule and offered the first harbor porpoise TRP regulations for the Mid-Atlantic coastal waters.

On December 1, 1998, NMFS published a final rule in the Federal Register to implement the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP). The HPTRP was developed to reduce interactions between harbor porpoises and commercial gillnet gear capable of catching multispecies in both the Gulf of Maine and the Mid-Atlantic. Subsequent to the final rule publication, a correction notice to the final rule was published on December 23, 1998. In addition, a final rule was published on January 11, 2001 to modify the list of exempted waters to include all of Delaware Bay.

Although the initial HPTRP achieved the immediate goal of reducing takes of harbor porpoises to levels below PBR, the HPTRP did not achieve the long-term goal of achieving a zero serious injury and mortality rate, known as the zero mortality rate goal (ZMRG), required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Specifically, harbor porpoise bycatch levels, rather than approaching ZMRG, showed an increasing trend after 2001 and again exceeded PBR beginning in 2004.

NOAA Fisheries Service determined that the recent increases in harbor porpoise bycatch in gillnet fisheries was due to two factors: bycatch occurring outside of HPTRP management areas and noncompliance with existing HPTRP regulations in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions.

NOAA Fisheries Service reconvened the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team (HPTRT) in December 2007 to discuss the recent increases in harbor porpoise bycatch and develop recommendations for modifying the HPTRP to reduce bycatch to acceptable levels. Based on the recommendations received from the HPTRT, NMFS published a proposed rule to amend the HPTRP on July 21, 2009 (74 FR 36058).

On February 19, 2010, NOAA Fisheries Service published a Final Rule amending the HPTRP that included an expansion of current HPTRP requirements, new management measures (including a consequence closure area strategy), and increased enforcement and monitoring efforts. The Rule also established a scientific research provision and incorporated a number of necessary technical corrections to the regulations that had been identified since implementation of the HPTRP in 1998. This Final Rule was largely based on consensus recommendations provided by the HPTRT to NOAA Fisheries Service.

Goal – The long term goal of the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan is to reduce takes of harbor porpoises to a zero mortality rate goal (ZMRG) of 10% of PBR. The most recent US and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal stock assessment report provides the most current information about the harbor porpoise population, including the PBR level.

• HPTRP Modifications - Final Rule (2-19-10)
  • Environmental Assessment (September 2009)
• HPTRP Proposed Rule 7-21-09
  • Proposed Rule Correction 8-10-09
  • HPTRP Proposed Rule Figures
  • HPTRP Draft Environmental Assessment
  • Press Release
• Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan Final Rule (December 2, 1998)
• HPTRP Final Environmental Assessment (November 24, 1998)
• Correction Notice (December 23, 1998)
• Change to the List of Exempted Waters (Delaware Bay)(January 11, 2001)