A. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
1. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 made it illegal to hunt or harass any marine mammal in U.S. waters.
2. The MMPA does allow for certain exceptions: native subsistence hunting; collecting or temporarily restraining marine mammals for research, education, and public display; and taking restricted numbers of marine mammals incidentally in the course of fishing operations.
3. The primary objective of the MMPA is to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem and to obtain and maintain an optimum sustainable population of marine mammals.
4. According to the MMPA, all seals and sea lions in U.S. waters are under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
B. Marine zoological parks.
1. Having harbor seals at marine zoological parks provides the opportunity for the public to learn, up-close, about these animals and how human activities may impact their survival.
2. In the protected environment of a marine zoological park, scientists can examine aspects of harbor seal biology that are difficult or impossible to study in the wild.
Bibliography
Books for Young Readers
SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database
www.seaworld.org / www.buschgardens.org
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