II 

Calendar No. 519 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2453 

[Report No. 116–258] 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right whale by supporting 

and providing financial resources for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs and projects of persons with expertise required for the 

conservation of North Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. CARPER, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

AUGUST 13, 2020 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right 

whale by supporting and providing financial resources 

for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs 

and projects of persons with expertise required for the 

conservation of North Atlantic right whales, and for 

other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scientific Assistance 

5 for Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 

6 2019’’ or the ‘‘SAVE Right Whales Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

9 (1) North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena 

10 glacialis) are critically endangered, with approxi11 mately 400 whales remaining at the time of the in12 troduction of this Act; 

13 (2) historically, the North Atlantic right whale 

14 population was decimated by the whaling industry, 

15 although the whale population received protections 

16 from such industry in the 1930s; 

17 (3) despite a modest recovery prior to 2010, the 

18 North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endan19 gered whales in the world and has experienced a sig20 nificant decline since 2010; 

21 (4) the North Atlantic right whale has been 

22 listed as an endangered species under the Endan23 gered Species Conservation Act of 1969 (Public Law 

24 89–669; 80 Stat. 926) and its successor the Endan25 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 


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1 since 1970 and is designated as depleted under the 

2 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

3 1361 et seq.); 

4 (5) because North Atlantic right whales are 

5 long-lived and highly migratory, and at present rates 

6 females give birth to a single calf only once every 4 

7 to 10 years, they are highly vulnerable to the im8 pacts of human activity and habitat degradation; 

9 (6) North Atlantic right whales frequently cross 

10 paths with major shipping lanes and fishing 

11 grounds, leaving the whales particularly vulnerable 

12 to vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements, 

13 the 2 leading causes of injury and death to the spe14 cies; 

15 (7) even when North Atlantic right whales do 

16 not die as a result of fishing gear entanglement, 

17 those whales can still experience significant sub-le18 thal effects such as chronic stress and reproductive 

19 failure; 

20 (8) in August 2017, the National Marine Fish21 eries Service announced an unusual mortality event 

22 involving North Atlantic right whales in 2017, with 

23 17 known whale deaths that year alone; 

24 (9) as of August 2019, such ongoing unusual 

25 mortality event includes the loss of at least 28 


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1 whales, a significant die-off of a population and, 

2 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), demands an immediate re4 sponse; 

5 (10) based on the current rate of mortality of 

6 North Atlantic right whales, and because of the 

7 small number of breeding females in the population 

8 and low birth rates, recent analysis suggests the spe9 cies will lose its ability to recover in merely a few 

10 decades if human-caused mortality is not reduced 

11 immediately; 

12 (11) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

13 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), United States 

14 fishermen in certain locations have been required to 

15 modify their fishing gear and behavior to minimize 

16 the likelihood of entanglements, including by using 

17 sinking groundlines, having weak links in buoy lines, 

18 using multiple traps per buoy, appropriately mark19 ing fishing gear, and complying with seasonal area20 specific closures in North Atlantic right whale habi21 tats; 

22 (12) vessels in United States waters that are 65 

23 feet or more in length have been required to comply 

24 with a seasonal 10-knot speed limit in certain loca25 tions to reduce the threat of vessel collisions; and 


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1 (13) North Atlantic right whales are now mi2 grating farther north into Canadian waters and 

3 there have been at least 20 North Atlantic right 

4 whale deaths in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence be5 tween 2017 and 2019, as well as 8 documented 

6 deaths of such whales in the United States waters 

7 in 2017 and 2018. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the Governments of the United States and 

11 Canada must work together to reduce lethal and 

12 sub-lethal effects of human activities on North At13 lantic right whales; and 

14 (2) effectively addressing the threats to the 

15 long-term viability of the North Atlantic right 

16 whales will require a joint commitment and effort 

17 from government entities, local communities, marine 

18 scientists and conservationists, fishermen, owners 

19 and operators of passenger vessels and others in the 

20 shipping industry, and other stakeholders. 

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

22 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

23 (1) To rebuild healthy populations of the North 

24 Atlantic right whale. 


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1 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection 

2 of North Atlantic right whales by supporting North 

3 Atlantic right whale conservation programs that 

4 minimize conflicts between North Atlantic right 

5 whales and human activities. 

