103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1636

AMENDMENT

TO

SENATE AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

April 26, 1994.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of

the Senate to the amendment of the House to the bill (S.

1636) entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize appropriations for the

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and to improve the

program to reduce the incidental taking of marine mammals

during the course of commercial fishing operations, and for

other purposes’’, with the following

AMENDMENT :

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the

Senate amendment, insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Mammal Protec3 tion Act Amendments of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION

5 ACT OF 1972.

6 (a) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly pro7 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is ex8 pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section

9 or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be

10 made to a section or other provision of the Marine Mammal

11 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).
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1 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Except as other2 wise expressly provided, nothing in this Act is intended to

3 amend, repeal, or otherwise affect any other provision of

4 law.

5 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

6 Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 1361) is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘essential

8 habitats, including’’ after ‘‘made to protect’’; and

9 (2) in paragraph (5) in the matter following

10 subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘and their habitats’’

11 before ‘‘is therefore necessary’’.

12 SEC. 4. MORATORIUM AND EXCEPTIONS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a) (16 U.S.C. 1371(a))

14 is amended—

15 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol16 lows:

17 ‘‘(1) Consistent with the provisions of section

18 104, permits may be issued by the Secretary for tak19 ing, and importation for purposes of scientific re20 search, public display, photography for educational or

21 commercial purposes, or enhancing the survival or re22 covery of a species or stock, or for importation of

23 polar bear parts (other than internal organs) taken in

24 sport hunts in Canada. Such permits, except permits

25 issued under section 104(c)(5), may be issued if the
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1 taking or importation proposed to be made is first re2 viewed by the Marine Mammal Commission and the

3 Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals

4 established under title II. The Commission and Com5 mittee shall recommend any proposed taking or im6 portation, other than importation under section

7 104(c)(5), which is consistent with the purposes and

8 policies of section 2 of this Act. If the Secretary issues

9 such a permit for importation, the Secretary shall

10 issue to the importer concerned a certificate to that ef11 fect in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury

12 prescribes, and such importation may be made upon

13 presentation of the certificate to the customs officer

14 concerned.’’;

15 (2) in paragraph (2) in the first sentence, by in16 serting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘,

17 or in lieu of such permits, authorizations may be

18 granted therefor under section 118, subject to regula19 tions prescribed under that section by the Secretary

20 without regard to section 103’’;

21 (3) in paragraph (3)(B)—

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘, photography for edu23 cational or commercial purposes,’’ after ‘‘pur24 poses’’; and
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or as provided for under

2 paragraph (5) of this subsection,’’ after ‘‘sub3 section,’’;

4 (4) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol5 lows:

6 ‘‘(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs

7 (B) and (C), the provisions of this Act shall not apply

8 to the use of measures—

9 ‘‘(i) by the owner of fishing gear or catch,

10 or an employee or agent of such owner, to deter

11 a marine mammal from damaging the gear or

12 catch;

13 ‘‘(ii) by the owner of other private property,

14 or an agent, bailee, or employee of such owner,

15 to deter a marine mammal from damaging pri16 vate property;

17 ‘‘(iii) by any person, to deter a marine

18 mammal from endangering personal safety; or

19 ‘‘(iv) by a government employee, to deter a

20 marine mammal from damaging public prop21 erty,

22 so long as such measures do not result in the death

23 or serious injury of a marine mammal.

24 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall, through consultation

25 with appropriate experts, and after notice and oppor-
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1 tunity for public comment, publish in the Federal

2 Register a list of guidelines for use in safely deterring

3 marine mammals. In the case of marine mammals

4 listed as endangered species or threatened species

5 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Sec6 retary shall recommend specific measures which may

7 be used to nonlethally deter marine mammals. Ac8 tions to deter marine mammals consistent with such

9 guidelines or specific measures shall not be a viola10 tion of this Act.

11 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines, using the best

12 scientific information available, that certain forms of

13 deterrence have a significant adverse effect on marine

14 mammals, the Secretary may prohibit such deterrent

15 methods, after notice and opportunity for public com16 ment, through regulation under this Act.

17 ‘‘(D) The authority to deter marine mammals

18 pursuant to subparagraph (A) applies to all marine

19 mammals, including all stocks designated as depleted

20 under this Act.’’;

21 (5) in paragraph (5) by adding at the end the

22 following new subparagraphs:

23 ‘‘(D)(i) Upon request therefor by citizens of the

24 United States who engage in a specified activity

25 (other than commercial fishing) within a specific geo-
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1 graphic region, the Secretary shall authorize, for peri2 ods of not more than 1 year, subject to such condi3 tions as the Secretary may specify, the incidental, but

4 not intentional, taking by harassment of small num5 bers of marine mammals of a species or population

6 stock by such citizens while engaging in that activity

7 within that region if the Secretary finds that such

8 harassment during each period concerned—

9 ‘‘(I) will have a negligible impact on such

10 species or stock, and

11 ‘‘(II) will not have an unmitigable adverse

12 impact on the availability of such species or

13 stock for taking for subsistence uses pursuant to

14 subsection (b), or section 109(f) or pursuant to

15 a cooperative agreement under section 119.

16 ‘‘(ii) The authorization for such activity shall

17 prescribe, where applicable—

18 ‘‘(I) permissible methods of taking by har19 assment pursuant to such activity, and other

20 means of effecting the least practicable impact on

21 such species or stock and its habitat, paying par22 ticular attention to rookeries, mating grounds,

23 and areas of similar significance, and on the

24 availability of such species or stock for taking for

25 subsistence uses pursuant to subsection (b) or
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1 section 109(f) or pursuant to a cooperative

2 agreement under section 119,

3 ‘‘(II) the measures that the Secretary deter4 mines are necessary to ensure no unmitigable

5 adverse impact on the availability of the species

6 or stock for taking for subsistence uses pursuant

7 to subsection (b) or section 109(f) or pursuant to

8 a cooperative agreement under section 119, and

9 ‘‘(III) requirements pertaining to the mon10 itoring and reporting of such taking by harass11 ment, including requirements for the independ12 ent peer review of proposed monitoring plans or

13 other research proposals where the proposed ac14 tivity may affect the availability of a species or

15 stock for taking for subsistence uses pursuant to

16 subsection (b) or section 109(f) or pursuant to a

17 cooperative agreement under section 119.

18 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall publish a proposed au19 thorization not later than 45 days after receiving an

20 application under this subparagraph and request

21 public comment through notice in the Federal Reg22 ister, newspapers of general circulation, and appro23 priate electronic media and to all locally affected

24 communities for a period of 30 days after publica25 tion. Not later than 45 days after the close of the pub-
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1 lic comment period, if the Secretary makes the find2 ings set forth in clause (i), the Secretary shall issue

3 an authorization with appropriate conditions to meet

4 the requirements of clause (ii).

5 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall modify, suspend, or re6 voke an authorization if the Secretary finds that the

7 provisions of clauses (i) or (ii) are not being met.

8 ‘‘(v) A person conducting an activity for which

9 an authorization has been granted under this sub10 paragraph shall not be subject to the penalties of this

11 Act for taking by harassment that occurs in compli12 ance with such authorization.

13 ‘‘(E)(i) During any period of up to 3 consecutive

14 years, the Secretary shall allow the incidental, but not

15 the intentional, taking by persons using vessels of the

16 United States or vessels which have valid fishing per17 mits issued by the Secretary in accordance with sec18 tion 204(b) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

19 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)), while en20 gaging in commercial fishing operations, of marine

21 mammals from a species or stock designated as de22 pleted because of its listing as an endangered species

23 or threatened species under the Endangered Species

24 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) if the Secretary,
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1 after notice and opportunity for public comment, de2 termines that—

3 ‘‘(I) the incidental mortality and serious

4 injury from commercial fisheries will have a

5 negligible impact on such species or stock;

6 ‘‘(II) a recovery plan has been developed or

7 is being developed for such species or stock pur8 suant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973;

9 and

10 ‘‘(III) where required under section 118, a

11 monitoring program is established under sub12 section (d) of such section, vessels engaged in

13 such fisheries are registered in accordance with

14 such section, and a take reduction plan has been

15 developed or is being developed for such species

16 or stock.

17 ‘‘(ii) Upon a determination by the Secretary

18 that the requirements of clause (i) have been met, the

19 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list

20 of those fisheries for which such determination was

21 made, and, for vessels required to register under sec22 tion 118, shall issue an appropriate permit for each

23 authorization granted under such section to vessels to

24 which this paragraph applies. Vessels engaged in a

25 fishery included in the notice published by the Sec-
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1 retary under this clause which are not required to

2 register under section 118 shall not be subject to the

3 penalties of this Act for the incidental taking of ma4 rine mammals to which this paragraph applies, so

5 long as the owner or master of such vessel reports any

6 incidental mortality or injury of such marine mam7 mals to the Secretary in accordance with section 118.

8 ‘‘(iii) If, during the course of the commercial

9 fishing season, the Secretary determines that the level

10 of incidental mortality or serious injury from com11 mercial fisheries for which a determination was made

12 under clause (i) has resulted or is likely to result in

13 an impact that is more than negligible on the endan14 gered or threatened species or stock, the Secretary

15 shall use the emergency authority granted under sec16 tion 118 to protect such species or stock, and may

17 modify any permit granted under this paragraph as

18 necessary.

19 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary may suspend for a time cer20 tain or revoke a permit granted under this subpara21 graph only if the Secretary determines that the condi22 tions or limitations set forth in such permit are not

23 being complied with. The Secretary may amend or

24 modify, after notice and opportunity for public com25 ment, the list of fisheries published under clause (ii)
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1 whenever the Secretary determines there has been a

2 significant change in the information or conditions

3 used to determine such list.

4 ‘‘(v) Sections 103 and 104 shall not apply to the

5 taking of marine mammals under the authority of

6 this subparagraph.

7 ‘‘(vi) This subparagraph shall not govern the in8 cidental taking of California sea otters and shall not

9 be deemed to amend or repeal the Act of November 7,

10 1986 (Public Law 99–625; 100 Stat. 3500).’’; and

11 (6) by adding at the end the following new para12 graph:

13 ‘‘(6)(A) A marine mammal product may be im14 ported into the United States if the product—

15 ‘‘(i) was legally possessed and exported by

16 any citizen of the United States in conjunction

17 with travel outside the United States, provided

18 that the product is imported into the United

19 States by the same person upon the termination

20 of travel;

21 ‘‘(ii) was acquired outside of the United

22 States as part of a cultural exchange by an In23 dian, Aleut, or Eskimo residing in Alaska; or

24 ‘‘(iii) is owned by a Native inhabitant of

25 Russia, Canada, or Greenland and is imported
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1 for noncommercial purposes in conjunction with

2 travel within the United States or as part of a

3 cultural exchange with an Indian, Aleut, or Es4 kimo residing in Alaska.

5 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the

6 term—

7 ‘‘(i) ‘Native inhabitant of Russia, Canada,

8 or Greenland’ means a person residing in Rus9 sia, Canada, or Greenland who is related by

10 blood, is a member of the same clan or ethno11 logical grouping, or shares a common heritage

12 with an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo residing in

13 Alaska; and

14 ‘‘(ii) ‘cultural exchange’ means the sharing

15 or exchange of ideas, information, gifts, clothing,

16 or handicrafts between an Indian, Aleut, or Es17 kimo residing in Alaska and a Native inhabitant

18 of Russia, Canada, or Greenland, including ren19 dering of raw marine mammal parts as part of

20 such exchange into clothing or handicrafts

21 through carving, painting, sewing, or decorat22 ing.’’.

23 (b) ACTIONS AFFECTING SECTION 101(b).—Section

24 101(b) (16 U.S.C. 1371(b)) is amended by adding at the

25 end the following new sentences: ‘‘In promulgating any reg-
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1 ulation or making any assessment pursuant to a hearing

2 or proceeding under this subsection or section 117(b)(2), or

3 in making any determination of depletion under this sub4 section or finding regarding unmitigable adverse impacts

5 under subsection (a)(5) that affects stocks or persons to

6 which this subsection applies, the Secretary shall be respon7 sible for demonstrating that such regulation, assessment, de8 termination, or finding is supported by substantial evidence

9 on the basis of the record as a whole. The preceding sentence

10 shall only be applicable in an action brought by one or more

11 Alaska Native organizations representing persons to which

12 this subsection applies.’’.

