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10 November 



18 November 



with the California Department of Fish 

 and Game to develop and implement a 

 program to assess and monitor the popula- 

 tions; and 3) report back to the Commission 

 within six weeks on the steps taken. 



Interior, commenting to the Minerals Manage- 

 ment Service on the Draft Environmental 

 Impact Statement on the proposed Diapir 

 Field Lease Offering and recommending that 

 the document be modified by: 1) expanding 

 the list of potential mitigation measures 

 to include research and monitoring programs 

 that would provide a basis for assessing 

 and improving the effectiveness of other 

 mitigation measures; 2) providing additional 

 assessment of the possible effects of oil 

 spills and disturbances on polar bears; 

 and 3) providing additional assessment of 

 the potential direct and indirect effects 

 on bowhead whales from oil spills and 

 disturbances in important feeding grounds 

 in the lease area. 



Commerce, commenting to the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service on the entanglement of 

 marine mammals in lost or discarded fishing 

 gear and other debris and recommending, 

 among other things, that: the Service 

 promptly initiate certain steps to plan, 

 organize, and convene an international 

 workshop to address the net entanglement 

 problem; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's Office of General Counsel 

 identify and evaluate all domestic and 

 international authorities that might be 

 used to prevent further dumping of gear 

 and debris and to facilitate recovery of 

 materials already discarded; the Service 

 request that the Department of State take 

 necessary steps to gather similar information 

 with respect to the domestic authorities 

 of other involved countries; the Service 

 undertake studies concerning ways in which 

 a net might best be marked so as to show 

 its provenance in the event of recovery; the 

 Service immediately start identifying 

 critical data gaps so as to develop programs 

 as may be needed to determine the types, 



