December 1987, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 

 tion's Task Force leader provided Task Force members with an 

 initial draft report. The Commission returned comments on 

 the initial draft by letter of 24 February 1988. In its 

 letter, the Commission provided a list of recommended Federal 

 actions to respond to problems being caused by marine debris. 

 Among other things, the Commission emphasized the need for steps 

 to: (1) establish a system for monitoring the types, amounts, 

 and effects of marine debris so as to direct and determine 

 the effectiveness of mitigation measures; (2) undertake or 

 encourage clean up efforts at recreational beaches and certain 

 wildlife habitats where seals, seabirds, and turtles may be 

 particularly threatened; and (3) encourage and cooperate in 

 international efforts to better document and resolve problems 

 created by marine debris. 



A final draft Task Force report was provided to the 

 Commission on 6 May 1988. The final draft incorporated most 

 of the Commission's comments and recommendations. Among 

 other things, the draft report .put forth five general 

 recommendations endorsing actions in the areas of: Federal 

 leadership; public awareness and education; implementation of 

 laws related to marine debris; research and monitoring; and 

 beach clean-ups. Within these five areas, the Report proposed 

 specific recommendations aimed at reorienting and coordinating 

 Federal activities to address problems of persistent marine 

 debris. Although the report did not call for any new Federal 

 budget authority to address the marine debris issue, it 

 recommended that the Administration include the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service's Marine Entanglement Research Program 

 in the Fiscal Year 1990 budget reguest and continue this for 

 at least five more years. 



On 10 May, the Final Draft Report of the Interagency 

 Task Force on Persistent Marine Debris was presented to the 

 Domestic Policy Council's Working Group on Energy, Natural 

 Resources, and the Environment. By letter of the same day to 

 the Domestic Policy Council, the Commission noted that the 

 report provided a useful overview of the marine pollution 

 problem and contained sound recommendations to guide cooperative 

 Federal, State, and private actions to address research and 

 management issues. The letter emphasized the importance of 

 continued funding of the Marine Entanglement Research Program. 

 It noted that the Program had attained a high international 

 profile and that it had helped establish the United States as 

 a leader in efforts to secure entry into force of Annex V of 

 the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution 

 from Ships. Accordingly, the Commission noted that it concurred 

 with the Task Force on all proposed recommendations and stated 

 its willingness to help in any way it could to implement them. 



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