TUNA-PORPOISE REGULATIONS 



TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1977 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife 

 Conservation and the Environment of the 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washington, D.C. 



The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 :25 a.m. in room 2212 

 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Robert L. Leggett, chairman 

 of the subcommittee, presiding. 



Mr. Leggett. The meeting of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wild- 

 life, Mammals and Other Living Things will please come to order. 



This morning the subcommittee here will have the opportunity to 

 explore with the administration and others, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Services final decision on regulations to govern the inci- 

 dental kill of porpoise during the 1977 tuna fishing season. As I am 

 sure all of you know, the subcommittee just completed a 1-day hear- 

 ing on this subject matter on February 17th, at which time neither 

 the NMFS nor the Marine Mammal Commission could make any 

 official comments on these regulations. Therefore, it was somewhat 

 difficult for the subcommittee to fully evaluate the predicament in 

 which the tuna industry and the porpoise find themselves. Moreover, 

 the subcommittee had to operate cautiously in order to avoid any 

 undue interference in that administrative process. 



I believe we fairly well circumvented the obstacles with which we 

 were presented. 



However, this morning: we are no longer hampered by these pre- 

 vious conditions. We will examine with scrutiny these new regula- 

 tions and the basis on which they have been founded. Accordingly, 

 we are going to invite Dr. White, the very distinguished Director of 

 NOAA, to give the subcommittee a brief explanation of the impor- 

 tant provisions in these new regulations, how they will affect the 

 tuna fishing industry, the porpoise, and foreign tuna fishing vessels, 

 what problems he foresees in their implementation, whether there 

 is sufficient and reasonable information to support these regulations, 

 and finally any other questions which arise in the course of his ex- 

 planation, including any recommendations which he might have with 

 respect to modifications or expansions of the existing law. 



In as much as these regulations have proceeded through an admin- 

 istrative law judge hearing, arguments in various courts around the 

 country and been the subject of this Subcommittee's consideration in 

 the past, I would hope and expect that we can focus upon the primary 

 areas of interest and defer discussion on the minor provisions. Fol- 



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