95 



(A) marine mammals, birds, turtles, and fish that are not the target species 

 of the fishery in which a fishing vesseJ is eugaged, 



(B) all fish discarded of lost during fishmg operations, and 



(C) fish of the same species targeted by the fishery in which a fishing vessel 

 is engaged which are prohibited oy conservation and management measures 

 promulgated under a fistiery management plan. 



Section 303.— Contents of Fishery Management Plans (new— renumber) 

 *•****♦ 



(b) Discretionary Provisions (new — renumber) 



( ) establish, in cooperation with industry, a program for the elimination of 

 bycatch through fees and incentive programs. Such fees collected throurfi bycatch 

 programs shall be made available to the Councils to be used exclusively for bycatch 

 related management activities, including but not limited to costs of observer pro- 

 grams and cooperative efforts with the government on research and development of 

 selective fishing gear and other technological devices for the reduction of bycatch. 



Section 304(d) — Establishment of Fees (amended) 



The Secretary shall be regulation establish the level of any fees which are author- 

 ized to be charged pursuant to section 303(bXl). The Secretary maj' enter into a co- 

 operative agreement with the States concerned under which the States administer 

 the permit system and the agreement may provide that all or part of the fees col- 

 lected under the system shall accrue to the States. (Strike the last sentence which 

 reads "The level of fees charged under this subsection shall not exceed the adminis- 

 trative costs incurred in issumg the permits.") 



Prepared Statement of Dina Stansbury, Executive Director, Friends of the 



Sea Otter 



Friends of the Sea Otter ("FSO") appreciates this opportunity to provide testimony 

 on the reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act ("MMPA"). 



FSO is a non-profit conservation organization that was formed in 1968 to protect 

 the southern sea otter and its marine Tiabitat. To the degree determined by the rela- 

 tionship to the southern sea otter population, FSO also occasionally becomes in- 

 volved in issues related to Alaska and Russia sea otter population biology and man- 

 agement. Over 4,700 members in 50 states and 20 foreign countries support FSO's 

 eiiorts. 



In 1977, FSO was instrumental in having the Southern sea otter listed as "threat- 

 ened" under the Endangered Species Act C'ESA"). Since then, FSO has testified in 

 Washington, D.C. during ESA and MMPA reauthorization hearings. FSO also 

 played an active role in achieving state legislation that restricted the use of gill nets 

 m near-shore waters along central California significantly reducing incidental take 

 in fishing operations. These restrictions have been one of conservation's greatest 

 success stories — a precipitous decline in the status of a threatened population was 

 dramatically reversed through cooperative efforts, and the fragile Southern sea otter 

 population is now undergoing modest growth. 



Since 1984, FSO has participated in a Southern sea otter recovery process that 

 resulted in the translocation of 139 sea otters to San Nicolas Island throu^ the 

 years 1987 to 1990. Intended to provide a "reserve" colony of sea otters to be drawn 

 from after a major oil spill, the uncertain success of the San Nicolas translocation 

 program has instead shown us that we need expanded recovery efforts. Based on 

 the slow growth of translocated sea otter populations, and the devastation that re- 

 sults from an oil spill the size of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, we now know that 

 the establishment of small isolated groups of Southern sea otters will not ensure 

 their future. 



Sea otters have a profound effect in the structuring and health of the near shore 

 ecosystem. Many scientists have attributed to otters the role of a "keystone" species, 

 i.e., one that shapes and drives the underlying food pyramid. Sea otters occur large- 

 ly in the near shore environment (within one mile of shore), generally foraging in 

 waters 120 feet or shallower, and conducting all other activities at or near tne wa- 

 ter's surface. They are highly visible to people. Their engaging appearance and be- 

 havior drive a tourist industry; their high visibility makes them prime subjects for 

 shore based behavioral research and population studies; their consumption of shell- 

 fish puts them in direct competition with commercial shellfish enterprises; and their 

 susceptibility to oil puts them at odds with oil exploration and transport. "Through 

 the years of the sea otter hunt, otters were driven toward extinction for their valu- 

 able fiir. Through the recent years of recovery, sea otters have faced the risks of 



