I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2455 

To amend the Whale Conservation and Protection Study Act to promote 

international whale conservation, protection, and research, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 18, 2009 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. DELAHUNT, and Ms. 

HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Natural 

Resources, Ways and Means, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Whale Conservation and Protection Study 

Act to promote international whale conservation, protection, and research, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. WHALE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION. 

4 The Whale Conservation and Protection Study Act 

5 (16 U.S.C. 917 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘International Whale 

3 Conservation and Protection Act of 2009’. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

5 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) Whales are of great aesthetic and scientific 

7 interest to mankind and are a vital part of the ma8 rine ecosystem. 

9 ‘‘(2) For hundreds of years whales were killed 

10 for commercial purposes, with some whale stocks 

11 hunted to near extinction. 

12 ‘‘(3) As long-lived and slow-breeding mammals, 

13 whales are particularly vulnerable to the long-lasting 

14 effects from over-exploitation and many whale stocks 

15 have not recovered. 

16 ‘‘(4) Today whales face an uncertain future due 

17 to a variety of threats, including ozone depletion, 

18 chemical and noise pollution, marine debris, vessel 

19 strikes, entanglements with fishing gear, prey deple20 tion, increasing offshore industrial development, and 

21 escalating threats from climate change, including 

22 ocean acidification. 

23 ‘‘(5) Because whales migrate throughout the 

24 world’s oceans, international cooperation is required 

25 to successfully conserve and protect them. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(6) The United States has been a world leader 

2 in whale conservation and protection, particularly 

3 through the International Whaling Commission, and 

4 must reassert global leadership in improving and 

5 strengthening whale conservation to ensure that 

6 commercial, scientific, or any other type of lethal 

7 whaling for nonaboriginal subsistence purposes does 

8 not occur. 

9 ‘‘(7) As a world leader in whale protection, the 

10 United States should increase and strengthen whale 

11 conservation, research, and protection efforts within 

12 its own Exclusive Economic Zone and High Seas 

13 outside the Exclusive Economic Zone, to ensure that 

14 whale stocks that migrate through or reside in these 

15 waters receive full protection. 

16 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(1) To reassert United States global leader19 ship in whale conservation and protection and renew 

20 the United States commitment to whale conserva21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(2) To promote international efforts to con23 serve and protect the world’s whales throughout 

24 their range. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(3) To conclude a whale protection Agreement 

2 with the Government of Canada aimed at coordi3 nating and promoting conservation efforts for whales 

4 that migrate through waters of both countries. 

5 ‘‘(4) To strengthen whale conservation and pro6 tection efforts of relevant international organiza7 tions, including the United Nations Convention on 

8 the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Ani9 mals, the International Convention for the Regula10 tion of Whaling, the Convention on International 

11 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 

12 Flora, and the International Maritime Organization. 

13 ‘‘(5) To ensure that the IWC commercial whal14 ing ban is neither lifted nor weakened, and that any 

15 existing commercial whaling, along with lethal sci16 entific and illegal whaling, is ended. 

17 ‘‘(6) To reduce, and where possible, eliminate 

18 sources of human-caused death, injury, harassment, 

19 and disturbance of the world’s whales. 

20 ‘‘(7) To initiate, expand, and fund research to 

21 improve our understanding of the world’s whales, 

22 whale health and reproduction, whale habitats and 

23 the impacts of human activities, and other threats to 

24 whales. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL WHALE CONSERVATION AND PRO2 TECTION. 

3 ‘‘(a) COMMERICAL WHALING RESTRICTIONS AND

4 THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION.—The Sec5 retary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Secretary of 

6 State, shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) firmly restate the United States’ strong 

8 opposition to commercial whaling in any form and 

9 refuse to engage in any negotiation or reinterpreta10 tion of the IWRC that would weaken the morato11 rium on commercial whaling, create any new cat12 egories of whaling, condone lethal scientific whaling, 

13 or otherwise weaken whale conservation and protec14 tion; 

15 ‘‘(2) continue to recognize and support subsist16 ence whaling carried out by aboriginal peoples that 

17 have a continuing traditional dependence on whaling, 

18 as well as support the further development of the 

19 Aboriginal Whaling Management Scheme; 

20 ‘‘(3) improve the transparency of the IWC and 

21 its committees and working groups, including ex22 panding participation by civil society; and 

