Chapter IX 



RESEARCH AND STUDIES PROGRAM 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that 

 the Commission maintain a continuing review of 

 research programs conducted or proposed to be 

 conducted under the authority of the Act; undertake or 

 cause to be undertaken such other studies as it deems 

 necessary or desirable in connection with marine 

 mammal conservation and protection; and take every 

 step feasible to prevent wasteful duplication of re- 

 search. To accomplish these tasks, the Commission 

 conducts an annual survey of Federally-fiinded marine 

 mammal research; reviews research plans and pro- 

 grams and recommends steps that should be taken to 

 prevent unnecessary duplication and improve the 

 quality of research conducted or supported by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, the Minerals Management Service, 

 and other Federal agencies; convenes meetings and 

 workshops to review, plan, and coordinate marine 

 mammal research; and contracts for studies to help 

 identify, define, and develop solutions to domestic and 

 international problems affecting marine mammals and 

 their habitats so as to facilitate and complement other 

 agencies' activities. 



Survey of Federally-Funded 

 Marine Manunal Research 



Research directly or indirectly relevant to the 

 conservation and protection of marine mammals and 

 their habitat is conducted or supported by many 

 Federal departments and agencies. To determine the 

 precise nature of this research, assess ways in which 

 it can best be used to facilitate marine mammal 

 conservation and protection, and prevent wasteful 

 duplication, the Commission annually requests and 

 reviews information on the marine mammal research 

 programs being conducted, supported, and planned 

 elsewhere in the Federal Government. 



In 1991, the Commission requested information 

 from 20 Federal agencies, departments, and offices, 

 most of which had conducted or supported research 

 relevant to the conservation and protection of marine 

 mammals in previous years. Specifically, the Com- 

 mission requested information from the Department of 

 Agriculture; the Department of the Air Force; the 

 Department of the Army; the Department of the 

 Navy, the Naval Ocean Systems Center, and the 

 Office of Naval Research; the Department of Energy; 

 the Department of State; the Environmental Protection 

 Agency; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the 

 Minerals Management Service; the National Aeronau- 

 tics and Space Administration; the National Institutes 

 of Health; the National Marine Fisheries Service; the 

 National Ocean Pollution Program Office; the Nation- 

 al Ocean Service, the Office of Ocean and Coastal 

 Resource Management, and the Office of Ocean 

 Resources Conservation and Assessment; the National 

 Sea Grant College Program; the National Park Ser- 

 vice; the National Science Foundation; the Smithso- 

 nian Institution; and the U.S. Coast Guard. 



Responses to requests for information concerning 

 projects undertaken in FY 1991 and planned for FY 

 1992 had been received from most of the agencies by 

 December 1991. This information will be summa- 

 rized early in 1992 and made available in the Com- 

 mission-sponsored report "Survey of Federally-Funded 

 Marine Mammal Research and Studies." 



Research Program Reviews, 

 Workshops, and Kanning Me^ings 



In 1991, the Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, reviewed, com- 

 mented on, or made recommendations on actions 

 concerning bottlenose dolphins; harbor porpoises off 



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