Chapter 16. The Marine Mammal Commission
The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) became active after its establishment under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. MMC is an independent agency of the U.S. Government. "The Marine Mammal Commission was created to provide independent oversight of the marine mammal conservation policies and programs being carried out by the federal regulatory agencies. The Commission is charged with developing, reviewing, and making recommendations on domestic and international actions and policies of all federal agencies with respect to marine mammal protection and conservation and with carrying out a research program."
"The focus of the Marine Mammal Commission can be described as follows:
- maintaining an unbiased overview of domestic and international federal agency activities affecting marine mammals;
- providing informed and objective advice to the executive and legislative branches of the federal government on measures needed to meet the policies and provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act;
- promoting consultations with the scientific community, state agencies, local authorities, and public interest groups to help identify mutually acceptable ways to resolve issues of concern;
- coordinating federal, state, and local efforts to take advantage of the best elements of each to achieve, economically and efficiently, the Act’s stated purposes of conserving marine mammal species, populations, and the ecosystems on which they depend;
- formulating and promoting implementation of long-term policies to ensure the conservation of marine mammals and other components of the marine ecosystem; and
- carrying out a directed research program to determine how best to address marine mammal conservation issues at local, regional, national, and international levels."
The MMC's Research Priorities and Guidelines Division "supports projects aimed at meeting the conservation and protection goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Commission’s “research” program includes all relevant activities including basic and applied research, workshops, literature reviews, compilation of expert opinion, and drafting manuscripts. The research program is administered by the Commission’s Scientific Program staff in consultation with a Research Subcommittee composed of members of the Commission and Committee of Scientific Advisors."
