Sponsors (26)
The bill funds mapping, near-real-time monitoring, and competitive grants to reduce whale strikes and spur innovation, but it increases federal spending and administrative constraints that may limit participation and add workload for agencies.
State and local governments, coastal communities, and mariners will get high-accuracy, predictive distribution maps for migratory whale stocks that improve knowledge of whale locations and help reduce ship strikes and entanglements.
State and local governments will have near real-time monitoring and mitigation capability for threatened and endangered cetaceans, enabling faster responses to prevent lethal interactions (e.g., rapid avoidance or mitigation actions).
Small businesses—particularly fishing and tourism operators—will gain access to competitive grants for detection technologies and coexistence approaches, supporting innovation and economic opportunities.
Taxpayers will face increased federal spending—authorizations up to $18 million annually plus a $10 million grant pool—raising budgetary costs that may require offsets or reprioritization.
Grant requirements (U.S.-person distribution) and Foundation administration fees (up to the greater of 5% or $80,000) will limit participation by international collaborators and reduce the share of funds reaching project implementers, harming potential grantees and nonprofits.
NOAA and federal staff will face increased workload from an expanded program scope plus new reporting and coordination duties, potentially diverting staff time and resources from other agency priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Broadens NOAA whale mapping, surveying, monitoring, and mitigation authorities; creates a detection‑technology grant program and authorizes funding for FY2026–2030.
Official title: To amend the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 to provide for a mapping, surveying, monitoring, and mitigation program for migratory whales and other large cetaceans.
Introduced February 3, 2026 by Doris Matsui · Last progress February 3, 2026
Expands and reorganizes federal programs to map, survey, monitor, and mitigate risks to migratory whales and large cetaceans, and creates a grant program to accelerate detection technologies. It directs NOAA to produce high‑accuracy distribution and predictive maps, survey understudied stocks, stand up a near‑real‑time monitoring and mitigation subprogram for threatened or endangered cetaceans, and requires regular reporting to Congress. The bill authorizes multi‑year appropriations for mapping, surveys, the monitoring subprogram, and competitive grants administered through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and adds definitions and a stock‑assessment cross‑reference.