6 (3) To provide financial resources for those pro7 grams. 

8 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

9 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

10 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

11 ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

14 funds and in consultation with other Federal offi15 cials, the Secretary of Commerce (in this title re16 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competi17 tive financial assistance, including multiyear grants, 

18 for projects for the conservation of North Atlantic 

19 right whales for which project proposals are ap20 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec21 tion. 

22 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assist23 ance provided under this section shall be carried out 

24 in a manner consistent with authorities available to 

25 the Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 


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1 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine 

2 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

3 seq.). 

4 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

5 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

6 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

7 by— 

8 (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re9 search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 

10 with expertise required for the conservation of 

11 North Atlantic right whales; and 

12 (B) any other individual or entity, as de13 termined appropriate by the Secretary, with the 

14 expertise required for the conservation of North 

15 Atlantic right whales, including large whale 

16 disentanglement teams approved by the Na17 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

18 and members in good standing of the National 

19 Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Re20 sponse Program, sectors of the shipping and 

21 fishing industries, fishing gear manufacturers, 

22 and rope manufacturers. 

23 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 

24 A Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 

25 funding for a project under this section, but may be 


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1 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

2 that receives such funding. 

3 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 

4 shall include— 

5 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 

6 project; 

7 (B) the name of the entity or individual 

8 with overall responsibility for the project; 

9 (C) a description of the qualifications of 

10 the entity or individuals that will conduct the 

11 project; 

12 (D) a description of— 

13 (i) methods for project implementa14 tion and outcome assessment; 

15 (ii) staffing and stakeholder engage16 ment for the project; 

17 (iii) the logistics of the project; 

18 (iv) an estimated timeline for the 

19 project; and 

20 (v) anticipated outcomes of the 

21 project; 

22 (E) a proposed budget for the funds and 

23 time required to complete the project; 


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1 (F) information regarding the source and 

2 amount of matching funding available for the 

3 project; 

4 (G) information that demonstrates the 

5 clear potential of the project to contribute to 

6 the conservation of North Atlantic right whales; 

7 and 

8 (H) any other information that the Sec9 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

10 the eligibility of the project for funding under 

11 this Act. 

12 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA13 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu15 ally— 

16 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

17 under this section; 

18 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as 

19 appropriate, copies of each proposal submitted 

20 in response to the solicitation; and 

21 (C) review each such proposal on a time22 line that recognizes the urgency of the declining 

23 North Atlantic right whale population to deter24 mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 

25 specified in subsection (d). 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS2 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

3 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 

4 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

5 with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 

6 (A) consult with respect to the proposal 

7 with the government of each State and foreign 

8 country in which the project is to be conducted; 

9 (B) after taking into consideration any 

10 comments resulting from the consultation and 

11 any potential losses that could be incurred to 

12 the fishing industry as a result of the proposal, 

13 approve or disapprove the proposal; and 

14 (C) provide written notification of the ap15 proval or disapproval to the individual or entity 

16 that submitted the proposal, other Federal offi17 cials, and each State and foreign country de18 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

19 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

20 approve a project proposal under this section if the project 

21 shows promise for contributing to recovering and sus22 taining a viable population of North Atlantic right whales 

23 in the wild by assisting efforts to— 

24 (1) implement conservation programs; 


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1 (2) address the unintentional conflicts between 

2 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de3 velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 

4 or other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal 

5 effects on North Atlantic right whales from vessel 

6 collisions and fishing gear entanglements; 

7 (3) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

8 with foreign governments; or 

9 (4) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

10 with affected local communities, small businesses 

11 such as fishermen, others in the private sector, or 

12 nongovernmental organizations. 

13 (e) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, in deter14 mining whether to approve project proposals under this 

15 section, the Secretary shall prioritize projects that are de16 signed to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of human 

17 activities on North Atlantic right whales. In prioritizing 

18 such projects, the Secretary shall prioritize, among such 

19 projects, projects that are cooperative in nature and in20 clude fishing or shipping sector participants. 

21 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an 

24 activity conducted with financial assistance under 

25 this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 


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1 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

2 may apply to the non-Federal share of an activity 

3 conducted with financial assistance under this sec4 tion the amount of funds, and the fair market value 

5 of property and services, provided by non-Federal 

6 sources and used for the activity. 

