16 U.S.C. § 1413 — Regulatory authority of Secretary

(a) Regulations. (1) The Secretary^* must issue and appropriately revise regulations implementing the International Dolphin Conservation Program^*. (2)(A) The Secretary must issue regulations authorizing and governing United States^* vessels participating in that Program when they take^* marine mammals in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, including depleted^* species not listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. (B) Those regulations must include provisions (i) requiring an observer on each vessel; (ii) requiring the backdown procedure or an equally or more effective procedure to avoid marine-mammal death or serious injury; (iii) prohibiting intentional sets on stocks and schools as the Program requires; (iv) requiring special equipment, including net dolphin-safety panels, Program-identified monitoring devices to detect dangerous conditions before tuna nets are deployed, operable rafts, speedboats with towing bridles, working floodlights, and diving masks and snorkels; (v) ensuring that backdown during purse-seine sets on marine mammals is finished and net rolling to sack up has begun at least 30 minutes before sundown; (vi) banning explosives in all purse-seine operations; (vii) setting vessel maximum annual, total, and per-stock^*-per-year dolphin mortality limits under the Program; (viii) preventing intentional dolphin sets after any applicable limit is reached; (ix) preventing a vessel from fishing on dolphins without an assigned vessel limit; (x) allowing experimental fishing, on terms set by the Secretary, to test techniques and equipment that may reduce or eliminate dolphin deaths or serious injuries and do not require encircling dolphins during commercial yellowfin-tuna fishing; (xi) allowing United States vessels to fish in the Program area without special equipment or nets if they carry an observer and do not intentionally deploy nets on or encircle dolphins, on terms set by the Secretary; and (xii) containing other restrictions and requirements the Secretary finds needed for the Program on United States vessels. (C) The Secretary may adjust gear, vessel-equipment, and fishing-practice requirements when appropriate and consistent with the Program. (b) Consultation. When developing a regulation, the Secretary must consult the Secretary of State, the Marine Mammal^* Commission, and the United States Commissioners to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission appointed under section 952. (c) Emergency regulations. (1) If, using the best available scientific information, including research under section 1414a and Program information, the Secretary finds that authorized incidental marine-mammal deaths and serious injuries are having or likely to have a significant adverse effect on a stock or species, the Secretary must (A) notify the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and recommend needed action, and (B) issue emergency regulations to reduce the deaths and injuries and lessen the harm. (2) Before either action, the Secretary must consult the three entities named in subsection (b). (3) Emergency regulations (A) must be published in the Federal Register with an explanation; (B) remain effective for the applicable fishing year; and (C) may end earlier if the Secretary publishes a termination notice after finding that the reasons no longer exist. (4) If the Secretary finds that incidental deaths and serious injuries in the eastern tropical Pacific yellowfin-tuna fishery^* continue to significantly harm a stock or species, the Secretary may extend the emergency regulations for needed additional periods. (5) Within 120 days after notifying the United States Commissioners of the determination under paragraph (1)(A), the Commissioners must call a special Commission meeting about needed action. They must report its results in writing to the Secretary and Secretary of State. The report must (A) describe actions taken by harvesting nations or under the Program to reduce deaths and injuries and lessen harm; (B) say whether those actions adequately address the problem; and (C) if not, recommend additional needed action.