‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program will be 
to reduce the risk to large whales of vessel collisions and 
to minimize other impacts. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—In designing and deploying the 
Program, the Administrator shall— 
‘‘(1) prioritize species of large whales for which 
vessel collision impacts are of particular concern; 
‘‘(2) prioritize areas where such vessel impacts 
are of particular concern; 
‘‘(3) develop technologies capable of detecting and 
alerting individuals and enforcement agencies of the 
probable location of large whales on a near real-time 
basis, to include real time data whenever possible; 
‘‘(4) inform sector-specific mitigation protocols 
to effectively reduce takes of large whales; and 
‘‘(5) integrate technology improvements as such 
improvements become available. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator may make 
grants or enter into and contracts, leases, or cooperative 
agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 
of this section on such terms as the Administrator considers 
appropriate, consistent with Federal acquisition regula-
tions. 
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‘‘§ 50702. Pilot project 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 
Maritime Administration shall carry out a pilot moni-
toring and mitigation project for North Atlantic right 
whales (in this section referred to as the ‘Pilot Program’) 
for purposes of informing a cost-effective, efficient, and re-
sults-oriented near real-time monitoring and mitigation 
program for large whales under 50701. 
‘‘(b) PILOT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying 
out the pilot program, the Administrator, in coordination 
with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, using best avail-
able scientific information, shall identify and ensure cov-
erage of— 
‘‘(1) core foraging habitats of North Atlantic 
right whales, including— 
‘‘(A) the South of the Islands core foraging 
habitat; 
‘‘(B) the Cape Cod Bay Area core foraging 
habitat; 
‘‘(C) the Great South Channel core foraging 
habitat; and 
‘‘(D) the Gulf of Maine; and 
‘‘(2) 
important 
feeding, 
breeding, 
calving, 
rearing, or migratory habitats of North Atlantic right 
whales that co-occur with areas of high risk of mor-
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tality, serious injury, or other impacts to such whales, 
including from vessels or vessel strikes. 
‘‘(c) PILOT PROJECT COMPONENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of the Coast Guard Authoriza-
tion Act of 2022, the Administrator, in consultation 
with the Commandant, Tribal governments, and with 
input from affected stakeholders, shall design and de-
ploy a near real-time monitoring system for North 
Atlantic right whales that— 
‘‘(A) comprises the best available detection 
and survey technologies to detect North Atlantic 
right whales within core foraging habitats; 
‘‘(B) uses dynamic habitat suitability mod-
els to inform the likelihood of North Atlantic 
right whale occurrence in core foraging habitat 
at any given time; 
‘‘(C) coordinates with the Integrated Ocean 
Observing System and Coast Guard vessel traffic 
service centers, and may coordinate with Re-
gional Ocean Partnerships to leverage moni-
toring assets; 
‘‘(D) integrates historical data; 
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‘‘(E) integrates new near real-time moni-
toring methods and technologies as they become 
available; 
‘‘(F) accurately verifies and rapidly com-
municates detection data; 
‘‘(G) creates standards for allowing ocean 
users to contribute data to the monitoring system 
using comparable near real-time monitoring 
methods and technologies; and 
‘‘(H) communicates the risks of injury to 
large whales to ocean users in a way that is 
most likely to result in informed decision making 
regarding the mitigation of those risks. 
‘‘(2) NATIONAL SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS.—All 
monitoring methods, technologies, and protocols under 
this section shall be consistent with national security 
considerations and interests. 
‘‘(3) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Administrator shall 
provide access to data generated by the monitoring 
system deployed under paragraph (1) for purposes of 
scientific research and evaluation, and public aware-
ness and education, including through the NOAA 
Right 
Whale 
Sighting 
Advisory 
System 
and 
WhaleMap or other successive public web portals, sub-
ject to review for national security considerations. 
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