I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H.R. 4773

To provide for the conservation and rebuilding of overfished stocks of Atlantic

highly migratory species of fish, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 2000

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the conservation and rebuilding of overfished

stocks of Atlantic highly migratory species of fish, 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 Highly Migra5 tory Species Conservation Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Highly migratory species of fish, including

9 North Atlantic swordfish, species of Atlantic billfish,

10 and Atlantic large coastal sharks, are overfished and
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1 require greater conservation as confirmed by recent

2 scientific assessments. In its most recent analysis,

3 the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics

4 of the International Commission for the Conserva5 tion of Atlantic Tunas estimated that a number of

6 key stocks of highly migratory species have less than

7 the biomass needed to produce their respective max8 imum sustainable yields. The 1999 SCRS stock as9 sessment estimated that the North Atlantic sword10 fish stock was at 65 percent of the necessary bio11 mass to produce maximum sustainable yield. The

12 1997 SCRS stock assessment estimated that the At13 lantic blue marlin stock was at 24 percent, and the

14 Atlantic white marlin stock was at 23 percent, of the

15 necessary biomass to produce MSY. In its most re16 cent stock assessment for Atlantic sailfish/spearfish,

17 the SCRS estimated these stocks were at 62 percent

18 of the necessary biomass to produce MSY. Also, the

19 National Marine Fisheries Service has identified

20 North Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic blue marlin, At21 lantic white marlin, Atlantic sailfish/spearfish, and

22 other highly migratory species of fish as overfished.

23 (2) A reduction in the mortality of undersized

24 swordfish will contribute substantially to the rebuild25 ing of North Atlantic swordfish as confirmed by a
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1 1998 SCRS report that expressed ‘‘concern about

2 the high catches (landings plus discards) of small

3 swordfish’’ and ‘‘emphasized that gains in the yield

4 could accrue if fishing mortality on small fish could

5 be further reduced.’’

6 (3) In 1998, ICCAT adopted a resolution di7 recting the SCRS to develop options for rebuilding

8 North Atlantic swordfish to levels that would

9 produce the maximum sustainable yield, including

10 alternative methods for reducing small fish mor11 tality, for consideration at the ICCAT meeting in

12 1999.

13 (4) Reducing the mortality of species of Atlan14 tic billfish, including Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic

15 white marlin, and Atlantic sailfish/spearfish, will

16 contribute substantially to the rebuilding of these

17 stocks.

18 (5) In 1990, ICCAT encouraged its member

19 states to take appropriate measures within their na20 tional jurisdictions to protect small swordfish, in21 cluding the establishment of time and area closures.

22 (6) Significant reductions in the mortality of ju23 venile swordfish, Atlantic white marlin, Atlantic blue

24 marlin, Atlantic sailfish/spearfish, species of Atlantic

25 large coastal sharks, and other highly migratory spe-
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1 cies of fish within the exclusive economic zone of the

2 United States can be achieved by the design and im3 plementation of discrete, scientifically based time4 area closures for pelagic longline fishing.

5 (7) A credible, scientifically based time-area clo6 sure for pelagic longline fishing that would achieve

7 reductions in the bycatch and mortality of overfished

8 highly migratory species within the United States

9 exclusive economic zone will provide a model for ap10 plying the same conservation concept more broadly

11 in international waters through ICCAT in further

12 pursuit of the goal of rebuilding the stocks of these

13 species.

14 (8) The time-area closures for pelagic longline

15 fishing within the United States exclusive economic

16 zone that will achieve the conservation objectives for

17 swordfish, billfish, and large coastal sharks in the

18 Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and that will re19 duce conflicts between commercial and recreational

20 fishermen will result in harmful economic impacts on

21 United States commercial fishermen who engage in

22 pelagic longline fishing, as well as their families.

23 Such harmful economic impacts can be offset by a

24 fair and equitable buyout of the permits and licenses

25 of certain pelagic longline fishing vessels.
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1 (9) There is a great need for the National Ma2 rine Fisheries Service to conduct additional scientific

3 research, in cooperation with pelagic longline fishing

4 vessels, to identify the uses and configurations of pe5 lagic longline fishing gear that are most effective in

6 reducing bycatch.

7 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

8 The Congress declares that the purposes of this Act

9 are—

10 (1) to expand the scientific knowledge and un11 derstanding of Atlantic highly migratory species and

12 the fisheries of the United States, including rec13 reational and commercial research, both design and

14 deployment;

15 (2) to contribute to the conservation and re16 building of overfished stocks of highly migratory spe17 cies, including North Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic

18 white marlin, Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic sailfish/

19 spearfish, and Atlantic large coastal sharks, through

20 reductions in mortality and the protection of those

21 areas that may occur within the exclusive economic

22 zone of the United States, to levels that will produce

23 maximum sustainable yield, in compliance with

24 United States obligations under the International

25 Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
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1 and consistent with section 301(a)(1) of the Magnu2 son-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)) and section