23 ‘‘(4) encourage other members of the IWC to— 

24 ‘‘(A) support amendments to the ICRW 

25 that would eliminate loopholes in Articles V and 

26 VIII of the ICRW; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
6 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(B) recognize and adhere to the advice of 

2 the IWC Scientific Committee regarding the en3 vironmental impacts on whale populations and 

4 incorporate that advice into the deliberations of 

5 the IWC; 

6 ‘‘(C) recognize and adhere to the advice of 

7 the IWC Scientific Committee regarding the 

8 evaluation of vessel strikes and the impacts, 

9 benefits and management of whale watch ves10 sels; 

11 ‘‘(D) reject proposals that allow for the 

12 continued killing of whales; and 

13 ‘‘(E) modernize the IWC, consistent with 

14 other international conservation treaties, by ex15 panding participation by civil society, closing 

16 loopholes in the ICRW currently being exploited 

17 by whaling nations, adding meaningful enforce18 ment mechanisms to the ICRW, and pursue any 

19 other action consistent with the goals of this 

20 subsection. 

21 ‘‘(b) VESSEL NOISE RESTRICTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZA23 TION.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the 

24 United States Coast Guard, shall— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
7 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(A) continue to pursue, through the 

2 IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Com3 mittee, the establishment of guidelines for mini4 mizing the introduction of incidental noise from 

5 commercial shipping operations into marine en6 vironments for purposes of reducing the poten7 tial adverse affects on whales and other marine 

8 life; and 

9 ‘‘(B) identify and promote the use of areas 

10 to be avoided by commercial vessels and other 

11 navigational measures, such as speed reduction 

12 areas in important whale habitats, in order to 

13 minimize the threat of serious injury and to 

14 whales resulting from collisions with commercial 

15 vessels. 

16 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a 

17 report to the Congress describing the progress made 

18 by the IMO towards the adoption and implementa19 tion of guidelines for minimizing vessel noise, which 

20 shall include recommendations on any changes in the 

21 laws or regulations of the United States, for the 

22 purpose of implementing or encouraging compliance 

23 with such guidelines. 

24 ‘‘(c) CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN

25 ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA.— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
8 

•HR 2455 IH

1 The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of the 

2 Interior, shall take appropriate actions to encourage all 

3 nations who hold Reservations under the CITES to the 

4 great whales listed on Appendix I of the CITES to with5 draw their reservations and terminate all commercial 

6 trade in whale meat and whale products as such trade un7 dermines the effectiveness of international whale conserva8 tion efforts. 

9 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND COMPLI10 ANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REPORT ON TAKING OF WHALES BY A

12 FOREIGN COUNTRY.—No later than March 1, the 

13 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register an 

14 annual report determining, under the terms of the 

15 Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protection Act 

16 of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), whether nationals of any 

17 foreign country are engaging in trade or taking 

18 which diminishes the effectiveness of the ICRW, 

19 CITES, or any regulation, resolution, or decision un20 dertaken by the IWC or Conference of the Parties 

21 to CITES with respect to whales. 

22 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION TO THE PRESIDENT.— 

23 Within 15 days of publishing the report pursuant to 

24 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall certify to the 

25 President any instance of trade or taking with reVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:22 May 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
9 

•HR 2455 IH

1 spect to whales by a foreign country, pursuant to 

2 section 1978 of title 22, United States Code, and 

3 notify the offending country of the activities that re4 sulted in such certification. 

5 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW.—Except 

6 as expressly modified by this subsection, all rights, 

7 duties, and provisions set forth in section 1978 of 

8 title 22, United States Code, pursuant to certifi9 cations made under 22 U.S.C. 1978(a)(1) and 1978 

10 (a)(2), shall also apply to certifications made under 

11 paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION OF LIST OF OFFENDING

13 FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—Where a country has been 

14 the subject of certification under paragraph (2) in 

15 three or more consecutive years, the Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) publish within 180 days after the 

18 most recent certification a notice in the Federal 

19 Register describing the actions the Secretary 

20 has taken to eliminate the facts that required a 

21 certification under paragraph (2); and 

22 ‘‘(B) if those facts have not changed, rec23 ommending actions that the President may take 

