sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada; and determine the causes of and steps that might 

 be taken to reverse the alarming declines in populations of northern fur seals, Steller sea lions, 

 harbor seals, and piscivorous birds that have occurred in parts of the Bering Sea and the Gulf 

 of Alaska since the mid-1970s. 



Marine Mammal Strandings and Die-Offs (Chapter VII) 



Since the late 1970s there has been an apparent increase in the incidence of unusual 

 marine mammal mortalities throughout the world. In 1995 there were two unusual mortality 

 events reported. One involved more than 200 common dolphins along the northwest coast of 

 the Gulf of California, Mexico. Cyanide compounds were found in liver and lung samples taken 

 from the dolphins, but a possible source was not identified. The other involved 10 sea otters 

 found in a seven-day period in July in central California. The cause of these deaths could not 

 be determined. 



In response to the deaths of hundreds of bottlenose dolphins along the U.S. mid- Atlantic 

 coast in 1987-1988, Congress enacted the Oceans Act of 1992. This Act added a new title (Title 

 IV) to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, entitled Marine Mammal Health and Stranding 

 Response. This new section directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a working group 

 to provide advice on measures necessary to better detect and respond to future unusual mortality 

 events and to develop a contingency plan for guiding response to such events. The working 

 group has been established and at the end of 1995 the required contingency plan had been 

 completed for publication in 1996. 



Impacts of Marine Debris (Chapter VIII) 



Lost and discarded plastic debris, such as ropes, bags, and bottles, has become a serious 

 form of marine pollution. Through entanglement and ingestion, such debris can be a significant 

 source of mortality and serious injury for marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, fish, and 

 shellfish. As these impacts came to light, the Commission took a leadership role in initiating 

 responsive domestic and international action in the 1980s, and it has continued to help identify 

 needed efforts. Recent analyses by the Commission indicate that the most hazardous items are 

 rope, line, and derelict gear from commercial fisheries. A 1995 Commission review of 

 information on the catch of marine life in derelict gear (i.e., ghostfishing) indicates that, in 

 addition to posing a hazard to marine mammals, there could be significant impacts to some 

 commercially valuable shellfish and fish resources. The Commission has identified actions 

 needed to assess and mitigate such impacts, but to date little has been done to implement them. 



The principal source of Federal support for work, such as organizing national volunteer 

 beach clean-ups, initiating port programs to recycle and dispose of old fishing gear, and 

 disentangling Hawaiian monk seals, has been the National Marine Fisheries Service's Marine 

 Entanglement Research Program. In 1995, as in past years, the Commission helped identify 

 program priorities. Unfortunately, late in 1995 appropriation of funds to support the program 



