In July 1986, the Commission participated in a meeting 

 of the Minerals Management Service's Outer Continental Shelf 

 Advisory Board Scientific Committee and participated in a 

 workshop on the Service's Marine Mammal and Endangered 

 Species Studies Program held in conjunction with the meeting. 

 At the Service's request, the Commission representative 

 reviewed relevant provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act, outlined the organization and responsibilities of the 

 Marine Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, and reviewed past Commission efforts to assist the 

 Minerals Management Service in determining, evaluating, and 

 avoiding the possible adverse effects of offshore exploration 

 and development on marine mammals and the ecosystems of which 

 they are a part. 



With regard to possible impacts, a Commission repre- 

 sentative pointed out that marine mammals and other wildlife 

 could be adversely affected by: (1) disturbance and noise 

 from ship and aircraft operations; (2) dumping, dredging, 

 drilling and other activities associated with platform, 

 pipeline, support facility, and storage facility construction 

 and operation; (3) oil from well blow-outs, pipeline breaks, 

 tanker accidents, and chronic discharges associated with 

 routine operations; and (4) contaminants in drilling muds and 

 waste discharge. He reviewed some of the major accomplish- 

 ments of the Service's environmental studies program and, 

 among other things, pointed out that studies supported by the 

 Service have: (1) documented the marine mammal species that 

 regularly occur in and near areas that could be affected by 

 offshore oil and gas exploration and development in Alaska, 

 central and southern California, New England and the mid- 

 Atlantic states, and the Gulf of Mexico; (2) demonstrated 

 that physical contact with oil may have significant adverse 

 effects on species dependent upon fur for insulation ( e.g . , 

 fur seals, sea otters, and polar bears) ; (3) provided 

 experimental evidence indicating that physical contact with 

 oil is not likely to have more than transitory effects on 

 cetaceans; (4) demonstrated that noise from seismic 

 profiling, drilling, etc., can effect the movem.ents and 

 behavior of ring seals, bowhead whales, gray whales and 

 possibly other cetaceans; and (5) provided the data needed to 

 serve as baselines for detecting changes and trends in the 

 distribution, movements, and relative abundance of bowhead 

 whales and other endangered cetaceans, and to identify 

 reasonable and prudent alternatives necessary to assure that 

 endangered and threatened species of marine mammals are not 

 jeopardized by offshore exploration and development 

 activities. 



Although much has been accomplished, a number of 

 critical questions have not yet been answered. These relate 

 primarily to uncertainties concerning: (1) the numerical and 

 functional relationships between marine mammals and species 

 lower in the marine food webs of which they are a part; (2) 



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