States would undertake a comprehensive research program on 

 the species. The National Marine Fisheries Service is 

 responsible for planning and implementing this program. 

 Relevant research also has been conducted or supported within 

 the context of this program by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 

 Commission, the North Slope Borough, the Minerals Management 

 Service, the State of Alaska, and the oil and gas industry. 

 As discussed in its Annual Reports for 1977, 1978, and 1979, 

 the Marine Mammal Commission played a major role in developing 

 the research plan and initiating efforts to coordinate related 

 bowhead whale research projects. 



During 1988, a representative of the Commission was invited 

 to observe bowhead whale research being carried out in Barrow, 

 Alaska, by the North Slope Borough during the spring migration 

 of bowhead whales. The invitation was accepted and, on 9-11 

 May 1988, a member of the Commission's Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors visited the site of the research activities and 

 observed visual counts and acoustic tracking of bowhead whales 

 from the shorefast ice. He also was advised of the status of 

 efforts to test the new projectile being developed to kill 

 whales more guickly and humanely and to calculate estimates 

 of the number of bowhead whales. 



Research on bowhead whales continues to involve various 

 Federal agencies, Native organizations, and industry groups, 

 and it is not clear, however, that everything necessary and 

 possible is being done to identify research priorities and 

 coordinate research activities. During 1989, the Commission 

 will review matters related to bowhead whale research and 

 undertake efforts as may be indicated to strengthen cooperative 

 bowhead whale research efforts. 



Hector's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) 



Hector's dolphin, one of four species of the genus 

 Cephalorhynchus , is among the smallest cetaceans. The species 

 is found only in coastal waters of New Zealand and is most 

 abundant along the east and west coasts of South Island. 

 Surveys carried out during 1984-1985 indicate a total population 

 on the order of 3,000 to 4,000 animals. 



Hector's dolphins are taken incidentally in commercial 

 and recreational gill net fisheries. This problem appears to 

 be related to the species' seasonal movement into inshore 

 waters to calve during periods of intense fishing. Recent 

 studies suggest that the problem is particularly severe in 

 the Banks Peninsula area off the east coast of New Zealand's 

 South Island. Over the past four years, 223 dolphins have 

 been reported killed in gill nets in the area. At the time 



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