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Whether the Act's language is precise enough to allow specific 

 protection of marine mammal habitats has been questioned. There is 

 also confusion as to whether the Act authorizes actions solely for 

 species below optimum sustainable population levels, or for all 

 marine mammal species irrespective of the status of their 

 populations. Further, there is an apparent inconsistency in the 

 use of the terms "major objective" and "primary objective." 



In section 2(7) of the Act, Congress found that marine mammal 

 management should "maintain the health and stability of the marine 

 ecosystem." While single-species oriented initiatives have 

 achieved some important success under the Act, greater emphasis 

 must be placed on understanding and managing the complex factors 

 that govern the health and stability of the marine environment. 



By adopting an anticipatory, ecosystem-based approach to managing 

 marine mammals and their habitat, it should be possible to protect 

 living marine resources, avoid legal restrictions that could hinder 

 resource use and development activities that impact protected 

 species, and advance the Act's primary goal of marine ecosystem 

 health and stability. 



To ensure the authority to develop regulations to protect specific 

 threatened or vulnerable habitats, we are considering recommending 

 amendments to sections 2 and 3 to include and broaden habitat 

 protection provisions. The habitat protection provision of the 



