the Commission, in cooperation with the two Services, sponsored 

 a training seminar for Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

 Service inspectors. The seminar was held 14-19 November 1988 

 in Orlando, Florida. The agenda of the seminar included a 

 survey of the biology and physiology of marine mammals, a 

 review of the requirements for maintenance of captive marine 

 mammals, and discussions of how best to carry out the duties 

 and responsibilities of inspectors. 



The Commission also occasionally becomes involved in on- 

 site inspections of marine mammal facilities. During 1988, 

 representatives of the Commission's Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors and the National Marine Fisheries Service assisted 

 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in conducting 

 two on-site reviews of a public display facility holding a 

 marine mammal under a Letter of Authorization to determine 

 whether the rehabilitated animal could be returned to the 

 wild and whether the facility was in compliance with the 

 Standards for the Humane Handling, Care, Treatment, and 

 Transportation of Marine Mammals. The Commission also 

 participated in an interagency inspection of the U.S. Navy's 

 marine mammal facilities to investigate allegations of 

 inadequate facilities and improper husbandry programs. In 

 addition, during 1988, the Commission recommended that the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service reinspect a public display 

 facility with a history of problems in complying with the 

 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service standards and 

 which had been the subject of an interagency inspection in 

 1985. 



In 1987, the Commission's staff, utilizing data obtained 

 from the National Marine Fisheries Service, completed an 

 analysis of survival patterns of three species of cetaceans 

 in captivity (bottlenose dolphins, white or beluga whales, 

 and killer whales) . The purpose of the study was to estimate 

 the average annual survival rate for each species to determine 

 whether survival rates are significantly different in different 

 institutions and to compare findings with the literature on 

 the survival of captive and free-ranging cetaceans. The 

 results of the study show, among other things, that: an annual 

 survival rate in captivity of 0.93 for bottlenose dolphins 

 and killer whales and 0.94 for white whales; differences in 

 survival rates between institutions are statistically 

 significant for bottlenose dolphins only; calf survival for 

 bottlenose dolphins is lower than juvenile and adult survival; 

 and survival of male killer whales is significantly less than 

 that of female killer whales. At this time, available data 

 are not sufficient to compare the survivability of animals in 

 captivity with that of animals in the wild. The analysis of 

 survival patterns was published in 1988 (see DeMaster and 

 Drevanak 1988, Appendix C) . 



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