I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2621

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to establish requirements for fishing quota systems. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2003

Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. 

CAPUANO, Mr. FARR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, 

and Ms. WOOLSEY) 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.

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 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY 

2 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Magnuson-Ste4 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

5 U.S.C. 1853) is amended—

6 (1) by striking subsection (b)(6) and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(6) establish a limited access system for the 

9 fishery in order to achieve optimum yield if, in devel10 oping such system, the Council and the Secretary 

11 take into account—

12 ‘‘(A) the conservation requirements of this 

13 Act with respect to the fishery; 

14 ‘‘(B) the present and historic participation 

15 in the fishery; 

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

17 ‘‘(D) the cultural and social framework rel18 evant to the fishery and any affected fishing 

19 communities; 

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

21 a public resource; and 

22 ‘‘(F) any other relevant considerations.’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) in subsection (d)—

25 (A) by striking paragraph (5); 
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1 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

2 through (4) as paragraphs (7) through (9); 

3 (C) by striking so much as precedes para4 graph (7), as so redesignated, and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(d) FISHING QUOTA SYSTEMS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A fishery management plan 

8 or plan amendment that establishes a fishing quota 

9 system for a fishery after the date of the enactment 

10 of the Fishing Quota Standards Act of 2003 shall—

11 ‘‘(A) include management measures de12 signed to ensure the sustainability of the fishery 

13 and provide additional and substantial con14 servation benefits to the fishery; 

15 ‘‘(B) be effective for a period of a fixed du16 ration, not to exceed 7 years; 

17 ‘‘(C) provide for administration of the sys18 tem by the Secretary in accordance with the 

19 terms of the plan; 

20 ‘‘(D) establish procedures— 

21 ‘‘(i) for the Council having authority 

22 over the fishery, or the Secretary in the 

23 case of a fishery management plan devel24 oped by the Secretary, to review the quota 
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1 system at least 1 year prior to the end of 

2 the effective period of the plan; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for a review by the Secretarial 

4 Review Panel established under paragraph 

5 (6) at least 6 months prior to the end of 

6 the effective period;

7 ‘‘(E) allocate, review, and limit or termi8 nate quota shares in accordance with this sub9 section; 

10 ‘‘(F) provide a fair and equitable process 

11 to appeal to the Secretary decisions made by a 

12 Council on—

13 ‘‘(i) eligibility to participate in all 

14 referenda authorized under this subsection 

15 and eligibility to receive an allocation of 

16 quota shares; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) limitations, restrictions, and rev18 ocations of quota shares; 

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

20 practicable, negative social and economic im21 pacts of the system on local coastal commu22 nities; 

23 ‘‘(H) ensure adequate enforcement, man24 agement, and data collection, including the use 

25 of observers where appropriate at a level of cov-
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1 erage that yields statistically significant results; 

2 and

3 ‘‘(I) not require that quota shares be held 

4 by a person engaged in personal-use fishing, in5 cluding any recreational or subsistence fishing, 

6 if the fishery management plan designates a 

7 separate portion of the total allowable catch for 

8 personal-use fishing. 

9 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF QUOTA SHARES.—

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

11 authority over the fishery shall make a fair and 

12 equitable allocation of all, or only a portion, of 

13 the total allowable catch limit as quota shares 

14 among existing categories of vessels and among 

15 fishing gear types or other appropriate quali16 fiers. In allocating quota shares for a fishery, 

17 the Council shall—

18 ‘‘(i) take into account present and his19 toric participation in the fishery; 

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

21 held only by persons who—

22 ‘‘(I) except for allocations under 

23 clause (iii), hold a permit to fish in 

24 the fishery; and
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1 ‘‘(II) are natural persons of the 

2 United States or permanent resident 

3 aliens qualified by Federal or State 

4 law to participate in the fishery; 

5 ‘‘(iii) establish procedures for allo6 cating a portion of the annual harvest to 

7 allow new entrants into the fishery; 

8 ‘‘(iv) prevent any person from control9 ling an excessive share of fishing quotas 

10 issued for the fishery and establish any 

11 other limits or measures necessary to pre12 vent inequitable concentration of quota 

13 shares and to prevent significant impacts 

14 on any person that holds a permit author15 izing fishing in the fishery or the fishing 

16 community; and 

17 ‘‘(v) create incentives in successive al18 locations for fishermen who increase their 

19 gear selectivity and protection of essential 

20 fish habitat by increasing the allocation for 

21 those fishermen.

