II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3116 

To amend the Whale Conservation and Protection Study Act to promote 

international whale conservation, protection, and research, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2010 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Whale Conservation and Protection Study 

Act to promote international whale conservation, protection, and research, 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. WHALE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION. 

4 The Whale Conservation and Protection Study Act 

5 (16 U.S.C. 917 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘International Whale 

8 Conservation and Protection Act of 2010’. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS, SENSE OF CONGRESS, AND PURPOSES. 

2 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Whales are of great aesthetic and scientific 

4 interest to mankind and are a vital part of the ma5 rine ecosystem. 

6 ‘‘(2) For hundreds of years whales were killed 

7 for commercial purposes, with some whale stocks 

8 hunted to near extinction. 

9 ‘‘(3) As long-lived and slow-breeding mammals, 

10 whales are particularly vulnerable to the long-lasting 

11 effects from over-exploitation and many whale stocks 

12 have not recovered. 

13 ‘‘(4) Today whales face an uncertain future due 

14 to a variety of threats, including ozone depletion, 

15 chemical and noise pollution, marine debris, vessel 

16 strikes, entanglements with fishing gear, prey deple17 tion, increasing offshore industrial development, and 

18 escalating threats from climate change, including 

19 ocean acidification. 

20 ‘‘(5) Because whales migrate throughout the 

21 world’s oceans, international cooperation is required 

22 to successfully conserve and protect them. 

23 ‘‘(6) The United States has been a world leader 

24 in whale conservation and protection, particularly 

25 through the International Whaling Commission, and 

26 must reassert global leadership in improving and 


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1 strengthening whale conservation to ensure that 

2 commercial, scientific, or any other type of lethal 

3 whaling for nonindigenous subsistence purposes does 

4 not occur. 

5 ‘‘(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—As a world leader in 

6 whale protection, the United States should increase and 

7 strengthen whale conservation, research, and protection 

8 efforts within its exclusive economic zone and high seas 

9 outside the exclusive economic zone, to ensure that whale 

10 stocks that migrate through or reside in such waters re11 ceive full protection. 

12 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(1) To reassert United States global leader15 ship in whale conservation and protection and to 

16 renew the United States commitment to whale con17 servation. 

18 ‘‘(2) To promote international efforts to con19 serve and protect the world’s whales throughout 

20 their range. 

21 ‘‘(3) To promote a whale protection agreement 

22 between the United States and Canada aimed at co23 ordinating and promoting conservation efforts for 

24 whales that migrate through waters of both coun25 tries. 


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1 ‘‘(4) To strengthen the whale conservation and 

2 protection efforts of relevant international organiza3 tions, including the Convention on the Conservation 

4 of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, done at Bonn 

5 on June 23, 1973, the ICRW, CITES, and the IMO. 

6 ‘‘(5) To ensure that the IWC commercial whal7 ing ban is not lifted or weakened and that any exist8 ing commercial whaling, along with lethal scientific 

9 or illegal whaling, is ended. 

10 ‘‘(6) To reduce, and where possible eliminate, 

11 sources of human-caused death, injury, harassment, 

12 and disturbance of the world’s whales. 

13 ‘‘(7) To initiate, expand, and fund research to 

14 improve understanding of the world’s whales, whale 

15 health and reproduction, whale habitats, and the im16 pacts of human activities, and other threats to 

17 whales. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘In this Act: 

20 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENT.—Except as otherwise spe21 cifically provided, the term ‘Agreement’ means the 

22 North Atlantic Whale Conservation Agreement re23 ferred to in section 4(e). 

24 ‘‘(2) CITES.—The term ‘CITES’ means the 

25 Convention on International Trade in Endangered 


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1 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, with appendices, 

2 done at Washington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087). 

3 ‘‘(3) ICRW.—The term ‘ICRW’ means the 

4 International Convention for the Regulation of 

5 Whaling, done at Washington December 2, 1946 (62 

6 Stat. 1716; TIAS 1849). 

7 ‘‘(4) IMO.—The term ‘IMO’ means the Inter8 national Maritime Organization established pursuant 

9 to a Convention adopted under the auspices of the 

10 United Nations in Geneva on March 17, 1948. 

11 ‘‘(5) IMPA.—The term ‘IMPA’ means Inter12 national Marine Protected Areas. 

13 ‘‘(6) IWC.—The term ‘IWC’ means the Inter14 national Whaling Commission established pursuant 

15 to Article III of the ICRW. 

16 ‘‘(7) MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION.—The term 

17 ‘Marine Mammal Commission’ means the Marine 

18 Mammal Commission established by section 201 of 

19 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 

20 U.S.C. 1401). 

21 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi22 cally provided, the term ‘Secretary’ means the Sec23 retary of Commerce. 

24 ‘‘(9) WHALES.—The term ‘whales’— 

25 ‘‘(A) includes all whale species; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) does not include any species of dol2 phin or porpoise. 

3 ‘‘(10) WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION.—The 

4 term ‘World Trade Organization’ means the organi5 zation established pursuant to the Marrakesh Agree6 ment Establishing the World Trade Organization 

7 (WTO), done at Marrakesh on April 15, 1994. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL WHALE CONSERVATION AND PRO9 TECTION. 

10 ‘‘(a) COMMERCIAL WHALING RESTRICTIONS AND

11 THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION.—The Sec12 retary, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) firmly restate the United States strong op14 position to commercial whaling in any form and any 

15 reinterpretation of the ICRW that would weaken the 

16 moratorium on commercial whaling, create any new 

17 categories of whaling, condone lethal scientific whal18 ing, or otherwise weaken whale conservation and 

19 protection; 

20 ‘‘(2) continue to recognize and support subsist21 ence whaling carried out by indigenous peoples that 

22 have a continuing traditional dependence on whaling, 

23 as well as support the further development of the 

24 Aboriginal Whaling Management Scheme; 


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1 ‘‘(3) improve the transparency of the IWC and 

2 the committees and working groups of the IWC, in3 cluding expanding participation by civil society; and 

4 ‘‘(4) encourage other members of the IWC to— 

5 ‘‘(A) support amendments to the ICRW 

6 that would eliminate loopholes that permit har7 vesting of whales in Articles V and VIII of the 

8 ICRW; 

9 ‘‘(B) recognize and adhere to the advice of 

10 the IWC Scientific Committee regarding the en11 vironmental impacts on whale populations and 

12 incorporate that advice into the deliberations of 

13 the IWC; 

14 ‘‘(C) recognize and adhere to the advice of 

15 the IWC Scientific Committee regarding the 

16 evaluation of vessel strikes and the impacts, 

17 benefits, and management of whale watch ves18 sels; 

19 ‘‘(D) reject proposals that allow for the 

20 continued killing of whales; and 

21 ‘‘(E) modernize the IWC, consistent with 

22 other international conservation treaties, by ex23 panding participation by civil society, closing 

24 loopholes in the ICRW currently being exploited 

25 by whaling nations, adding meaningful enforceVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:32 Mar 16, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3116.IS S3116

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1 ment mechanisms to the ICRW, and pursue any 

2 other action consistent with the goals of this 

3 subsection. 

4 ‘‘(b) VESSEL NOISE RESTRICTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZA6 TION.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the Coast 

7 Guard, shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) continue to pursue, through the 

9 IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Com10 mittee, the establishment of guidelines for mini11 mizing the introduction of incidental noise from 

12 commercial shipping operations into marine en13 vironments for purposes of reducing the poten14 tial adverse affects on whales and other marine 

15 life; and 

16 ‘‘(B) identify and promote the use of areas 

17 to be avoided by commercial vessels and other 

18 navigational measures, such as speed reduction 

19 areas in important whale habitats, in order to 

20 minimize the threat of serious injury to whales 

21 resulting from collisions with commercial ves22 sels. 

23 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

25 submit to Congress a report describing the 


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1 progress made by the IMO towards the adop2 tion and implementation of guidelines for mini3 mizing vessel noise. 

4 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report re5 quired by subparagraph (A) shall include the 

6 recommendations of the Secretary, if any, for 

7 changes to the laws or regulations of the United 

8 States to implement or encourage compliance 

9 with the guidelines referred to subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 ‘‘(c) CITES.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the 

12 Secretary of the Interior, shall take appropriate actions 

13 to encourage each country that holds a reservation under 

14 CITES to the great whales listed on Appendix I of CITES 

15 to withdraw such reservation and terminate all commercial 

16 trade in whale meat and whale products, as such trade 

17 undermines the effectiveness of international whale con18 servation efforts. 

19 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND COMPLI20 ANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REPORT ON TAKING OF WHALES BY A

22 FOREIGN COUNTRY.—Not later than March 1, 2011, 

23 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall publish 

24 in the Federal Register a report determining, under 

25 the terms of section 8 of the Fishermen’s Protective 


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1 Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), whether nationals of 

2 any foreign country are engaging in trade or taking 

3 which diminishes the effectiveness of the ICRW, 

4 CITES, or any regulation, resolution, or decision un5 dertaken by the IWC or Conference of the Parties 

6 to CITES, with respect to whales. 

7 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION TO THE PRESIDENT.—Not 

8 later than 15 days after publishing the report re9 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) certify to the President any instance 

11 of trade or taking of whales by a foreign coun12 try, pursuant to section 8 of the Fishermen’s 

13 Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978); and 

14 ‘‘(B) notify each such foreign country of 

15 the activities that resulted in such certification. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW.—All 

17 rights, duties, and provisions of paragraphs (1) and 

18 (2) of section 8(a) of the Fishermen’s Protective Act 

19 of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)) shall apply to certifi20 cations made under paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION OF LIST OF OFFENDING

22 FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—If a foreign country has been 

23 the subject of certification made under paragraph 

24 (2) in 3 or more consecutive years, the Secretary 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of the most recent certification, publish a notice 

3 in the Federal Register describing the actions 

4 the Secretary has taken to eliminate the facts 

5 that required a certification under paragraph 

6 (2); and 

7 ‘‘(B) if those facts have not changed, rec8 ommend actions that the President may take 

9 with respect to such foreign country, consistent 

10 with paragraph (5). 

11 ‘‘(5) IMPORTATION RESTRICTIONS.—Consistent 

12 with section 8(a)(4) of the Fishermen’s Protective 

13 Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)(4)), with respect to 

14 any country certified under paragraph (2), the 

15 President may direct the Secretary of the Treas16 ury— 

17 ‘‘(A) to prohibit the importation into the 

18 United States of any products from the offend19 ing country consistent with such section 

20 8(a)(4); or 

21 ‘‘(B) to take any other action sanctioned— 

22 ‘‘(i) by the World Trade Organization; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(ii) by a multilateral trade agree25 ment (as defined by section 2 of the UruVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:32 Mar 16, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3116.IS S3116

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1 guay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

2 3501)). 

3 ‘‘(e) CONSERVATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE

4 UNITED STATES AND CANADA.— 

5 ‘‘(1) NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

8 shall commence negotiations with the Government of 

9 Canada on a North Atlantic Whale Conservation 

10 Agreement with the goal of concluding an Agree11 ment within 18 months. The purposes of such an 

12 agreement shall be— 

13 ‘‘(A) to promote scientific research and un14 derstanding of North Atlantic whales, particu15 larly the endangered North Atlantic right 

16 whale; 

17 ‘‘(B) to identify, coordinate, and imple18 ment independent and complimentary measures 

19 necessary to reduce serious injuries and mor20 talities to whales from vessel strikes and entan21 glements in fishing gear; 

22 ‘‘(C) to assist in the enforcement of the 

23 laws and regulations of the United States and 

24 of Canada concerning North Atlantic right 

25 whale conservation; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) to identify actions that could be 

2 taken to further protect the North Atlantic 

3 right whale. 

4 ‘‘(2) GOVERNMENT COOPERATION REQUIRED.— 

5 The Agreement shall require the Government of the 

6 United States and the Government of Canada to co7 operate in— 

8 ‘‘(A) the identification and coordination of 

9 essential scientific research needed to achieve 

10 the goals of the Agreement; 

11 ‘‘(B) identifying actions needed to reduce 

12 serious injuries and mortalities to whales, espe13 cially North Atlantic right whales, from vessel 

14 strikes; and 

15 ‘‘(C) developing methods to reduce injuries 

16 and mortalities to whales, especially North At17 lantic right whales, from entanglement in fish18 ing gear, including gear marking schemes and 

19 coordinated disentanglement activities. 

20 ‘‘(3) AGREEMENT SPECIFICATIONS.—The 

21 Agreement— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall require each party to make rec23 ommendations to their respective governments 

24 on the results of the consultations and actions 


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1 or activities that need to be taken to protect 

2 whales, especially North Atlantic right whales; 

3 ‘‘(B) shall include a commitment by each 

4 party to implement the recommendations result5 ing from the consultations, to the extent al6 lowed by and consistent with national laws and 

7 the national recovery plans for North Atlantic 

8 right whales; and 

9 ‘‘(C) may be expanded to include other 

10 shared whale stocks in the Pacific Ocean. 

11 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Prior to, and 

12 during negotiations of the Agreement, the Secretary 

13 shall consult with— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Atlantic Large Whale Take Re15 duction Team established by the National Ma16 rine Fisheries Service; 

17 ‘‘(B) the Marine Mammal Commission; 

18 ‘‘(C) the New England Fishery Manage19 ment Council established under section 

20 302(a)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

21 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 1852 (a)(1)(A)); 

23 ‘‘(D) the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

24 Commission; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) other whale scientists, as the Sec2 retary determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(5) PROGRESS REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

4 submit to Congress a report describing the results of 

5 the negotiations required by paragraph (1), the 

6 progress made by the Government of the United 

7 States and the Government of Canada to implement 

8 the results or recommendations and recommenda9 tions for changes in law needed to implement the re10 sults, and recommendations of the Agreement. 

11 ‘‘(f) OCEAN NOISE.—The Secretary, together with 

12 the Secretary of State, shall support and encourage efforts 

13 of international and intergovernmental organizations to 

14 study and reduce the adverse effects of anthropogenic 

15 noise on whales and other marine life, recognizing the im16 portance of military readiness activities which shall, so far 

17 as is reasonable and practicable, be conducted in a manner 

18 consistent with those efforts. 

19 ‘‘(g) INTERNATIONAL MARINE PROTECTED AREA

20 NETWORKS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IMPA DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

22 shall develop and support international mechanisms, 

23 protocols, and action plans to identify and address 

24 sources of threats to the world’s whales and other 

25 cetaceans and to reduce, with a goal to eliminate, 


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1 such threats through the establishment of new Inter2 national Marine Protected Areas and IMPA net3 works. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary’s efforts 

5 in paragraph (1) shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) a review of existing national and 

7 international marine protected areas and net8 works and an evaluation of how to improve 

9 their effectiveness, specifically with reference to 

10 protection of whales and the management of 

11 human uses within these areas; and 

12 ‘‘(B) an identification and mapping of ad13 ditional important whale habitats to maximize 

14 the protection of migratory destinations and 

15 corridors through IMPAs. 

16 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 

17 Congress a biannual report describing actions taken 

18 to carry out this subsection. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 5. WHALE RESEARCH. 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH INITIATIVES.— 

21 The Secretary shall establish comprehensive research ini22 tiatives to improve knowledge about the world’s whales in 

23 order to enhance whale conservation efforts. Such initia24 tives shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the monitoring of whale mortality, habitat 

2 use, reproduction, and feeding patterns; 

3 ‘‘(2) the collection of information on whale 

4 health and causes of deaths obtainable through 

5 whale necropsies, particularly of endangered whale 

6 species such as the North Atlantic right whale; 

7 ‘‘(3) an assessment of the direct and indirect 

8 effects of anthropogenic noise on whale distribution, 

9 behavior, and reproduction; 

10 ‘‘(4) information on the impacts on reproduc11 tive and immune systems from chemical pollutants, 

12 including polybrominated diphenylethers, pthalates, 

13 bisphenol A, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; 

14 ‘‘(5) information on ecosystem changes due to 

15 climate warming; 

16 ‘‘(6) research and development of more risk 

17 averse fishing gear, fishing methods, and develop18 ment of effective fishing gear marking systems; and 

19 ‘‘(7) the use of passive acoustic sonar and other 

20 technologies, including vessel design, to reduce mor21 tality of whales from vessel strikes. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In designing the 

23 research initiatives required by subsection (a), the Sec24 retary shall consult with the Marine Mammal Commission 

25 and whale experts, including those from the Pacific insular 


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1 area, who are knowledgeable about regional issues relating 

2 to whale conservation and management. 

3 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con4 gress a biannual report on the progress and findings of 

5 the research initiatives established under subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘SEC. 6. AUTHORITY FOR GRANTS. 

7 ‘‘The Secretary is authorized to conduct a competitive 

8 research grant program to carry out the provisions and 

9 purposes of this Act. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary such sum as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 

13 years 2010 through 2015 to carry out the provisions of 

14 this Act, of which such sums as the Secretary determines 

15 are appropriate shall be made available annually for the 

16 competitive research grant program authorized by section 

17 6.’’. 

Æ 


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