on adult "mobbing" behavior; urging that the Service fund the monk seal program at 

 levels sufficient to continue all recovery research; and asking that the Service advise 

 the Commission of steps being taken or planned to ensure that critical research 

 activities are continued. 



9 May Commerce, scientific research permit application, Douglas Wartzok. 



9 May Commerce, scientific research permit application, Cetacean Research Unit. 



9 May Commerce, public display permit application, Theater of the Sea. 



10 May Office of the President, commenting to the Domestic Policy Council on the draft 



report of the Marine Debris Task Force, noting that the report provides a useful 

 overview of the problem and sound recommendations for cooperative Federal, state 

 and private actions, and endorsing the recommendations contained in the Task 

 Force report. 



11 May Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the report, 



"Administrator's Initial Views on Bowhead Whale Information" proposed for 

 submission to the 1988 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (rWC); 

 noting that available information and analyses completed to date may be insufficient 

 to justify the increase in the Native take of bowhead whales as proposed in the 

 report and that there was not adequate time prior to the IWC meeting to review and 

 revise the report; and therefore suggesting that the Service not submit the draft 

 report as an rWC working document. 



17 May Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the interim draft 



rule for yellowfin tuna importation and recommending that the draft rule be 

 adopted, with certain modifications, as a final rule. 



20 May Commerce, scientific research permit application, North Gulf Oceanic Society. 



24 May Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on its Biological 



Opinion concerning Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sale #91; inquiring as to whether 

 the Service had considered the possible indirect, as well as direct, effects of the 

 proposed action on endangered cetaceans, particularly humpback whales; and 

 recommending that, if it had not, consideration of indirect effects be undertaken 

 immediately and that the Service advise the Minerals Management Service of its 

 actions. 



24 May Commerce, scientific research permit application, John M. Francis. 



24 May Interior, scientific research permit application, Anthony R. DeGange. 



24 May Commerce, public display permit application, Gulf World, Inc. 



24 May Commerce, public display permit application, Maritime Center of Norwalk. 



26 May Commerce, commenting to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 



its proposed draft international agreement on North Pacific fur seals; noting, among 

 other things, that it was not clear how the Service expected the United States to 

 meet the objectives and obligations of the proposed text and that it was therefore 

 not possible to determine whether the proposed agreement would effectively protect 

 fur seals; and recommending that the Service suspend efforts to draft and negotiate 

 a new fur seal agreement until: (1) a comprehensive fur seal conservation plan had 

 been completed and (2) the Service had assessed the relative merits of a new 

 agreement within the context of that plan. 



27 May Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on a planned 



workshop covering tuna import regulations and reiterating the Commission's 

 concerns that certain points be addressed regarding requirements to be placed on 

 foreign nations wishing to import tuna into the United States. 



27 May Interior, commenting to the Minerals Management Service on the Draft Environmental 



Impact Statement (DEIS) on Gulf of Mexico sales 118 and 122, Central and 

 Western Planning Areas; noting that the DEIS did not fully assess: marine mammal 

 habitats and food resources that could be affected; the number of animals of the 

 various species that could be affected; what proportion of the potentially affected 



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