I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5548 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program of the National 

Marine Fisheries Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2020 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. KILMER, and Ms. HERRERA

BEUTLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program 

of the National Marine Fisheries Service, 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 ‘‘Fishery Failures: Ur5 gently Needed Disaster Declarations Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF. 

2 Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

3 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) 

4 is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(a) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CAUSE.—The term ‘al8 lowable cause’ means a natural cause, discrete 

9 anthropogenic cause, or undetermined cause. 

10 ‘‘(B) ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSE.—The term 

11 ‘anthropogenic cause’ means an anthropogenic 

12 event, such as an oil spill or spillway opening— 

13 ‘‘(i) that could not have been ad14 dressed or prevented by fishery manage15 ment measures; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) that is otherwise beyond the con17 trol of fishery managers to mitigate 

18 through conservation and management 

19 measures, including regulatory restrictions 

20 imposed as a result of judicial action or to 

21 protect human health or marine animals, 

22 plants, or habitats. 

23 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER.—The 

24 term ‘fishery resource disaster’ means a dis25 aster that is determined by the Secretary in ac26 cordance with this subsection and— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is an unexpected decrease in fish 

2 stock biomass or other change that results 

3 in significant loss of access to the fishery 

4 resource, which may include loss of fishing 

5 vessels and gear for a substantial period of 

6 time and results in significant revenue or 

7 subsistence loss due to an allowable cause; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

10 ‘‘(I) reasonably predictable, fore11 seeable, and recurrent fishery cyclical 

12 variations in species distribution or 

13 stock abundance; or 

14 ‘‘(II) reductions in fishing oppor15 tunities resulting from conservation 

16 and management measures taken pur17 suant to this Act. 

18 ‘‘(D) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 

19 Tribe’ has the meaning given such term in sec20 tion 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian 

21 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130), and 

22 the term ‘Tribal’ means of or pertaining to such 

23 an Indian tribe. 

24 ‘‘(E) NATURAL CAUSE.—The term ‘natural 

25 cause’— 


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1 ‘‘(i) means a weather, climatic, haz2 ard, or biology-related event, such as— 

3 ‘‘(I) a hurricane; 

4 ‘‘(II) a flood; 

5 ‘‘(III) a harmful algal bloom; 

6 ‘‘(IV) a tsunami; 

7 ‘‘(V) a hypoxic zone; 

8 ‘‘(VI) a drought; 

9 ‘‘(VII) El Nin ̃o effects on water 

10 temperature; 

11 ‘‘(VIII) a marine heat wave; or 

12 ‘‘(IX) disease; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) does not mean a normal or cycli14 cal variation in a species distribution or 

15 stock abundance. 

16 ‘‘(F) 12-MONTH REVENUE LOSS.—The 

17 term ‘12-month revenue loss’ means the per18 centage reduction in commercial, charter, 

19 headboat, and processor revenue for the 12 

20 months during the fishery resource disaster pe21 riod that is due to the fishery resource disaster, 

22 when compared to average annual revenue in 

23 the most recent 5-year period or equivalent for 

24 stocks with cyclical life histories. 


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1 ‘‘(G) UNDETERMINED CAUSE.—The term 

2 ‘undetermined cause’ means a cause in which 

3 the current state of knowledge does not allow 

4 the Secretary to identify the exact cause, and 

5 there is no current conclusive evidence sup6 porting a possible cause of the fishery resource 

7 disaster. 

8 ‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 have the authority to determine the existence, 

11 extent, and beginning and end dates of a fish12 ery resource disaster under this subsection in 

13 accordance with this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—After the 

15 Secretary determines that a fishery resource 

16 disaster has occurred, the Secretary is author17 ized to make sums available, from funds appro18 priated under paragraph (9) and from any sup19 plemental appropriations that are available, to 

20 be used by the affected State, Tribal govern21 ment, or interstate marine fisheries commission, 

22 or by the Secretary in cooperation with the af23 fected State, Tribal government, or interstate 

24 marine fisheries commission. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The requirements 

2 under this subsection shall take effect only with 

3 respect to requests for a fishery resource dis4 aster determination submitted after the date of 

5 enactment of the Fishery Failures: Urgently 

6 Needed Disaster Declarations Act. 

7 ‘‘(3) INITIATION OF A FISHERY RESOURCE DIS8 ASTER REVIEW.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE REQUESTERS.—Not later 

