surveyed only occasionally) ; the particular interest, training, 

 and experience of individual network members; and the avail- 

 ability of basic equipment and supplies necessary to collect, 

 store, and analyze specimen materials. The purposes of this 

 meeting, to be held early in 1990, are to determine possible 

 ways: to improve organization and administration of the network, 

 particularly coordination and communication among key network 

 members in different geographical locales; instruct key network 

 members in the best procedures for determining and documenting 

 the cause of death of stranded marine mammals, particularly those 

 that may have been caught and killed or injured incidental to 

 commercial fishing operations; identify deficiencies in 

 expendable equipment and supplies and travel budgets that are 

 compromising the effectiveness of the network; determine the 

 annual funding that would be required to maintain basic stocks of 

 expendable equipment and supplies and to reimburse volunteers for 

 travel expenses necessary to insure continued and effective 

 operation of the network, and, as possible, list equipment, 

 supply, and travel budget needs for each geographic component of 

 the network; and develop instructional video tapes for distri- 

 bution to other regional networks to assist in training 

 volunteers. The meeting results will be reviewed by the 

 Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors to determine 

 if similar meetings of the key members of other networks also 

 might be useful. 



Expendable Equipment and Supplies in Support of the Texas Marine 



Mammal Stranding Network 



(Gina Baron, Texas A&M University, Galveston, Texas) 



As noted above, the effectiveness of regional stranding 

 networks often is compromised by the limited support available 

 for expendable equipment and supplies (e.g., scalpel blades, 

 specimen bags and bottles, film, etc.). The purpose of this 

 grant was to provide for a one-time purchase of basic stocks of 

 expendable equipment and supplies to improve operation of this 

 network, at least in the short term. 



West Indian Manatee 



Human-related mortality and injury and habitat destruction 

 and degradation pose significant threats to West Indian manatee 

 populations in Florida and elsewhere. To help mitigate these 

 threats, the Marine Mammal Commission either contracted for or 

 helped support studies to: coordinate and expand public 

 information and education programs on the plight of the manatee; 

 develop a plan to protect manatee habitat in areas subject to 

 rapid development; and undertake research relative to manatee 

 survival and reproductive biology. 



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