Appendix A — Commission Recommendations 



other agencies and organizations to make use of national and international fora to assist in planning, 

 coordinating, and analyzing the results of multi-disciplinary research programs in the Bering Sea and 

 Gulf of Alaska. 



25 July National Science Foundation; commenting on the results of a Commission-sponsored workshop on the 



Bering Sea/Gulf of Alaska and Antarctic marine ecosystems; forwarding copies of the final workshop 

 report; and recommending that the Foundation and odier appropriate Federal agencies work coopera- 

 tively to implement the workshop recommendations. 



25 July Commerce; commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the results of a Commission- 



sponsored workshop on the Bering Sea/Gulf of Alaska and Antarctic marine ecosystems; forwarding 

 copies of the final workshop report; and recommending that the Service (1) give attention to the 

 workshop recommendations that concern matters imder its jurisdiction; (2) initiate consultations with the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minerals Management Service, the National Science Foundation, the 

 Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and other organizations to determine if there is interest in 

 developing an integrated geographic information system; and (3) take steps to organize and hold a 

 workshop or workshops before the end of January 1992 to identify and evaluate possible procedures for 

 assessing interactions between fisheries and marine mammals. 



29 July Commerce; modification of scientific research permit, Washington Department of Fish and Game. 



30 July State; commenting to the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs on 



the draft U.S. policy on large-scale pelagic driftnets; restating the general comments in its 24 July 

 letter; and recommending modifications in the text of the policy statement to better reflect ecosystem 

 impacts from driftnet fishing and the need to reflect new principles for the management of living 

 marine resources. 



31 July Agriculture; commenting to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on standards for the 



humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of captive marine mamma ls; noting that, at a 29 

 May 1990 interagency meeting, representatives of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Marine Mammal Commission 

 agreed that the standards needed to be revised and adopted a general schedule for the review as 

 follows: (1) development of a discussion paper by the Commission to assist the Services in drafting 

 revised regulations; (2) convening a working group made up of representatives of the research, public 

 display, and environmental communities and government agencies to review the Services' revised draft 

 regulations; and (3) publication of proposed regulations by the Services for a 60-day comment period; 

 transmitting a discussion paper describing questions to be addressed in the revised regulations, when 

 they are developed; and recommending that the Services obtain assistance from individuals experienced 

 in the fields of marine mammal medicine, husbandry, and behavior. 



3 1 July Commerce; commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on a status review of endangered 



whales and a proposal to proceed with steps to remove the eastern North Pacific (California) gray 

 whale population from the endangered species list; noting that some of the information and conclusions 

 in the report are misleading and do not reflect the best available information; and recommending, 

 among other things, that the Service revise the report to describe and evaluate the best available 

 information on the status of and potential threats to each whale stock listed under the Endangered 

 Species Act. 



5 August Commerce; commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on a final rule published by the Fish 



and Wildlife Service to authorize the unintentional take of walruses and polar bears incidental to oil and 

 gas exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea; and recommending, among other things, that the Service 

 (1) initiate rulemaking to amend its definition of "small numbers" for the purposes of defining 

 allowable incidental take and (2) organize and convene a workshop to further develop site-specific 

 monitoring guidelines. 



5 August Interior; commenting to the Fish and Wildlife Service on its Final Rule governing the take of small 



numbers of walruses and piolar bears incidental to offshore oil and gas exploration activities in the 

 Chukchi Sea; noting, among other thmgs, that the rule does not provide an estimate of the numbers of 



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