U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

89–010 

" ! SENATE 

111TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2010

111–250 

Calendar No. 520 

LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUBSECTOR SINGLE FISHERY COOPERATIVE 

ACT 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND 

TRANSPORTATION 

ON

S. 1609 

AUGUST 5, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts 

BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota 

BARBARA BOXER, California 

BILL NELSON, Florida 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

MARK WARNER, Virginia 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine 

JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

GEORGE S. LEMIEUX, Florida 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

ELLEN DONESKI, Staff Director 

JAMES REID, Deputy Staff Director 

BRUCE ANDREWS, General Counsel 

ANN BEGEMAN, Republican Staff Director 

BRIAN HENDRICKS, Republican General Counsel 

TODD BERTOSON, Republican Senior Counsel 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with HEARING
1Daniel M. Cohen, et al., Gadiform Fishes of the World (Order Gadiformes). An Annotated and 

Illustrated Catalogue of Cods, Hakes, Grenadiers and other Gadiform Fishes Known to Date. 

FAO FISHERIES SYNOPSIS NO. 125, Vol. 10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 

Nations, Rome (1990), 42. 

Calendar No. 520 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 111–250 

LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUBSECTOR SINGLE 

FISHERY COOPERATIVE ACT 

AUGUST 5, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1609] 

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 

which was referred the bill (S. 1609) to authorize a single fisheries 

cooperative for the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands longline catcher 

processor subsector, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The Longline Catcher Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act, S. 1609, would authorize a single fishery cooperative for 

the longline catcher processor subsector operating in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area of Alaska. 

BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

Pacific cod are found around the rim of the North Pacific, from 

the Yellow Sea to the Bering Strait, along the Aleutian Islands, 

and south to roughly Los Angeles, California (although the species 

is somewhat rare in the southernmost part of its range).1 The Pacific cod fisheries in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and 

Gulf of Alaska (GOA) regions are the oldest Alaskan groundfish 

fisheries. Fishing activity began in the fisheries around 1865 and 


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2Gordon H. Kruse, et al., Overview of State-Managed Marine Fisheries in the Central and 

Western Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Southeastern Bering Sea, with Reference to Steller 

Sea Lions. Regional Information Report 5J00-10. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division 

of Commercial Fisheries (2000), 133. 3 Id. 

4Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report for the Groundfish Resources of the Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands Region, North Pacific Fishery Management Council (2004), 187. 5 Bering Sea Aleutian Islands Catch Report, Alaska Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2009), 3. 6 Id. 

7Seafood Marketing Bulletin: Pacific Cod, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, January 2006, 

1. 8Stock Assessment and Fishery -Evaluation Report for the Groundfish Resources of the Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands Region, North Pacific Fishery Management Council (2008), 162 (citing 

Torunn Halhjem, Genuine Alaska Pollock, Pacific Whiting, and Pacific Cod, presented at the 

15th Annual Global Groundfish Forum, Lisbon, Portugal (2006)). 9See generally Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Proposed Amendment 85 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of 

the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Management Area: Allocation of Pacific Cod Among Sectors and 

Apportionment of Sector Allocations between Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Subareas, North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council, March 12, 2006 (discussing various fishery management 

methods used for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area). 10See generally Raymond Hilborn et al., State of the World’s Fisheries, ANNUAL REVIEW OF

ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES, November 2003, 359-399. 

peaked during the period from 1916 to 1920.2 The fisheries then 

steadily declined until 1950, after which time they began to support substantial foreign commercial fishing activity—primarily by 

Japan and the Soviet Union.3 This foreign fishing activity continued into the 1970s, and it was not until 1991 that the region was 

completely controlled and dominated by domestic commercial fishing interests.4 Currently, the Alaskan Pacific cod fisheries provide 

two-thirds of the world Pacific cod supply and are the second largest groundfish fisheries off the coast of Alaska (pollock being the 

largest). In 2009, the BSAI Pacific cod fisheries accounted for 

173,663 tons,5 or 11.6 percent, of the total Alaska groundfish 

catch.6

The worldwide shortage of Atlantic cod and the increasing acceptance of Pacific cod as an alternative good in European markets 

indicate a likelihood of continued growth of commercial fishing for 

Pacific cod.7 Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified Pacific 

cod caught by bottom longline, trap, or hook-and-line methods are 

likely to be especially fast-growing. In 2006, MSC-certified Pacific 

cod products sold at a 3 percent premium.8 This includes Pacific 

cod caught by the 36 Washington-based and Alaska-based freezer 

longline fishing vessels operating in the BSAI. 

