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The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors and 

 other marine manmial scientists, has undertaken a review of the system for issuing 

 scientific research permits to determine the cause or causes of the problems and 

 what can be done to overcome them. As a part of this process, the Commission re- 

 cently held a workshop to better determine the nature of the problems and how they 

 might best be addressed. Participants included representatives of the Commission, 

 the Committee of Scientific Advisors, the Commission staff, the staff of the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service's and Fish and Wildlife Service's permit offices, and sci- 

 entists who have had problems with the permit system. The Commission will hold 

 a second workshop, in late September, to follow-up on some of the findings from the 

 workshop held last week. 



The Conmiission's goal is to identify statutory, regulatory, and/or procedural 

 changes that would make the permit system effective but not an obstacle to legiti- 

 mate scientific research. As part of this effort, the Commission is working with the 

 Services to set forth plain-English explanations of how the system can and should 

 work to facilitate research and to develop clear, straightforward instructions for 

 those applying for permits. 



The Commission's 1992 Annual Report to Congress notes that it took an average 

 of 180 days (nearly six months) in 1992 for an application to be orocessed and a 

 permit to be either issued or denied. In an efficient system, it should take no more 

 than half that time. The long processing time seems attributable to: (1) the fact that 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service was prevented from updating its existing reg- 

 ulations by the 1992 moratorium on promulgating regulations; (2) the lack ofclear 

 instructions to applicants for scientific research permits which has led to the sub- 

 mission of incomplete applications with resultant delays; and (3) the fact that those 

 processing permit applications sometimes lack familiarity with many of the research 

 methods and what reasonably can or cannot be done in remote field areas. 



Furthermore, it is not always clear whether animals may be "taken" in the course 

 of certain types of research and that a permit therefore is necessary. For example, 

 although scientists conducting censuses and behavioral observations from ships and 

 aircraft design their studies to try to avoid harassing or otherwise taking any ani- 

 mals, they cannot always be certain that they will succeed. In such cases, it is im- 

 possible to predict the number and kind of animals that may be taken. Con- 

 sequently, saentists conducting such studies must obtain research permits to ensure 

 that, should they inadvertently take a marine mammal, they have not violated the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. 



Another possible issue is that there is no provision in the Act to authorize the 

 take of endangered, threatened, or depleted marine mammals in the course of tak- 

 ing still pictures, motion pictures, or video tapes for either educational or commer- 

 cial purposes. Further, authority to take non-depleted species in the course of such 

 activities can be obtained only through the formal "waiver" process. Consequently, 

 taking in the conduct of such activities either is done illegally or these activities are 

 conducted as a by-product of legitimate scientific research. In some cases, it may 

 be that scientific research permits are being obtained to conduct activities for edu- 

 cational or conmiercial purposes rather than scientific purposes. 



POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS 



Many of these problems may be resolved by revision of the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service regulations and application instructions. As we understand it, pro- 

 posed changes in the regulations will be made available soon for public review and 

 comment. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, will 

 review the proposed regulations and advise the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 of any fiirther revisions that seem necessary or desirable. The Commission also will 

 continue to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wild- 

 life Service to develop application instructions which clearly set forth (a) the deter- 

 minations that must De made before permits may be issued and (b) the information 

 that must be submitted to allow those determinations to be made. To ensure prompt 

 preliminary agency review of applications, the Commission believes it would be ap- 

 propriate to encourage the agencies to complete their preliminary review of permit 

 applications within 30 days following receipt of applications, and to advise the aijpli- 

 cant of any deficiencies in the application or that it is acceptable for review and no- 

 tice of receipt will be published shortly in the Federal Register. 



The problems associated with uncertainty as to Whether any marine mammals 

 may be taken in the course of censuses, behavior observations, and other kinds of 

 research can be addressed in a variety of ways. One possibility would be to: (1) clas- 

 sify various scientific activities according to the likely significance of their impacts 



