outer continental shelf lease sale areas in the Gulf of 

 Mexico; identify research needs and the optimal U.S. research 

 program relative to the conservation and protection of 

 living resources, including whales and seals, in the oceans 

 surrounding Antarctica; review the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service's tuna-porpoise and California coastal marine mammal 

 research programs; and review and evaluate ongoing research 

 related to the conservation of the North Pacific fur seal. 

 Details of these activities, and the resulting recommendations, 

 are provided elsewhere in this Report. 



Commission-Sponsored Research and Study Projects 



The Departments of Commerce and the Interior have 

 primary responsibility under the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act for acquiring the biological and ecological data needed 

 to protect and conserve marine mammals and the ecosystems of 

 which they are a part. This responsibility has been delegated 

 to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, respectively. 



As noted earlier, the Commission convenes workshops and 

 contracts for research and studies to identify and evaluate 

 threats to marine mammal populations and supports, within 

 its budget limitations, other research it deems necessary. 

 Since it was established, the Commission has contracted for 

 more than 300 projects ranging in amounts from several 

 hundred dollars to $128,000. The average contract cost has 

 been approximately $8,000. Total contract amounts were: 

 $258,787 in FY 74; $446,628 in FY 75; $479,449 in FY 76; 

 $132,068 in the FY 76-77 three-month transition period; 

 $523,504 in FY 77; $407,678 in FY 78; $219,897 in FY 79; 

 $391,000 in FY 80; $173,652 in FY 81; and $197,117 in FY 82. 



In many cases, the Commission's investment in research 

 activities is in the form of transfers of funds to other 

 Federal agencies, particularly the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. When such 

 transfers are made, they are accompanied by detailed scopes 

 of work which describe precisely what the agency is to do or 

 have done. They also include requirements for reporting on 

 progress to the Commission. In many instances, this approach 

 has been used to enable the agencies to start needed research, 

 at a time when it might not otherwise be possible for them 

 to do so, on the understanding that the agency itself will 

 continue project support as long as necessary. The Commission 

 also believes that it is valuable to maintain agency involvement 

 to the greatest extent possible and that such transfers 

 provide a useful means of doing so. 



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