National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Park Service, 

 the National Sea Grant College Program, the National Science 

 Foundation, the Naval Ocean Systems Center, the Office of 

 Naval Research, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

 Management, the Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, 

 the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. The Minerals Management Service, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service have had the largest and most diverse marine mammal 

 research programs. 



Information from the 1986 survey is due early in 1987. 

 After it has been compiled and verified, the Commission, in 

 consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, will 

 evaluate the information and make such recommendations as may 

 be appropriate to better develop, focus, and coordinate 

 agency programs. 



Research Program Reviews, Workshops, 

 and Planning Meetings 



In 1986, the Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, reviewed, commented on, 

 and/or made recommendations concerning: the tuna/porpoise, 

 harbor porpoise, Call's porpoise, Hawaiian monk seal. North 

 Pacific fur seal, Steller sea lion, right whale, gray whale, 

 entanglement, and Antarctic marine living resources research 

 programs being planned, conducted, or supported by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service; the research on southern 

 sea otters, bowhead whales, gray whales, and other marine 

 mammals being planned and supported by the Minerals Manage- 

 ment Service; and the manatee, sea otter, walrus, and polar 

 bear research programs being conducted by the Fish and Wild- 

 life Seirvice. The Commission also convened, co-sponsored, or 

 participated in meetings and workshops to: (1) describe 

 research, education, and other programs necessary to better 

 assess and resolve problems caused by lost and discarded 

 fishing gear and other potentially hazardous marine debris; 

 and (2) better define and decide how best to meet essential 

 information and management requirements relating to: gray 

 whales; right whales; porpoise affected by yellowfin purse 

 seine fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific; marine 

 mammal/fisheries interactions in California coastal waters; 

 polar bears, sea otters, walrus, and other marine mammals in 

 Alaska; river dolphins; and conservation of seals and whales 

 in the seas surrounding Antarctica. 



Commission-Sponsored Resear ch and Study Projects 



The Departments of Commerce and the Interior have pri- 

 mary responsibility under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 for acquiring the biological and ecological data needed to 



