plan as the basis for the first year of its Entanglement 

 Research Program. Subsequently, Congress appropriated an 

 additional $750,000 to continue the program in FY 1986. 



In related activities during 1985, the Commission also: 

 worked with the National Marine Pollution Program Office to 

 incorporate the marine debris issue into the Federal Plan for 

 Ocean Pollution Research, Development and Monitoring; 

 provided partial support for projects to compile information 

 on marine debris in ocean areas outside the North Pacific 

 Ocean and to facilitate beach clean-up and public awareness; 

 and cooperated with the U.S. Coast Guard on efforts to 

 facilitate U.S. ratification of Annex V of the 1978 Protocol 

 to amend the Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from 

 Ships (see below) . 



Domestic Activities in 1986 



With respect to domestic activities, the Commission 

 continued to work closely with other Federal agencies and 

 Congress to help identify and implement constructive action 

 to address the marine debris issue. During 1986, particular 

 attention was directed towards: the continued development 

 and implementation of the U.S. Entanglement Research Program 

 administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service; 

 assisting the U.S. Congress with the identification and 

 evaluation of potential Congressional action; and pursuing 

 efforts to ratify Annex V of the 1978 Protocol Relating to 

 the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution 

 from Ships (MARPOL) . 



The U.S. Entancflement Research Program 



As noted above, Congress appropriated $750,000 to the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service in Fiscal Year 1986 for 

 continuing the Entanglement Research Program begun in 1985. 

 The Congress directed that the Service develop a program plan 

 for allocating these funds in cooperation with the Commission 

 and that the final plan receive the Commission's review and 

 approval. In response to these directives, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service developed a recommended program plan 

 that included detailed scopes of work and cost estimates for 

 23 different tasks ranked in order of priority. The proposed 

 program plan was provided to the Commission for its review 

 and approval on 31 December 1985. 



Because the estimated cost of the 2 3 projects exceeded 

 the available funding level, the Service proposed support for 

 the 16 tasks which it considered to be of highest priority. 

 These tasks included: continuing the information and 

 education program begun in 1985 to advise the public and 



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