international conference to review progress and identify future 

 priority needs. The Service agreed and, as described in Chapter 

 VI, the Second International Conference on Marine Debris was held 

 in Honolulu on 2-7 April 1989. The contractors helped prepare 

 formal reports of certain conference working groups and the 

 executive summary for the Conference report. The reports will be 

 used in many parts of the world to identify priority research and 

 management tasks to reduce debris pollution in the ocean. 



Workshop on Gillnets and Small Cetaceans 



(William F. Perrin, Ph.D., Convener, International Whaling 



Commission, Cambridge, England) 



In 1985, the Scientific Committee of the International 

 Whaling Commission noted that several species of special concern 

 (e«g- i <3 ra Y i humpback, and right whales) were being taken 

 incidentally in gillnet fisheries. The Committee recommended 

 that a workshop be convened to examine the guestion of incidental 

 take of cetaceans in gillnet and other fixed-net fisheries. The 

 workshop, which will be held early in 1990 at the Southwest 

 Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, La Jolla, 

 California, is expected to provide a comprehensive description of 

 cetacean conservation problems being caused by incidental takes 

 in gillnets and a series of recommended actions to better define 

 and resolve these problems. The Marine Mammal Commission 

 provided funds to partially support the cost of the workshop. 



International Workshop on Population Ecology and Management of 



Walruses 



(Francis H. Fay, Ph.D., Institute of Marine Science, Fairbanks, 



Alaska) 



The Pacific walrus population inhabits areas under the 

 jurisdiction of both the United States and the Soviet Union. For 

 this reason, effective management of the walrus population 

 requires a joint U.S. -Soviet effort. To foster better communi- 

 cations among scientists and managers and to encourage the 

 development of a comprehensive walrus research and management 

 plan, the investigator is organizing and convening an inter- 

 national workshop to review available information concerning the 

 biology, ecology, and management of walruses. The workshop, co- 

 sponsored by the Marine Mammal Commission, the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, and the University of Alaska, will be held on 26-30 

 March 1990 in Seattle, Washington. It will include participants 

 from Canada, Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, and the United 

 States. The workshop report, expected to be completed by summer 

 1990, will be distributed to government agencies and other 

 institutions in the United States and the Soviet Union to assist 

 in developing a cooperative walrus conservation program. 



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