the pinniped interaction that the application addresses, representatives of affected conservation and fishing community organizations, Indian Treaty tribes, the States, and such other organizations as the Secretary deems appropriate.

(3) Within 60 days after establishment,_ and after reviewing public comments in response to the Federal Register notice under paragraph (1), the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force shall

(A) recommend to the Secretary whether to approve or deny the proposed intentional lethal taking of the pinniped or pinnipeds, including along with the recommendation a description of the specific pinniped individual or individuals, the proposed location, time, and method of such taking, criteria for evaluating the success of the action, and the duration of the intentional lethal taking authority; and

(B) suggest nonlethal alternatives, if available and practicable, including a recommended course of action.

(4) Within 30 days after receipt of recommendations from the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force, the Secretary shall either approve or deny the application. If such application is approved, the Secretary shall immediately take steps to implement the intentional lethal taking, which shall be performed by Federal or State agencies, or qualified individuals under contract to such agencies. (5) After implementation of an approved application, the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force shall evaluate the effectiveness of the permitted intentional lethal taking or alternative actions implemented. If implementation was ineffective in eliminating the problem interaction, the Task Force shall recommend additional actions. If the implementation was effective, the Task Force shall so advise the Secretary, and the Secretary shall disband the Task Force.

(d) CONSIDERATIONS.-In considering whether an application should be approved or denied, the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force and the Secretary shall consider

(1) population trends, feeding habits, the location of the pinniped interaction, how and when the interaction occurs, and how many individual pinnipeds are involved;

(2) past efforts to nonlethally deter such pinnipeds, and whether the applicant has demonstrated that no feasible and prudent alternatives exist and that the applicant has taken all reasonable nonlethal steps without success;

(3) the extent to which such pinnipeds are causing undue injury or impact to, or imbalance with, other species in the ecosystem, including fish populations; and

(4) the extent to which such pinnipeds are exhibiting behavior that presents an ongoing threat to public safety.

(e) LIMITATION.-The Secretary shall not approve the intentional lethal taking of any pinniped from a species or stock that is

(1) listed as a threatened species or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

(2) depleted under this Act; or

(3) a strategic stock.

(f) CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS AND PACIFIC HARBOR SEALS; INVESTIGATION AND REPORT.

(1) The Secretary shall engage in a scientific investigation to determine whether California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals

(A) are having a significant negative impact on the recovery of salmonid fishery stocks which have been listed as endangered species or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or which the Secretary finds are approaching such endangered species or threatened species status; or

(B) are having broader impacts on the coastal ecosystems of Washington, Oregon, and California.

The Secretary shall conclude this investigation and prepare a report on its results no later than October 1, 1995.

(2) Upon completion of the scientific investigation required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into discussions with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, on behalf of the States of Washington, Oregon, and California, for the purpose of addressing any issues or problems identified as a result of the scientific investigation, and to develop recommendations to address such issues or problems. Any recommendations resulting from such discussions shall be submitted, along with the report, to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

(3) The Secretary shall make the report and the recommendations submitted under paragraph (2) available to the public for review and comment for a period of 90 days.

(4) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.

(5) The amounts appropriated under section 308(c) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(c)) and allocated to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission may be used by the Commission to participate in discussions with the Secretary under paragraph (2).

(g) REGIONWIDE PINNIPED-FISHERY INTERACTION STUDY.

(1) The Secretary may conduct a study, of not less than three high predation areas in anadromous fish migration corridors within the Northwest Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service, on the interaction between fish and pinnipeds. In conducting the study, the Secretary shall consult with other State and Federal agencies with expertise in pinniped-fishery interaction. The study shall evaluate—

(A) fish behavior in the presence of predators generally;

(B) holding times and passage rates of anadromous fish stocks in areas where such fish are vulnerable to predation;

1 The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives was abolished by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Jan. 4, 1995. The former jurisdiction of such committee is divided among the Committee on Resources, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.

(C) whether additional facilities exist, or could be reasonably developed, that could improve escapement for anadromous fish; and

(D) other issues the Secretary considers relevant.

(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary may, not later than 18 months after the commencement of the study under this subsection, transmit a report on the results of the study to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 1 of the House of Representatives.

(3) The study conducted under this subsection may not be used by the Secretary as a reason for delaying or deferring a determination or consideration under subsection (c) or (d).

(h) GULF OF MAINE TASK FORCE.-The Secretary shall establish a Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force to advise the Secretary on issues or problems regarding pinnipeds interacting in a dangerous or damaging manner with aquaculture resources in the Gulf of Maine. No later than 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall after notice and opportunity for public comment submit to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing recommended available alternatives to mitigate such interactions.