13 (c) TAKING IN DEFENSE OF SELF OR OTHERS.—Sec14 tion 101(c) (16 U.S.C. 1371(c)) is amended to read as fol15 lows:

16 ‘‘(c) It shall not be a violation of this Act to take a

17 marine mammal if such taking is imminently necessary in

18 self-defense or to save the life of a person in immediate dan19 ger, and such taking is reported to the Secretary within

20 48 hours. The Secretary may seize and dispose of any car21 cass.’’.

22 SEC. 5. PERMITS.

23 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 102(a) (16 U.S.C.

24 1372(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (2)(B) by striking ‘‘for any

2 purpose in any way connected with the taking or im3 portation of’’ and inserting ‘‘to take or import’’; and

4 (2) in paragraph (4) by—

5 (A) striking ‘‘or offer to purchase or sell’’

6 and inserting ‘‘export, or offer to purchase, sell,

7 or export’’;

8 (B) striking ‘‘product; and’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘product—’’; and

10 (C) inserting after and below the text of the

11 paragraph the following:

12 ‘‘(A) that is taken in violation of this Act;

13 or

14 ‘‘(B) for any purpose other than public dis15 play, scientific research, or enhancing the sur16 vival of a species or stock as provided for under

17 subsection 104(c); and’’.

18 (b) PERMITS.—Section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a) by adding at the end the

21 following: ‘‘Permits for the incidental taking of ma22 rine mammals in the course of commercial fishing op23 erations may only be issued as specifically provided

24 for in sections 101(a)(5) or 306, or subsection (h) of

25 this section.’’;
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1 (2) in subsection (c)—

2 (A) in paragraph (1) in the first sentence

3 by striking ‘‘and after’’;

4 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘(2)(A) A permit may be issued to take or im7 port a marine mammal for the purpose of public dis8 play only to a person which the Secretary deter9 mines—

10 ‘‘(i) offers a program for education or con11 servation purposes that is based on profes12 sionally recognized standards of the public

13 display community;

14 ‘‘(ii) is registered or holds a license issued

15 under 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.; and

16 ‘‘(iii) maintains facilities for the public dis17 play of marine mammals that are open to the

18 public on a regularly scheduled basis and that

19 access to such facilities is not limited or re20 stricted other than by charging of an admission

21 fee.

22 ‘‘(B) A permit under this paragraph shall grant

23 to the person to which it is issued the right, without

24 obtaining any additional permit or authorization

25 under this Act, to—
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1 ‘‘(i) take, import, purchase, offer to pur2 chase, possess, or transport the marine mammal

3 that is the subject of the permit; and

4 ‘‘(ii) sell, export, or otherwise transfer pos5 session of the marine mammal, or offer to sell,

6 export, or otherwise transfer possession of the

7 marine mammal—

8 ‘‘(I) for the purpose of public display,

9 to a person that meets the requirements of

10 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph

11 (A);

12 ‘‘(II) for the purpose of scientific re13 search, to a person that meets the require14 ments of paragraph (3); or

15 ‘‘(III) for the purpose of enhancing the

16 survival or recovery of a species or stock, to

17 a person that meets the requirements of

18 paragraph (4).

19 ‘‘(C) A person to which a marine mammal is

20 sold or exported or to which possession of a marine

21 mammal is otherwise transferred under the authority

22 of subparagraph (B) shall have the rights and respon23 sibilities described in subparagraph (B) with respect

24 to the marine mammal without obtaining any addi-
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1 tional permit or authorization under this Act. Such

2 responsibilities shall be limited to—

3 ‘‘(i) for the purpose of public display, the

4 responsibility to meet the requirements of clauses

5 (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A),

6 ‘‘(ii) for the purpose of scientific research,

7 the responsibility to meet the requirements of

8 paragraph (3), and

9 ‘‘(iii) for the purpose of enhancing the sur10 vival or recovery of a species or stock, the respon11 sibility to meet the requirements of paragraph

12 (4).

13 ‘‘(D) If the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(i) finds in concurrence with the Secretary

15 of Agriculture, that a person that holds a permit

16 under this paragraph for a marine mammal, or

17 a person exercising rights under subparagraph

18 (C), no longer meets the requirements of subpara19 graph (A)(ii) and is not reasonably likely to

20 meet those requirements in the near future, or

21 ‘‘(ii) finds that a person that holds a permit

22 under this paragraph for a marine mammal, or

23 a person exercising rights under subparagraph

24 (C), no longer meets the requirements of subpara-
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1 graph (A) (i) or (iii) and is not reasonably like2 ly to meet those requirements in the near future,

3 the Secretary may revoke the permit in accordance

4 with section 104(e), seize the marine mammal, or co5 operate with other persons authorized to hold marine

6 mammals under this Act for disposition of the marine

7 mammal. The Secretary may recover from the person

8 expenses incurred by the Secretary for that seizure.

9 ‘‘(E) No marine mammal held pursuant to a

10 permit issued under subparagraph (A), or by a per11 son exercising rights under subparagraph (C), may be

12 sold, purchased, exported, or transported unless the

13 Secretary is notified of such action no later than 15

14 days before such action, and such action is for pur15 poses of public display, scientific research, or enhanc16 ing the survival or recovery of a species or stock. The

17 Secretary may only require the notification to include

18 the information required for the inventory established

19 under paragraph (10).’’;

20 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as

21 follows:

22 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may issue a permit under

23 this paragraph for scientific research purposes to an

24 applicant which submits with its permit application

25 information indicating that the taking is required to
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1 further a bona fide scientific purpose. The Secretary

2 may issue a permit under this paragraph before the

3 end of the public review and comment period required

4 under subsection (d)(2) if delaying issuance of the

5 permit could result in injury to a species, stock, or

6 individual, or in loss of unique research opportuni7 ties.

8 ‘‘(B) No permit issued for purposes of scientific

9 research shall authorize the lethal taking of a marine

10 mammal unless the applicant demonstrates that a

11 nonlethal method of conducting the research is not

12 feasible. The Secretary shall not issue a permit for re13 search which involves the lethal taking of a marine

14 mammal from a species or stock that is depleted, un15 less the Secretary determines that the results of such

16 research will directly benefit that species or stock, or

17 that such research fulfills a critically important re18 search need.

19 ‘‘(C) Not later than 120 days after the date of

20 enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

21 Amendments of 1994, the Secretary shall issue a gen22 eral authorization and implementing regulations al23 lowing bona fide scientific research that may result

24 only in taking by Level B harassment of a marine

25 mammal. Such authorization shall apply to persons
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1 which submit, by 60 days before commencement of

2 such research, a letter of intent via certified mail to

3 the Secretary containing the following:

4 ‘‘(i) The species or stocks of marine mam5 mals which may be harassed.

6 ‘‘(ii) The geographic location of the re7 search.

8 ‘‘(iii) The period of time over which the re9 search will be conducted.

10 ‘‘(iv) The purpose of the research, including

11 a description of how the definition of bona fide

12 research as established under this Act would

13 apply.

14 ‘‘(v) Methods to be used to conduct the re15 search.

16 Not later than 30 days after receipt of a letter of in17 tent to conduct scientific research under the general

18 authorization, the Secretary shall issue a letter to the

19 applicant confirming that the general authorization

20 applies, or, if the proposed research is likely to result

21 in the taking (including Level A harassment) of a

22 marine mammal, shall notify the applicant that sub23 paragraph (A) applies.’’; and

24 (D) by adding at the end the following new

25 paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary may issue a permit for

2 the importation of polar bear parts (other than inter3 nal organs) taken in sport hunts in Canada, includ4 ing polar bears taken but not imported prior to the

5 date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection

6 Act Amendments of 1994, to an applicant which sub7 mits with its permit application proof that the polar

8 bear was legally harvested in Canada by the appli9 cant. Such a permit shall be issued if the Secretary,

10 in consultation with the Marine Mammal Commis11 sion and after notice and opportunity for public com12 ment, finds that—

13 ‘‘(i) Canada has a monitored and enforced

14 sport hunting program consistent with the pur15 poses of the Agreement on the Conservation of

16 Polar Bears;

17 ‘‘(ii) Canada has a sport hunting program

18 based on scientifically sound quotas ensuring the

19 maintenance of the affected population stock at

20 a sustainable level;

21 ‘‘(iii) the export and subsequent import are

22 consistent with the provisions of the Convention

23 on International Trade in Endangered Species

24 of Wild Fauna and Flora and other inter25 national agreements and conventions; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) the export and subsequent import are

2 not likely to contribute to illegal trade in bear

3 parts.

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall establish and charge a

5 reasonable fee for permits issued under this para6 graph. All fees collected under this paragraph shall be

7 available to the Secretary for use in developing and

8 implementing cooperative research and management

9 programs for the conservation of polar bears in Alas10 ka and Russia pursuant to section 113(d).

11 ‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary shall undertake a scientific

12 review of the impact of permits issued under this

13 paragraph on the polar bear population stocks in

14 Canada within 2 years after the date of enactment of

15 this paragraph. The Secretary shall provide an op16 portunity for public comment during the course of

17 such review, and shall include a response to such pub18 lic comment in the final report on such review.

19 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall not issue permits under

20 this paragraph after September 30, 1996, if the Sec21 retary determines, based on the scientific review, that

22 the issuance of permits under this paragraph is hav23 ing a significant adverse impact on the polar bear

24 population stocks in Canada. The Secretary may re25 view such determination annually thereafter, in light
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1 of the best scientific information available, and shall

2 complete the review not later than January 31 in any

3 year a review is undertaken. The Secretary may issue

4 permits under this paragraph whenever the Secretary

5 determines, on the basis of such annual review, that

6 the issuance of permits under this paragraph is not

7 having a significant adverse impact on the polar bear

8 population stocks in Canada.

9 ‘‘(6) A permit may be issued for photography for

10 educational or commercial purposes involving marine

11 mammals in the wild only to an applicant which

12 submits with its permit application information indi13 cating that the taking will be limited to Level B har14 assment, and the manner in which the products of

15 such activities will be made available to the public.

16 ‘‘(7) Upon request by a person for a permit

17 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) for a marine mam18 mal which is in the possession of any person author19 ized to possess it under this Act and which is deter20 mined under guidance under section 402(a) not to be

21 releasable to the wild, the Secretary shall issue the

22 permit to the person requesting the permit if that per23 son—
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1 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of clauses (i),

2 (ii), and (iii) of paragraph (2)(A), in the case

3 of a request for a permit under paragraph (2);

4 ‘‘(B) meets the requirements of paragraph

5 (3), in the case of a request for a permit under

6 that paragraph; or

7 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements of paragraph

8 (4), in the case of a request for a permit under

9 that paragraph.

10 ‘‘(8)(A) No additional permit or authorization

11 shall be required to possess, sell, purchase, transport,

12 export, or offer to sell or purchase the progeny of ma13 rine mammals taken or imported under this sub14 section, if such possession, sale, purchase, transport,

15 export, or offer to sell or purchase is—

16 ‘‘(i) for the purpose of public display, and

17 by or to, respectively, a person which meets the

18 requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of

19 paragraph (2)(A);

20 ‘‘(ii) for the purpose of scientific research,

21 and by or to, respectively, a person which meets

22 the requirements of paragraph (3); or

23 ‘‘(iii) for the purpose of enhancing the sur24 vival or recovery of a species or stock, and by or
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1 to, respectively, a person which meets the re2 quirements of paragraph (4).

3 ‘‘(B)(i) A person which has a permit under

4 paragraph (2), or a person exercising rights under

5 paragraph (2)(C), which has possession of a marine

6 mammal that gives birth to progeny shall—

7 ‘‘(I) notify the Secretary of the birth of such

8 progeny within 30 days after the date of birth;

9 and

10 ‘‘(II) notify the Secretary of the sale, pur11 chase, or transport of such progeny no later than

12 15 days before such action.

