in which the Commission was invited to participate. The 

 Group met for the first time on 15 May 1986, in Woods Hole, 

 Massachusetts. Among other things, it was asked to review 

 research proposals submitted to the Service's Northeast 

 Fisheries Center and to develop priority rankings for 

 specific research projects. Since then, the Service has 

 continued to consult with the Commission on the most 

 effective use of available funds. 



Recently available data indicate that the coastal waters 

 of Georgia and northern Florida are important winter habitat 

 for at least part of the small remnant population of right 

 whales in the western North Atlantic. The area also serves 

 as an important calving ground for right whales. In light of 

 these findings, the Georgia Conservancy contacted the 

 Commission late in 1985 regarding its interest in convening a 

 workshop of involved scientists, regional resource managers, 

 and environmental groups to review available biological 

 information on right whales and to consider its implications 

 with respect to ongoing and planned coastal development along 

 the southeastern coast of the United States. The Commission 

 agreed that such a workshop would be useful and provided 

 funds to the Conservancy to help organize and convene the 

 meeting. 



Subsequently, the U.S. Right Whale Workshop was held on 

 19-20 February 1986, at Jekyll Island, Georgia. The 

 objectives of the Workshop were to: (a) review available 

 biological information on the status of the northwest 

 Atlantic right whale population with particular reference to 

 the abundance, distribution, and habitat use patterns of 

 those whales which winter off the southeastern U.S. coast; 

 (b) identify human activities and agency responsibilities 

 that could affect the calving activity of right whales in the 

 area; and (c) identify and rank potential measures that might 

 help ensure that human activities do not adversely affect 

 right whales or their essential habitat. 



Among the potential actions that might be considered to 

 help protect right whales in the Georgia/north Florida area, 

 workshop participants identified the following: establishing 

 a right whale conseirvation network through the formation of a 

 recovery team; revitalizing the southeast U.S. right whale 

 sighting and stranding network; improving communications 

 among scientists. Federal and State agencies, environmental 

 groups and others; determining whether areas of the 

 southeastern U.S. should be designated as critical habitat 

 under the Endangered Species Act; and clarifying actions 

 necessary to facilitate enforcement of applicable laws and 

 regulations, particularly those relating to harassment. 



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