Chapter I 



INTRODUCTION 



This is the 26th Annual Report of the Marine 

 Mammal Commission, covering the period 1 January 

 through 31 December 1998. It is being submitted to 

 Congress pursuant to section 204 of the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act of 1972. 



Established under Title II of the Act, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission is an independent agency of the 

 Executive Branch. It is charged with maintaining an 

 overview of and making recommendations on domes- 

 tic and international actions and policies of all federal 

 agencies with respect to marine mammal protection 

 and conservation and with carrying out a research pro- 

 gram. 



Personnel 



The Commission consists of three part-time Com- 

 missioners nominated by the President and confirmed 

 by the Senate. The Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 requires that Commissioners be knowledgeable in 

 marine ecology and resource management. At the end 

 of 1998 the Commissioners were John E. Reynolds, 

 III, Ph.D. (Chairman), Eckerd College, St. Peters- 

 burg, Florida; Paul K. Dayton, Ph.D., Scripps 

 Instimtion of Oceanography, La JoUa, California; and 

 Vera Alexander, Ph.D., University of Alaska, Fair- 

 banks. 



The Commission's full-time staff includes John R. 

 Twiss, Jr., Executive Director; Robert J. Hofman, 

 Ph.D., Scientific Program Director; David W. Laist, 

 Policy and Program Analyst; Michael L. Gosliner, 

 General Counsel; Robert H. Mattlin, Ph.D., Assistant 

 Scientific Program Director; Alison Kirk Long, 

 Permit Officer; Nancy L. Shaw, Administrative Offi- 

 cer; Jacqueline L. Murphy, Staff Assistant in charge 

 of publications; and Darel E. Jordan, Staff Assistant. 



The Commission Chairman, with the concurrence 

 of other Commissioners, appoints persons to the nine- 

 member Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine 

 Mammals. The Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 requires that committee members be scientists who are 

 knowledgeable in marine ecology and marine mammal 

 affairs. At the end of 1998 the committee members 

 were Lloyd F. Lowry (Chairman), Alaska Department 

 of Fish and Game, Fairbanks; Daryl J. Boness, 

 Ph.D., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; 

 Robert L. Brownell, Jr., Ph.D., National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, La JoUa, California; Joseph R. 

 Geraci, V.M.D., Ph.D., National Aquarium in 

 Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; Steven K. Katona, 

 Ph.D., College of the Adantic, Bar Harbor, Maine; 

 Bruce R. Mate, Ph.D., Oregon State University, 

 Newport; Barbara L. Taylor, Ph.D., National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, La Jolla, California; Jeanette A. 

 Thomas, Ph.D., Western Illinois University, Moline; 

 and Douglas Wartzok, Ph.D., University of Missouri, 

 St. Louis. 



During 1998 Mr. Caleb Pungowiyi, Executive 

 Director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission, former 

 president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, and 

 resident of Nome and Kotzebue, Alaska, served as 

 Special Advisor to the Marine Mammal Commission 

 on Native Affairs. 



Funding 



Appropriations to the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion in the past five fiscal years have been: FY 1994, 

 $1,290,000; FY 1995, $1,384,000; FY 1996, 

 $1,190,000; FY 1997, $1,189,000; and FY 1998, 

 $1,185,000. The Commission's appropriation for the 

 current fiscal year, FY 1999, is $1,240,000. 



