relevant industries of the marine debris problem; developing 

 a prototype system for receiving and disposing of vessel- 

 generated wastes in ports; assessing photodegradation 

 processes affecting plastics in the marine environment; 

 assessing the effects of marine debris on benthic and 

 mid-water species of marine life; continuing research on the 

 entanglement of northern fur seal and Steller sea lion pups; 

 collecting and cataloguing marine debris from the North- 

 western Hawaiian Islands; assessing the dynamics and fate of 

 lost and discarded gill net fishing gear; initiating a pilot 

 study on interactions between northern fur seals and large 

 fragments of fishing gear; assessment of fouling and sinking 

 rates of lost and discarded net debris; determining the 

 extent and effect of plastic ingestion by Hawaiian sea birds; 

 cleaning up marine debris at selected northern fur seal 

 haul-out sites; continuing efforts to develop standard 

 methodology for surveying marine debris on beaches in Alaska; 

 studying entanglement rates and survival of northern fur seal 

 females; assessing the amounts and distribution of net debris 

 generated by high-seas squid drift net fisheries in the North 

 Pacific Ocean; and administrative support for managing the 

 entanglement research program. 



The Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors 

 reviewed the recommended program plan and provided comments 

 to the Service by letter of 21 March 1986. The Commission 

 noted that the proposed plan clearly had been developed with 

 great care and that it provided a sound basis for considering 

 and selecting among identified priority tasks. It further 

 noted that the priorities set forth appeared to be appro- 

 priate and justified and that the Commission concurred with 

 the plan as drafted. It recommended that the Service 

 immediately take steps to begin implementing the priority 

 tasks. The Commission also noted that several of the tasks 

 overlapped programmatic responsibilities of various other 

 Federal agencies and suggested that the Service examine 

 opportunities for obtaining partial support for certain 

 projects from other sources. 



On 2 April 1986, the Service notified the Commission 

 that it had authorized $595,000 for support of projects 

 listed in the program plan. By early June, the Commission 

 had not been advised as to steps taken to allocate the 

 remainder of the $750,000 appropriation. Therefore, the 

 Commission wrote to the Service on 6 June 1986 requesting 

 information on the status of program funding and the Ser- 

 vice's plans for identifying priority needs for Fiscal Year 

 1987. The Service responded on 2 July noting that $32,000 

 had been lost as a result of the Balanced Budget and Emer- 

 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and that the remaining 

 $123,000 was in the process of being transferred to the field 

 for allocation among the identified project tasks. The 



86 



