10 



to authorize issuing permits for such activities when the activities 

 clearly would have a negligible impact. 



We were asked also to comment, Mr. Chairman, on the question 

 of commercial whale- watching. The Commission believes that, if it 

 is done properly, commercial whale-watching can contribute sub- 

 stantially to the conservation and protection of marine mammals. 

 For example, it provides an opportunity for the public to see whales 

 in the wild, and while doing so to learn about conservation issues 

 and how they can help address those conservation issues. Also, 

 commercial whale- watching boats can serve as platforms of oppor- 

 tunity for assessing and monitoring the status of marine mammal 

 populations. 



However, the potential benefits of commercial whale- watching 

 probably are not being fully realized at the present time, toward 

 this end, the Commission believes it would be useful for the Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service to organize and hold workshops in 

 each of its regions where commercial whale-watching is being done, 

 to identify cooperative actions that could be taken by the service 

 and the industry to use commercial whale-watching to help obtain 

 the long-time series of data needed to detect and monitor cetacean 

 population trends, and to determine whether additional guidelines 

 or regulations may be necessary to ensure that whale-watching has 

 only beneficial effects. 



This concludes my summary statement. I would be pleased to try 

 to answer any questions that you may have. 



[The prepared statement of Dr. Hofman follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Robert J . Hofman, Ph.D. 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am Robert Hofman, scientific 

 Program Director of the Marine Mammal Commission. The Commission was asked 

 to: (1) discuss its role in the public display and scientific research permitting proc- 

 ess; (2) provide an overview of problems which the Commission perceives; and (3) 

 provide suggestions for dealing with the problems and encouraging educational pro- 

 grams like whalewatching. 



The Commission believes that these are important and timely issues. As re- 

 quested, I will focus on issues related to scientific research. 



BACKGROUND 



When the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972, many-species and 

 population stocks of marine mammals were severely depleted, and in some c£ises 

 were in danger of extinction, as a result of human activities. One of the causes of 

 this state ofaffairs was the lack of knowledge concerning the natural history, de- 

 mography, dynamics, and ecology of marine mammals. It is unlikely, for example, 

 that the International Whaling Commission would have allowed, as it did, levels of 

 commercial take that led to tne economic and near biological extinction of many 

 whale stocks had the consequences of those take levels been known. 



Congress recognized that such problems could be overcome only through scientific 

 research and, in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, authorized the Secretaries of 

 the Interior and Commerce to issue permits allowing the taking of any species of 

 marine mammal, including those which are endangered and threatened, for pur- 

 poses of scientific research, provided the taking would be consistent with the pur- 

 poses and policies of the Act. The Act also recognized the value of public display 

 and authorized the Secretaries to issue permits allowing the taking oi non-depleted 

 species for purposes of public display. 



The Act defines "take" to mean "to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to 

 harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal." It requires that permits author- 

 izing the taking or importing of marine mammals for scientific research or other 

 purposes specify — 



(A) the number and kind [e.g. the species, age, and sex] of animals which are au- 

 thorized to be taken or imported, 



