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Section 203 exempts from the provisions of the act those ocean 

 mammals killed by Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts for their own use, 

 as part of their native culture, or under the provisions of the Fur Seal 

 Act of 1966 or the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention. 



There is, however, an absolute ban on the killing of polar bears by 

 anyone, for these animals simply cannot bear any further depletion 

 without the future existence of the species becoming jeopardized. 



Section 204 exempts from the act the humane capture of a reason- 

 able number of these animals for medical and scientific research and 

 for municipal and/or nonprofit zoos. 



Section 205 relates to forfeiture of vessels, skins, and other cargo in 

 cases of violations of provisions of the act. 



Section 206 provides for enforcement of the act by the Secretaries 

 of State, Treasury, Interior, Commerce, and Transportation, and sec- 

 tion 207 authorizes these Secretaries to issue enforcement regulations. 



Section 208 contains penalties for violations of title 11. Persons con- 

 victed under the act for a first offense shall be subject to a maximum 

 fine of $5,000, a term of imprisonment not to exceed 1 year, or both ; 

 second offenses may be punished by a fine up to $10,000, a jail sentence 

 of from 1 to 3 years, or both. 



Section 209 contains a repealer of title III of Public Law 89-702, 

 "Protection of Sea Otters on the High Seas," since this law will be- 

 come redundant after enactment of our legislation. 



Titles III and IV relate to the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention 

 and the change as I indicated before. 



Mr. Chairman, the Ocean Mammal Protection Act of 1971 is a 

 tough piece of legislation. In fact, it is the toughesit of all the meas- 

 ures which are presently before this committee. Frankly, I am not 

 ashamed of that, I am proud of it for these are the times which de- 

 mand that strong hands take the helm. 



Herman Melville once wrote of the "great shroud of the sea which 

 rolled on as it rolled 5,000 years ago." Today the legacy of that 5,000 

 years ago can be preserved and begim anew. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. DiNGELL. Mr. Pryor, the committee is grateful to you for your 

 very helpful and fine statement. 



The Chair wishes to commend you for your efforts in this area. 



Are there any questions for our colleague and friend, Mr. Pryor ? 



Mr. Potter. Mr. Pryor, as you may know, one of the problems that 

 may be involved in the j^rotection of the Alaska fur seals is that the 

 commercial fisheries which have developed in the Bering Sea tend, 

 according to some information we have, to deplete the food on which 

 the fur seals depend when they are up in the rookeries in the Pribilof s. 



If this is true, it suggests that the size of the herd is going to be 

 tied to what is going on with the commercial fisheries, with the herring 

 fleets and other fisheries in the Bering Sea. 



Do you feel that it would be useful to incorporate in any legislation 

 to come from this committee a broader perspective, urging the Secre- 

 tary of State to engage in a more comprehensive treatment of the 

 problem, perhaps for the Bering Sea environmental system ? 



Mr. Pryor. I would think that the Secretary could engage in a find- 

 ing of fact, a finding of the facts in establishing what actually is the 

 true picture. 



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