13 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may only require notifica14 tion under clause (i) to include the information re15 quired for the inventory established under paragraph

16 (10).

17 ‘‘(C) Any progeny of a marine mammal born in

18 captivity before the date of the enactment of the Ma19 rine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994

20 and held in captivity for the purpose of public dis21 play shall be treated as though born after that date

22 of enactment.

23 ‘‘(9) No marine mammal may be exported for

24 the purpose of public display, scientific research, or

25 enhancing the survival or recovery of a species or
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1 stock unless the receiving facility meets standards that

2 are comparable to the requirements that a person

3 must meet to receive a permit under this subsection

4 for that purpose.

5 ‘‘(10) The Secretary shall establish and maintain

6 an inventory of all marine mammals possessed pursu7 ant to permits issued under paragraph (2)(A), by

8 persons exercising rights under paragraph (2)(C), and

9 all progeny of such marine mammals. The inventory

10 shall contain, for each marine mammal, only the fol11 lowing information which shall be provided by a per12 son holding a marine mammal under this Act:

13 ‘‘(A) The name of the marine mammal or

14 other identification.

15 ‘‘(B) The sex of the marine mammal.

16 ‘‘(C) The estimated or actual birth date of

17 the marine mammal.

18 ‘‘(D) The date of acquisition or disposition

19 of the marine mammal by the permit holder.

20 ‘‘(E) The source from whom the marine

21 mammal was acquired including the location of

22 the take from the wild, if applicable.

23 ‘‘(F) If the marine mammal is transferred,

24 the name of the recipient.
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1 ‘‘(G) A notation if the animal was acquired

2 as the result of a stranding.

3 ‘‘(H) The date of death of the marine mam4 mal and the cause of death when determined.’’;

5 and

6 (3) in subsection (e)(1) by—

7 (A) striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara8 graph (A);

9 (B) striking the period at the end of sub10 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and

11 (C) adding at the end the following new

12 subparagraph:

13 ‘‘(C) if, in the case of a permit under subsection

14 (c)(5) authorizing importation of polar bear parts,

15 the Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate

16 authority in Canada, determines that the sustain17 ability of Canada’s polar bear population stocks are

18 being adversely affected or that sport hunting may be

19 having a detrimental effect on maintaining polar

20 bear population stocks throughout their range.’’.

21 (c) EXISTING PERMITS.—Any permit issued under sec22 tion 104(c)(2) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

23 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(2)) before the date of the enactment

24 of this Act is hereby modified to be consistent with that

25 section as amended by this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. PURPOSE AND USE OF THE FUND.

2 Section 405 (16 U.S.C. 1421d), as so redesignated by

3 this Act, is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

6 (i); and

7 (B) by inserting at the end the following

8 new clause:

9 ‘‘(iii) for care and maintenance of marine mam10 mal seized under section 104(c)(2)(D); and’’; and

11 (2) in subsection (d) by inserting after ‘‘For pur12 poses of carrying out this title’’ the following: ‘‘and

13 section 104(c)(2)(D)’’.

14 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION; APPLICA15 TION TO OTHER TREATIES AND CONVEN16 TIONS.

17 (a) MEASURES FOR IMPACTS ON STRATEGIC

18 STOCKS.—Section 112 (16 U.S.C. 1382) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following new subsection:

20 ‘‘(e) If the Secretary determines, based on a stock as21 sessment under section 117 or other significant new infor22 mation obtained under this Act, that impacts on rookeries,

23 mating grounds, or other areas of similar ecological signifi24 cance to marine mammals may be causing the decline or

25 impeding the recovery of a strategic stock, the Secretary

26 may develop and implement conservation or management
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1 measures to alleviate those impacts. Such measures shall be

2 developed and implemented after consultation with the Ma3 rine Mammal Commission and the appropriate Federal

4 agencies and after notice and opportunity for public com5 ment.’’.

6 (b) INTERNATIONAL POLAR BEAR CONSERVATION.—

7 Section 113 (16 U.S.C. 1383) is amended by—

8 (1) designating the existing paragraph as sub9 section (a); and

10 (2) adding at the end the following new sub11 sections:

12 ‘‘(b) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

13 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of

14 1994, the Secretary of the Interior shall, in consultation

15 with the contracting parties, initiate a review of the effec16 tiveness of the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar

17 Bears, as provided for in Article IX of the Agreement, and

18 establish a process by which future reviews shall be con19 ducted.

20 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with

21 the Secretary of State and the Marine Mammal Commis22 sion, shall review the effectiveness of United States imple23 mentation of the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar

24 Bears, particularly with respect to the habitat protection

25 mandates contained in Article II. The Secretary shall re-
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1 port the results of this review to the Committee on Merchant

2 Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives and

3 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

4 of the Senate not later than April 1, 1995.

5 ‘‘(d) Not later than 6 months after the date of enact6 ment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments

7 of 1994, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

8 Secretary of State and in consultation with the Marine

9 Mammal Commission and the State of Alaska, shall consult

10 with the appropriate officials of the Russian Federation on

11 the development and implementation of enhanced coopera12 tive research and management programs for the conserva13 tion of polar bears in Alaska and Russia. The Secretary

14 shall report the results of this consultation and provide

15 periodic progress reports on the research and management

16 programs to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fish17 eries of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

18 Commerce, Science and Transportation of the Senate.’’.

19 SEC. 8. CONSERVATION PLANS.

20 Section 115(b) (16 U.S.C. 1383b(b)) is amended by

21 adding at the end the following new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary determines that a take reduction

23 plan is necessary to reduce the incidental taking of marine

24 mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations

25 from a strategic stock, or for species or stocks which interact
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1 with a commercial fishery for which the Secretary has made

2 a determination under section 118(f)(1), any conservation

3 plan prepared under this subsection for such species or stock

4 shall incorporate the take reduction plan required under

5 section 118 for such species or stock.’’.

6 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND THE INTE8 RIOR.—Section 116 is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘SEC. 116. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 ‘‘(a) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—(1) There are au11 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce,

12 for purposes of carrying out its functions and responsibil13 ities under this title (other than sections 117 and 118) and

14 title IV, $12,138,000 for fiscal year 1994, $12,623,000 for

15 fiscal year 1995, $13,128,000 for fiscal year 1996,

16 $13,653,000 for fiscal year 1997, $14,200,000 for fiscal year

17 1998, and $14,768,000 for fiscal year 1999.

18 ‘‘(2) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

19 Department of Commerce, for purposes of carrying out sec20 tions 117 and 118, $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years

21 1994 through 1999.

22 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—There are au23 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of the Inte24 rior, for purposes of carrying out its functions and respon25 sibilities under this title, $8,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,
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1 $8,600,000 for fiscal year 1995, $9,000,000 for fiscal year

2 1996, $9,400,000 for fiscal year 1997, $9,900,000 for fiscal

3 year 1998, and $10,296,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

4 (b) MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION.—Section 207 is

5 amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ma8 rine Mammal Commission, for purposes of carrying out

9 this title, $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1994, $1,550,000 for

10 fiscal year 1995, $1,600,000 for fiscal year 1996, $1,650,000

11 for fiscal year 1997, $1,700,000 for fiscal year 1998, and

12 $1,750,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

13 (c) REPEAL.—Section 7 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act

14 to improve the operation of the Marine Mammal Protection

15 Act of 1972, and for other purposes’’, approved October 9,

16 1981 (16 U.S.C. 1384 and 1407), is repealed.

17 SEC. 10. STOCK ASSESSMENTS.

18 Title I (16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq.) is amended by adding

19 at the end the following new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 117. STOCK ASSESSMENTS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1, 1994, the

22 Secretary shall, in consultation with the appropriate re23 gional scientific review group established under subsection

24 (d), prepare a draft stock assessment for each marine mam25 mal stock which occurs in waters under the jurisdiction of
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1 the United States. Each draft stock assessment, based on

2 the best scientific information available, shall—

3 ‘‘(1) describe the geographic range of the affected

4 stock, including any seasonal or temporal variation

5 in such range;

6 ‘‘(2) provide for such stock the minimum popu7 lation estimate, current and maximum net productiv8 ity rates, and current population trend, including a

9 description of the information upon which these are

10 based;

11 ‘‘(3) estimate the annual human-caused mortal12 ity and serious injury of the stock by source and, for

13 a strategic stock, other factors that may be causing a

14 decline or impeding recovery of the stock, including

15 effects on marine mammal habitat and prey;

16 ‘‘(4) describe commercial fisheries that interact

17 with the stock, including—

18 ‘‘(A) the approximate number of vessels ac19 tively participating in each such fishery;

20 ‘‘(B) the estimated level of incidental mor21 tality and serious injury of the stock by each

22 such fishery on an annual basis;

23 ‘‘(C) seasonal or area differences in such in24 cidental mortality or serious injury; and
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1 ‘‘(D) the rate, based on the appropriate

2 standard unit of fishing effort, of such incidental

3 mortality and serious injury, and an analysis

4 stating whether such level is insignificant and is

5 approaching a zero mortality and serious injury

6 rate;

7 ‘‘(5) categorize the status of the stock as one that

8 either—

9 ‘‘(A) has a level of human-caused mortality

10 and serious injury that is not likely to cause the

11 stock to be reduced below its optimum sustain12 able population; or

13 ‘‘(B) is a strategic stock, with a description

14 of the reasons therefor; and

15 ‘‘(6) estimate the potential biological removal

16 level for the stock, describing the information used to

17 calculate it, including the recovery factor.

18 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall pub19 lish in the Federal Register a notice of the availability of

20 a draft stock assessment or any revision thereof and provide

21 an opportunity for public review and comment during a

22 period of 90 days. Such notice shall include a summary

23 of the assessment and a list of the sources of information

24 or published reports upon which the assessment is based.
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1 ‘‘(2) Subsequent to the notice of availability required

2 under paragraph (1), if requested by a person to which sec3 tion 101(b) applies, the Secretary shall conduct a proceed4 ing on the record prior to publishing a final stock assess5 ment or any revision thereof for any stock subject to taking

6 under section 101(b).

7 ‘‘(3) After consideration of the best scientific informa8 tion available, the advice of the appropriate regional sci9 entific review group established under subsection (d), and

10 the comments of the general public, the Secretary shall pub11 lish in the Federal Register a notice of availability and a

12 summary of the final stock assessment or any revision there13 of, not later than 90 days after—

14 ‘‘(A) the close of the public comment period on

15 a draft stock assessment or revision thereof; or

16 ‘‘(B) final action on an agency proceeding pur17 suant to paragraph (2).

18 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND REVISION.—(1) The Secretary shall

19 review stock assessments in accordance with this sub20 section—

21 ‘‘(A) at least annually for stocks which are speci22 fied as strategic stocks;

23 ‘‘(B) at least annually for stocks for which sig24 nificant new information is available; and
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1 ‘‘(C) at least once every 3 years for all other

2 stocks.

3 ‘‘(2) If the review under paragraph (1) indicates that

4 the status of the stock has changed or can be more accurately

5 determined, the Secretary shall revise the stock assessment

6 in accordance with subsection (b).

