Chapter X — Research and Studies Program 
the requirements for reporting on progress to the 
Commission. In many instances, this has made it 
possible for agencies to start needed research sooner 
than might otherwise have been possible and to 
subsequently support the projects on their own for as 
long as necessary. The Commission 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. 
In calendar year 1992 the Commission provided 
approximately $153,000 of its own funds to support 
research projects. Research undertaken in 1992 also 
includes specific projects co-sponsored by the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Navy, and the 
Department of State, for which these agencies trans- 
ferred $142,000 to the Commission. The 1992 
research projects, including those that were jointly 
supported, are summarized below. 
Final reports from Commission-sponsored studies 
completed in 1992 and earlier are available from the 
National Technical Information Service; they are 
listed in Appendix B. Papers resulting entirely or in 
part from Commission-sponsored activities and 
published elsewhere are listed in Appendix C. 
BASIC PRINCIPLES AND AGREEMENTS 
New Principles for the Conservation of Wild 
Living Resources 
(Lee Talbot, Ph.D., Lee Talbot Associates 
International, McLean, Virginia) 
The Council on Environmental Quality, the World 
Wildlife Fund-U.S., the Ecological Society of Ameri- 
ca, the Smithsonian Institution, and the International 
Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural 
Resources (now known as IUCN-The World Conser- 
vation Union) cooperatively sponsored a series of 
workshops in 1974 and 1975 to review basic princi- 
ples for conserving wild living resources. The 
workshops concluded that traditional single-species, 
maximum sustainable yield management principles 
were outdated and recommended adoption of new 
principles for the conservation of wild living resourc- 
es. These “new principles” have not been fully 
177 
integrated into either domestic or international fisher- 
ies and wildlife conservation programs. Further, 
there have been significant changes in such things as 
fishing gear and practices, as well as advances in data 
acquisition and analytical capabilities (e.g., improve- 
ments in computer and satellite technology) since 
1975. The purpose of this project is to review, 
update, and determine how to improve implementation 
of basic principles for the conservation of wild living 
resources. The contractor is consulting with experts 
throughout the world and will chair a conference in 
May 1993 to identify and determine how best to 
address the various conceptual, practical, and techno- 
logical problems. In the fall of 1993 the results of 
these consultations will be published and made avail- 
able to individuals and organizations responsible for 
marine mammal, fisheries, and wildlife conservation 
throughout the world. 
Compendium of International Treaties and 
Agreements Bearing upon the Conservation 
and Protection of Marine Mammals and Other 
Marine Living Resources 
(Marine Mammal Commission Staff) 
As noted in Chapter V, many treaties and other 
international agreements affect the conservation of 
marine mammals, other forms of life, and various 
habitats. To make these documents easily accessible 
to Congressional staff and others, in 1977 the Con- 
gressional Research Service, at the request of the 
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 
portation compiled and published “Treaties and Other 
International Agreements on Fisheries, Oceanographic 
Resources, and Wildlife Involving the United States.” 
Since then, many of the agreements have been amend- 
ed and entirely new ones written. The purpose of this 
project is to update the 1977 compendium by incorpo- 
rating the full texts of more than 375 treaties, interna- 
tional agreements, and other relevant documents 
concerning the environment, with an emphasis on 
marine matters. The compendium, which will be 
about 3,000 pages, should prove an essential reference 
document for both professionals and students in the 
fields of international law, environmental policy, and 
resource conservation. 
