I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3278

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to establish requirements for fishing quota systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2005

Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. SIMMONS, and Mr. DELAHUNT) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act to establish requirements for fishing 

quota systems, 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 ‘‘Fishing Quota Stand5 ards Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT REFERENCES. 

7 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

9 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi10 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to such 
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1 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish2 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

3 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(48) The term ‘fishing quota system’—

8 ‘‘(A) means any limited access system that 

9 requires a person to acquire a permit under this 

10 Act to harvest fish in a fishery, that specifies 

11 a percentage of the total allowable catch of a 

12 fishery that may be received or held for exclu13 sive use by the person or a definable group of 

14 persons, during each fishing season for which 

15 the permission is granted; and 

16 ‘‘(B) includes any area or community 

17 quota program, sector quota program, fishing 

18 cooperative program, or individual fishing quota 

19 program. 

20 ‘‘(49) The term ‘quota share’ means a permit 

21 under a fishing quota system to harvest a quantity 

22 of fish, expressed as a percentage of the total allow23 able catch of a fishery that may be received or held 

24 for exclusive use by a person, during each fishing 

25 season for which the permission is granted.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS 

2 SYSTEMS FOR FISHERIES. 

3 (a) CONDITIONS FOR AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH

4 LIMITED ACCESS SYSTEMS.—Section 303(b)(6) (16 

5 U.S.C. 1853(b)(6)) is amended by striking subparagraphs 

6 (A) through (F) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) the conservation requirements of this 

8 Act with respect to the fishery; 

9 ‘‘(B) the breadth of the present and his10 toric participation in the fishery; 

11 ‘‘(C) the economics of the fishery; 

12 ‘‘(D) the cultural and social framework rel13 evant to the fishery and any affected fishing 

14 communities; 

15 ‘‘(E) the fair and equitable distribution of 

16 a fishery as a public trust resource; and 

17 ‘‘(F) any other relevant considerations.’’. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FISHERY.—Section 

19 303(d) (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking paragraph (5); 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 

22 (4) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; 

23 (3) by striking so much as precedes paragraph 

24 (7), as so redesignated, and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(d) FISHING QUOTA SYSTEMS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A fishery management plan 

2 or plan amendment that establishes a fishing quota 

3 system for a fishery after the date of the enactment 

4 of the Fishing Quota Standards Act of 2005 shall—

5 ‘‘(A) include management measures de6 signed to ensure the sustainability of the fishery 

7 and provide additional and substantial con8 servation benefits, social benefits, and economic 

9 benefits to the fishery and fishing communities; 

10 ‘‘(B) be effective for a period of a fixed du11 ration, not to exceed 7 years; 

12 ‘‘(C) provide for administration of the sys13 tem by the Secretary in accordance with the 

14 terms of the plan; 

15 ‘‘(D) establish procedures for the Council 

16 having authority over the fishery, or the Sec17 retary in the case of a fishery management plan 

18 developed by the Secretary, to review the quota 

19 system at least 1 year prior to the end of the 

20 effective period of the plan; 

21 ‘‘(E) allocate, review, and limit or termi22 nate quota shares in accordance with this sub23 section; 
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1 ‘‘(F) provide a fair and equitable process 

2 to appeal to the Secretary decisions made by a 

3 Council on—

4 ‘‘(i) eligibility to participate in the ref5 erendum required under this subsection 

6 and eligibility to receive an allocation of 

7 quota shares; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) limitations, restrictions, and rev9 ocations of quota shares; 

10 ‘‘(G) minimize, to the maximum extent 

11 practicable, negative social and economic im12 pacts of the system on local coastal commu13 nities including historic fishing communities; 

14 ‘‘(H) minimize geographic consolidation of 

15 the fishery, including processing facilities; 

16 ‘‘(I) ensure adequate enforcement, man17 agement, and data collection, including the use 

18 of observers where appropriate at a level of cov19 erage that yields statistically significant results; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(J) not require that quota shares be held 

22 by a person engaged in personal-use fishing, in23 cluding any recreational or subsistence fishing, 

24 if the fishery management plan designates a 
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1 separate portion of the total allowable catch for 

2 personal-use fishing. 

