1987, it provided further comments and suggestions to the 

 Service. Because of the outstanding work done by the Director 

 of the Service's Honolulu Laboratory, the Hawaii Sea Grant 

 College Program, and the Workshop Steering Group in arranging 

 for the 1984 Workshop, the Commission recommended that 

 responsibility for the Second Conference again be vested with 

 those groups and that the Conference Steering Group be convened 

 early in 1988. 



The Service agreed with these recommendations and, on 

 17 March 1988, an initial Steering Group meeting, which included 

 a representative of the Marine Mammal Commission, was convened 

 by the Service in Hawaii. During the meeting, the Commission 

 provided recommendations on: terms of reference and an agenda 

 for the meeting; key participants; preparation of a Proceedings 

 volume; and various other matters. The Commission subseguently 

 provided funds to develop the Conference announcement, assisted 

 efforts to solicit sponsors and funds for the Conference, 

 agreed to support the participation of a professional rapporteur 

 for the Conference, and helped distribute information on the 

 Conference to organizations and individuals working on marine 

 debris issues in about thirty other countries. The objectives 

 for the Conference are to: 



o evaluate new information on the types, amounts, sources, 

 fates, and distribution of marine debris in different 

 ocean areas; 



o evaluate what has been done in the North Pacific basin 

 as a prototype of activities that might be usefully 

 undertaken in other regions; 



o identify and evaluate existing and potential methods for 

 gathering data on and monitoring trends in the sources, 

 types, fates, amounts, and distribution of debris at sea 

 and on beaches; 



o identify and evaluate information on the nature and 



extent of marine debris-related impacts on species and 

 populations of marine life, including seals, turtles, sea 

 birds, crustaceans, fish, etc., in different ocean areas; 



o identify and evaluate impacts of marine debris on human 

 health and safety of ships at sea; 



o identify and evaluate aesthetic and other impacts of 

 marine debris on coastal environments; 



o review and evaluate information on existing and potential 

 technological and procedural ways to reduce or eliminate 

 the problem of marine debris; 



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