Alaskan Pacific cod fisheries are managed jointly at the State 

and Federal levels. The fishery management plans (FMPs) governing Pacific cod control fishing activity through a variety of 

means, including permits and limited entry, catch quotas, gear restrictions, closed waters, seasons, bycatch limits and rates, and 

other measures.9 Although this system is not entirely ineffective, it 

is problematic because it fosters a ‘‘race to fish’’ in which participants in the fishery compete to land the largest catch in the shortest amount of time in pursuit of economic security.10 On July 9, 

2008, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and 

Coast Guard held a hearing entitled ‘‘Fishing Safety: Policy Implications of Cooperatives and Vessel Improvements.’’ At that hearing, 

several witnesses testified to the benefits of rationalization as a 

fishery management tool. Specifically, the creation of fisheries cooperatives was cited as a management strategy that will ‘‘promote 


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11Fishing Safety: The Policy Implications of Cooperatives and Vessel Improvements, before the 

Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Senate Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 110th Cong. (2008) (statement of Leslie J. Hughes, Executive Director, North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owner’s Association Vessel Safety Program). 12See, e.g., Christopher Costello et al., Can Catch Shares Prevent Fisheries Collapse? SCIENCE, Sep. 18, 2008, 1678-1681; David R. Griffith, The Ecological Implications of Individual Fishing 

Quotas and Harvest Cooperatives, FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, May 2008, 

191-198; and Raymond Hilborn, Defining Success in Fisheries and Conflicts in Objectives, MARINE POLICY, March 2007, 153-158. 

safer operations, minimize loss of life and vessel casualties and improve efficiencies.’’11 Many fisheries scientists and economists have 

echoed these sentiments regarding the effectiveness of cooperatives.12

In 2005, freezer longline companies, vessel owners, and related 

businesses participating in the BSAI Pacific cod fisheries joined to 

form the Freezer Longline Coalition (FLC). The FLC was formed 

for the purpose of establishing a cooperative to improve the safety, 

conservation and management, and social and economic benefits 

associated with the harvest of Pacific cod by catcher-processors in 

the fisheries. Although all but one company within the freezer 

longline catcher processor sector—or 34 out of the 36 vessels in the 

fleet—and all six Alaska Community Development Quota groups 

are supportive of the cooperative, as a practical matter, the support 

of the entire fleet is needed for the North Pacific Regional Fishery 

Management Council to rationalize the catcher-processor subsector. 

Furthermore, while the Council has laid much of the necessary 

groundwork for the cooperative by providing the freezer longline 

sector with an allocation of Pacific cod in Amendment 85 to the 

BSAI Groundfish FMP, formation of a cooperative through the 

Council’s process is likely to take three to five years to complete. 

For these reasons, the FLC is seeking legislation to help it complete the process. 

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

S. 1609 would facilitate the formation of a single fishing cooperative by the BSAI Pacific cod longline catcher processor fleet. 

Rationalizing their fisheries in this manner would permit the fleet 

to allocate the total allowable catch in the fishery among their 

members based on their catch history. This, in turn, would enable 

them to better predict demands on their time and resources and facilitate cost effective operations, and to put an end to the dangerous ‘‘race for fish’’ that currently exists in so many fisheries. 

The cooperative would empower commercial fishermen with a 

framework and incentives to better manage their fishery without 

diminishing the important regulatory and oversight responsibilities 

of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1609 was introduced on August 6, 2009, by Senators Cantwell, 

Murray, Murkowski, and Begich. On July 9, 2008, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee 

on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held a hearing 

entitled ‘‘Fishing Safety: Policy Implications of Cooperatives and 

Vessel Improvements.’’ On December 17, 2009, the Committee met 


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in executive session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 1609 reported 

without amendment. 

ESTIMATED COSTS

In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the Congressional Budget 

Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following cost estimate, 

prepared by the Congressional Budget Office: 

MARCH 11, 2010. 

Hon. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, 

Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1609, the Longline Catcher 

Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1609—Longline Catcher Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act 

S. 1609 would establish a process for certain fishermen to create 

a cooperative, authorized by the Secretary of Commerce, to allocate 

quotas of Pacific cod among its members. Based on information 

from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CBO 

estimates that implementing S. 1609 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. 

Under current law, longline fishermen (those who fish with lines 

and hooks rather than nets or traps) operating in the Bering Sea/ 

Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod fishery are subject to an annual 

quota. Under that system, individual license holders can catch an 

unlimited number of fish until the total of all fish caught within 

the fishery equals the quota. Under the bill, if fishermen holding 

at least 80 percent of all licenses granted to the longline subsector 

operating in the BSAI Pacific cod fishery choose to enter into a cooperative, the Secretary of Commerce would use the guidelines established in the bill to allocate an annual quota to the cooperative, 

which would then divide that quota among its members each year. 

Based on information from NOAA, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the 

federal budget. 

S. 1609 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 


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REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the legislation, as reported: 

NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

The reported legislation covers a freezer longline fleet that comprises 36 vessels and employs more than 1,200 persons. 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The reported bill would facilitate the establishment of a single 

fishery cooperative which would enable participating fishing vessel 

owners to invest time and resources more effectively than they are 

currently able to do. A more efficient allocation of time and resources would reduce the cost of fishing in the fishery, improve 

safety by ending the ‘‘race to fish,’’ and promote effective, sustainable fishing practices in the fishery. 

PRIVACY

The reported bill would not have any adverse impact on the personal privacy of individuals. 