7 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec8 retary may waive the application of paragraph (1) if 

9 the Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to 

10 support a conservation project that the Secretary 

11 has identified as of high priority. 

12 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each individual or entity 

14 that receives assistance under this section for a 

15 project shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports 

16 (at such intervals as the Secretary may require) that 

17 include all information that the Secretary, after con18 sultation with other government officials, determines 

19 is necessary to evaluate the progress and success of 

20 the project for the purposes of ensuring positive re21 sults, assessing problems, and fostering improve22 ments. 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

24 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re25 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 


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1 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

2 the public in a timely manner. 

3 SEC. 102. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE INTERAGENCY 

4 BUDGET. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

6 Management and Budget shall include, in the budget of 

7 the President submitted to Congress under section 

8 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 

9 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, an interagency budg10 et that displays for each Federal agency that engages in 

11 North Atlantic right whale activities— 

12 (1) the amount of appropriations and expendi13 tures for the preceding fiscal year for such activities 

14 and a description of such activities; 

15 (2) the estimated amount to be expended dur16 ing the current fiscal year for such activities and a 

17 description of such activities; and 

18 (3) the amount estimated to be necessary for 

19 the next fiscal year for such activities and a descrip20 tion of such activities. 

21 (b) NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE ACTIVITIES

22 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘North Atlantic 

23 right whale activities’’ means any activity of a Federal 

24 agency to study, observe, monitor, manage, protect, con25 serve, or restore the North Atlantic right whale population 


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1 through direct or indirect means, including through the 

2 provision of competitive financial assistance to non-Fed3 eral entities. 

4 SEC. 103. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

5 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

7 shall submit to Congress a report on the results and effec8 tiveness of projects receiving assistance provided under 

9 this title, including recommendations concerning how this 

10 title might be improved and whether funding for this title 

11 should be continued in the future. 

12 SEC. 104. FUNDING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

15 be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

16 title $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

17 through 2029. 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

19 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

20 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may ex21 pend not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, 

22 whichever is greater, to pay the administrative ex23 penses necessary to carry out this Act. 

24 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The 

25 amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph 


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1 (1) shall supplement and not supplant other 

2 amounts available to the Secretary. 

3 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

4 Secretary may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, 

5 and use any gift, devise, or bequest to provide assistance 

6 under section 102. 

7 TITLE II—CONTINUOUS 

8 PLANKTON RECORDER 

9 SEC. 201. SURVEY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 

12 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a con13 tinuous plankton recorder survey. 

14 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—For the purpose of con15 ducting the survey required under subsection (a), the 

16 Northeast Fisheries Science Center shall— 

17 (1) to the extent possible, utilize the resources 

18 of and partner with, on a volunteer basis, research 

19 institutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial ves20 sels, and other Federal agencies; 

21 (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure rel22 evant survey samples and results are analyzed, 

23 stored, archived, and made publicly available; 


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1 (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples 

2 and data that inform the conservation of North At3 lantic right whales; and 

4 (4) to the extent practicable, coordinate with 

5 the Government of Canada to develop a transbound6 ary understanding of plankton abundance and dis7 tribution. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

9 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 

10 the Secretary of Commerce $300,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2019 through 2029. 

12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scientific Assistance for 

14 Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 2019’’ 

15 or the ‘‘SAVE Right Whales Act’’. 

16 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

18 (1) North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena 

19 glacialis) are critically endangered, with approxi20 mately 400 whales remaining at the time of the intro21 duction of this Act; 

22 (2) historically, the North Atlantic right whale 

23 population was decimated by the whaling industry, 

24 although the whale population received protections 

25 from such industry in the 1930s; 


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1 (3) despite a modest recovery prior to 2010, the 

2 North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endan3 gered whales in the world and has experienced a sig4 nificant decline since 2010; 

5 (4) the North Atlantic right whale has been listed 

6 as an endangered species under the Endangered Spe7 cies Conservation Act of 1969 (Public Law 89–669; 

8 80 Stat. 926) and its successor the Endangered Spe9 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) since 1970 

10 and is designated as depleted under the Marine Mam11 mal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); 

12 (5) because North Atlantic right whales are long13 lived and highly migratory, and at present rates fe14 males give birth to a single calf only once every 4 to 

15 10 years, they are highly vulnerable to the impacts of 

16 human activity and habitat degradation; 

