Political Quotes

“the amendment that I am introducing today provides that the disentanglement of a marine mammal from fishing gear or debris does not violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This amendment is co-sponsored by Senators Kerry, Gregg, Collins, Kennedy, Smith, and Breaux. I would also like to thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Stevens, for his efforts in helping us craft this amendment. Senator Stevens has been a leader on marine mammal issues since the act was first enacted in 1972, and we value his expertise. As a nation, we have taken great steps toward protecting marine mammals. The Marine Mammal Protection Act is an international model for minimizing adverse human impacts on marine mammal populations. Under the Act, the term 'take' means 'to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal'. Takings are expressly prohibited without an exemption approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, consistent with the MMPA. The takings language is clear. It is meant to prevent unnecessary injury to marine mammal populations. But unfortunately, as the law currently stands, the takings provision could be used to hold liable a person involved in attempting to rescue a marine mammal from entanglement. Perhaps nowhere else is this problem more critical than in my own State of Maine, where NMFS has recently proposed a rule to reduce the takings of large Atlantic whales.”