PAPERWORK

The Committee does not anticipate that the reported bill would 

impose any new paperwork requirements on private citizens, businesses, or other entities that do not choose to participate in a single fishery cooperative for the Pacific cod longline catcher-processor 

subsector in the BSAI Management Area. Those who do choose to 

participate in the cooperative may be subject to some additional paperwork requirements. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no items contained in the bill, as reported, meet the definition of congressionally directed spending items under the rule. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This section would provide that this legislation may be cited as 

the Longline Catcher Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act. 

Section 2. Authority to approve and implement a single fishery cooperative for the longline catcher processor subsector in the BSAI 

Subsection (a) of this section would authorize the Secretary of 

Commerce to create a single fishery cooperative for the longline 

catcher processor subsector of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery. In order 

to authorize this cooperative, the Secretary would need a request 

from eligible members holding at least 80 percent of the licenses 

in the fishery. 


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Subsection (b) of this section would prohibit any cooperative 

member from harvesting more than 20 percent of the Pacific cod 

available to the subsector. 

Subsection (c) of this section would require that, no later than 

November 1 of each year, the subsector must submit a contract to 

the Secretary to implement the single fishery cooperative. Any 

modifications to this contract would be required to be submitted no 

later than 60 days prior to the commencement of fishing. 

Subsection (d) of this section would require members of the cooperative to undergo a Department of Justice business review, and 

would require that the results of this review be submitted to the 

Secretary of Commerce. 

Subsection (e) of this section would require that the Secretary 

implement a single fishery cooperative approved under this section 

no later than 2 years after receiving a request to form the cooperative. 

Subsection (f) of this section would provide that, if the longline 

catcher processor subsector does not submit a contract to the Secretary to form a cooperative, then the the subsector shall operate 

as a limited access fishery for the following year subject to the license limitation program in effect for the subsector on the date of 

enactment of this Act, or any subsequent modifications to that program made through the Council process. 

Section 3. Harvest and prohibited species allocations to a single 

fishery cooperative for the longline catcher processor subsector 

in the BSAI 

This section would authorize the single fishery cooperative to 

harvest any portion of the Pacific cod subsector total allowable 

catch that is not otherwise allocated to the non-cooperative portion 

of the fleet. This section would also authorize the cooperative to 

utilize the total amount of prohibited species not otherwise allocated to the non-cooperative portion of the fleet. Additionally, it 

would authorize the cooperative to harvest any reallocation of Pacific cod that has been authorized by the Secretary. 

Section 4. Longline catcher processor subsector non-cooperative limited access fishery 

Subsection (a) of this section would preserve the right of any eligible member of the subsector that elects not to participate in the 

single fishery cooperative to continue to fish in a non-cooperative, 

limited access fishery subject to the license limitation program in 

effect for the subsector on the date of enactment of this Act, or any 

subsequent modifications to that program made through the Council process. 

Subsection (b) of this section would provide that a vessel electing 

to fish in the non-cooperative fishery would be allowed to harvest 

the combined average percentage of the overall total allowable 

catch harvested by that vessel for 2006, 2007, and 2008, and to utilize a percentage of the BSAI Pacific cod prohibited species catch 

allocation in the fishery calculated in the same manner. 


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Section 5. Authority of the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council 

Subsection (a) of this section would make clear that nothing in 

this Act supersedes the authority of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in its management of Pacific cod fisheries in the 

BSAI or Gulf of Alaska. 

Subsection (b) of this section would provide that the Council may 

not alter the methodology used to calculate the allocation (including the allocation of prohibited species) to either the cooperative or 

non-cooperative portions of the fleet, as described in section 4. It 

would further provide that the Council may modify the 20 percent 

individual vessel limitation described in section 2(b) after 7 years, 

so long as no member of the subsector is negatively impacted. 

Subsection (c) of this section would provide discretionary authority for the imposition of certain protections for coastal communities 

and other participants in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fishery, in 

the form of harvest limitations on Pacific cod by the longline catcher processor subsector. 

Section 6. Relationship to the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

Subsection (a) of this section makes clear that a single fishery cooperative created pursuant to this Act is intended to enhance conservation and sustainable fishery management, reduce and minimize bycatch, promote social and economic benefits, and promote 

safety of human life at sea consistent with the national standards 

for fishery conservation and management set forth in section 301(a) 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)). 

Subsection (b) would deem the cooperative to meet the transition 

rule requirements of section 303A(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1853a(i)) unless the Secretary determines otherwise 

within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (c) of this section would authorize the Secretary to recover reasonable costs related to the implementation and administration of a single fishery cooperative approved under this Act. 

Section 7. Community Development Quota Program 

This section would provide that nothing in this Act shall affect 

the western Alaska Community Development Quota program established by section 305(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 

1855(i)), including the allocation of fishery resources in the directed 

Pacific cod fishery. 

Section 8. Definitions 

This section would define the following terms: ‘‘BSAI,’’ ‘‘BSAI Pacific Cod Total Allowable Catch,’’ ‘‘BSAI Pacific Cod Prohibited Species Catch Allocation,’’ ‘‘Council,’’ ‘‘Eligible Member,’’ ‘‘Gulf of Alaska,’’ ‘‘Longline Catcher Processor Subsector,’’ ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens 

Act,’’ and ‘‘Secretary.’’ 


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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the bill as reported 

would make no change to existing law. 

Æ 


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