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Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States. They 

 must decide whether to modify the Convention, extend it 

 in its present form, or allow it to expire. As discussed 

 in previous Annual Reports, the Senate, in ratifying a 

 Protocol in 1981 which extended the Convention until 

 October 1984, also adopted an Understanding that 

 called for certain studies to be undertaken prior to any 

 further renegotiation or extension of the Convention. 



On 18 November 1983, the Commission received from the 

 Service a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

 proposing that the Interim Convention be extended for six 

 years with certain modifications. The proposed modifications, 

 which would be achieved through an exchange of diplomatic 

 notes among Convention Parties, would: 1) allow a harvesting 

 nation (i.e., the United States and the U.S.S.R.) to 

 reduce or suspend the harvest unilaterally in times of 

 emergencies, such as a major oil spill or other toxic 

 spill, which could affect the status of the fur seal herd; 

 2) require additional research on the current population 

 decline with special emphasis on the problem of entanglement 

 of fur seals at sea; and 3) establish a new Article in the 

 Convention prohibiting disposal of fishing debris at sea. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee 

 of Scientific Advisors, was completing its review of the 

 document and the proposed actions at the end of 1983. Its 

 preliminary review indicated that the proposed action 

 would be the preferred one if, in fact, it were to lead 

 to the establishment of research, education, and enforcement 

 programs which would assure prompt resolution of uncertain- 

 ties concerning the rates and causes of the ongoing decline 

 of the Pribilof Island fur seal population and if it were 

 to assure that appropriate and necessary steps would be 

 taken promptly to stop and reverse the decline. It also 

 appeared, however, that the disadvantages of extending the 

 Convention for six years rather than for some shorter 

 period might well outweigh the possible advantages. 



With respect to the proposed modifications, the 

 DEIS did not provide sufficient detail on the pros and 

 cons of the proposed alternative actions for these to be 

 meaningfully assessed. Recognizing that the continued 

 existence and welfare of the Pribilof Island fur seal 

 population could well be determined by decisions to be 

 made early in 1984, the Commission was considering 

 recommending that the Service prepare and distribute for 

 review by the Commission and others draft or recommended 

 position papers indicating: a) the precise language of 

 the changes in the Convention text to be proposed to the 



