I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8862 

To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2024 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. MOYLAN, Mr. CASE, and Mrs. PELTOLA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 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 ‘‘Sustaining America’s 

5 Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. References. 


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Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Gender neutral language. 

Sec. 6. Conforming amendments to table of contents of Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

TITLE I—CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES 

Sec. 101. Findings, purposes, and policy. 

Sec. 102. Promoting climate resilience in fisheries management. 

Sec. 103. Incorporating climate science. 

Sec. 104. Climate-ready fisheries innovation program. 

Sec. 105. Managing shifting stocks of fish. 

Sec. 106. Emerging fisheries. 

Sec. 107. Report regarding inshore and shallow water mobile gear fishing. 

TITLE II—SUPPORTING FISHING COMMUNITIES 

Sec. 201. Subsistence fishing. 

Sec. 202. Working Waterfronts Grant Program. 

Sec. 203. Seafood marketing. 

Sec. 204. Community participation in limited access privilege programs. 

Sec. 205. Findings. 

TITLE III—STRENGTHENING PUBLIC PROCESS AND 

TRANSPARENCY 

Sec. 301. Tribal representation on Pacific Fishery Management Council. 

Sec. 302. Tribal representation on North Pacific Fishery Management Council. 

Sec. 303. Atlantic Councils. 

Sec. 304. Council procedures and participation. 

Sec. 305. Council accountability and membership. 

Sec. 306. Western Pacific Sustainable Fishery Fund. 

Sec. 307. Council staff and administration. 

Sec. 308. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sexual harassment 

and assault prevention. 

TITLE IV—MODERNIZING FISHERIES SCIENCE AND DATA 

Sec. 401. Data modernization. 

Sec. 402. Expanding and improving electronic technologies. 

Sec. 403. Stock Assessments. 

Sec. 404. Cooperative research and management. 

Sec. 405. Northeast regional pilot research trawl survey and study. 

Sec. 406. Recreational data consistency. 

Sec. 407. Emergency operating plans. 

Sec. 408. Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund. 

Sec. 409. Offshore wind collaboration. 

Sec. 410. Shark populations analysis. 

TITLE V—SUSTAINING FISHERIES THROUGH HEALTHY 

ECOSYSTEMS AND IMPROVED MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 501. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 502. Essential fish habitat consultation. 

Sec. 503. Reducing bycatch. 

Sec. 504. Improving rebuilding outcomes. 

Sec. 505. Overfished fisheries and preventing overfishing. 


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Sec. 506. Preparation and review of Secretarial plans. 

Sec. 507. Councils. 

Sec. 508. Forage fish conservation. 

Sec. 509. Funding for monitoring implementation of Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery Management Plan. 

Sec. 510. Highly migratory species. 

TITLE VI—INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 601. Conservation Commissioner of Atlantic Tunas Convention. 

Sec. 602. Conservation Commissioner of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 

Convention. 

Sec. 603. Conservation Commissioner of Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. 

Sec. 604. Application of annual catch limit and accountability measures requirement. 

Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish7 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

8 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

14 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Magnu16 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

17 Act (16 U.S.C. 1802). 


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

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

3 SEC. 5. GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE. 

4 (a) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

5 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘prepared by him’’ each place such term appears 

7 and inserting ‘‘prepared by the Secretary’’. 

8 (b) Each of the following provisions is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘he’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

10 ‘‘the Secretary’’: 

11 (1) Section 201(h)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1821(h)(2)). 

12 (2) Section 204(b) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)). 

13 (3) Section 305(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(1)). 

14 (4) Section 306(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)(2)). 

15 (c) Each of the following provisions is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘his’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

17 ‘‘the Secretary’s’’: 

18 (1) Section 3(39) (16 U.S.C. 1802(39)). 

19 (2) Section 204(b)(9) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(9)). 

20 (3) Section 306(b)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)(1)). 

21 (4) Section 308(a) (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)). 

22 (d) Section 201(e)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1821(e)(1)(D)) 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘such Sec24 retary’’. 


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1 (e) Section 201(i) (16 U.S.C. 1821(i)) is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such Governor’s’’. 

3 (f) Section 203(c)(5)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1823(c)(5)(C)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the minority 

5 leader’s’’. 

6 (g) Sections 204(b)(4)(A) and 302(c)(1)(D) (16 

7 U.S.C. 1824(b)(4)(A) and 1852(c)(1)(D)) are each 

8 amended by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such Sec9 retary’s’’. 

10 (h) Subsections (b)(1)(B) and (c)(1)(A) of section 

11 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)(B) and (c)(1)(A)) are each 

12 amended by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such director’s’’. 

13 (i) Section 302(c)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(c)(1)(B)) 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such com15 mander’s’’. 

16 (j) Section 302(c)(1)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1852(c)(1)(C)) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such execu18 tive director’s’’. 

19 (k) Section 302(f)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1852(f)(4)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Adminis21 trator of General Services’’. 

22 (l) Section 302(j)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(4)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘his or her’’ and inserting ‘‘such indi24 vidual’s’’. 


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1 (m) Section 302(j)(7)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(7)(D)) 

2 is amended by striking ‘‘he or she’’ each place such term 

3 appears and inserting ‘‘such individual’’. 

4 (n) Section 309(a) (16 U.S.C. 1859(a)) is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘such person’’. 

6 (o) Section 311(b)(1)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 

7 1861(b)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘he’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘such officer’’. 

9 (p) Section 311(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)(2)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘such per12 son’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘such per14 son’s’’. 

15 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TABLE OF CON16 TENTS OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY 

17 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT. 

18 The table of contents is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘TABLE OF CONTENTS 

‘‘Sec. 2. Findings, purposes, and policy. 

‘‘Sec. 3. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘TITLE I—UNITED STATES RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY REGARDING 

FISH AND FISHERY RESOURCES 

‘‘Sec. 101. United States sovereign rights to fish and fishery management authority. 

‘‘Sec. 102. Highly migratory species. 

‘‘TITLE II—FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY 

AGREEMENTS 

‘‘Sec. 201. Foreign fishing. 


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‘‘Sec. 202. International fishery agreements. 

‘‘Sec. 203. Congressional oversight of international fishery agreements. 

‘‘Sec. 204. Permits for foreign fishing. 

‘‘Sec. 205. Import prohibitions. 

‘‘Sec. 206. Large-scale driftnet fishing. 

‘‘Sec. 207. International monitoring and compliance. 

‘‘TITLE III—NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 

‘‘Sec. 301. National standards for fishery conservation and management. 

‘‘Sec. 302. Regional fishery management councils. 

‘‘Sec. 303. Contents of fishery management plans. 

‘‘Sec. 304. Action by the Secretary. 

‘‘Sec. 305. Other requirements and authority. 

‘‘Sec. 306. State jurisdiction. 

‘‘Sec. 307. Prohibited Acts. 

‘‘Sec. 308. Civil penalties and permit sanctions. 

‘‘Sec. 309. Criminal offenses. 

‘‘Sec. 310. Civil forfeitures. 

‘‘Sec. 311. Enforcement. 

‘‘Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries. 

‘‘Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation. 

‘‘Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program. 

‘‘Sec. 315. Regional Coastal Disaster Assistance, Transition, and Recovery Program. 

‘‘Sec. 316. Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. 

‘‘Sec. 317. Shark Feeding. 

‘‘Sec. 318. Cooperative Research and Management Program. 

‘‘Sec. 319. Herring Study. 

‘‘Sec. 320. Restoration Study. 

‘‘Sec. 321. Required possession of descending devices. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Increasing resilience of stocks of fish to climate change. 

‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH 

‘‘Sec. 401. Registration and information management. 

‘‘Sec. 402. Information collection. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Observers. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Fisheries research. 

‘‘Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research. 

‘‘Sec. 406. Fisheries systems research. 

‘‘Sec. 407. Gulf of Mexico red snapper research. 

‘‘Sec. 408. Deep sea coral research and technology program. 

‘‘Sec. 409. Recreational data improvement program.’’. 

1 TITLE I—CLIMATE-READY 

2 FISHERIES 

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND POLICY. 

4 Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 1801) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(2) Certain stocks of fish have declined to the 

4 point where their survival is threatened, and other 

5 stocks of fish have been so substantially reduced in 

6 number that they could become similarly threatened 

7 as a consequence of— 

8 ‘‘(A) increased fishing pressure; 

9 ‘‘(B) inadequate fishery resource conserva10 tion and management practices and controls; 

11 ‘‘(C) direct and indirect habitat losses that 

12 result in a diminished capacity to support exist13 ing fishing levels; or 

14 ‘‘(D) changing environmental conditions, 

15 including those associated with climate 

16 change.’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘to in18 sure conservation,’’ and inserting ‘‘to ensure 

19 conservation, to account for the impacts of envi20 ronmental changes on stocks of fish,’’; 

21 (C) by amending paragraph (9) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(9) One of the greatest long-term threats to 

24 the viability of commercial and recreational fisheries 

25 is the continuing degradation of marine ecosystems, 


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1 including the loss of marine, estuarine, and other 

2 aquatic habitats, including as a result of changing 

3 environmental conditions associated with climate 

4 change. Habitat and ecosystem considerations 

5 should receive increased attention for the conserva6 tion and management of fishery resources of the 

7 United States.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(14) Environmental changes associated with 

10 climate change, including changes in water tempera11 ture, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation, are rap12 idly altering the abundance, productivity, and dis13 tribution of fish and are affecting commercial, rec14 reational, and subsistence fisheries. 

15 ‘‘(15) The impacts of climate change on fish 

16 and their habitats are resulting in management and 

17 sustainability challenges that threaten to negatively 

18 impact marine ecosystems, fishery resources, and 

19 coastal communities. 

20 ‘‘(16) Many factors beyond the direct impacts 

21 of fishing can contribute to a decline in abundance 

22 of a stock of fish, resulting in depleted stocks of fish 

23 and threatening the stability of ecosystems and fish24 ing communities, including climate change, pollution, 

25 habitat and watershed degradation, inadequate 


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1 freshwater resources, and industrial uses of the 

2 ocean. The designation of a stock of fish as over3 fished indicates that it is depleted and management 

4 actions are necessary to allow the stock of fish to re5 build, regardless of the cause of depletion.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

7 (5) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(5) to establish Regional Fishery Management 

9 Councils to exercise sound judgement in the stew10 ardship of fishery resources through the preparation, 

11 monitoring, and revision of such plans under cir12 cumstances— 

13 ‘‘(A) which will enable the States, the fish14 ing industry, consumer and environmental orga15 nizations, and other interested persons to par16 ticipate in, and advise on, the establishment 

17 and administration of such plans; 

18 ‘‘(B) which take into account the social 

19 and economic needs of the States; and 

20 ‘‘(C) which address the impacts of environ21 mental conditions associated with climate 

22 change on stocks of fish, marine ecosystems, 

23 fisheries management, and coastal commu24 nities;’’; and 

25 (3) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) to promote management that accounts for 

7 changes in stocks of fish and the marine environ8 ment that result from climate change; and 

9 ‘‘(9) to ensure that the research, resource man10 agement, and expenditures to prepare fisheries and 

11 fishing communities for climate change include in12 digenous, insular, and coastal populations in deci13 sionmaking and promote equity with respect to envi14 ronmental, economic, and social outcomes across 

15 fisheries and regions.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. PROMOTING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN FISHERIES 

17 MANAGEMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 

19 1853(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘to protect’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and to promote the re24 silience of stocks of fish to cumulative stressors, 

25 including cumulative stressors associated with 


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1 climate change’’ before the semicolon at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘including 

4 considering the impacts of climate change,’’ after 

5 ‘‘fishery,’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘1991’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2024’’, and by inserting ‘‘, including data 

8 needed to implement the plan effectively under pre9 vailing and anticipated environmental or ecological 

10 conditions, including climate change’’ before the 

11 semicolon at the end; 

12 (4) in paragraph (13), by inserting ‘‘as well as 

13 examine the vulnerability of the fishery and fishery 

14 participants to the impacts of prevailing and antici15 pated environmental or ecological conditions, includ16 ing climate change’’ before the semicolon at the end; 

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

18 inserting a semicolon; 

19 (6) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

21 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(16) assess and describe the anticipated im23 pacts of climate change and other environmental and 

24 ecological changes on the fishery, including an as25 sessment of whether and how the management 


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1 measures contained in the plan or plan amendment 

2 have accounted for such impacts, and a summary of 

3 the information used in such assessment; and 

4 ‘‘(17) describe and identify the current range 

5 and distribution of, and fishing patterns on, each 

6 stock of fish managed under the plan, including 

7 areas outside the jurisdiction of the Council having 

8 authority to issue the plan, and for each stock of 

9 fish the distribution of which crosses management 

10 boundaries, describe the measures used to coordinate 

11 with other relevant management bodies for the con12 servation and management of each such stock of 

13 fish.’’. 

