I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6785 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2022 

Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

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. 

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 ‘‘Right Whale Coexist5 ence Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena 

4 glacialis) are critically endangered, with fewer than 

5 340 remaining at the time of the introduction of this 

6 Act; 

7 (2) historically, the North Atlantic right whale 

8 population was decimated by the whaling industry, 

9 although the whale population received protections 

10 from such industry in the 1930s; 

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

12 North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endan13 gered whales in the world and has experienced a sig14 nificant decline since 2010; 

15 (4) the North Atlantic right whale has been 

16 listed as an endangered species under the Endan17 gered Species Conservation Act of 1969 (Public Law 

18 89–669; 80 Stat. 926) and its successor the Endan19 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

20 since 1970 and is designated as depleted under the 

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

22 1361 et seq.); 

23 (5) because North Atlantic right whales are 

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

25 females give birth to a single calf only once every 5 

26 to 10 years, they are highly vulnerable to the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 Mar 01, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6785.IH H6785

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1 pacts of human activity and habitat degradation, 

2 with female whales and calves particularly vulnerable 

3 to vessel strikes; 

4 (6) North Atlantic right whales frequently cross 

5 paths with high vessel traffic areas and fishing 

6 grounds, leaving the whales particularly vulnerable 

7 to vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements, 

8 the leading causes of injury and death to the species; 

9 (7) even when North Atlantic right whales do 

10 not die as a result of fishing gear entanglement or 

11 vessel strike, those whales can still experience sig12 nificant sub-lethal effects such as chronic stress and 

13 reproductive failure; 

14 (8) this ongoing decline due to human impacts 

15 resulted in a further 30 percent decline in the popu16 lation between 2019 and 2020 resulting in the low17 est population estimate in the past 2 decades; 

18 (9) based on the current rate of mortality of 

19 North Atlantic right whales, and because of the 

20 small number of breeding females in the population 

21 and low birth rates, recent analysis suggests the spe22 cies will lose its ability to recover in merely a few 

23 decades if human-caused mortality is not reduced 

24 immediately; 


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1 (10) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

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

3 fishermen in certain locations have been required to 

4 modify their fishing gear and behavior to minimize 

5 the likelihood of entanglements, including by using 

6 sinking groundlines, having weak links in buoy lines, 

7 using multiple traps per buoy, appropriately mark8 ing fishing gear, and complying with seasonal area9 specific closures in North Atlantic right whale habi10 tats; 

11 (11) vessels in United States waters that are 65 

12 feet or more in length have been required to comply 

13 with a seasonal 10-knot speed limit in certain loca14 tions to reduce the threat of vessel collisions; and 

15 (12) ongoing mortalities, driven in part by 

16 shifts in North Atlantic right whale distribution 

17 caused by climate change, indicate that additional 

18 actions are necessary to reverse this species’ popu19 lation decline. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that— 

22 (1) the Governments of the United States and 

23 Canada must work together to reduce lethal and 

24 sub-lethal effects of human activities on North At25 lantic right whales; and 


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1 (2) effectively addressing the threats to the 

2 long-term viability of the North Atlantic right 

3 whales will require a joint commitment and effort 

4 from government entities, local communities, marine 

5 scientists and conservationists, fishermen, owners 

6 and operators of commercial and recreational vessels 

7 and others in the boating and shipping industries, 

8 and other stakeholders. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

11 (1) To rebuild healthy populations of the North 

12 Atlantic right whale. 

13 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection 

14 of North Atlantic right whales by supporting North 

15 Atlantic right whale conservation programs that 

16 minimize conflicts between North Atlantic right 

17 whales and human activities. 

18 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

19 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

20 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

21 ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

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

24 funds and in consultation with other Federal offi25 cials, the Secretary of Commerce (in this title reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 Mar 01, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6785.IH H6785

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1 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competi2 tive financial assistance, including multiyear grants, 

3 for projects designed to reduce the lethal and sub4 lethal effects of human activities on North Atlantic 

5 right whales for which project proposals are ap6 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec7 tion. 

8 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assist9 ance provided under this section shall be carried out 

10 in a manner consistent with authorities available to 

11 the Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 

12 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine 

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

14 seq.). 

15 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

17 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

18 by— 

19 (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re20 search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 

21 with expertise required for the conservation of 

22 North Atlantic right whales; and 

23 (B) any other individual or entity, as de24 termined appropriate by the Secretary, with the 


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1 expertise required for the conservation of North 

2 Atlantic right whales, including— 

3 (i) large whale disentanglement teams 

4 approved by the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration and members in 

6 good standing of the National Marine 

7 Mammal Health and Stranding Response 

8 Program; 

9 (ii) an owner or operator of a vessel, 

10 as defined under section 3 of title 1, 

11 United States Code; and 

12 (iii) participants within sectors of the 

13 maritime industry, such as boating, ship14 ping, fishing, fishing gear and rope manu15 facturing, and other maritime activities. 