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF QUOTA SHARES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council having 

5 authority over the fishery shall make a fair and 

6 equitable allocation of all, or a portion, of the 

7 total allowable catch limit as quota shares 

8 among categories of vessels and among fishing 

9 gear types or other appropriate qualifiers. In al10 locating quota shares for a fishery, the Council 

11 shall—

12 ‘‘(i) take into account present and his13 toric participation in the fishery; 

14 ‘‘(ii) ensure that each quota share is 

15 held only by individuals who are citizens of 

16 the United States or permanent resident 

17 aliens; 

18 ‘‘(iii) to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, preserve the percentage of the total 

20 quota shares available at the inception of 

21 the program to vessels for which the quota 

22 share holder is onboard during fishing op23 erations; 

24 ‘‘(iv) establish a mechanism to allow 

25 new entrants into the fishery; 
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1 ‘‘(v) prevent any person from control2 ling an excessive share of quota shares 

3 under a fishing quota system and establish 

4 any other limits, measures, or financial re5 porting requirements necessary to prevent 

6 inequitable concentration of quota shares 

7 and to prevent significant adverse impacts 

8 on any person that holds a permit author9 izing fishing in the fishery or fishing com10 munity; and 

11 ‘‘(vi) create incentives in successive al12 locations for fishermen who increase their 

13 use of gear that more selectively captures 

14 target species or increase protection of es15 sential fish habitat, by increasing the allo16 cation for those fishermen. 

17 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER TO FAMILY MEMBERS.—

18 (i) The Secretary may allow the transfer of a 

19 quota share allocated under subparagraph (A), 

20 on a case-by-case basis, from the holder of the 

21 quota share to a member of the holder’s imme22 diate family who would otherwise not be eligible 

23 for quota share under the program, due to 

24 death or disablement of the holder. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall establish a simple 

2 and expeditious process for such a transfer. 

3 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary may allow such a 

4 transfer only within the same category of vessel, 

5 fishing gear type, or other appropriate qualifier 

6 to maintain a fair and equitable allocation of 

7 quota shares. 

8 ‘‘(C) COMMUNITIES HOLDING QUOTAS.—

9 The Council having authority over the fishery 

10 may authorize geographically discrete commu11 nities to hold quota shares. 

12 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OR LIMITATION OF FISHING

13 QUOTA SYSTEM.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A fishing quota sys15 tem established for a fishery may be limited or 

16 terminated at any time in accordance with this 

17 paragraph if necessary for the conservation and 

18 management of the fishery, including if the 

19 quota system has been found to have jeopard20 ized the sustainability of the stock. 

21 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—A fishing quota sys22 tem may be limited or terminated under this 

23 paragraph by—

24 ‘‘(i) the Council that has authority 

25 over the fishery for which the system is es-
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1 tablished, through a fishery management 

2 plan or amendment; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary, through repeal or 

4 revocation in accordance with section 

5 304(h) of the fishery management plan 

6 that established the system; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary, in the case of any 

8 fishing quota system established by a fish9 ery management plan developed or ap10 proved by the Secretary; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary, if—

12 ‘‘(I) the Secretary finds that the 

13 system is not meeting or exceeding 

14 the requirements of the Act, including 

15 the requirement under paragraph 

16 (1)(A) to provide additional and sub17 stantial conservation benefits; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the Council or Secretary 

19 does not make the changes necessary 

20 to ensure compliance with this sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(C) OTHER AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY

23 NOT DIMINISHED.—This paragraph does not di24 minish the authority of the Secretary under any 

25 other provision of this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION, RENEWAL, OR LIMITATION