10 than 1 year after the date of the conclusion of 

11 the fishing season, a request for a fishery re12 source disaster determination may be submitted 

13 to the Secretary, if the Secretary has not inde14 pendently determined that a fishery resource 

15 disaster has occurred, by— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Governor of an affected State; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an official Tribal resolution; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) any other comparable elected or 

19 politically appointed representative as de20 termined by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A com22 plete request for a fishery resource disaster de23 termination under subparagraph (A) shall in24 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(i) identification of all presumed af2 fected fish stocks; 

3 ‘‘(ii) identification of the fishery as 

4 Federal, non-Federal, or both; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the geographical boundaries of 

6 the fishery; 

7 ‘‘(iv) preliminary information on 

8 causes of the fishery resource disaster, if 

9 known; and 

10 ‘‘(v) information needed to support a 

11 finding of a fishery resource disaster, in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(I) information demonstrating 

14 the occurrence of an unexpected de15 crease in fish stock biomass or other 

16 change that results in significant loss 

17 of access to the fishery resource, 

18 which could include the loss of fishing 

19 vessels and gear, for a substantial pe20 riod of time; 

21 ‘‘(II) 12-month revenue loss or 

22 subsistence loss for the affected Fed23 eral fishery, or if a fishery resource 

24 disaster has occurred at any time in 

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1 priate time frame as determined by 

2 the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(III) if applicable, information 

4 on lost resource tax revenues assessed 

5 by local communities, such as a raw 

6 fish tax; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) if applicable, information 

8 on 12-month revenue loss for proc9 essors related to the information pro10 vided under subclause (I), subject to 

11 section 402(b). 

12 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

13 provide assistance, data, and analysis to an eli14 gible requester described in paragraph (1), if so 

15 requested and the data is not available to the 

16 requester, in carrying out the compete request 

17 under subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) INTERIM RESPONSE.—Not later than 

20 20 days after receipt of a request under para21 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide an in22 terim response to the individual that— 

23 ‘‘(i) acknowledges receipt of the re24 quest; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provides a regional contact with2 in the National Oceanographic and Atmos3 pheric Administration; 

4 ‘‘(iii) outlines the process and timeline 

5 by which a request shall be considered; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) requests additional information 

7 concerning the fishery resource disaster, if 

8 the original request is considered incom9 plete. 

10 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF REQUESTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

12 shall complete a review, within the time 

13 frame described in clause (ii), using the 

14 best scientific information available, in 

15 consultation with the affected fishing com16 munities, States, or Tribes, of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the information provided by 

18 the requester and any additional in19 formation relevant to the fishery, 

20 which may include— 

21 ‘‘(aa) fishery characteristics; 

22 ‘‘(bb) stock assessments; 

23 ‘‘(cc) the most recent fishery 

24 independent surveys and other 

25 fishery resource assessments and 


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1 surveys conducted by Federal, 

2 State, or Tribal officials; 

3 ‘‘(dd) estimates of mortality; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ee) overall effects; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the available economic in7 formation, which may include an anal8 ysis of— 

9 ‘‘(aa) landings data; 

10 ‘‘(bb) revenue; 

11 ‘‘(cc) the number of partici12 pants involved; 

13 ‘‘(dd) the number and type 

14 of jobs and persons impacted, 

15 which may include— 

16 ‘‘(AA) fishers; 

17 ‘‘(BB) charter fishing 

18 operators; 

19 ‘‘(CC) subsistence 

20 users; 

21 ‘‘(DD) United States 

22 fish processors; and 

23 ‘‘(EE) an owner of a 

24 related fishery infrastructure 

25 or business affected by the 


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1 disaster, such as a marina 

2 operator, recreational fishing 

3 equipment retailer, or char4 ter, headboat, or tender ves5 sel owner, operator, or crew; 

6 ‘‘(ee) an impacted Indian 

7 Tribe; 

8 ‘‘(ff) an impacted business 

9 or other entity; 

10 ‘‘(gg) the availability of haz11 ard insurance to address finan12 cial losses due to a disaster; 

13 ‘‘(hh) other forms of dis14 aster assistance made available to 

15 the fishery, including prior 

16 awards of disaster assistance for 

17 the same event; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the length of time the 

19 resource, or access to the re20 source, has been restricted; 

21 ‘‘(jj) status of recovery from 

22 previous fishery resource disas23 ters; 

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1 nities, such as a raw fish tax; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ll) other appropriate indi4 cators to an affected fishery, as 

5 determined by the National Ma6 rine Fisheries Service. 

