S. 497 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the awarding 

of fisheries research and development grants, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Fisheries Advisory 

Committee Act’’. 

SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 2 of the Act of August 11, 1939 

(15 U.S.C. 713c–3), is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and 

(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

‘‘(e) AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

‘‘(A) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ means the 

American Fisheries Advisory Committee established under 

paragraph (2). 

‘‘(B) FISHING COMMUNITY.—The term ‘fishing community’ means harvesters, marketers, growers, processors, recreational fishermen, charter fishermen, and persons providing them with goods and services. 

‘‘(C) MARKETING AND PROMOTION.—The term ‘marketing and promotion’ means an activity aimed at encouraging the consumption of seafood or expanding or 

maintaining commercial markets for seafood. 

‘‘(D) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘processor’ means any person in the business of preparing or packaging seafood 

(including seafood of the processor’s own harvesting) for 

sale. 

‘‘(E) SEAFOOD.—The term ‘seafood’ means farm-raised 

and wild-caught fish, shellfish, or marine algae harvested 

in the United States or by a United States flagged vessel 

for human consumption. 

‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

date of the enactment of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary shall establish 6 regions within the 

American Fisheries Advisory Committee as follows: 

‘‘(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Hawaii, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 

Territories of Guam and American Samoa. 

‘‘(B) Region 2 shall consist of Maine, New Hampshire, 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 
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‘‘(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, and 

the Territory of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 

‘‘(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, Washington, 

Oregon, and Idaho. 

‘‘(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, New York, 

Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

‘‘(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, Minnesota, 

Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be composed of 

the following members: 

‘‘(A) REGIONAL REPRESENTATION.—Each of the regions 

listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (2) 

shall be represented on the Committee by 3 members— 

‘‘(i) who are appointed by the Secretary; 

‘‘(ii) who reside in a State or territory in the region 

that the member will represent; 

‘‘(iii) of which— 

‘‘(I) one shall have experience as a seafood 

harvester or processor; 

‘‘(II) one shall have experience as recreational 

or commercial fisher or have experience growing 

seafood; and 

‘‘(III) one shall be an individual who represents the fisheries science community or the relevant Regional Fishery Management Council; and 

‘‘(iv) that are selected so that the members of 

the Committee have experience or expertise with as 

many seafood species as practicable. 

‘‘(B) AT-LARGE MEMBERS.—The Secretary shall appoint 

to the Committee at-large members as follows: 

‘‘(i) One individual with experience in food distribution, marketing, retail, or food service. 

‘‘(ii) One individual with experience in the recreational fishing industry supply chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. 

‘‘(iii) One individual with experience in the 

commercial fishing industry supply chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. 

‘‘(iv) One individual who is an employee of the 

National Marine Fisheries Service with expertise in 

fisheries research. 

‘‘(C) BALANCED REPRESENTATION.—In selecting the 

members described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall seek to maximize on the Committee, to the 

extent practicable, a balanced representation of expertise 

in United States fisheries, seafood production, and science. 

‘‘(4) MEMBER TERMS.—The term for a member of the Committee shall be 3 years, except that the Secretary shall designate staggered terms for the members initially appointed 

to the Committee. 

‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall be responsible for— 

‘‘(A) identifying needs of the fishing community that 

may be addressed by a project funded with a grant under 

subsection (c); 
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‘‘(B) developing the request for proposals for such 

grants; 

‘‘(C) reviewing applications for such grants; and 

‘‘(D) selecting applications for approval under subsection (c)(2)(B). 

‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Committee shall elect a chair by a 

majority of those voting, if a quorum is present. 

‘‘(7) QUORUM.—A simple majority of members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may 

hold hearings. 

‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 

‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall meet not more 

than 2 times each year. 

‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings of the Committee shall 

rotate between the geographic regions described under 

paragraph (2). 

‘‘(C) MINIMIZING COSTS.—The Committee shall seek to 

minimize the operational costs associated with meetings, 

hearings, or other business of the Committee, including 

through the use of video or teleconference. 

‘‘(9) DESIGNATION OF STAFF MEMBER.—The Secretary shall 

designate a staff member to coordinate the activities of the 

Committee and to assist with administrative and other functions as requested by the Committee. 

‘‘(10) PER DIEM AND EXPENSES AND FUNDING.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Committee shall 

serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed in 

accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, 

for reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred in performing duties as a member of the Committee. 

‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The costs of reimbursements under 

subparagraph (A) and the other costs associated with the 

Committee shall be paid from funds made available to 

carry out this section (which may include funds described 

in subsection (f)(1)(B)), except that no funds allocated for 

grants under subsection (f)(1)(A) shall be expended for any 

purpose under this subsection. 

‘‘(11) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The conflict of interest and 

recusal provisions set out in section 302(j) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

1852(j)) shall apply to any decision by the Committee and 

to all members of the Committee as if each member of the 

Committee is an affected individual within the meaning of 

such section 302(j), except that in addition to the disclosure 

requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

1852(j)(2)(C)), each member of the Committee shall disclose 

any financial interest or relationship in an organization or 

with an individual that is applying for a grant under subsection 

(c) held by the member of the Committee, including an interest 

as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, contractor, 

agent, or other representative. 

‘‘(12) TECHNICAL REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to review of an application 

for a grant under subsection (c) by the Committee, the 

Secretary shall obtain an independent written technical 

evaluation from 3 or more appropriate Federal, private, 
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or public sector experts (such as industry, academia, or 

governmental experts) who— 

‘‘(i) have subject matter expertise to determine 

the technical merit of the proposal in the application; 

‘‘(ii) shall independently evaluate each such proposal; and 

‘‘(iii) shall certify that the expert does not have 

a conflict of interest concerning the application that 

the expert is reviewing. 

‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

date of enactment of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance related to 

carrying out the technical evaluations under subparagraph 

(A). Such guidance shall include criteria for the elimination 

by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

of applications that fail to meet a minimum level of technical merit as determined by the review described in 

subparagraph (A).’’. 

(b) ROLE IN APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—Section 2(c)(3) of the Act 

of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(3)), is amended to read 

as follows: 

‘‘(3)(A) No application for a grant under this subsection may 

be approved unless the Secretary— 

‘‘(i) is satisfied that the applicant has the requisite technical 

and financial capability to carry out the project; and 

‘‘(ii) based on the recommendations of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee established in subsection (e), evaluates the proposed project as to— 

‘‘(I) soundness of design; 

‘‘(II) the possibilities of securing productive results; 

‘‘(III) minimization of duplication with other fisheries 

research and development projects; 

‘‘(IV) the organization and management of the project; 

‘‘(V) methods proposed for monitoring and evaluating 

the success or failure of the project; and 

‘‘(VI) such other criteria as the Secretary may require. 

‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to provide funds to a grant selected 

by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, the Secretary shall 

provide a written document to the Committee justifying the decision.’’. 

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SPECIFIED PURPOSES OF FISHERIES 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GRANTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE FISHERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. 

Section 2(c)(1) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c– 

3(c)(1)), is amended by inserting ‘‘fisheries science, recreational 

fishing,’’ before ‘‘harvesting,’’. 

SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS. 

Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c– 

3(c)), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(6) Any person awarded a grant under this subsection 

shall make publicly available a title and abstract of the project 

to be carried out by the grant funds that serves as the public 

justification for funding the project that includes a statement 

describing how the project serves to enhance United States 
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fisheries, including harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated infrastructures, if applicable.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.