14 (b) INCREASING RESILIENCE OF STOCKS OF FISH TO

15 CLIMATE CHANGE.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 322. INCREASING RESILIENCE OF STOCKS OF FISH TO 

18 CLIMATE CHANGE. 

19 ‘‘(a) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 

20 3 years after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining 

21 America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, and every 

22 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) assess the vulnerability of stocks of fish 

24 within the geographical area of authority of each 

25 Council to climate change; 


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1 ‘‘(2) notify each Council of the vulnerability of 

2 stocks of fish within such geographical area; and 

3 ‘‘(3) make recommendations to each Council for 

4 measures to increase the resilience of stocks of fish 

5 within such geographical area identified as vulner6 able to climate change. 

7 ‘‘(b) COUNCIL PRIORITIZATION PLANS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 receiving a notification from the Secretary under 

10 subsection (a), each Council shall publish a plan 

11 identifying management actions to increase resilience 

12 of the stocks of fish identified as vulnerable to cli13 mate change and begin implementing such manage14 ment actions. 

15 ‘‘(2) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—With re16 spect to stocks of fish managed under section 

17 302(a)(3), not later than 1 year after issuing a noti18 fication under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

19 publish a plan identifying management actions to in20 crease resilience of such stocks of fish identified as 

21 vulnerable to climate change and begin implementing 

22 such management actions. 

23 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after 

24 publishing a plan under paragraph (1), each Council 

25 shall report to the Secretary on the actions the 


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1 Council has taken to implement such plan or provide 

2 an explanation for not taking such action. 

3 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

4 after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining Amer5 ica’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, and every 5 

6 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

7 a report— 

8 ‘‘(1) describing the vulnerability of stocks of 

9 fish to climate change; 

10 ‘‘(2) identifying the risks posed by climate 

11 change to the conservation and management of 

12 stocks of fish; and 

13 ‘‘(3) summarizing the steps taken by the Sec14 retary and the Councils to mitigate and address the 

15 impacts on and risks of climate change to stocks of 

16 fish.’’. 

17 (c) GUIDANCE FOR COUNCILS.—Section 305 (16 

18 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(l) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of the Sustaining America’s Fish22 eries for the Future Act of 2024, the Secretary shall issue 

23 guidelines to assist the Councils in preparing and adapting 

24 fishery management for the impacts of climate change, in25 cluding for consideration of climate change in the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 servation and management of stocks of fish under the geo2 graphical area of authority of each Council.’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 4 years 

5 after the date of the enactment of this section. 

6 SEC. 103. INCORPORATING CLIMATE SCIENCE. 

7 (a) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.—Section 

8 302(k)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(k)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

10 (H) as subparagraphs (D) through (I), respectively; 

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as sub12 paragraph (K); 

13 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(C) climate change and relevant impacts 

16 of climate change on fisheries health, range, 

17 and other factors that would affect the con18 servation and management of a stock of fish;’’; 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

20 end of subparagraph (I), as so redesignated; and 

21 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (I), as so 

22 redesignated, the following: 

23 ‘‘(J) ecosystem-based fishery management; 

24 and’’. 


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1 (b) FISHERIES RESEARCH.—Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1881c) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, on changes 

4 in geographic range, spatial distribution, and pro5 ductivity of a fishery or interrelated fisheries,’’ after 

6 ‘‘management’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘changes 

8 in geographic range, spatial distribution, and pro9 ductivity of a fishery or interrelated fisheries,’’after 

10 ‘‘degradation,’’. 

11 SEC. 104. CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES INNOVATION PRO12 GRAM. 

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

14 date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator 

15 shall establish a program to develop innovative tools and 

16 approaches designed to increase the adaptive capacity of 

17 fishery management to the impacts of climate change. 

18 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program estab19 lished under subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 

20 (1) develop science and management tools and 

21 approaches that address regional and national prior22 ities to improve the conservation and management of 

23 fishery resources under existing and anticipated cli24 mate impacts; 


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1 (2) provide for routine input from fishery man2 agers and scientists in order to maximize opportuni3 ties to incorporate results of the program in fishery 

4 management actions; 

5 (3) promote adoption of methods developed 

6 under the program in fishery management plans de7 veloped by the Councils; 

8 (4) provide information and outreach to the pri9 vate and academic sectors to encourage development 

10 and operationalization of tools and approaches to 

11 manage the effects of climate change on fisheries; 

12 and 

13 (5) provide information and outreach to fishery 

14 participants to increase understanding and encour15 age adoption and use of tools and approaches devel16 oped under the program. 

17 (c) COORDINATION OF PROGRAM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

19 established under subsection (a), the Administrator 

20 shall establish a process to ensure coordination with 

21 and outreach to— 

22 (A) regional offices and science centers of 

23 the National Marine Fisheries Service; 

24 (B) the Councils; 


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1 (C) the scientific and statistical committees 

2 of the Councils; and 

3 (D) the heads of other relevant programs, 

4 including the cooperative research and manage5 ment program established under section 318 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1867), the Integrated Ocean Ob7 serving System, and programs within the Na8 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

9 designed to address ocean acidification. 

10 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PRIOR11 ITIES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Coordination carried 

13 out under paragraph (1) should include identi14 fication of multiyear research priorities to study 

15 and understand the current and anticipated im16 pacts of climate change on fisheries, fisheries 

17 interactions, habitats, fishery participants, fish18 ing communities, seafood markets, fisheries 

19 science and monitoring, or other relevant prior20 ities. 

21 (B) REVIEW.—The Administrator, in co22 ordination with the entities described in sub23 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1), 

24 should routinely review the priorities identified 


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1 under subparagraph (A) in a timeframe not to 

2 exceed 5 years and updated as necessary. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

5 carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2029. 

7 SEC. 105. MANAGING SHIFTING STOCKS OF FISH. 

8 (a) CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL MANAGEMENT.—Section 

9 304(f) (16 U.S.C. 1854(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(f) FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY OF MORE THAN

11 1 COUNCIL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF AREAS OF AU13 THORITY.—The Secretary shall review the geo14 graphical area of authority of each Council to deter15 mine if a substantial portion of any federally man16 aged fishery within such area is within the area of 

17 authority of another council— 

18 ‘‘(A) upon request of such Council; or 

19 ‘‘(B) not less frequently than every 5 

20 years. 

21 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF COUNCIL TO PREPARE

22 PLAN.—If the Secretary determines under para23 graph (1) that a substantial portion of a federally 

24 managed fishery is located in the geographical area 

25 of authority of more than 1 Council, the Secretary 


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1 shall, not later than 6 months after making such de2 termination— 

3 ‘‘(A) designate 1 of the Councils concerned 

4 to prepare the fishery management plan for 

5 such fishery and any amendment to such plan, 

6 if required under this Act; or 

7 ‘‘(B) designate that such plan and any 

8 such amendment, if required under this Act, be 

9 prepared jointly by the Councils concerned. 

10 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PLAN.— 

11 Not later than 2 years after the Secretary makes a 

12 designation under paragraph (2), the designated 

13 Council or Councils shall prepare and submit a fish14 ery management plan or amendment in accordance 

15 with this Act. 

16 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL

17 AUTHORITY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REQUEST OF COUNCIL.—At the re19 quest of a Council or as a result of the review 

20 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

21 determine whether a fishery described in para22 graph (2) no longer has a substantial portion of 

23 such fishery located in the geographical area of 

24 authority of more than 1 Council. 

25 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary 

2 determines under subparagraph (A) that a 

3 fishery described in paragraph (2) no 

4 longer has a substantial portion of such 

5 fishery located in the geographical area of 

6 authority of more than 1 Council— 

7 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall deter8 mine which Council has predominant 

9 geographic authority over the fishery; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) not later than 2 years after 

12 the date on which the determination 

13 under subclause (I) is made, and at 

14 such other times as required under 

15 this Act, the Council determined 

16 under such subclause shall adopt any 

17 existing fishery management plan for 

18 the fishery and shall prepare and sub19 mit any plan amendments necessary 

20 for transitioning to single-Council 

21 management as well as for any other 

22 purposes, in accordance with the pro23 visions of this Act. 

24 ‘‘(ii) REPEAL OF PRIOR PLAN.—Not25 withstanding subsection (h), upon the date 


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1 of adoption of a fishery management plan 

2 under clause (i)(II), any preceding fishery 

3 management plan with respect to such 

4 fishery is repealed. 

5 ‘‘(5) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Sec6 retary shall by regulation identify criteria for deter7 mining under paragraphs (1) and (5) whether a sub8 stantial portion of a federally managed fishery is lo9 cated in the geographical area of authority of more 

10 than 1 Council. 

11 ‘‘(6) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOUNDARIES.—The 

12 Secretary shall establish the boundaries between the 

13 geographical areas of authority of adjacent Councils. 

14 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENT FOR MAJORITY OF VOTING

15 MEMBERS.—No jointly prepared plan or amendment 

16 required to be prepared under this subsection may 

17 be submitted to the Secretary unless such plan or 

18 amendment is approved by a majority of the voting 

19 members, present and voting, of each Council con20 cerned. 

21 ‘‘(8) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES IN CERTAIN

22 FISHERIES.—This subsection does not apply with re23 spect to any fishery to which section 302(a)(3) ap24 plies.’’. 


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1 (b) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE RE2 SEARCH AND MANAGEMENT OF CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL

3 FISHERIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina5 tion with the Secretary of State where necessary, 

6 shall develop a strategy for coordinated research and 

7 management with other relevant nations with which 

8 the United States shares stocks of fish that are cur9 rently experiencing or are expected to experience 

10 shifts in geographic range or spatial distribution 

11 that spans or will span international boundaries, in12 cluding within the same life stage or across life 

13 stages. 

14 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

15 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

16 shall submit to the Congress a report that in17 cludes— 

18 (A) a list of fisheries that are currently ex19 periencing or are expected to experience shifts 

20 in geographic range or spatial distribution that 

21 spans or will span international boundaries and 

22 the relevant countries for each fishery or stock 

23 of a fishery’s current or expected range and the 

24 relevant regional fisheries management organi25 zation or other international organizations or 


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1 agreement with authority over the management 

2 of each fishery or stock of fish; 

3 (B) an analysis of priority research needs 

4 for each of these fisheries or stocks of fisheries 

5 that should be coordinated with other affected 

6 nations and relevant international management 

7 organizations; and 

8 (C) a 5-year strategy to undertake and 

9 complete such research, including a proposed 

10 budget and timeline for that work. 

