protect and conserve marine mammals and the ecosystems of 

 which they are a part. This responsibility has been dele- 

 gated to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, respectively. 



As noted earlier, the Commission convenes workshops and 

 contracts for research and studies to identify and evaluate 

 threats to marine mammal populations. It also supports 

 other research necessary to further the purposes and policies 

 of the Act. Since it was established, the Commission has 

 contracted for 571 projects, ranging in amounts from several 

 hundred dollars to $150,000. The average contract has been 

 for about $7,100. The total amounts of contracts awarded 

 have been: $258,787 in FY 1974; $446,628 in FY 75; $497,449 

 in FY 76; $132,068 in the FY 76-77 three-month transition 

 period; $523,504 in FY 77; $407,678 in FY 78; $219,897 in FY 

 79; $396,640 in FY 80; $173,652 in FY 81; $107,117 in FY 82; 

 $211,982 in FY 83; $327,854 in FY 84; $226,160 in FY 85; and 

 $132,611 in FY 86. 



From time to time, the Commission's investment in 

 research activities is in the form of transfers of funds to 

 other Federal agencies, particularly the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. When 

 such funds are transferred, the Commission provides detailed 

 scopes of work which describe precisely what the agency is to 

 do or to have done and the requirements for reporting on 

 progress to the Commission. In many instances, this approach 

 has made it possible for agencies to start needed research 

 sooner than might otherwise have been possible and then to 

 subsequently support the projects on their own for as long as 

 necessary. The Commission believes that it is valuable to 

 maintain agency involvement to the greatest extent possible 

 and that such transfers provide a useful means of doing so. 



Projects undertaken by the Marine Mammal Commission in 

 1986 are summarized below. In those cases in which the 

 Commission has jointly supported the work with other agen- 

 cies, it is so noted in the project summary. 



Final reports from Commission-sponsored studies com- 

 pleted in 1986 and earlier are available from the National 

 Technical Information Service; they are listed in Appendix B 

 of this Report. Papers resulting from Commission-sponsored 

 activities and published elsewhere are listed in Appendix C. 



Technical Editing and Publication of Alaskan Marine Mammal 



Species Accounts 



(C. Mecklenburg, Point Stephens Press, Auke Bay, Alaska) 



As described in Chapter V, the Commission has organized 

 and provided funding for groups of experts to prepare reports 

 explaining the rationale for research and management programs 



