II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1380

To coordinate and expand United States and international programs for

the conservation and protection of North Atlantic Right Whales.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3, 2001

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. HOLLINGS) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To coordinate and expand United States and international

programs for the conservation and protection of North

Atlantic Right Whales.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Atlantic Right

5 Whale Recovery Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) North Atlantic Right Whales are one of the

9 most endangered large whales in the world, with
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1 fewer than 350 animals remaining in the western

2 North Atlantic.

3 (2) Anthropogenic causes remain the largest

4 source of mortality for North Atlantic Right Whales.

5 (3) Accidental collisions of ships with right

6 whales have been identified as the leading cause of

7 human-related mortality of right whales, with at

8 least 16 deaths attributable to ship strikes along the

9 east coast of the United States since 1970.

10 (4) Entanglement in fishing gear is the other

11 major cause of right whale mortality, estimated to

12 account for at least 3 deaths from 1970 through

13 2000.

14 (5) The Recovery Plan for Northern Right

15 Whales lists other potential or known anthropogenic

16 sources of mortality such as habitat degradation,

17 contamination by pollutants, ocean noise, and cli18 mate change. Although the mortality rate caused by

19 these factors is unknown, they are potentially impor20 tant and could affect Northern Right Whale birth

21 rates, distribution patterns, and general health.

22 (6) According to a recent study in the Pro23 ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, un24 less human-related mortalities are reduced, the
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1 North Atlantic Right Whale is likely to become ex2 tinct.

3 (7) The National Marine Fisheries Service of

4 the Department of Commerce is the agency tasked

5 with protecting and recovering right whales under

6 both the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972

7 (16 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) and the Endangered Spe8 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1600 bet seq.).

9 (8) Recent research has led to limited success

10 in reducing collisions with ships and interactions

11 with fishing gear.

12 (9) The Mandatory Ship Reporting System, im13 plemented in 1999 by the National Marine Fisheries

14 Service and the United States Coast Guard, and ap15 proved by the International Maritime Organization,

16 has begun to provide mariners with necessary infor17 mation to help prevent ship collisions in North At18 lantic Right Whale critical habitat in northeast and

19 southeast coastal waters.

20 (10) The National Marine Fisheries Service

21 along with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduc22 tion Team have begun to develop gear and methods

23 to reduce right whale interactions with fishing gear

24 along the Atlantic Coast.
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1 (11) Recent events have revealed the lack of a

2 coordinated Federal plan for recovering North At3 lantic Right Whales, in spite of large funding in4 creases by the Congress over the past decade.

5 (12) Greater management and research atten6 tion must be focused on reducing mortality caused

7 by ship collisions, entanglement in fishing gear, and

8 other causes of mortality if the population decline of

9 North Atlantic Right Whales is to be reversed.

10 SEC. 3. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE RECOVERY PRO11 GRAM.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall

13 institute a North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Program,

14 in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation and

15 appropriate Federal agencies, States, the Southeast and

16 Northeast Northern Right Whale Recovery Plan Imple17 mentation Teams and the Atlantic Large Whale Take Re18 duction Team, pursuant to the authority provided under

19 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et

20 seq.), the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16

21 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.), and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

22 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

23 seq.).
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1 (b) ELEMENTS.—The program established under

2 subsection (a) shall include the following research, man3 agement, and enforcement elements:

4 (1) Activities to reduce mortality and injury due

5 to collisions with vessel traffic.

6 (2) Activities to reduce mortality and injury in

7 fishing gear (including disentanglement and gear de8 velopment).

9 (3) Population monitoring, baseline surveys, as10 sessment, and database management.

11 (4) Support for regional recovery plan imple12 mentation teams, take reduction teams, and such

13 meetings or workshops necessary to develop and pro14 vide expert advice on related research and manage15 ment activities.

16 (c) SECRETARY TO IDENTIFY AGENCIES, AREAS,

17 AND ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the

18 teams described in subsection (a), shall identify the fol19 lowing:

20 (1) The appropriate governmental agency or

21 other entity to perform each activity covered by the

22 program.

23 (2) The geographic area or areas in which those

24 activities should be conducted.
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1 (3) A timeline for initiation and completion of

2 such activity.

3 SEC. 4. FEDERAL-STATE COOPERATION.

4 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall—

6 (1) develop cooperative agreements under sec7 tion 6 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

8 U.S.C. 1535(c)) to support State agency involve9 ment in recovery programs for North Atlantic Right

10 Whales; and

11 (2) determine annually the funding needs and

12 levels appropriate for Federal support to encourage

13 the establishment of, and to help maintain, such

14 programs.

