10 March Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on draft regulations 



on the incidental take of marine mammals in commercial fisheries, and recom- 

 mending, among other things, that the draft be expanded to: define the phrase 

 "standard observation period"; specify the information that vessel owners or 

 operators will be required to collect; expand the criteria for a category I listing to 

 include fisheries that, by analogy with a fishery listed in category I, would be likely 

 to take marine mammals frequently; provide a voluntary observer program for 

 category II and III vessels; prohibit category III vessels from taking marine 

 mammals intentionally; and give the Service authority to require that fishermen 

 retain and return to port certain critically needed biological specimens. 



16 March Interior, modification of scientific research permit, Fish and Wildlife Service. 



17 March State, commenting on a draft convention to establish an international scientific 



organization for the North Pacific Ocean; urging that it proceed with efforts to 

 negotiate such a convention; and recommending, among other things, that the draft 

 be modified to have the proposed scientific organization provide advice on the 

 scientific basis for conserving living resources. 



20 March Commerce, scientific research permit application, LGL Limited. 



21 March Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the interim final 



rule to implement amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act on the 

 tuna/porpoise issue and recommending, among other things, that the Service require 

 that a set be aborted once it was apparent that it could not be completed to 

 "sack-up" within 30 minutes after sunset and that the interim final rule be adopted 

 as a permanent final rule with certain modifications. 



28 March Commerce, public display permit application, Sea World Inc. 



28 March Commerce, commenting to the National Marine Fisheries Service on a proposed 



research task to monitor high seas driftnet fishing and expressing concurrence with 

 the proposed allocation of funds to support it. 



4 April Interior, commenting to the Fish and Wildlife Service on possible effects of the 



Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound on the Alaska sea otter population 

 and other marine mammals; suggesting certain response actions; and recom- 

 mending, among other things, that the Service: radio-tag and track a representative 

 sample of sea otters to determine their fate after being oiled; sample benthic 

 communities before and after being contaminated to determine how sea otter prey 

 are affected by the spill and chemical dispersants; identify important habitats to be 

 protected by oil containment booms; capture and relocate large numbers of otters if 

 the spill reached certain high-density sea otter areas; establish additional facilities to 

 clean and rehabilitate oiled otters; identify areas to release rehabilitated otters; 

 radio-tag and track a subset of rehabilitated otters to determine their fate; identify 

 and survey beaches to gather information on the number of animals washing up 

 dead; and organize and convene a planning meeting or workshop to identify studies 

 needed to document the long-term effects of the spill on sea otters and other marine 

 mammals and to describe the time, money, and special logistic needed. 



11 April Commerce, scientific research permit application, Miami Seaquarium. 



12 April Commerce, public display permit application, Ouwehands Dierenpark. 



13 April Army Corps of Engineers, recommending that it assist the State of Florida in posting 



advisory and regulatory signs to protect the West Indian manatee along sections of 

 the Intracoastal Waterway. 



27 April Commerce, scientific research permit application, North Gulf Oceanic Society. 



27 April Commerce, scientific research permit application, Howard E. Winn. 



27 April Commerce, scientific research permit application, Thomas F. Albert. 



2 May Agriculture, commenting to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on the 



need to organize an inter-agency review of standards for maintaining marine 

 mammals in captivity, and offering to assist in the review. 



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