11 SEC. 106. EMERGING FISHERIES. 

12 Section 305(a) (16 U.S.C. 1855(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘NO14 TIFICATION OF ENTRY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEVELOP15 MENT OF NEW FISHERIES’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (1) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

18 Register, subject to paragraph (3), and after notice 

19 and an opportunity for public comment— 

20 ‘‘(A) a list of all fisheries managed under 

21 this Act, organized by Federal region (or Secre22 tarial management under section 302(a)(3), as 

23 applicable); and 

24 ‘‘(B) with respect to each such fishery— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the types of fishing gear author2 ized for use in such fishery; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the jurisdiction (State, Federal, 

4 interstate, or otherwise) exercising man5 agement authority over such fishery; 

6 ‘‘(iii) whether a fishery management 

7 plan or analogous management structure 

8 exists for the fishery; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) the species authorized to be 

10 caught and retained in such fishery.’’; 

11 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘determining’’ 

12 and all that follows through the end of the para13 graph and inserting ‘‘determining—’’ 

14 ‘‘(A) when a fishery is sufficiently different 

15 from those listed as to constitute a new fishery; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) minimum criteria for a fishery to be 

18 considered managed under paragraph (1)(A), 

19 which, for federally managed fisheries, must in20 clude having a fishery management plan and 

21 associated regulations under this Act.’’; 

22 (4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para23 graph (7); and 

24 (5) by striking paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) and 

25 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

2 the enactment of the Sustaining America’s Fisheries 

3 for the Future Act of 2024, and at least once every 

4 5 years thereafter, each Council (or the Secretary 

5 for fisheries to which section 302(a)(3) applies) shall 

6 review the fisheries for which the Council is respon7 sible on the list published under paragraph (1)(A) 

8 and submit to the Secretary proposed changes to 

9 such list in specific and narrow terms, including geo10 graphic range, to ensure that only managed fisheries 

11 are included on such list. 

12 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall review proposed 

13 changes pursuant to the guidelines established under 

14 paragraph (2) and publish a revised list, after notice 

15 and an opportunity for public comment. 

16 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may permit, pursuant to 

17 section 318(d), on a limited interim basis, fishing 

18 activity that is not included on the list, if— 

19 ‘‘(A) the experimental fishing permit is de20 signed and implemented so as to yield informa21 tion necessary and currently lacking for the de22 velopment of a fishery management plan or 

23 amendment to such plan under section 

24 302(h)(1) and section 303; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary collects, evaluates, and, 

2 notwithstanding section 402(b), makes public 

3 the data generated by the experimental fishing 

4 activity at the end of each permit year, and 

5 based on such evaluation, the Council renders a 

6 determination of whether the fishing activity 

7 should be continued, either in the form of a 

8 subsequent year of experimental fishing under 

9 this paragraph, or in the form of a fishery man10 aged under a fishery management plan pursu11 ant to section 302(h)(1) and section 303; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the data collected from, and the eval13 uation of the Secretary of, the fishing activity 

14 are included in any fishery management plan or 

15 amendment that is prepared for management of 

16 the fishing activity. 

17 ‘‘(6) No person or vessel may employ fishing 

18 gear or engage in a fishery not included on the list 

19 except as provided in paragraph (4). A Council may 

20 request the Secretary to promulgate emergency reg21 ulations under subsection (c) to prohibit any persons 

22 or vessels from using an unlisted fishing gear or en23 gaging in an unlisted fishery.’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. REPORT REGARDING INSHORE AND SHALLOW 

2 WATER MOBILE GEAR FISHING. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this title, the Secretary shall conduct a study and sub5 mit to Congress, the Councils, State fisheries managers, 

6 and the regional Marine Fisheries Commissions a report 

7 regarding the effects of inshore and shallow water mobile 

8 gear fishing on habitat and nontarget species and the ef9 fects it has between interstate boundaries and Federal and 

10 State waters. 

11 TITLE II—SUPPORTING FISHING 

12 COMMUNITIES 

13 SEC. 201. SUBSISTENCE FISHING. 

14 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 2(b)(3) (16 U.S.C. 

15 1801(b)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, subsistence,’’ after 

16 ‘‘commercial’’. 

17 (b) DEFINITION OF SUBSISTENCE FISHING.—Section 

18 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended by inserting after para19 graph (42) the following: 

20 ‘‘(42A)(A) SUBSISTENCE FISHING.—The term 

21 ‘subsistence fishing’ means fishing in which the fish 

22 harvested are intended for customary and traditional 

23 uses, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) for direct or sharing personal, family, 

25 or community consumption, including as food, 

26 shelter, clothing, or tools; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for the making or selling of handi2 craft articles out of nonedible byproducts of 

3 subsistence fishing; 

4 ‘‘(iii) for barter; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) for customary trade. 

6 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 

7 ‘‘(i) the term ‘family’ means all persons re8 lated by blood, marriage, or adoption, or any 

9 person living within the household on a perma10 nent basis; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘barter’ means the exchange 

12 of a fish or fish part harvested through subsist13 ence fishing— 

14 ‘‘(I) for another fish or fish part; or 

15 ‘‘(II) for other food or for nonedible 

16 items other than money if the exchange is 

17 of a limited and noncommercial nature.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

20 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

21 306A of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1455a) the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 306B. WORKING WATERFRONTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) TASK FORCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab25 lish a task force to work directly with covered entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 ties, users of working waterfronts, and coastal stake2 holders to identify and address critical needs with 

3 respect to working waterfronts. 

4 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall ap5 point members of the Task Force, and shall in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(A) experts in the unique economic, so8 cial, cultural, ecological, geographic, and re9 source concerns of working waterfronts; and 

10 ‘‘(B) representatives from— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Office of Coastal Management 

12 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the United States Fish and Wild15 life Service; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the Department of Agriculture; 

17 ‘‘(iv) the Environmental Protection 

18 Agency; 

19 ‘‘(v) the United States Geological Sur20 vey; 

21 ‘‘(vi) the Department of the Navy; 

22 ‘‘(vii) the National Marine Fisheries 

23 Service; 

24 ‘‘(viii) the Economic Development Ad25 ministration; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) such other Federal agencies as 

2 the Secretary determines appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(x) Indian Tribes; and 

4 ‘‘(xi) Native Hawaiian organizations. 

5 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Task Force shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) identify and prioritize critical needs 

7 with respect to working waterfronts in coastal 

8 states that have a management program ap9 proved under section 306, in the areas of— 

10 ‘‘(i) economic and cultural importance 

11 of such working waterfronts to commu12 nities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) changing circumstances and 

14 threats such working waterfronts face from 

15 trade barriers and environmental changes, 

16 including sea level rise, extreme weather 

17 events, ocean acidification, and harmful 

18 algal blooms; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) identifying such working water20 fronts and highlighting them within com21 munities; 

22 ‘‘(B) outline options, in consultation with 

23 coastal states and coastal stakeholders, to ad24 dress each critical need identified under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 paragraph (A), including adaptation and miti2 gation options where applicable; 

3 ‘‘(C) identify which Federal agency is re4 sponsible for addressing each critical need iden5 tified under subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(D) recommend which Federal agency is 

7 best suited to address each critical need identi8 fied under subparagraph (A) for which no re9 sponsible Federal agency is identified under 

10 subparagraph (C). 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

12 the date of the enactment of this section, the Task 

13 Force shall submit to Congress a report regarding 

14 the findings of the Task Force under this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 30 

17 months after the date of the enactment of this sec18 tion, the head of each Federal agency identified 

19 under paragraph (3)(C) shall, to the extent prac20 ticable and subject to the availability of appropria21 tions, implement the options outlined under para22 graph (3)(B). 

23 ‘‘(b) WORKING WATERFRONTS PLAN.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity may sub25 mit to the Secretary a working waterfronts plan for 


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1 approval under this subsection, which, as applicable 

2 and with respect to the covered entity— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) provide for the preservation and 

5 expansion of access to coastal waters by 

6 coastal users; 

7 ‘‘(ii) be complementary to and incor8 porate the policies, objectives, and regula9 tions of regional and local working water10 fronts plans or strategies in effect before 

11 the date of the enactment of this section; 

12 ‘‘(iii) be developed through a process 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(I) ensures the involvement of 

15 coastal stakeholders; and 

16 ‘‘(II) is consistent with other 

17 coastal management programs, regu18 lations, and activities of the covered 

19 entity; 

20 ‘‘(iv) designate each qualified holder 

21 of the covered entity, if any; 

22 ‘‘(v) if the covered entity designates a 

23 qualified holder under clause (iv)— 

24 ‘‘(I) ensure that such qualified 

25 holder complies with the duty of a 


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1 qualified holder to enforce each work2 ing waterfront covenant to which the 

3 qualified holder is a party; and 

4 ‘‘(II) certify that the covered en5 tity retains the responsibility to en6 sure that each affected working water7 front is managed in a manner that is 

8 consistent with the working water9 fronts plan of the covered entity; and 

10 ‘‘(vi) include— 

11 ‘‘(I) an assessment of the eco12 nomic, social, cultural, and historical 

13 value of working waterfronts; 

14 ‘‘(II) a description of any rel15 evant non-Federal laws and regula16 tions that affect working waterfronts 

17 in the geographic areas identified 

18 under subclauses (III) and (IV); 

19 ‘‘(III) an identification of geo20 graphic areas where working water21 fronts are, as of the date of the enact22 ment of this subsection, under threat 

23 of conversion to uses incompatible 

24 with commercial and recreational fish25 ing, recreational fishing and boating 


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1 businesses, aquaculture, boatbuilding, 

2 or other water-dependent, coastal-re3 lated business, and the level of that 

4 threat; 

5 ‘‘(IV) an identification of geo6 graphic areas with a historical connec7 tion to working waterfronts where 

8 working waterfronts are not, as of the 

9 date of the enactment of this section, 

10 available, and, where appropriate, an 

11 assessment of the environmental im12 pacts of any expansion or new devel13 opment of working waterfronts on the 

14 coastal ecosystems of such geographic 

15 areas; 

16 ‘‘(V) an identification of addi17 tional working waterfronts needs, in18 cluding improvements to existing 

19 working waterfronts; 

20 ‘‘(VI) a strategic and prioritized 

21 plan for the preservation, expansion, 

22 and improvement of each relevant 

23 working waterfront; 

24 ‘‘(VII) for geographic areas iden25 tified under subclauses (III) and (IV), 


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1 an identification of the current avail2 ability and potential for expansion of 

3 public access to coastal waters in such 

4 geographic areas; 

5 ‘‘(VIII) a description of the de6 gree of community support for the 

7 plan included under subclause (VI); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(IX) a contingency plan for any 

10 property that reverts to the covered 

11 entity pursuant to a determination 

12 made by the covered entity under sub13 section (c)(11)(B); and 

14 ‘‘(B) may— 

15 ‘‘(i) be developed using existing infor16 mation contained in relevant surveys, 

17 plans, or other documents to fulfill the in18 formation requirements under this para19 graph; 

20 ‘‘(ii) include a vulnerability assess21 ment, hazards resilience plan, or identifica22 tion of waterfront properties exposed to 

23 sea level rise or inundation; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) be part of a management pro25 gram approved under section 306. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF APPROVAL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A working waterfronts 

3 plan approved by the Secretary under this sub4 section shall be effective during the 5-year pe5 riod beginning on the date of such approval. 

6 ‘‘(B) MAINTENANCE OF APPROVAL.—An 

7 eligible covered entity that participates in the 

8 grant program on the basis of an approved 

9 working waterfronts plan of that eligible cov10 ered entity shall resubmit such working water11 fronts plan for approval by the Secretary before 

12 the end of each 5-year period described in sub13 paragraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(c) WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con16 sultation with covered entities, Federal agencies the 

17 Secretary determines appropriate, and interested 

18 coastal stakeholders with expertise in working water19 fronts planning, establish a regionally equitable and 

20 competitive grant program, to be known as the 

21 ‘Working Waterfronts Grant Program’. 

