IB 

Union Calendar No. 431 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5126 

[Report No. 116–531] 

To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain descending 

devices, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2019 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Mr. PALAZZO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. VEASEY, 

and Mr. WEBSTER of Florida 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 15, 2019] 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5126 RH

A BILL 

To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain 

descending devices, and for other purposes. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5126 RH

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 ‘‘Direct Enhancement of 

5 Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel De6 vices Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘DESCEND Act of 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that commercial and rec9 reational fishermen (which, for the purpose of this Act shall 

10 include charter fishing) for Gulf reef fish are expected to 

11 use a venting tool or a descending device required for posses12 sion under section 3 when releasing fish that are exhibiting 

13 signs of barotrauma. The Secretary of Commerce (referred 

14 to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in coordination with the 

15 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, should de16 velop and disseminate to fishermen education and outreach 

17 materials related to proper use of venting tools and descend18 ing devices, and strongly encourage their use by commercial 

19 and recreational fishermen when releasing fish that are ex20 hibiting signs of barotrauma. 

21 SEC. 3. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DEVICES. 

22 (a) REQUIRED GEAR IN THE GULF REEF FISH FISH23 ERY.—Title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva24 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5126 RH

1 ‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DE2 VICES. 

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIRE GEAR IN THE GULF REEF FISH FISH4 ERY.—It shall be unlawful for a person on board a commer5 cial or recreational vessel to fish for Gulf reef fish in the 

6 Gulf of Mexico Exclusive Economic Zone without possessing 

7 on board the vessel a venting tool or a descending device 

8 that is rigged and ready for use while fishing is occurring. 

9 ‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—No provision of this section 

10 shall be interpreted to affect any program or activity car11 ried out by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council 

12 established by the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, 

13 Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf 

14 Coast States Act of 2012 (33 U.S.C. 1321 note), or any 

15 project contained in an approved Restoration Plan devel16 oped by any Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustee 

17 Implementation Group to reduce post-release mortality 

18 from barotrauma in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Recreational 

19 Fisheries. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) DESCENDING DEVICE.—The term ‘descend22 ing device’ means an instrument that— 

23 ‘‘(A) will release fish at a depth sufficient 

24 for the fish to be able to recover from the effects 

25 of barotrauma; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5126 RH

1 ‘‘(B) is a weighted hook, lip clamp, or box 

2 that will hold the fish while it is lowered to 

3 depth, or another device determined to be appro4 priate by the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(C) is capable of— 

6 ‘‘(i) releasing the fish automatically; 

7 ‘‘(ii) releasing the fish by actions of the 

8 operator of the device; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) allowing the fish to escape on its 

10 own. 

11 ‘‘(2) VENTING TOOL.—The term ‘venting tool’ 

12 has the meaning given to it by the Gulf of Mexico 

13 Fishery Management Council. 

14 ‘‘(3) GULF REEF FISH.—The term ‘Gulf reef fish’ 

15 means any fish chosen by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

16 Management Council that is in the reef Fishery Man17 agement Plan for the purposes of this Act.’’. 

18 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 308(a) of the Magnu19 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or section 321’’ 

21 after ‘‘section 307’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

23 Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of 

24 this Act. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5126 RH

1 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Title III of the table 

2 of contents of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

3 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended 

4 by striking the item relating to section 305 and all that 

5 follows through the end of the items relating to such title 

6 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 305. Other requirements and authority. 

‘‘Sec. 306. State jurisdiction. 

‘‘Sec. 307. Prohibited acts. 

‘‘Sec. 308. Civil penalties and permit sanctions. 

‘‘Sec. 309. Criminal offenses. 

‘‘Sec. 310. Civil forfeitures. 

‘‘Sec. 311. Enforcement. 

‘‘Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries. 

‘‘Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation. 

‘‘Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program. 

‘‘Sec. 315. Regional Coastal Disaster Assistance, Transition, and Recovery Program. 

‘‘Sec. 316. Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. 

‘‘Sec. 317. Shark Feeding. 

‘‘Sec. 318. Cooperative Research and Management Program. 

‘‘Sec. 319. Herring Study. 

‘‘Sec. 320. Restoration Study. 

‘‘Sec. 321. Required possession of descending devices.’’. 

7 (e) SUNSET.—Five years after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

9 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in the table of contents, by striking the item 

11 relating to section 321; 

12 (2) in section 308(a), by striking ‘‘or section 

13 321’’; and 

14 (3) by striking section 321. 

15 SEC. 4. IMPROVING DISCARD MORTALITY DATA. 

16 (a) AGREEMENT.—Within 60 days of the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into an agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5126.RH H5126

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5126 RH

1 ment with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a 

2 study and produce a report on discard mortality in the Gulf 

3 of Mexico reef fish fisheries. Such study shall include— 

4 (1) assessment of gaps and biases in reporting of 

5 discards and associated discard mortality; 

6 (2) assessment of uncertainty and likely impacts 

7 of such uncertainty in discard mortality; 

8 (3) assessment of the effectiveness and usage rates 

9 of barotrauma-reducing devices; 

10 (4) recommendations for future research prior11 ities; and 

12 (5) recommendations for standardized reporting 

13 and quantification of discards in the same metric as 

14 landings for fisheries under the Gulf of Mexico Reef 

15 Fish Fishery Management Plan. 

16 (b) DEADLINE.—The National Academy of Sciences 

17 shall complete the study described in subsection (a) and 

18 transmit the final report to the Secretary within 2 years 

19 of the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall, 

20 within 3 months of receiving such study and report, submit 

21 such study and report in (a) to the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Represent24 atives. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5126 RH

1 (c) PLAN.—Within 1 year of receiving the study and 

2 report in described in subsection (a), the Gulf of Mexico 

3 Fishery Management Council and the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) develop guidance for minimum standards for 

5 quantifying and reporting discards and associated 

6 mortality in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery 

7 Management Plan; and 

8 (2) develop a plan to assess and monitor the ef9 fectiveness and usage of barotrauma-reducing devices 

10 and the impact on discard mortality rates in Gulf of 

11 Mexico reef fish fisheries. 

12 (d) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—Within 3 years of devel13 oping minimum standards and developing the assessment 

14 and monitoring plan in subsection (c), the Secretary shall 

15 provide a detailed report on implementation to the Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

18 House of Representatives. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 431 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5126 

[Report No. 116–531] 

A BILL 

To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to 

purposes. use certain descending devices, and for other 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS