§ 1362. Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter—
(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 subchapter III of this chapter, 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
1379 of this title, determines that such species or stock is below its optimum sustainable population; or
(2)
The terms “conservation” and “management” means 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 a 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
1371
(a)(2)(B) of this title.
(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 chapter, includes any part of any such marine mammal, including its raw, dressed, or dyed fur or skin.
(7)
The term “marine mammal product” means any item of merchandise which consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of any marine mammal.
(8)
The term “moratorium” means a complete cessation of the taking of marine mammals and a complete ban on the importation into the United States of marine mammals and marine mammal products, except as provided in this chapter.
(9)
The term “optimum sustainable population” means, with respect to any population stock, the number of animals which will result in the maximum productivity of the population or the species, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the habitat and the health of the ecosystem of which they form a constituent element.
(10)
The term “person” includes
(B)
any officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any State or political subdivision thereof, or of any foreign government.
(11)
The term “population stock” or “stock” means a group of marine mammals of the same species or smaller taxa in a common spatial arrangement, that interbreed when mature.
(12)
(A)
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term “Secretary” means—
(13)
The term “take” means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.
(14)
The term “United States” includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands.
(15)
The term “waters under the jurisdiction of the United States” means—
(B)
the waters included within a zone, contiguous to the territorial sea of the United States, of which the inner boundary is a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each coastal State, and the other boundary is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured; and
(C)
the areas referred to as eastern special areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in particular, those areas east of the maritime boundary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie within 200 nautical miles of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is measured but beyond 200 nautical miles of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of the United States is measured, except that this subparagraph shall not apply before the date on which the Agreement between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for the United States.
(16)
The term “fishery” means—
(17)
The term “competent regional organization”—
(18)
(B)
In the case of a military readiness activity (as defined in section 315(f) of Public Law 107–314; 16 U.S.C. 703 note ) or a scientific research activity conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government consistent with section
1374
(c)(3) of this title, the term “harassment” means—
(i)
any act that injures or has the significant potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or
(ii)
any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of natural behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a point where such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly altered.
(19)
The term “strategic stock” means a marine mammal stock—
(A)
for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the potential biological removal level;
(20)
The term “potential biological removal level” means the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population. The potential biological removal level is the product of the following factors:
(21)
The term “Regional Fishery Management Council” means a Regional Fishery Management Council established under section
1852 of this title.
(22)
The term “bona fide research” means scientific research on marine mammals, the results of which—
(23)
The term “Alaska Native organization” means a group designated by law or formally chartered which represents or consists of Indians, Aleuts, or Eskimos residing in Alaska.
(26)
The term “net productivity rate” means the annual per capita rate of increase in a stock resulting from additions due to reproduction, less losses due to mortality.
(27)
The term “minimum population estimate” means an estimate of the number of animals in a stock that—
(28)
The term “International Dolphin Conservation Program” means the international program established by the agreement signed in LaJolla, California, in June, 1992, as formalized, modified, and enhanced in accordance with the Declaration of Panama.
(29)
The term “Declaration of Panama” means the declaration signed in Panama City, Republic of Panama, on October 4, 1995.
[1] So in original. Probably should be capitalized.