7 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUPS.—(1)

8 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this

9 section, the Secretary of Commerce shall, in consultation

10 with the Secretary of the Interior (with respect to marine

11 mammals under that Secretary’s jurisdiction), the Marine

12 Mammal Commission, the Governors of affected adjacent

13 coastal States, regional fishery and wildlife management

14 authorities, Alaska Native organizations and Indian tribes,

15 and environmental and fishery groups, establish three inde16 pendent regional scientific review groups representing Alas17 ka, the Pacific Coast (including Hawaii), and the Atlantic

18 Coast (including the Gulf of Mexico), consisting of individ19 uals with expertise in marine mammal biology and ecology,

20 population dynamics and modeling, commercial fishing

21 technology and practices, and stocks taken under section

22 101(b). The Secretary of Commerce shall, to the maximum

23 extent practicable, attempt to achieve a balanced represen24 tation of viewpoints among the individuals on each regional
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1 scientific review group. The regional scientific review

2 groups shall advise the Secretary on—

3 ‘‘(A) population estimates and the population

4 status and trends of such stocks;

5 ‘‘(B) uncertainties and research needed regard6 ing stock separation, abundance, or trends, and fac7 tors affecting the distribution, size, or productivity of

8 the stock;

9 ‘‘(C) uncertainties and research needed regarding

10 the species, number, ages, gender, and reproductive

11 status of marine mammals;

12 ‘‘(D) research needed to identify modifications in

13 fishing gear and practices likely to reduce the inci14 dental mortality and serious injury of marine mam15 mals in commercial fishing operations;

16 ‘‘(E) the actual, expected, or potential impacts of

17 habitat destruction, including marine pollution and

18 natural environmental change, on specific marine

19 mammal species or stocks, and for strategic stocks,

20 appropriate conservation or management measures to

21 alleviate any such impacts; and

22 ‘‘(F) any other issue which the Secretary or the

23 groups consider appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(2) The scientific review groups established under this

2 subsection shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Com3 mittee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).

4 ‘‘(3) Members of the scientific review groups shall serve

5 without compensation, but may be reimbursed by the Sec6 retary, upon request, for reasonable travel costs and ex7 penses incurred in performing their obligations.

8 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may appoint or reappoint individ9 uals to the regional scientific review groups under para10 graph (1) as needed.

11 ‘‘(e) EFFECT ON SECTION 101(b).—This section shall

12 not affect or otherwise modify the provisions of section

13 101(b).’’.

14 SEC. 11. TAKING OF MARINE MAMMALS INCIDENTAL TO

15 COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS.

16 Title I (16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq.), as amended by this

17 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following

18 new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 118. TAKING OF MARINE MAMMALS INCIDENTAL TO

20 COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Effective on the date of enact22 ment of this section, and except as provided in section 114

23 and in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, the

24 provisions of this section shall govern the incidental taking

25 of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing op-
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1 erations by persons using vessels of the United States or

2 vessels which have valid fishing permits issued by the Sec3 retary in accordance with section 204(b) of the Magnuson

4 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

5 1824(b)). In any event it shall be the immediate goal that

6 the incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mam7 mals occurring in the course of commercial fishing oper8 ations be reduced to insignificant levels approaching a zero

9 mortality and serious injury rate within 7 years after the

10 date of enactment of this section.

11 ‘‘(2) In the case of the incidental taking of marine

12 mammals from species or stocks designated under this Act

13 as depleted on the basis of their listing as threatened species

14 or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of

15 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), both this section and section

16 101(a)(5)(E) of this Act shall apply.

17 ‘‘(3) Section 104(h) and title III, and not this section,

18 shall govern the taking of marine mammals in the course

19 of commercial purse seine fishing for yellowfin tuna in the

20 eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

21 ‘‘(4) This section shall not govern the incidental taking

22 of California sea otters and shall not be deemed to amend

23 or repeal the Act of November 7, 1986 (Public Law 99–

24 625; 100 Stat. 3500).
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1 ‘‘(5) Except as provided in section 101(c), the inten2 tional lethal take of any marine mammal in the course of

3 commercial fishing operations is prohibited.

4 ‘‘(6) Sections 103 and 104 shall not apply to the inci5 dental taking of marine mammals under the authority of

6 this section.

7 ‘‘(b) ZERO MORTALITY RATE GOAL.—(1) Commercial

8 fisheries shall reduce incidental mortality and serious in9 jury of marine mammals to insignificant levels approach10 ing a zero mortality and serious injury rate within 7 years

11 after the date of enactment of this section.

12 ‘‘(2) Fisheries which maintain insignificant serious

13 injury and mortality levels approaching a zero rate shall

14 not be required to further reduce their mortality and serious

15 injury rates.

16 ‘‘(3) Three years after such date of enactment, the Sec17 retary shall review the progress of all commercial fisheries,

18 by fishery, toward reducing incidental mortality and seri19 ous injury to insignificant levels approaching a zero rate.

20 The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,

21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Commit22 tee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Rep23 resentatives a report setting forth the results of such review

24 within 1 year after commencement of the review. The Sec25 retary shall note any commercial fishery for which addi-
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1 tional information is required to accurately assess the level

2 of incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mam3 mals in the fishery.

4 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary determines after review under

5 paragraph (3) that the rate of incidental mortality and se6 rious injury of marine mammals in a commercial fishery

7 is not consistent with paragraph (1), then the Secretary

8 shall take appropriate action under subsection (f).

9 ‘‘(c) REGISTRATION AND AUTHORIZATION.—(1) The

10 Secretary shall, within 90 days after the date of enactment

11 of this section—

12 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register for public

13 comment, for a period of not less than 90 days, any

14 necessary changes to the Secretary’s list of commercial

15 fisheries published under section 114(b)(1) and which

16 is in existence on March 31, 1994 (along with an ex17 planation of such changes and a statement describing

18 the marine mammal stocks interacting with, and the

19 approximate number of vessels or persons actively in20 volved in, each such fishery), with respect to commer21 cial fisheries that have—

22 ‘‘(i) frequent incidental mortality and seri23 ous injury of marine mammals;

24 ‘‘(ii) occasional incidental mortality and se25 rious injury of marine mammals; or
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1 ‘‘(iii) a remote likelihood of or no known

2 incidental mortality or serious injury of marine

3 mammals;

4 ‘‘(B) after the close of the period for such public

5 comment, publish in the Federal Register a revised

6 list of commercial fisheries and an update of informa7 tion required by subparagraph (A), together with a

8 summary of the provisions of this section and infor9 mation sufficient to advise vessel owners on how to

10 obtain an authorization and otherwise comply with

11 the requirements of this section; and

12 ‘‘(C) at least once each year thereafter, and at

13 such other times as the Secretary considers appro14 priate, reexamine, based on information gathered

15 under this Act and other relevant sources and after

16 notice and opportunity for public comment, the clas17 sification of commercial fisheries and other deter18 minations required under subparagraph (A) and pub19 lish in the Federal Register any necessary changes.

20 ‘‘(2)(A) An authorization shall be granted by the Sec21 retary in accordance with this section for a vessel engaged

22 in a commercial fishery listed under paragraph (1)(A) (i)

23 or (ii), upon receipt by the Secretary of a completed reg24 istration form providing the name of the vessel owner and

25 operator, the name and description of the vessel, the fish-
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1 eries in which it will be engaged, the approximate time,

2 duration, and location of such fishery operations, and the

3 general type and nature of use of the fishing gear and tech4 niques used. Such information shall be in a readily usable

5 format that can be efficiently entered into and utilized by

6 an automated or computerized data processing system. A

7 decal or other physical evidence that the authorization is

8 current and valid shall be issued by the Secretary at the

9 time an authorization is granted, and so long as the author10 ization remains current and valid, shall be reissued annu11 ally thereafter.

12 ‘‘(B) No authorization may be granted under this sec13 tion to the owner of a vessel unless such vessel—

14 ‘‘(i) is a vessel of the United States; or

15 ‘‘(ii) has a valid fishing permit issued by the

16 Secretary in accordance with section 204(b) of the

17 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

18 (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)).

19 ‘‘(C) Except as provided in subsection (a), an author20 ization granted under this section shall allow the incidental

21 taking of all species and stocks of marine mammals to

22 which this Act applies.

23 ‘‘(3)(A) An owner of a vessel engaged in any fishery

24 listed under paragraph (1)(A) (i) or (ii) shall, in order to
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1 engage in the lawful incidental taking of marine mammals

2 in a commercial fishery—

3 ‘‘(i) have registered as required under paragraph

4 (2) with the Secretary in order to obtain for each

5 such vessel owned and used in the fishery an author6 ization for the purpose of incidentally taking marine

7 mammals in accordance with this section, except that

8 owners of vessels holding valid certificates of exemp9 tion under section 114 are deemed to have registered

10 for purposes of this subsection for the period during

11 which such exemption is valid;

12 ‘‘(ii) ensure that a decal or such other physical

13 evidence of a current and valid authorization as the

14 Secretary may require is displayed on or is in the

15 possession of the master of each such vessel;

16 ‘‘(iii) report as required by subsection (e); and

17 ‘‘(iv) comply with any applicable take reduction

18 plan and emergency regulations issued under this sec19 tion.

20 ‘‘(B) Any owner of a vessel receiving an authorization

21 under this section for any fishery listed under paragraph

22 (1)(A) (i) or (ii) shall, as a condition of that authorization,

23 take on board an observer if requested to do so by the Sec24 retary.
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1 ‘‘(C) An owner of a vessel engaged in a fishery listed

2 under paragraph (1)(A) (i) or (ii) who—

3 ‘‘(i) fails to obtain from the Secretary an author4 ization for such vessel under this section;

5 ‘‘(ii) fails to maintain a current and valid au6 thorization for such vessel; or

7 ‘‘(iii) fails to ensure that a decal or other phys8 ical evidence of such authorization issued by the Sec9 retary is displayed on or is in possession of the mas10 ter of the vessel,

11 and the master of any such vessel engaged in such fishery,

12 shall be deemed to have violated this title, and for violations

13 of clauses (i) and (ii) shall be subject to the penalties of

14 this title, and for violations of clause (iii) shall be subject

15 to a fine of not more than $100 for each offense.

16 ‘‘(D) If the owner of a vessel has obtained and main17 tains a current and valid authorization from the Secretary

18 under this section and meets the requirements set forth in

19 this section, including compliance with any regulations to

20 implement a take reduction plan under this section, the

21 owner of such vessel, and the master and crew members of

22 the vessel, shall not be subject to the penalties set forth in

23 this title for the incidental taking of marine mammals

24 while such vessel is engaged in a fishery to which the au25 thorization applies.
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1 ‘‘(E) Each owner of a vessel engaged in any fishery

2 not listed under paragraph (1)(A) (i) or (ii), and the mas3 ter and crew members of such a vessel, shall not be subject

4 to the penalties set forth in this title for the incidental tak5 ing of marine mammals if such owner reports to the Sec6 retary, in the form and manner required under subsection

7 (e), instances of incidental mortality or injury of marine

8 mammals in the course of that fishery.

9 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall suspend or revoke an au10 thorization granted under this section and shall not issue

11 a decal or other physical evidence of the authorization for

12 any vessel until the owner of such vessel complies with the

13 reporting requirements under subsection (e) and such re14 quirements to take on board an observer under paragraph

15 (3)(B) as are applicable to such vessel. Previous failure to

16 comply with the requirements of section 114 shall not bar

17 authorization under this section for an owner who complies

18 with the requirements of this section.

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may suspend or revoke an author20 ization granted under this subsection, and may not issue

21 a decal or other physical evidence of the authorization for

22 any vessel which fails to comply with a take reduction plan

23 or emergency regulations issued under this section.

24 ‘‘(C) The owner and master of a vessel which fails to

25 comply with a take reduction plan shall be subject to the
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1 penalties of sections 105 and 107, and may be subject to

2 section 106.

3 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall develop, in consultation

4 with the appropriate States, affected Regional Fishery

5 Management Councils, and other interested persons, the

6 means by which the granting and administration of author7 izations under this section shall be integrated and coordi8 nated, to the maximum extent practicable, with existing

9 fishery licenses, registrations, and related programs.

10 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall utilize newspapers of general

11 circulation, fishery trade associations, electronic media,

12 and other means of advising commercial fishermen of the

13 provisions of this section and the means by which they can

14 comply with its requirements.

15 ‘‘(C) The Secretary is authorized to charge a fee for

16 the granting of an authorization under this section. The

17 level of fees charged under this subparagraph shall not ex18 ceed the administrative costs incurred in granting an au19 thorization. Fees collected under this subparagraph shall be

20 available to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans

21 and Atmosphere for expenses incurred in the granting and

22 administration of authorizations under this section.

23 ‘‘(d) MONITORING OF INCIDENTAL TAKES.—(1) The

24 Secretary shall establish a program to monitor incidental

25 mortality and serious injury of marine mammals during
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1 the course of commercial fishing operations. The purposes

2 of the monitoring program shall be to—

3 ‘‘(A) obtain statistically reliable estimates of in4 cidental mortality and serious injury;

5 ‘‘(B) determine the reliability of reports of inci6 dental mortality and serious injury under subsection

7 (e); and

8 ‘‘(C) identify changes in fishing methods or tech9 nology that may increase or decrease incidental mor10 tality and serious injury.