7 ‘‘(ii) TIME FRAME.—The Secretary 

8 shall complete the review described in 

9 clause (i), if the fishing season, applicable 

10 to the fishery— 

11 ‘‘(I) has concluded or there is no 

12 defined fishing season applicable to 

13 the fishery, not later than 120 days 

14 after the Secretary receives a com15 plete request for a fishery resource 

16 disaster determination; 

17 ‘‘(II) has not concluded, not later 

18 than 120 days after the conclusion of 

19 the fishing season; or 

20 ‘‘(III) has not been opened, not 

21 later than 120 days after the Sec22 retary receives a complete request for 

23 a fishery resource disaster determina24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER DE2 TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall make the 

3 determination of a fishery resource disaster 

4 based on the criteria for determinations listed 

5 in paragraph (5). 

6 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 14 

7 days after the conclusion of the review under 

8 this paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the 

9 requestor and the Governor of the affected 

10 State or Tribal representative of the determina11 tion of the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 make a determination about whether a fishery 

15 resource disaster has occurred, based on the 

16 revenue loss thresholds under subparagraph 

17 (B), and, if a fishery resource disaster has oc18 curred, whether the fishery resource disaster 

19 was due to— 

20 ‘‘(i) a natural cause; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an anthropogenic cause; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a combination of a natural cause 

23 and an anthropogenic cause; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) an undetermined cause. 

25 ‘‘(B) REVENUE LOSS THRESHOLDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall apply the following 12-month revenue 

3 loss thresholds in determining whether a 

4 fishery resource disaster has occurred: 

5 ‘‘(I) Losses greater than 80 per6 cent shall result in a positive deter7 mination that a fishery resource dis8 aster has occurred. 

9 ‘‘(II) Losses between 35 percent 

10 and 80 percent shall be evaluated to 

11 determine whether a fishery resource 

12 disaster has occurred, based on the in13 formation provided or analyzed under 

14 paragraph (4)(B). 

15 ‘‘(III) Losses less than 35 per16 cent shall not be eligible for a deter17 mination that a fishery resource dis18 aster has occurred, except where the 

19 Secretary determines there are ex20 tenuating circumstances that justify 

21 using a lower threshold in making the 

22 determination. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CHARTER FISHING.—ln making 

24 a determination of whether a fishery re25 source disaster has occurred, the Secretary 


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1 shall consider the economic impacts to the 

2 charter fishing industry to ensure financial 

3 coverage for charter fishing businesses. 

4 ‘‘(iii) SUBSISTENCE USES.—In mak5 ing a determination of whether a fishery 

6 resource disaster has occurred, the Sec7 retary may consider loss of subsistence op8 portunity, where appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In 

10 an exceptional circumstance where substantial 

11 economic impacts to the affected fishery and 

12 fishing community have been subject to a dis13 aster declaration under another statutory au14 thority, such as in the case of a natural disaster 

15 or from the direct consequences of a Federal 

16 action taken to prevent, or in response to, a 

17 natural disaster for purposes of protecting life 

18 and safety, the Secretary may determine a fish19 ery resource disaster has occurred without a re20 quest or without conducting the required anal21 yses in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

22 ‘‘(6) DISBURSAL OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary 

24 shall allocate funds available under paragraph 

25 (9) for fishery resource disasters. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED

2 FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 

3 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING

4 AVAILABILITY.—When there are appro5 priated funds for 1 or more fishery re6 source disasters, the Secretary shall notify 

7 the public and representatives of affected 

8 fishing communities with a positive dis9 aster determination that is unfunded of the 

10 allocation under paragraph (2)(B) not 

11 more than 14 days after the date of the 

12 appropriation or the determination of a 

13 fishery resource disaster, whichever occurs 

14 later. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The 

16 Secretary may extend the deadline under 

17 clause (i) by 90 days to evaluate and make 

18 determinations on eligible requests. 