22 ‘‘(2) USES.—The Secretary may award grants 

23 under this subsection to eligible covered entities— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to implement or revise an approved 

2 working waterfronts plan of such eligible cov3 ered entity, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) acquiring a working waterfront or 

5 an interest in a working waterfront; 

6 ‘‘(ii) making improvements to a work7 ing waterfront, including constructing or 

8 repairing wharfs, boat ramps, or related 

9 facilities; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) carrying out necessary climate 

11 adaptation mitigation activities for a work12 ing waterfront; or 

13 ‘‘(B) to develop a working waterfronts plan 

14 of such eligible covered entity under subsection 

15 (b). 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a 

18 grant under this subsection, an eligible covered 

19 entity shall submit an application to the Sec20 retary— 

21 ‘‘(i) that, if applicable, is consistent 

22 with the management program of the eligi23 ble covered entity approved under section 

24 306; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in such form, at such time, and 

2 containing such information as the Sec3 retary determines appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—Not later than 60 days 

5 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

6 an application for a grant under this para7 graph, the Secretary shall approve or reject 

8 such application. 

9 ‘‘(4) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall, in 

10 consultation with the entities described in paragraph 

11 (1), issue guidelines regarding the implementation of 

12 the grant program. 

13 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA.—In awarding a grant to an eli14 gible covered entity, the Secretary shall take into ac15 count the following criteria: 

16 ‘‘(A) The economic, cultural, and historical 

17 significance of working waterfronts to the eligi18 ble covered entity. 

19 ‘‘(B) The demonstrated working water20 fronts needs of the eligible covered entity, as 

21 described in the approved working waterfronts 

22 plan of the eligible covered entity, if any. 

23 ‘‘(C) The ability of the eligible covered en24 tity to meet the matching requirement under 

25 paragraph (10). 


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1 ‘‘(D) The potential for rapid turnover in 

2 the ownership of relevant working waterfronts, 

3 and, if applicable, the need for the eligible cov4 ered entity to respond quickly when property in 

5 an existing or potential working waterfront area 

6 or public access area, as identified in the ap7 proved working waterfronts plan of the eligible 

8 covered entity, if any, comes under threat of 

9 conversion to incompatible uses or becomes 

10 available for purchase. 

11 ‘‘(E) As applicable, the impact of the ap12 proved working waterfronts plan of the eligible 

13 covered entity, if any, on the coastal ecosystem 

14 and working waterfronts of the eligible covered 

15 entity and the users of the coastal ecosystem of 

16 the eligible covered entity. 

17 ‘‘(6) OTHER TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL AS18 SISTANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of 

20 an eligible covered entity that is awarded a 

21 grant under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

22 provide to such eligible covered entity technical 

23 assistance— 

24 ‘‘(i) to identify and obtain sources of 

25 Federal technical or financial assistance 


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1 other than that provided under this sub2 section to develop a working waterfronts 

3 plan for approval under subsection (b) or 

4 to implement or revise an approved work5 ing waterfronts plan; 

6 ‘‘(ii) to develop a working waterfronts 

7 plan for approval under subsection (b); 

8 ‘‘(iii) to implement or revise an ap9 proved working waterfronts plan; 

10 ‘‘(iv) to integrate resilience planning 

11 into working waterfronts preservation ef12 forts of such eligible covered entity; 

13 ‘‘(v) to develop additional tools to pro14 tect working waterfronts; 

15 ‘‘(vi) regarding guidance for best 

16 storm water management practices with 

17 regard to working waterfronts; or 

18 ‘‘(vii) to collect and disseminate best 

19 practices regarding working waterfronts 

20 and resilience planning. 

21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may 

22 use not more than 5 percent of the amounts 

23 made available under this subsection in each 

24 fiscal year to provide technical assistance under 

25 this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIREMENT.—A 

2 project carried out with a grant awarded under this 

3 subsection, other than a project that involves com4 mercial fishing or other industrial access points to 

5 which the eligible covered entity determines public 

6 access would be unsafe, shall provide for the expan7 sion, improvement, or preservation of reasonable and 

8 appropriate public access to coastal waters at or in 

9 the vicinity of working waterfronts. 

10 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION.—An eligible 

11 covered entity that is awarded a grant under this 

12 subsection, or any entity to which such eligible cov13 ered entity allocates a portion of such grant under 

14 paragraph (9), may use such grant award to acquire 

15 title to or an interest in a working waterfront, in16 cluding an easement, only— 

17 ‘‘(A) for fair market value from a willing 

18 seller; or 

19 ‘‘(B) for less than fair market value from 

20 a seller that certifies to the Secretary that the 

21 seller is willing and is not subject to coercion. 

22 ‘‘(9) ALLOCATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible covered en24 tity that is awarded a grant under this sub25 section may allocate a portion of such grant 


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1 award to a unit of State or local government, 

2 a nonprofit organization, a fishing cooperative, 

3 or any other appropriate entity for the purpose 

4 of carrying out this subsection if such eligible 

5 covered entity ensures that any such allocated 

6 grant award is used consistently with this sub7 section. 

8 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFIED WORKING WATER9 FRONTS.—The Secretary shall encourage each 

10 eligible covered entity that is awarded a grant 

11 under this subsection to equitably allocate such 

12 grant award among working waterfronts identi13 fied in the approved working waterfronts plan 

14 of each such eligible covered entity, if any. 

15 ‘‘(10) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), the Federal share of a 

18 project carried out with a grant awarded under 

19 this subsection may not exceed 75 percent. 

20 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF MATCHING REQUIRE21 MENT.—The Secretary may waive the applica22 tion of subparagraph (A)— 

23 ‘‘(i) with respect to an eligible covered 

24 entity that is awarded a grant under this 


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1 subsection that has designated a qualified 

2 holder that is located within— 

3 ‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(II) a community that has an 

6 inability to draw on other sources of 

7 funding because of the small popu8 lation or low income of the commu9 nity; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) for any other reason the Sec11 retary determines appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(C) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An eligible 

13 covered entity that is awarded a grant under 

14 this subsection may satisfy the non-Federal 

15 share of a project carried out with a grant 

16 awarded under this subsection through in-kind 

17 contributions and other noncash support, in18 cluding the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) The value, as determined by an 

20 appraisal performed at such time before 

21 the award of the grant as the Secretary de22 termines appropriate, of a working water23 front or an interest in a working water24 front, including conservation and other 

25 easements, that is held in perpetuity by a 


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1 qualified holder, if the working waterfront 

2 or interest in a working waterfront— 

3 ‘‘(I) is identified in the grant ap4 plication; and 

5 ‘‘(II) is acquired by the qualified 

6 holder not later than 3 years after— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the grant award date; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(bb) the date of the sub10 mission of such application and 

11 before the end of the initial 5- 

12 year period for which the ap13 proved working waterfronts plan 

14 associated with the grant applica15 tion, if any, is effective. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The costs, including cash or in17 kind contributions, associated with the ac18 quisition, restoration, or enhancement of, 

19 or making other improvements to, a work20 ing waterfront or an interest in a working 

21 waterfront, if— 

22 ‘‘(I) such costs are identified in 

23 the grant application; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the costs are incurred— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) before the end of the 

2 initial 5-year period for which the 

3 approved working waterfronts 

4 plan associated with the grant 

5 application, if any, is effective; or 

6 ‘‘(bb) for working water7 fronts described in clause (i), 

8 within the time limits described 

9 in that clause. 

10 ‘‘(11) WORKING WATERFRONT COVENANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible covered en12 tity that is awarded a grant under this sub13 section may use such grant award with respect 

14 to a working waterfront only for which each 

15 person other than the eligible covered entity 

16 that holds title to or an interest in such work17 ing waterfront enters into a working waterfront 

18 covenant. 

19 ‘‘(B) VIOLATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible covered 

21 entity may determine, on the record after 

22 an opportunity for a hearing, that a work23 ing waterfront covenant of the eligible cov24 ered entity has been violated. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REVERSION; CONVEYANCE; 

2 RIGHT OF IMMEDIATE ENTRY.—If an eligi3 ble covered entity makes a determination 

4 under clause (i) that a violation described 

5 under that clause has occurred— 

6 ‘‘(I) all right, title, and interest 

7 in and to the working waterfront cov8 ered by the violated working water9 front covenant shall revert to the eligi10 ble covered entity; 

11 ‘‘(II) the eligible covered entity 

12 may convey the working waterfront or 

13 interest in the working waterfront to 

14 a qualified holder; and 

15 ‘‘(III) the eligible covered entity 

16 shall have the right of immediate 

17 entry onto the working waterfront 

18 covered by the violated working water19 front covenant. 

20 ‘‘(12) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary 

21 shall subject each grant awarded under this sub22 section to such terms and conditions as the Sec23 retary determines appropriate to ensure that each 

24 such grant is used for purposes consistent with this 

25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(13) REPORT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

3 biennially submit to Congress a report regard4 ing the implementation of this subsection, 

5 which shall include— 

6 ‘‘(i) an evaluation, based on perform7 ance measures developed by the Secretary, 

8 of the effectiveness of the grant program 

9 in accomplishing the purposes of this sub10 section; 

11 ‘‘(ii) an account of all expenditures 

12 under this subsection; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) descriptions of each project car14 ried out using a grant awarded under this 

15 section. 

16 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE MANNER OF SUBMIS17 SION.—The Secretary may submit each report 

18 required under subparagraph (A) by including 

19 the information required under that subpara20 graph in each report required under section 

21 316. 

22 ‘‘(14) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Sec23 retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 

24 amounts made available under this subsection in 


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1 each fiscal year to pay the administrative expenses 

2 necessary to carry out this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(15) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary to carry out this subsection $50,000,000 for 

6 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) APPROVED WORKING WATERFRONTS

9 PLAN.—The term ‘approved working waterfronts 

10 plan’ means a working waterfronts plan that is ap11 proved by the Secretary under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(2) COASTAL INDIAN TRIBE.—The term 

13 ‘coastal Indian Tribe’ means an Indian Tribe with 

14 respect to which land owned by the Indian Tribe, 

15 held in trust by the United States for the Indian 

16 Tribe, or held by the Indian Tribe and subject to re17 strictions on alienation imposed by the United 

18 States or the reservation of the Indian Tribe is lo19 cated within a coastal state. 

20 ‘‘(3) COASTAL USERS.—The term ‘coastal 

21 users’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) persons that engage in commercial or 

23 recreational fishing; 

24 ‘‘(B) recreational fishing and boating busi25 nesses; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) boatbuilding, aquaculture, and other 

2 water-dependent, coastal-related businesses. 

3 ‘‘(4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en4 tity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a coastal state; 

6 ‘‘(B) a coastal Indian Tribe; or 

7 ‘‘(C) a Native Hawaiian organization. 

8 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE COVERED ENTITY.—The term 

9 ‘eligible covered entity’ means a covered entity 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) has an approved working waterfronts 

12 plan; 

13 ‘‘(B) is in the process of developing a 

14 working waterfronts plan for approval under 

15 subsection (b); or 

16 ‘‘(C) has a coastal land use plan that the 

17 Secretary determines is sufficient for the pur18 poses of this section. 

19 ‘‘(6) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘grant pro20 gram’ means the grant program established under 

21 subsection (c). 

22 ‘‘(7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

23 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

24 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

25 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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1 ‘‘(8) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘Native Hawaiian organization’ means a non3 profit organization— 

4 ‘‘(A) that serves the interests of Native 

5 Hawaiians; 

6 ‘‘(B) in which Native Hawaiians serve in 

7 substantive and policymaking positions; 

8 ‘‘(C) that is recognized for having expertise 

9 in Native Hawaiian culture and heritage, in10 cluding tourism; and 

11 ‘‘(D) is located within a coastal state. 

12 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED HOLDER.—The term ‘qualified 

13 holder’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a unit of local government of a cov15 ered entity, if the covered entity is a coastal 

16 state; or 

17 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization; 

18 that is designated by a covered entity in the ap19 proved working waterfronts plan of the covered enti20 ty to carry out some or all of the functions of the 

21 covered entity under the grant program if the cov22 ered entity applies for and is awarded a grant under 

23 the grant program, including holding title to or an 

24 interest in a working waterfront acquired with a 

25 grant awarded under the grant program. 


