MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1972 [Public Law 92–522, Approved Oct. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 1027] [Amended through Public Law 106-555, Dec. 21, 2000] AN ACT To protect marine mammals; to establish a Marine Mammal Commission; for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act, with the following table of contents, may be cited as the "Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972". TABLE OF CONTENTS Sec. 2. Findings and declaration of policy. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Effective date. TITLE I-CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF MARINE MAMMALS Sec. 101. Moratorium and exceptions. Sec. 102. Prohibitions. Sec. 103. Regulations on taking of marine mammals. Sec. 104. Permits. Sec. 105. Penalties. Sec. 106. Vessel fine, cargo forfeiture, and rewards. Sec. 108. International program. Sec. 109. Federal cooperation with States. Sec. 110. Marine mammal research grants. Sec. 111. Commercial fisheries gear development. Sec. 112. Regulations and administration. Sec. 113. Application to other treaties and conventions. Sec. 114. Interim exemption for commercial fisheries. Sec. 115. Status review; conservation plans. Sec. 116. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 117. Stock assessments. Sec. 118. Taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations. Sec. 119. Marine mammal cooperative agreements in Alaska. Sec. 120. Pacific Coast Task Force; Gulf of Maine. TITLE II-MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION Sec. 201. Establishment of Commission. Sec. 202. Duties of Commission. Sec. 203. Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals. Sec. 204. Commission reports. Sec. 205. Coordination with other Federal agencies. Sec. 206. Administration of Commission. Sec. 207. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE III-INTERNATIONAL DOLPHIN CONSERVATION PROGRAM Sec. 301. Findings and policy. Sec. 302. International Dolphin Conservation Program. Sec. 303. Regulatory authority of the Secretary. Sec. 304. Research. Sec. 305. Reports by the Secretary. 75-297 D-01--6 Sec. 306. Permits. Sec. 307. Prohibitions. TITLE IV-MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH AND STRANDING RESPONSE Sec. 401. Establishment of program. Sec. 402. Determination; data collection and dissemination. Sec. 403. Stranding response agreements. Sec. 404. Unusual mortality event response. Sec. 405. Unusual mortality event activity funding. Sec. 406. Liability. Sec. 407. National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank and tissue analysis. Sec. 408. John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program. Sec. 410. Definitions. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY SEC. 2. [16 U.S.C. 1361] The Congress finds that (1) certain species and population stocks of marine mammals are, or may be, in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of man's activities; (2) such species and population stocks should not be permitted to diminish beyond the point at which they cease to be a significant functioning element in the ecosystem of which they are a part, and, consistent with this major objective, they should not be permitted to diminish below their optimum sustainable population. Further measures should be immediately taken to replenish any species or population stock which has already diminished below that population. In particular, efforts should be made to protect essential habitats, including the rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance for each species of marine mammal from the adverse effect of man's actions; (3) there is inadequate knowledge of the ecology and population dynamics of such marine mammals and of the factors which bear upon their ability to reproduce themselves successfully; (4) negotiations should be undertaken immediately to encourage the development of international arrangements for research on, and conservation of, all marine mammals; (5) marine mammals and marine mammal products either (A) move in interstate commerce, or (B) affect the balance of marine ecosystems in a manner which is important to other animals and animal products which move in interstate commerce, and that the protection and conservation of marine mammals and their habitats is therefore necessary to insure the continuing availability of those products which move in interstate commerce; and (6) marine mammals have proven themselves to be resources of great international significance, esthetic and recreational as well as economic, and it is the sense of the Congress that they should be protected and encouraged to develop to the greatest extent feasible commensurate with sound policies of resource management and that the primary objective of their management should be to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem. Whenever consistent with this primary objective, it should be the goal to obtain an optimum sustainable population keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the habitat. DEFINITIONS SEC. 3. [16 U.S.C. 1362] For the purposes of this Act (1) The term "depletion" or "depleted" means any case in which (A) the Secretary, after consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission and the Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals established under title II of this Act, determines that a species or population stock is below its optimum sustainable population; (B) a State, to which authority for the conservation and management of a species or population stock is transferred under section 109, determines that such species or stock is below its optimum sustainable population; or (C) a species or population stock is listed as an endangered species or a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. (2) The terms "conservation" and "management" mean the collection and application of biological information for the purposes of increasing and maintaining the number of animals within species and populations of marine mammals at their optimum sustainable population. Such terms include the entire scope of activities that constitute modern scientific resource program, including, but not limited to, research, census, law enforcement, and habitat acquisition and improvement. Also included within these terms, when and where appropriate, is the periodic or total protection of species or populations as well as regulated taking. (3) The term "district court of the United States" includes the District Court of Guam, District Court of the Virgin Islands, District Court of Puerto Rico, District Court of the Canal Zone, and, in the case of American Samoa and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the District Court of the United States for the District of Hawaii. (4) The term "humane" in the context of the taking of a marine mammal means that method of taking which involves the least possible degree of pain and suffering practicable to the mammal involved. (5) The term "intermediary nation" means a nation that exports yellowfin tuna or yellowfin tuna products to the United States and that imports yellowfin tuna or yellowfin tuna products that are subject to a direct ban on importation into the United States pursuant to section 101(a)(2)(B). (6) The term "marine mammal" means any mammal which (A) is morphologically adapted to the marine environment (including sea otters and members of the orders Sirenia, Pinnipedia and Cetacea), or (B) primarily inhabits the marine environment (such as the polar bear); and, for the purposes of this Act, includes any part of any such marine mammal, including its raw, dressed, or dyed fur or skin. |