about the same time, it became apparent that Hawaiian monk 

 seals also were becoming entangled in lost and discarded 

 fishing gear and other debris and that this could be contri- 

 buting to the monk seal decline. Elsewhere, data were being 

 compiled that indicated that marine debris was a global 

 problem affecting many species. 



To provide a better basis for assessing the problem in 

 the fall of 1982, the Commission recommended that the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service convene a workshop to 

 review available data and determine what could be done to 

 address the problem. As noted in its previous Annual 

 Reports, the Commission also provided the Service with the 

 terms of reference, suggestions for a steering group, and the 

 seed money necessary to organize the workshop. To encourage 

 international participation, representatives of the Commis- 

 sion and the Service met with representatives of the Govern- 

 ments of Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Soviet Union. 

 At that meeting, the Commission presented terms of reference 

 for the workshop. 



To identify some of the available mechanisms to mitigate 

 the problem, the Commission contracted for a legal analysis 

 of applicable domestic and international authorities (see 

 Bean, 1985 in Appendix B) . This is now considered the basic 

 reference on legal aspects of this issue. 



On 27-29 November 1984, the Workshop on the Fate and 

 Impact of Marine Debris was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, and in 

 July 1985 the National Marine Fisheries Service published the 

 Workshop proceedings. The Workshop provided an excellent 

 review of available information on the problem and, based on 

 reported findings. Workshop participants identified an urgent 

 need for: educating vessel operators and others about the 

 marine debris problem; regulating the deliberate disposal of 

 synthetic materials; and developing better quantitative data 

 to assess the impact of debris on marine living resources. 



Congress directed that $1,000,000 be appropriated to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service in Fiscal Year 1985 to 

 develop a comprehensive research and management program 

 addressing the issue. To assist in developing the best 

 possible program, the Commission convened a planning meeting 

 in La Jolla, California, on 18-19 March 1985. Represen- 

 tatives of the Service, the North Pacific Fishery Management 

 Council, and the environmental community participated in the 

 meeting and, based on the results, the Commission provided 

 the Service with an annotated program outline and detailed 

 scopes of work for projects designed to promote public 

 education and awareness, develop necessary scientific and 

 technical information, and reduce the amount of debris 

 entering the ocean. The Service subsequently adopted the 



84 



