317 



Mr, DiNGELL. Thank you, Senator. 



Now we shall hear from the other distinguished Senator from 

 Alaska, Mr. Stevens. 



STATEMENT OF HON. TED STEVENS, A SENATOR IN CONGRESS 



FROM THE STATE OF ALASKA 



Mr. Stevens. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I 

 very much appreciate the opportunity to appear here this morning to 

 comment on the ocean mammal protection legislation now being con- 

 sidered by the subcommittee. I will confine my remarks to the impact 

 of this legislation on the citizens of Alaska, and especially our Indian, 

 Eskimo, and Aleut people. 



At the outset, I want to state my strong opposition to those provi- 

 sions of H.K. 6558 and similar House bills which would terminate 

 the Pribilof Islands seal harvest administered by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. It is my view that these measures are the product of 

 a well-financed advertising campaign which has succeeded in dis- 

 seminating a good deal of misinformation about the Alaska fur seal 

 program. As you know, these ads have represented that the Alaska 

 fur seal is in danger, that baby seals are slaughtered on the Pribilofs, 

 and that the annual harvest is mhumane. These representations are not 

 true. Furthermore, the enactment of H.R. 6558 in its present form 

 would seriously endanger the continuing existence of the Alaska fur 

 seal and would destroy the livelihood of the natives living on the 

 Pribilof Islands. 



Repeal of the protection presently provided by the Four-Nation 

 North Pacific Fur Seal Convention, as would be required by the en- 

 actment of H.R. 6558 and similar legislation, would mark a retrogres- 

 sion to the preconvention situation where seals were slaughtered indis- 

 criminately on the high seas. Under the convention, the herd has 

 progressed from near extinction to what is now a healthy, thriving 

 population. To insure the continuing vitality of the herd, selective 

 harvesting of bachelor seals is necessary. In this connection, I should 

 emphasize that baby seals are not harvested in Alaska. All of the pic- 

 tures depicting such harvesting were taken in areas not under the 

 jurisdiction of the United States. Moreover, extensive experimentation, 

 I am informed, has demonstrated that the swiftest, most painless har- 

 vesting method is clubbing in the expert manner practiced by the 

 residents of the Pribilof Islands. 



The Secretary also observed that the seal management program on 

 the Pribilofs has been one of the most effective wildlife conservation 

 and management programs in history. Mr. Stans' observations have 

 been strongly corroborated in a report to the Commerce Department 

 by a panel of six distinguished veterinarians selected by the American 

 Veterinary Medical Association. I understand that the report — which 

 concluded that the Pribilof harvest is conducted in a humane, efficient 

 manner — will also be included in the hearing record. 



The leaders of many prestigious and knowledgeable conservation 

 groups have also expressed the view that H.R. 6558 and other bills of 

 this type are unsound in that they prohibit prudent management on 

 the Pribilofs and require the termination of the Fur Seal Convention. 

 In separate letters to President Nixon and to all Members of the House 

 and Senate, these leaders stated that programs for the protection and 