2 OF QUOTA SHARES.—A quota share issued under a 

3 fishing quota system—

4 ‘‘(A) shall expire not later than 7 years 

5 after the date it is issued; 

6 ‘‘(B) may be renewed in accordance with 

7 the terms of the plan and regulations issued by 

8 the Secretary or the Council having authority 

9 over the fishery for which it is issued, if, based 

10 on a review by the committee established under 

11 paragraph (6), the fishing quota system is 

12 meeting or exceeding the requirements of this 

13 Act and the conservation and management re14 quirements of the fishery; and 

15 ‘‘(C) may be modified, revoked, limited, or 

16 reallocated if necessary for the fishing quota 

17 system to meet or exceed the requirements of 

18 this Act and the conservation and management 

19 requirements of the fishery. 

20 ‘‘(5) REFERENDUM PROCEDURE.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—(i) A Council may 

22 submit a fishery management plan or plan 

23 amendment that establishes a fishing quota sys24 tem only if the submission of such plan or plan 
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1 amendment is approved in a referendum con2 ducted in accordance with this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may prepare a fishery 

4 management plan or plan amendment that es5 tablishes a fishing quota system only if the de6 velopment and approval of such plan or plan 

7 amendment is approved in a referendum con8 ducted in accordance with this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONDUCT.—The Secretary shall con10 duct the referendum required under subpara11 graph (A). The Secretary shall develop guide12 lines to determine procedures to conduct such 

13 referendum in a fair and equitable manner. 

14 Prior to the referendum, the Secretary shall 

15 identify and notify all persons who are eligible 

16 to vote in the referendum, and make available 

17 to all such persons information concerning the 

18 schedule, procedures, and eligibility require19 ments for the referendum process and the pro20 posed fishing quota system. 

21 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED VOTE.—Each referendum 

22 shall be decided by the affirmative vote of a 

23 two-thirds majority of the votes cast by persons 

24 who the Secretary determines are eligible to 

25 vote in the referendum. 
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1 ‘‘(D) ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE.—A 

2 person shall be eligible to participate in a ref3 erendum under this paragraph with respect to 

4 a fishery only if the person—

5 ‘‘(i) holds a permit to fish in the fish6 ery; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) is a crew member on a fishing 

8 vessel who derives at least 30 percent of 

9 their annual income from the fishery that 

10 would be subject to the proposed fishing 

11 quota system and at least 60 percent of 

12 their total annual income from fishing. 

13 ‘‘(6) COUNCIL PROGRAM REVIEW COM14 MITTEE.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Council, upon 

16 deciding to develop a fishing quota system for 

17 a fishery, shall establish, maintain, and appoint 

18 members of a review committee to make rec19 ommendations to the Council and the Secretary 

20 for development, evaluation, and necessary 

21 changes to such system to ensure that it meets 

22 the requirements of this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES FOR MEMBERS.—The 

24 Council, in consultation with the Secretary, 

25 shall develop guidelines that will ensure that re-
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1 view committee members are qualified for ap2 pointment and are subject to conflict of interest 

3 rules. 

4 ‘‘(C) SELECTION OF MEMBERS.—The 

5 Council shall select the members of each review 

6 committee from a list of individuals submitted 

7 by the Secretary. The Secretary may not sub8 mit the names of individuals to the Council for 

9 appointment unless the Secretary has deter10 mined that each such individual is qualified 

11 under the guidelines developed under with sub12 paragraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(D) APPOINTMENTS.—The members of a 

14 review committee established by a Council 

15 under this paragraph shall be appointed by the 

16 Council in such a manner as to provide fair rep17 resentation to all groups that would be affected 

18 by a fishing quota system for a fishery, includ19 ing commercial, recreational, and subsistence 

20 fishing interests, fishing communities, sci21 entists, and conservation organizations and 

22 other public interest groups. 

