II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 908 

To provide for an equitable management of summer flounder based on 

geographic, scientific, and economic data and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide for an equitable management of summer flounder 

based on geographic, scientific, and economic data and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Fluke Fairness Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Summer flounder is an important economic 

9 fish stock for commercial and recreational fishermen 


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1 across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United 

2 States. 

3 (2) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva4 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) 

5 was reauthorized in 2006 and instituted annual 

6 catch limits and accountability measures for impor7 tant fish stocks. 

8 (3) That reauthorization prompted fishery man9 agers to look at alternate management schemes to 

10 rebuild depleted stocks like summer flounder. 

11 (4) Summer flounder occur in both State and 

12 Federal waters and are managed through a joint 

13 fishery management plan between the Council and 

14 the Commission. 

15 (5) The Council and the Commission decided 

16 that each State’s recreational and commercial har17 vest limits for summer flounder would be based upon 

18 landings in previous years. 

19 (6) These historical landings were based on 

20 flawed data sets that no longer provide fairness or 

21 flexibility for fisheries managers to allocate resources 

22 based on the best science. 

23 (7) This allocation mechanism resulted in an 

24 uneven split among the States along the East Coast 

25 which is problematic. 


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1 (8) The fishery management plan for summer 

2 flounder does not account for regional changes in 

3 the location of the fluke stock even though the stock 

4 has moved further to the north and changes in effort 

5 by anglers along the East Coast. 

6 (9) The States have been locked in a manage7 ment system based on data collected from 1981 to 

8 1989, thus, the summer flounder stock is not being 

9 managed using the best available science and mod10 ern fishery management techniques. 

11 (10) It is in the interest of the Federal Govern12 ment to establish a new fishery management plan 

13 for summer flounder that is based on current geo14 graphic, scientific, and economic realities. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

18 means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis19 sion. 

20 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

21 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council estab22 lished under section 302(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

23 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 1852(a)). 


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1 (3) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Standards’’ means the national standards for 

3 fishery conservation and management set out in sec4 tion 301(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con5 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)). 

6 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of Commerce. 

8 (5) SUMMER FLOUNDER.—The term ‘‘summer 

9 flounder’’ means the species Paralichthys dentatus. 

10 SEC. 4. SUMMER FLOUNDER MANAGEMENT REFORM. 

11 (a) FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN MODIFICATION.— 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, the Council shall submit to the Secretary, and the 

14 Secretary may approve, a modified fishery management 

15 plan for the commercial management of summer flounder 

16 under title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva17 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) or an 

18 amendment to such plan that— 

19 (1) shall be based on the best scientific infor20 mation available; 

21 (2) establishes commercial quotas in direct pro22 portion to the distribution, abundance, and location 

23 of summer flounder as reflected by fishery inde24 pendent surveys conducted by the National Marine 

25 Fisheries Service and State agencies; 


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1 (3) considers regional, coastwide, or other man2 agement measures for summer flounder that comply 

3 with the National Standards; and 

4 (4) prohibits the establishment of commercial 

5 catch quotas for summer flounder on a State-by6 State basis using historical landings data that does 

7 not reflect the status of the summer flounder stock, 

8 based on the most recent scientific information. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSION.—In 

10 preparing the modified fishery management plan or an 

11 amendment to such a plan as described in subsection (a), 

12 the Council shall consult with the Commission to ensure 

13 consistent management throughout the range of the sum14 mer flounder. 

15 (c) FAILURE TO SUBMIT PLAN.—If the Council fails 

16 to submit a modified fishery management plan or an 

17 amendment to such a plan as described in subsection (a) 

18 that may be approved by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

19 prepare and consider such a modified plan or amendment. 

20 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of the approval 

22 under section 4 of a modified fishery management plan 

23 for the commercial management of summer flounder or 

24 an amendment to such plan, the Comptroller General of 

25 the United States shall submit to Congress a report on 


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1 the implementation of such modified plan or amendment 

2 that includes an assessment of whether such implementa3 tion complies with the National Standards. 

Æ 


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