MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



report, and (4) provide the terms of reference, report 

 outlines, and expected membership to the prospective 

 working group members in advance of the workshop. 

 The Commission requested that it be advised of the 

 terms of reference and expected composition of the 

 three working groups as soon as possible. To help in 

 this regard, the Commission provided a brief synopsis 

 of the marine mammal species and issues of particular 

 relevance to the workshop. 



The workshop, formally titled "The Health of the 

 Gulf of Maine Ecosystem: Cumulative Impacts of 

 Multiple Stressors," was held at Dartmouth College 

 on 18-20 September 1995. Participants represented a 

 broad range of interests and expertise. They consid- 

 ered and identified priority research and management 

 needs relative to three broad subject areas: sources 

 and effects of anthropogenic contaminants; fisheries 

 and related impacts; and protected species and marine 

 mammals. 



Because the workshop was not held until 18-20 

 September, the workshop report could not be complet- 

 ed in time to be included in the report that the Secre- 

 tary was to submit to Congress by 31 December 1995. 

 To provide the basic information needed to prepare 

 the report, the workshop organizers focused initial 

 efforts on drafting an executive summary of the work- 

 shop report. The draft executive summary and a draft 

 federal response to it were forwarded to the Commis- 

 sion on 1 December 1995. 



The Commission provided comments to the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service's Northeast Fisheries Science 

 Center by letter of 12 December 1995. The Commis- 

 sion noted that both draft documents provided general 

 overviews of the factors affecting or potentially 

 affecting the health and stability of the Gulf of Maine 

 ecosystem. However, neither document identified the 

 key system components, the current status and trends 

 of the key components, the specific anthropogenic 

 factors impacting or likely to impact the key system 

 components, critical uncertainties and research re- 

 quired to resolve them, or specific deficiencies in 

 local, state, or Federal regulatory and management 

 programs and how those deficiencies might be correct- 

 ed. The Commission offered to work with the Ser- 

 vice to identify specific research and management 

 actions necessary to ensure the welfare of marine 

 mammals and their habitat in the Gulf of Maine. 



At the end of 1995 it was the Commission's under- 

 standing that the workshop executive summary and 

 report to Congress were being finalized by the Nation- 

 al Marine Fisheries Service and would be transmitted 

 to Congress early in 1996. 



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