I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2889

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study of existing and 

new fishery observer data to effectively map migratory patterns, delineate 

wintering areas and feeding grounds of Atlantic Striped Bass in the 

Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic zone, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2003

Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study 

of existing and new fishery observer data to effectively 

map migratory patterns, delineate wintering areas and 

feeding grounds of Atlantic Striped Bass in the MidAtlantic exclusive economic zone, 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 ‘‘Atlantic Striped Bass 

5 Protection Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are the following: 
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1 (1) To establish measures to minimize bycatch 

2 and the mortality of such bycatch of Atlantic Striped 

3 Bass, Morone saxatilis, occurring in the non-directed 

4 fisheries that operate in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive 

5 economic zone and encounter Atlantic Striped Bass 

6 during seasonal migrations. 

7 (2) To direct the Secretary of Commerce to 

8 conduct a study of existing and new fishery observer 

9 data, to effectively map migratory patterns, delin10 eate wintering areas, and feeding grounds of Atlan11 tic Striped Bass in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive eco12 nomic zone. 

13 (3) To delineate areas of highest Atlantic 

14 Striped Bass discard and bycatch associated with 

15 mobile net gear on a seasonal-, spatial-, temporal-, 

16 and gear-specific basis in the waters off the Mid-At17 lantic coast of the United States. 

18 (4) To identify, through analysis of historical 

19 and forthcoming at sea observer data, gear types, 

20 and fisheries that experience high levels of Atlantic 

21 Striped Bass discard and bycatch. 

22 (5) To protect the historical opportunities of 

23 the recreational Atlantic Striped Bass fishery, to 

24 protect the various businesses and economic niches 

25 that are wholly or partly dependent upon the rec-
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1 reational Atlantic Striped Bass fishery, to protect 

2 the seasonal aggregations of Atlantic Striped Bass 

3 that occur on wintering feeding grounds, to protect 

4 the seasonal migrations of Atlantic Striped Bass 

5 that occur in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic 

6 zone, to amass an understanding of the bycatch of 

7 Atlantic Striped Bass in the non-directed commer8 cial fisheries. 

9 (6) To protect the historical opportunities of 

10 the recreational Striped Bass fishery to ensure the 

11 maintenance of the Atlantic Striped Bass stock and 

12 will help achieve the conservation goals. 

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

14 The Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) Once primarily a coastal, near shore fishery, 

16 increasing numbers of Atlantic Striped Bass are oc17 cupying the Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic zone as 

18 management measures have rebuilt stock levels to 

19 unprecedented levels. 

20 (2) Variations in weather and oceanographic 

21 patterns have allowed Atlantic Striped Bass to ex22 pand their range farther offshore into the Mid-At23 lantic exclusive economic zone. 

24 (3) Extensive coastal migrations of Atlantic 

25 Striped Bass, which tend to be age- and sex-depend-
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1 ent, occur annually in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive eco2 nomic zone. 

3 (4) Atlantic Striped Bass also aggregate on bot4 tom features that tend to hold forage fish, including 

5 herring, mackerel, menhaden, and utilize these areas 

6 as winter-feeding grounds. 

7 (5) These life history characteristics make large 

8 numbers of Atlantic Striped Bass vulnerable to com9 mercial fishing gear. 

10 (6) Commercial fishing efforts coinciding with 

11 coastal migrations of Atlantic Striped Bass and that 

12 occur on winter-feeding grounds is creating a by13 catch problem. 

14 (7) A Federal moratorium on harvesting of At15 lantic Striped Bass in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive 

16 economic zone was implemented in 1990 and it im17 posed possession and harvest prohibitions by both 

18 recreational and commercial fishermen. This con19 servation measure contributed to the eventual recov20 ery of the Atlantic Striped Bass stock and continues 

21 to keep Atlantic Striped Bass fishing mortality rate 

22 below the applicable target. Yet the bycatch problem 

23 in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic zone by the 

24 non-directed fisheries is having a negative effect on 

25 these benefits and further is in violation of the na-
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1 tional standard set forth in section 301(a)(9) of the 

2 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man3 agement Act. 

4 (8) As the bycatch of Atlantic Striped Bass in5 creases, it may increase the fishing mortality rate of 

6 Atlantic Striped Bass above the 0.30 target as dic7 tated in Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery 

8 Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. Provi9 sions in Amendment 6 further attempt to increase 

10 the number of larger Atlantic Striped Bass in the 

11 population and develop a fuller age structure. Pre12 liminary reports indicate that the growing stock of 

13 Atlantic Striped Bass in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive 

14 economic zone is largely composed of older fish, 

15 which would compromise the conservation goals of 

16 Amendment 6 which attempts to increase the per17 centage of the larger Atlantic Striped Bass. This Act 

18 will initiate data collection to better understand this 

19 issue and move forward with the necessary manage20 ment measures. 

