Acoustic testing may harm marine mammals

California's sea lions and harbor seals have been the bane of commercial sport fishing in local waters for years, but a possible solution to this problem has environmentalists and animal activists up in arms.

Upon the request of several Californian sport fishing associations, the National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed field tests of a newly developed underwater acoustical device intended to frighten off the pinnipeds that annoy fishing boats by stealing catches and bait. This pulse-powered device is different from previous acoustical deterrents in that it emits a combination sound and shock wave.

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service consistency determination report, these tests would be conducted off the Southern California coast between Long Beach and San Diego. They would occur over a five-month period, and take place on approximately 325 vessel cruises.

However, the California Coastal Commission, supported by the National Resources Defense Council and the Human Society of the United States, has thus far denied the National Marine Fisheries Service access to Southern California waters for testing this device. According to the state commission, the proposed tests have the potential to adversely affect marine mammals, sea turtles and other marine species.

The Commission is also concerned scuba divers may be at risk. While the National Marine Fisheries Service reassured divers no testing would be done if a diving flag was spotted, the chance for human error is too great, according to the state coastal agency.

"Sanctioning the Fisheries Service's tests at this point would be a violation of the California Coastal Act," said California Coastal Commission Chairwoman Sara Wan. "They cannot yet prove the sound/shock waves will not harm the targeted and non-targeted marine life the Act protects."

"No matter how many fish, sea lions and harbor seals might steal from anglers, they are still a protected species in these waters," said National Resources Defense Council spokesman Andrew Wetzler.

Richard Ayers, an engineering physicist whose company, Pulsed Power Technologies Inc., located in Spring Valley, Calif., developed the device, insists that it is safe.
"It's non-lethal and, we believe, non-harmful to sea lions and harbor seals," Ayers said. "It's certainly better than shooting these animals, which is what angry fishermen will resort to if this problem is not addressed."

However, critics of the proposed National Marine Fisheries Service testing feel insufficient laboratory results are available to truly determine the safety of these tests. Some feel these proposed experiments are downright unsafe for marine life.

"We're pretty confident it will cause deafness," said Wetzler. "And a deaf sea lion is a dead sea lion."

Protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, populations of California sea lions and harbor seals have increased from 80,000 to more than 180,000 during the last decade, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Until 1995, fishermen could kill animals that specifically targeted their boats or lines. However, in 1995, federal legislation decreed all marine mammals be protected regardless of their "bad" habits.

"Sea lion numbers have exploded," said Rich Hughett, executive director of the Fisherman's Alliance of California. "They are beginning to ruin a very profitable Californian industry."

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the recreational marine fishing industry is an important economic asset in California, and estimated to be a $536 million business in Southern California alone. Anglers lose up to 30 percent of their catches on fishing "party" boats, the service said. Hence, California fishing associations have pushed federal legislators to overhaul the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Congress will weigh the matter later this month.

The California Coastal Commission's ruling sets up a possible legal confrontation between the state coastal agency and the federal fisheries service.

"If the National Marine Fisheries Service pursues its request to test the pulse-powered device in California waters it may ask the federal Department of Commerce to step in as a mediator," said National Marine Fisheries Service representative James Lecky in a press release.