11 ‘‘(2) Pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary may

12 place observers on board vessels as necessary, subject to the

13 provisions of this section. Observers may, among other

14 tasks—

15 ‘‘(A) record incidental mortality and injury, or

16 by catch of other nontarget species;

17 ‘‘(B) record numbers of marine mammals sight18 ed; and

19 ‘‘(C) perform other scientific investigations.

20 ‘‘(3) In determining the distribution of observers

21 among commercial fisheries and vessels within a fishery,

22 the Secretary shall be guided by the following standards:

23 ‘‘(A) The requirement to obtain statistically reli24 able information.
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1 ‘‘(B) The requirement that assignment of observ2 ers is fair and equitable among fisheries and among

3 vessels in a fishery.

4 ‘‘(C) The requirement that no individual person

5 or vessel, or group of persons or vessels, be subject to

6 excessive or overly burdensome observer coverage.

7 ‘‘(D) To the extent practicable, the need to mini8 mize costs and avoid duplication.

9 ‘‘(4) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall allo10 cate observers among commercial fisheries in accordance

11 with the following priority:

12 ‘‘(A) The highest priority for allocation shall be

13 for commercial fisheries that have incidental mortal14 ity or serious injury of marine mammals from stocks

15 listed as endangered species or threatened species

16 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

17 1531 et seq.).

18 ‘‘(B) The second highest priority for allocation

19 shall be for commercial fisheries that have incidental

20 mortality and serious injury of marine mammals

21 from strategic stocks.

22 ‘‘(C) The third highest priority for allocation

23 shall be for commercial fisheries that have incidental

24 mortality or serious injury of marine mammals from
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1 stocks for which the level of incidental mortality and

2 serious injury is uncertain.

3 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may establish an alternative ob4 server program to provide statistically reliable information

5 on the species and number of marine mammals incidentally

6 taken in the course of commercial fishing operations. The

7 alternative observer program may include direct observa8 tion of fishing activities from vessels, airplanes, or points

9 on shore.

10 ‘‘(6) The Secretary is not required to place an observer

11 on a vessel in a fishery if the Secretary finds that—

12 ‘‘(A) in a situation in which harvesting vessels

13 are delivering fish to a processing vessel and the catch

14 is not taken on board the harvesting vessel, statis15 tically reliable information can be obtained from an

16 observer on board the processing vessel to which the

17 fish are delivered;

18 ‘‘(B) the facilities on a vessel for quartering of

19 an observer, or for carrying out observer functions,

20 are so inadequate or unsafe that the health or safety

21 of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel

22 would be jeopardized; or

23 ‘‘(C) for reasons beyond the control of the Sec24 retary, an observer is not available.
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1 ‘‘(7) The Secretary may, with the consent of the vessel

2 owner, station an observer on board a vessel engaged in a

3 fishery not listed under subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) or (ii).

4 ‘‘(8) Any proprietary information collected under this

5 subsection shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed

6 except—

7 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees whose duties require

8 access to such information;

9 ‘‘(B) to State or tribal employees pursuant to an

10 agreement with the Secretary that prevents public

11 disclosure of the identity or business of any person;

12 ‘‘(C) when required by court order; or

13 ‘‘(D) in the case of scientific information involv14 ing fisheries, to employees of Regional Fishery Man15 agement Councils who are responsible for fishery

16 management plan development and monitoring.

17 ‘‘(9) The Secretary shall prescribe such procedures as

18 may be necessary to preserve such confidentiality, except

19 that the Secretary shall release or make public upon request

20 any such information in aggregate, summary, or other form

21 which does not directly or indirectly disclose the identity

22 or business of any person.

23 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The owner or opera24 tor of a commercial fishing vessel subject to this Act shall

25 report all incidental mortality and injury of marine mam-
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•S 1636 EAH

1 mals in the course of commercial fishing operations to the

2 Secretary by mail or other means acceptable to the Sec3 retary within 48 hours after the end of each fishing trip

4 on a standard postage-paid form to be developed by the Sec5 retary under this section. Such form shall be capable of

6 being readily entered into and usable by an automated or

7 computerized data processing system and shall require the

8 vessel owner or operator to provide the following:

9 ‘‘(1) The vessel name, and Federal, State, or

10 tribal registration numbers of the registered vessel.

11 ‘‘(2) The name and address of the vessel owner

12 or operator.

13 ‘‘(3) The name and description of the fishery.

14 ‘‘(4) The species of each marine mammal inci15 dentally killed or injured, and the date, time, and ap16 proximate geographic location of such occurrence.

17 ‘‘(f) TAKE REDUCTION PLANS.—(1) The Secretary

18 shall develop and implement a take reduction plan designed

19 to assist in the recovery or prevent the depletion of each

20 strategic stock which interacts with a commercial fishery

21 listed under subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) or (ii), and may de22 velop and implement such a plan for any other marine

23 mammal stocks which interact with a commercial fishery

24 listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) which the Secretary de25 termines, after notice and opportunity for public comment,
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•S 1636 EAH

1 has a high level of mortality and serious injury across a

2 number of such marine mammal stocks.

3 ‘‘(2) The immediate goal of a take reduction plan for

4 a strategic stock shall be to reduce, within 6 months of its

5 implementation, the incidental mortality or serious injury

6 of marine mammals incidentally taken in the course of

7 commercial fishing operations to levels less than the poten8 tial biological removal level established for that stock under

9 section 117. The long-term goal of the plan shall be to re10 duce, within 5 years of its implementation, the incidental

11 mortality or serious injury of marine mammals inciden12 tally taken in the course of commercial fishing operations

13 to insignificant levels approaching a zero mortality and se14 rious injury rate, taking into account the economics of the

15 fishery, the availability of existing technology, and existing

16 State or regional fishery management plans.

17 ‘‘(3) If there is insufficient funding available to de18 velop and implement a take reduction plan for all such

19 stocks that interact with commercial fisheries listed under

20 subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) or (ii), the Secretary shall give high21 est priority to the development and implementation of take

22 reduction plans for species or stocks whose level of inciden23 tal mortality and serious injury exceeds the potential bio24 logical removal level, those that have a small population

25 size, and those which are declining most rapidly.
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1 ‘‘(4) Each take reduction plan shall include—

2 ‘‘(A) a review of the information in the final

3 stock assessment published under section 117(b) and

4 any substantial new information;

5 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the total number and, if pos6 sible, age and gender, of animals from the stock that

7 are being incidentally lethally taken or seriously in8 jured each year during the course of commercial fish9 ing operations, by fishery;

10 ‘‘(C) recommended regulatory or voluntary meas11 ures for the reduction of incidental mortality and se12 rious injury;

13 ‘‘(D) recommended dates for achieving the spe14 cific objectives of the plan.

15 ‘‘(5)(A) For any stock in which incidental mortality

16 and serious injury from commercial fisheries exceeds the po17 tential biological removal level established under section

18 117, the plan shall include measures the Secretary expects

19 will reduce, within 6 months of the plan’s implementation,

20 such mortality and serious injury to a level below the poten21 tial biological removal level.

22 ‘‘(B) For any stock in which human-caused mortality

23 and serious injury exceeds the potential biological removal

24 level, other than a stock to which subparagraph (A) applies,

25 the plan shall include measures the Secretary expects will
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1 reduce, to the maximum extent practicable within 6 months

2 of the plan’s implementation, the incidental mortality and

3 serious injury by such commercial fisheries from that stock.

4 For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ‘maximum ex5 tent practicable’ means to the lowest level that is feasible

6 for such fisheries within the 6-month period.

7 ‘‘(6)(A) At the earliest possible time (not later than

8 30 days) after the Secretary issues a final stock assessment

9 under section 117(b) for a strategic stock, the Secretary

10 shall, and for stocks that interact with a fishery listed under

11 subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) for which the Secretary has made a

12 determination under paragraph (1), the Secretary may—

13 ‘‘(i) establish a take reduction team for such

14 stock and appoint the members of such team in ac15 cordance with subparagraph (C); and

16 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a notice of

17 the team’s establishment, the names of the team’s ap18 pointed members, the full geographic range of such

19 stock, and a list of all commercial fisheries that cause

20 incidental mortality and serious injury of marine

21 mammals from such stock.

22 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may request a take reduction team

23 to address a stock that extends over one or more regions

24 or fisheries, or multiple stocks within a region or fishery,

25 if the Secretary determines that doing so would facilitate
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1 the development and implementation of plans required

2 under this subsection.

3 ‘‘(C) Members of take reduction teams shall have exper4 tise regarding the conservation or biology of the marine

5 mammal species which the take reduction plan will address,

6 or the fishing practices which result in the incidental mor7 tality and serious injury of such species. Members shall in8 clude representatives of Federal agencies, each coastal State

9 which has fisheries which interact with the species or stock,

10 appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils, inter11 state fisheries commissions, academic and scientific organi12 zations, environmental groups, all commercial and rec13 reational fisheries groups and gear types which incidentally

14 take the species or stock, Alaska Native organizations or In15 dian tribal organizations, and others as the Secretary

16 deems appropriate. Take reduction teams shall, to the maxi17 mum extent practicable, consist of an equitable balance

18 among representatives of resource user interests and

19 nonuser interests.

20 ‘‘(D) Take reduction teams shall not be subject to the

21 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). Meetings

22 of take reduction teams shall be open to the public, and

23 prior notice of meetings shall be made public in a timely

24 fashion.
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1 ‘‘(E) Members of take reduction teams shall serve with2 out compensation, but may be reimbursed by the Secretary,

3 upon request, for reasonable travel costs and expenses in4 curred in performing their duties as members of the team.

5 ‘‘(7) Where the human-caused mortality and serious

6 injury from a strategic stock is estimated to be equal to

7 or greater than the potential biological removal level estab8 lished under section 117 for such stock and such stock inter9 acts with a fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) or

10 (ii), the following procedures shall apply in the development

11 of the take reduction plan for the stock:

12 ‘‘(A)(i) Not later than 6 months after the date of

13 establishment of a take reduction team for the stock,

14 the team shall submit a draft take reduction plan for

15 such stock to the Secretary, consistent with the other

16 provisions of this section.

17 ‘‘(ii) Such draft take reduction plan shall be de18 veloped by consensus. In the event consensus cannot

19 be reached, the team shall advise the Secretary in

20 writing on the range of possibilities considered by the

21 team, and the views of both the majority and minor22 ity.

23 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall take the draft take

24 reduction plan into consideration and, not later than

25 60 days after the submission of the draft plan by the
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1 team, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg2 ister the plan proposed by the team, any changes pro3 posed by the Secretary with an explanation of the

4 reasons therefor, and proposed regulations to imple5 ment such plan, for public review and comment dur6 ing a period of not to exceed 90 days.

7 ‘‘(ii) In the event that the take reduction team

8 does not submit a draft plan to the Secretary within

9 6 months, the Secretary shall, not later than 8 months

10 after the establishment of the team, publish in the

11 Federal Register a proposed take reduction plan and

12 implementing regulations, for public review and com13 ment during a period of not to exceed 90 days.

14 ‘‘(C) Not later than 60 days after the close of the

15 comment period required under subparagraph (B),

16 the Secretary shall issue a final take reduction plan

17 and implementing regulations, consistent with the

18 other provisions of this section.

19 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall, during a period of 30

20 days after publication of a final take reduction plan,

21 utilize newspapers of general circulation, fishery

22 trade associations, electronic media, and other means

23 of advising commercial fishermen of the requirements

24 of the plan and how to comply with them.
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1 ‘‘(E) The Secretary and the take reduction team

2 shall meet every 6 months, or at such other intervals

3 as the Secretary determines are necessary, to monitor

4 the implementation of the final take reduction plan

5 until such time that the Secretary determines that the

6 objectives of such plan have been met.

