The All-Porpoise War

The Federal Government has had the U.S. tuna fleet under the gun for killing porpoises for nearly five years, but it was just a few weeks ago that it delivered a blow which may well drive the U.S. fleet to foreign flag. And if that happens, it would be the first documented case of government regulation actually destroying an entire American industry.

This latest blow came in the form of final 1977 tuna-fishing regulations issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Within hours, outraged fishermen were heading for home port in San Diego to begin application to re-register their vessels in order to escape the U.S. regulations. (Congress, however, was prepared for them. Representative Robert L. Leggett [D., Calif.], chairman of the House subcommittee involved in the tuna—porpoise controversy, said, “We’re not going to let them leave the U.S. If they try, we’ll just pass a law to stop them.”)

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Grace Marie Prather

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The Federal Government has had the U.S. tuna fleet under the gun for killing porpoises for nearly five years, but it was just a few weeks ago that it delivered a blow which may well drive the U.S. fleet to foreign flag. And if that happens, it would be the first documented case of government regulation actually destroying an entire American industry.

This latest blow came in the form of final 1977 tuna-fishing regulations issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Within hours, outraged fishermen were heading for home port in San Diego to begin application to re-register their vessels in order to escape the U.S. regulations. (Congress, however, was prepared for them. Representative Robert L. Leggett [D., Calif.], chairman of the House subcommittee involved in the tuna—porpoise controversy, said, “We’re not going to let them leave the U.S. If they try, we’ll just pass a law to stop them.”)