Each year, U.S. fishing operations needlessly kill tens of thousands of marine mammals. According to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, this "dirty-fishing" is one of the biggest threats to the future of marine mammal populations.
Congress is now considering amendments proposed by Representative Gilchrest (R-MD) in H.R. 2130 and Representative Pombo (R-CA) in H.R. 4075 that would weaken key protections for marine mammals.
The House Resources Committee -- run by the infamous Richard Pombo -- has removed the "dolphin deadline" from the original Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1994. This deadline set April 30, 2001 as the cut-off date for commercial fishermen to reduce to "insignificant levels" the amount of marine mammals killed by U.S. fishing operations. (This is called the Zero Mortality Rate Goal.) The Bush Administration recently defined the Zero Mortality Rate Goal for the first time since it was added to the Act, finally creating a scientific definition of the goal, and now Pombo wants to eliminate it.
Environmental groups want the deadline reinstated and enforced. Without the necessary deadline there would be no real goal for commercial fisheries to reduce their impact on marine mammals.
In addition to elimination of the "dolphin deadline," the Animal Welfare Institute reports on two other sections of the law under attack:
1) Under the MMPA, the Secretary may issue permits for the taking of marine mammals for scientific research or public display. The purpose of these permits must be to enhance the survival or recovery of the species, but the MMPA currently does not assign ownership of marine mammals to a private parties. H.R. 2130 and H.R. 4075 give private enterprises `ownership' of our cetaceans in public facilities such as aquariums
2) The Take Reduction plans are used to protect marine mammals that come in contact with fisheries. Currently, there are strict deadlines regarding the creation and implementation of Take Reduction Plans. H.R. 2130 and H.R. 4075 would strip the MMPA of vital deadlines, such as a 30-day time frame for the Secretary of Commerce to submit a Take Reduction Plan. Without this deadline, there is no sense of urgency for this important process. Similarly, these bills extend the deadline goal for the reduction of incidental mortality or injury of marine mammals from 6 months to 9 months. This extension would leave marine mammals needlessly unprotected and stall conservation efforts for an additional three months.
The House could take us these bills as early as next week. Please call, fax or email your House representatives and urge them to oppose H.R. 4075 and H.R. 2130. Encourage your representative to object to any weakening of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.