7 ‘‘(F) The Secretary shall amend the take reduc8 tion plan and implementing regulations as necessary

9 to meet the requirements of this section, in accordance

10 with the procedures in this section for the issuance of

11 such plans and regulations.

12 ‘‘(8) Where the human-caused mortality and serious

13 injury from a strategic stock is estimated to be less than

14 the potential biological removal level established under sec15 tion 117 for such stock and such stock interacts with a fish16 ery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A) (i) or (ii), or for any

17 marine mammal stocks which interact with a commercial

18 fishery listed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) for which the

19 Secretary has made a determination under paragraph (1),

20 the following procedures shall apply in the development of

21 the take reduction plan for such stock:

22 ‘‘(A)(i) Not later than 11 months after the date

23 of establishment of a take reduction team for the

24 stock, the team shall submit a draft take reduction
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1 plan for the stock to the Secretary, consistent with the

2 other provisions of this section.

3 ‘‘(ii) Such draft take reduction plan shall be de4 veloped by consensus. In the event consensus cannot

5 be reached, the team shall advise the Secretary in

6 writing on the range of possibilities considered by the

7 team, and the views of both the majority and minor8 ity.

9 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall take the draft take

10 reduction plan into consideration and, not later than

11 60 days after the submission of the draft plan by the

12 team, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg13 ister the plan proposed by the team, any changes pro14 posed by the Secretary with an explanation of the

15 reasons therefor, and proposed regulations to imple16 ment such plan, for public review and comment dur17 ing a period of not to exceed 90 days.

18 ‘‘(ii) In the event that the take reduction team

19 does not submit a draft plan to the Secretary within

20 11 months, the Secretary shall, not later than 13

21 months after the establishment of the team, publish in

22 the Federal Register a proposed take reduction plan

23 and implementing regulations, for public review and

24 comment during a period of not to exceed 90 days.
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•S 1636 EAH

1 ‘‘(C) Not later than 60 days after the close of the

2 comment period required under subparagraph (B),

3 the Secretary shall issue a final take reduction plan

4 and implementing regulations, consistent with the

5 other provisions of this section.

6 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall, during a period of 30

7 days after publication of a final take reduction plan,

8 utilize newspapers of general circulation, fishery

9 trade associations, electronic media, and other means

10 of advising commercial fishermen of the requirements

11 of the plan and how to comply with them.

12 ‘‘(E) The Secretary and the take reduction team

13 shall meet on an annual basis, or at such other inter14 vals as the Secretary determines are necessary, to

15 monitor the implementation of the final take reduc16 tion plan until such time that the Secretary deter17 mines that the objectives of such plan have been met.

18 ‘‘(F) The Secretary shall amend the take reduc19 tion plan and implementing regulations as necessary

20 to meet the requirements of this section, in accordance

21 with the procedures in this section for the issuance of

22 such plans and regulations.

23 ‘‘(9) In implementing a take reduction plan developed

24 pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary may, where nec25 essary to implement a take reduction plan to protect or re-
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1 store a marine mammal stock or species covered by such

2 plan, promulgate regulations which include, but are not

3 limited to, measures to—

4 ‘‘(A) establish fishery-specific limits on inciden5 tal mortality and serious injury of marine mammals

6 in commercial fisheries or restrict commercial fish7 eries by time or area;

8 ‘‘(B) require the use of alternative commercial

9 fishing gear or techniques and new technologies, en10 courage the development of such gear or technology, or

11 convene expert skippers’ panels;

12 ‘‘(C) educate commercial fishermen, through

13 workshops and other means, on the importance of re14 ducing the incidental mortality and serious injury of

15 marine mammals in affected commercial fisheries;

16 and

17 ‘‘(D) monitor, in accordance with subsection (d),

18 the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce the level

19 of incidental mortality and serious injury of marine

20 mammals in the course of commercial fishing oper21 ations.

22 ‘‘(10)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (6), in the case

23 of any stock to which paragraph (1) applies for which a

24 final stock assessment has not been published under section

25 117(b)(3) by April 1, 1995, due to a proceeding under sec-
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1 tion 117(b)(2), or any Federal court review of such proceed2 ing, the Secretary shall establish a take reduction team

3 under paragraph (6) for such stock as if a final stock assess4 ment had been published.

5 ‘‘(B) The draft stock assessment published for such

6 stock under section 117(b)(1) shall be deemed the final stock

7 assessment for purposes of preparing and implementing a

8 take reduction plan for such stock under this section.

9 ‘‘(C) Upon publication of a final stock assessment for

10 such stock under section 117(b)(3) the Secretary shall im11 mediately reconvene the take reduction team for such stock

12 for the purpose of amending the take reduction plan, and

13 any regulations issued to implement such plan, if necessary,

14 to reflect the final stock assessment or court action. Such

15 amendments shall be made in accordance with paragraph

16 (7)(F) or (8)(F), as appropriate.

17 ‘‘(D) A draft stock assessment may only be used as

18 the basis for a take reduction plan under this paragraph

19 for a period of not to exceed two years, or until a final

20 stock assessment is published, whichever is earlier. If, at the

21 end of the two-year period, a final stock assessment has not

22 been published, the Secretary shall categorize such stock

23 under section 117(a)(5)(A) and shall revoke any regulations

24 to implement a take reduction plan for such stock.
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1 ‘‘(E) Subparagraph (D) shall not apply for any period

2 beyond two years during which a final stock assessment for

3 such stock has not been published due to review of a proceed4 ing on such stock assessment by a Federal court. Imme5 diately upon final action by such court, the Secretary shall

6 proceed under subparagraph (C).

7 ‘‘(11) Take reduction plans developed under this sec8 tion for a species or stock listed as a threatened species or

9 endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of

10 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) shall be consistent with any

11 recovery plan developed for such species or stock under sec12 tion 4 of such Act.

13 ‘‘(g) EMERGENCY REGULATIONS.—(1) If the Secretary

14 finds that the incidental mortality and serious injury of

15 marine mammals from commercial fisheries is having, or

16 is likely to have, an immediate and significant adverse im17 pact on a stock or species, the Secretary shall take actions

18 as follows:

19 ‘‘(A) In the case of a stock or species for which

20 a take reduction plan is in effect, the Secretary

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(i) prescribe emergency regulations that,

23 consistent with such plan to the maximum extent

24 practicable, reduce incidental mortality and seri25 ous injury in that fishery; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) approve and implement, on an expe2 dited basis, any amendments to such plan that

3 are recommended by the take reduction team to

4 address such adverse impact.

5 ‘‘(B) In the case of a stock or species for which

6 a take reduction plan is being developed, the Sec7 retary shall—

8 ‘‘(i) prescribe emergency regulations to re9 duce such incidental mortality and serious in10 jury in that fishery; and

11 ‘‘(ii) approve and implement, on an expe12 dited basis, such plan, which shall provide meth13 ods to address such adverse impact if still nec14 essary.

15 ‘‘(C) In the case of a stock or species for which

16 a take reduction plan does not exist and is not being

17 developed, or in the case of a commercial fishery list18 ed under subsection (c)(1)(A)(iii) which the Secretary

19 believes may be contributing to such adverse impact,

20 the Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(i) prescribe emergency regulations to re22 duce such incidental mortality and serious in23 jury in that fishery, to the extent necessary to

24 mitigate such adverse impact;
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1 ‘‘(ii) immediately review the stock assess2 ment for such stock or species and the classifica3 tion of such commercial fishery under this sec4 tion to determine if a take reduction team should

5 be established; and

6 ‘‘(iii) may, where necessary to address such

7 adverse impact on a species or stock listed as a

8 threatened species or endangered species under

9 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

10 1531 et seq.), place observers on vessels in a com11 mercial fishery listed under subsection

12 (c)(1)(A)(iii), if the Secretary has reason to be13 lieve such vessels may be causing the incidental

14 mortality and serious injury to marine mam15 mals from such stock.

16 ‘‘(2) Prior to taking action under paragraph (1) (A),

17 (B), or (C), the Secretary shall consult with the Marine

18 Mammal Commission, all appropriate Regional Fishery

19 Management Councils, State fishery managers, and the ap20 propriate take reduction team (if established).

21 ‘‘(3) Emergency regulations prescribed under this sub22 section—

23 ‘‘(A) shall be published in the Federal Register,

24 together with an explanation thereof;
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1 ‘‘(B) shall remain in effect for not more than

2 180 days or until the end of the applicable commer3 cial fishing season, whichever is earlier; and

4 ‘‘(C) may be terminated by the Secretary at an

5 earlier date by publication in the Federal Register of

6 a notice of termination, if the Secretary determines

7 that the reasons for emergency regulations no longer

8 exist.

9 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary finds that incidental mortality

10 and serious injury of marine mammals in a commercial

11 fishery is continuing to have an immediate and significant

12 adverse impact on a stock or species, the Secretary may

13 extend the emergency regulations for an additional period

14 of not more than 90 days or until reasons for the emergency

15 no longer exist, whichever is earlier.

16 ‘‘(h) PENALTIES.—Except as provided in subsection

17 (c), any person who violates this section shall be subject to

18 the provisions of sections 105 and 107, and may be subject

19 to section 106 as the Secretary shall establish by regula20 tions.

21 ‘‘(i) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall provide assist22 ance to Regional Fishery Management Councils, States,

23 interstate fishery commissions, and Indian tribal organiza24 tions in meeting the goal of reducing incidental mortality
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1 and serious injury to insignificant levels approaching a

2 zero mortality and serious injury rate.

3 ‘‘(j) CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of carrying out

4 this section, the Secretary may accept, solicit, receive, hold,

5 administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests.

6 ‘‘(k) CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY OF THE INTE7 RIOR.—The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of

8 the Interior prior to taking actions or making determina9 tions under this section that affect or relate to species or

10 population stocks of marine mammals for which the Sec11 retary of the Interior is responsible under this title.

12 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section and section

13 101(a)(5)(E), each of the terms ‘fishery’ and ‘vessel of the

14 United States’ has the same meaning it does in section 3

15 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

16 Act (16 U.S.C. 1802).’’.

17 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS.

18 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at

19 the end the following:

20 ‘‘(18)(A) The term ‘harassment’ means any act

21 of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which—

22 ‘‘(i) has the potential to injure a marine

23 mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild;

24 or
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1 ‘‘(ii) has the potential to disturb a marine

2 mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild

3 by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, in4 cluding, but not limited to, migration, breathing,

5 nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.

6 ‘‘(B) The term ‘Level A harassment’ means har7 assment described in subparagraph (A)(i).

8 ‘‘(C) The term ‘Level B harassment’ means har9 assment described in subparagraph (A)(ii).

10 ‘‘(19) The term ‘strategic stock’ means a marine

11 mammal stock—

12 ‘‘(A) for which the level of direct human13 caused mortality exceeds the potential biological

14 removal level;

15 ‘‘(B) which, based on the best available sci16 entific information, is declining and is likely to

17 be listed as a threatened species under the En18 dangered Species Act of 1973 within the foresee19 able future; or

20 ‘‘(C) which is listed as a threatened species

21 or endangered species under the Endangered

22 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or

23 is designated as depleted under this Act.

24 ‘‘(20) The term ‘potential biological removal

25 level’ means the maximum number of animals, not
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1 including natural mortalities, that may be removed

2 from a marine mammal stock while allowing that

3 stock to reach or maintain its optimum sustainable

4 population. The potential biological removal level is

5 the product of the following factors:

6 ‘‘(A) The minimum population estimate of

7 the stock.

8 ‘‘(B) One-half the maximum theoretical or

9 estimated net productivity rate of the stock at a

10 small population size.

11 ‘‘(C) A recovery factor of between 0.1 and

12 1.0.

13 ‘‘(21) The term ‘Regional Fishery Management

14 Council’ means a Regional Fishery Management

15 Council established under section 302 of the Magnu16 son Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

17 ‘‘(22) The term ‘bona fide research’ means sci18 entific research on marine mammals, the results of

19 which—

20 ‘‘(A) likely would be accepted for publica21 tion in a referred scientific journal;

22 ‘‘(B) are likely to contribute to the basic

23 knowledge of marine mammal biology or ecology;

24 or
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1 ‘‘(C) are likely to identify, evaluate, or re2 solve conservation problems.