15 SEC. 5. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE PRIORITY ACTION

16 PROGRAM.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce and

18 the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the

19 Southeast and Northeast Northern Right Whale Recovery

20 Plan Implementation Teams and the Atlantic Large

21 Whale Take Reduction Team, shall identify near-term

22 demonstration projects to reduce, or promote reductions,

23 in mortality caused by ship strikes and entanglement in

24 fishing gear.
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1 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—Within 9 months

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

3 Commerce shall institute demonstration projects deter4 mined, after consulting with the teams described in sub5 section (a), to have potential for immediate impact on re6 ducing mortality of North Atlantic Right Whales in the

7 following areas:

8 (1) Detection and tracking of North Atlantic

9 Right Whales in critical habitat, high use areas, or

10 along their migration route.

11 (2) Satellite tracking of individual whale move12 ments.

13 (3) Deployment of whale-friendly gear such as

14 neutrally buoyant line and ‘‘weak links’’ in North

15 Atlantic Right Whale critical habitat or high use

16 areas to reduce the possibility of entanglements, in17 cluding provision of such gear to fishermen.

18 (4) Testing or developing innovative methods to

19 increase the success of disentanglement efforts.

20 (5) Other projects determined under subsection

21 (b) to have near-term potential of reducing right

22 whale mortality.

23 SECTION 6. REDUCING SHIP STRIKES.

24 (a) VESSEL WARNING AND MANAGEMENT.—The

25 Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation shall, by
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1 January 1, 2003, develop a comprehensive program to

2 prevent ship strikes of Northern Atlantic Right Whales.

3 The program shall include—

4 (1) an Atlantic Coast vessel early warning sys5 tem, with participation by the United States Coast

6 Guard, the United States Navy, the Army Corps of

7 Engineers, and State and local government agencies,

8 that includes—

9 (A) collection and analysis of data on At10 lantic vessel traffic patterns and operations re11 lated to incidents involving ships striking

12 whales;

13 (B) a coordinated communications system

14 for notifications to mariners; and

15 (C) a clearinghouse for whale sightings, in16 cluding plans for development of a real-time in17 formation system that utilizes existing systems

18 such as aerial and shipboard surveillance and

19 incorporates innovative techniques such as

20 acoustic detection, satellite tags, and predictive

21 modeling, to locate and track right whales; and

22 (2) a coordinated vessel management system

23 that provides—

24 (A) updated information to mariners to ad25 vise on best practices based on the analysis of
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1 vessel operations and incidents involving ships

2 striking whales;

3 (B) regional risk assessments to identify

4 alternative routing opportunities or speed

5 changes for vessels;

6 (C) vessel management standards for high

7 risk areas during North Atlantic Right Whale

8 migration periods; and

9 (D) for the applicability of standards to a

10 variety of vessel types.

11 (b) DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM.—The

12 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary

13 of Transportation and the Secretary of the Navy, shall

14 create a detection technology program to develop, test, and

15 evaluate technologies that can be used to detect and track

16 North Atlantic Right Whales in critical habitat and along

17 their migration routes during fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

18 The program should evaluate technologies that can be

19 used to track long-term movements of whales, as well as

20 technologies that could be used aboard ships to detect and

21 avoid whales as the ships transit to ports and within ship22 ping lanes.

23 (c) SHIP STRIKE ANALYSIS.—Within 1 year after the

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce

25 shall incorporate data from ‘‘whale alert’’ aircraft surveys,
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1 scientific survey data, confirmed right whale sightings, lo2 cations of observed ‘‘close calls’’, and ship traffic data

3 from the mandatory ship reporting system into a geo4 graphic information system for analysis of interactions be5 tween whales and ships. The Secretary shall use the infor6 mation gained from that analysis for education and out7 reach to mariners, fishermen, and ports.

8 (d) GAPS IN AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Trans9 portation, within 60 days after the date of enactment of

10 this Act, shall identify any gaps in legislative authority

11 preventing implementation of regulations affecting vessels

12 in waters under United States jurisdiction necessary to

13 promote recovery of North Atlantic Right Whales.

14 (e) INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION.—

15 The Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Sec16 retary of State, may propose regulations for adoption at

17 the International Maritime Organization to further imple18 ment the recommendations contained within the North At19 lantic Right Whale Recovery Plan.

20 SEC 7. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE RESEARCH GRANT

21 PROGRAM.

22 (a) COORDINATED RESEARCH FRAMEWORK.—The

23 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the North24 east and Southeast Northern Right Whale Recovery Plan

25 Implementation Teams, the Atlantic Large Whale Take
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1 Reduction Team, and the Marine Mammal Commission,

2 shall design a comprehensive and coordinated right whale

3 research grant program. The program shall include, at the

4 minimum, research on the following subjects:

5 (1) Detection and tracking of North Atlantic

6 Right Whales, including the use of tagging and te7 lemetry, to help ships avoid striking whales.

8 (2) Behavior of right whales in proximity to

9 ships.

10 (3) Relationships between vessel speed, size, or

11 design with whale collisions and mortality.

12 (4) Modeling ship traffic in Atlantic shipping

13 lanes and approaches to major United States ports

14 along the Atlantic coast.

15 (5) Population studies.

16 (6) Reproduction and genetic studies.

