CHAPTER X 



RESEARCH AND STUDIES PROGRAM 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that the 

 Commission: maintain a continuing review of research programs 

 conducted or proposed to be conducted under the 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 marine mammal research; reviews and recommends steps that 

 should be taken to prevent duplication and improve the quality of 

 marine mammal research programs conducted or supported by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 the Minerals Management Service, and other Federally-funded 

 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 other agencies' 

 activities. 



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 broad spectrum of Federal departments and 

 agencies. To determine the precise nature of this research, 

 assess ways in which it can best be used to facilitate marine 

 mammal conservation and protection, and prevent wasteful 

 duplication, the Commission annually requests and reviews 

 information on the marine mammal research programs being 

 conducted, supported, or planned elsewhere in the Federal 

 Government. 



In 1989, the Commission requested information from 22 

 Federal agencies, departments, and offices, most of which had 

 conducted or supported research relevant to the conservation and 

 protection of marine mammals in previous years. Those 

 departments, agencies, and offices were the Department of 

 Agriculture, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of 

 the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Energy, 

 the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

 Minerals Management Service, the National Aeronautics and Space 

 Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, the National Ocean Service, the 

 National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, the 

 Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, the National Ocean 



182 



