MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



Proposed Legislation 



During 1995 four bills to amend the tuna-dolphin 

 provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 were introduced in Congress. Representative Randy 

 Cunningham and three co-sponsors introduced H.R. 

 2179 on 3 August 1995, prior to the negotiations that 

 culminated in the Declaration of Panama. The second 

 bill, S. 1420, was introduced by Senator Ted Stevens 

 and four co-sponsors on 17 November to give effect 

 to the Declaration of Panama and provide relief for 

 U.S. tuna fishermen. Senators Barbara Boxer and 

 Joseph Biden introduced S. 1460 on 7 December as an 

 alternative to the Stevens bill. The fourth bill, H.R. 

 2823, was introduced on 21 December by Representa- 

 tive Wayne Gilchrest and 26 co-sponsors, including 

 the four sponsors of H.R. 2179, as a companion bill 

 to S. 1420. A companion bill to S. 1460 is expected 

 to be introduced in the House of Representatives early 

 in 1996. 



The Cunningham bill proposes the broadest changes 

 to existing tuna-dolphin legislation. The existing 

 comparability requirements for nations seeking to 

 import tuna into the United States would be repealed. 

 Instead, comparability would be based on a require- 

 ment that the nation participates in the international 

 program established under the La Jolla Agreement, 

 provided that (1) dolphin mortality under the program 

 is within the potential biological removal level for 

 each affected dolphin stock, (2) all vessels of the 

 nation participate in the program and are subject to 

 100 percent observer coverage, (3) the nation autho- 

 rizes the release of information sufficient to demon- 

 strate participation in the program, and (4) the nation 

 complies with all reasonable requests to participate in 

 cooperative scientific research. Also, the provisions 

 regarding the general permit issued to the American 

 Tunaboat Association would be deleted and replaced 

 with a requirement that U.S. purse seine vessels in the 

 eastern tropical Pacific be subject to regulation by the 

 Secretary of Commerce, provided the regulations were 

 consistent with the International Dolphin Conservation 

 Program. In addition, the Dolphin Protection Con- 

 sumer Information Act would be repealed, as would 

 the definition of dolphin-safe tuna and the existing 

 provision that limits imports to dolphin-safe tuna. 

 More generally, there would be a shift in U.S. policy 

 from seeking the elimination of marine mammal 



mortality in the eastern tropical Pacific tuna fishery to 

 seeking the continued reduction of dolphin mortality. 

 Another policy goal of the bill is to put U.S. tuna 

 fishermen who fish in or wish to return to the eastern 

 tropical Pacific on a equal footing with foreign 

 fishermen. 



The Stevens bill would institute the changes to U.S. 

 law necessary to trigger implementation of the Decla- 

 ration of Panama. The bill would lift the tuna embar- 

 goes now in place and allow imports of all tuna 

 harvested in compliance with the La Jolla Agreement, 

 as it would be modified under the declaration, by 

 vessels from countries that are members of the Inter- 

 American Tropical Tuna Commission or that have 

 taken steps to become members. An exporting nation 

 must also show that the tuna was not banned from 

 import by a pre-existing embargo, e.g. by showing 

 that the tuna was harvested after the effective date of 

 the amendment. The Stevens bill would allow all tuna 

 caught in the eastern tropical Pacific to be labeled as 

 dolphin-safe if no dolphins were killed during the set 

 in which the tuna was caught. Regulations to be 

 issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service would 

 include provisions addressing weight calculations and 

 well location of a vessel's catch as a means of track- 

 ing what tuna is dolphin-safe. 



As under the Cunningham bill, the Stevens bill 

 would rescind the American Tunaboat Association 

 general permit. In its place, the Stevens bill would 

 require promulgation of new regulations to govern 

 U.S. participation in the fishery and issuance of 

 annual permits to those U.S. vessels participating in 

 the International Dolphin Conservation Program. 

 Under regulations to be issued by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, U.S. vessels would be allowed to 

 take marine mammals, including those designated as 

 depleted, incidental to their fishing operations. The 

 taking of species listed as threatened or endangered 

 under the Endangered Species Act, however, would 

 not be permitted. 



The Stevens bill would also direct the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, in cooperation with other 

 nations participating in the international program, to 

 undertake research aimed at reducing dolphin mortali- 

 ty and developing cost-effective methods of catching 

 large yellowfin tuna without setting on dolphins. 



108 