3 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1854);

4 (3) to minimize socio-economic impacts on

5 United States commercial fishermen and their fami6 lies, consistent with section 301(a)(8) of the Magnu7 son-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)) and the re8 quirements of chapter 6 of title 5, United States

9 Code (popularly known as the Regulatory Flexibility

10 Act), resulting from the conservation actions taken

11 under this Act;

12 (4) to ensure a sustainable fishery and a sus13 tainable United States pelagic longline fishery for

14 the future;

15 (5) to minimize both bycatch, including regu16 latory discards, consistent with the Magnuson-Ste17 vens Act and the international obligations of the

18 United States, and marine mammal and sea turtle

19 mortality as required by the Marine Mammal Pro20 tection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act

21 of 1973;

22 (6) to support and encourage the United States

23 Government’s efforts to obtain international agree24 ments that provide for effective fishery conservation

25 and management consistent with the policies set
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1 forth in section 2(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

2 (16 U.S.C. 1801(c)) and to provide the necessary

3 leadership for achieving greater international con4 servation of highly migratory species;

5 (7) to reduce conflicts within the exclusive eco6 nomic zone of the United States between the pelagic

7 longline and recreational fisheries for highly migra8 tory species; and

9 (8) to minimize bycatch, and to the extent pos10 sible, to prevent displacement of fishing effort result11 ing from the conservation actions under this Act.

12 SEC. 4. POLICY.

13 It is declared to be the policy of the Congress in this

14 Act that, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, all

15 United States fishermen shall be treated fairly in achiev16 ing national and international fishery conservation and

17 management objectives and obligations for highly migra18 tory species of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

19 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

21 (1) BILLFISH.—The term ‘‘billfish’’ means blue

22 marlin, spearfish, sailfish, and white marlin.

23 (2) BYCATCH.—The term ‘‘bycatch’’ means fish

24 that are harvested in a fishery, but that are not sold

25 or kept for personal use, and includes economic dis-
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1 cards and regulatory discards. The term does not in2 clude fish released alive under a recreational catch

3 and release fishery management program.

4 (3) COMMERCIAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘com5 mercial fishing’’ means fishing in which the fish har6 vested, either in whole or in part, are intended to

7 enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade.

8 (4) ELIGIBLE PERMIT HOLDER.—The term ‘‘el9 igible permit holder’’ means the person or group of

10 persons who, on the date of enactment of this Act,

11 holds a Directed Swordfish Limited Access Permit

12 or a Tuna Longline Permit with Incidental Sword13 fish and Shark that was issued based on the land14 ings of an eligible vessel.

15 (5) ELIGIBLE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eligible ves16 sel’’ means each vessel listed in section 7(a) of this

17 Act.

18 (6) FISH.—The term ‘‘fish’’ means finfish, mol19 lusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine

20 animal and plant life other than marine mammals

21 and birds.

22 (7) FISHING.—The term ‘‘fishing’’ means—

23 (A) the catching, taking, or harvesting of

24 fish;
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1 (B) the attempted catching, taking, or har2 vesting of fish;

3 (C) any other activity which can reason4 ably be expected to result in the catching, tak5 ing, or harvesting of fish; or

6 (D) any operations at sea in support of, or

7 in preparation for, any activity described in

8 subparagraphs (A) through (C).

9 The term does not include any scientific research ac10 tivity that is authorized by the Secretary.

11 (8) FISHING VESSEL.—The term ‘‘fishing ves12 sel’’ means any vessel, boat, ship, or other craft

13 which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a

14 type which is normally used for—

15 (A) fishing; or

16 (B) aiding or assisting one or more vessels

17 at sea in the performance of any activity relat18 ing to fishing, including but not limited to prep19 aration, supply, storage, refrigeration, transpor20 tation, or processing.

21 (9) GEODESIC.—The term ‘‘geodesic’’ means

22 the shortest line between two points that lies on the

23 surface of the Earth.
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1 (10) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—The term

2 ‘‘highly migratory species’’ means tuna species, bill3 fish, oceanic sharks, and swordfish.

4 (11) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES DEALER.—

5 The term ‘‘highly migratory species dealer’’ means

6 any person, including foreign dealers in the territory

7 of the United States, who purchases, trades for, or

8 barters for the receipt of any (whether imported or

9 domestic and regardless of origin) Atlantic highly

10 migratory species for any commercial purpose (in11 cluding selling, trading, or bartering).

12 (12) ICCAT.—The term ‘‘ICCAT’’ means the

13 International Commission for the Conservation of

14 Atlantic Tunas.

15 (13) MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—The term

16 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Act’’ means the Magnuson-Ste17 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

18 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

19 (14) MID-ATLANTIC BIGHT.—The term ‘‘mid20 Atlantic bight’’ means all waters of the Atlantic

21 Ocean north of 35 degrees north latitude and west

22 of 71 degrees west longitude.