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1 ‘‘(10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

2 means the task force established under subsection 

3 (a)(1). 

4 ‘‘(11) DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.—The 

5 term ‘disadvantaged community’ means a commu6 nity the Secretary determines, based on appropriate 

7 data, indices, and screening tools, is economically, 

8 socially, or environmentally disadvantaged. 

9 ‘‘(12) WORKING WATERFRONT.—The term 

10 ‘working waterfront’ means real property (including 

11 support structures over water and other facilities) 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(A) provides access to coastal waters by 

14 coastal users; and 

15 ‘‘(B) is used for, or supports, commercial 

16 and recreational fishing, recreational fishing 

17 and boating businesses, and boatbuilding, aqua18 culture, and other water-dependent, coastal-re19 lated business. 

20 ‘‘(13) WORKING WATERFRONT COVENANT.— 

21 The term ‘working waterfront covenant’ means an 

22 agreement in recordable form entered into between 

23 a person that holds title to or an interest in a work24 ing waterfront and a covered entity that is awarded 

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1 er of such covered entity that provides such assur2 ances as the Secretary determines necessary to en3 sure the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

5 (C), the title to or interest in the working wa6 terfront will be held by an entity that is subject 

7 to such agreement in perpetuity. 

8 ‘‘(B) The working waterfront will be man9 aged in a manner that is consistent with the 

10 purposes of this section, and the working water11 front will not be converted to any use that is in12 consistent with this section. 

13 ‘‘(C) If the title to or interest in the work14 ing waterfront is subsequently sold or otherwise 

15 exchanged— 

16 ‘‘(i) each party involved in such sale 

17 or exchange shall accede to such agree18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) funds equal to the fair market 

20 value of the title to or interest in the work21 ing waterfront shall be paid to the Sec22 retary by the parties to the sale or ex23 change, and such funds shall be, at the 

24 discretion of the Secretary, paid to the rel25 evant covered entity or a qualified holder 


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1 of such covered entity for use in the imple2 mentation of the approved working water3 fronts plan of the covered entity. 

4 ‘‘(D) Such agreement shall be subject to 

5 enforcement and oversight by the covered entity 

6 or by another person as the Secretary deter7 mines appropriate. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 306C. WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION 

9 LOAN FUND. 

10 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE COASTAL STATES TO

12 ESTABLISH WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION

13 LOAN FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

15 enter into an agreement with an eligible coastal 

16 state to issue a capitalization grant, including a 

17 letter of credit, to such eligible coastal state to 

18 implement the approved working waterfronts 

19 plan of such eligible coastal state. 

20 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING WA21 TERFRONTS PRESERVATION LOAN FUNDS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to 

23 receive a capitalization grant under this 

24 subsection, an eligible coastal state shall 


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1 establish a working waterfronts preserva2 tion loan fund. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DEPOSIT.—Each capitalization 

4 grant made to an eligible coastal state 

5 under this paragraph shall be deposited in 

6 the working waterfronts preservation loan 

7 fund of such eligible coastal state. 

8 ‘‘(C) EXTENDED PERIOD.—A capitaliza9 tion grant made to an eligible coastal state 

10 under this section shall be available to the eligi11 ble coastal state for obligation for a period of 

12 2 fiscal years. 

13 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible coastal 

15 state shall use amounts deposited in the work16 ing waterfronts preservation loan fund of such 

17 eligible coastal state, including loan repayments 

18 and interest earned on such amounts, to pro19 vide financial assistance described in subsection 

20 (f) to a covered entity to implement the ap21 proved working waterfronts plan of such eligible 

22 coastal state through preservation, improve23 ment, restoration, rehabilitation, and acquisi24 tion of working waterfronts pursuant to criteria 

25 established by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SALE OF BONDS.—A covered entity 

2 may use amounts received under this section as 

3 a source of revenue (restricted solely to interest 

4 earnings of the applicable working waterfronts 

5 preservation loan fund) or security for payment 

6 of the principal and interest on a revenue or 

7 general obligation bond issued by the eligible 

8 coastal state to provide matching funds under 

9 subsection (e) if the proceeds of the sale of the 

10 bond will be deposited in the working water11 fronts preservation loan fund of such eligible 

12 coastal state. 

13 ‘‘(C) NO INCREASED BONDING AUTHOR14 ITY.—Amounts deposited in the working water15 fronts preservation loan fund of an eligible 

16 coastal state may not be used as a source of 

17 payment of, or security for (directly or indi18 rectly), in whole or in part, any obligation the 

19 interest on which is exempt from the tax im20 posed under chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 

21 Code of 1986. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—An eligible coastal state 

23 may not provide financial assistance described in 

24 subsection (f) to a covered entity that does not have 

25 the technical, managerial, and financial capability to 


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1 ensure compliance with the requirements of this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(4) PREVAILING WAGES.—The Secretary shall 

4 ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act of 

5 March 3, 1931 (40 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.; commonly 

6 known as the ‘Davis-Bacon Act’) with respect to any 

7 construction project carried out in whole or in part 

8 with financial assistance made available from a 

9 working waterfronts preservation loan fund. 

10 ‘‘(5) RESERVATION.—Each eligible coastal state 

11 that enters into a capitalization agreement under 

12 paragraph (1) shall, each fiscal year, reserve 0.2 

13 percent of the amount in the working waterfronts 

14 preservation loan fund of the eligible coastal state to 

15 provide financial assistance described in subsection 

16 (f) to an Indian Tribe or a Native Hawaiian organi17 zation. 

18 ‘‘(b) INTENDED USE PLANS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible coastal state 

20 that enters into a capitalization agreement under 

21 subsection (a)(1) shall annually prepare an intended 

22 use plan, subject to notice and an opportunity for 

23 public comment, that identifies the intended uses of 

24 the amounts available to the working waterfronts 

25 preservation loan fund of the eligible coastal state. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each intended use plan pre2 pared by an eligible coastal state under paragraph 

3 (1) shall include, with respect to the eligible coastal 

4 state— 

5 ‘‘(A) a list of each project to be assisted 

6 with amounts from the working waterfronts 

7 preservation loan fund in the first fiscal year 

8 that begins after the date such intended use 

9 plan is finalized, including, with respect to each 

10 such project— 

11 ‘‘(i) a description of the project; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the expected terms of financial 

13 assistance; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) the size of the community 

15 served; 

16 ‘‘(B) the criteria and methods established 

17 to distribute amounts from the working water18 fronts preservation loan fund; and 

19 ‘‘(C) a description of the financial status of 

20 the working waterfronts preservation loan fund 

21 and the short- and long-term goals of such 

22 working waterfronts preservation loan fund. 

23 ‘‘(c) WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION LOAN

24 FUND MANAGEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each working waterfronts 

2 preservation loan fund under this section shall be es3 tablished, maintained, and credited with repayments 

4 and interest and the fund corpus shall be available 

5 in perpetuity to provide financial assistance de6 scribed in subsection (f) to covered entities under 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXTRA AMOUNTS.—To the extent amounts 

9 in a working waterfronts preservation loan fund are 

10 not required for obligation or expenditure, such 

11 amounts shall be invested in interest-bearing obliga12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMU14 NITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) LOAN SUBSIDY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of this section, if an eligible 

18 coastal state makes a loan to a disadvantaged 

19 community pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the 

20 eligible coastal state may provide additional 

21 subsidization to such disadvantaged community, 

22 including— 

23 ‘‘(i) forgiveness of principal; 

24 ‘‘(ii) grants; 

25 ‘‘(iii) negative interest loans; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) other loan forgiveness; and 

2 ‘‘(v) through buying, refinancing, or 

3 restructuring debt. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—A loan from a working 

5 waterfronts preservation loan fund with an in6 terest rate equal to or greater than 0 percent 

7 shall not be considered additional subsidization 

8 for the purposes of this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF SUBSIDIES.—Of the 

10 amount of a capitalization grant received by an eligi11 ble coastal state for any fiscal year, the total amount 

12 of loan subsidies made by such eligible coastal state 

13 pursuant to paragraph (1)— 

14 ‘‘(A) may not exceed 35 percent; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to the extent that there are, as deter16 mined by the Secretary, sufficient applications 

17 from disadvantaged communities for loans, may 

18 not be less than 12 percent. 

19 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COASTAL STATE CONTRIBUTION.— 

20 Each capitalization agreement entered into under sub21 section (a)(1) shall require that the eligible coastal state 

22 subject to such agreement deposit in the working water23 fronts preservation loan fund of the eligible coastal state 

24 an amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the total 

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1 ble coastal state on or before the date on which the capital2 ization grant payment is made to the eligible coastal state. 

3 ‘‘(f) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—The amounts depos4 ited into a working waterfronts preservation loan fund of 

5 an eligible coastal state under this section may be used 

6 by the eligible coastal state— 

7 ‘‘(1) to make a loan to a covered entity, on the 

8 condition that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the interest rate for the loan does not 

10 exceed the market rate; 

11 ‘‘(B) principal and interest payments on 

12 the loan will commence not later than 18 

13 months after completion of the project for 

14 which the loan was made; 

15 ‘‘(C) the loan will be fully amortized not 

16 later than 30 years after the completion of the 

17 project, except that in the case of a disadvan18 taged community an eligible coastal state may 

19 provide an extended term for the loan, if the ex20 tended term— 

21 ‘‘(i) terminates not later than the date 

22 that is 40 years after the completion of the 

23 project; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) does not exceed the expected de25 sign life of the project; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the recipient of the loan will establish 

2 a dedicated source of revenue (or, in the case 

3 of a privately owned working waterfront prop4 erty, demonstrate that there is adequate secu5 rity) for the repayment of the loan; and 

6 ‘‘(E) the working waterfronts preservation 

7 loan fund of the eligible coastal state will be 

8 credited with all payments of principal and in9 terest on the loan; 

10 ‘‘(2) to buy or refinance the debt obligation of 

11 a municipality or an intermunicipal or interstate 

12 agency within the eligible coastal state at an interest 

13 rate that is less than or equal to the market interest 

14 rate; 

15 ‘‘(3) to guarantee, or purchase insurance for, a 

16 local obligation (all of the proceeds of which finance 

17 a project eligible for financial assistance under this 

18 section) if the guarantee or purchase would improve 

19 credit market access or reduce the interest rate ap20 plicable to the obligation; 

21 ‘‘(4) as a source of revenue or security for the 

22 payment of principal and interest on a revenue or 

23 general obligation bond issued by the eligible coastal 

24 state if the proceeds of the sale of the bond will be 


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1 deposited into the working waterfronts preservation 

2 loan fund of the eligible coastal state; or 

3 ‘‘(5) to earn interest on the amounts deposited 

4 into the working waterfronts preservation loan fund 

5 of the eligible coastal state. 

6 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION OF WORKING WATERFRONTS

7 PRESERVATION LOAN FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) COMBINED FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

9 Notwithstanding subsection (c), an eligible coastal 

10 state may combine the financial administration of a 

11 working waterfronts preservation loan fund of the el12 igible coastal state with the financial administration 

13 of any other revolving fund established by the eligi14 ble coastal state if the Secretary determines that the 

15 capitalization grants made under this section, to16 gether with loan repayments and interest, will be 

17 separately accounted for and used solely for the pur18 poses specified in subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(2) COST OF ADMINISTERING WORKING WA20 TERFRONTS PRESERVATION LOAN FUND.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

22 an eligible coastal state may use the amount de23 scribed in subparagraph (B)— 

24 ‘‘(i) to cover the reasonable costs of 

25 administration of the programs under this 


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1 section, including the recovery of reason2 able costs expended to establish a working 

3 waterfronts preservation loan fund that are 

4 incurred after the date of the enactment of 

5 this section; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to provide technical assistance to 

7 working waterfronts projects carried out 

8 within the eligible coastal state. 

