II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3765 

To provide assistance to American fisheries participants to comply with Federal regulations to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale 

by reducing the risk of incidental entanglement in fishing gear. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2022 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide assistance to American fisheries participants to 

comply with Federal regulations to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale by reducing the risk 

of incidental entanglement in fishing gear. 

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 ‘‘Stewarding Atlantic 

5 Fisheries Ecosystems by Supporting Economic Assistance 

6 and Sustainability Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘SAFE SEAS Act 

7 of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The North Atlantic right whale is critically 

4 endangered, with estimates suggesting fewer than 

5 350 remain, including fewer than 100 breeding fe6 males. 

7 (2) Harvesters in the North Atlantic have taken 

8 previous actions to protect whales, including by im9 plementing weak links, replacing thousands of miles 

10 of floating ground line with whale-safe sinking line, 

11 and increasing the minimum number of traps per 

12 trawl to remove thousands of miles of vertical buoy 

13 lines. 

14 (3) Seventeen North Atlantic right whale mor15 talities were observed in 2017, including many deter16 mined to have been caused by vessel strikes and en17 tanglements, leading to a declaration of a right 

18 whale Unusual Mortality Event. 

19 (4) The Department of Commerce has issued 

20 regulations revising the Atlantic Large Whale Take 

21 Reduction Plan under section 229.32 of title 50, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day 

23 before the date of enactment of this Act) that re24 quire lobster and Jonah crab harvesters to make 

25 gear modifications. 


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1 (5) Implementing the federally required gear 

2 modifications, including markings, is estimated to 

3 cost the industry tens of millions of dollars per year. 

4 (6) The fishing industry is a vital driver of re5 gional economies, supporting our coastal commu6 nities and stewarding natural resources. 

7 SEC. 3. GRANT ASSISTANCE FOR LOBSTER AND JONAH 

8 CRAB HARVESTER GEAR MODIFICATION. 

9 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

10 to— 

11 (1) protect the highly endangered North Atlan12 tic right whale population; 

13 (2) facilitate lobster and Jonah crab harvesters’ 

14 transition to modified and new gear types in accord15 ance with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 

16 Plan; 

17 (3) assist lobster and Jonah crab harvesters 

18 with the financial burden of this transition; and 

19 (4) assist compliance with any subsequent 

20 modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Re21 duction Plan in any future impacted fisheries. 

22 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce 

24 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in 

25 coordination with the Atlantic States Marine FishVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:36 Mar 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3765.IS S3765

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1 eries Commission, shall provide grants to States 

2 from allotments under paragraph (2) to enable the 

3 States to assist lobster and Jonah crab harvesters 

4 with the costs of gear modifications, including mark5 ings, in accordance with the Atlantic Large Whale 

6 Take Reduction Plan. 

7 (2) ALLOTMENTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), funds made available for any 

10 fiscal year to carry out this section shall be al11 lotted to each State in proportion to the num12 ber of active federally permitted lobster trap 

13 harvesters in each State. For purposes of this 

14 subparagraph, a federally permitted lobster trap 

15 harvester is considered in a State if the Prin16 cipal Port in the Federal permit application of 

17 the lobster trap harvester is in such State. 

18 (B) MINIMUM.—From the total amount 

19 available for any fiscal year to carry out this 

20 section, each State with not less than 20 active 

21 federally permitted lobster trap harvesters shall 

22 be allotted not less than 4 percent of the total 

23 amount. 

24 (3) APPLICATION.—A State that desires to re25 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an apVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:36 Mar 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3765.IS S3765

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1 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such man2 ner, and accompanied by such information as the 

3 Secretary may require. 

4 (4) ALLOWABLE USES.—A State that receives a 

5 grant under this section shall use the grant funds— 

6 (A) to assist State-permitted and federally 

7 permitted lobster and Jonah crab harvesters 

8 with management measures needed to comply 

9 with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 

10 Plan, including the costs of federally required 

11 gear modification, configuration, and marking 

12 within the Northeast lobster and Jonah crab 

13 fisheries, including requirements to modify gear 

14 marking, change gear configurations to increase 

15 traps fished on trawls, or modify buoy lines to 

16 accommodate new weak rope and weak inser17 tions; 

18 (B) to implement electronic tracking re19 quirements within the American lobster and 

20 Jonah crab fishery; 

21 (C) to conduct research to inform future 

22 management actions, including in preparation 

23 for potential subsequent modifications to the 

24 Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan; 

25 and 


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1 (D) to assist fishery compliance with any 

2 subsequent modifications to the Atlantic Large 

3 Whale Take Reduction Plan, as necessary. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and such sums as may 

7 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024. 

Æ 


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