Competition for Fish and Shellfish 
Resources 
Since marine mammals and fisheries compete for some of 
the same fish and shellfish resources, marine mammals and 
fisheries must be managed cooperatively to achieve the goals 
of both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act. Since data and theory 
generally are not adequate to define the precise nature, 
extent, or effects of this competition, the Commission 
suggested that a steering group consisting of representatives 
of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, and the Commission be formed to 
develop a plan for approaching the problem. This was done 
in 1979 (see pp. 24-25 of the Commission's Annual Report for 
1979). 
At its first meeting on 6 August 1979, the steering 
group agreed that: the ultimate goal is to develop standard 
procedures and models for assessing the interrelationships 
between target and non-target fish populations, marine 
Mammal populations, bird populations, and other ecosystem 
components; efforts should be focused, at least initially, 
on the Bering Sea ecosystem; available information on the 
species' composition, status, food habits, and food requirements 
of marine mammals and birds of the Bering Sea should be 
compiled and evaluated and a request for proposals to accomplish 
this should be published; and a symposium or workshop should 
be held to assess the adequacy of existing data, procedures, 
and models with particular emphasis on the Bering Sea ecosystem. 
On 4 January 1980, representatives of the Commission and the 
National Marine Fisheries Service met to begin planning the 
workshop proposed at the steering group's first meeting. As 
a result of this meeting, the Commission contracted for a 
study to review and evaluate data and models being used to 
assess interactions between fur seal populations and fisheries 
in the Bering Sea (see Chapter II of this report). 
The workshop was held in Seattle on 29 April-1l May 
1980. Organized by the National Marine Fisheries Service 
under cooperative sponsorship with the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council and the Commission, the workshop included 
representatives of the academic community, the Alaska 
Department of Fish and Game, and the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, in addition to the sponsoring agencies' representatives. 