19 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

20 the allocation of appropriations for a fishery re21 source disaster, the Secretary shall consider 

22 commercial, charter, headboat, or seafood proc23 essing revenue losses and may consider the fol24 lowing factors: 

25 ‘‘(i) Direct economic impacts. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Uninsured losses. 

2 ‘‘(iii) Losses of subsistence and Tribal 

3 ceremonial fishing opportunity. 

4 ‘‘(iv) Losses of recreational fishing op5 portunity. 

6 ‘‘(v) Aquaculture operations revenue 

7 loss. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Direct revenue losses to a fishing 

9 community. 

10 ‘‘(vii) Treaty obligations. 

11 ‘‘(viii) Other economic impacts. 

12 ‘‘(D) SPEND PLANS.—To receive an alloca13 tion from funds available under paragraph (9), 

14 a requestor with an affirmative fishery resource 

15 disaster determination shall submit a spend 

16 plan to the Secretary, not more than 120 days 

17 after receiving notification that funds are avail18 able, that shall include the following informa19 tion, if applicable: 

20 ‘‘(i) Objectives and outcomes, with an 

21 emphasis on addressing the factors con22 tributing to the fishery resource disaster 

23 and minimizing future uninsured losses, if 

24 applicable. 

25 ‘‘(ii) Statement of work. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Budget details. 

2 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL CONTACT.—The Secretary 

3 shall provide a regional contact within the Na4 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

5 to facilitate review of spend plans and disbursal 

6 of funds. 

7 ‘‘(F) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) AVAILABILITY.—Funds shall be 

9 disbursed not later than 90 days after the 

10 date the Secretary receives a complete 

11 spend plan under subparagraph (D). 

12 ‘‘(ii) METHOD.—The Secretary may 

13 provide an allocation of funds under this 

14 subsection in the form of a grant, direct 

15 payment, cooperative agreement, loan, or 

16 contract. 

17 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Funds allo19 cated for fishery resources disasters 

20 under this subsection shall prioritize 

21 the following uses, which are not in 

22 order of priority: 

23 ‘‘(aa) Habitat conservation 

24 and restoration and other activi25 ties, including scientific research, 


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1 that reduce adverse impacts to 

2 the fishery or improve under3 standing of the affected species 

4 or its ecosystem. 

5 ‘‘(bb) The collection of fish6 ery information and other activi7 ties that improve management of 

8 the affected fishery. 

9 ‘‘(cc) In a commercial fish10 ery, capacity reduction and other 

11 activities that improve manage12 ment of fishing effort, including 

13 funds to offset budgetary costs to 

14 refinance a Federal fishing ca15 pacity reduction loan or to repay 

16 the principal of a Federal fishing 

17 capacity reduction loan. 

18 ‘‘(dd) Developing, repairing, 

19 or improving fishery-related pub20 lic infrastructure. 

21 ‘‘(ee) Job training and eco22 nomic transition programs. 

23 ‘‘(ff) Public information 

24 campaigns on the recovery of the 

25 fishery, including marketing. 


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1 ‘‘(gg) For any purpose that 

2 the Secretary determines is ap3 propriate to restore the fishery 

4 affected by such a disaster or to 

5 prevent a similar disaster in the 

6 future. 

7 ‘‘(hh) Direct assistance to a 

8 person, fishing community (in9 cluding assistance for lost fish10 eries resource levies), or a busi11 ness to alleviate economic loss in12 curred as a direct result of a 

13 fishery resource disaster, particu14 larly when affected by a cir15 cumstance described in para16 graph (5)(D). 

17 ‘‘(ii) Appropriate economic 

18 and other incentives to encourage 

19 commercial fisherman to return 

20 to the fishery once it has recov21 ered from the disaster. 

22 ‘‘(jj) Hatcheries and stock 

23 enhancement to help rebuild the 

24 affected stock or offset fishing 

25 pressure on the affected stock. 


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1 ‘‘(kk) Other activities that 

2 recover or improve management 

3 of the affected fishery, as deter4 mined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(II) DISPLACED FISHERY EM6 PLOYEES.—Where appropriate, indi7 viduals carrying out the activities de8 scribed in items (aa) through (ff) of 

9 subclause (I) shall be individuals who 

10 are, or were, employed in a commer11 cial, charter, or Tribal fishery for 

12 which the Secretary has determined 

13 that a fishery resource disaster has 

14 occurred. 