24 with respect to the certified country, consistent 

25 with paragraph (5). 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
10 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(5) IMPORTATION RESTRICTIONS.—In consid2 ering whether to direct the Secretary of Treasury to 

3 take action pursuant to section 1978(a)(4) of title 

4 22, United States Code, with respect to any country 

5 certified under paragraph (2), the President may di6 rect the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit the 

7 importation into the United States of any products 

8 from the offending country consistent with section 

9 1978(a)(4) of title 22, United States Code, or to 

10 take any other action sanctioned by the World Trade 

11 Organization (as defined at 19 U.S.C. 3501(8)) or 

12 the multilateral trade agreements (as defined at 19 

13 U.S.C. 3501(4)). 

14 ‘‘(e) CONSERVATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE

15 UNITED STATES AND CANADA.— 

16 ‘‘(1) NEGOTIATIONS.—Within 180 days after 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con18 sultation with the Secretary of State, shall com19 mence negotiations with the Government of Canada 

20 on a North Atlantic Whale Conservation Agreement 

21 with the goal of concluding an Agreement within 18 

22 months. The purpose of such an agreement shall be 

23 to— 

24 ‘‘(A) promote scientific research and un25 derstanding of North Atlantic whales, particuVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:22 May 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
11 

•HR 2455 IH

1 larly the endangered North Atlantic right 

2 whale; 

3 ‘‘(B) identify, coordinate, and implement 

4 independent and complimentary measures nec5 essary to reduce serious injuries and mortalities 

6 to whales from vessel strikes and entanglements 

7 in fishing gear; 

8 ‘‘(C) assist in the enforcement of both 

9 country’s laws and regulations concerning 

10 North Atlantic right whale conservation; and 

11 ‘‘(D) identify actions that could be taken 

12 to further protect the North Atlantic right 

13 whale. 

14 ‘‘(2) GOVERNMENT COOPERATION REQUIRED.— 

15 The Agreement shall require both governments to 

16 cooperate in— 

17 ‘‘(A) the identification and coordination of 

18 essential scientific research needed to achieve 

19 the goals of the Agreement; 

20 ‘‘(B) identifying actions needed to reduce 

21 serious injuries and mortalities to whales, espe22 cially North Atlantic right whales, from vessel 

23 strikes; and 

24 ‘‘(C) developing methods to reduce injuries 

25 and mortalities to whales, especially North AtVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:22 May 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
12 

•HR 2455 IH

1 lantic right whales, from entanglement in fish2 ing gear, including gear marking schemes and 

3 coordinated disentanglement activities. 

4 ‘‘(3) AGREEMENT SPECIFICATIONS.—The 

5 Agreement shall require each party to make rec6 ommendations to their respective governments on 

7 the results of the consultations and actions or activi8 ties that need to be taken to protect whales, espe9 cially North Atlantic right whales. The Agreement 

10 shall include a commitment by each party to imple11 ment the recommendations resulting from the con12 sultations, to the extent allowed by and consistent 

13 with national laws and the national recovery plans 

14 for North Atlantic right whales. The Agreement may 

15 be expanded to include other shared whale stocks in 

16 the Pacific Ocean. 

17 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Prior to, and 

18 during negotiations of the Agreement, the Secretary 

19 shall consult with the Atlantic Large Whale Take 

20 Reduction Team, the Marine Mammal Commission, 

21 the New England Fishery Management Council, the 

22 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and 

23 other whale scientists to seek their advice on the 

24 Agreement. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
13 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(5) PROGRESS REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

2 submit a report to the Congress describing the re3 sults of the negotiations, the progress made by both 

4 governments in implementing such results or rec5 ommendations and recommendations for changes in 

6 law needed to implement the results, and rec7 ommendations of the Agreement. 

8 ‘‘(f) OCEAN NOISE.—The Secretary, together with 

9 the Secretary of State, shall support and encourage efforts 

10 of international and intergovernmental organizations to 

11 study and reduce the adverse effects of anthropogenic 

12 noise on whales and other marine life, recognizing the im13 portance of military readiness activities which shall, so far 

14 as is reasonable and practicable, be conducted in a manner 

15 consistent with those efforts. 

