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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.

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 ‘‘Marine Mammal Cap5 ture, Export, and Public Display Protection Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF MARINE MAMMALS UNDER ANI7 MAL WELFARE ACT.

8 (a) PENALTIES; RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—

9 The Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 30. PROVISIONS RELATING TO MARINE MAMMALS.

2 ‘‘(a) PENALTIES.—In lieu of any civil or criminal

3 penalty applicable under this Act for a violation of this

4 Act committed by a person with respect to a marine mam5 mal, the person shall be liable for a civil or criminal pen6 alty, respectively, under section 105 of the Marine Mam7 mal Protection Act of 1972.

8 ‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—This Act shall

9 not be considered to supersede, preempt, or otherwise af10 fect any provision of State law that provides protection

11 to marine mammals that is greater than the protection

12 provided by this Act.

13 ‘‘(c) MARINE MAMMAL DEFINED.—In this section,

14 the term ‘marine mammal’ has the meaning that term has

15 under section 3 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

16 1972.’’.

17 (b) REVIEW AND REVISION OF STANDARDS.—Not

18 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of

19 this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall—

20 (1) review the standards established under the

21 Animal Welfare Act for the care and habitat of ma22 rine mammals in captivity and determine whether

23 those standards require provision of adequate living

24 conditions for those marine mammals, considering—

25 (A) the sizes of marine mammals to which

26 the standards apply;
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1 (B) current knowledge of marine mammal

2 physiology and behavior, including with respect

3 to marine mammal needs for exercise, auditory

4 capabilities, and pre- and post-natal require5 ments;

6 (C) the psychological and physical well7 being of marine mammals;

8 (D) marine mammal needs related to social

9 grouping, including minimum group size, gen10 der mix, and age composition;

11 (E) interspecies compatibility; and

12 (F) environmental modifications that

13 might allow for more normal behavior and so14 cial interaction; and

15 (2) issue rules which make such modifications

16 to those standards as are appropriate to ensure the

17 humane handling, care, treatment, and transpor18 tation of marine mammals in captivity.

19 SEC. 3. MARINE MAMMAL TRACKING SYSTEM.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 103 of the Marine

21 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374) is

22 amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(g) TRACKING SYSTEM.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec25 retary of Agriculture shall jointly issue regulations
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1 which establish a system for tracking marine mam2 mals that are taken in waters under the jurisdiction

3 of the United States or imported into the United

4 States.

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A tracking system

6 under this subsection shall provide for—

7 ‘‘(A) monitoring the location of marine

8 mammals held in captivity in the United States;

9 ‘‘(B) the assignment of a registration num10 ber to each marine mammal that is covered by

11 the system; and

12 ‘‘(C) the verification of the location of ma13 rine mammals covered by the system as part of

14 annual inspections conducted by the Animal

15 and Plant Health Inspection Service of the De16 partment of Agriculture.

17 ‘‘(3) SUMMARIES OF INFORMATION.—The Sec18 retary shall—

19 ‘‘(A) publish regularly in the Federal Reg20 ister a summary of information regarding the

21 status of marine mammals that is collected

22 through the tracking system under this sub23 section; and

24 ‘‘(B) make copies of those summaries

25 available to the public upon request.’’.
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1 (b) MORATORIUM ON TAKINGS IN WATERS OF THE

2 UNITED STATES.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

4 provision of law or any permit issued under the Ma5 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

6 1361 et seq.), it shall be unlawful to take any ma7 rine mammal in waters under the jurisdiction of the

8 United States during the period beginning on the

9 date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the

10 effective date of regulations issued under the amend11 ment made by subsection (a).

12 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided under

13 section 105 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

14 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1375) shall apply to a violation

15 of this section.

16 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of

17 the terms ‘‘marine mammal’’, ‘‘take’’, and ‘‘waters

18 under the jurisdiction of the United States’’ has the

19 meaning that term has under section 3 of the Ma20 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

21 1362).

