Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972
Overview
The Marine Mammal Protection
Act of 1972 (MMPA) was most recently reauthorized in 1994.
In passing the MMPA in 1972, Congress found that:
- 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;
- 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 level;
- measures should be
taken immediately to replenish any species or population
stock which has diminished below its optimum sustainable
level;
- 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; and
- marine mammals have
proven themselves to be resources of great international
significance, aesthetic and recreational as well as economic.
The MMPA established a
moratorium, with certain exceptions, on the taking of marine
mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas,
and on the importing of marine mammals and marine mammal products
into the United States.
Definitions:
Take:
The term "take" is statutorily
defined to mean "to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt
to harass, hunt, capture or kill any marine mammal."
Harassment
Under the 1994 amendments,
the Congress statutorily defined and divided the term "harassment"
to mean any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which --
- Level A Harassment-
has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal
stock in the wild; or
- Level B Harassment-
has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal
stock in the wild by causing disruption or behavioral patterns,
including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing,
breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
In addition, the 1994
amendments established a number of other provisions. For scientific
research, enhancement and public display, the 1994 Amendments
established new authority to issue permits and authorizations
while eliminating other responsibilities. New provisions establish
a General Authorization for low impact scientific research
projects involving Level B harassment of non-endangered marine
mammals, and allow NMFS to issue permits for educational and
commercial photography purposes. Lastly, the 1994 amendments
eliminated NMFS jurisdiction over marine mammals held for
public display and changed documentation requirements involving
transport, purchase, sale or export to maintain updated inventory
information.
Under the MMPA, the Secretary
of Commerce is responsible for the conservation and management
of pinnipeds (other than walruses) and cetaceans. The Secretary
of the Interior is responsible for walruses, sea and marine
otters, polar bears, manatees and dugongs. The Secretary of
Commerce delegated MMPA authority to NMFS. Part of the responsibility
that NMFS has under the MMPA involves monitoring populations
of marine mammals to make sure that they stay at optimum levels.
If a population falls below its optimum level, it is designated
as "depleted," and a conservation plan is developed to guide
research and management actions to restore the population
to healthy levels. For information on species that are considered
depleted under the MMPA,
click here.
The MMPA provides that
the moratorium on taking of marine mammals can be waived for
specific purposes if the taking will not disadvantage the
affected species or stock. It also indicates that permits
may be issued to take or import any marine mammal species,
including depleted species, to conduct scientific research
or to enhance the survival or recovery of a species or stock.
Permits may also be issued to allow for the taking of a marine
mammal from the wild or the import of a non-depleted species
for purposes of public display. These permits are very specific
and designate the number and species of animals that can be
taken, as well as time, date, location, and method of takings.
In 1994, Congress amended
the MMPA, establishing a new regime to govern the
taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing
operations. This new regime included the preparation
of stock assessments for all marine mammal stocks in waters
under U.S. jurisdiction, development and implementation of
take reduction plans for stocks that may be reduced or are
being maintained below their optimum sustainable population
levels due to interactions with commercial fisheries, and
studies of pinniped-fishery interactions.
The MMPA allows the incidental,
but not intentional, taking, by U.S. citizens engaged in activities
other than commercial fishing, of small numbers of depleted
as well as non-depleted marine mammals if, after notice and
opportunity for public comment, the Secretary of Commerce:
- finds that there will
be a negligible impact on the affected species or stock,
and there will not be an unmitigatable adverse impact on
the availability of such species or stock for taking for
subsistence uses by Alaska Natives; and
- prescribes necessary
regulations that detail methods of taking, monitoring, and
reporting requirements. However, the 1994 amendments provide
that this regulation requirement may be waived if the proposed
activity results in only harassment, and no serious injury
or mortality is anticipated.
The Act's moratorium on
taking does not apply to taking by any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo
who resides in Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North
Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean if such taking is for subsistence
purposes or for creating and selling authentic Native articles
of handicrafts and clothing, and is not done in a wasteful
manner.
Since the 1994 Amendments
became law, NMFS has published several regulations to implement
requirements under the Act. These include the general authorization
for scientific research, the new management regime for governing
the incidental taking of marine mammals in commercial fisheries,
the prohibition on intentional lethal take in commercial fishing,
the prohibition on approach closer than 100 yards to humpback
whales in Hawaii, and consolidation of regulations for special
exception permits to take, import, export, or carry out any
other otherwise prohibited act involving marine mammals for
the purpose of scientific research or enhancement for the
survival or recovery of a species or stock.
Information about NMFS'
implementation of the 1994 Amendments to the MMPA can be found
in the quarterly
MMPA Bulletin, as well as in the MMPA
Annual Report to Congress.
The complete text of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act is also available, as retrieved
from the U.S. Code Server. at the U.S. House of
Representatives Internet Law Library.
If you would like additional
information on marine mammal issues, we offer a list
of links to other organizations' internet sites.
Marine
Mammal Protection Act Text Table of Contents
The
documents included in this directory are in PDF format. To
read these documents you will need a copy of
Adobe Acrobat Reader. The software is available to you
for free.
The
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as Amended Through 1997
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
Title I
- Conservation and Protection of Marine Mammals
Title II
- Marine Mammal Commission
Title III
- International Dolphin Conservation Program
Title IV
- Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
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