H.R. 7332 — Whale CHARTS Act of 2026

This section revises the program established under Section 11303 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (16 U.S.C. 1391)—previously titled the "Near Real-Time Monitoring and Mitigation Program for Threatened or Endangered Large Cetaceans"—to retitle it the "Mapping, Surveying, Monitoring, and Mitigation Program for Migratory Whales and Other Large Cetaceans" and to broaden its scope from threatened or endangered large cetaceans to migratory whales and other large cetaceans. (The program, administered by the NOAA Administrator (i.e., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere), requires interagency coordination to reduce risks to large cetaceans from vessel strikes and other human activities through data collection and mitigation technologies.) The section restructures the program by (1) designating the existing near real-time monitoring and mitigation components as a subprogram with specified establishment, purpose, and requirements; (2) modifying the pilot project under that subprogram to include strategic expansion plans for additional large cetaceans and high-risk habitats; and (3) inserting a new subsection (c) directing NOAA, in consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, to produce high-accuracy distribution and predictive maps for migratory whale stocks, populations, or species in U.S. waters that incorporate calving, mating, feeding, migration routes, and other habitats using best available science, novel data sources (e.g., passive acoustics, satellite/drone imagery), and integration into vessel navigation systems and public platforms.