23 (15) MSY.—The term ‘‘MSY’’ means maximum

24 sustainable yield.
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1 (16) OBSERVER.—The term ‘‘observer’’ has the

2 meaning that term has in the Magnuson-Stevens Act

3 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

4 (17) OVERFISHED.—The term ‘‘overfished’’ has

5 the meaning that term has in the Magnuson-Stevens

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

7 (18) PELAGIC LONGLINE FISHING.—The term

8 ‘‘pelagic longline fishing’’ means a method of fishing

9 that uses any fishing gear consisting of a length of

10 line suspended horizontally in the water above the

11 bottom from lines attached to surface floats and to

12 which gangions and hooks are attached and are used

13 to target pelagic species.

14 (19) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any

15 individual, corporation, partnership, association, or

16 other entity (whether or not organized or existing

17 under the laws of any State).

18 (20) RECORD ADDRESS.—The term ‘‘record ad19 dress’’ means the address of record for each permit

20 holder and highly migratory species dealer as main21 tained in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s

22 databases.

23 (21) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘rec24 reational fishing’’ means fishing for sport or pleas25 ure.
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1 (22) SCRS.—The term ‘‘SCRS’’ means the

2 Standing Committee on Research and Statistics of

3 ICCAT.

4 (23) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

5 means the Secretary of Commerce or a designee of

6 such Secretary.

7 SEC. 6. CLOSURE OF HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES CON8 SERVATION ZONES.

9 (a) ATLANTIC CONSERVATION ZONE FOR HIGHLY

10 MIGRATORY SPECIES.—No person may engage in pelagic

11 longline fishing in the Atlantic Conservation Zone For

12 Highly Migratory Species. For purposes of this subsection,

13 such zone is the area of the exclusive economic zone, sea14 ward of the baseline from which the territorial sea is meas15 ured, and shoreward of the outer boundary of the exclusive

16 economic zone that is enclosed by a series of geodesics con17 necting in succession the points at the following coordi18 nates:

19 (1) 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, 82

20 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.

21 (2) 24 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 82 de22 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

23 (3) 24 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 81 de24 grees 08 minutes west longitude.
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1 (4) 27 degrees 52 minutes north latitude, 79

2 degrees 30 minutes west longitude.

3 (5) 31 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 79 de4 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

5 (6) 33 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 76 de6 grees 30 minutes west longitude.

7 (7) 33 degrees 51 minutes north latitude, 78

8 degrees 23 minutes west longitude.

9 (b) GULF OF MEXICO CONSERVATION ZONE FOR

10 SWORDFISH.—Every year, during the period of January

11 1 through Memorial Day, no person may engage in pelagic

12 longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico Conservation Zone

13 For Swordfish. For purposes of this subsection, such zone

14 is the area of the exclusive economic zone enclosed by a

15 series of geodesics connecting in succession the points at

16 the following coordinates:

17 (1) 30 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 87 de18 grees 30 minutes west longitude.

19 (2) 30 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 86 de20 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

21 (3) 29 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 86 de22 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

23 (4) 29 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 87 de24 grees 30 minutes west longitude.
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1 (c) GULF OF MEXICO CONSERVATION ZONE FOR

2 HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—During the period that

3 begins on the first Memorial Day after the effective date

4 of this Act and continues through Labor Day of the same

5 calendar year, and during the period of Memorial Day

6 through Labor Day in each of the next 4 calendar years,

7 no person may engage in pelagic longline fishing in the

8 Gulf of Mexico Conservation Zone For Highly Migratory

9 Species. For purposes of this subsection, such zone is the

10 area of the exclusive economic zone seaward of the base11 line from which the territorial sea is measured, that is en12 closed by a series of geodesics connecting in succession

13 the points at the following coordinates:

14 (1) 26 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 97 de15 grees 10 minutes west longitude (at approximately

16 the border between the United States and Mexico).

17 (2) 26 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 96 de18 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

19 (3) 27 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, 94

20 degrees 30 minutes west longitude.

21 (4) 27 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, 90

22 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.

23 (5) 28 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 90 de24 grees 0 minutes west longitude.
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1 (6) 28 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 89 de2 grees 30 minutes west longitude.

3 (7) 29 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 87 de4 grees 30 minutes west longitude.

5 (8) 29 degrees 0 minutes north latitude, 86 de6 grees 0 minutes west longitude.

7 (9) 29 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, 85

8 degrees 20 minutes west longitude (at Cape San

9 Blas, Florida).

10 (d) MID-ATLANTIC BIGHT CONSERVATION ZONE.—

11 Every year, during the period of June 1 through Sep12 tember 30, no person may engage in pelagic longline fish13 ing in the Mid-Atlantic Bight Conservation Zone. For pur14 poses of this subsection, such zone is all waters of the ex15 clusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean north of 35

16 degrees north latitude and west of 71 degrees west lon17 gitude.

18 (e) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH EXCEPTION.—The re19 strictions under this section on fishing do not apply to pe20 lagic longline fishery research authorized by the Secretary.

