65 



would reduce the fishery's impact on harbor porpoise. During most of the past five 

 years, the response to being asked to do so was countered by the assertion that Con- 

 gress had only given the agency the authority to count animals and fishery inter- 

 actions, indicating that it was the sole responsibility of industry to develop alter- 

 native fishing strategies. 



The negotiated critical stock proposal which has been presented to you will protect 

 both fishermen and marine mammal stocks where interactions are recognized by the 

 government to be of concern. This approach will develop cooperation and, ultimately, 

 will focus scarce resources where they can be expected to have the greatest impact. 



The Maine Aquaculture Association has not taken a position on the negotiated 

 critical stock regime because the marine mammal interactions which Maine's salm- 

 on net pen industry is concerned about arise from the presence of robust harbor seal 

 and gray seal populations in Eastern Maine where a new fishing industry is devel- 

 oping. 



The critical stock proposal does not address situations where the Marine Mfimmal 

 Protection Act has worked, to the extent that some marine mammal populations 

 today are large and growing due to their protected status. 



During the winter months of the past two or three years, Maine's $50 million 

 salmon net pen industry has experienced losses from seal predation that are esti- 

 mated to be as high as $5 million each year. 



In behalf of the Maine Aquaculture Association, I participated in the discussions 

 that produced a second proposal which concerns the "Intentional Lethal Taking of 

 Pinnipeds". Unfortunately, our efforts to develop a regulated permitting system 

 which allows for the intentional lethal taking of individual animals from robust seal 

 populations — to protect gear and catch in the marine finfish aguaculture industry — 

 ultimately failed. 



Accordingly, we did not sign on to this negotiated proposal and must now work 

 with the Congress anal the NMFS to develop a process — before the seasonal behav- 

 ior of some harbor and gray seals needs to be deterred again this winter — that will 

 be successful in helping to resolve a serious predator control problem. Both this 

 Committee and the NMFS has a record of supporting the limited intentional lethal 

 taking of abundant marine mammals to mitigate a demonstrable significant nega- 

 tive impact to a fishery. 



The Maine Aquaculture Association supports the negotiated Intentional lethal 

 take proposal's recommendations that regional task forces be established to consider 

 permit applications for the taking of nuisance animals and that the assistance of 

 a wildlife management agency be required in the taking. 



The agreement's requirement that individual animals be identified before the be- 

 ginning of a 135 day permit application review period does not constitute a woricable 

 permitting process for the salmon net pen industry, however. 



We are concerned that the ongoing reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protec- 

 tion Act may not produce an opportunity for marine finfish growers to develop a 

 legal strategy for coping with the impact of abundant and growing seal populations 

 in Eastern Maine. Our inability to be successful in this effort will create a signifi- 

 cant impediment to the continued development of the marine finfish aquaculture in- 

 dustry in the Northeast. 



In order to help to avoid this outcome, today we are asking that the NMFS imme- 

 diately establish an informal "Intentional Lethal Taking Task Force". This group 

 would begin to meet to consider the possible authorization of a general permit for 

 salmon farmers before this winter. We believe that the NMFS has the existing au- 

 thority to begin to examine this problem today. A copy of our letter, to NMFS Acting 

 Assistant Administrator Dr. Nancy Foster, making this request is attached to this 

 statement. 



At the same time, we ask this conmiittee to develop a specific authorization for 

 the salmon net pen industry to request, from the NMFS, a permit for the inten- 

 tional lethal taking of individual nuisance animals that can be identified to a wild- 

 life management agency for removal once habitual predatory behavior is exhibited 

 -and after other, nonlethal means of deterrence have failed. 



These brief comments attempt to summarize for the Committee the major Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act Reautnorization issues that I understand to be of interest 

 to several Maine fisheries. Many other technical issues could be discussed but I wiU 

 instead respond to any questions which Committee members may wish to ask me. 



On behalf of the Maine Sardine Council, the Associated Fisheries of Maine, and 

 the Maine Aquaculture Association, I want to again thank you for the opportunity 

 to talk with you today about this very important legislation. 