15 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as applied 

18 to Tribes and as provided in clauses (ii) 

19 and (iii), the Federal share of the cost of 

20 any activity carried out under the author21 ity of this subsection shall not exceed 75 

22 percent of the cost of that activity. 

23 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

24 waive the non-Federal share requirements 


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1 of this subsection, if the Secretary deter2 mines that— 

3 ‘‘(I) no reasonable means are 

4 available through which the recipient 

5 of the Federal share can meet the 

6 non-Federal share requirement; and 

7 ‘‘(II) the probable benefit of 100 

8 percent Federal financing outweighs 

9 the public interest in imposition of the 

10 non-Federal share requirement. 

11 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Federal 

12 share of direct assistance as described in 

13 paragraph (6)(F)(iii)(I)(hh) shall be equal 

14 to 100 percent. 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE

16 EXPENSES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL.—Not more than 3 per18 cent of the funds available under this sub19 section may be used for administrative ex20 penses by the National Oceanographic and 

21 Atmospheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(ii) STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERN23 MENTS.—Of the funds remaining after the 

24 use described in clause (i), not more than 

25 5 percent may be used by States, Tribal 


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1 governments, or interstate marine fisheries 

2 commissions for administrative expenses. 

3 ‘‘(C) FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No funds available 

6 under this subsection may be used as part 

7 of a fishing capacity reduction program in 

8 a fishery unless the Secretary determines 

9 that adequate conservation and manage10 ment measures are in place in such fishery. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE CONDITIONS.—As a 

12 condition of providing assistance under 

13 this subsection with respect to a vessel 

14 under a fishing capacity reduction pro15 gram, the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) prohibit the vessel from 

17 being used for fishing; and 

18 ‘‘(II) require that the vessel be— 

19 ‘‘(aa) scrapped or otherwise 

20 disposed of in a manner approved 

21 by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(bb) donated to a nonprofit 

23 organization and thereafter used 

24 only for purposes of research, 

25 education, or training; or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) used for another non2 fishing purpose provided the Sec3 retary determines that adequate 

4 measures are in place to ensure 

5 that the vessel cannot reenter 

6 any fishery anywhere in the 

7 world. 

8 ‘‘(D) NO FISHERY ENDORSEMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A vessel that is 

10 prohibited from fishing under subpara11 graph (C)(ii)(I) shall not be eligible for a 

12 fishery endorsement under section 

13 12113(a) of title 46, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(ii) NONEFFECTIVE.—A fishery en15 dorsement for a vessel described in clause 

16 (i) shall not be effective. 

17 ‘‘(iii) NO SALE.—A vessel described in 

18 clause (i) shall not be sold to a foreign 

19 owner or reflagged. 

20 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON DATA COLLEC21 TION.—The Secretary shall make available and up22 date as appropriate, information on data collection 

23 and submittal best practices for the information de24 scribed in paragraph (4)(B). 

25 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—There are author2 ized to be appropriated to carry out this sub3 section such sums as may be necessary. 

4 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts 

5 appropriated under this subsection shall remain 

6 available until expended. 

7 ‘‘(C) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—The Fish8 eries Disasters Fund appropriated under this 

9 subsection shall be a tax exempt fund. 

10 ‘‘(D) SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 The Secretary may use any supplemental ap12 propriations that are available to carry out this 

13 subsection.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 

15 MANAGEMENT ACT. 

16 (a) REPEAL.—Section 315 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

17 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

18 1864) is repealed. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Section 113(b)(2) of the Magnuson20 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthor21 ization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 460ss note) is amended— 

22 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AN23 NUAL REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’; 

24 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

25 by striking ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date 


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1 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date 

3 of enactment of the Fishery Failures: Urgently 

4 Needed Disaster Declarations Act, and biennially 

5 thereafter’’; and 

6 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘the cal7 endar year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘the most recent’’. 