9 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF AMOUNT.—The 

10 amount referred to in subparagraph (A) is an 

11 amount equal to the sum of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the amount of any fees collected 

13 by the eligible coastal state for use in ac14 cordance with subparagraph (A)(i), regard15 less of the source; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the greater of— 

17 ‘‘(I) $400,000; 

18 ‘‘(II) 0.2 percent of the current 

19 valuation of the working waterfronts 

20 preservation loan fund of the eligible 

21 coastal state; or 

22 ‘‘(III) an amount equal to 4 per23 cent of all grant awards made to the 

24 working waterfronts preservation loan 


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1 fund of the eligible coastal state under 

2 this section for the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

5 out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

6 through 2029. 

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) APPROVED WORKING WATERFRONTS

9 PLAN.—The term ‘approved working waterfronts 

10 plan’ has the meaning given the term in section 

11 306B. 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en13 tity’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a State agency; 

15 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; 

16 ‘‘(C) a Native Hawaiian organization; 

17 ‘‘(D) a local government; or 

18 ‘‘(E) a nonprofit organization. 

19 ‘‘(3) DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.—The term 

20 ‘disadvantaged community’ has the meaning given 

21 the term in section 306B. 

22 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘eli23 gible coastal state’ means a coastal state that has an 

24 approved working waterfronts plan. 


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1 ‘‘(5) WORKING WATERFRONT.—The term 

2 ‘working waterfront’ has the meaning given the term 

3 in section 306B. 

4 ‘‘(6) WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION

5 LOAN FUND.—The term ‘working waterfronts pres6 ervation loan fund’ means a revolving loan fund es7 tablished under this section for the preservation of 

8 working waterfronts.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. SEAFOOD MARKETING. 

10 (a) OUTREACH PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture, 

11 in conjunction with the Administrator, shall develop an 

12 outreach plan to expand outreach by the Department of 

13 Agriculture to fishing industry stakeholders to increase 

14 awareness of and assist with the use of programs in the 

15 Agricultural Marketing Service by such stakeholders. 

16 (b) STUDY.—The Administrator shall, in consultation 

17 with the Secretary of Agriculture and members of the sea18 food industry, study the possibility of establishing edu19 cation and marketing programs within the National Oce20 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

21 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

22 of the enactment of this section— 

23 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, in conjunction 

24 with the Administrator, shall submit a report to 


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1 Congress regarding the outreach plan developed 

2 under subsection (a); and 

3 (2) the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

4 a report regarding the findings of the study con5 ducted under subsection (b). 

6 SEC. 204. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN LIMITED ACCESS 

7 PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303A(c) (16 U.S.C. 

9 1853a(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by inserting 

12 ‘‘, including the participation of fishing commu13 nities in the fishery’’ after ‘‘benefits’’; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (C) in subparagraph (K), by striking the 

17 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(L) consider the needs of fishing commu20 nities and provide a process for fishing commu21 nities to participate in the limited access privi22 lege program in accordance with subsection 

23 (c)(3).’’; and 

24 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) FISHING COMMUNITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to par3 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to 

4 harvest fish, a fishing community shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) be located within the management 

6 area of the relevant Council; 

7 ‘‘(ii) consist of residents who conduct 

8 commercial or recreational fishing, proc9 essing, or fishery-dependent support busi10 nesses within the management area of the 

11 relevant Council; 

12 ‘‘(iii) seek to participate in such pro13 gram for a purpose other than perfecting 

14 or realizing a security interest in such ac15 cess; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) develop and submit a community 

17 sustainability plan to the relevant Council 

18 and the Secretary that demonstrates how 

19 the plan will address the social and eco20 nomic development needs of coastal com21 munities, including those that have not his22 torically had the resources to participate in 

23 the fishery, for approval. 

24 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

25 APPROVAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A community sus2 tainability plan submitted by a fishing 

3 community to a Council and the Secretary 

4 for approval shall include the following 

5 components: 

6 ‘‘(I) A description of the entity 

7 and the Board and governance for the 

8 entity that will receive the allocation. 

9 ‘‘(II) A description of the quota 

10 allocation process that will be used by 

11 the entity, including an appeals proc12 ess within the entity. 

13 ‘‘(III) Provisions for monitoring 

14 and enforcement of the community 

15 sustainability plan. 

16 ‘‘(IV) Goals and objectives for 

17 the fishing community and how the 

18 entity will use the allocation to meet 

19 those goals and objectives. 

20 ‘‘(V) A description of how the en21 tity will sustain the participation of 

22 the fishing community in the fisheries, 

23 including providing for new entry and 

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1 dressing economic barriers to access 

2 to the fisheries. 

3 ‘‘(VI) A description of how the 

4 community sustainability plan will ad5 dress the projected economic and so6 cial impacts associated with the imple7 mentation of the limited access privi8 lege program, including the potential 

9 for strengthening economic conditions 

10 in remote fishing communities that 

11 lack the resources to participate in 

12 harvesting activities in the fishery. 

13 ‘‘(VII) A description of how the 

14 community sustainability plan will en15 sure the benefits of participating in 

16 the limited access privilege program 

17 accrue to the fishing community and 

18 participants, including limitations or 

19 measures necessary to prevent an in20 equitable concentration of limited ac21 cess privileges within the fishing com22 munity. 

23 ‘‘(ii) PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED PLAN.—A 

24 community sustainability plan submitted 

25 before the date of the enactment of the 


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1 Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Fu2 ture Act of 2024 shall not be invalidated 

3 by failure to comply with clause (i) unless 

4 such plan is amended after such date.’’. 

5 (b) AUDIT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The inspector general of the 

7 Department of Commerce shall conduct an audit re8 garding limited access privilege programs for feder9 ally managed fisheries in the United States. 

10 (2) DETERMINATIONS AND DISCLOSURES.—The 

11 audit required under paragraph (1) shall determine 

12 and disclose the following: 

13 (A) The amount of harvest privileges or 

14 transferable quota that were actively harvested 

15 in each year from 2019 through 2024. 

16 (B) The amount of harvest privileges or 

17 transferable quota that were leased to other 

18 parties or entities in each year from 2019 

19 through 2024. 

20 (C) The names of each corporation, part21 nership, or other authorized entity that, at the 

22 time such audit is conducted, hold harvesting 

23 privileges or transferable quota in Federal fish24 eries. 


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1 (D) The proportion of transferable quota 

2 holders (including both individuals and author3 ized entities) that, at the time such audit is 

4 conducted, are actively fishing their harvesting 

5 privileges. 

6 (E) The average cost of a transferable har7 vest share in each federally managed limited ac8 cess privilege program. 

9 (F) The average leasing cost of a transfer10 able harvest share in each federally managed 

11 limited access privilege program where, at the 

12 time such audit is conducted, leasing is occur13 ring. 

14 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In addition 

15 to the requirements under paragraph (2), the audit 

16 required under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) evaluate the performance of the Sec18 retary in overseeing limited access privilege pro19 grams in accordance with section 303A(c)(1)(J) 

20 (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)(1)(J)); and 

21 (B) recommend policies to strengthen 

22 transparency and achieve full disclosure of own23 ership of harvest privileges in limited access 

24 privilege programs. 


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1 (4) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 

2 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Sus3 taining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 

4 2024, the inspector general of the Department of 

5 Commerce shall brief the appropriate committees of 

6 Congress on the preliminary findings of the audit 

7 conducted under paragraph (1). 

8 (5) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

9 after the date on which a briefing occurs under 

10 paragraph (4), the inspector general of the Depart11 ment of Commerce shall submit to Congress a final 

12 report setting forth the results of the audit con13 ducted under paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 205. FINDINGS. 

15 Section 2(a)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)(3)) is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(3) Commercial, recreational, and charter fish18 ing constitute major sources of employment and con19 tribute significantly to the economy of the Nation. 

20 Many coastal areas are dependent upon fishing and 

21 related activities, and the economies of such areas 

22 have been badly damaged by the overfishing of fish23 ery resources; ensuring the sustainable use of fishery 

24 resources is essential to the economic well-being of 

25 such areas.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—STRENGTHENING 

2 PUBLIC PROCESS AND 

3 TRANSPARENCY 

4 SEC. 301. TRIBAL REPRESENTATION ON PACIFIC FISHERY 

5 MANAGEMENT COUNCIL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 

7 1852(b)(5)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘not less 

9 than 3’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(E) An individual appointed under subpara12 graph (A) shall serve on the Pacific Council until 

13 such time as a new appointment to the tribal seat 

14 is made under subparagraph (A).’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(b)(3) 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘para17 graphs (2) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’. 

18 SEC. 302. TRIBAL REPRESENTATION ON NORTH PACIFIC 

19 FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(G)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘seward’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘seaward’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘11’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) by inserting before the period at the 

4 end ‘‘and 2 appointed by the Secretary in ac5 cordance with subsection (b)(6)’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking 

8 ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘para9 graphs (2), (5), and (6)’’; 

10 (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

11 paragraph (7); 

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary, in accordance with sub15 paragraph (C), shall appoint to the North Pacific 

16 Council 2 individuals to serve as representatives of 

17 covered Indian tribes from a list submitted by the 

18 tribal governments. 

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

20 Secretary of the Interior, tribal governments, and 

21 the Alaska Federation of Natives, shall establish by 

22 regulation the procedure for submitting a list under 

23 subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) An individual is qualified for appointment 

2 to the North Pacific Council under subparagraph 

3 (A) if such individual— 

4 ‘‘(i) possesses knowledge of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the anadromous fish of the North 

6 Pacific Council region; 

7 ‘‘(II) the marine resources managed 

8 by such Council; 

9 ‘‘(III) the effects of the actions of 

10 such Council on such resources; 

11 ‘‘(IV) the subsistence uses, customs, 

12 and traditions relating to such resources; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(V) commercial and sport uses of the 

15 fish described in subclause (I) and such re16 sources; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates leadership through in18 volvement in local, regional, or tribal fish and 

19 wildlife management or conservation organiza20 tions. 

21 ‘‘(D) Representation shall be rotated among af22 fected tribal regions, taking into consideration— 

23 ‘‘(i) the qualifications of the individuals on 

24 the list submitted under subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the degree to which the Indian tribes 

2 located within the North Pacific Council region 

3 are dependent on anadromous fish and marine 

4 resources within such region and the effects of 

5 the actions of such Council on such resources; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the geographic area within which the 

8 tribe of the representative is located. 

9 ‘‘(E) An individual appointed under subpara10 graph (A) may designate as an alternate an indi11 vidual knowledgeable with respect to tribal rights 

12 and fishing practicies, Indigenous traditional knowl13 edge, tribal law, and the marine resources managed 

14 by the North Pacific Council. 

15 ‘‘(F) An individual appointed under subpara16 graph (A) shall serve on the North Pacific Council 

17 until such time as a new appointment to the tribal 

18 seat is made under that subparagraph. 

19 ‘‘(G) In this paragraph, the term ‘covered In20 dian tribe’ means an Indian tribe in Alaska that is 

21 identified (including parenthetically) on the most 

22 current list published by the Secretary under section 

23 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 

24 Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, 

2 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2) or (5)’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘paragraph (2), (5), or (6)’’; and 

4 (3) in subsection (j)(1)(A)(ii)(II), by striking 

5 ‘‘subsection (b)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (5) or 

6 (6) of subsection (b)’’. 

7 (b) WESTERN PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT

8 COUNCIL STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a 

9 study regarding the feasibility and implications of adding 

10 indigenous seats to the Western Pacific Fishery Manage11 ment Council established by section 302 of the Magnuson12 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 1852) for the Western Pacific Fishery Manage14 ment Council region. 

