II 

Calendar No. 317 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 908 

[Report No. 116–167] 

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 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, without amendment 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Summer flounder is an important economic 

4 fish stock for commercial and recreational fishermen 

5 across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United 

6 States. 

7 (2) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva8 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) 

9 was reauthorized in 2006 and instituted annual 

10 catch limits and accountability measures for impor11 tant fish stocks. 

12 (3) That reauthorization prompted fishery man13 agers to look at alternate management schemes to 

14 rebuild depleted stocks like summer flounder. 

15 (4) Summer flounder occur in both State and 

16 Federal waters and are managed through a joint 

17 fishery management plan between the Council and 

18 the Commission. 

19 (5) The Council and the Commission decided 

20 that each State’s recreational and commercial har21 vest limits for summer flounder would be based upon 

22 landings in previous years. 

23 (6) These historical landings were based on 

24 flawed data sets that no longer provide fairness or 

25 flexibility for fisheries managers to allocate resources 

26 based on the best science. 


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1 (7) This allocation mechanism resulted in an 

2 uneven split among the States along the East Coast 

3 which is problematic. 

4 (8) The fishery management plan for summer 

5 flounder does not account for regional changes in 

6 the location of the fluke stock even though the stock 

7 has moved further to the north and changes in effort 

8 by anglers along the East Coast. 

9 (9) The States have been locked in a manage10 ment system based on data collected from 1981 to 

11 1989, thus, the summer flounder stock is not being 

12 managed using the best available science and mod13 ern fishery management techniques. 

14 (10) It is in the interest of the Federal Govern15 ment to establish a new fishery management plan 

16 for summer flounder that is based on current geo17 graphic, scientific, and economic realities. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

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

21 means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis22 sion. 

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

24 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council estab25 lished under section 302(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 


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1 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

3 (3) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘Na4 tional Standards’’ means the national standards for 

5 fishery conservation and management set out in sec6 tion 301(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con7 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)). 

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

9 the Secretary of Commerce. 

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

11 flounder’’ means the species Paralichthys dentatus. 

12 SEC. 4. SUMMER FLOUNDER MANAGEMENT REFORM. 

13 (a) FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN MODIFICATION.— 

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

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

16 Secretary may approve, a modified fishery management 

17 plan for the commercial management of summer flounder 

18 under title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva19 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) or an 

20 amendment to such plan that— 

21 (1) shall be based on the best scientific infor22 mation available; 

23 (2) establishes commercial quotas in direct pro24 portion to the distribution, abundance, and location 

25 of summer flounder as reflected by fishery indeVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Dec 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S908.RS S908

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1 pendent surveys conducted by the National Marine 

2 Fisheries Service and State agencies; 

3 (3) considers regional, coastwide, or other man4 agement measures for summer flounder that comply 

5 with the National Standards; and 

6 (4) prohibits the establishment of commercial 

7 catch quotas for summer flounder on a State-by8 State basis using historical landings data that does 

9 not reflect the status of the summer flounder stock, 

10 based on the most recent scientific information. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSION.—In 

12 preparing the modified fishery management plan or an 

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

14 the Council shall consult with the Commission to ensure 

15 consistent management throughout the range of the sum16 mer flounder. 

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

18 to submit a modified fishery management plan or an 

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

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

21 prepare and consider such a modified plan or amendment. 

22 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

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

24 under section 4 of a modified fishery management plan 

25 for the commercial management of summer flounder or 


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1 an amendment to such plan, the Comptroller General of 

2 the United States shall submit to Congress a report on 

3 the implementation of such modified plan or amendment 

4 that includes an assessment of whether such implementa5 tion complies with the National Standards. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Calendar No. 317 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 908 

[Report No. 116–167] 

A BILL 

To provide for an equitable management of summer 

nomic data and for other purposes. flounder based on geographic, scientific, and ecoDECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported without amendment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS