I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9821 

To improve the management of forage fish. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Mr. MAST) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To improve the management of forage fish. 

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 ‘‘Forage Fish Conserva5 tion Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Section 2(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(14) Forage fish are generally small to inter11 mediate-sized species, occurring in schools or dense 

12 aggregations, and function as a main pathway for 


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1 energy to flow from phyto- and zooplankton to high2 er trophic level predators, including tuna, Alaska 

3 pollock, and other wildlife, in marine ecosystems. 

4 While most species function as prey of others at 

5 some life stage, especially when small and young, 

6 forage fish maintain this important trophic role 

7 throughout their life. Further, fluctuations in their 

8 populations can result in significant changes in ma9 rine communities and ecosystems. Therefore, par10 ticular attention to management of forage fish spe11 cies, and addressing their unique role in marine eco12 systems, is critical to maintaining ecosystem func13 tion and sustainable fisheries.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 (a) SECRETARY TO DEFINE FORAGE FISH.—Section 

16 305 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

17 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(l) FORAGE FISH.—Not later than 12 months after 

20 the date of the enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation 

21 Act of 2024, the Secretary, with advice from the Councils, 

22 shall issue a definition of the term ‘forage fish’ for the 

23 purposes of this Act, giving due consideration to defini24 tions of ‘forage fish’ included in approved fishery manage25 ment plans. In defining such term, the Secretary shall conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9821.IH H9821

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1 sider factors including whether a species covered by such 

2 definition, throughout the lifecycle of such species— 

3 ‘‘(1) is at a low trophic level; 

4 ‘‘(2) is generally small- to intermediate-sized; 

5 ‘‘(3) occurs in schools or other dense aggrega6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(4) contributes significantly to the diets of 

8 other fish, marine mammals, or birds; and 

9 ‘‘(5) serves as a conduit for energy transfer to 

10 species at a higher trophic level.’’. 

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Magnuson-Ste12 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 1802) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) 

15 as paragraph (53); 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through 

17 (50) as paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively; 

18 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through 

19 (27) as paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively; 

20 (4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(19) The term ‘forage fish’— 

23 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term by 

24 the Secretary under section 305(l); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to a species in a fishery 

2 managed pursuant to a fishery management 

3 plan or plan amendment that is approved by 

4 the Secretary, in coordination with the Coun5 cils, under section 304(a), means any species 

6 identified in such plan as a forage fish.’’; and 

7 (5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as so re8 designated by paragraph (3) of this section, the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(29) The term ‘low trophic level’ means a posi11 tion in the marine food web in which the fish gen12 erally consume plankton.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE. 

14 Section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish15 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 

18 shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for 

19 fishery management decisions, including rec20 ommendations for— 

21 ‘‘(i) acceptable biological catch; 

22 ‘‘(ii) preventing overfishing; 

23 ‘‘(iii) maximum sustainable yield; 

24 ‘‘(iv) achieving rebuilding targets; 


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1 ‘‘(v) maintaining a sufficient abundance, 

2 diversity, and localized distribution of forage 

3 fish populations to support their role in marine 

4 ecosystems; and 

5 ‘‘(vi) reports on stock status and health, 

6 bycatch, habitat status, social and economic im7 pacts of management measures, and sustain8 ability of fishing practices.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. COUNCIL FUNCTIONS. 

10 (a) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 302(h)(7) of 

11 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage12 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7)) is amended, in the mat13 ter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘forage fish 

14 populations and distribution,’’ after ‘‘habitats,’’. 

15 (b) UNMANAGED FORAGE FISH.—Section 302(h) of 

16 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage17 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para21 graph (10); and 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(9) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish oc25 curring in the area under its authority and recVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9821.IH H9821

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1 ommend within fishery management plans the prohi2 bition of the development of any new directed forage 

3 fish fishery until the Council has— 

4 ‘‘(A) considered the best scientific informa5 tion available and evaluated the potential im6 pacts of forage fish harvest on existing fish7 eries, fishing communities, and the marine eco8 system; 

9 ‘‘(B) determined whether conservation and 

10 management of the forage fish fishery is need11 ed; 

12 ‘‘(C) if a determination is made that con13 servation and management is needed, prepared 

14 and submitted to the Secretary a fishery man15 agement plan or amendment consistent with 

16 section 303; and 

17 ‘‘(D) received final, approved regulations 

18 from the Secretary pursuant to section 

19 304(b)(3); and’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 2 years after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

2 (a) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT.—Section 303(a) of 

3 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage4 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and;’’ and 

6 inserting a semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(16) when setting annual catch limits for for11 age fish fisheries, assess and specify such limits by 

12 the diet needs of fish species and other marine wild13 life, such as marine mammals and birds, for which 

14 forage fish is a significant part of their diet.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 subsection (a) shall take effect 5 years after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. ACTION BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE. 

19 Section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con20 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1854) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) 

23 as subsection (j); and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(k) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

2 after the date of the enactment of the Forage Fish 

3 Conservation Act of 2024, the Secretary, in coordi4 nation with the Councils, shall establish by regula5 tion guidelines to assist the Councils in imple6 menting sections 3(19), 302(h)(9), and 303(a)(16). 

7 ‘‘(2) WORKSHOPS.—In developing the guide8 lines under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con9 duct workshops with Councils and other scientific, 

10 fisheries, and conservation interests.’’. 

11 SEC. 8. RIVER HERRING AND SHAD. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) RIVER HERRING.—The term ‘‘river herring’’ 

14 means blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and ale15 wife (Alosa pseudoharengus). 

16 (2) SHAD.—The term ‘‘shad’’ means American 

17 shad (Alosa sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa 

18 mediocris). 

19 (b) AMENDMENTS OF PLANS.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Commerce shall— 

22 (1) amend the fishery management plans for 

23 the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, 

24 and Butterfish fisheries for the New England and 

25 Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad and river herring 


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1 as managed stocks in such plans consistent with sec2 tion 302(h)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

3 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 1852(h)(1)); 

5 (2) initiate additional fishery management plan 

6 amendments to be completed in not more than 1 

7 year from the date of the addition of the species 

8 identified in paragraph (1) in order to develop and 

9 implement all required conservation and manage10 ment measures for such stocks consistent with the 

11 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Man12 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and all other 

13 applicable law; and 

14 (3) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or fish15 ery management plan provision, including conserva16 tion and management measures under section 

17 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con18 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

19 1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing resources to pro20 vide, for not less than 50 percent of all relevant fish21 ing trips, not fewer than 1 at-sea observer or an on22 board electronic or video means of producing equiva23 lent at-sea monitoring information, for any vessel 

24 using mid-water trawl or paired mid-water trawl 


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1 fishing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlantic 

2 mackerel fisheries. 

3 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Nothing in this Act may be construed as— 

5 (1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or 

6 authority of any State within its boundaries; or 

7 (2) affecting— 

8 (A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

9 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

10 U.S.C. 1856); or 

11 (B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooper12 ative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 et 

13 seq.). 

Æ 


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