21 No fish caught under the research program may be sold

22 unless authorized by the Secretary.

23 SEC. 7. PELAGIC LONGLINE FISHING VESSEL PERMIT

24 HOLDER COMPENSATION PROGRAM.

25 (a) VOLUNTARY COMPENSATION PROGRAM.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct

2 a voluntary Pelagic Longline Vessel Permit Holder

3 Compensation Program, under which the Secretary

4 shall buy in accordance with this section Directed

5 Swordfish Initial Limited Access Permits and Tuna

6 Longline Permits with Incidental Swordfish and

7 Shark that are in effect under the Magnuson-Ste8 vens Act from each eligible permit holder, by paying

9 to the eligible permit holder the applicable com10 pensation amount under subsection (d).

11 (2) ELIGIBLE PERMIT HOLDERS.—A person

12 who is the holder of a permit referred to in para13 graph (1) shall be an eligible permit holder for pur14 poses of this section.

15 (3) CONSISTENCY WITH MAGNUSON-STEVENS

16 ACT.—To ensure its effectiveness and equity, such

17 program shall be carried out consistent with the

18 standards for capacity reduction programs under

19 section 312(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16

20 U.S.C. 1861a(b)).

21 (b) INELIGIBILITY DUE TO PERMIT OR VESSEL

22 TRANSFER AFTER NOVEMBER 10, 1999.—The Secretary

23 shall not purchase a permit under this section if the vessel

24 authorized to engage in fishing under the permit, or any

25 Federal fishing permit or license applicable to that vessel,
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1 is transferred to a different person after November 10,

2 1999.

3 (c) COMPENSATION NOTIFICATION.—No later than

4 15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall, by certified mail return receipt requested, ad6 dressed to each eligible permit holder, notify each eligible

7 permit holder of—

8 (1) the compensation provisions of this Act; and

9 (2) any other compensation instructions or

10 guidance that the Secretary may establish within

11 such 15-day period other than by rule.

12 (d) COMPENSATION AMOUNT.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The compensation amount

14 shall be a payment of—

15 (A) $50,000 per eligible permit holder;

16 plus

17 (B) for each eligible permit holder that re18 ported to the National Marine Fisheries Service

19 any landings of highly migratory species by any

20 vessel authorized to be used for fishing under

21 the permit or permits for which the payment is

22 made for the period beginning on January 1,

23 1999, and ending on October 1, 1999, a land24 ing payment that the Secretary determines in

25 accordance with subsection (e).
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1 (2) REDUCTION.—The compensation amount

2 determined under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by

3 the amount of any lien, judgment, or other such

4 final obligation due the United States from the eligi5 ble permit holder. Before making payment under

6 this section, the Secretary shall identify all such out7 standing obligations with respect to an eligible per8 mit holder and notify that person of the amount of

9 the reduction under this paragraph and the obliga10 tions taken into account.

11 (e) LANDING PAYMENT DETERMINATION.—The Sec12 retary’s determinations of all landing payments under sub13 section (d) shall be final and shall be made as follows:

14 (1) The basis for each landing payment shall be

15 the gross ex-vessel value of all fish (regardless of

16 species) landed by the eligible vessel during any 1

17 calendar year in the period beginning with the cal18 endar year 1992 and ending with calendar year

19 1998.

20 (2) The amount of each landing payment shall

21 be 100 percent of such basis, up to $400,000.

22 (3) No later than 75 days after the date of en23 actment of this Act each permit holder who desires

24 to be compensated under this section must—
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1 (A) advise the Secretary which single cal2 endar year from 1992 through 1998 the permit

3 holder chooses pursuant to paragraph (1) as

4 the basis for the permit holder’s landing pay5 ment; and

6 (B) submit to the Secretary the permit

7 holder’s documentation for the gross ex-vessel

8 value of all fish (regardless of species) landed

9 by the eligible vessel during the basis year cho10 sen, that—

11 (i) is the form of trip tickets or any

12 relevant criteria required by the Secretary

13 to verify eligibility (or other landing docu14 mentation issued by the first ex-vessel fish

15 buyer or buyers) for the eligible vessel that

16 clearly establishes on their face the identity

17 and location of the first fish buyer;

18 (ii) states each vessel from which the

19 fish was bought;

20 (iii) states the date the fish was

21 bought, and how many pounds of each spe22 cies of fish was bought; and

23 (iv) states how much per pound the

24 landing vessel was paid for each species of
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1 fish bought (no other documentation shall

2 be acceptable); or

3 (C) advise the Secretary that the permit

4 holder does not possess adequate documentation

5 and, consequently elects to have the Secretary

6 calculate a default landing payment.