17 (6) North Atlantic right whales frequently cross 

18 paths with major shipping lanes and fishing grounds, 

19 leaving the whales particularly vulnerable to vessel 

20 collisions and fishing gear entanglements, the 2 lead21 ing causes of injury and death to the species; 

22 (7) even when North Atlantic right whales do not 

23 die as a result of fishing gear entanglement, those 

24 whales can still experience significant sub-lethal ef25 fects such as chronic stress and reproductive failure; 


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1 (8) in August 2017, the National Marine Fish2 eries Service announced an unusual mortality event 

3 involving North Atlantic right whales in 2017, with 

4 17 known whale deaths that year alone; 

5 (9) as of August 2019, such ongoing unusual 

6 mortality event includes the loss of at least 28 whales, 

7 a significant die-off of a population and, under the 

8 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

9 1361 et seq.), demands an immediate response; 

10 (10) based on the current rate of mortality of 

11 North Atlantic right whales, and because of the small 

12 number of breeding females in the population and low 

13 birth rates, recent analysis suggests the species will 

14 lose its ability to recover in merely a few decades if 

15 human-caused mortality is not reduced immediately; 

16 (11) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

17 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), United States fisher18 men in certain locations have been required to modify 

19 their fishing gear and behavior to minimize the likeli20 hood of entanglements, including by using sinking 

21 groundlines, having weak links in buoy lines, using 

22 multiple traps per buoy, appropriately marking fish23 ing gear, and complying with seasonal area-specific 

24 closures in North Atlantic right whale habitats; 


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1 (12) vessels in United States waters that are 65 

2 feet or more in length have been required to comply 

3 with a seasonal10-knot speed limit in certain loca4 tions to reduce the threat of vessel collisions; and 

5 (13) North Atlantic right whales are now mi6 grating farther north into Canadian waters and there 

7 have been at least 20 North Atlantic right whale 

8 deaths in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence between 

9 2017 and 2019, as well as 8 documented deaths of 

10 such whales in the United States waters in 2017 and 

11 2018. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

13 that— 

14 (1) the Governments of the United States and 

15 Canada must work together to reduce lethal and sub16 lethal effects of human activities on North Atlantic 

17 right whales; and 

18 (2) effectively addressing the threats to the long19 term viability of the North Atlantic right whales will 

20 require a joint commitment and effort from govern21 ment entities, local communities, marine scientists 

22 and conservationists, fishermen, owners and operators 

23 of passenger vessels and others in the shipping indus24 try, and other stakeholders. 


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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

3 (1) To rebuild healthy populations of the North 

4 Atlantic right whale. 

5 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection 

6 of North Atlantic right whales by supporting North 

7 Atlantic right whale conservation programs that min8 imize conflicts between North Atlantic right whales 

9 and human activities. 

10 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

11 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

12 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

13 ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

16 funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, 

17 the Secretary of Commerce (in this title referred to as 

18 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competitive financial 

19 assistance, including multiyear grants, for projects 

20 designed to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of 

21 human activities on North Atlantic right whales for 

22 which project proposals are approved by the Secretary 

23 in accordance with this section. 

24 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assistance 

25 provided under this section shall be carried out in a 

26 manner consistent with authorities available to the 


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1 Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal 

3 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). 

4 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

5 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

6 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

7 by— 

8 (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re9 search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 

10 with expertise required for the conservation of 

11 North Atlantic right whales; and 

12 (B) any other individual or entity, as deter13 mined appropriate by the Secretary, with the ex14 pertise required for the conservation of North At15 lantic right whales, including large whale 

16 disentanglement teams approved by the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

18 members in good standing of the National Ma19 rine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 

20 Program, sectors of the shipping and fishing in21 dustries, fishing gear manufacturers, and rope 

22 manufacturers. 

23 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.—A 

24 Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 

25 funding for a project under this section, but may be 


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1 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

2 that receives such funding. 

3 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA4 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu6 ally— 

7 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

8 under this section; 

9 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as ap10 propriate, copies of each proposal submitted in 

11 response to the solicitation; and 

12 (C) review each such proposal on a timeline 

13 that recognizes the urgency of the declining 

14 North Atlantic right whale population to deter15 mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 

16 specified in subsection (d). 

