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CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



Background 



This is the eleventh Annual Report of the Marine Mammal 

 Commission, covering the period from 1 January through 31 

 December 1983. It is being submitted to Congress pursuant 

 to Section 204 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. 



Established under Title II of the Act, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission is an independent agency of the Executive 

 Branch. It is charged with the responsibility for developing, 

 reviewing, and making recommendations on actions and policies 

 of all Federal agencies with respect to marine mammal 

 protection and conservation, and for carrying out a research 

 program. 



Personnel 



Three Commissioners, appointed by the President in 

 1981, continued to serve throughout 1983. They are: James 

 C. Nofziger, Ph.D., (Chairman), Canoga Park, California; 

 Donald K. MacCallum, Ph.D., Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Robert 

 B. Weeden, Ph.D., Fairbanks, Alaska. The Commission's 

 senior staff members are: John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive 

 Director; Robert J. Hofman, Ph.D., Scientific Program Director; 

 Robert Eisenbud, General Counsel; JoAnn Lashley, Administrative 

 Officer; David W. Laist, Special Assistant to the Executive 

 Director; and L. Diane Roberts and Jeannie K. Drevenak, Staff 

 Assistants . 



The Commission Chairman, with the concurrence of the 

 other Commissioners, appoints the nine members of the 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals, a 

 committee of scientists knowledgeable in marine ecology and 

 marine mammal affairs. At the end of 1983, its members 

 were: David G. Ainley, Ph.D., Point Reyes Bird Observatory; 

 Douglas G. Chapman, Ph.D., (Chairman), University of Washington; 

 Paul K. Dayton, Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography; 



