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National Marine Fisheries Service’s Annual Meetings

Specific exemptions in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) permit taking of marine mammals by coastal Alaskan natives for subsistence and handicrafts uses. Other provisions allow the authorization of incidental take of marine mammals by those engaged in other lawful activities provided that take will not have an unmitigable adverse effect on the availability of marine mammals to subsistence hunters. The MMS participates in the annual meetings and review processes that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has established to review monitoring and mitigation plans, as well as the results from monitoring efforts, to evaluate the impact of activities on the availability of marine mammals for take by Alaska Native subsistence uses.