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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 656 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 656

        To provide more effective protection for marine mammals.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 1993

   Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Lewis of Florida, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
   Hughes, Mr. Ravenel, Mr. Frost, Mr. Goss, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Brown of 
 California, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Beilenson) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and 
                               Fisheries

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
        To provide more effective protection for marine mammals.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Marine Mammal Capture, Export, and 
Public Display Protection Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF MARINE MAMMALS UNDER ANIMAL WELFARE ACT.

    (a) Penalties; Relationship to State Law.--The Animal Welfare Act 
(7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 30. PROVISIONS RELATING TO MARINE MAMMALS.

    ``(a) Penalties.--In lieu of any civil or criminal penalty 
applicable under this Act for a violation of this Act committed by a 
person with respect to a marine mammal, the person shall be liable for 
a civil or criminal penalty, respectively, under section 105 of the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
    ``(b) Relationship to State Law.--This Act shall not be considered 
to supersede, preempt, or otherwise affect any provision of State law 
that provides protection to marine mammals that is greater than the 
protection provided by this Act.
    ``(c) Marine Mammal Defined.--In this section, the term `marine 
mammal' has the meaning that term has under section 3 of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972.''.
    (b) Review and Revision of Standards.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall--
            (1) review the standards established under the Animal 
        Welfare Act for the care and habitat of marine mammals in 
        captivity and determine whether those standards require 
        provision of adequate living conditions for those marine 
        mammals, considering--
                    (A) the sizes of marine mammals to which the 
                standards apply;
                    (B) current knowledge of marine mammal physiology 
                and behavior, including with respect to marine mammal 
                needs for exercise, auditory capabilities, and pre- and 
                post-natal requirements;
                    (C) the psychological and physical well-being of 
                marine mammals;
                    (D) marine mammal needs related to social grouping, 
                including minimum group size, gender mix, and age 
                composition;
                    (E) interspecies compatibility; and
                    (F) environmental modifications that might allow 
                for more normal behavior and social interaction; and
            (2) issue rules which make such modifications to those 
        standards as are appropriate to ensure the humane handling, 
        care, treatment, and transportation of marine mammals in 
        captivity.

SEC. 3. MARINE MAMMAL TRACKING SYSTEM.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 103 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Tracking System.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary and the Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall jointly issue regulations which establish a 
        system for tracking marine mammals that are taken in waters 
        under the jurisdiction of the United States or imported into 
        the United States.
            ``(2) Requirements.--A tracking system under this 
        subsection shall provide for--
                    ``(A) monitoring the location of marine mammals 
                held in captivity in the United States;
                    ``(B) the assignment of a registration number to 
                each marine mammal that is covered by the system; and
                    ``(C) the verification of the location of marine 
                mammals covered by the system as part of annual 
                inspections conducted by the Animal and Plant Health 
                Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture.
            ``(3) Summaries of information.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) publish regularly in the Federal Register a 
                summary of information regarding the status of marine 
                mammals that is collected through the tracking system 
                under this subsection; and
                    ``(B) make copies of those summaries available to 
                the public upon request.''.
    (b) Moratorium on Takings in Waters of the United States.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
        or any permit issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
        1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), it shall be unlawful to take any 
        marine mammal in waters under the jurisdiction of the United 
        States during the period beginning on the date of the enactment 
        of this Act and ending on the effective date of regulations 
        issued under the amendment made by subsection (a).
            (2) Penalties.--The penalties provided under section 105 of 
        the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1375) shall 
        apply to a violation of this section.
            (3) Definitions.--In this subsection, each of the terms 
        ``marine mammal'', ``take'', and ``waters under the 
        jurisdiction of the United States'' has the meaning that term 
        has under section 3 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
        (16 U.S.C. 1362).

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON EXPORTATION OF MARINE MAMMALS.

    (a) Permit Required for Exportation.--The Marine Mammal Protection 
Act of 1972 is amended--
            (1) in section 102(a) (16 U.S.C. 1372(a))--
                    (A) in paragraph (4) by striking ``and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) for any person to export from the United States a 
        marine mammal other than in accordance with a permit under 
        section 104.'';
            (2) in section 103(a) (16 U.S.C. 1373(a)) by striking 
        ``taking and importing'' and inserting ``taking, importing, and 
        exporting''; and
            (3) in section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374)--
                    (A) in subsection (a) by striking ``taking or 
                importation'' and inserting ``taking, importation, or 
                exportation'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``taken 
                        or imported'' and inserting ``taken, imported, 
                        or exported''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``or 
                        exported'' after ``imported'';
                    (C) in subsection (d) by striking ``taking or 
                importation'' each place that term appears and 
                inserting ``taking, importation, or exportation''; and
                    (D) in subsection (f)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ``taking 
                        importation'' and inserting ``taking, 
                        importation, or exportation'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2) by striking ``taking 
                        or importation'' and inserting ``taking, 
                        importation, or exportation''; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (3) by striking ``taken 
                        or imported'' and inserting ``taken, imported, 
                        or exported''.
    (b) Limitation on Permits for Exportation.--Section 104(c) of the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) The Secretary may not issue a permit which authorizes the 
exportation of a marine mammal unless--
            ``(A) the marine mammal is exported solely for the purpose 
        of maintaining or improving the health and well-being of the 
        marine mammal; and
            ``(B) the permit prohibits use of the marine mammal for any 
        other purpose.''.

SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PERMITS.

    (a) Limitations.--Section 104(c)(3) of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(3)(A) A permit may be issued for scientific research purposes 
only to an applicant which submits with its permit application 
information indicating that the taking is required to further a bona 
fide scientific purpose and does not involve unnecessary duplication of 
research.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall not issue a permit for research which 
involves surgical procedures or the lethal taking of a marine mammal, 
unless--
            ``(i) the Secretary determines that the results of such 
        research will directly benefit that species or stock of marine 
        mammals, and that such research fulfills a critically important 
        research need; and
            ``(ii) the applicant demonstrates that a nonlethal and 
        noninvasive method for carrying out the research is not 
        feasible.
    ``(C) A permit issued for scientific research shall require that 
any release of a marine mammal taken under the permit shall occur--
            ``(i) in the general vicinity of the location at which the 
        marine mammal was captured; or
            ``(ii) in the case of a simultaneous release of more than 
        one marine mammal at the same location, in the natural 
        environment of the species released.
    ``(D) In establishing the terms of any permit for scientific 
research, the Secretary shall--
            ``(i) give preference to requiring that the release of any 
        marine mammal taken or imported under the permit be carried out 
        simultaneously and at the same location as the release of other 
        marine mammals; and
            ``(ii) in any case in which such a marine mammal is so 
        released, require that each marine mammal is permanently marked 
        for easy identification.
    ``(E) A permit issued for scientific research purposes shall be 
effective for a period which--
            ``(i) shall be specified by the Secretary in the terms of 
        the permit; and
            ``(ii) may not exceed 2 years.
    ``(F) The Secretary may extend the effective period under 
subparagraph (E) for a permit if the Secretary--
            ``(i) determines the extension is necessary for the 
        completion of a long-term study; and
            ``(ii) specifies the period of the extension.''.
    (b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this section 
shall apply to permits issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

                                 <all>
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