[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1994

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                               speech of

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 22, 1994

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I commend the Merchant Marine and 
Fisheries Committee and, in particular, its distinguished chairman, for 
the long hours of work dedicated to bringing this bill to the floor. I 
have worked with the committee to resolve some of the complex and 
contentious issues in the bill but, unfortunately, I am unable to 
support this conference report.
  At the heart of the conflict over this bill is the question of when, 
and under what circumstances, to sanction the killing of a marine 
mammal. The committee's struggle to resolve that issue mirrors one that 
has been ongoing in my district at the Ballard Locks for more than a 
decade. Each year from January to May, California sea lions gather in 
the channel leading to the locks and consume up to 60 percent of a Lake 
Washington steelhead run now on the brink of extinction.
  It has become clear that survival of the steelhead may depend upon 
the option to kill the sea lions that feed upon them at the Ballard 
Locks. Annually, more than 1,600 returning steelhead are needed to 
sustain the population, but so far this winter fewer than 50 fish have 
passed through the fish ladder at the locks. As the number of spawning 
steelhead returning from the open sea declines, it becomes all the more 
critical to protect them from predation by sea lions at the locks. For 
this reason, I am not opposed to the idea of allowing States to 
petition the Secretary of Commerce for permission to remove sea lions 
by lethal means, in urgent instances.
  Regrettable, however, this conference report does not address 
adequately the crisis my constituents are facing at the Ballard Locks. 
Last November, marine mammal experts in my district recommended that a 
fish tracking study be conducted by the appropriate State and Federal 
fisheries agencies. This study is the first of its kind in which 
scientists have been able to track movement of fish through the area of 
predation at the locks, and it is critical that we continue to build 
upon the knowledge we gain from this study.
  I have sought unsuccessfully to amend the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act to authorize additional money to both continue studying fish 
behavior and identify and construct fish passage and fish ladder 
improvements at the Ballard Locks, to aid the recovery of salmonid 
fishery stocks. Such an authorization would help my constituents pursue 
any reasonable measure to protect steelhead and minimize predation upon 
them by sea lions. The committee has given the Secretary of Commerce 
permission to conduct the studies, but there is neither a directive nor 
funding to carry out this work that will address a long-term solution.
  In addition, the lethal taking provision in this bill, in cases 
specific to the Ballard Locks, will allow the Secretary to authorize 
killing of marine mammals that feed on fish not in danger of becoming 
listed under the Endangered Species Act. This provision gives license 
to kill sea lions even if they are not threatening a fish run, thus 
making the sea lions vulnerable to unnecessary lethal removal.
  I regret that I am unable to support this bill, because it offers the 
potential to address critical conflicts between declining fish runs and 
marine mammals. Instead, I will request that the Committee on 
Appropriations provide money to the appropriate natural resources 
agencies and the Army Corps of Engineers to study and modify 
obstructions to fish passage at the Ballard Locks. This should improve 
both understanding of fish behavior in the locks and operation of the 
fish ladder, thereby enhancing the passage of many species of fish 
through the locks. I am hopeful that these changes will significantly 
strengthen the very fragile steelhead run at the locks and overcome the 
difficult conflict between fish and marine mammals.

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