statutory, regulatory, and administrative changes as might be 

 appropriate to address the problems. 



A draft of the Working Group's report was reviewed by 

 the Committee of Scientific Advisors and considered during 

 the October 1985 meeting of the Commission and Committee in 

 San Diego. Informal comments on the draft report were received 

 from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, and several non-governmental parties. 



Based on those comments, the draft report was revised 

 during 1986 and issued for formal review by interested parties. 

 Comments received during the formal review have been addressed 

 and incorporated into a revised draft which is undergoing 

 final review by the Commission. The report is expected to be 

 issued early in 1988. 



Conflicts Between Public Display and Research Takings 



In certain geographic areas there is growing demand for 

 permits to take animals from a single stock. This is the 

 case, for example, with respect to bottlenose dolphins off 

 the southwest coast of Florida where public display collectors 

 and researchers conduct activities in the same area. In the 

 past, the Commission has recommended that the cumulative effects 

 of these takes be monitored so as to ensure that the affected 

 stocks would not be adversely impacted. During 1986, it 

 became apparent that this competing demand also was creating 

 the potential for jeopardizing ongoing research activities as 

 a result of research animals possibly being taken in the 

 course of public display collections. 



In an effort to resolve this potential problem, the 

 Commission wrote to the National Marine Fisheries Service on 

 8 October 1986 and recommended that procedures be established 

 as a part of permit application review to identify these 

 potential conflicts and develop acceptable resolutions. A 

 follow-up meeting between Commission and Service representatives 

 was held on 24 October and the matter was discussed at the 

 Commission's 1986 Annual Meeting. In both meetings, the Service 

 indicated that it was giving the Commission's recommendations 

 further consideration. By letter of 23 December 1986, the 

 Commission reiterated its concern about this matter. 



At the close of 1987, the Service had yet to take any 

 specific action in response to the Commission's recommendation. 

 It did, however, continue to include a special condition in 

 permits issued to authorize the capture of bottlenose dolphins 

 for public display. Under the provision, the Service's Regional 

 Director specifies the date and location of capture opera- 



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