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letter from jeff kaelin 



July 14, 1993. 



Dr. Nancy Foster, 



National Marine Fisheries Service, 



Silver Spring. MD 20910 



Dear Dr. Foster: In behalf or the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), I am 

 writing to ask you to assist Eastern Maine's salmon net pen industry as it attempts 

 to respond to a serious harbor and gray seal predation problem that is taking a sig- 

 nificant, annual economic toll. 



As the attached article from the May 17, 1993 Bangor Daily News explains, 

 "salmon farming has had a profound (economic) effect on (this) area". This year, the 

 MAA's finfish committee has identified reducing the economic impact of seal preda- 

 tion as its first priority. 



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. Now that the presence of the industry 

 has stabilized in Eastern Maine, se£il predation incidences are increasing. Efforts 

 are already underway in this state to attempt to grow both halibut and cod in ma- 

 rine waters. As the marine finfish aquaculture industry in this region grows, we can 

 expect these predatory attacks to become an even greater problem. 



Recently, funds have been made available from the state-supported Maine Aqua- 

 culture Innovation Center (MAJC) to assist growers in addressing the situation. 



On April 15, a portion of these fiinds were used when Maine's salmon aguaculture 

 industry held a Predator Control Seminar in Eastport, Maine. In addition to Maine 

 participants, individuals from British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 

 Canada shared their knowledge of harbor and gray seal behavior and discussed non- 

 lethal means of deterring seal predation occurring around marine finfish aqua- 

 culture facilities. 



The proceedings of this conference are now being published by the MAJC. As soon 

 as they become available, I will make sure that you receive a copy. The results of 

 the seminar confirmed that, even though all available non-lethal means of deter- 

 rence are being employed, the periodic intentional lethal take of individual seals is 

 a necessary tool for the continued success of this industry. 



Because this marine mammal/commercial fisheries interaction is of concern to this 

 new Maine fishing industry, the MAA asked me to participate in the discussions be- 

 tween fishing incmstry and environmental organization representatives that began 

 in February, and concluded recently, when two proposals to amend the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act were communicated to Capitol Hill. 



TTie second of these proposals, which concerns the "Intentional Lethal Taking of 

 Pinnipeds", does not meet the needs of Maine's finfish aquaculture industry. A copy 

 is enclosed. Even though the MAA participated in these facilitated discussions for 

 more than three months, our efforts to develop a regulated permitting system — that 

 would allow for the intentional lethal taking of animals to protect gear and catch 

 in the marine finfish aouaculture industry — ultimately failed. 



Today, we must work with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Con- 

 gress to develop a process — before the seasonal behavior of some harbor and bray 

 seals needs to be deterred again this winter — that will be successful. Both Congress 

 and NMFS has a record of supporting the limited intentional lethal taking of abun- 

 dant marine mammals to mitigate a demonstrable significant negative impact to a 



fishery. . », r»__* 



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. 



In order to avoid this outcome, we ask that NMFS immediately estabhsh an mlor- 

 mal, regional "Intentional Lethal Taking Task Force". This group would begin to 

 meet to consider the possible authorization of a general permit for the salmon net 

 pen industry. 



The suggestion that regional task forces be established to consider permit applica- 

 tions for the taking of some animals is supported in the second "agreement" between 

 some environmentalist and fishery groups to which I referred earlier. We believe 

 that NMFS has the existing authority to begin to examine this problem today. 



This "agreement" also would require the assistance of a "wildlife management 



agency" in the taking. • 4U * tu 



The MAA supports these two areas of cooperative thought but recognizes that the 

 agreement's requirement that individual animals be identified before the beginmng 