22 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER TO FAMILY MEMBERS.—

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

24 quota share allocated under subparagraph (A), 

25 on a case-by-case basis, without regard to sub-
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1 paragraph (A)(ii)(I), from the holder of the 

2 quota share to a member of the holder’s imme3 diate family, due to death or disablement of the 

4 holder. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall establish a simple 

6 and expeditious process for such a transfer. 

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

8 transfer only within the same category of vessel, 

9 fishing gear type, or other appropriate qualifier 

10 to maintain a fair and equitable allocation of 

11 quota shares.

12 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OR LIMITATION OF QUOTA

13 SYSTEM OR QUOTA SHARES.—

14 ‘‘(A) TERMINATION OR LIMITATION OF

15 QUOTA SYSTEM FOR CONSERVATION AND MAN16 AGEMENT OF THE FISHERY.—A fishing quota 

17 system established for a fishery may be limited 

18 or terminated at any time if necessary for the 

19 conservation and management of the fishery, 

20 including if the quota system has been found to 

21 have jeopardized the sustainability of the stock 

22 or the safety of fishermen, by—

23 ‘‘(i) the Council that has authority 

24 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, pursuant to sec4 tion 304(h); 

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

6 fishing quota system established by a fish7 ery management plan developed or ap8 proved by the Secretary; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary, if the Secretarial 

10 Review Panel finds that the system is not 

11 meeting or exceeding the requirements of 

12 this Act, including, if applicable, the re13 quirement under paragraph (1)(A) to pro14 vide additional and substantial conserva15 tion benefits, and the Council or Secretary 

16 does not make the changes recommended 

17 by the Secretarial Review Panel to ensure 

18 compliance with this subsection.

19 This subparagraph does not diminish the au20 thority of the Secretary under any other provi21 sion of this Act. 

22 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OR LIMITATION OF

23 QUOTA SHARES.—A quota share issued under a 

24 fishing quota system established by a fishery 

25 management plan—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall expire not later than 7 years 

2 after the date it is issued; 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall be reviewed by the Council 

4 committee established in paragraph (5) not 

5 later than 6 months prior to expiration 

6 under clause (i); and 

7 ‘‘(iii) shall be revoked, limited, or re8 allocated in accordance with the terms of 

9 the plan and regulations issued by the Sec10 retary or the Council having authority over 

11 the fishery for which it is issued, if, based 

12 on a review by the committee established 

13 under paragraph (5), the quota share14 holder is not meeting or exceeding the re15 quirements of this Act or the conservation 

16 and management requirements of the fish17 ery (including as a result of a violation of 

18 this Act or any regulation prescribed under 

19 this Act). 

20 ‘‘(4) 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 development and submission of 

25 such plan or plan amendment is approved in
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1 referenda conducted in accordance with this 

2 paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary, in the case of a fishery 

4 management plan developed by the Secretary, 

5 may develop and approve a fishery management 

6 plan or plan amendment that establishes a fish7 ing quota system only if the development and 

8 approval of such plan or plan amendment is ap9 proved in referenda conducted in accordance 

10 with this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(B) CONDUCT.—The Secretary shall con12 duct the referenda required under subpara13 graph (A). The Secretary shall develop guide14 lines to determine procedures for the referenda 

15 to conduct such referenda in a fair and equi16 table manner. Prior to the referenda, the Sec17 retary shall identify and notify all persons who 

18 are eligible to vote in the referenda and make 

19 available to all such persons information con20 cerning the schedule, procedures, and eligibility 

21 requirements for the referendum process and 

22 the proposed fishing quota system. 

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

24 shall be decided by the affirmative vote of a 

25 two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the per-
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1 sons who the Secretary determines are eligible 

2 to vote in the referendum. 

