§ 217.94 — Mitigation requirements.

§ 217.94 Mitigation requirements.

(a) When conducting the activities identified in § 217.90(a), the mitigation measures contained in this subpart and any LOA issued under §§ 216.106 and 217.96 of must be implemented by TPWD. These mitigation measures include:

(1) Only new or fully repaired gillnets may be used.

(2) TPWD must use gillnets with 2,101 hangings which connect the net to the float and lead line, with all hangings less than or equal to 4 inch (in) or 10 centimeters (cm) along the float and lead line.

(3) TPWD must set gillnets to ensure each gillnet is set as tight as possible from the surface to the seafloor and has marker buoys attached with ropes to the junctures of each mesh size and the end of the net as short as possible.

(4) If any bottlenose dolphins are present, deployment of gillnets shall not occur until all dolphins have left the area.

(5) If bottlenose dolphins enter the area while a gillnet is being set, the lead line shall be raised and lowered repeatedly to encourage the animals to leave the site. If bottlenose dolphins remain in the area, the gillnet must be hauled back onto the vessel, and an alternative site must be selected.

(6) Any live captured marine mammals must be released from the gillnet gear and returned to the water as soon as possible with no gear or as little gear as possible remaining on the animal. Animals must be released without removing them from the water.

(7) TPWD must not set gillnets in grids where dolphins have been taken on more than one occasion or where multiple adjacent grids have had at least one dolphin encounter.

(8) TPWD must implement a “last out/first in” set strategy at sites where bottlenose dolphins have been encountered within the last 5-years. A net set in this manner will be deployed last for the day and retrieved first on the next day.

(b) [Reserved]