16 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 

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

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

19 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

20 that receives such funding. 

21 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA22 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu24 ally— 


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1 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

2 under this section; 

3 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as 

4 appropriate, copies of each proposal submitted 

5 in response to the solicitation; and 

6 (C) review each such proposal on a 

7 timeline that recognizes the urgency of the de8 clining North Atlantic right whale population to 

9 determine whether the proposal meets the cri10 teria specified in subsection (d). 

11 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS12 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

13 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 

14 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

15 with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 

16 (A) consult, with respect to the proposal, 

17 with the government of each State and foreign 

18 country in which the project is to be conducted; 

19 (B) take into consideration any comments 

20 resulting from the consultation and input from 

21 fishing and other stakeholders on the potential 

22 impacts as a result of the proposal; and 

23 (C) approve or disapprove the proposal in 

24 accordance with subsections (d) and (e) and 

25 provide written notification of the approval or 


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1 disapproval to the individual or entity that sub2 mitted the proposal, other Federal officials, and 

3 each State and foreign country described in 

4 subparagraph (A). 

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

6 approve a project proposal under this section that is likely 

7 to aid in the recovery and sustainability of a viable popu8 lation of North Atlantic right whales in the wild. Such 

9 projects shall— 

10 (1) address the unintentional conflicts between 

11 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de12 velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 

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

14 effects on North Atlantic right whales from fishing 

15 gear entanglements and vessel collisions; and 

16 (2)(A) promote cooperative projects on such 

17 topics with foreign governments; or 

18 (B) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

19 with affected local communities, small businesses 

20 such as fishermen, others in the maritime private 

21 sector, or nongovernmental organizations. 

22 (e) PRIORITY.—In determining whether to fund 

23 project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall 

24 prioritize projects— 


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1 (1) with a substantial likelihood of reducing le2 thal and sub-lethal effects on North Atlantic right 

3 whales from fishing gear entanglements or vessel 

4 collisions; 

5 (2) that include cooperation with private sector 

6 stakeholders; and 

7 (3) that demonstrate, or have the potential to 

8 provide, economic benefits to small businesses based 

9 in the United States. 

10 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an 

13 activity conducted with financial assistance under 

14 this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

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

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

17 conducted with financial assistance under this sec18 tion the amount of funds, and the fair market value 

19 of property and services, provided by non-Federal 

20 sources and used for the activity. 

21 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary may waive the application of paragraph (1) if 

23 the Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to 

24 support a conservation project that the Secretary 

25 has identified as of high priority. 


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1 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

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

3 that receives assistance under this section for a 

4 project shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports 

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

6 include all information that the Secretary, after con7 sultation with other government officials, determines 

8 is necessary to evaluate the progress and success of 

9 the project for the purposes of ensuring positive re10 sults, assessing problems, and fostering improve11 ments. 

12 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

13 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re14 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 

15 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

16 the public in a timely manner. 

17 SEC. 102. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 

20 shall submit to Congress a report on the results and effec21 tiveness of projects receiving assistance provided under 

22 this title, including recommendations concerning how this 

23 title might be improved and whether funding for this title 

24 should be continued in the future. 


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1 SEC. 103. FUNDING. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

3 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

4 be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

5 title $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

6 through 2032. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

8 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

9 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may ex10 pend not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, 

11 whichever is greater, to pay the administrative ex12 penses necessary to carry out this Act. 

13 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The 

14 amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph 

15 (1) shall supplement and not supplant other 

16 amounts available to the Secretary. 

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

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

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

20 under section 101. 

21 TITLE II—CONTINUOUS 

22 PLANKTON RECORDER 

23 SEC. 201. SURVEY. 

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

25 date of enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 


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1 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a 

2 Continuous Plankton Recorder survey. 

3 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—For the purpose of con4 ducting the survey required under subsection (a), the 

5 Northeast Fisheries Science Center shall— 

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

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

8 institutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial ves9 sels, and other Federal agencies; 

10 (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure rel11 evant survey samples and results are analyzed, 

12 stored, archived, and made publicly available; 

13 (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples 

14 and data that inform the conservation of North At15 lantic right whales; and 

16 (4) to the extent practicable, coordinate with 

17 the Government of Canada to develop a transbound18 ary understanding of plankton abundance and dis19 tribution. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

21 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 

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

23 years 2022 through 2032. 

Æ 


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