3 ‘‘(D) INITIAL REFERENDUM.—The Sec4 retary shall conduct an initial referendum to de5 termine support for proceeding with the devel6 opment of a fishing quota system. Eligible vot7 ers shall be all persons who hold a permit to 

8 fish in the fishery subject to the proposed quota 

9 system. 

10 ‘‘(E) SECOND REFERENDUM.—The Sec11 retary shall conduct a second referendum to de12 termine support for submitting a specific pro13 posed fishing quota system for approval and im14 plementation. Eligible voters shall be all persons 

15 who hold a permit to fish in the fishery or crew 

16 members who derive at least 75 percent of their 

17 income from the fishery subject to the proposed 

18 fishing quota system. 

19 ‘‘(5) COUNCIL PROGRAM REVIEW COM20 MITTEE.—

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

22 deciding to develop a fishing quota program for 

23 a fishery, shall establish, maintain, and appoint 

24 members of a review committee to make rec25 ommendations for development, evaluation, and 
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1 necessary changes to such programs to ensure 

2 that they meet the requirements of this sub3 section. 

4 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES FOR MEMBERS.—The 

5 Council, in consultation with the Secretary, 

6 shall develop guidelines that will ensure that 

7 committee members are qualified for appoint8 ment and are subject to conflict of interest 

9 rules. A member shall not vote on any decision 

10 pertaining to a fishing quota system under 

11 which the member holds a quota share or will 

12 hold a quota share in the subsequent 5-year pe13 riod. 

14 ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENTS.—The members of a 

15 review committee established by a Council 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall be made by the 

17 Council in such a manner as to provide fair rep18 resentation to all groups affected by such pro19 grams, including, but not limited to, commer20 cial, recreational, and subsistence fishing inter21 ests, fishing communities, scientists, and public 

22 interest groups including conservation organiza23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(D) REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

25 REGARDING SYSTEMS.—Each review committee 
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1 shall, every 7 years, review fishing quota sys2 tems, determine whether such systems meet the 

3 requirements of this Act, and evaluate whether 

4 each such system has improved management, 

5 conservation, and safety in the fishery. Pursu6 ant to such review, the committee shall rec7 ommend any changes to a system necessary to 

8 ensure it meets those requirements and stand9 ards of improvement. 

10 ‘‘(E) REVIEW OF FISHING QUOTA HOLD11 ERS.—(i) The review committee shall review 

12 compliance of fishing quota holders under a 

13 fishing quota system with the system and this 

14 Act at least once every 7 years, and may rec15 ommend that a quota share be limited, reduced, 

16 or revoked if the shareholder is not meeting 

17 such requirements. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Reduced and revoked quota shares 

19 shall be reallocated through a mechanism ap20 proved by the Council. In the case of any such 

21 reallocation, preference shall be given to those 

22 quota shareholders that the review committee 

23 determines are providing additional and sub24 stantial conservation benefits to the fishery, or 

25 to new entrants in a fishing gear type or vessel
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1 category that, as a group, are providing addi2 tional and substantial conservation benefits to 

3 the fishery. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Any recommendation for limitation, 

5 reduction, revocation, or reallocation of quota 

6 share is subject to appeal under the process es7 tablished under paragraph (1)(F). 

8 ‘‘(F) REPORTS.—The Council shall trans9 mit to the Congress a report containing the re10 sults of each fishing quota system review within 

11 90 days after the review is completed. 

12 ‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL REVIEW PANEL.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

14 months after the date of the enactment of the 

15 Fishing Quota Standards Act of 2003, the Sec16 retary shall establish a review panel—

17 ‘‘(i) to conduct reviews of fishing 

18 quota systems to determine whether such 

19 systems are meeting the requirements of 

20 this subsection; 

21 ‘‘(ii) to provide the appropriate Coun22 cil with recommendations on whether a 

23 fishing quota system should be renewed if 

24 it is meeting or exceeding the requirements 

25 of this Act, including, if applicable, the re-
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1 quirement under paragraph (1)(A) to pro2 vide additional and substantial conserva3 tion benefits, and if not, what modifica4 tions must be made to the system in order 

5 for it to be renewed; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) to develop standards for the re7 view of fishing quota shareholders by fish8 ing quota review committees established 

9 under paragraph (5) by Councils. 

