Antarctic, convened by the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 on 15-16 April 1987. Subsequently, a series of papers describ- 

 ing the basic results of the research cruises and other studies 

 done as part of the directed research program were prepared 

 and provided to the Scientific Committee for the Conservation 

 of Antarctic Marine Living Resources for consideration during 

 its 1987 meeting described earlier. One paper described the 

 results of a fish stock assessment done in November-December 

 1986. It provided convincing evidence that the stock of Noto- 

 thenia rossii in the South Georgia region has been seriously 

 overfished and played a key role in calling attention to the 

 continuing need for stringent conservation measures. 



Again in Fiscal Year 1988, the Service received a $2 mil- 

 lion supplement to its budget appropriation to continue imple- 

 mentation of the directed research program mandated by the 

 Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984. 

 (This amount may be reduced due to reprogramming of funds or 

 subsequent Fiscal 1988 budget reductions.) Required ship 

 support continues to be a major limiting factor and, to make 

 the best possible use of available funding, the Service again 

 made arrangements to cooperatively carry out two research 

 cruises in 1987-88 on a cost-sharing basis aboard the Profesor 

 Siedlecki. The Service also made arrangements to conduct 

 land-based studies of seals and birds at Seal Island in the 

 South Shetland Islands and at Palmer Station on Anvers Island. 



Plans for the FY 1988 research program were reviewed 

 during a meeting convened by the Service on 21 October 1987. 

 Representatives of the Commission, the National Science Found- 

 ation, the State Department, and the Service's four research 

 centers participated in the meeting. Meeting participants 

 noted a number of ways to improve planning and exchange of 

 information between the National Science Foundation and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. 



The Commission believes that both basic and directed 

 research are essential to effective operation of the Antarctic 

 Treaty system. Therefore, in 1988, the Commission will continue 

 to work with the Department of State, the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, the National Science Foundation, and private organi- 

 zations to facilitate development of both basic and directed 

 marine research programs in the Antarctic. 



Activities Related to Non-living Resources 



There is growing interest, as noted earlier, in potential 

 non-living resources in Antarctica, particularly offshore oil 

 and gas. Disturbance, noise, oil spills, and other environ- 

 mental pollutants resulting from exploration, development, 

 and transport of oil, gas, or other non-living resources could 



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