21 SEC. 4. STUDY OF ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS IN THE MID-AT22 LANTIC EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

24 conduct a study—
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1 (1) to use data gathered by observers on fishing 

2 vessels to effectively map migratory patterns, win3 tering areas, and feeding grounds of Atlantic Striped 

4 Bass in the waters of the Mid-Atlantic exclusive eco5 nomic zone—

6 (A) including—

7 (i) data from observer trip records 

8 from 1992 through 2002; and 

9 (ii) data regarding fisheries using an10 chored sink gillnets, drift sink gillnets, 

11 small mesh trawls, large mesh trawls, mid12 water trawls, and pair trawls; and 

13 (B) paying particular attention to trips 

14 targeting monkfish, herring, mackerel, spiny 

15 dogfish, weakfish, croaker, summer flounder, 

16 and loligo; 

17 (2) use data referred to in paragraph (1) to—

18 (A) identify and map, on a spatial and 

19 temporal scale, locations in which deployed gear 

20 caught or discarded Atlantic Striped Bass in 

21 excess of 10 percent of the target species land22 ed on that trip; and 

23 (B) identify gear types that result in catch 

24 or discard of bycatch of Atlantic Striped Bass 
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1 in excess of 10 percent of the total of target 

2 species landed; 

3 (3) confirm data referred to in paragraph (1), 

4 using observers on—

5 (A) fishing vessels operating in areas and 

6 during times identified under paragraph (2)(A); 

7 and 

8 (B) fishing vessels using gear identified 

9 under paragraph (2)(B). 

10 (b) REPORT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall submit to the Congress a report on the findings 

14 and conclusions of the study under this section. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the 

16 following: 

17 (A) The months of the year during which 

18 Atlantic Striped Bass are most abundant in the 

19 Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic zone. 

20 (B) The areas in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive 

21 economic zone that are wintering grounds for 

22 Atlantic Striped Bass. 

23 (C) The areas in the Mid-Atlantic exclusive 

24 economic zone that are feeding grounds for At25 lantic Striped Bass. 
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1 (D) The areas in the Mid-Atlantic exclu2 sive economic zone where the core of the annual 

3 coastal migration of Atlantic Striped Bass is lo4 cated on a weekly basis. 

5 (E) The estimated biomass, age structure, 

6 and sex ratio of the annual coastal migration of 

7 Atlantic Striped Bass. 

8 (F) The months each year in which the 

9 coastal migration of Atlantic Striped Bass expe10 riences elevated levels of bycatch in the non-di11 rected commercial fisheries. 

12 (G) The gear types that account for the 

13 highest amounts of Atlantic Striped Bass by14 catch. 

15 (H) A description of how the actions of the 

16 non-directed Atlantic Striped Bass commercial 

17 fisheries in Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic 

18 zone—

19 (i) affect recreational opportunities in 

20 the fishery; and 

21 (ii) affect the Atlantic Striped Bass 

22 stock as one management unit. 

23 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT MEASURES. 

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

25 date the Secretary submits the report under section 4(b), 
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1 the Secretary shall promulgate regulations under section 

2 9 of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1851 note) that are based on the findings of the 

4 study under section 4 of this Act and that establish con5 servation and management measures (as that term is used 

6 in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man7 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) to minimize the by8 catch and mortality of bycatch of Atlantic Striped Bass 

9 caught in non-directed commercial fishing in the Mid-At10 lantic exclusive economic zone. 

11 (b) TEMPORARY CLOSURES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Regulations under this sec13 tion shall include temporary closure of any area 

14 identified in the study under section 4 as a location 

15 in which there is a particularly high level of Atlantic 

16 Striped Bass in non-directed commercial fishing, 

17 under which the deployment of net, finfish trap, or 

18 longline gear by any vessel fishing under a Federal 

19 fishing permit shall be prohibited. 

20 (2) DURATION AND LOCATION.—The Secretary 

21 shall—

22 (A) base the duration and location of any 

23 temporary closure on the findings of an analysis 

24 of observer data; and 
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1 (B) design the period of such closure to co2 incide with periods in which there are high lev3 els of Striped Bass interactions in the exclusive 

4 economic zone. 

5 (c) POSSESSION REGULATIONS.—Regulations under 

6 this section shall not affect regulations in effect on the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act under section 9 of the 

8 Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 5158) 

9 governing possession of Atlantic Striped Bass in the Mid10 Atlantic exclusive economic zone. 

11 SEC. 6. PEER REVIEW. 

12 Before issuing any final report under section 4 or 

13 final regulations under section 5, the Secretary shall sub14 mit the report or regulations, respectively to peer review 

15 by the Northeast Fishery Science Center of the National 

16 Marine Fisheries Service. 

17 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) MID-ATLANTIC EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC

20 ZONE.—The term ‘‘Mid-Atlantic exclusive economic 

21 zone’’ means waters of the exclusive economic zone 

22 along the Atlantic coast of the United States located 

23 between 41°5′ North latitude and 35°10′ south lati24 tude. 
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1 (2) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

2 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ has the meaning given 

3 that term is section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

4 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

5 U.S.C. 1802). 

6 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of Commerce.

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