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Calendar No. 316 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 906 

[Report No. 116–166] 

To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

[Insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driftnet Modernization 

5 and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

2 Section 3(25) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con3 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(25)) is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘, or with a mesh size of 14 inches 

5 or greater,’’ after ‘‘more’’. 

6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 206(b) of the Magnuson-Ste8 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 1826(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(8) within the exclusive economic zone, large16 scale driftnet fishing that deploys nets with large 

17 mesh sizes causes significant entanglement and mor18 tality of living marine resources, including myriad 

19 protected species, despite limitations on the lengths 

20 of such nets.’’. 

21 (b) POLICY.—Section 206(c) of the Magnuson-Ste22 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

23 U.S.C. 1826(c)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following— 

4 ‘‘(4) prioritize the phase out of large-scale 

5 driftnet fishing in the exclusive economic zone and 

6 promote the development and adoption of alternative 

7 fishing methods and gear types that minimize the in8 cidental catch of living marine resources.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROGRAM. 

10 Section 206 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con11 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1826) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following— 

13 ‘‘(i) FISHING GEAR TRANSITION PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period 

15 beginning on the date of enactment of the Driftnet 

16 Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, the Sec17 retary shall conduct a transition program to facili18 tate the phase-out of large-scale driftnet fishing and 

19 adoption of alternative fishing practices that mini20 mize the incidental catch of living marine resources, 

21 and shall award grants to eligible permit holders 

22 who participate in the program. 

23 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Any permit holder 

24 receiving a grant under paragraph (1) may use such 

25 funds only for the purpose of covering— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any fee originally associated with a 

2 permit authorizing participation in a large-scale 

3 driftnet fishery, if such permit is surrendered 

4 for permanent revocation, and such permit 

5 holder relinquishes any claim associated with 

6 the permit; 

7 ‘‘(B) a forfeiture of fishing gear associated 

8 with a permit described in subparagraph (A); or 

9 ‘‘(C) the purchase of alternative gear with 

10 minimal incidental catch of living marine re11 sources, if the fishery participant is authorized 

12 to continue fishing using such alternative gears. 

13 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer14 tify that, with respect to each participant in the pro15 gram under this subsection, any permit authorizing 

16 participation in a large-scale driftnet fishery has 

17 been permanently revoked and that no new permits 

18 will be issued to authorize such fishing.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. EXCEPTION. 

20 Section 307(1)(M) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

21 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 1857(1)(M)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon 

23 the following: ‘‘, unless such large-scale driftnet fishing— 

24 ‘‘(i) deploys, within the exclusive eco25 nomic zone, a net with a total length of 


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1 less than two and one-half kilometers and 

2 a mesh size of 14 inches or greater; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) is conducted within 5 years of 

4 the date of enactment of the Driftnet Mod5 ernization and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. 

6 SEC. 6. FEES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The North Pacific Fishery Manage8 ment Council may recommend, and the Secretary of Com9 merce may approve, regulations necessary for the collection 

10 of fees from charter vessel operators who guide recreational 

11 anglers who harvest Pacific halibut in International Pacific 

12 Halibut Commission regulatory areas 2C and 3A as those 

13 terms are defined in part 300 of title 50, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations (or any successor regulations). 

15 (b) USE OF FEES.—Any fees collected under this sec16 tion shall be available, without appropriation or fiscal year 

17 limitation, for the purposes of— 

18 (1) financing administrative costs of the Rec19 reational Quota Entity program; 

20 (2) the purchase of halibut quota shares in Inter21 national Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory 

22 areas 2C and 3A by the recreational quota entity au23 thorized in part 679 of title 50, Code of Federal Regu24 lations (or any successor regulations); 

25 (3) halibut conservation and research; and 


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1 (4) promotion of the halibut resource by the rec2 reational quota entity authorized in part 679 of title 

3 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor reg4 ulations). 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Calendar No. 316 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 906 

[Report No. 116–166] 

A BILL 

To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


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