The Executive Branch established by Decree 136-99 the limits of the Santuary of Marine Mammals and created the National Commission for the Protecction of Whales, Dolphins, Manatees, Seals and Other Marine Species that live in Dominican territorial waters and are threatened with extinction. The area of the Santuary of Marine Mammals covers the Bay of Samana and the Silver Banks, or 23,445.35 square meters. Director of Parks, Omar Ram?rez says that from January to April of this year, some 30,000 tourists visited the Santuary. The new committee in charge of the well being of the marine mammals is made up by the Department of Parks, the Ministry of Agriculture, Navy, Museum of Natural History, National Acuarium, Center for Investigation of Marine Biology (Cibima) of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, the Foundation for the Conservation of Marine Resources (Mamma), the Center for the Conservation and Ecodevelopment of the Bay of Samana and its Environment (Cebse) and the Dominican Foundation of Marine Studies (Fundemar).