17 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS18 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

19 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 

20 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

21 with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 

22 (A) consult with respect to the proposal 

23 with the government of each State and foreign 

24 country in which the project is to be conducted; 


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1 (B) after taking into consideration any 

2 comments resulting from the consultation and 

3 any potential losses that could be incurred to the 

4 fishing industry as a result of the proposal, ap5 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 

6 (C) provide written notification of the ap7 proval or disapproval to the individual or entity 

8 that submitted the proposal, other Federal offi9 cials, and each State and foreign country de10 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

11 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

12 approve a project proposal under this section that is likely 

13 to aid in the recovery and sustainability of a viable popu14 lation of North Atlantic right whales in the wild by assist15 ing efforts to— 

16 (1) implement conservation programs; 

17 (2) address the unintentional conflicts between 

18 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de19 velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 

20 or other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal ef21 fects on North Atlantic right whales from vessel colli22 sions and fishing gear entanglements; 

23 (3) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

24 with foreign governments; or 


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1 (4) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

2 with affected local communities, small businesses such 

3 as fishermen, others in the private sector, or non4 governmental organizations. 

5 (e) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, in deter6 mining whether to approve project proposals under this sec7 tion, the Secretary shall prioritize projects that are designed 

8 to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of human activities 

9 on North Atlantic right whales. In prioritizing such 

10 projects, the Secretary shall prioritize, among such projects, 

11 projects that are cooperative in nature and include fishing 

12 or shipping sector participants. 

13 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an ac16 tivity conducted with financial assistance under this 

17 section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

18 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

19 may apply to the non-Federal share of an activity 

20 conducted with financial assistance under this section 

21 the amount of funds, and the fair market value of 

22 property and services, provided by non-Federal 

23 sources and used for the activity. 

24 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

25 may waive the application of paragraph (1) if the 


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1 Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to sup2 port a conservation project that the Secretary has 

3 identified as of high priority. 

4 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each individual or entity 

6 that receives assistance under this section for a project 

7 shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such 

8 intervals as the Secretary may require) that include 

9 all information that the Secretary, after consultation 

10 with other government officials, determines is nec11 essary to evaluate the progress and success of the 

12 project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 

13 assessing problems, and fostering improvements. 

14 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

15 under paragraph (1), and any other documents relat16 ing to projects for which financial assistance is pro17 vided under this Act, shall be made available to the 

18 public in a timely manner. 

19 SEC. 102. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

20 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

22 submit to Congress a report on the results and effectiveness 

23 of projects receiving assistance provided under this title, in24 cluding recommendations concerning how this title might 


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1 be improved and whether funding for this title should be 

2 continued in the future. 

3 SEC. 103. FUNDING. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be 

6 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this title 

7 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2029. 

8 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

9 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

10 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may expend 

11 not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, whichever 

12 is greater, to pay the administrative expenses nec13 essary to carry out this Act. 

14 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The amount 

15 authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) shall 

16 supplement and not supplant other amounts available 

17 to the Secretary. 

18 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Sec19 retary may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

20 any gift, devise, or bequest to provide assistance under sec21 tion 101. 


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27 

•S 2453 RS

1 TITLE II—CONTINUOUS 

2 PLANKTON RECORDER 

3 SEC. 201. SURVEY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 

6 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a Con7 tinuous Plankton Recorder survey. 

8 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—For the purpose of con9 ducting the survey required under subsection (a), the North10 east Fisheries Science Center shall— 

11 (1) to the extent possible, utilize the resources of 

12 and partner with, on a volunteer basis, research insti13 tutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial vessels, 

14 and other Federal agencies; 

15 (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure relevant 

16 survey samples and results are analyzed, stored, 

17 archived, and made publicly available; 

18 (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples 

19 and data that inform the conservation of North At20 lantic right whales; and 

21 (4) to the extent practicable, coordinate with the 

22 Government of Canada to develop a transboundary 

23 understanding of plankton abundance and distribu24 tion. 


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28 

•S 2453 RS

1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 

3 the Secretary of Commerce $300,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2019 through 2029. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 519 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2453 

[Report No. 116–258] 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic 

Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. expertise required for the conservation of North servation programs and projects of persons with resources for North Atlantic right whale conright whale by supporting and providing financial 

AUGUST 13, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS