§1380 Marine Mammal Research Grants

Summary

The Secretary can give grants or other money to federal or state agencies, public or private groups, or individuals to pay for research that helps protect and conserve marine mammals. The Secretary must run and fund a program to find new ways to locate and catch yellowfin tuna without accidentally harming marine mammals. The results of this research must be included in the annual report called for under section 1373(f). Any grants or help must include conditions the Secretary thinks are needed to protect U.S. interests and must be reviewed by the Marine Mammal Commission first. No later than 1 year after April 30, 1994, the Secretary of Commerce must hold a regional workshop for the Gulf of Maine to study human-caused problems affecting that ecosystem. The workshop must be done with the Marine Mammal Commission, coastal states, experts, environmental and fishing groups, and others, and must recommend research and management actions that protect marine mammals, focus on ecosystem health and stability, keep options for future managers, and allow nonwasteful, environmentally sound development. By December 31, 1995, the Secretary of Commerce must report the workshop results and recommended actions to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Within 180 days after April 30, 1994, the Secretary of Commerce must also start a Bering Sea research program, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Marine Mammal Commission, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Native organizations, to monitor ecosystem health, study causes of wildlife declines, include subsistence-use research, use traditional local knowledge where appropriate, and, to the maximum extent practicable, carry out the work in Alaska. The Commerce and Interior Secretaries and the Commission must include the program’s status and findings in their annual reports to Congress required by sections 1373(f) and 1404.