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in captivity, but it also declares a public interest in the 

 conduct of certain activities that involve these marine mammals, 

 such as scientific research and public display. As with many 

 laws that protect our Nation's natural resources, the MMPA 

 attempts to balance these sometimes conflicting public interests. 

 Consistent with these mandates, we have worked hard to carry out 

 this balancing act while, at the same time, keeping to a minimum 

 the administrative burden on the businesses and individuals whose 

 activities are regulated. 



In 1988, Congress enacted amendments to the MMPA that affected 

 public display and scientific research permits. At about the 

 same time, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

 recognized that, in response to persistent problems under the 

 current regulatory regime and to address the many issues and 

 questions of approximately 17 years of permit administration, an 

 in-depth review of our permit program was necessary. This 

 comprehensive and lengthy review of the permit program for 

 scientific research and public display included extensive 

 involvement by all interested parties. The review has resulted 

 in a number of administrative improvements, many of which we have 

 already begun to implement. 



In addition, we proposed a rule to revise permit regulations on 

 October 14, 1993. These revised permit regulations address 

 comprehensively the many issues and problems that were examined 