(i) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO TASK FORCES.-(1) Any task force established under this section

(A) shall to the maximum extent practicable, consist of an equitable balance among representatives of resource user interests and nonuser interests; and

(B) shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).

(2) Meetings of any task force established under this section shall be open to the public, and prior notice of those meetings shall be given to the public by the task force in a timely fashion.

(j) GULF OF MAINE HARBOR PORPOISE.-(1) Nothing in section 117 shall prevent the Secretary from publishing a stock assessment for Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise in an expedited fashion.

(2) In developing and implementing a take reduction plan under section 118 for Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise, the Secretary shall consider all actions already taken to reduce incidental mortality and serious injury of such stock, and may, based on the recommendations of the take reduction team for such stock, modify the time period required for compliance with section 118(f)(5)(A), but in no case may such modification extend the date of compliance beyond April 1, 1997.

1 The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives was abolished by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Jan. 4, 1995. The former jurisdiction of such committee is divided among the Committee on Resources, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.

TITLE II-MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION

ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION

SEC. 201. [16 U.S.C. 1401] (a) There is hereby established the Marine Mammal Commission (hereafter referred to in this title as the "Commission").

(b)(1) Effective September 1, 1982, the Commission shall be composed of three members who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall make his selection from a list of individuals knowledgeable in the fields of marine ecology and resource management, and who are not in a position to profit from the taking of marine mammals. Such list shall be submitted to him by the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and unanimously agreed to by that Chairman, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences. No member of the Commission may, during his period of service on the Commission, hold any other position as an officer or employee of the United States except as a retired officer or retired civilian employee of the United States.

(2) The term of office for each member shall be three years; except that of the members initially appointed to the Commission, the term of one member shall be for one year, the term of one member shall be for two years, and the term of one member shall be for three years. No member is eligible for reappointment; except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed (A) shall be appointed for the remainder of such term, and (B) is eligible for reappointment for one full term. A member may serve after the expiration of his term until his successor has taken office.

(c) The President shall designate a Chairman of the Commission (hereafter referred to in this title as the "Chairman") from among its members.

(d) Members of the Commission shall each be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the rate for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of Title 5, United States Code, for each day such member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commission. Each member shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of Title 5, United States Code, for persons in Government service employed intermittently.

(e) The Commission shall have an Executive Director, who shall be appointed (without regard to the provisions of Title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service) by the Chairman with the approval of the Commission and shall be paid at a rate not in excess of the rate for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of Title 5, United States Code. The Executive Director shall have such duties as the Chairman may assign.

DUTIES OF COMMISSION

SEC. 202. [16 U.S.C. 1402] (a) The Commission shall

(1) undertake a review and study of the activities of the United States pursuant to existing laws and international conventions relating to marine mammals, including, but not limited to, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the Whaling Convention Act of 1949, the Interim Convention on the Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals, and the Fur Seal Act of 1966;

(2) conduct a continuing review of the condition of the stocks of marine mammals, of methods for their protection and conservation, of humane means of taking marine mammals, of research programs conducted or proposed to be conducted under the authority of this Act, and of all applications for permits for scientific research, public display, or enhancing the survival or recovery of a species or stock;

(3) undertake or cause to be undertaken such other studies as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with its assigned duties as to the protection and conservation of marine mammals;

(4) recommend to the Secretary and to other Federal officials such steps as it deems necessary or desirable for the protection and conservation of marine mammals;

(5) recommend to the Secretary of State appropriate policies regarding existing international arrangements for the protection and conservation of marine mammals, and suggest appropriate international arrangements for the protection and conservation of marine mammals;

(6) recommend to the Secretary such revisions of the endangered species list and threatened species list published pursuant to section 4(c)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as may be appropriate with regard to marine mammals; and

(7) recommend to the Secretary, other appropriate Federal officials, and Congress such additional measures as it deems necessary or desirable to further the policies of this Act, including provisions for the protection of the Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts whose livelihood may be adversely affected by actions taken pursuant to this Act.

(b) The Commission shall consult with the Secretary at such intervals as it or he may deem desirable, and shall provide each annual report required under section 204, before submission to Congress, to the Secretary for comment.

(c) The reports and recommendations which the Commission makes shall be matters of public record and shall be available to the public at all reasonable times. All other activities of the Commission shall be matters of public record and available to the public in accordance with the provisions of section 552 of Title 5, United States Code.

(d) Any recommendations made by the Commission to the Secretary and other Federal officials shall be responded to by those individuals within one hundred and twenty days after receipt thereof. Any recommendations which are not followed or adoptedshall be referred to the Commission together with a detailed explanation of the reasons why those recommendations were not followed or adopted.