22 SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON EXPORTATION OF MARINE MAM23 MALS.

24 (a) PERMIT REQUIRED FOR EXPORTATION.—The

25 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is amended—
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1 (1) in section 102(a) (16 U.S.C. 1372(a))—

2 (A) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’;

3 (B) in paragraph (5) by striking the period

4 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(6) for any person to export from the United

7 States a marine mammal other than in accordance

8 with a permit under section 104.’’;

9 (2) in section 103(a) (16 U.S.C. 1373(a)) by

10 striking ‘‘taking and importing’’ and inserting ‘‘tak11 ing, importing, and exporting’’; and

12 (3) in section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374)—

13 (A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘taking or

14 importation’’ and inserting ‘‘taking, importa15 tion, or exportation’’;

16 (B) in subsection (b)(1)—

17 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking

18 ‘‘taken or imported’’ and inserting ‘‘taken,

19 imported, or exported’’; and

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B) by inserting

21 ‘‘or exported’’ after ‘‘imported’’;

22 (C) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘taking or

23 importation’’ each place that term appears and

24 inserting ‘‘taking, importation, or exportation’’;

25 and
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1 (D) in subsection (f)—

2 (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘tak3 ing importation’’ and inserting ‘‘taking,

4 importation, or exportation’’;

5 (ii) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘tak6 ing or importation’’ and inserting ‘‘taking,

7 importation, or exportation’’; and

8 (iii) in paragraph (3) by striking

9 ‘‘taken or imported’’ and inserting ‘‘taken,

10 imported, or exported’’.

11 (b) LIMITATION ON PERMITS FOR EXPORTATION.—

12 Section 104(c) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

13 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)) is amended by adding at the

14 end the following:

15 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may not issue a permit which au16 thorizes the exportation of a marine mammal unless—

17 ‘‘(A) the marine mammal is exported solely for

18 the purpose of maintaining or improving the health

19 and well-being of the marine mammal; and

20 ‘‘(B) the permit prohibits use of the marine

21 mammal for any other purpose.’’.

22 SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PERMITS.

23 (a) LIMITATIONS.—Section 104(c)(3) of the Marine

24 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(3))

25 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(3)(A) A permit may be issued for scientific re2 search purposes only to an applicant which submits with

3 its permit application information indicating that the tak4 ing is required to further a bona fide scientific purpose

5 and does not involve unnecessary duplication of research.

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not issue a permit for re7 search which involves surgical procedures or the lethal tak8 ing of a marine mammal, unless—

9 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that the results of

10 such research will directly benefit that species or

11 stock of marine mammals, and that such research

12 fulfills a critically important research need; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the applicant demonstrates that a

14 nonlethal and noninvasive method for carrying out

15 the research is not feasible.

16 ‘‘(C) A permit issued for scientific research shall re17 quire that any release of a marine mammal taken under

18 the permit shall occur—

19 ‘‘(i) in the general vicinity of the location at

20 which the marine mammal was captured; or

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a simultaneous release of

22 more than one marine mammal at the same location,

23 in the natural environment of the species released.

24 ‘‘(D) In establishing the terms of any permit for sci25 entific research, the Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) give preference to requiring that the release

2 of any marine mammal taken or imported under the

3 permit be carried out simultaneously and at the

4 same location as the release of other marine mam5 mals; and

6 ‘‘(ii) in any case in which such a marine mam7 mal is so released, require that each marine mammal

8 is permanently marked for easy identification.

9 ‘‘(E) A permit issued for scientific research purposes

10 shall be effective for a period which—

11 ‘‘(i) shall be specified by the Secretary in the

12 terms of the permit; and

13 ‘‘(ii) may not exceed 2 years.

14 ‘‘(F) The Secretary may extend the effective period

15 under subparagraph (E) for a permit if the Secretary—

16 ‘‘(i) determines the extension is necessary for

17 the completion of a long-term study; and

18 ‘‘(ii) specifies the period of the extension.’’.

19 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amend20 ments made by this section shall apply to permits issued

21 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16

22 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) after the date of the enactment of

23 this Act.

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