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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1421a. Determination; data collection and dissemination
(a) Determination for release
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, develop
objective criteria, after an opportunity for public review and
comment, to provide guidance for determining at what point a
rehabilitated marine mammal is releasable to the wild.
(b) Collection
The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Interior, collect and update, periodically, existing information on
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(1) procedures and practices for -
(A) rescuing and rehabilitating stranded marine mammals,
including criteria used by stranding network participants, on a
species-by-species basis, for determining at what point a
marine mammal undergoing rescue and rehabilitation is
returnable to the wild; and
(B) collecting, preserving, labeling, and transporting marine
mammal tissues for physical, chemical, and biological analyses;
(2) appropriate scientific literature on marine mammal health,
disease, and rehabilitation;
(3) strandings, which the Secretary shall compile and analyze,
by region, to monitor species, numbers, conditions, and causes of
illnesses and deaths of stranded marine mammals; and
(4) other life history and reference level data, including
marine mammal tissue analyses, that would allow comparison of the
causes of illness and deaths in stranded marine mammals with
physical, chemical, and biological environmental parameters.
(c) Availability
The Secretary shall make information collected under this section
available to stranding network participants and other qualified
scientists.
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