MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



marine mammals in Annex 11, the Commission 

 suggested that marine mammal species be listed 

 individually and provided a list of species known to 

 occur in the Wider Caribbean Region. The Commis- 

 sion also noted that it was not clear whether listing in 

 Annex II would preclude the taking of some marine 

 mammals that are now taken legally under the U.S. 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act for purposes of public 

 display or incidental to commercial fishing or offshore 

 oil and gas activities. With respect to West Indian 

 manatees, the Commission noted that development of 

 a region-wide recovery plan under auspices of the 

 Protocol could serve as a prototype plan for demon- 

 strating the value of the Protocol, while also affording 

 the species much needed protection. It therefore 

 recommended that the Service take steps to facilitate 

 development of such a recovery plan for manatees. 



In light of a desire by the Parties to avoid debate 

 on adding or deleting species on the proposed annexes 

 developed by the ad hoc group of experts, the U.S. 

 delegation decided to take no action to propose listing 

 marine mammals individually on Appendix n at the 

 upcoming Conference of Plenipotentiaries. The 

 Commission questioned whether this would preclude 

 U.S. agencies from authorizing the take of marine 

 mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 for purposes of public display and incidental to 

 commercial fishing operations and other activities. 



The Conference of Plenipotentiaries was convened 

 on 10-11 June 1991 in Kingston, Jamaica. At the 

 meeting, the proposed lists of species for each Annex 

 were adopted without change, thereby completing 

 work necessary for nations to begin the ratification 

 process. All cetaceans, pinnipeds, and manatees are 

 thus included categorically in Annex II of the Proto- 

 col. At the end of 1991, it was the Commission's 

 understanding that the State Department had begun 

 steps to consider ratification of the Protocol by the 

 United States. 



Although it may be several years before a suffi- 

 cient number of countries ratify the Protocol and 

 effect its entry into force, it is possible that some 

 interim efforts might be taken in anticipation of that. 

 For example. Article 1 1 (5) of the Protocol calls upon 

 Parties to establish cooperative programs for manag- 

 ing and conserving species and to develop and imple- 



ment regional recovery programs. Relative to this 

 provision, two environmental groups. Monitor Inter- 

 national and the Save the Manatee Club, convened a 

 meeting on 7 October 1991 in Maitland, Florida. The 

 purpose of the meeting was to identify and recom- 

 mend steps to develop a Caribbean-wide recovery 

 program for West Indian manatees within the frame- 

 work of the Caribbean Environment Program and the 

 Cartagena Convention. 



Representatives of several Federal and State agen- 

 cies, including the Marine Mammal Commission, the 

 Regional Coordinating Unit for the Caribbean Envi- 

 ronment Program, and several concerned environ- 

 mental groups participated. At the end of 1991, the 

 final meeting report was being completed. Once it is 

 received, the Commission will review it carefully to 

 determine further steps that might be taken to encour- 

 age development of recovery programs throughout the 

 Caribbean. 



Convention on International Trade 



in Endangered Species 

 of WUd Fauna and Flora (CITES) 



The Convention on International Trade in Endan- 

 gered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which entered 

 into force in 1975, provides an international frame- 

 work for regulating trade in animals and plants that 

 are or may become threatened with extinction. There 

 are 113 Parties to the Convention, including the 

 United States. 



The extent of trade control under the Convention 

 depends upon the extent to which a species is endan- 

 gered which, in turn, is reflected by its inclusion on 

 one of three Appendices to the Convention. Species 

 included on Appendix I are those considered to be 

 threatened with extinction that are or may be affected 

 by trade. Species on Appendix 11 are not necessarily 

 threatened with extinction, but may become so unless 

 trade in them is strictly controlled. Species also may 

 be included on Appendix n to facilitate enforcement 

 of the Convention if those species are similar in 

 appearance to, and may be confused with, other 

 species protected under the Convention. Appendix III 

 includes species that any Party identifies as being 



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