15 SEC. 303. ATLANTIC COUNCILS. 

16 Section 302(a) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘18’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘19’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

22 the end the following: ‘‘and 1 liaison ap23 pointed by the Secretary in accordance 

24 with paragraph (4) who is a member of the 

25 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 


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1 to represent the interests of fisheries under 

2 the jurisdiction of such Council’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘21’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘22’’; and 

6 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

7 the end the following: ‘‘and 1 liaison ap8 pointed by the Secretary in accordance 

9 with paragraph (4) who is a member of the 

10 New England Fishery Management Coun11 cil to represent the interests of fisheries 

12 under the jurisdiction of such Council’’; 

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIAISON.—The Sec16 retary shall appoint an individual to be a liaison be17 tween the Councils described in subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) of paragraph (1) who has expertise in a 

19 fishery that spans the geographical areas of both 

20 such Councils.’’. 

21 SEC. 304. COUNCIL PROCEDURES AND PARTICIPATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(e) (16 U.S.C. 

23 1852(e)) is amended— 

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1 cil shall hold a roll call vote on any matter before 

2 the Council.’’ and inserting ‘‘Each Council shall hold 

3 a roll call vote on all nonprocedural matters before 

4 the Council. At the request of any voting member of 

5 a Council, that Council shall hold a roll call vote on 

6 any procedural matter before the Council.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(6) To the extent possible, each Council 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) seek to hold meetings in person; and 

11 ‘‘(B) ensure the availability of remote 

12 meeting participation and voting.’’. 

13 (b) COUNCIL MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(2) (16 

14 U.S.C. 1852(i)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(G) Each Council shall make available on the 

17 internet website of the Council— 

18 ‘‘(i) with respect to each meeting of the 

19 Council and of the Council Coordination Com20 mittee established under subsection (l) that is 

21 not closed in accordance with paragraph (3), to 

22 the extent possible, a webcast, live audio record23 ing, or live video broadcast of each such meet24 ing; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) with respect to each meeting of the 

2 Council and of the scientific and statistical 

3 committee established by the Council under 

4 subsection (g)(1)(A) that is not closed in ac5 cordance with paragraph (3), by not later than 

6 30 days after the conclusion of each such meet7 ing, an audio or video recording (if the meeting 

8 was in person or by video conference) or a 

9 searchable audio recording or written transcript 

10 of each such meeting. 

11 ‘‘(H) The Secretary shall maintain and make 

12 available to the public, for a period of not less than 

13 5 years beginning on the date of a meeting, an ar14 chive of Council and scientific and statistical com15 mittee meeting audio and video recordings and tran16 scripts made available under subparagraph (G).’’. 

17 SEC. 305. COUNCIL ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEMBERSHIP. 

18 (a) VOTING MEMBERS.—Section 302(b)(2) (16 

19 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is amended— 

20 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED EXPERTISE.—In making 

23 each appointment to a Council under this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall appoint an individual 

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1 ence, scientific expertise, or training, is knowl2 edgeable regarding— 

3 ‘‘(i) the conservation and manage4 ment, or the commercial, recreational, or 

5 subsistence harvest, of the fishery re6 sources of the geographic area concerned; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) ecosystem-based fishery manage9 ment or climate science.’’; 

10 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In making each 

14 appointment under this section, the Sec15 retary shall, to the extent practicable, en16 sure a fair and balanced apportionment, on 

17 a rotating or other basis, of active partici18 pants (or the representatives of such par19 ticipants) in the commercial, recreational, 

20 and subsistence fisheries under the juris21 diction of the Council and of members of 

22 the conservation community, scientists, 

23 nonconsumptive users, and members of in24 digenous and tribal communities, as appli25 cable. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—The Secretary shall, 

2 on an annual basis, submit to the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans4 portation of the Senate and the Committee 

5 on Natural Resources of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report regarding the actions 

7 taken by the Secretary to ensure that a 

8 fair and balanced apportionment described 

9 in clause (i) is achieved, including— 

10 ‘‘(I) a list of the fisheries under 

11 the jurisdiction of each Council, out12 lining for each fishery the type and 

13 quantity of fish harvested, fishing and 

14 processing methods employed, the 

15 number of participants, the duration 

16 and range of the fishery, and other 

17 distinguishing characteristics; 

18 ‘‘(II) an assessment of the mem19 bership of each Council in terms of 

20 the apportionment of the active par21 ticipants in each such fishery and of 

22 members of the conservation commu23 nity, scientists, nonconsumptive users, 

24 and members of indigenous and tribal 

25 communities; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) a statement of the plans 

2 and schedule of the Secretary for ac3 tions to achieve a fair and balanced 

4 apportionment on each Council for the 

5 active participants in any such fishery 

6 and for the categories of members 

7 listed in subclause (II).’’; 

8 (3) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) LIST FROM GOVERNOR.— 

12 ‘‘(I) APPOINTMENT FROM

13 LIST.—The Secretary shall appoint 

14 the members of each Council from a 

15 list of individuals submitted by the 

16 Governor of each applicable con17 stituent State. 

18 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 LIST.—In submitting a list under sub20 clause (I), a Governor— 

21 ‘‘(aa) may only submit the 

22 name of an individual if such 

23 Governor has determined such in24 dividual is qualified under sub25 paragraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(bb) shall include the 

2 names and pertinent biographical 

3 data of not less than 3 individ4 uals for each applicable vacancy; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(cc) shall include a state7 ment explaining how each indi8 vidual included on the list meets 

9 the requirements of subpara10 graph (A). 

11 ‘‘(III) REVIEW.—The Secretary 

12 shall review each list submitted under 

13 this subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(IV) NOTIFICATION.—If the 

15 Secretary determines that an indi16 vidual included on a list submitted 

17 under this subparagraph does not 

18 meet the requirements of this para19 graph, the Secretary shall notify the 

20 appropriate Governor. 

21 ‘‘(V) RESPONSE TO REVIEW.—If 

22 a Governor receives notification under 

23 subclause (IV), such Governor may 

24 submit a revised list or resubmit the 

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1 nation of the qualifications of the in2 dividual for which such Governor re3 ceived such a notification. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT FINAN5 CIAL INTEREST.—The Secretary shall ap6 point to each Council at least 1 individual 

7 who does not have a financial interest in 

8 matters before the Council. 

9 ‘‘(iii) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE RE10 QUIREMENTS.— An individual is not eligi11 ble for appointment by the Secretary until 

12 that individual complies with the applicable 

13 financial disclosure requirements under 

14 subsection (j).’’; and 

15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(F) GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

17 appointing at-large members to the Western Pacific 

18 Council, the Secretary shall ensure geographical rep19 resentation across each constituent State of such 

20 Council.’’. 

21 (b) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND

22 RECUSAL.—Section 302(j) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by amending paragraph (1)(B) to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(B) the term ‘designated official’ means 

2 an attorney employed in the Office of the Gen3 eral Counsel of the National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration who— 

5 ‘‘(i) has expertise in Federal conflict6 of-interest requirements; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) is designated by the Secretary, in 

8 consultation with a Council, to attend the 

9 meetings of such Council and make deter10 minations under paragraph (7)(B).’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘con12 tractor,’’ after ‘‘partner,’’; and 

13 (3) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘on the 

14 Internet’’ and inserting ‘‘on the internet website of 

15 the agency, on the internet website of the applicable 

16 Council,’’. 

17 (c) LOBBYING.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(m) LOBBYING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON COUNCIL LOBBYING.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (B), each member of a Council, 

23 member of a Council advisory body, and em24 ployee or contractor of a Council, is prohibited 


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1 from using Federal funds to attempt to influ2 ence the— 

3 ‘‘(i) introduction, advancement, enact4 ment, amendment, or repeal of Federal or 

5 State legislation; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) issuance, modification, or over7 turning of an Executive order, Presidential 

8 proclamation, or similar Presidential direc9 tive or decree. 

10 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL AND FACTUAL PRESEN11 TATIONS.—An individual described in subpara12 graph (A) may provide a technical and factual 

13 presentation directly related to the performance 

14 of the duties of a Council, through hearing tes15 timony or written statements, if such presen16 tation is in response to a documented request 

17 and is made available under paragraph (4). 

18 ‘‘(2) ADJUDICATING VIOLATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) INITIATION BY SECRETARY.—The 

20 Secretary may initiate an investigation of a po21 tential violation of paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(B) COMPLAINT.—The Secretary shall in23 vestigate a complaint submitted by any person 

24 or government entity regarding a potential vio25 lation of paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.—If the Secretary determines 

2 that an individual violated paragraph (1), such indi3 vidual shall be subject to disciplinary action, includ4 ing suspension or expulsion from participation in, 

5 membership of, or employment by a Council, Council 

6 advisory body, or related entity or activity. 

7 ‘‘(4) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall provide 

8 training to individuals described in paragraph (1) re9 garding— 

10 ‘‘(A) compliance with regulations issued to 

11 implement this subsection; and 

12 ‘‘(B) general limits of Federal grant recipi13 ents on contacts with members and staff of the 

14 executive and legislative branches. 

15 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTION ON EX-VOTING MEMBER

16 LOBBYING.—A voting member appointed to a Coun17 cil by the Secretary in accordance with paragraph 

18 (2), (5), or (6) of subsection (b) may not lobby the 

19 Council to which such member was appointed re20 garding any matter during the 1-year period begin21 ning on the date on which the term of such member 

22 expires, if such member has not been appointed to 

23 serve a subsequent term. 

24 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

25 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen3 ate a report that describes— 

4 ‘‘(A) the funding provided to implement 

5 this subsection; 

6 ‘‘(B) complaints received of and investiga7 tions into potential violations of paragraph (1); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) barriers associated with and pro10 posals to improve implementation of this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(n) WORKPLACE HARASSMENT PREVENTION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary shall pro14 hibit any person from harassing a covered individual 

15 during the conduct of duties by such covered indi16 vidual under this Act. 

17 ‘‘(2) HARASSMENT PREVENT TRAINING.—Coun18 cil members and staff shall, as a condition of em19 ployment, not later than 1 year after the date of the 

20 enactment of the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for 

21 the Future Act of 2024 or the first day of employ22 ment by a Council of such individual, and not less 

23 often than once every 2 years thereafter, complete 2 

24 hours of workplace harassment prevention training 

25 approved by the office authorized by section 3541 of 


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1 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

2 Year 2017. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

5 ‘covered individual’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) a Council member; 

7 ‘‘(ii) Council staff; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a Council advisory panel mem9 ber; 

10 ‘‘(iv) a member of a committee associ11 ated with a Council or the National Oce12 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

13 ‘‘(v) a Federal fishery permit holder; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(vi) a staff member, crew member, 

16 employee, or contractor associated with a 

17 federally permitted vessel or a facility pro18 viding services to such vessels. 

19 ‘‘(B) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘harass20 ment’ means unwelcome verbal, visual, or phys21 ical conduct based on race, color, national ori22 gin, religion, age (40 and above), sex (including 

23 gender identity, sexual orientation, and preg24 nancy), disability, genetic information, or prior 

25 Equal Employment Opportunity activity.’’. 


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1 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Section 305(f)(1) (16 

2 U.S.C. 1855(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘30’’ and in3 serting ‘‘60’’. 

4 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

6 issue regulations to implement section 302(m) (16 U.S.C. 

7 1852(m)), as added by this section. 