7 (4) If the permit holder submits adequate docu8 mentation the Secretary shall use it to calculate the

9 landing payment. If the permit holder elects to have

10 the Secretary calculate a default landing payment

11 (or submits inadequate documentation), the Sec12 retary shall calculate a default payment by applying

13 average ex-vessel prices (where possible, for each

14 month of landing and State or area of landing as

15 maintained in the National Marine Fisheries Serv16 ice’s databases) to each pound of species of fish

17 landed by the permit holder’s eligible vessel during

18 the basis year that the permit holder chooses.

19 (f) COMPENSATION OFFER.—No later than 135 days

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

21 shall, by certified mail return receipt requested, addressed

22 to each eligible permit holder at its record address, offer

23 each eligible permit holder compensation for an amount

24 determined in accordance with this section. The Sec-
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1 retary’s offer shall be final and not subject to negotiation

2 or counteroffer.

3 (g) COMPENSATION OFFER ACCEPTANCE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible permit holder

5 who desires to be compensated in accordance with

6 this Act must accept the Secretary’s compensation

7 offer no later than 165 days after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. Such acceptance—

9 (A) must be in writing signed by the per10 mit holder or permit holder’s duly authorized

11 representative and delivered to the Chief, Fi12 nancial Services Division, National Marine

13 Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,

14 Silver Spring, MD 20910–3282, and the ac15 ceptance letter shall include any necessary di16 rect wire transfer instructions;

17 (B) shall constitute the permit holder’s ir18 revocable consent for all other restrictions that

19 this Act permanently requires with respect to

20 the eligible vessel, and all such restrictions shall

21 apply to the permit holder on and after the ef22 fective date under section 6(f); and

23 (C) shall be accompanied by all commercial

24 fishing permits and licenses held by the permit

25 holder that are applicable to the eligible vessel.
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1 (2) DELIVERY BY MAIL.—If the acceptance is

2 mailed, it must be mailed by certified mail return re3 ceipt requested. The Secretary shall consider the

4 date of acceptance to be the date on which it was

5 mailed.

6 (3) DELIVERY OTHER THAN BY MAIL.—If ac7 ceptance is delivered by any other means, the Sec8 retary shall consider the date of acceptance to be the

9 date on which the Secretary first received the ac10 ceptance. The Secretary’s determinations regarding

11 the timeliness of the acceptance shall be final.

12 (h) COMPENSATION PAYMENT.—No later than 195

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

14 shall, in accordance with this section, pay compensation

15 in full to each permit holder whose acceptance of the Sec16 retary’s offer was timely.

17 (i) FEDERAL LOAN.—Under the authority of title XI

18 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1279f

19 and 1279g), the Secretary shall provide up to $20,000,000

20 through a direct loan obligation for any payments author21 ized under this section that are not fully paid for by funds

22 appropriated under subsection (j) of this section. These

23 payments shall be treated as payments under a fishing ca24 pacity reduction program established under section 312 of

25 the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a). Notwith-
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1 standing subsection (b)(4) of such section 1111, the debt

2 obligation under this subsection shall have a maturity of

3 30 years.

4 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated—

6 (1) $100,000 for the costs (as that term is de7 fined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget

8 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.

9 661a)) for the $20,000,000 direct loan authorized

10 under this section; and

11 (2) $30,000,000 for the balance of the com12 pensation payments authorized under this section.

13 (k) BLENDED FUNDING SOURCE.—All funds appro14 priated under subsection (j) shall be available for the pay15 ment authorized under this section and shall be applied

16 so as to ensure that 40 percent of the cost of such pay17 ments is derived from the direct loan authorized under

18 this section and 60 percent of the cost of such payments

19 is derived from funds appropriated for payment under this

20 section. If any amounts appropriated remain unexpended

21 and unobligated after all payments are made under this

22 section, the remainder of such amounts shall be available

23 for obligation and expenditure for the research program

24 established under section 12.
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1 SEC. 8. RESTRICTIONS ON VESSELS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—

3 (1) REVOCATION OF FISHING PERMITS.—All

4 Federal and State commercial fishing permits and li5 censes held by an eligible permit holder accepting

6 compensation under section 7 shall be revoked upon

7 receipt by the Secretary of the letter of acceptance

8 under section 7(g).

9 (2) USE OF VESSEL PROHIBITED.—A vessel

10 that was authorized to engage in fishing under a

11 permit or license that is revoked under this section

12 shall never again be used by any person anywhere in

13 the world (regardless of the national status of such

14 person) for commercial fishing.

15 (b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FISHERIES ENDORSE16 MENT.—Section 12108(d) of title 46, United States Code,

17 is amended by inserting ‘‘, or a vessel whose commercial

18 fishing permits and licenses have been revoked under sec19 tion 8(a)(2) of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Con20 servation Act of 2000,’’ before ‘‘is not eligible’’.

21 (c) TRANSFER TO FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OR REG22 ISTRY PROHIBITED.—

23 (1) PROHIBITED TRANSFER.—No person may—

24 (A) sell, lease, charter, deliver, or in any

25 manner transfer, or agree to sell, lease, charter,

26 deliver, or in any manner transfer, to a person
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1 who is not a citizen of the United States, any

2 interest in or control of a vessel that was au3 thorized to be used to engage in fishing under

4 a permit or license revoked under this section;

5 or

6 (B) place such a vessel under foreign reg7 istry or operate that vessel under the authority

8 of a foreign country.

