other Federal agencies in their efforts to conclude and implement 

 international agreements for the conservation of whales, seals, 

 and other living resources of the Southern Ocean. 



Lost and discarded fishing gear and other persistent marine 

 debris are discussed in Chapter VI. These serious forms of 

 marine pollution kill and injure marine mammals, seabirds, 

 turtles, and invertebrates throughout the world. The Commission, 

 instrumental in focusing attention on the issue domestically and 

 internationally early in the 1980s, continued to play a major 

 role in identifying and guiding research and management responses 

 in 1989. That year, the Commission worked closely with the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service to convene the Second 

 International Conference on Marine Debris and to implement the 

 Service's Marine Entanglement Research Program. It also assisted 

 the Coast Guard in its efforts to address the problem of ship- 

 generated garbage domestically and within the International 

 Maritime Organization. 



Marine mammals affect and are affected by a number of 

 commercial and recreational fisheries. Commission efforts to 

 identify and determine how best to resolve problems caused by 

 interactions are described in Chapter VII. In 1989, the issues 

 of greatest concern were high seas driftnet fisheries, 

 particularly Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Korean driftnet 

 fisheries for sguid and salmon in the North Pacific Ocean, and 

 the practice of setting purse seines around schools of porpoise 

 in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to catch yellowfin tuna 

 that associate with porpoise. The Commission provided detailed 

 recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the 

 Department of State on both issues in 1989. 



Marine mammal conservation is particularly challenging in 

 Alaska because of the large populations of many marine mammal 

 species in State waters, their use for subsistence purposes by 

 Alaska natives, interactions with commercial fishing, and 

 development of oil and gas resources in marine mammal habitat. 

 In 1988, the Commission completed ten species accounts with 

 research and management recommendations. Chapter VIII discusses 

 1989 efforts to follow up on those recommendations, particularly 

 for several of the species, including polar bear, sea otter, and 

 walrus. It also discusses efforts to develop a marking, tagging, 

 and reporting program to obtain better information on the numbers 

 of animals taken in Alaska for subsistence and handicraft 

 purposes and to help control illegal trade in certain marine 

 mammal parts. 



Oil spills, noise, and chemical pollutants associated with 

 offshore oil, gas, and hard mineral exploration and development 

 can affect marine mammals and their habitats. The Minerals 

 Management Service is responsible for managing these activities 

 in Federal waters and for ensuring that associated activities do 



