14 



I would like to leave you just with a few key points about where 

 the community is coming from on the reauthorization. We do be- 

 lieve we should retain the fundamental nature of the statute. We 

 believe that whatever the incidental take authorizing process is, it 

 should provide a level playing field for all users of the resource. Ac- 

 quiring information on the status and trends of marine mammal 

 stocks is critical to our decisionmaking, and that marine mammals 

 that are endangered or threatened should receive no less protection 

 than other endangered species. Thank you very much. I would be 

 pleased to answer questions. 



[The prepared statement of Ms. ludicello may be found at the 

 end of the hearing.] 



Mr. Studds. Thank you very, very much. Let me just say that 

 anyone in the audience who wishes to is welcome to come and sit 

 around this lower tier here. I know there are not enough seats in 

 the room. Do not be bashful. Well, all right. Come on up if you 

 would like There are no sea lions up here. I should observe I have 

 been corrected by the gentleman from — I will talk for a moment if 

 it will make you feel better — the gentleman from Alaska's staff in- 

 forms me there have been several instances in which fishermen 

 have indeed been attacked by sea lions who have leapt up out of 

 the water, apparently, and really assaulted them — apparently, not 

 all of these attacks occurred in a bar. Is that correct? We shall see. 

 OK. Nobody wants to sit up here. Our next witness, Mr. Gerald 

 Leape speaking for Greenpeace. 



STATEMENT OF GERALD LEAPE, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, 

 OCEAN ECOLOGY, GREENPEACE, USA 



Mr. Leape. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the subcom- 

 mittee. My name is Gerald Leape, and I am the Legislative Direc- 

 tor for Greenpeace here in the U.S. I want to thank you for the 

 opportunity to present our views on the reauthorization of the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. My statement today is also on 

 behalf of the following groups: The Center for Marine Conservation 

 and the Animal Protection Institute. In the summary of my writ- 

 ten statement, I will focus on general priorities for a new regime to 

 govern the interactions between fisheries and marine mammals 

 and will briefly detail specific alternatives for funding this pro- 

 gram. 



As you have heard, we are once again embroiled in negotiations 

 with the fishing industry, an experience we swore we would never 

 go through again. Because we are in the midst of these negotia- 

 tions, my comments on substance must be general in nature. We 

 believe that the Federal Government should continue to aggressive- 

 ly pursue research to determine the population status and health 

 of all the marine mammals off our coasts. 



In addition, we should focus on the status of marine mammals 

 before they are listed under the ESA or the MMPA with the goal 

 of preventing the need to list. We must also maintain current pro- 

 tections afforded threatened and endangered animals under the 

 ESA. Finally, we must develop a system that incorporates a series 

 of incentives and penalties that will bring about a continued reduc- 