23 ‘‘(E) RESTRICTION ON VOTING.—A mem24 ber of a review committee established under 

25 this paragraph shall not vote on any decision 
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1 pertaining to a fishing quota system under 

2 which the member holds a quota share or will 

3 hold a quota share in the subsequent 5-year pe4 riod. 

5 ‘‘(F) REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6 REGARDING SYSTEMS.—Each review committee 

7 shall, every 7 years, review fishing quota sys8 tems, determine whether such systems meet the 

9 requirements of this Act, and evaluate whether 

10 each such system has improved management, 

11 conservation, and safety in the fishery to which 

12 it applies. Pursuant to such review, the com13 mittee shall recommend to the Secretary and 

14 the Council any changes to a fishing quota sys15 tem necessary to ensure it meets those require16 ments and standards of improvement including 

17 revoking, limiting, or reallocating quota shares. 

18 ‘‘(G) REPORTS.—The Council shall trans19 mit to the Congress a report containing the re20 sults of each review under subparagraph (F) 

21 within 90 days after the review is completed.’’; 

22 (4) in paragraph (7)(A) (as so redesignated) by 

23 striking ‘‘individual fishing quota programs’’ and in24 serting ‘‘a fishing quota system’’; 
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1 (5) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking ‘‘individual 

2 fishing quota programs’’ and inserting ‘‘fishing 

3 quota systems’’; and 

4 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(11) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 

6 subsection—

7 ‘‘(A) the term ‘additional and substantial 

8 conservation benefits to the fishery’—

9 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

10 means scientifically measurable conserva11 tion benefits to the fishery at the time of 

12 establishment of a fishing quota system, 

13 that substantially—

14 ‘‘(I) avoid bycatch and minimize 

15 the mortality of unavoidable bycatch; 

16 ‘‘(II) prevent highgrading; 

17 ‘‘(III) reduce overfishing (includ18 ing localized depletions) and rebuild 

19 overfished stocks; and 

20 ‘‘(IV) protect essential fish habi21 tat; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) if it is not possible to directly 

23 measure conservation benefits, means ac24 tions taken under a fishing quota system 
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1 that are considered necessary to provide 

2 such benefits; 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘control’ means owns, leases, 

4 or otherwise directs fishing operations under a 

5 fishing quota system; 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘excessive share’ means 

7 more than 1 percent of the total allowable catch 

8 in a fishery, except that a Council may increase 

9 such percentage—

10 ‘‘(i) to no more that 5 percent, if the 

11 Council can demonstrate that such an in12 crease will not be detrimental to other indi13 vidual holders of quota shares under a 

14 fishing quota system; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to no more that 15 percent, if 

16 there are an average of 20 or fewer partici17 pants in the fishery during the 3-year pe18 riod prior to the implementation of the 

19 control date for the fishing quota system 

20 or, if there is no control date, from the 

21 date of implementation of the fishing quota 

22 system, and the Council can demonstrate 

23 that such an increase will not be detri24 mental to other individual holders of quota 

25 shares under the system; or 
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1 ‘‘(iii) to greater than 15 percent, if 

2 there are an average of less than 7 partici3 pants in the fishery during the 3-year pe4 riod prior to the implementation of the 

5 control date for the fishing quota system 

6 or, if there is no control date, from the 

7 date of implementation of the fishing quota 

8 system, and the Council can demonstrate 

9 that such an increase will not be detri10 mental to other individual holders of quota 

11 shares under the system; and 

12 ‘‘(D) the term ‘fair and equitable alloca13 tion’ means initial and subsequent allocation of 

14 quota shares based on multiple criteria that 

15 provide for consideration of—

16 ‘‘(i) conservation performance, includ17 ing the use of selective fishing practices 

18 that have minimal bycatch, prevent 

19 highgrading, and have minimal adverse im20 pacts on essential fish habitat; 

21 ‘‘(ii) owner-operators of fishing ves22 sels; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) long-term participation in the 

