The National Marine Fisheries Service has concluded that the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act does not currently provide a mech- 

 anism for allowing the take of marine mammals in the wild for 

 such educational purposes. We believe that such activity should be 

 authorized under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service recommends that the Marine Mam- 

 mal Protection Act be amended accordingly. 



The second change that we would suggest is the exchange of na- 

 tive art between the U.S. and foreign museums or other institu- 

 tions open to the public, where such native art, in whole or in part, 

 includes marine mammal parts subject to MMPA prohibitions. The 

 MMPA does not include a specific provision for exempting art 

 works and handicrafts containing marine mammal parts from the 

 prohibition on importing such parts. 



If such native art is not purchased or sold, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service believes that the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 should be amended to provide such a provision for the import and 

 export of such native art — ^for example, worked marine mammal 

 parts from a marine mammal taken legally — for the purpose of ex- 

 hibit in a museum or other similar institution open to the public. 



It is important to note that this change would not provide any 

 commercial incentive for additional taking of marine mammal 

 parts. 



Similarly, the MMPA does not provide an efficient permit mecha- 

 nism to authorize small levels of harassment incidental to other ac- 

 tivities. The regulatory process of Section 101(a)(5) of the MMPA, 

 which can be used for lethal as well as nonlethal incidental 

 takings, is a lengthy procedure that precludes authorizing some ac- 

 tivities with only minor impacts. 



The fourth change we would propose is the exemption from the 

 MMPA for animals already in captivity prior to the enactment of 

 the MMPA. Although the exemption may be appropriate in the 

 case of marine mammal parts or products, the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service believes that it is time, more than 20 years after 

 the enactment of the MMPA, to remove this exemption as it applies 

 to living animals held captive for public display or scientific re- 

 search purposes. 



This exemption served its purpose during the initial period fol- 

 lowing enactment of MMPA. Marine mammals presently exempted 

 from the provisions of the MMPA should be afforded the same pro- 

 tection under the MMPA as all other marine mammals. It is time 

 to ensure that the provisions in the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 apply consistently to all marine mammals held for public display 

 or scientific research purposes. 



Thank you. That is the end of my prepared remarks. I would be 

 glad to answer any questions that you may have. 



Senator Kerry. Thank you very much. 



We are joined by Senator Lott. I did not know if you had an 

 opening statement. 



OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LOTT 



Senator LoTT. Just briefly, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the 

 distinguished administration representatives here today. And I also 

 welcome the panel that we will have following this panel. This is 



