of animals in public, the size of the audience, the level of inter- 

 action with the public, and educational content. The largest facili- 

 ties may hold some 50 marine mammals and may accommodate 

 several million visitors annually, while the smallest facility may 

 have 2 or 3 marine mammals which are often rehabilitated, 

 beached, or stranded California sea lions. 



With respect to scientific research, from 1973 through 1989, 

 NOAA received 409 permit applications for scientific research that 

 requested takings of almost 1 million animals. The permit pro- 

 gram, however, has become increasingly complex and controversial. 



Today, we will hear from officials at NOAA and the Marine 

 Mammal Commission, as well as from representatives of the public 

 display community and the animal preservation community on the 

 current system for regulating public display and scientific research. 

 I look forward to hearing the testimony. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Senator Kerry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The witnesses are 

 goin^ to offer testimony and suggestions regarding these issues on 

 public display and scientific research. And we have two strong pan- 

 els to explore all sides of this issue. My hope is we will have a good 

 dialog and from this hearing will come a good sense of where the 

 committee needs to proceed as we move forward with the reauthor- 

 ization in a few weeks. 



Senator Inouye, 



OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR INOUYE 



Senator Inouye. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 



I wish to commend you for calling this hearing. I wish I could 

 stay here to listen to all the witnesses, but we have another matter 

 before us at Appropriations. So, I will have to leave, sir. 



But I am here to just say a few words. I believe that public dis- 

 play provides an important educational opportunity to inform the 

 public about the significance of marine mammals and their role in 

 the ocean ecosystem. In so doing, I would like to bring to the com- 

 mittee's attention two very successful programs that are now based 

 in Hawaii, which I believe are model public display programs: Sea 

 Life Park, Hawaii, located on the island of Oahu, and the Dolphin 

 Quest Program located on the big island of Hawaii. 



Both programs contribute greatly toward conserving the world's 

 wildlife and educating the public. The marine mammal collection at 

 Sea Life Park, Hawaii, includes false killer whales. Pacific and At- 

 lantic bottle-nosed dolphins, sea lions, harbor seals, and the Hawai- 

 ian monk seal, which is an endangered species, found only in the 

 Hawaiian Islands. 



The park is a very popular spot for visitors and locals. Since the 

 park opened in 1964, it has had a very steady growth in attend- 

 ance. This year, we will have about 700,000 visitors there. Marine 

 mammals have been the park's educational ambassadors. This year 

 alone, the Sea Life Park will provide an organized educational pro- 

 gram to over 40,000 Hawaii schoolchildren. This park incorporates 

 marine mammals into its programs to develop public awareness on 

 very important issues, such as the history of nature, marine mam- 

 mal biology and behavior, and the impact of ocean pollution on ma- 

 rine mammals. 



