CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



Background 



This is the fifteenth Annual Report of the Marine Mammal 

 Commission, covering the period from 1 January through 

 31 December 1987. 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, review- 

 ing, and making recommendations on actions and policies for all 

 Federal agencies with respect to marine mammal protection and 

 conservation and for carrying out a research program. 



Personnel 



The Commission consists of three part-time Commissioners 

 who are appointed by the President. The Marine Mammal Protec- 

 tion Act reguires that the Commissioners be knowledgeable in 

 marine ecology and resource management. At the beginning of 

 1987, the Commissioners were Robert Eisner, Ph.D. (Chairman), 

 Fairbanks, Alaska, and Karen W. Pryor, North Bend, Washington. 

 The third Commissioner's position was vacant. On 20 November 

 1987, the Senate confirmed the nominations of William W. Fox, 

 Jr., Ph.D., Miami, Florida, to replace Ms. Pryor and Francis 

 H. Fay, Ph.D., Fairbanks, Alaska, to fill the vacancy. 



The Commission's full-time senior staff members are: 

 John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive Director; Robert J. Hofman, 

 Ph.D., Scientific Program Director; David W. Laist, Policy 

 and Program Analyst; Sherburne B. Abbott, Assistant Scientific 

 Program Director; Michael L. Gosliner, General Counsel; Marian 

 Graham, Administrative Officer; Jeannie K. Drevenak, Staff 

 Assistant in charge of permits; and Eileen C. Shoemaker, Staff 

 Assistant in charge of publications. Effective 15 May 1987, 

 the Commission accepted, with regret, the resignation of 

 Donald C. Baur, former General Counsel, who left to enter 

 private practice. 



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 scien- 

 tists statutorily mandated to be knowledgeable in marine ecology 

 and marine mammal affairs. At the end of 1987, its members 



