534 



Statement by Harry B. Crandall, Director of Wilderness Reviews, 

 the wlldehlness society, washington, d.c. 



Mr. Chairman, the Wilderness Society appreciates the opportunity to comment 

 on H.R. 6554. H.R. 10420 and otlier proposals before this Committee which would 

 partially or totally ban the killing of all ocean mammals. 



The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization of 70,000 mem- 

 bers which serves the public interest through its work for the preservation, pro- 

 tection, and wise management of our wildlife and the survival of endangerecl 

 animal species. Headquarters of the Society are at 720 Fifteenth Street. N.W.. 

 Washington. D.C. 



The Society has long l>een associat€HJ with citizen efforts on behalf of the many 

 species of ocean mammals which live and breed along our coasts and territorial 

 waters. When compared with land animals, these sx)ecies have received rela- 

 tively little public attention, not as a consequence of indifference but rather 

 because to most of us they remain unknown entities. Few have had opportunity 

 to observe these animals in their natural habitat, nor have their habits and great 

 importance become suflSciently well known to arouse public interest in the sur- 

 \"ival and welfare of these species. They are primarily nomads of the high seas, 

 inaccessible to the general public and elusive even to the sophisticated tracking 

 devices of marine biologists. And although some of us might envy them this cir- 

 cumstance, their remoteness is perhaps the very source of their present jeopardy. 

 Unseen they have been left largely unprotected, and while some species have been 

 the subject of recent, dedicated research, these studies are at best a scant be- 

 ginning and come at a time when, paradoxically, opportunities to observe and 

 study ocean mammaLs are rapidly diminishing. 



We appreciate your invitation to express our full and wholehearted support 

 for legislation that would provide the strong protection and wise management 

 upon which the survival of ocean mammals will ultimately depend. Of the various 

 proposals under consideration, it is our view that the bill entitled "The Marine 

 Mammals Protection Act of 1971" offers the most viahle basis for developing a 

 sound program of protection and management. In addition to the broad protec- 

 tions it affords, this bill provides for organized research and management review, 

 and directs the development of international agreements for the protection of 

 marine mammals, two concepts we believe are indispensible to the eventual ef- 

 fectiveness of thLs legislation. 



There are, however, several aspects of the act on which we would like to offer 

 particular comment. We believe that preservation of the named species should 

 be stated unequivocally as being the essential purpose of the act. This should 

 be the objective of management and research and should clearly preclude any 

 other conflicting activity including commercial harvest or capture of animals 

 for public display. 



To implement this principle, we urge that preliminary studies of each species 

 be undertaken immediately to furnish as quickly as possible information for de- 

 termining needed management. As a means of establishing interim protection, 

 the act should set a temporary moratorium on the taking of all ocean mammals 

 for any purpose other than authorized research. The length of the moratorium 

 should be determined according to species and allow for the special problems en- 

 countered in the research of each. The moratoriums may be lifted once this pre- 

 liminary research has been evaluated and management prescribed, except in 

 those cases where the studies indicate a need for extended or permanent l«ins, as 

 may well be the finding with regard to whales and polar bears. Extensions might 

 be required to facilitate further study or as a feature of management. 



In view of the special circumstances involved in the harvest of fur seals on 

 the Pribilof Islands, it may be necessary or prudent to exempt this activity 

 from the moratorium restriction. Section 110. which directs a review of the 

 Pribilof har\'est to determine its consistency with the purposes and policy of 

 the act, seems a more appropriate approach to this situation. 



We .specifically endorse the overall exception permitting Eskimos. Indians and 

 Aleuts to take any marine mammals for subsistence purpases or in conjunction 

 with their cultural tradition. Neither the proposed moratorium nor any pro- 

 vision of the act should enjoin these traditional practices. 



We do not believe, however, that general exception should \^e made for the 

 capture of marine mammals for zoos or similar jmblic display purjio.ses, or for 

 medical research other than that required for the preservation and welfare 

 of the species named in the act. Permission to c'apture zoo specimens should be 

 contingent upon management policy and subject to any moratorium restrictions. 

 We feel that the act should be expanded to provide both the authority and 