8 SEC. 4. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT OF 1986. 

9 (a) REPEAL.—Section 308 of the Interjurisdictional 

10 Fisheries Act of 1986 (16. U.S.C. 4107) is repealed. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL EDIT.—Section 3(k)(1) of the Small 

12 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)(1)) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of Commerce under 

14 section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 

15 1986)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of 

16 Commerce under the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed 

17 Disaster Declarations Act)’’. 

18 SEC. 5. BUDGET REQUESTS; REPORTS. 

19 (a) BUDGET REQUEST.—In the budget justification 

20 materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget 

21 of the Department of Commerce for each fiscal year (as 

22 submitted with the budget of the President under section 

23 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), the Secretary 

24 of Commerce shall include a separate statement of the 


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1 amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year 

2 for outstanding unfunded fishery resource disasters. 

3 (b) DRIFTNET ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990 REPORT

4 AND BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens 

6 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (A) in section 202(h), by striking para9 graph (3); and 

10 (B) in section 206— 

11 (i) by striking subsections (e) and (f); 

12 and 

13 (ii) by redesignating subsections (g) 

14 and (h) as subsections (e) and (f), respec15 tively. 

16 (2) BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL

17 COMPLIANCE.—Section 607 of the High Seas 

18 Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 1826h) is amended— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The 

21 Secretary’’ and indenting appropriately; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—In addition to the 

24 information described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of 

25 subsection (a), the report shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a description of the actions taken to carry 

2 out the provisions of section 206 of the Magnuson3 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1826), including— 

5 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the progress of those 

6 efforts, the impacts on living marine resources, 

7 including available observer data, and specific 

8 plans for further action; 

9 ‘‘(B) a list and description of any new fish10 eries developed by nations that conduct, or au11 thorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

12 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

13 zone of any nation; and 

14 ‘‘(C) a list of the nations that conduct, or 

15 authorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

16 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

17 zone of any nation in a manner that diminishes 

18 the effectiveness of or is inconsistent with any 

19 international agreement governing large-scale 

20 driftnet fishing to which the United States is a 

21 party or otherwise subscribes; and 

22 ‘‘(2) a description of the actions taken to carry 

23 out the provisions of section 202(h) of the Magnu24 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 1822(h)). 


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•HR 5548 IH

1 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—If, at any time, the Secretary, 

2 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec3 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op4 erating, identifies any nation that warrants inclusion in 

5 the list described under subsection (b)(1)(C), due to large 

6 scale drift net fishing, the Secretary shall certify that fact 

7 to the President. Such certification shall be deemed to be 

8 a certification for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fish9 ermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).’’. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO PREPARE AND ADAPT 

11 UNITED STATES FISHERY MANAGEMENT FOR 

12 THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

15 of the United States shall submit a report to Congress 

16 examining efforts by the Regional Fishery Management 

17 Councils, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis18 sion, and the National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare 

19 and adapt to the impacts of climate change. 

20 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The report required 

21 under subsection (a) shall include— 

22 (1) an examination of current or previous ef23 forts, and whether those efforts have resulted in 

24 changes to management, by the Regional Fishery 

25 Management Councils, the Atlantic States Marine 


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1 Fisheries Commission, and the National Marine 

2 Fisheries Service to prepare and adapt Federal and 

3 jointly managed fisheries for the impacts of climate 

4 change; 

5 (2) an examination of any guidance issued to 

6 the Regional Fishery Management Councils by the 

7 National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare and 

8 adapt Federal fishery management for the impacts 

9 of climate change and whether and how that guid10 ance has been utilized; 

11 (3) identification of and recommendations for 

12 how best to address the most significant economic, 

13 social, ecological, or other knowledge gaps, as well as 

14 key funding gaps, that would increase the ability of 

15 the Regional Fishery Management Councils, the At16 lantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or the 

17 National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare and 

18 adapt fishery management for the impacts of climate 

19 change; 

20 (4) recommendations for how the Regional 

21 Fishery Management Councils, the Atlantic States 

22 Marine Fisheries Commission, and the National Ma23 rine Fisheries Service can better adapt fishery man24 agement and prepare associated fishing industries 


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•HR 5548 IH

1 and dependent communities for the impacts of cli2 mate change; and 

3 (5) recommendations for how to enhance the 

4 capacity of the National Marine Fisheries Service to 

5 monitor climate-related changes to fisheries and ma6 rine ecosystems, to understand the mechanisms of 

7 change, to evaluate risks and priorities, to provide 

8 forecasts and projections of future conditions, to 

9 communicate scientific advice, and to better manage 

10 fisheries under changing conditions due to climate 

11 change. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS