217 



3. It would obliterate the cottage industries of the Aleuts ana 

 Eskimos of the Bering seacoast, where native handicrafts based on 

 marine mammals represent a major source of income. 



4. It would prevent commercial fishermen from protecting their 

 catches and gear from the depredations of hair seals and sea lions. 



5. It would deny the native residents of small coastal communities 

 along the Bering Sea and Arctic coast an important source of food 

 which has been derived from the marginal sea. 



6. It would create problems with several coastal States which al- 

 ready regulate and manage marine mammal resources within State 

 waters. This is so because these bills would appear inconsistent with 

 certain parts of section 8 of the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (43 

 U.S.C. 1301). 



Mr. DiNGELL. Mr. Pollock, it would be helpful to the committee to 

 suggest what those sections are and what they do, if you please. 



Mr. Pollock. Do you want me to go into the bills that prohibit it? 



Mr. DiNGELL. Just refer to the sections of the Submerged Lands 

 Act of 1953. 



Mr. Pollock. Section 3, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. DiNGELL. If it would be comfortable to you, you can supply 

 that information. 



Mr. Pollock. Mr. Chairman, I think, generally, we would be happy 

 to provide more specifically that information but section 3 simply 

 provides the States the authority to manage these resources under 

 the Submerged Lands Act of 1953. 



It is the natural resources portion and this would include the living 

 resources of the sea, I am advised. 



Mr. DiNGELL. I think it would be helpful if you would, and it would 

 be perfectly appropriate, if you submit it. 



Mr. Pollock. Very good. 



( Information to be supplied follows :) 



Conflict With H.R. 6554 and H.R. 6558 



The portion of the Submerged Lands Act which conflicts "nath H.R. 6554 and 

 H.R. 6558 is Section 3(a) which provides in pertinent part: 



"It is liereby determined and declared to be in the public interest that (1) title 

 to and ownership of the lands beneath navigable waters within the boundaries of 

 the respective States, and the natural resources within such lands and waters, 

 and (2) the right and power to manage, administer, lease, develop, and use the 

 said lands and natural resources all in accordance with applicable State law 

 be, and they are hereby, subject to the provisions hereof, recognized, confirmed, 

 established, and vested in the assigned to the respective States . . ." 



Mr. Pollock. The second group of bills are concerned with the use 

 of humane methods in taking marine mammals. It includes such meas- 

 ures as H.R. 7240 and H.R. 4370 which prohibit, among other things, 

 skinning animals alive or clubbing them. As previously noted, no fur 

 seals under our jurisdiction are skinned alive, and clubbing is, to date, 

 the most humane method of harvesting them. H.R. 4370 presupposes 

 that a more humane mamier of harvesting seals will be found prior to 

 July 1, 1972, and forbids clubbing thereafter. It may well be that no 

 better method is found by that time, in which case the bill would, in 

 effect, require the use of a less humane method. 



The third group of bills, such as H.R. 690, which you introduced, Mr. 

 Chairman, and part of H.R. 6804, are primarily directed at research 

 and investigation into the marine mammal problem. We strongly ad- 

 vocate provision for adequate research so as to improve conservation 

 and management measures. However, we also believe that authority to 



