In 1992, the Commission reviewed plans for the 1993 Marine Entanglement Research 
Program of the National Marine Fisheries Service and helped begin planning for the Third 
International Conference on Marine Debris to be held in 1994. In 1992, the Marine 
Environment Protection Program of the International Maritime Organization continued to 
revise and update its guidelines on port reception facilities for ship-generated garbage. This 
work, first recommended by the Marine Mammal Commission, is now receiving support 
from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard. Cooperative international 
efforts to develop a plan to address marine debris in the wider Caribbean as part of the 
Caribbean Environment Program of the United Nations are discussed in this chapter, also. 
Marine Mammal Management in Alaska (Chapter VIII) 
Marine mammal research and management activities in Alaska are substantial and 
complex. This is because of the many species, the large size of some populations, marine 
mammal use by Alaska Natives for subsistence and handicrafts, interactions with 
commercial fishing and offshore oil and gas exploration and development, and shared 
jurisdiction of some populations with Russia and Canada. To provide the basis for 
developing effective conservation plans, the Commission published, in 1988, ten species 
accounts with research and management recommendations. More recently, the Commission 
has provided the Fish and Wildlife Service draft conservation plans for walruses, polar 
bears, and sea otters and has made recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries 
Service on development and implementation of the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan. 
Commission involvement in these and related activities are described in this chapter. 
Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Development (Chapter IX) 
The Minerals Management Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service share responsibility for ensuring that activities and oil spills 
associated with offshore oil and gas exploration and development do not have significant 
adverse effects on marine mammals or their habitat. In 1992, the Marine Mammal 
Commission commented to the Minerals Management Service on Draft Environmental 
Impact Statements for three proposed offshore lease sales. It also commented to the Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service on actions under section 
101(a)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act to authorize the incidental take of certain 
marine mammals in Alaska during the course of planned oil and gas exploration activities. 
Under this section, small numbers of marine mammals, including endangered and threatened 
species, may be taken unintentionally during such activities if the take would have a 
negligible impact on the species, and if the industry institutes a monitoring program to 
verify that effects are negligible. 
Research and Studies Program (Chapter X) 
The Marine Mammal Protection Act calls upon the Commission to undertake, or 
cause to be undertaken, studies which it considers necessary or desirable to protect and 
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