22 



Sixth, the Marine Mammal Protection Act should be amended to 

 prohibit invasive and lethal research on marine mammals unless 

 it will directly benefit the species in the wild. We believe that the 

 killing of healthy marine mammals in scientific studies and 

 invasive experiments are justified only under a limited set of cir- 

 cumstances and when no alternative exists. 



We again direct the Committee to the Bilirakis bill which con- 

 tains language addressing this issue. 



In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I want to support Fish and Wildlife 

 Director Mollie Beattie and express our support for an amendment 

 which would strongly support habitat preservation. 



And last, I would like to bring to the Committee's attention a 

 publication which we have put out entitled "Small Whale Species, 

 the Case Against Captivity." We will make that available to you, 

 Mr. Chairman for the record and to the other members. Thank you. 



[Statement of Dr. Grandy can be found at the end of the hear- 

 ing.] 



Mr. Studds. Thank you very much, sir. Mr. Pungowiyi and Dr. 

 Tyack, at the request of Congressman Young's staff— they are try- 

 ing to locate him, which should not be hard, he is quite large — we 

 are going to reverse the order of the last two witnesses if that is 

 OK, so that he might have a chance to get back to hear his con- 

 stituent from Alaska. And we will now go to my constituent, Dr. 

 Peter Tyack, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dr. 

 Tyack. 



STATEMENT OF DR. PETER TYACK, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, 

 WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION 



Dr. Tyack. Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I 

 would like to both thank you and the snowplows of Logan Airport 

 for this opportunity to appear before you this morning. 



My name is Peter Tyack and I am a biologist on the scientific 

 staff at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a private non- 

 profit institution for research and education in oceanography. 



For the past two decades, I have studied the acoustic communica- 

 tion and social behavior of whales and dolphins. Conservation biol- 

 ogy is not my profession, but I hope that I can contribute an inde- 

 pendent scientific perspective. 



Marine mammal populations in U.S. waters are primarily threat- 

 ened by unintentional effects of human activities. Overfishing may 

 deplete marine mammal prey enough to reduce the carrying capac- 

 ity of the environment. Chemical and noise pollution degrade the 

 quality of marine mammal habitats. Ships and fishing gear kill or 

 injure marine mammals by accident. Ironically, NMFS has imposed 

 tougher controls on scientists working to benefit these animals 

 than on these more important problems. 



This regulatory focus on scientific research is completely out of 

 balance with the relative risk these activities pose to marine mam- 

 mals. 



Let me give an example from the most endangered baleen whale, 

 the northern right whale. Most of the 300 or so right whales left 

 in the western North Atlantic carry scars from vessel collision or 

 entanglement with fishing gear, and more adults die from vessel 

 collision and net entanglement than any other known causes. 