10 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The review panel 

11 shall consist of—

12 ‘‘(i) the Secretary or a designee of the 

13 Secretary; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Commandant of the Coast 

15 Guard or a designee of the Commandant; 

16 ‘‘(iii) a representative of each Council, 

17 selected by the Council from among its 

18 members; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) 5 individuals with knowledge and 

20 experience in fisheries management. 

21 ‘‘(C) VOTING.—(i) A member of the review 

22 panel that is a representative of a Council shall 

23 not vote on any decision pertaining to a fishing 

24 quota system for a fishery that is under the ju25 risdiction of the Council. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) A member of the review panel shall 

2 not vote on a decision pertaining to any fishing 

3 quota system under which the member holds a 

4 quota share or will hold a quota share in the 

5 subsequent 5-year period. 

6 ‘‘(D) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 6 

7 months after the date of its establishment, the 

8 review panel shall also, based on an evaluation 

9 of the fishing quota systems that were estab10 lished prior to June 1, 1995, submit rec11 ommendations to the Secretary for the develop12 ment of the regulations required under section 

13 304(i). The review panel shall pay particular at14 tention to—

15 ‘‘(i) the success of the systems in con16 serving and managing fisheries; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the costs of implementing and 

18 enforcing the systems; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the economic effects of the sys20 tems on local communities; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the methods used to establish or 

22 allocate quota shares.’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 

25 subsection—
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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘additional and substantial 

2 conservation benefits to the fishery’—

3 ‘‘(i) means scientifically measurable 

4 benefits to the fishery at the time of estab5 lishment of the system, that substan6 tially—

7 ‘‘(I) avoid bycatch and minimize 

8 the mortality of unavoidable bycatch; 

9 ‘‘(II) prevent highgrading; 

10 ‘‘(III) reduce overfishing (includ11 ing localized depletions) and rebuild 

12 overfished stocks; and 

13 ‘‘(IV) protect essential fish habi14 tat; or 

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

16 measure conservation benefits, means ac17 tions taken by a fishing quota shareholder 

18 that are considered necessary to provide 

19 such benefits; 

20 ‘‘(B) the term ‘excessive share’ means 

21 more than 1 percent of the total allowable catch 

22 in a fishery, except that a Council may increase 

23 such percentage—

24 ‘‘(i) to no more than 5 percent, if the 

25 Council can demonstrate that such an in-
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1 crease will not be detrimental to other indi2 vidual fishing quota shareholders in the 

3 program; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) to no more than 15 percent, if 

5 there are 20 or fewer participants in the 

6 fishery and the Council can demonstrate 

7 that such an increase will not be detri8 mental to other individual quota share9 holders in the program; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the term ‘fair and equitable alloca11 tion’ means initial or subsequent allocation of 

12 fishing quota shares based on multiple criteria 

13 that provide consideration for—

14 ‘‘(i) conservation performance, includ15 ing the use of selective fishing practices 

16 that have minimal bycatch, prevent 

17 highgrading, and have minimal adverse im18 pacts on essential fish habitat; 

19 ‘‘(ii) owner-operators of fishing ves20 sels; and 

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

22 fishery.’’. 

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

24 304 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by striking
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1 subsection (d)(2)(B), and by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(i) ACTION ON LIMITED ACCESS SYSTEMS.—In ad4 dition to the other requirements of this Act, the Secretary 

5 may not approve a fishery management plan that estab6 lishes a limited access system that provides for the alloca7 tion of fishing quotas (in this subsection referred to as 

8 a ‘fishing quota system’) unless the plan complies with 

9 section 303(d). Within 1 year after receipt of rec10 ommendations from the review panel established under 

11 section 303(d)(6), the Secretary shall issue regulations 

12 that establish requirements for establishing a fishing 

13 quota system. The regulations shall be developed in ac14 cordance with the recommendations of the review panel. 

