154 



Rap. Hamburgh, Page 2 — September 8, 1993 



authorize the secretary to permit limited intentional lethal takes 

 if the Task Force were to recommend this option. It It Important 

 that this option be preserved during this reauthorization of the 

 MMPA. 



In addition to the salmon netpen predation by harbor and grey 

 seals that is occurring in Eastern Maine, it is clear that the 

 predation of wild salmon by seals in the Pacific Northwest is also 

 a significant economic problem, we have suggested that h.r. 2760 

 specifically authorize that regional pinniped interaction (or 

 Intentional lethal taking) taBK forces be established because we 

 believe that a regional approach to solving these problems will be 

 most effective. This same regional approach has been suggested to 

 consider solutions for limiting commercial fishing interactions 

 with marina mammal stocks of critical concern. 



We are attaching a draft amendment to H.R. 2760 (replacing 

 Section 7 of the bill) that would establish a regional task force- 

 based permitting system which we believe will work to strike a 

 balance between conservation and economic loss. We encourage you 

 to consider our amendment. It 1b based upon a June 15 proposal 

 that was created by a few fishing and environmental groups in an 

 attempt to address the West Coast predation problems mentioned 

 above. The Maine Aquaculture Association did not agree to the June 

 15 proposal because it required the identification of individual 

 predator animals before a permit could be issued. We envision a 

 permitting system that would allow a reasonable take of animals to 

 be authorized through a general permit that could be applied for 

 either by individual farmers or by an organization in their behalf. 

 The June 15 draft did not address pinniped predation problems in 

 the aquaculture industry. 



Also attached is a letter which the Maine Aquaculture 

 Association sent to Dr. Nancy Foster, Acting Assistant 

 Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), on 

 July 14, a6king for the immediate establishment of a regional 

 Intentional Lethal Talcing Task Force. We made this request because 

 we believe that NMFS has the existing authority to establish such 

 a task force and because we are concerned that an adequate 

 permitting process may not be in place before this winter - when 

 growers will again have to respond to the predation which we expect 

 to occur at that time. 



2) the need for a Pinniped Interaction Task Force; 



As discussed above, the predation of both wild and cultured 

 fish by individual pinnipeds from robust populations is an economic 

 problem on both the east and west coasts of the united States. 

 Existing law provides for the intentional lethal taking of marine 

 mammals to protect against damage to gear and catch, after other, 

 nonlethal, means have been employed and found not to be successful. 



