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THE TAX (REVENUE ENHANCEMENT) ALTERNATIVE 



A fifth outlet is to tax the product. A percentage of the ex- 

 vessel value of the fish caught. These fees could be assessed 

 per fishery according to the funding necessary to address the 

 problem. A concern in this area is that any fee value that is 

 assessed be equitable among existing boats. Fees could be 

 assessed according to level of catch of marine mammals and total 

 catch of fish. 



FINES AND PENALTIES 



A sixth outlet is to assess natural resource damage assessments 

 on a per animal basis. The Department of Interior has used this 

 system numerous times to assess fines in cases oil spills or 

 other maritime disasters. Most recently, the Exxoh Valdez was a 

 subject of these assessments. All fees collected would go into a 

 dedicated fund to be used for implementation of the program. 



A final outlet which has not been discussed with the affected 

 interest is the possibility of collecting a fee from whale 

 watchers which would be dedicated to additional research on the 

 status of stocks. 