24 fishery.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. ACTION BY SECRETARY. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEES.—Section 304 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1854) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (c)(3) by striking ‘‘individual 

5 fishing quota program’’ and inserting ‘‘fishing quota 

6 system’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (d)(2)—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘of any—’’ and all that fol10 lows through ‘‘community’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

11 any community’’; and 

12 (C) by striking subparagraph (B); 

13 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall establish and collect from a person that holds 

17 or transfers a quota share issued under section 303(d)(2) 

18 fees established by the Secretary in accordance with this 

19 section and section 9701(b) of title 31, United States 

20 Code. 

21 ‘‘(B) The fees required to be established and collected 

22 by the Secretary under this paragraph are the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) With respect to any initial allocation under 

24 a limited access system established after the date of 

25 the enactment of the Fishing Quota Standards Act 

26 of 2005, an initial allocation fee that shall be col-
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1 lected from the person to whom the quota share is 

2 first issued. 

3 ‘‘(ii) An annual fee that shall be collected from 

4 the holder of the quota share, and that is a percent5 age of the ex-vessel value of fish authorized to be 

6 landed in one year under the quota share. 

7 ‘‘(iii) A transfer fee that shall be collected from 

8 a person who transfers the quota share to another 

9 person. 

10 ‘‘(C) In determining the amount of a fee under sub11 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall ensure that the total 

12 amount collected from all holders of quota shares in a fish13 ery subject to a fishing quota system is sufficient to re14 cover direct costs related to administering and imple15 menting the fishing quota system, including enforcement, 

16 management, and collection of ecological and socio-eco17 nomic data (including adequate observer coverage). 

18 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, in consultation with the Coun19 cils, shall promulgate regulations prescribing the method 

20 of determining under this paragraph the ex-vessel value 

21 of fish authorized to be landed under a quota share, the 

22 amount of fees, and the method of collecting fees. 

23 ‘‘(E) Fees collected under subparagraph (B)(ii) from 

24 holders of quota shares in a fishery shall be an offsetting 

25 collection and shall be available to the Secretary only for 
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1 the purposes of administering and implementing this Act 

2 with respect to that fishery.’’. 

3 (b) ACTION ON LIMITED ACCESS SYSTEMS.—Section 

4 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) ACTION ON LIMITED ACCESS SYSTEMS.—

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF PLAN.—

8 The Secretary may not approve a fishery manage9 ment plan that establishes a fishing quota system 

10 unless the plan complies with section 303(d). 

11 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue 

12 regulations that establish requirements for estab13 lishing a fishing quota system. The regulations 

14 shall—

15 ‘‘(A) specify factors that shall be consid16 ered by a Council in determining whether a 

17 fishery should be managed under a fishing 

18 quota system; 

19 ‘‘(B) ensure that any fishing quota system 

20 is consistent with the requirements of section 

21 303(d); 

22 ‘‘(C) require the collection of fees in ac23 cordance with subsection (d)(3) of this section; 

24 ‘‘(D) provide for appropriate penalties for 

25 violations of regulations governing fishing quota 
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1 systems, including the revocation of quota 

2 shares for such violations; and 

3 ‘‘(E) establish a central lien registry sys4 tem for the identification, perfection, and deter5 mination of lien priorities, and nonjudicial fore6 closure of encumbrances, on fishing quotas.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) SECTION 305.—Section 305(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

9 1855(h)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘individual’’. 

10 (b) SECTION 402.—Section 402(b)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 

11 1881a(b)(1(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing 

12 quota program’’ and inserting ‘‘fishing quota system’’. 

13 (c) SECTION 407.—Section 407 (16 U.S.C. 1883) is 

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(D) by striking ‘‘indi16 vidual fishing quota program’’ and inserting ‘‘fishing 

17 quota system’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ‘‘individual 

19 fishing quota program’’ and inserting ‘‘fishing quota 

20 system’’.

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