MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



contributed more than $2 million per year to manatee 

 recovery work. This is in addition to federally 

 appropriated money. In comparing the manatee and 

 right whale recovery programs, it became apparent 

 that chronic underfunding was severely hampering 

 right whale recovery work and that new sources of 

 support were needed. 



On 12 December 1996 the Commission recom- 

 mended to the National Marine Fisheries Service that 

 it try to establish a conservation fund for northern 

 right whales to supplement normal appropriations. In 

 particular, the letter suggested soliciting contributions 

 from interested members of the public and industries, 

 such as shipping companies or whale-watching opera- 

 tors, whose activities either affected or benefitted 

 from right whales. The Service's 16 October 1997 

 response expressed interest in the idea and a willing- 

 ness to work with the Commission in exploring such 

 an approach. 



During the summer of 1997 Senator Judd Gregg of 

 New Hampshire, believing the idea to be potentially 

 beneficial, asked the Marine Mammal Commission, in 

 consultation with the National Fish and Wildlife 

 Foundation, to help draft a bill to establish a whale 

 conservation fund to be administered by the National 

 Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The fund was to 

 provide supplemental support for research and man- 

 agement activities to conserve whale populations of 

 the United States, with priority attention to endan- 

 gered species, such as the northern right whale. The 

 fund also was to rely on voluntary contributions from 

 private, industry, and government sources, with no 

 direct congressional appropriations. 



In response to the request, the Commission pre- 

 pared a draft bill that was subsequently revised and 

 introduced on 16 June 1998 by Senators Gregg and 

 Ted Stevens of Alaska. To expedite action on S. 

 2172, the "National Whale Conservation Fund Act of 

 1998," it was offered as an amendment to the appro- 

 priations bill for State, Commerce, Justice, and 

 related agencies, which was passed by Congress on 19 

 October 1998. 



The National Whale Conservation Fund Act of 

 1998 amends the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- 

 tion Establishment Act. It notes the inadequacy of 



available funds for the conservation and recovery of 

 whale populations in U.S. waters and the need to raise 

 money from non-federal sources to carry out such 

 work. It authorizes the Foundation, in consultation 

 with the Marine Mammal Commission and the Na- 

 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to 

 establish a separate interest-bearing account called the 

 National Whale Conservation Fund to support re- 

 search, management, and educational programs 

 contributing to the protection, conservation, or recov- 

 ery of whale populations in U.S. waters. It directs 

 that priority be given to the conservation needs of 

 whale populations that are most endangered, including 

 the northern right whale. 



To generate income for the ftind, the Foundation 

 may accept gifts and bequests from any sources and 

 enter into agreements for the design, production, 

 copyright, and marketing of logos, seals, decals, 

 stamps, and other items. For example, fund adminis- 

 trators could enter into voluntary agreements with 

 whale-watching operators to authorize use of a Fund 

 logo for advertising purposes in return for a commit- 

 ment to donate a nominal non-taxable amount from 

 ticket sales (e.g., $1 per ticket). With perhaps one 

 million participants annually on whale-watching trips 

 in New England alone, involvement by whale-watch- 

 ing operators throughout the United States could 

 generate substantial money for the fund. In addition, 

 the Act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to 

 transfer to the fund any civil penalties it receives 

 pursuant to violations of section 105(a)(1) of the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act. 



At the end of 1998 the Commission was working 

 closely with the office of Senator Gregg, the National 

 Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to complete 

 plans for the fund. 



Marine Mammal Commission 

 Northern Right Whale Review 



Between July 1995 and March 1996 eight right 

 whale carcasses were found along the east coasts of 

 the United States and Canada. These deaths alone 

 equaled nearly 3 percent of the western North Atlantic 

 Ocean right whale population. Considering the 



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