Appendix A — Commission Recommendations 



tions to the delegation in order to clarify that the United States must indicate that it cannot agree to a 

 charter or declaration that would commit it to seek amendment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 to allow resumption of commercial sealing and whaling, and which would establish the Arctic Council 

 as the appropriate body for resolving trade and other disputes that arise among Arctic states. 



22 November Defense, commenting to the Navy's Naval Facilities Engineering Command regarding the development 

 of plans to bring its ships into compliance with established provisions for regulating the disposal of 

 garbage from ships; and suggesting that the Navy's Center for Naval Analyses, if it is not already 

 doing so, (a) estimate the range of waste storage needs for different solid waste categories for all types 

 of Navy vessels, taking into account provisioning and processing steps to minimize waste volumes, and 

 (b) identify the best possible way to make available the storage space necessary to handle those 

 volumes on a vessel-by-vessel basis; 



28 November Commerce, permit to take marine mammals for educational/commercial purposes, Michael Kundu. 



1 December Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the Hawaiian monk seal 

 recovery program; recommending (1) that the Service immediately re-initiate consultation under 

 section 7 of the Endangered Species Act to consider the effect of reopening the lobster fishery in the 

 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on Hawaiian monk seals at French Frigate Shoals and other colonies, 

 monk seal prey preferences, and the species' distribution and movement at sea, should such an action 

 be proposed, and (2) that all lobster fishing at French Frigate Shoals be suspended until such time as 

 there is sufficient information to indicate that the availability of lobsters and/or local lobster fishing are 

 not contributing to the decline or compromising the potential for recovery of this seal colony; 

 recommending that the Service ensure that the planned scat sampling and telemetry work be supple- 

 mented to include sampling of newly weaned pups and yearlings; further recommending that the 

 Service consider the potential use of a new research technique, analysis of fatty acid signatures in seal 

 blubber samples, to resolve uncertainties about monk seal prey species; and recommending that the 

 Service convene a broadly representative implementation team of officials from involved agencies and 

 organizations to improve communication, periodically review recovery program activities and 

 progress, and identify cooperative actions that should be taken to further recovery program objectives. 



1 December Interior, commenting to the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding its role in the Hawaiian monk seal 



recovery program; recommending that the staff of the Pacific/Remote Island National Wildlife Refuges 

 contact appropriate officials in both the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service to establish a schedule for meeting the consultation requirements of section 7 of the Endan- 

 gered Species Act regarding the effect of human activities planned at the Midway Islands under the 

 Service's refuge management program. 



6 December Commerce, scientific research permit, The Burke Museum. 



6 December Commerce, scientific research permit, Pacific Whale Foundation. 



7 December Commerce, modification of scientific research permit, Scott D. Kraus. 



8 December Agriculture, commenting to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regarding the care of 



captive marine mammals at the Sugarloaf Dolphin Sanctuary, Florida; noting that the facility has not 

 taken the steps necessary to come into compliance with the Animal Welfare Act; recommending that 

 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately 

 undertake consultations to consider action under section 104(c)(2)(D)(i) of the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act to revoke the applicable permit and seize the dolphins for placement at an alternative 

 facility. 



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