9 (2) VOID EFFECT.—Any sale, lease, charter, de10 livery, or transfer of a vessel, or interest in or con11 trol of a vessel, in violation of this subsection is void.

12 (d) PENALTIES.—

13 (1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person that

14 knowingly violates this section, or knowingly submits

15 false documentation for the landing payment under

16 section 7, shall be fined under title 18, United

17 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years,

18 or both.

19 (2) FORFEITURE.—A vessel (including its fish20 ing gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores, and

21 cargo) may be seized by, and forfeited to, the United

22 States Government if—

23 (A)(i) the vessel is placed under foreign

24 registry or operated under the authority of a

25 foreign country in violation of this section;
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1 (ii) a person knowingly sells, leases, char2 ters, delivers, or transfers the vessel, or an in3 terest in or control of that vessel, in violation

4 of this section;

5 (B) the vessel is used for commercial fish6 ing in violation of this section; or

7 (C) a permit holder submits false docu8 mentation for the landing payment under sec9 tion 7 with respect to landings made, or alleged

10 to have been made, using the vessel.

11 (3) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person that sells,

12 leases, charters, delivers, or transfers a vessel (or an

13 interest in or control of a vessel) in violation of this

14 section, uses a vessel for commercial fishing in viola15 tion of this section, or submits false documentation

16 for the landing payment under section 7 is liable to

17 the United States Government for a civil penalty of

18 not more than $10,000 for each violation.

19 (e) VESSEL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.—The Sec20 retary of Transportation shall ensure that, for each vessel

21 that was authorized to be used to engage in fishing under

22 a permit or license that is revoked under this section, in23 formation is recorded and maintained in the vessel identi24 fication system established under chapter 125 of title 46,

25 United States Code, stating that—
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1 (1) the vessel is prohibited under this Act from

2 engaging in commercial fishing anywhere in the

3 world;

4 (2) the vessel is not eligible for any commercial

5 fishing permit or license, regardless of whether the

6 permit or license is issued by the Federal Govern7 ment, or a State government or political subdivision

8 thereof; and

9 (3) use of the vessel in any commercial fishing

10 operation may result in Federal civil and criminal

11 penalties and forfeiture of the vessel and its cargo

12 and equipment.

13 SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS ON COMPENSATED ELIGIBLE PER14 MIT HOLDERS.

15 Any eligible permit holder who has been compensated

16 under section 7 is prohibited from reentering the Directed

17 Swordfish Limited Access Fishery or Atlantic Tuna

18 Longline Fishery.

19 SEC. 10. REPAYMENT OF DIRECT LOAN.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a fishery con21 servation fee system, to be administered by the Secretary,

22 for repayment of the direct loan made under section 7(f).

23 The commercial share of the loan shall be repaid with fees

24 received by the United States under subsection (b), and

25 the recreational share of the loan shall be repaid with fees
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1 received by the United States under subsection (c). Fees

2 under this section shall be established without regard to

3 the requirements of section 304 or 312 of the Magnuson4 Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1854 and 1861a).

5 (b) COMMERCIAL SHARE.—

6 (1) DESCRIPTION.—The commercial share of

7 the loan made under section 7(f) shall be 50 percent

8 of the original principal amount of the loan plus all

9 interest accruing on that 50 percent of the principal

10 amount.

11 (2) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The Secretary

12 shall, for the repayment of the commercial share of

13 the loan obligation, plus associated interest, estab14 lish a fee, that—

15 (A) shall be an amount determined by the

16 Secretary to be sufficient to amortize the com17 mercial share over the loan term of 30 years,

18 not to exceed five percent of the ex-vessel value

19 of all Atlantic highly migratory species sold by

20 highly migratory species dealers;

21 (B) shall be collected beginning on the

22 365th day after the date of enactment of this

23 Act and continue without interruption, regard24 less of the loan’s maturity until such commer25 cial share is fully paid; and
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1 (C) shall be deducted by each highly mi2 gratory species dealer from all proceeds received

3 from the sale by the dealer of all Atlantic highly

4 migratory species and shall be accounted for

5 and forwarded by the dealer to the Secretary in

6 the following manner:

7 (i) The fee for all proceeds received

8 during each month shall be forwarded by

9 not later than the 15th calendar day of

10 each month immediately following the

11 month for which the fees were collected,

12 and fee payments shall be late if not re13 ceived at the lock box account designated

14 under clause (iii) by the 20th calendar day

15 of each such immediately following month.

16 (ii) All fees forwarded shall include a

17 settlement sheet that establishes the total

18 proceeds received during the previous

19 month, the total pounds of all Atlantic

20 highly migratory species sold upon which

21 such receipts were based, and the total fee

22 forwarded.