16 ‘‘(g) INTERNATIONAL MARINE PROTECTED AREA

17 NETWORKS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IMA DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall 

19 develop and support international mechanisms, pro20 tocols, and action plans to identify and address 

21 sources of threats to the world’s whales and other 

22 cetaceans and to reduce, with a goal to eliminate, 

23 such threats through [the establishment] of new 

24 International Marine Protected Areas and IMA net25 works. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
14 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary’s efforts 

2 in paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a review of existing national and 

4 international marine protected areas and net5 works and an evaluation of how to improve 

6 their effectiveness, specifically with reference to 

7 protection of whales and the management of 

8 human uses within these areas; and 

9 ‘‘(B) an identification and mapping of ad10 ditional important whale habitats to maximize 

11 the protection of migratory destinations and 

12 corridors through IMPAs. 

13 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 

14 the Congress a biannual report describing actions 

15 taken to fulfill the purposes of this subsection. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 4. WHALE RESEARCH. 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH INITIATIVES.— 

18 The Secretary shall establish comprehensive research ini19 tiatives to improve knowledge about the world’s whales in 

20 order to enhance whale conservation efforts. Such initia21 tives shall include— 

22 ‘‘(1) the monitoring of whale mortality, habitat 

23 use, reproduction, and feeding patterns; 

24 ‘‘(2) the collection of information on whale 

25 health and causes of deaths obtainable through 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
15 

•HR 2455 IH

1 whale necropsies, particularly of endangered whale 

2 species such as the North Atlantic right whale; 

3 ‘‘(3) an assessment of the direct and indirect 

4 effects of anthropogenic noise on whale distribution, 

5 behavior, and reproduction; 

6 ‘‘(4) information on the impacts on reproduc7 tion and immune systems from chemical pollutants, 

8 including polybrominated diphenylethers, pthalates, 

9 bisphenol A, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; 

10 ‘‘(5) information on ecosystem changes due to 

11 climate warming; 

12 ‘‘(6) research and development of more risk 

13 averse fishing gear, fishing methods, and develop14 ment of effective fishing gear marking systems; and 

15 ‘‘(7) the use of passive acoustic sonar and other 

16 technologies, including vessel design, to reduce mor17 tality of whales from vessel strikes. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In designing these 

19 research initiatives, the Secretary shall consult with the 

20 Marine Mammal Commission and whale experts, including 

21 those from the Pacific Insular Area, that are knowledge22 able about regional issues relating to whale conservation 

23 and management. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
16 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a bian2 nual report to the Congress on the progress and findings 

3 of the research initiatives established under this section. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘In this Act: 

6 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ 

7 means the North Atlantic Whale Conservation 

8 Agreement. 

9 ‘‘(2) CITES.—The term ‘CITES’ means the 

10 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

11 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 

12 ‘‘(3) ICRW.—The term ‘ICRW’ means the 

13 International Convention for the Regulation of 

14 Whaling. 

15 ‘‘(4) IMO.—The term ‘IMO’ means the Inter16 national Maritime Organization. 

17 ‘‘(5) IMA.—The term ‘IMA’ means Inter18 national Marine Protected Areas. 

19 ‘‘(6) IWC.—The term ‘IWC’ means the Inter20 national Whaling Commission. 

21 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

22 the Secretary of Commerce or his designee. 

23 ‘‘(8) WHALES.—The term ‘whales’ includes all 

24 species of whales but not any species of dolphin or 

25 porpoise. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
17 

•HR 2455 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Commerce $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

4 years 2010 through 2015 to carry out the provisions of 

5 this Act, of which such sums as the Secretary determines 

6 are appropriate shall be made available annually for a 

7 competitive research grants program.’’. 

8 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE MARINE MAMMAL PROTEC9 TION ACT OF 1972. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(f) of the Marine 

11 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(f)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Defense’’ each 

14 place it appears and inserting ‘‘President’’; 

15 (2) in paragraphs (1) and (3), by striking ‘‘or 

16 category of actions’’; 

17 (3) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ‘‘2 

18 years’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘1 year’’; 

19 and 

20 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Committee 

21 on Armed Services of the House of Representatives’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘Committee on Armed Services and 

23 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

24 Representatives,’’ and by striking ‘‘Committee on 

25 Armed Services of the Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘ComVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:22 May 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
18 

•HR 2455 IH

1 mittee on Armed Services and Committee on Com2 merce, Science and Transportation in the Senate’’. 

Æ 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS