I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 656
To provide more effective protection for marine mammals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 27, 1993
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of Florida, Mr. MORAN, Mr. HUGHES,
Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. FROST, Mr. GOSS, Mr. SHAW, Mr. BROWN of Califor-
nia, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. BEILENSON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
A BILL
To provide more effective protection for marine mammals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Mammal Cap-
ture, Export, and Public Display Protection Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF MARINE MAMMALS UNDER ANI-
MAL WELFARE ACT.
(a) PENALTIES; RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—
The Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 30. PROVISIONS RELATING TO MARINE MAMMALS.
‘‘(a) PENALTIES.—In lieu of any civil or criminal
penalty applicable under this Act for a violation of this
Act committed by a person with respect to a marine mam-
mal, the person shall be liable for a civil or criminal pen-
alty, respectively, under section 105 of the Marine Mam-
mal Protection Act of 1972.
‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—This Act shall
not be considered to supersede, preempt, or otherwise af-
fect any provision of State law that provides protection
to marine mammals that is greater than the protection
provided by this Act.
‘‘(c) MARINE MAMMAL DEFINED.—In this section,
the term ‘marine mammal’ has the meaning that term has
under section 3 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of
1972.’’.
(b) REVIEW AND REVISION OF STANDARDS.—Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall—
(1) review the standards established under the
Animal Welfare Act for the care and habitat of ma-
rine mammals in captivity and determine whether
those standards require provision of adequate living
conditions for those marine mammals, considering—
(A) the sizes of marine mammals to which
the standards apply;
(B) current knowledge of marine mammal
physiology and behavior, including with respect
to marine mammal needs for exercise, auditory
capabilities, and pre- and post-natal require-
ments;
(C) the psychological and physical well-
being of marine mammals;
(D) marine mammal needs related to social
grouping, including minimum group size, gen-
der mix, and age composition;
(E) interspecies compatibility; and
(F) 
environmental 
modifications 
that
might allow for more normal behavior and so-
cial interaction; and
(2) issue rules which make such modifications
to those standards as are appropriate to ensure the
humane handling, care, treatment, and transpor-
tation of marine mammals in captivity.
SEC. 3. MARINE MAMMAL TRACKING SYSTEM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 103 of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) TRACKING SYSTEM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall jointly issue regulations
which establish a system for tracking marine mam-
mals that are taken in waters under the jurisdiction
of the United States or imported into the United
States.
‘‘(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—A 
tracking 
system
under this subsection shall provide for—
‘‘(A) monitoring the location of marine
mammals held in captivity in the United States;
‘‘(B) the assignment of a registration num-
ber to each marine mammal that is covered by
the system; and
‘‘(C) the verification of the location of ma-
rine mammals covered by the system as part of
annual inspections conducted by the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service of the De-
partment of Agriculture.
‘‘(3) SUMMARIES OF INFORMATION.—The Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(A) publish regularly in the Federal Reg-
ister a summary of information regarding the
status of marine mammals that is collected
through the tracking system under this sub-
section; and
‘‘(B) make copies of those summaries
available to the public upon request.’’.
(b) MORATORIUM ON TAKINGS IN WATERS OF THE
UNITED STATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law or any permit issued under the Ma-
rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.), it shall be unlawful to take any ma-
rine mammal in waters under the jurisdiction of the
United States during the period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the
effective date of regulations issued under the amend-
ment made by subsection (a).
(2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided under
section 105 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1375) shall apply to a violation
of this section.
(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of
the terms ‘‘marine mammal’’, ‘‘take’’, and ‘‘waters
under the jurisdiction of the United States’’ has the
meaning that term has under section 3 of the Ma-
rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1362).
SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON EXPORTATION OF MARINE MAM-
MALS.
(a) PERMIT REQUIRED
FOR EXPORTATION.—The
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is amended—
(1) in section 102(a) (16 U.S.C. 1372(a))—
(A) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’;
(B) in paragraph (5) by striking the period
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) for any person to export from the United
States a marine mammal other than in accordance
with a permit under section 104.’’;
(2) in section 103(a) (16 U.S.C. 1373(a)) by
striking ‘‘taking and importing’’ and inserting ‘‘tak-
ing, importing, and exporting’’; and
(3) in section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374)—
(A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘taking or
importation’’ and inserting ‘‘taking, importa-
tion, or exportation’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(1)—
(i) in subparagraph (A) by striking
‘‘taken or imported’’ and inserting ‘‘taken,
imported, or exported’’; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B) by inserting
‘‘or exported’’ after ‘‘imported’’;
(C) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘taking or
importation’’ each place that term appears and
inserting ‘‘taking, importation, or exportation’’;
and