23 (iii) All fees shall be forwarded to a

24 lock box account that the Secretary shall

25 designate by a letter to each highly migra-
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1 tory species dealer holding a highly migra2 tory species dealer’s permit at its record

3 address.

4 (iv) All fee matters shall be in accord5 ance with such other conditions as the Sec6 retary shall establish, and may amend

7 from time to time by a letter (but not by

8 regulation or any other form of notice)

9 sent to each highly migratory species deal10 er holding a highly migratory species deal11 er’s permit at its record address.

12 (3) DUTY OF PROMPT NOTIFICATION.—The

13 Secretary shall immediately notify highly migratory

14 species dealers and swordfish access permit holders

15 when the commercial share has been fully repaid and

16 the collection requirement terminates. This shall be

17 accomplished by the Secretary’s letter sent to each

18 highly migratory species dealer, holding a highly mi19 gratory species dealer’s permit and each swordfish

20 permit holder at its record address.

21 (4) AUDIT.—The Secretary may at reasonable

22 times and places conduct audits of highly migratory

23 species dealers’ books and records to determine com24 pliance with this section. Highly migratory species

25 dealers shall furnish such books and records as the
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1 Secretary may reasonably require for the conduct of

2 such audits.

3 (5) PENALTY INTEREST ON LATE FEE PAY4 MENTS.—Highly migratory species dealers shall pay

5 penalty interest equal to one and one-half percent

6 the full amount of each late fee payment for each

7 month, or portion thereof, in which a late fee pay8 ment remains unpaid.

9 (6) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary shall col10 lect all unpaid fees by such manner as the Secretary

11 considers appropriate, including bringing collection

12 enforcement actions at law and attaching and liqui13 dating highly migratory species dealers’ assets.

14 (7) CONTINUING OBLIGATION.—Notwith15 standing that the commercial share of the loan is

16 not paid in full by the loan’s maturity date, the fee

17 shall continue without interruption until such time

18 as the commercial share is paid in full.

19 (c) RECREATIONAL SHARE.—

20 (1) DESCRIPTION.—The recreational share of

21 the loan made under section 7(f) shall be 50 percent

22 of the original principal amount of the loan plus all

23 interest accruing on 50 percent of the principal

24 amount.
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1 (2) METHODS OF PAYMENT.—The recreational

2 share of the loan obligation, plus associated interest,

3 shall be repaid through a dedicated fund adminis4 tered by the National Marine Fisheries Service,

5 through funds currently collected for Atlantic Tuna

6 permits.

7 (3) FISHERY CONSERVATION PERMITS.—

8 (A) ISSUANCE AND SALE.—On the date of

9 enactment of this Act and thereafter, the Sec10 retary shall issue for $25 each an annual fish11 ery conservation permit to recreational vessels

12 over 18 feet in length to persons engaged in At13 lantic highly migratory species fishing. These

14 funds shall be collected in lieu of the current

15 Atlantic Tuna Permit.

16 (B) MEANS OF SALE OR ISSUANCE.—The

17 Secretary—

18 (i) may, to the extent practicable, au19 thorize the permits to be issued or sold by

20 a variety of persons, including State agen21 cies, retail dealers, and through convenient

22 means, including the Internet and toll-free

23 telephone numbers; and
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1 (ii) may establish procedures for such

2 persons to account for and forward the

3 proceeds of sale to the Secretary.

4 (C) LIMITATION ON PERMITTING.—This

5 highly migratory species permit shall be used to

6 repay the recreational share of the direct loan

7 obligation, plus associated interest, and for the

8 purpose of future buyout programs in over9 fished fisheries.

10 (4) PROHIBITION.—After the 240th day after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, no person may en12 gage in recreational fishing for an Atlantic highly

13 migratory species from a vessel 18 feet or more in

14 length unless the vessel has been issued a valid fish15 ery conservation permit.

16 (5) DUTY OF PROMPT NOTIFICATION.—The

17 Secretary shall immediately notify the Coast Guard,

18 the heads of the agencies of the States that have re19 sponsibility for marine fishery law enforcement, re20 tail dealers and others who sell fishery conservation

21 permits under this subsection, and the public when

22 payment of the recreational share begins. This shall

23 be accomplished by a Federal Register Notice, direct

24 communication, and such other means as the Sec25 retary determines are effective and appropriate.
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1 (6) APPLICATION OF FEE PAYMENTS AND FOR

2 REPAYMENT.—Money received under paragraph (3)

3 shall be accounted for and paid by the Secretary into

4 a subaccount of the Treasury established for the re5 payment of the direct loan made under section 6(i)

6 and for the purposes established under paragraph

7 (3)(C).

8 SEC. 11. PROHIBITED ACT UNDER MAGNUSON-STEVENS

9 ACT.

10 A person who violates this Act shall, in addition to

11 any other penalties provided in this Act or elsewhere, be

12 considered to have committed an act prohibited under sec13 tion 307(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C.

