295 



A BILL To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1072 in connection with the 

 Incidental taking of marine mammals with commercial fishing 



Be it enacted oy the Senate and the House of Represe7itatives of the United 

 States in Congress assembled. That 



Section 1. Paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 101 of the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act (86 Stat. 1031; 16 U.S.C. § 1371(a) (2)) is amended 

 by deleting the following sentences : 



"The Secretary of the Treasury shall ban the importation of commercial fish 

 or products from fish which have been caught with commercial fishing tech- 

 nology which results in the incidental kill or incidental serious injury of 

 ocean mammals in excess of United States standards." 

 and adding the following sentence in its place: 



The Secretary of the Treasury shall ban the importation of commercial fish 

 or products from fish unless the vessel from which such fish were caught 

 provides a certification from the Secretary that an authorized agent with the 

 functions provided for in section 111(d) (research, observation and monitor- 

 ing) accompanied the vessel on the trip in which the fish were taken and the 

 fish were not caught with commercial fishing technology which results in an 

 incidental kill or incidental serious injury of ocean mammals in excess of 

 U.S. standards. The Secretary shall establish and charge a reasonable fee for 

 the placement of such agents aboard vessels attempting to import commercial 

 fish or products from fish. The fee charged may include all or part of the 

 cost of the placement of such agents aboard vessels. Such fees shall be de- 

 posited by the Secretary in a manner similar to that in section 104(g)(2) 

 except that the fees may be used to pay the costs incurred in obtaining this 

 certification. 



Sec. 2. Subsection (g) of section 104 (86 Stat. 1036; 16 U.S.C. § 1374(g)) 

 is amended to read as follows : 



"(1) The Secretary shall establish and charge a reasonable fee for per- 

 mits issued under this section. A fee charged for permits issued with respect 

 to the incidental taking of marine mammals may include all or part of the 

 cost of agents placed aboard such vessels under section 111(d) of this title. 



"(2) All fees for permits issued under this subsection shall be deposited in 

 a separate account or accounts which may be used to pay directly the costs 

 incurred under section 111 of this title and in connection with the issuance 

 of said permits, to repay or make advances to appropriations or funds which 

 do or will initially bear all or part of such costs, or to refund excess sums 

 when necessary: Provided, That said receipts may be credited to a working 

 capital fund otherwise established by law, and used under the law governing 

 said funds, if the fund is available for use by the Secretary for paying said 

 costs. Acts appropriating funds for the purposes of this title may include 

 provisions limiting annual expenditures from said account or accounts." 



Sec. 3 Subsection (d) of section 111 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

 (86 Stat. 1042; 16 U.S.C. § 1381(d) is amended to read as follows: 



"If the Secretary determines that a reasonable probability exists that a 

 commercial fishing Vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States will 

 engage in the incidental taking of marine mammals in the course of tuna 

 fishing operations, whether or not a permit or certificate of inclusion has been 

 issued to the owner or operator of said vessel under this title with respect to 

 said taking, a duly authorized agent of the Secretary may, after timely 

 notice to the owner or operator of said vessel, board and accompany said 

 vessel on such trip for the purpose of conducting research, observing fishing 

 operations, and monitoring for compliance with this Act and with regulations 

 and permits issued thereunder. Such research, observation, and monitoring 

 shall be carried out in such manner as to minimize interference with fishing 

 operations. The Secretary shall provide for the cost of quartering and main- 

 taining such agents. No master, operator, or owner of such a vessel shall 

 impair or in any way interfere with the research, observation, and monitor- 

 ing being carried out by agents of the Secretary hereunder." 



Mr. McCloskey. Thank you. 



No further questions. 



Mr. Leggett. It is my understanding that the administration is 

 working on some legislation in the general subject area, and when 

 they have determined a position, perhaps this Committee may choose 

 to hear it. 



