Chapter X 



RESEARCH AND STUDIES PROGRAM 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that 

 the Marine Mammal Commission maintain a contin- 

 uing review of research programs conducted or 

 proposed to be conducted under 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 

 research. To accomplish these tasks, the Commission 

 conducts an annual survey of Federally-funded re- 

 search on marine mammals; reviews research plans 

 and programs 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 

 activities of other agencies. 



Survey of Federally-Funded 

 Marine Mammal Research 



Research directly or indirectly relevant to the 

 conservation and protection of marine mammals and 

 their habitat is conducted or supported by a number of 

 Federal departments and agencies. To determine the 

 precise nature of this research, and assess ways in 

 which it can best be coordinated and used to facilitate 

 marine mammal conservation and protection, the 

 Commission annually requests information on the 

 marine mammal and related research programs being 

 conducted, supported, and planned elsewhere in the 

 Federal Government. 



In November 1994 the Commission requested 

 information from 20 Federal agencies, departments, 

 and offices. They were the Department of Agricul- 

 ture; the Department of the Air Force; the Department 

 of the Army; the Department of Commerce's Coastal 

 Ocean Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 National Sea Grant College Program, Office of Ocean 

 Resources Conservation and Assessment, and Sanctu- 

 aries and Reserves Division; the Department of 

 Energy; the Department of the Interior's Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Minerals Management Service, 

 National Biological Service, and National Park Ser- 

 vice; the Department of the Navy; the Department of 

 State; the Department of Transportation; the Environ- 

 mental Protection Agency; the National Aeronautics 

 and Space Administration; the National Institutes of 

 Health; and the National Science Foundation. The 

 Commission also requested information from the 

 Smithsonian Institution, a trust instrumentality of the 

 United States. 



The information received is summarized in the 

 Commission-sponsored report "Survey of Federally- 

 Funded Marine Mammal Research and Studies FY74 - 

 FY94" published in June 1995 by the National Tech- 

 nical Information Service (see Appendix B, Waring 

 1981 through 1995, for reports of this and previous 

 surveys). 



Marine Mammal Workshops 

 and Planning Meetings 



In 1995 the Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mam- 

 mals, provided comments on a broad range of issues 

 involving the recovery of certain endangered and 

 threatened species; the management of both depleted 

 and non-depleted stocks; scientific research permit 

 applications; marine mammal-fisheries interactions; 

 the possible effects on marine mammals of high- 



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