132 



I wonder if it would be possible to submit a brief statement foi 

 the record that I gave to the administrative law judge a month 01 

 two ago, which does summarize my position pretty well? 



Mr. Leggest. That will be incorporated. 



[The following was received for the record:] 



Concluding Brief of Friends of Animals, Inc., and the 

 Committee for Humane Legislation, Inc. 



introduction 



Because of the mind-boggling size of the record in this case, Friends ol 

 Animals. Inc. (FOA) and the Committee for Humane Legislation, Inc. (CHL) 

 believe that they can assist the Administrative Law Judge best, not by ont 

 more reanalysis of a mass of basically irrelevant statistics, but by a briel 

 and simple attempt to put the question of the proposed 1977 "incidenta 

 take" back into some recognizable context. In our view, somewhere in tin 

 mammoth (and almost endless) hearings in November and December, th< 

 forest was lost. 



Although the Court was deluged with statistics, counter-statistics, argu 

 ments about statistical methodology, etc., etc., there was also testimony re 

 lating to the fact that the U.S. tuna industry is, in fac, hoist on its owi 

 petard, or, if you prefer, aground on a shoal of its own making. Until th< 

 U.S. tuna fleet began switching (circa 1960) from traditional tuna fishinj 

 methods to the "more modern" purse-seining, it was sound economically, am 

 the American public was supplied adequately with tuna products. However 

 because of a desire to switch from a labor-intense industry to a capital 

 intense industry, the fleet has acquired such horrendous fixed costs that, ever 

 in a bumper year such as 1976, many boat owners are making little, if any 

 money. Economically speaking, the fleet hopes to limp along another fev 

 more years by continuing to slaughter porpoises on a massive scale; the: 

 have no long range plans, because, eventually, the porpoise and the tuna fist 

 will be depleted. In brief, the economic ills of the industry hark back t< 

 the adoption of the setting of purse-seine nets on porpoise; and those ill? 

 can be ameliorated at best — never cured — by a continuation of the "efficient' 

 but brutal practice. 



Perfectly sincere representations of the various unions involved have loader 

 this hearing with endless sad tales and crocodile tears relating to the unem- 

 ployment which will eventuate if the massive killing of porpoise is banned 

 as mandated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The sad truth is that il 

 is purse-seining itself which has greatly reduced the number of persons em 

 ployed by the fleet ; the man power per ton caught has gone down dramatically 

 since introduction of the "modern" technique; that, in fact, is why it was 

 introduced. One would think that the representatives of the unions would 

 be supporting the environmentalists, not the industry. The situation is remi- 

 niscent of West Virginia in the 1930's and 1940's when John L. Lewis became 

 a hero to the 10% of the well paid miners who kept their jobs but something 

 of a bum to coal-miners in general. Again, in brief, it is purse-seining, not the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has caused the large loss in jobs. 



More crocodile tears were shed in the hearings over the fate of the Ameri- 

 can consumer. Somehow, his whole diet and well being would be seriously 

 affected if the U.S. fleet could not set on porpoise. Also, he would pay a few 

 cents move a can for tuna. This, again, does not comport with the facts. Late 

 in the hearing: and after some badgering, the Government produced these 

 rather astounding figures (no Exhibit number) : as to all canned tuna con- 

 sumed in the U.S., in 1974 only 14% was yellowfin tuna caught on porpoise: 

 in 1975 the percentage was 21 : there are no figures for 1076. And how many 

 Americans blindfolded could tell yellowfin from skipjack, or "light" from 

 "white"? The real answer is that the American demand for "tuna" can be 

 met without the slaughter of a single porpoise — and that is exactly what 

 Congress had in mind. There are other types of "tuna" to be caught and other 

 methods to catch yellowfin. 



The whole tenor of the hearing revolved around an intense worry over the 

 oronomic health of the tuna fleet ; very little real concern was evinced on 



