to provide for control and progressive eradication of certain obnoxious aquatic plant growths from the navigable waters, tributary streams, connecting channels and other allied waters of the United States, in the combined interest of navigation, flood control, drainage, agriculture, fish and wildlife conservation, public health, and related purposes. H.R. 11475, covering "jellyfish and other such pests,' would provide a Department of Interior program for study and control of certain kinds of aquatic animal life that would complement the Department of the Army program. It is assumed that the phrase "and other such pests" is intended to refer to other forms of animal life generally similar to jellyfish, and that this term could not be construed as encompassing plant life. This interpretation precludes any conflict between the two programs. The Department of the Army has no objection to the enactment of H.R. 11475. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that while there would be no objection to the presentation of this report, the Bureau recommends that action on H.R. 11475 be deferred at this time. The Bureau believes that further preliminary investigation of the jellyfish problem, such as the study now being conducted by the University of Maryland under a matching grant from the Department of Interior under the Water Resources Research Act, should precede both authorization of a large scale program of research, control, or eradication and a determinaion as to where the responsibility lies for bearing the substantial cost of such i program. Sincerely yours, STANLEY R. RESOR, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., March 14, 1966. Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. GARMATZ: Your Committee has requested this Department's views and recommendations on H. R. 11475, a bill "To provide for the control or elimiaation of jellyfish and other such pests in the coastal waters of the United States." We recommend the enactment of H. R. 11475. H.R. 11475 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States and give financial and technical aid to them in the study and control of jellyfish and similar pests which adversely affect fish and shellfish and water-based recreation. The Secretary is also authorized to conduct, either directly or by contract, or both, research into the sea nettle problem, including their life history, to conduct studies on developing control measures, and to control, based on such studies, or eliminate jellyfish and similar pests in the coastal waters of the United States. Section 2 directs that the cost of this program will be shared (50-50) by the States and the Federal Government. The bill authorizes a total appropriation of $10 million to carry out the Federal share of this program. While the bill is sufficiently broad to cover any pest adversely affecting fish, shellfish, and recreation in our coastal waters, it is primarily aimed at the "sea nettle" problem in Chesapeake Bay. This problem has received a great deal of public attention. It is not new, of course, for periodic explosions of aquatic life to occur-one species or another. We believe that the Federal Government has an important interest in this problem from the standpoint of water-based recreation. It is of great concern to the many people who annually use this and similar areas along our coasts for recreational purposes. Also, it is of concern to those who derive economic benefits from these recreational users. The Federal Government also has an interest from the standpoint of the methods used to control these pests. We do not now consider the "sea nettle” as a serious threat to marine game or commercial fish and shellfish resources. We lack, however, adequate knowledge about its life history to assure us that it has no indirect effect on these resources, as a competitor for food, or carrier of disease. It should be pointed out that this Department is now authorized by the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, and the recently enacted Organic Act of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation to conduct studies and research into the problems created for fish and shellfish and water-based recreation by these sea nettles. Also, the Act of September 22, 1959 (73 Stat. 642) authorizes a continuing study of migratory marine game fish. The Department, however, has not to date utilized any of these authorities or sought funds to study the "sea nettle" problem. In addition to the Federal Government's interest in this problem, the States have similar interests and, from an economic standpoint, very vital intereste Thus, we strongly believe that any effort undertaken by way of research and control of this problem must be done jointly by the States and the Federal Government. Both should share the costs equally. H.R. 11475, unlike our other au thorities, provides for such cost sharing. It recognizes the joint Federal-State interest in this problem. Rational and effective control must be based on knowledge. It seems that biologists generally have neglected the ecology of this group and have little, if any, knowledge of possible and acceptable environmental controls in this case. Preliminary estimates indicate that a research effort adequate to gain the neces sary knowledge of the distribution, life history, and biology of the "sea nettle" and similar pests and to evaluate the control would be very costly. Possibly, the answer to the problem will not be direct control of the "sea nettle", but control of other factors, such as pollution. Exhaustive tests will be needed to ensure that any method of control developed will have no harmful effect on humans or other animals or valuable aquatic resources. We must know where, in the case of chemicals, they go in the ecosystem as well as their effect on the target species. We estimate that the Federal share of this program may be as high as $1 million annually. Despite the costs and our present inadequate knowledge, we very definitely believe that such a joint Federal-State program should be authorized. We should not take a pessimistic view on its success. It could and should render a distinct service to many millions of