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STATEMENT OF 



NANCY FOSTER 



DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR FISHERIES 



NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE 



NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 



BEFORE THE 



SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 



COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES 



U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



FEBRUARY 10, 1994 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am Dr. Nancy 

 Foster, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , U.S. Department of 

 Commerce. I appreciate the opportunity to testify before this 

 Subcommittee . 



Last year you held a hearing on interactions between marine 

 mammals and commercial fishing under the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act (MMPA) . Today our testimony addresses other aspects of the 

 Act, including permits for purposes of public display, scientific 

 research, and enhancement. 



Over twenty years ago, Congress declared that marine mammals 

 merited special protection and passed a landmark piece of 

 legislation for this purpose, the MMPA. During the last twenty 

 years, we have been careful to administer this important law 

 consistent with its policies and objectives. The MMPA not only 

 declares a strong public interest in the protection and humane 

 treatment of all marine mammals, both those found in the wild and 



