of offshore oil and gas resources. To provide the biological, 

 ecological, and technical information needed to meet this 

 responsibility, the Service has established Regional Environmental 

 Studies Programs which are administered by the Service's OCS 

 Offices in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Anchorage. 

 The Service also has contracted with the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Marine Pollution 

 Assessment to plan and administer the Alaska Outer Continental 

 Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) . 



To help the Service identify research requirements 

 related to the conservation and protection of marine mammals, 

 and the types of programs needed to best satisfy those 

 requirements, the Commission: reviews and provides comments 

 on regional studies plans, environmental impact statements, and 

 requests for research proposals developed by the Service; 

 participates in meetings of Technical Proposal Evaluation 

 Committees convened by the Service to review research proposals; 

 and helps plan and participates in meetings to review and 

 coordinate relevant research programs being conducted or 

 planned by the Minerals Management Service, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and 

 other Federal, state, and private agencies and organizations. 



Pacific OCS Regional Studies Plan 



By letter of 15 June 1982, the Pacific OCS Office of 

 the Minerals Management Service requested that the Commission 

 review its Draft Regional Studies Plan for Fiscal Year 1984. 

 This plan, which is updated annually, describes past and 

 current studies funded by the Pacific OCS Office to provide 

 information required to predict, assess, and monitor the 

 effects of OCS oil and gas development off California. It 

 lists studies approved for funding in FY 1983, and indicates 

 and ranks the studies being considered for funding in FY 84 . 



The Commission reviewed the draft plan and, by letter 

 of 21 July 1982, suggested a number of ways whereby the plan 

 might be strengthened and improved. Among other things, the 

 Commission suggested that descriptions of several proposed 

 sea otter-related studies be expanded to indicate how the 

 study results would contribute to the objectives of the 

 Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan. The Commission also 

 suggested that related studies being conducted or planned 

 by the Fish and Wildlife Service and other organizations be 

 reviewed to determine whether additional studies were necessary 

 and, if so, how the studies should be designed to take maximum 



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