people. We recommend that section 4 of the bill be amended by adding two new sentences at the end thereof to read as follows: "Such compact shall not be in conflict with any law of the United States. Nothing in such compact shall be construed to affect, impair, or diminish any right, power, or jurisdiction of the United States over or in regard to any navigable waters or any commerce between the States." The Bureau of the Budget has advised that while there is no objection to the presentation of this report, the Bureau recommends that action on H.R. 11475 be deferred at this time. The Budget Bureau believes that further preliminary investigation of the jellyfish problem, such as the study now being conducted by the University of Maryland under a matching grant made available from the Department of the Interior under the Water Resources Research Act should precede both the authorization of a large-scale program of research, control, or eradication and a determination as to where the responsibility lies for bearing the substantial cost of such a program. Sincerely yours, CLARENCE F. PAUTZKE, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, March 16, 1966. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This letter is in response to your letter of January 19, 1966, for a report on H. R. 11475, a bill "To provide for the control or elimination of jellyfish and other such pests in the coastal waters of the United States. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with and assist the States in controlling and eliminating jellyfish and similar pests in order to conserve and protect the fish and shellfish resources in the coastal waters of the United States, and to promote and safeguard water-based recreation in these waters for present and future generations. In carrying out the bill's purposes, in cooperation with the States, the Secretary would be authorized to conduct, directly or by contract, research to determine the abundance and distribution of jellyfish and similar pests, and their effects on fish and wildlife and water-based recreation, to conduct studies of control mess ures, and, based on these studies, to conduct a program of control or elimination of these pests, and to take such other action as he deems desirable. The costs of the program would be shared equally by the Federal Government and by the States, and an appropriation of $10 million authorized for the Federal share of the ɔrogram. The bill would grant the consent of Congress to interstate compacts or agreements for the conduct of research programs in this area, expressly reserving he right to alter, amend, or repeal this provision or the consent granted. In exercising responsibilities under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, che Federal Water Pollution Control Administration is concerned with the mainenance of water quality for all legitimate uses, and with the prevention, control, and abatement of pollution from all sources whatsoever. The legitimate uses for which we seek to protect water quality include, specifically, recreation and the propagation of fish and aquatic life and other wildlife. The presence in waters of ellyfish and other such pests is a known detriment to recreation. The effect on ish and shellfish resources has not been determined. Pursuant to authorities provided in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, we are carrying on water pollution studies in major water areas throughout the United States. One study rea, in which the jellyfish or "sea nettle" problem is severe, is the Chesapeake Bay Basin. The "sea nettle" problem has been considered in connection with our project there, authorized by section 3 of the Act, for the preparation of a comprehensive water quality management program to meet the needs of the resent and future population of the basin for a regulated supply of clean water. There is no indication to date that the "sea nettle" problem is related to pollution. There is not enough information to establish that over-fertilization of the Chesapeake Bay has had an influence in increasing the jellyfish population of these valuable waters. The problem may be related to salinity levels, which rise in imes of drought, possibly causing an increase in the "sea nettle" population. Knowledge gained in a major research effort, with the States concerned paricipating, such as that for which H.R. 11475 would provide, would be of interest. We would also have an interest in measures proposed for the control or elimination of jellyfish and other such pests, to determine that such measures would not impair water quality for any legitimate use. We note that the application of the bill is limited to the coastal waters of the Jnited States. Certain water areas, such as the Chesapeake Bay, in which the ellyfish problem is severe, are not considered to be coastal waters for all purposes. We suggest, therefore, that the term “coastal waters of the United States," as used n the bill, be so defined as to bring within its scope, unexceptionably, all of those vater areas in which it is intended that the proposed program should be carried on. If the bill is modified as suggested above, we would have no objection to the nactment of H.R. 11475. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that while there would be no objection to he presentation of this report, the Bureau recommends that action on H.R. 11475 e deferred at this time for the reasons stated at the conclusion of the report of the Department of the Interior. Sincerely. WILBUR J. COHEN. Under Secretary. THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Washington, D.C., August 10, 1966. Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Dear Mr. CHAIRMAN: On March 16, 1966, this Department submitted a eport on H.R. 11475, a bill “To provide for the control or elimination of jellyish and other such pests in the coastal waters of the United States". We would like to call the Committee's attention to a recent report entitled, Poisonous and Venomous Marine Animals of the World" which was prepared y Bruce W. Halstead, M.D., Director of the World Life Research Institute GPO 1966), under contracts with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development, Department of the Air Force; Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army; and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy. This excellent report summarizes current information on the oxicity, to humans, of jellyfish and related classes of marine animals, and documents the public-health hazards of recreational or occupational contact. The eport includes a tabulation of 501 cases of "stings" resulting in 45 deaths. The uthor of the report notes that this is an incomplete table and there are, unCoubtedly, many additional cases which have not been reported in the medical terature. 67-952-66 The research program, such as would be authorized by H.R. 11475, should produce information which would be valuable in the prevention of disease as well as in the conservation and production of fish and shellfish resources, and the improved utilization of estuarine and marine recreational areas. We hope that this information, which supplements our earlier report, will be useful to the Committee in its deliberations. Sincerely, WILBUR J. COHEN, (Excerpt from "Poisonous and Venomous Marine Animals of the World," by Bruce W. Halstead, M.D., Library of Congress, No. 6560000 (GPO 1965) follows:) POISONOUS AND VENOMOUS MARINE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD Prevention Bathers should exercise particular care when they swim in areas in which dangerous coelenterates, and especially the cubomedusae Chiropsalmus, Carybdea, and Physalia are known to exist. It should be kept in mind that the tentades of some species may trail a great distance from the body of the animal. Cor sequently, they should be given a wide berth. Tight-fitting long woolen underwear or rubber skindiving suits afford protection against attacks from these creatures. Jellyfishes washed up on the beach, even though appearing dead, may be capable of inflicting a serious sting. Since the tentacles of some jellyfishes may cling to the skin, a person should exercise care in removing the tentacles, otherwise additional stings will be received. Some species of coelenterates have powerful nematocysts capable of stinging through clothing and even surgical gloves, therefore a towel, rag, seaweed, stick or a handful of sand should be used to remove the tentacles. If a person goes swimming soon after a storm in tropical waters infested with large numbers of jellyfish, he may receive severe multiple stings from rennants of damaged tentacles floating in the water. Upon being stung, the vietin should make every effort to get out of the water as soon as possible in order to avoid the danger of drowning. Dilute ammonia and alcohol should be applied to the area affected, and other therapeutic measures should be instituted promptly. Coral cuts and abrasions should be promptly painted with 2 percent tincture of iodine or some other suitable antiseptic solution. Public Health aspects Our knowledge of the global public health aspects of coelenterate stings is exceedingly meager and is based largely on the scattered reports of clinicians and others who have published accounts of envenomations. Aside from the limited efforts of Australian workers, no attempt has been made to record the geographical distribution and incidence of coelentrate intoxications. Table 9 is a list of the coelenterate stings that were reported in the available literature. However, the results of Southcott (1952, 1963) and Barnes (1960) clearly indicate that only a fraction of coelenterate stings that occur each year ever find their way into the medical literature. This is probably due to the fact that jellyfish stings are nonreportable public health illnesses, and fortunately most of the cases are relatively mild in nature. Geographical distribution Theoretically, any coelenterate equipped with a nematocyst apparatus is capable of inflicting stings to man. Thus, in a general sense, the geography of coelenterate envenomations corresponds to that of the causative agents. Repre sentatives of the phylum Coelenterata are to be found in every major oceanie area of the world. The majority of species of greatest danger to man are found in tropical and warm temperate waters, which is a geographical area roughly corre sponding to that of the distribution of corals (see map Pl. LXXXI)." Major exceptions are the families Cyaneidae and Pelagiidae which are most abundant in temperate and colder waters. Fortunately, the colder water coelenterates do not constitute the public health hazard of some of the warmer representatives because the opportunity for exposure to man is less in the cooler latitudes. The list of reported coelenterate intoxications reveals that the greatest number of fatalities have occurred in the Indo-Pacific region between northern Australis id the Asiatic mainland. There are only two reported deaths from Physalia, id the identification of the causative agent in one case is questionable. The hysalia (?) fatalities occurred in the Western Hemisphere, one off the coast of exas and the other at Guadeloupe Island in the West Indies. There were three talities in children in Samoa from eating sea anemones. The remainder of the talities have been attributed to scyphozoan jellyfishes. Barnes (1960) has provided the only statistics available on the incidence of llyfish stings over a given period of time (see Table 8). Between November 956 to May 1960, there were 116 known victims stung by jellyfishes in the cinity of Cairns, North Queensland. The stingings took place between Novemer and April with the greatest number occurring in December. In general, ingings are most common during the warmer months of the year, probably ecause weather conditions, water turbulence, and the number of bathers are at à optimum relationship for jellyfish attacks. There is no way of determining with any degree of accuracy the actual annual cidence of coelenterate stings. On the basis of the published reports from 1836 rough 1960, there have been >502 stings with >46 fatalities, giving a crude se fatality rate of about 9 percent. Season 1 TABLE 8.-Seasonal distribution of stingings 1 (Barnes, 1960) October Novem- Decem- January Febru- March April Total ber ber ary |