3 ‘‘(23) The term ‘Alaska Native organization’

4 means a group designated by law or formally char5 tered which represents or consists of Indians, Aleuts,

6 or Eskimos residing in Alaska.

7 ‘‘(24) The term ‘take reduction plan’ means a

8 plan developed under section 118.

9 ‘‘(25) The term ‘take reduction team’ means a

10 team established under section 118.

11 ‘‘(26) The term ‘net productivity rate’ means the

12 annual per capita rate of increase in a stock resulting

13 from additions due to reproduction, less losses due to

14 mortality.

15 ‘‘(27) The term ‘minimum population estimate’

16 means an estimate of the number of animals in a

17 stock that—

18 ‘‘(A) is based on the best available scientific

19 information on abundance, incorporating the

20 precision and variability associated with such

21 information; and

22 ‘‘(B) provides reasonable assurance that the

23 stock size is equal to or greater than the esti24 mate.’’.
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1 SEC. 13. PENALTIES; PROHIBITIONS.

2 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 105(a)(1) (16 U.S.C.

3 1375(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except as provided

4 in section 118,’’ after ‘‘thereunder’’.

5 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 105(b) (16 U.S.C.

6 1375(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(except as provided in

7 section 118)’’ after ‘‘thereunder’’.

8 (c) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 102(a) (16 U.S.C.

9 1372(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 114 of this title or

10 title III’’ and inserting ‘‘114, and 118 of this title and title

11 IV’’.

12 SEC. 14. INDIAN TREATY RIGHTS; ALASKA NATIVE SUBSIST13 ENCE.

14 Nothing in this Act, including any amendments to the

15 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 made by this Act—

16 (1) alters or is intended to alter any treaty be17 tween the United States and one or more Indian

18 tribes; or

19 (2) affects or otherwise modifies the provisions of

20 section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

21 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(b)), except as specifically

22 provided in the amendment made by section 4(b) of

23 this Act.

24 SEC. 15. TRANSITION RULE; IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.

25 (a) TRANSITION RULE.—Section 114(a)(1) (16 U.S.C.

26 1383a(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘ending April 1,
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1 1994,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘until superseded by

2 regulations prescribed under section 118, or until Septem3 ber 1, 1995, whichever is earlier,’’.

4 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Except as pro5 vided otherwise in this Act, or the amendments to the Ma6 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et

7 seq.) made by this Act, the Secretary of Commerce or the

8 Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, shall, after notice

9 and opportunity for public comment, promulgate regula10 tions to implement this Act and the amendments made by

11 this Act by January 1, 1995.

12 SEC. 16. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1362) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking paragraph (17); and

16 (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (15)

17 and paragraph (16) as paragraphs (16) and (17), re18 spectively.

19 (b) UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT FUND.—Section

20 405(a) (16 U.S.C. 1421d(a)), as so redesignated by this Act,

21 is amended by striking ‘‘a fund’’ and inserting in lieu

22 thereof ‘‘an interest bearing fund’’.
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1 SEC. 17. HUMAN ACTIVITIES WITHIN PROXIMITY OF

2 WHALES.

3 (a) LAWFUL APPROACHES.—In waters of the United

4 States surrounding the State of Hawaii, it is lawful for

5 a person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to

6 approach, by any means other than an aircraft, no closer

7 than 100 yards to a humpback whale, regardless of whether

8 the approach is made in waters designated under section

9 222.31 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, as cow/calf

10 waters.

11 (b) TERMINATION OF LEGAL EFFECT OF CERTAIN

12 REGULATIONS.—Subsection (b) of section 222.31 of title 50,

13 Code of Federal Regulations, shall cease to be in force and

14 effect.

15 SEC. 18. SCRIMSHAW EXEMPTIONS.

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any valid

17 certificate of exemption renewed by the Secretary (or

18 deemed to be renewed) under section 10(f)(8) of the Endan19 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1539(f)(8)) for any

20 person holding such a certificate with respect to the posses21 sion of pre-Act finished scrimshaw products or raw mate22 rial for such products shall remain valid for a period not

23 to exceed 5 years beginning on the date of enactment of this

24 Act.
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1 SEC. 19. MARINE MAMMAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS IN

2 ALASKA.

3 Title I (16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq.), as amended by this

4 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following

5 new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 119. MARINE MAMMAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

7 IN ALASKA.

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into co9 operative agreements with Alaska Native organizations to

10 conserve marine mammals and provide co-management of

11 subsistence use by Alaska Natives.

12 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—Agreements entered into under this sec13 tion may include grants to Alaska Native organizations for,

14 among other purposes—

15 ‘‘(1) collecting and analyzing data on marine

16 mammal populations;

17 ‘‘(2) monitoring the harvest of marine mammals

18 for subsistence use;

19 ‘‘(3) participating in marine mammal research

20 conducted by the Federal Government, States, aca21 demic institutions, and private organizations; and

22 ‘‘(4) developing marine mammal co-management

23 structures with Federal and State agencies.

24 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF JURISDICTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion is intended or shall be construed—
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1 ‘‘(1) as authorizing any expansion or change in

2 the respective jurisdiction of Federal, State, or tribal

3 governments over fish and wildlife resources; or

4 ‘‘(2) as altering in any respect the existing polit5 ical or legal status of Alaska Natives, or the govern6 mental or jurisdictional status of Alaska Native com7 munities or Alaska Native entities.

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carry10 ing out this section—

11 ‘‘(1) $1,500,000 to the Secretary of Commerce for

12 each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,

13 and 1999; and

14 ‘‘(2) $1,000,000 to the Secretary of the Interior

15 for each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,

16 1998, and 1999.

17 The amounts authorized to be appropriated under this sub18 section are in addition to the amounts authorized to be ap19 propriated under section 116.’’.

20 SEC. 20. MARINE ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION.

21 Section 110 (16 U.S.C. 1380) is amended by striking

22 subsection (c) and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘(c)(1) No later than 1 year after the date of enactment

24 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of

25 1994, the Secretary of Commerce shall convene a regional
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1 workshop for the Gulf of Maine to assess human-caused fac2 tors affecting the health and stability of that marine eco3 system, of which marine mammals are a part. The work4 shop shall be conducted in consultation with the Marine

5 Mammal Commission, the adjacent coastal States, individ6 uals with expertise in marine mammal biology and ecology,

7 representatives from environmental organizations, the fish8 ing industry, and other appropriate persons. The goal of

9 the workshop shall be to identify such factors, and to rec10 ommend a program of research and management to restore

11 or maintain that marine ecosystem and its key components

12 that—

13 ‘‘(A) protects and encourages marine mammals

14 to develop to the greatest extent feasible commensurate

15 with sound policies of resource management;

16 ‘‘(B) has as the primary management objective

17 the maintenance of the health and stability of the ma18 rine ecosystems;

19 ‘‘(C) ensures the fullest possible range of manage20 ment options for future generations; and

21 ‘‘(D) permits nonwasteful, environmentally

22 sound development of renewable and nonrenewable re23 sources.

24 ‘‘(2) On or before December 31, 1995, the Secretary

25 of Commerce shall submit to the Committee on Merchant
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1 Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives and

2 the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

3 of the Senate a report containing the results of the workshop

4 under this subsection, proposed regulatory or research ac5 tions, and recommended legislative action.

6 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation

7 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Marine Mammal

8 Commission, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Native organi9 zations, shall, not later than 180 days after the date of en10 actment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amend11 ments of 1994, undertake a scientific research program to

12 monitor the health and stability of the Bering Sea marine

13 ecosystem and to resolve uncertainties concerning the causes

14 of population declines of marine mammals, sea birds, and

15 other living resources of that marine ecosystem. The pro16 gram shall address the research recommendations developed

17 by previous workshops on Bering Sea living marine re18 sources, and shall include research on subsistence uses of

19 such resources and ways to provide for the continued oppor20 tunity for such uses.

21 ‘‘(2) To the maximum extent practicable, the research

22 program undertaken pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be

23 conducted in Alaska. The Secretary of Commerce shall uti24 lize, where appropriate, traditional local knowledge and
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1 may contract with a qualified Alaska Native organization

2 to conduct such research.

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the

4 Interior, and the Commission shall address the status and

5 findings of the research program in their annual reports

6 to Congress required by sections 103(f) and 204 of this

7 Act.’’.

8 SEC. 21. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT OF 1986.

9 Section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act

10 of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(b)) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘$2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1989, 1990, 1991,

12 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

13 ‘‘$65,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995’’.

14 SEC. 22. COASTAL ECOSYSTEM HEALTH.

15 (a) REQUIREMENT TO CONVEY.—Not later than Sep16 tember 30, 1994, the Secretary of the Navy shall convey,

17 without payment or other consideration, to the Secretary

18 of Commerce, all right, title, and interest to the property

19 comprising that portion of the Naval Base, Charleston,

20 South Carolina, bounded by Hobson Avenue, the Cooper

21 River, the landward extension of the northwest side of Pier

22 R, and the fenceline between the buildings known as 200

23 and NS–16. Such property shall include Pier R, the build24 ings known as RTC–1, RTC–4, 200, and 1874, all towers
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1 and outbuildings on that property, and all walkways and

2 parking areas associated with such buildings and Pier R.

3 (b) SURVEY; EFFECT ON LIABILITY OF SECRETARY OF

4 THE NAVY.—The acreage and legal description of the prop5 erty to be conveyed pursuant to this section shall be deter6 mined by a survey approved by the Secretary of the Navy.

7 Such conveyance shall not release the Secretary of the Navy

8 from any liability arising prior to, during, or after such

9 conveyance as a result of the ownership or occupation of

10 the property by the United States Navy.

11 (c) USE BY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC

12 ADMINISTRATION.—The property conveyed pursuant to this

13 section shall be used by the Secretary of Commerce in sup14 port of the operations of the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration.

16 (d) REVERSION RIGHTS.—Conveyance of the property

17 pursuant to this section shall be subject to the condition

18 that all right, title, and interest in and to the property so

19 conveyed shall immediately be conveyed to the public entity

20 vested with ownership of the remainder of the Charleston

21 Naval Base, if and when—

22 (1) continued ownership and occupation of the

23 property by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

24 Administration no longer is compatible with the com25 prehensive plan for reuse of the Charleston Naval
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1 Base developed by the community reuse committee

2 and approved by the Secretary of the Navy; and

3 (2) such public entity provides for relocation of

4 the programs and personnel of the National Oceanic

5 and Atmospheric Administration occupying such

6 property, at no further cost to the United States Gov7 ernment, to a comparable facility, including adjacent

8 waterfront and pier, within the Charleston area.

9 SEC. 23. PACIFIC COAST TASK FORCE; GULF OF MAINE.

10 Title I (16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq.), as amended by this

11 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following

12 new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 120. PACIFIC COAST TASK FORCE; GULF OF MAINE.

14 ‘‘(a) PINNIPED REMOVAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstand15 ing any other provision of this title, the Secretary may per16 mit the intentional lethal taking of pinnipeds in accordance

17 with this section.

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—(1) A State may apply to the Sec19 retary to authorize the intentional lethal taking of individ20 ually identifiable pinnipeds which are having a significant

21 negative impact on the decline or recovery of salmonid fish22 ery stocks which—

23 ‘‘(A) have been listed as threatened species or en24 dangered species under the Endangered Species Act of

25 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary finds are approaching threat2 ened species or endangered species status (as those

3 terms are defined in that Act); or

4 ‘‘(C) migrate through the Ballard Locks at Se5 attle, Washington.

6 ‘‘(2) Any such application shall include a means of

7 identifying the individual pinniped or pinnipeds, and shall

8 include a detailed description of the problem interaction

9 and expected benefits of the taking.

10 ‘‘(c) ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO APPLICATION.—(1)

11 Within 15 days of receiving an application, the Secretary

12 shall determine whether the application has produced suffi13 cient evidence to warrant establishing a Pinniped-Fishery

14 Interaction Task Force to address the situation described

15 in the application. If the Secretary determines sufficient

16 evidence has been provided, the Secretary shall establish a

17 Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force and publish a no18 tice in the Federal Register requesting public comment on

19 the application.

