407 



I gathered from the testimony of the representatives of the fisher- 

 men's association that they felt this might well be a solution. 



I wonder, pending any verification and testing, whether or not there 

 could be some provision in this bill which would provide a moratorium 

 to give the tuna fisheries association an opportunity to develop what 

 they indicate is certainly a solution. 



Dr. NoRRis. I am not quite sure I understand what you mean by a 

 moratorium, Mr. Pelly. 



Mr. Pelly. I was trying to figure out some way to recognize the 

 obvious desirability of the solution in this case and to provide a means 

 of freeing the porpoises and at the same time not doing away with 

 an important industry that provides necessary food for our growing 

 population throughout the world. 



Dr. NoRRis. Certainly, the solution to this problem is utterly man- 

 datory as fai- as I am concerned. 



The need has been for the tuna industry to be more open and to be 

 more cooperative with the scientists who have been attempting to 

 solve this problem for some time. 



They should also bend their own efforts toward a solution, which 

 they have begun to do. 



I think what we need is an acceleration of this effort as quickly as 

 possible. 



Mr. Pelly. Well, all I was trying to figure out was some way of not 

 lowering the boom on the tuna fishing fleet and at the same time pro- 

 viding for the protection of the porpoises and that I would say could 

 only be done by further research and some adequate plan to find out 

 whether the new nets actually work out the way the captain has testi- 

 fied that it is working out. 



Dr. NoRRis. Yes. 



Mr. Pelly. Are you familiar with the one statement by Captain 

 Medina ? 



Dr. NoRRis. Yes; the statistical evidence, however, apparently does 

 not bear out his rosy conclusions. 



Mr. Pelly. Well, one net. That is the only one we know about. Are 

 they using them extensively in the fleet ? 



Dr. NoRRis, The modified net? 



Mr. Pelly. Yes. 



Dr. NoRRis. I frankly do not know for sure ; I don't think so. 



Mr. Pelly. Well, I hope you will find out, because it seems to be 

 the only solution that has been made. 



Dr. NoRRis. No ; there have been a series of other tests run at the 

 Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Oceanic Institute in 

 Hawaii involving attempts to make nets with portions of them 

 acoustically transparent so that the porpoises would think there was 

 a place to escape when they scan them with their sonar equipment, 

 and cork lines which could be lowered by air pressure, and this sort. 

 of thing. 



There has been a lot of work over a 2-year period but under rather 

 difficult circumstances and a minimum of interaction between the sci- 

 entists and the tuna fleet. 



Mr. Pelly. Without taking too much time, I need a little definition 

 on a couple of statements in your prepared statement that you made. 



One, I do not quite know what you mean when you refer to the 



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