14 1857(1)(A)).

15 SEC. 12. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES BYCATCH MOR16 TALITY REDUCTION RESEARCH PROGRAM.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is estab18 lished within the National Marine Fisheries Service at the

19 Southeast Fisheries Science Center a Pelagic Longline

20 Highly Migratory Species Bycatch and Mortality Reduc21 tion Research Program. The Program shall identify and

22 test a variety of pelagic longline fishing gear configura23 tions and uses, including recreational catch and release,

24 and determine which of those configurations and uses are

25 the most effective in reducing billfish bycatch mortality
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1 and oceanic shark and sea turtle mortality in the pelagic

2 longline fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico and in the Mid3 Atlantic Bight Conservation Zone established under sec4 tion 6. The program shall also include provision for ob5 servers to be placed on pelagic longline fishing vessels for

6 the purposes of monitoring the fishery and participating

7 in the research program. To fund the observers, the Sec8 retary shall collect a fee that shall not exceed 1 percent

9 of the ex-vessel value of fish harvested from Atlantic and

10 Gulf of Mexico pelagic longline vessels, and shall be col11 lected at either the time of the landing, filing of a landing

12 report, or sale of such fish during a fishing season in the

13 last quarter of the calendar year in which the fish is har14 vested.

15 (b) PROGRAM DESIGN.—The Program design shall

16 be developed through a scientific workshop organized and

17 convened by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center of the

18 National Marine Fisheries Service. Knowledgeable mem19 bers of the pelagic longline fishing sector, the recreational

20 billfish and tuna sector, and the conservation community,

21 along with scientists associated with each such entity,

22 shall be invited to participate on the workshop design

23 team. The Center shall make its best efforts to ensure that

24 each such sector is fairly represented on the design team.

25 The program design shall be submitted to the Secretary
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1 no later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this

2 Act and shall include a statistically significant rec3 ommendation for the level of observer coverage on pelagic

4 longline fishing vessels that is necessary to monitor the

5 fishery effectively and participate in the research program.

6 The Secretary shall aggressively monitor the mid-Atlantic

7 bight during the months it is open to pelagic longline fish8 ing to determine if there has been a substantial net in9 crease in the number of vessels or effort from the remain10 ing pelagic longline fleet and whether that net increase

11 is negatively impacting billfish, shark, and turtle bycatch.

12 If the Secretary so finds, the Secretary shall immediately

13 report the finding to the Committee on Commerce,

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives,

16 along with proposed statutory language to address the im17 pact.

18 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—No later than 90 days

19 after the third year of closure of the Gulf of Mexico Con20 servation Zone For Highly Migratory Species under sec21 tion 6(c), the Secretary shall submit a report on the Pro22 gram’s determinations to the Committee on Commerce,

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives. The

25 report shall include proposed statutory language for legis-
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1 lation that may be appropriate prior to the expiration of

2 the closure of the Gulf of Mexico Conservation Zone For

3 Highly Migratory Species.

4 SEC. 13. REALLOCATION OF TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH.

5 The Secretary shall reallocate, to the United States

6 commercial swordfish hand gear fishing fleet, the portion

7 of total allowable catch of swordfish by the United States

8 pelagic longline fishing fleet that was attributable to ves9 sels that were authorized to engage in fishing under per10 mits and licenses revoked under section 8. Such realloca11 tion shall be based on the data used to calculate landing

12 payments under section 7(e) for such vessels.

13 SEC. 14. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF AREA CLO14 SURES.

15 (a) ANNUAL MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—The

16 Secretary shall closely monitor and evaluate, on an annual

17 basis, the effectiveness of the fishing area closures made

18 by section 6.

19 (b) RESPONSE ACTION.—As a result of the moni20 toring and evaluation, the Secretary shall take additional

21 action as necessary to minimize bycatch to meet the re22 quirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and all other ap23 plicable laws.
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1 SEC. 15. VESSEL MONITORING DEVICES.

2 (a) VESSEL MONITORING DEVICE REQUIREMENT.—

3 After the 165th day after the date of enactment of this

4 Act, no pelagic longline vessel shall operate within the At5 lantic highly migratory species fishery without a vessel

6 monitoring device approved by the Secretary.

7 (b) LIMITATION ON REQUIREMENT.—A vessel that is

8 prohibited by section 8 from being used to engage in com9 mercial fishing is not required to carry a vessel monitoring

10 device under this section.

11 SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.

12 Sections 6 and 7 shall take effect on the date suffi13 cient funds are available to carry out section 7 and section

14 12.

15 SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the

17 Secretary—

18 (1) $250,000 per fiscal year for the cost of car19 rying out the compensation program under section

20 7; and

21 (2) $3,000,000 for research under section 12;

22 plus such other sums as may be necessary for carrying

23 out all other functions in the Act. In addition, there are

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more
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1 than $400,000 for the Southeast Fisheries Science Center

2 to conduct additional research on billfish and swordfish.

Æ