20 ‘‘(2) A Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force estab21 lished under paragraph (1) shall consist of designated em22 ployees of the Department of Commerce, scientists who are

23 knowledgeable about the pinniped interaction that the ap24 plication addresses, representatives of affected conservation

25 and fishing community organizations, Indian Treaty
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1 tribes, the States, and such other organizations as the Sec2 retary deems appropriate.

3 ‘‘(3) Within 60 days after establishment, and after re4 viewing public comments in response to the Federal Reg5 ister notice under paragraph (1), the Pinniped-Fishery

6 Interaction Task Force shall—

7 ‘‘(A) recommend to the Secretary whether to ap8 prove or deny the proposed intentional lethal taking

9 of the pinniped or pinnipeds, including along with

10 the recommendation a description of the specific

11 pinniped individual or individuals, the proposed lo12 cation, time, and method of such taking, criteria for

13 evaluating the success of the action, and the duration

14 of the intentional lethal taking authority; and

15 ‘‘(B) suggest nonlethal alternatives, if available

16 and practicable, including a recommended course of

17 action.

18 ‘‘(4) Within 30 days after receipt of recommendations

19 from the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force, the Sec20 retary shall either approve or deny the application. If such

21 application is approved, the Secretary shall immediately

22 take steps to implement the intentional lethal taking, which

23 shall be performed by Federal or State agencies, or qualified

24 individuals under contract to such agencies.
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1 ‘‘(5) After implementation of an approved application,

2 the Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force shall evaluate

3 the effectiveness of the permitted intentional lethal taking

4 or alternative actions implemented. If implementation was

5 ineffective in eliminating the problem interaction, the Task

6 Force shall recommend additional actions. If the implemen7 tation was effective, the Task Force shall so advise the Sec8 retary, and the Secretary shall disband the Task Force.

9 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In considering whether an

10 application should be approved or denied, the Pinniped11 Fishery Interaction Task Force and the Secretary shall con12 sider—

13 ‘‘(1) population trends, feeding habits, the loca14 tion of the pinniped interaction, how and when the

15 interaction occurs, and how many individual

16 pinnipeds are involved;

17 ‘‘(2) past efforts to nonlethally deter such

18 pinnipeds, and whether the applicant has dem19 onstrated that no feasible and prudent alternatives

20 exist and that the applicant has taken all reasonable

21 nonlethal steps without success;

22 ‘‘(3) the extent to which such pinnipeds are caus23 ing undue injury or impact to, or imbalance with,

24 other species in the ecosystem, including fish popu25 lations; and
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1 ‘‘(4) the extent to which such pinnipeds are ex2 hibiting behavior that presents an ongoing threat to

3 public safety.

4 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not approve the

5 intentional lethal taking of any pinniped from a species

6 or stock that is—

7 ‘‘(1) listed as a threatened species or endangered

8 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

9 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

10 ‘‘(2) depleted under this Act; or

11 ‘‘(3) a strategic stock.

12 ‘‘(f) CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS AND PACIFIC HARBOR

13 SEALS; INVESTIGATION AND REPORT.—

14 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall engage in a scientific

15 investigation to determine whether California sea

16 lions and Pacific harbor seals—

17 ‘‘(A) are having a significant negative im18 pact on the recovery of salmonid fishery stocks

19 which have been listed as endangered species or

20 threatened species under the Endangered Species

21 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or which

22 the Secretary finds are approaching such endan23 gered species or threatened species status; or
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1 ‘‘(B) are having broader impacts on the

2 coastal ecosystems of Washington, Oregon, and

3 California.

4 The Secretary shall conclude this investigation and

5 prepare a report on its results no later than October

6 1, 1995.

7 ‘‘(2) Upon completion of the scientific investiga8 tion required under paragraph (1), the Secretary

9 shall enter into discussions with the Pacific States

10 Marine Fisheries Commission, on behalf of the States

11 of Washington, Oregon, and California, for the pur12 pose of addressing any issues or problems identified

13 as a result of the scientific investigation, and to de14 velop recommendations to address such issues or prob15 lems. Any recommendations resulting from such dis16 cussions shall be submitted, along with the report, to

17 the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of

18 the House of Representatives and the Committee on

19 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

20 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall make the report and the

21 recommendations submitted under paragraph (2)

22 available to the public for review and comment for a

23 period of 90 days.
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1 ‘‘(4) There are authorized to be appropriated to

2 the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out

3 the provisions of this subsection.

4 ‘‘(5) The amounts appropriated under section

5 308(c) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986

6 (16 U.S.C. 4107(c)) and allocated to the Pacific

7 States Marine Fisheries Commission may be used by

8 the Commission to participate in discussions with the

9 Secretary under paragraph (2).

10 ‘‘(g) REGIONWIDE PINNIPED-FISHERY INTERACTION

11 STUDY.—

12 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may conduct a study, of not

13 less than three high predation areas in anadromous

14 fish migration corridors within the Northwest Region

15 of the National Marine Fisheries Service, on the

16 interaction between fish and pinnipeds. In conducting

17 the study, the Secretary shall consult with other State

18 and Federal agencies with expertise in pinniped-fish19 ery interaction. The study shall evaluate—

20 ‘‘(A) fish behavior in the presence of preda21 tors generally;

22 ‘‘(B) holding times and passage rates of

23 anadromous fish stocks in areas where such fish

24 are vulnerable to predation;
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1 ‘‘(C) whether additional facilities exist, or

2 could be reasonably developed, that could im3 prove escapement for anadromous fish; and

4 ‘‘(D) other issues the Secretary considers

5 relevant.

6 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropria7 tions, the Secretary may, not later than 18 months

8 after the commencement of the study under this sub9 section, transmit a report on the results of the study

10 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Mer12 chant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Rep13 resentatives.

14 ‘‘(3) The study conducted under this subsection

15 may not be used by the Secretary as a reason for de16 laying or deferring a determination or consideration

17 under subsection (c) or (d).

18 ‘‘(h) GULF OF MAINE TASK FORCE.—The Secretary

19 shall establish a Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force

20 to advise the Secretary on issues or problems regarding

21 pinnipeds interacting in a dangerous or damaging manner

22 with aquaculture resources in the Gulf of Maine. No later

23 than 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, the

24 Secretary shall after notice and opportunity for public com25 ment submit to the Committee on Merchant Marine and
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1 Fisheries of the House of Representatives and the Committee

2 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

3 a report containing recommended available alternatives to

4 mitigate such interactions.

5 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO TASK FORCES.—

6 (1) Any task force established under this section—

7 ‘‘(A) shall to the maximum extent practicable,

8 consist of an equitable balance among representatives

9 of resource user interests and nonuser interests; and

10 ‘‘(B) shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory

11 Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).

12 ‘‘(2) Meetings of any task force established under this

13 section shall be open to the public, and prior notice of those

14 meetings shall be given to the public by the task force in

15 a timely fashion.

16 ‘‘(j) GULF OF MAINE HARBOR PORPOISE.—(1) Noth17 ing in section 117 shall prevent the Secretary from publish18 ing a stock assessment for Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise

19 in an expedited fashion.

20 ‘‘(2) In developing and implementing a take reduction

21 plan under section 118 for Gulf of Maine harbor porpoise,

22 the Secretary shall consider all actions already taken to re23 duce incidental mortality and serious injury of such stock,

24 and may, based on the recommendations of the take reduc25 tion team for such stock, modify the time period required
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1 for compliance with section 118(f)(5)(A), but in no case

2 may such modification extend the date of compliance be3 yond April 1, 1997.’’.

4 SEC 24. FURTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND5 MENTS.

6 (a) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DEFINITION OF SEC7 RETARY.—

8 (1) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS.—The

9 amendments set forth in section 3004(b) of the Marine

10 Mammal Health and Stranding Response Act (106

11 Stat. 5067)—

12 (A) are deemed to have been made by that

13 section to section 3(12) of the Marine Mammal

14 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1362(12));

15 and

16 (B) shall not be considered to have been

17 made by that section to section 3(11) of that Act

18 (16 U.S.C. 1362(11)).

19 (2) FURTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING

20 AMENDMENTS.—Section 3(12)(B) of the Marine Mam21 mal Protection Act of 1972, as deemed by paragraph

22 (1)(A) of this subsection to have been amended by sec23 tion 3004(b) of the Marine Mammal Health and

24 Stranding Response Act (106 Stat. 5067), is further
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1 amended in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘in title

2 III’’ and inserting ‘‘in section 118 and title IV’’.

3 (b) MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH AND STRANDING RE4 SPONSE.—The Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating title III, as added by Public

6 Law 102–587 (106 Stat. 5060), as title IV; and

7 (2) by redesignating the sections of that title (16

8 U.S.C. 1421 through 1421h) as sections 401 through

9 409, respectively.

10 (c) FURTHER AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IV.—The Act

11 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended—

12 (1) in section 401(b)(3) (as redesignated by this

13 section) by striking ‘‘304’’ and inserting ‘‘404’’;

14 (2) in section 405(b)(1)(A)(i) (as redesignated by

15 this section) by striking ‘‘304(b)’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘404(b)’’;

17 (3) in section 406(a)(2)(A) (as redesignated by

18 this section) by striking ‘‘304(b)’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘404(b)’’;

20 (4) in section 406(a)(2)(B) (as redesignated by

21 this section) by striking ‘‘304(c)’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘404(c)’’;

23 (5) in section 408(1) (as redesignated by this sec24 tion)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘305’’ and inserting ‘‘405’’,

2 and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘307’’ and inserting ‘‘407’’;

4 (6) in section 408(2) (as redesignated by this sec5 tion) by striking ‘‘307’’ and inserting ‘‘407’’;

6 (7) in section 409(1) (as redesignated by this sec7 tion) by striking ‘‘305(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘405(a)’’;

8 (8) in section 409(5) (as redesignated by this sec9 tion) by striking ‘‘307(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘407(a)’’;

10 (9) in section 102(a) (16 U.S.C. 1372(a)) by

11 striking ‘‘title III’’ and inserting ‘‘title IV’’;

12 (10) in section 109(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1379(h)(1))

13 by striking ‘‘title III’’ and inserting ‘‘title IV’’;

14 (11) in section 112(c) (16 U.S.C. 1382(c)) by

15 striking ‘‘or title III’’ and inserting ‘‘or title IV’’; and

16 (12) in the table of contents in the first section,

17 by striking the items relating to the title that is redes18 ignated by subsection (b) of this section and the sec19 tions that are redesignated by subsection (b) of this

20 section and inserting the following:

‘‘TITLE IV—MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH AND STRANDING RESPONSE

‘‘Sec. 401. Establishment of program.

‘‘Sec. 402. Determination; data collection and dissemination.

‘‘Sec. 403. Stranding response agreements.

‘‘Sec. 404. Unusual mortality event response.

‘‘Sec. 405. Unusual mortality event activity funding.

‘‘Sec. 406. Liability.

‘‘Sec. 407. National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank and tissue analysis.

‘‘Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘Sec. 409. Definitions.’’.
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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The portion of the table

2 of contents in the first section of the Act relating to title

3 I is amended by adding at the end the following new items:

‘‘Sec. 117. Stock assessments.

‘‘Sec. 118. Taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations.

‘‘Sec. 119. Marine mammal cooperative agreements in Alaska.

‘‘Sec. 120. Pacific Coast Task Force; Gulf of Maine.’’.

4 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub5 section (a) shall be effective as if enacted as part of section

6 3004 of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Re7 sponse Act (106 Stat. 5067).

8 SEC. 25. TRANSFER.

9 Of amounts appropriated by Public Law 103–139 to

10 the Department of the Navy for Shipbuilding and Conver11 sion, Navy, the Secretary of the Navy shall transfer

12 $8,000,000 not later than May 15, 1994, to the Adminis13 trator of the Maritime Administration for the conversion

14 of the USNS CHAUVENET to a training ship for the Texas

15 Maritime Academy’s Training Program.

Attest:

Clerk.

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