MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



11 October Commerce, modification of scientific research permit, Marsha Green. 



11 October Commerce, modification of scientific research permit, Richard Coleman. 



19 October Commerce, scientific research permit, Brent S. Stewart. 



20 October Commerce, scientific research permit, Whale Conservation Institute. 



27 October Commerce, modification of scientific research permit, Frank Cipriano. 



9 November Interior, commenting to the Fish and Wildlife Service on proposed regulations to authorize the 



importation of polar bear trophies from Canada under section 104(c)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act; suggesting that the Service's position could be strengthened considerably by, among 

 other things, incorporating the following clarifications: (1) indicate whether or not the Service concurs 

 with Canada's interpretation of Article III. 1 .(d) and explain whether this exception is limited to taking 

 by local people or whether it would include taking by non-nationals, (2) provide more information on 

 how aircraft are used in the hunting of polar bears and better explain the rationale for its view that 

 such use is consistent with the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, (3) provide additional 

 justification for the determination that the 12 management units used by Canada constitute separate 

 population stocks as defined in the Act, and (4) add to the final rule that no import permits be issued 

 for polar bears taken from populations for which the hunting season begins prior to 1 December. 



20 November Commerce, modification of scientific research permit, Hiroyuki Suganuma. 



20 November Interior, commenting to the Minerals Management Service regarding the Draft Environmental Impact 

 Statement for the Beaufort Sea Planning Area Oil and Gas Lease Sale #144; recommending that the 

 statement be expanded to more fully describe what is being or will be done to meet the monitoring 

 requirements of section 20 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and to ensure that lessees are 

 aware of the Marine Mammal Protection Act's general moratorium on taking marine mammals and the 

 Act's provisions for obtaining a small-take exemption or waiver of the Act's moratorium on taking 

 marine mammals; recommending that the Service, if it has not already done so, obtain and use the 

 stock assessment reports for marine mammal species and populations that occur in and near the 

 Beaufort Sea planning area to help ensure that the environmental impact statement (1) incorporates the 

 best available information on the natural history, size, status, and sources and levels of human-related 

 mortality of the stocks that potentially could be affected by the proposed action, and (2) describes any 

 uncertainties in this regard and what is being done or planned to resolve them; and recommending that 

 the Service, if it has not already done so, consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 

 and other organizations to obtain the best available information concerning both the direct and indirect 

 effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on cetaceans and other marine mammals. 



22 November State, commenting to the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs regarding the draft Charter [Declaration] 

 on the Establishment of the Arctic Council forwarded from Canada and the 26 U.S. discussion paper 

 concerning sustainable development; noting that the draft declaration incorporates few of the points 

 raised by the United States during the 6-8 September 1995 meeting of senior Arctic officials; noting 

 that certain provisions indicate that one of the goals of the Arctic Council will be to create wage- 

 paying jobs for Arctic Natives, and thus replace the traditional subsistence economy, and further 

 noting that it is not clear that consideration has been given to the possibility or likelihood that 

 promoting transition from a subsistence to a monetary economy could jeopardize maintenance of the 

 long-established cultures of Arctic indigenous peoples; suggesting that, if it has not been done already, 

 a study should be done to determine whether this transition is what the majority of Arctic Natives want 

 and, if so, how it can be done without unduly affecting long-standing cultural values; and recommend- 

 ing that the position paper on sustainable development be expanded to provide more explicit instruc- 



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