17 (7) Development of a geographic information

18 system database to identify variables potentially as19 sociated with right whale distribution and migration,

20 including temperature, other oceanographic param21 eters, and distribution and abundance of planktonic

22 prey species.

23 (8) Response of right whales to ship-avoidance

24 deterrence methods.
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1 (9) Habitat quality studies including investiga2 tion of food quality, pollution levels, and interaction

3 of ecological components with the food resources of

4 Northern Right Whales.

5 (10) Physiological condition studies, including

6 reproductive fitness measures, and comparison with

7 environmental conditions.

8 (b) PEER REVIEW.—The program shall provide for

9 external review of grant applications. Peer review teams

10 shall include scientists, fishing, shipping, and other appro11 priate industry representatives, and technology experts ap12 propriate to evaluate the feasibility and scientific merit of

13 each application.

14 SEC. 8. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION AND COST-SHARING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce and

16 the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure cooperation

17 of Federal agencies and departments in sharing the costs,

18 vessels, equipment, and other resources (including commu19 nications and monitoring equipment) to meet the needs

20 of the updated North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan,

21 particularly with respect to tracking and surveillance of

22 right whales in critical habitat and high use areas.

23 (b) REPORT.—Within 6 months after the date of en24 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, the

25 Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of Commerce
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1 shall report to the Congress on any further funding re2 quirements necessary to implement any requirements of

3 this Act or regulations necessary to implement the North

4 Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan.

5 SEC. 9. INTERNATIONAL ACTION AND COORDINATION.

6 (a) CANADA.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting

7 through the Secretary of State, shall initiate or continue

8 discussions with Canada to coordinate programs con9 cerning North Atlantic Right Whales, including—

10 (1) ship traffic management systems;

11 (2) tracking whales in the Gulf of Maine and

12 adjacent areas of the United States and Canadian

13 Exclusive Economic Zone;

14 (3) disentanglement efforts; and

15 (4) sharing of relevant biological and maritime

16 traffic information.

17 (b) FISHERY INTERACTIONS.—The Secretary of

18 Commerce, working through the Department of State,

19 shall begin discussions for the purpose of creating or

20 amending bi- or multi-lateral agreements on management

21 measures to reduce fishery interactions with—

22 (1) all relevant management organizations; and

23 (2) nations whose fleets may operate in North

24 Atlantic Right Whales high use areas.
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1 (c) SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION.—The Secretary of

2 Commerce, working through the Department of State,

3 shall begin discussions for the purpose of facilitating col4 lection of information relevant to development of the pri5 ority action plan or recovery plan with—

6 (1) all relevant scientific organizations, includ7 ing the International Council for the Exploration of

8 the Sea, Northwestern Atlantic Fisheries Organiza9 tion, the Food and Agricultural Organization; and

10 (2) countries that conduct research in areas

11 with right whales, including Canada, Greenland

12 (Denmark), and Iceland.

13 SEC. 10. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

14 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra15 tion shall transmit a report to the Congress no later than

16 March 1 of each year setting forth—

17 (1) actions taken pursuant to the updated

18 North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan;

19 (2) the amount of Federal and State funds ex20 pended on activities under that Plan;

21 (3) known or suspected incidents of—

22 (A) collisions between vessels and North

23 Atlantic Right Whales; and

24 (B) entanglements, injuries, or mortalities

25 of North Atlantic Right Whales;
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1 (4) known or suspected causes of incidents de2 scribed in paragraph (3);

3 (5) actions taken to prevent or reduce the likeli4 hood of such incidents in the preceding year;

5 (6) any new information about calving, feeding,

6 or other high-use areas of North Atlantic Right

7 Whales;

8 (7) the status of any litigation involving North

9 Atlantic Right Whale recovery activity;

10 (8) areas identified for additional action under

11 the North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan;

12 (9) projects funded under section 7;

13 (10) the funding needs and levels determined

14 under paragraph (2) of section 4 appropriate for

15 Federal support to encourage the establishment of,

16 and to help maintain, recovery programs for North

17 Atlantic Right Whales; and

18 (11) the cost of implementing the demonstra19 tion projects under section 5(b).

20 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—There are au22 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce,

23 for purposes of carrying out the Department of Com24 merce’s functions and responsibilities under this Act,
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1 $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $5,000,000 for each

2 of fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

3 (b) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.—There are

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans5 portation, for purposes of carrying out the Department of

6 Commerce’s functions and responsibilities under this Act,

7 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004.

8 (c) STATE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—There are

9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com10 merce, $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $2,000,000

11 for each of fiscal years 2003 and 2004, for purposes of

12 implementing agreements with Atlantic coastal States

13 under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973

14 as required by section 4 of this Act.

15 (d) NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE RESEARCH

16 GRANT PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appro17 priated to the Secretary of Commerce, for purposes of car18 rying out the research program under section 7 of this

19 Act, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $2,000,000 for

20 each of fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

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