15 The regulations shall—

16 ‘‘(1) specify factors that shall be considered by 

17 a Council in determining whether a fishery should be 

18 managed under a fishing quota system; 

19 ‘‘(2) ensure that any fishing quota system is 

20 consistent with the requirements of section 303(d), 

21 and require the collection of fees in accordance with 

22 subsection (d)(1) of this section; 

23 ‘‘(3) provide for appropriate penalties for viola24 tions of regulations governing fishing quota systems, 
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1 including the revocation of quota shares for such 

2 violations; and 

3 ‘‘(4) establish a central lien registry system for 

4 the identification, perfection, and determination of 

5 lien priorities, and nonjudicial foreclosure of encum6 brances, on fishing quotas.’’. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

8 1802) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(48) The term ‘fishing quota system’ means 

10 any system that requires a user to acquire a Federal 

11 permit, which specifies by a unit or units a percent12 age of the total allowable catch of a fishery that may 

13 be received or held for exclusive use by a person or 

14 a definable group of persons, to harvest fish in a 

15 fishery, during each fishing season for which the 

16 permission is granted, including area or community 

17 quotas, sector quotas, fishing cooperatives, and fish18 ing quota programs. 

19 ‘‘(49) The term ‘quota share’ means a Federal 

20 permit under a fishing quota system to harvest a 

21 quantity of fish, expressed by a unit or units rep22 resenting a percentage of the total allowable catch of 

23 a fishery that may be received or held for exclusive 

24 use by a person or a definable group of persons, dur-
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1 ing each fishing season for which the permission is 

2 granted.’’. 

3 (d) FEES.—Section 304(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 1854(d)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘any’’ and 

6 all that follows through ‘‘(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘any’’; 

7 and 

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

9 ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

10 Secretary shall collect from a person that holds or 

11 transfers a quota share issued under section 

12 303(d)(2) fees established by the Secretary in ac13 cordance with this section and section 9701(b) of 

14 title 31, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(B) The fees required to be established and 

16 collected by the Secretary under this paragraph are 

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(i) With respect to any initial allocation 

19 under a limited access system established after 

20 the date of the enactment of the Fishing Quota 

21 Standards Act of 2003, an initial allocation fee 

22 that shall be collected from the person to whom 

23 the quota share is first issued. 

24 ‘‘(ii) An annual fee that shall be collected 

25 from the holder of the quota share, and that is 
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1 a percentage of the ex-vessel value of fish land2 ed in one year under the quota share. 

3 ‘‘(iii) A transfer fee that shall be collected 

4 from a person who transfers the quota share to 

5 another person. 

6 ‘‘(C) In determining the amount of a fee under 

7 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall ensure that 

8 the total amount collected from all quota share9 holders in the fishery is sufficient to recover direct 

10 costs related to administering and implementing the 

11 program, including enforcement, management, data 

12 collection (including adequate observer coverage), 

13 and scientific research, and to recover a fair re14 source rent. 

15 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

16 Councils, shall promulgate regulations prescribing 

17 the method of determining under this paragraph the 

18 ex-vessel value of fish authorized under a quota 

19 share, the amount of fees, and the method of col20 lecting fees. 

21 ‘‘(E) Fees collected under subparagraph (B)(ii) 

22 from holders of quota shares in a fishery shall be an 

23 offsetting collection and shall be available to the Sec24 retary only for the purposes of administering and 

25 implementing this Act with respect to that fishery.’’. 
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1 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) The following provisions of the Magnuson3 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

4 are each amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing 

5 quota’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘quota 

6 share’’: 

7 (A) Section 303(d)(7), as redesignated by 

8 subsection (a)(2) of this section. 

9 (B) Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C. 

10 211854(c)(3)). 

11 (C) Section 402(b)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 

12 1881a(b)(1)(D)). 

13 (D) Section 407(a)(1)(D), (c)(1), and 

14 (c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1883(a)(1)(D), (c)(1), and 

15 (c)(2)(B)). 

16 (2) Section 305(h)(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 1855(h)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘individual’’.

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