V. Marine Mammal Strandings and Die-Offs 157 



Unusual Mortality Events in 1998 158 



Response to Unusual Mortality Events 160 



National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank 160 



The National Contingency Plan 161 



Development of Release Criteria 162 



VI. Effects of Pollution on Marine Mammals 163 



Effects of Chemical Contaminants 163 



Effects of Noise 164 



VII. Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Exploration and Development 175 



Beaufort Sea/Northstar Project 175 



Gulf of Mexico Information Transfer Meeting 176 



VIII. Research and Studies Program 179 



Survey of Federally Funded Marine Mammal Research 179 



Marine Mammal Workshops and Planning Meetings 179 



Commission-Sponsored Research and Study Projects 180 



IX. Permits and Authorizations to Take Marine Mammals 185 



Permit-Related Regulations 185 



Permit Application Review 186 



Recreational Interactions with Marine Mammals in the Wild 187 



Small-Take Authorizations 191 



X. Marine Mammals in Captivity 201 



Care and Maintenance Standards 201 



Swim-with-the-Dolphin Regulations 202 



Exports of Marine Mammals to Foreign Facilities 203 



Release of Captive Marine Mammals to the Wild 204 



Appendix A: Marine Manunal Commission Recommendations in 1998 207 



Appendix B: Reports of Commission-Sponsored Activities Available from 



the National Technical Information Service 219 



Appendix C: Selected Literature Published Elsewhere Resulting from 



Commission-Sponsored Activities 227 



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