Planning for a Second International Conference on Marine Debris 



In November 1984, the National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 at the recommendation and with the financial and planning 

 assistance of the Marine Mammal Commission, convened a Workshop 

 on the Fate and Impact of Marine Debris. The Workshop was 

 the first meeting ever undertaken to comprehensively assess 

 information on the amounts, distribution, sources, effects, and 

 management needs pertaining to problems of trash and other 

 human-related debris lost or discarded into the ocean. The 

 Proceedings of the Workshop provided what continues to be 

 perhaps the best single source of information on the issue. 



As indicated in previous Annual Reports and above, much 

 has been done to address the problem both in the United States 

 and abroad since that Workshop. For example, internationally: 

 more than thirty nations representing over half the world's 

 commercial ship tonnage are now implementing programs consistent 

 with the provisions of MARPOL Annex V to address ship-generated 

 sources of marine debris; the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 

 Commission has endorsed efforts to develop a manual on 

 procedures for monitoring the amounts and effects of marine 

 debris; the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 

 has completed a major assessment of marine debris-related 

 problems; and various Regional Seas Programs under the United 

 Nations Environment Program have begun to identify and carry 

 out related research and management actions. Domestically, a 

 great deal of research and management experience has been 

 gained through work under the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service's Marine Entanglement Research Program, and Federal 

 agencies are reviewing and responding to recommendations set 

 forth by the Domestic Policy Council's Marine Debris Task 

 Force Report. 



Anticipating the need for a comprehensive review of the 

 findings and status of these and other domestic and 

 international initiatives, the Commission wrote to the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service on 26 December 1986 recommending, 

 among other things, that planning for a Second International 

 Conference on Marine Debris be initiated so as to provide a 

 basis for sharpening the focus and effectiveness of future 

 research and management measures. The Service agreed with 

 the Commission's recommendation and programmed funds as part 

 of its Fiscal Year 1988 Marine Entanglement Research Program 

 to begin planning and organizing the Conference, now scheduled 

 for 2-7 April in Honolulu, Hawaii. 



As with the first meeting, the Commission has played a 

 major role in helping the Service organize and plan for the 

 Conference. In 1987, the Commission started informal discus- 

 sions with people in the United States and abroad on what 

 might be accomplished at the Conference. On 26 December 



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