DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997               TAG: 9703060315

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   53 lines

TEAM MEETS WITH GOAL OF REDUCING DEATHS OF PORPOISES 2,100 OF THE MARINE MAMMALS DIED LAST YEAR ON EAST COAST; 200 IN MID-ATLANTIC.

Wednesday, while negotiators dealt with complex issues of how to reduce the mortality of harbor porpoises in waters off the mid-Atlantic, two of the small marine mammals washed up dead at Sandbridge.

It was not known whether the porpoises bore evidence of having been caught in gill nets, a common discovery when the animals beach themselves or wash ashore.

Members of the Stranding Team at the Virginia Marine Science Museum examined the porpoises to determine cause of death.

The beachings occurred while a team of federal and state officials, fishermen, scientists and environmentalists met at an Oceanfront hotel to discuss how commercial fishing practices from New Jersey to North Carolina can be changed to sharply reduce the deaths of the relatively rare mammals.

The Mid-Atlantic Take-Reduction Team, meeting under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, wants to reduce porpoise deaths by 75 percent.

The group will meet again in June and then August to make recommendations that will end up as federal regulations.

Of more than 50,000 harbor porpoises, an estimated 2,100 died last year as a result of gill net-fishing operations, the team learned.

The vast majority were in New England, but the Mid-Atlantic accounted for more than 200 deaths. The goal is to drop the total to about 480.

Harbor porpoises are like dolphins, but they're smaller, rarely growing longer than five feet.

They are easily recognized by their triangular dorsal fins and flattened teeth.

They're also known for making soft puffing sounds as they exhale.

Although not formally listed as endangered, they are considered threatened.

No ``bycatch'' deaths, which result from porpoises being caught in fishing nets, have been recorded recently by boats registered in Virginia.

``We don't see it as a problem,'' said Billy Reid, a Virginia Beach fisherman and member of the team. ``They think it's catastrophic,'' he said, referring to nonfishing members.

He and other fishermen are taking part in the discussions to make sure their views are represented.

But he was not enthusiastic about the outcome.

``I'm trying to protect a way of life for myself and others in this line of work,'' said Reid, 52, a commercial fisherman for 20 years.

``It's just another step in the direction of putting us out of business,'' he said after the meeting.

Among the proposals are changes in the size of the net twine, net length and the distance between net panels.

Ernie Bowden Jr., a Chincoteague fisherman who attended the two days of meetings when he could have been out fishing said, ``Attending meetings is all the reduction I need.''

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu