republic-os/legal/us/code/title-16/chapter-31/section-1421.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	16 U.S.C. § 1421	Establishment of Program	us	united_states_code	code_section	16	CONSERVATION	31	MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION	1421	16 U.S.C. § 1421	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc16@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t16/s1421	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-16/usc16.xml	8b9bb010277c2b8ef5e58cd5fb17d84af248b3cd489e3f7e6100811726529795	7be8950da5a93cac7c98e4576ce00340f2aba5e8e46d29915382c203c421d503	c9a59a7f3ef6afc1330b9d377f771c58f3d5c9427d12afabd67eeefa57fa36ce	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

16 U.S.C. § 1421 - Establishment of Program

Text

(a) Establishment The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Marine Mammal Commission, and individuals with knowledge and experience in marine science, marine mammal science, marine mammal veterinary and husbandry practices, and marine conservation, including stranding network participants, establish a program to be known as the “Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program”.

(b) Purposes The purposes of the Program shall be to—

(1) facilitate the collection and dissemination of reference data on the health of marine mammals and health trends of marine mammal populations in the wild;

(2) correlate the health of marine mammals and marine mammal populations, in the wild, with available data on physical, chemical, and biological environmental parameters; and

(3) coordinate effective responses to unusual mortality events by establishing a process in the Department of Commerce in accordance with section 1421c of this title.

(Pub. L. 92–522, title IV, § 401, formerly title III, § 301, as added Pub. L. 102–587, title III, § 3003(a), Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5060; renumbered title IV, § 401, and amended Pub. L. 103–238, § 24(b), (c)(1), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 565, 566.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1994—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 103–238, § 24(c)(1), made technical amendment to reference to section 1421c of this title to reflect renumbering of corresponding section of original act.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

FindingsPub. L. 102–587, title III, § 3002, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5060, provided that: “The Congress finds the following: “(1) Current stranding network participants have performed an undeniably valuable and ceaseless job of responding to marine mammal strandings over the last 15 years. “(2) Insufficient understanding of the connection between marine mammal health and the physical, chemical, and biological parameters of their environment prevents an adequate understanding of the causes of marine mammal unusual mortality events. “(3) An accurate assessment of marine mammal health, health trends in marine mammal populations in the wild, and causes of marine mammal unusual mortality events cannot be made without adequate reference data on marine mammals and the environment in which they live. “(4) A systematic assessment of the sources, presence, levels, and effects of potentially harmful contaminants on marine mammals would provide a better understanding of some of the causes of marine mammal unusual mortality events and may serve as an indicator of the general health of our coastal and marine environments. “(5) Responses to marine mammal unusual mortality events are often uncoordinated, due to the lack of sufficient contingency planning. “(6) Standardized methods for the reporting of dying, dead, or otherwise incapacitated marine mammals in the wild would greatly assist in the determination of the causes of marine mammal unusual mortality events and enhance general knowledge of marine mammal species. “(7) A formal system for collection, preparation, and archiving of, and providing access to, marine mammal tissues will enhance efforts to investigate the health of marine mammals and health trends of marine mammal populations, and to develop reference data. “(8) Information on marine mammals, including results of analyses of marine mammal tissues, should be broadly available to the scientific community, including stranding network participants, through a marine mammal data base.”