8 SEC. 306. WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERY FUND. 

9 Section 204(e) (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘in consultation with any 

12 appropriate Council,’’ and inserting ‘‘at the re13 quest and with the concurrence of the Governor 

14 of the applicable Pacific Insular Area,’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘a Pacific Insular Area— 

16 ’’ and inserting ‘‘that Pacific Insular Area.’’; 

17 and 

18 (C) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

19 (B); 

20 (2) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the Gov22 ernor’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘, and the appropriate 

24 Council’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘Such permits shall also be consistent with any 

3 applicable fishery management plan.’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘the Western Pacific 

7 Council and’’; 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘of the applicable Pa9 cific Insular Area’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 

10 (iii) by amending clause (v) to read as 

11 follows— 

12 ‘‘(v) western Pacific community-based 

13 demonstration projects under section 

14 112(b) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act 

15 and other coastal improvement projects in 

16 waters beyond the seaward boundary (as 

17 such term is defined in section 4 of the 

18 Submerged Lands Act) of any State to fos19 ter and promote the management, con20 servation, and economic enhancement of 

21 the Pacific Insular Areas.’’; and 

22 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(B) In the case of American Samoa, 

25 Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, the 


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1 appropriate Governor of the applicable Pacific 

2 Insular Area shall develop the marine conserva3 tion plan described in subparagraph (A) and 

4 submit such plan to the Secretary for approval. 

5 In the case of other Pacific Insular Areas, the 

6 Secretary and the appropriate Governor of the 

7 applicable Pacific Insular Area shall jointly de8 velop the marine conservation plan described in 

9 subparagraph (A).’’; 

10 (4) in paragraph (6)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

15 subparagraph (B); 

16 (5) in paragraph (7)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘, who shall provide such 

18 funds only to’’ and inserting ‘‘for the purposes 

19 of’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘the Western Pacific 

22 Council for the purpose of’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘as determined by the 

24 Secretary, in consultation with the Western 

25 Pacific Sustainable Fishery Fund Advisory 


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1 Panel established under section 

2 204(e)(9),’’ after ‘‘subsection,’’; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

4 ‘‘providing such funds as are necessary to’’ be5 fore ‘‘the Secretary’’; 

6 (D) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(C) providing such funds as remain in the 

9 Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund 

10 after the funding requirements of subpara11 graphs (A) and (B) have been satisfied to the 

12 Governor of Hawaii to meet conservation and 

13 management objectives in the State of Ha14 waii.’’; and 

15 (E) by striking ‘‘Amounts deposited in 

16 such fund shall not diminish funding received 

17 by the Western Pacific Council for the purpose 

18 of carrying out other responsibilities under this 

19 Act.’’; and 

20 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(9) WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERY

22 FUND ADVISORY PANEL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying 

24 out this subsection, the Secretary shall establish 

25 and convene an advisory panel under section 


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1 302(g), to be known as the ‘Western Pacific 

2 Sustainable Fishery Fund Advisory Panel’ (re3 ferred to in this paragraph as the ‘advisory 

4 panel’), to evaluate, determine the relative mer5 its of, and annually rank applications for grants 

6 for implementation of marine conservation 

7 plans approved under paragraph (4). 

8 ‘‘(B) MEMBERS.—The advisory panel shall 

9 consist of members such that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Governor of each applicable 

11 Pacific Insular Area selects 1 member; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) no member may be a member or 

13 employee of the Western Pacific Council. 

14 ‘‘(C) AWARD NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH

15 RANK.—If the Secretary awards a grant for a 

16 project not in accordance with the rank given to 

17 such project by the advisory panel, the Sec18 retary shall provide a detailed written expla19 nation of the reasons for such award. 

20 ‘‘(D) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall pro21 vide to the public timely notice of each meeting 

22 of the advisory panel. 

23 ‘‘(E) MINUTES.—The Secretary shall keep 

24 and make available to the public minutes of 

25 each meeting of the advisory panel. 


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1 ‘‘(F) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall, with 

2 the assistance of the advisory panel, annually 

3 submit to Congress a report identifying any 

4 projects that were funded in the previous year 

5 and the status and progress of projects carried 

6 out under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(G) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVI8 SORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Chapter 10 of title 5, 

9 United States Code (commonly known as the 

10 ‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’), does not 

11 apply to the advisory panel.’’. 

12 SEC. 307. COUNCIL STAFF AND ADMINISTRATION. 

13 Section 302(f) (16 U.S.C. 1832(f)) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(8) Each Council shall, with the approval of 

16 the Secretary, develop a code of conduct and ethics 

17 for members and employees of each such Council 

18 equivalent to those applicable to Federal personnel. 

19 ‘‘(9) The Secretary may, in accordance with ap20 plicable law, take disciplinary action, up to and in21 cluding termination, against an executive director of 

22 a Council. A Council may, in accordance with appli23 cable law, take disciplinary action, up to and includ24 ing termination, against the executive director or 

25 any other employee of the Council.’’. 


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1 SEC. 308. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN2 ISTRATION SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND AS3 SAULT PREVENTION. 

4 (a) POLICY ON THE PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE

5 TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVOLVING NATIONAL OCE6 ANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION PER7 SONNEL.—Section 3541(f) of the National Defense Au8 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (33 U.S.C. 894(f)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘and equal employment’’ after 

11 ‘‘sexual harassment’’ each place it appears; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

14 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec15 tively; and 

16 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) A synopsis of each case and the dis19 ciplinary action taken, if any, in each case.’’. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEX21 UAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.—Section 

22 3548 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

23 Year 2017 (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking the section heading and insert25 ing the following: ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL

26 ASSAULTS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL


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1 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

2 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the sexual as4 saults involving’’ and inserting ‘‘sexual assault and 

5 sexual harassment involving and the equal employ6 ment of’’; and 

7 (3) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, in9 cluding a synopsis of each case and the discipli10 nary action taken, if any, in each case’’ before 

11 the period at the end; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) A summary of the number of change of 

14 station, unit transfer, and change of work location 

15 requests submitted to the Under Secretary under 

16 section 3544(a), including the number of such re17 quests that were denied. 

18 ‘‘(6) A summary of the number of cases re19 ferred to the Coast Guard under this section. 

20 ‘‘(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and 

21 sexual harassment cases involving fisheries observ22 ers, protected species observers, and endangered spe23 cies observers, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) a synopsis of each case and the sta25 tus of such case; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the disposition of any investigation; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) a description of the fishery manage4 ment region and fishery or the geographic re5 gion and type of permitted operation in which 

6 the sexual assault or sexual harassment is al7 leged to have occurred, as appropriate.’’. 

8 (c) INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL RE9 QUIREMENTS.— 

10 (1) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 3548 

11 and 3549 of the National Defense Authorization Act 

12 for Fiscal Year 2017 (33 U.S.C. 894e and 894f) are 

13 redesignated as sections 3551 and 3552, respec14 tively. 

15 (2) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XXXV of 

16 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

17 Year 2017 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by 

18 inserting after section 3547 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 

19 894d–2) the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SUR21 VIVORS IN CERTAIN CASES. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an em23 ployee, member of the commissioned officer corps of the 

24 Administration, or covered personnel elects restricted or 

25 unrestricted reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) or 


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1 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of the personally identifying in2 formation of such individual is authorized to the following 

3 persons or organizations when disclosure would be for the 

4 following reasons: 

5 ‘‘(1) To Administration staff or law enforce6 ment personnel, if authorized by the survivor in 

7 writing. 

8 ‘‘(2) To Administration staff or law enforce9 ment personnel to prevent or lessen a serious or im10 minent threat to the health or safety of the survivor 

11 or another person. 

12 ‘‘(3) To a survivor advocate or healthcare pro13 vider, if required for the provision of survivor serv14 ices. 

15 ‘‘(4) To a State or Federal court, if pursuant 

16 to a court order or if disclosure is required by Fed17 eral or State statute. 

18 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY PROTEC19 TION.—In any case in which information is disclosed 

20 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) make reasonable attempts to provide no22 tice to the individual whose personally identifying in23 formation is disclosed; and 

24 ‘‘(2) take such action as is necessary to protect 

25 the privacy and safety of the individual. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

3 date of the enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault 

5 Prevention Improvements Act of 2023, the Secretary of 

6 Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for 

7 Oceans and Atmosphere, shall develop a mechanism to 

8 provide a system of restricted reporting. 

9 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTED REPORTING DEFINED.—In this 

10 section the term ‘restricted reporting’ means a system of 

11 reporting that allows employees of the Administration, 

12 members of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin13 istration, and covered personnel who allege that they have 

14 been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted to confiden15 tially disclose the details of such sexual harassment or sex16 ual assault to specified individuals and receive the services 

17 outlined in this subtitle— 

18 ‘‘(1) without the dissemination of the personally 

19 identifying information of such individual except as 

20 necessary for the provision of such services and as 

21 provided by section 3548(a); and 

22 ‘‘(2) without automatically triggering an inves23 tigative process. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL. 

25 ‘‘The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

26 Atmosphere, acting through the Director of the Office of 


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1 Marine and Aviation Operations and in consultation with 

2 the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, not later than 

3 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National 

4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harass5 ment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2023, 

6 develop and implement a policy to report to the Com7 mandant of the Coast Guard, in accordance with section 

8 10104 of title 46, United States Code, the names of per9 sonnel of the Administration who— 

10 ‘‘(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or of11 fense detrimental to good discipline and safety at 

12 sea, such as sexual harassment or sexual assault 

13 that is substantiated by an investigation under sec14 tion 3546, or any other substantiated claim of an 

15 act or offense for which suspension or revocation of 

16 a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant 

17 to part 5 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) are— 

20 ‘‘(A) employees or contractors of the Ad21 ministration required to hold a valid merchant 

22 mariner credential as a condition of employ23 ment; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of 

2 such act or offense, was operating under a con3 tract with the Administration.’’. 

4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3552 of the National De5 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as so redes6 ignated by subsection (c) of this section, is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 3552. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

10 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra11 tion’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

12 Administration. 

13 ‘‘(2) COVERED PERSONNEL.—The term ‘cov14 ered personnel’ means an individual who works with 

15 or conducts business on behalf of the Administration 

16 and includes— 

17 ‘‘(A) observers, at-sea monitors, and catch 

18 monitors required by the National Marine Fish19 eries Service to operate on or in commercial 

20 fishing vessels, other privately owned vessels, 

21 barges, or platforms, and shoreside processing 

22 facilities for— 

23 ‘‘(i) commercial fisheries observation 

24 required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 


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1 Conservation and Management Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(ii) protected species or endangered 

4 species observation required by the Marine 

5 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) or the Endangered 

7 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1351 et 

8 seq.); or 

9 ‘‘(iii) platform removal observation; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) voting members and executive and 

12 administrative staff of each Regional Fishery 

13 Management Council established under section 

14 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con15 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 1852). 

17 ‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as18 sault’ has the meaning given the term in section 

19 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

20 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)).’’. 

21 (e) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle C of 

23 title XXXV of the National Defense Authorization 

24 Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘individuals who work with 

2 or conduct business on behalf of the Adminis3 tration’’ each place it appears and inserting 

4 ‘‘covered personnel’’; 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘National Oceanic and At6 mospheric’’ each place it appears, except— 

7 (i) when it appears as ‘‘National Oce8 anic and Atmospheric Administration Sex9 ual Harassment and Assault Prevention 

10 Improvements Act of 2023’’; 

11 (ii) in section 3551 of that Act, as so 

12 redesignated by subsection (c) of this sec13 tion, in the section heading; and 

14 (iii) in section 3552(1) of that Act, as 

15 so redesignated by subsection (c) of this 

16 section; 

17 (C) by striking the term ‘‘victims’’ each 

18 place it appears and inserting ‘‘survivors’’; 

19 (D) in section 3541(b)(2)(B) of that Act 

20 (33 U.S.C. 894), by striking ‘‘victim’’ and in21 serting ‘‘target of sexual harassment’’; 

22 (E) in section 3542 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 

23 894a)— 

24 (i) in subsection (b)(9)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘Victim’’ and in2 serting ‘‘Survivor’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘victim’’ and in4 serting ‘‘survivor’’; and 

5 (ii) in subsection (c)— 

6 (I) in the heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘VICTIM’’ and inserting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; 

8 (II) in paragraph (2), in the 

9 heading, by striking ‘‘VICTIM’’ and in10 serting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; and 

11 (III) by striking the term ‘‘vic12 tim’’ each place it appears and insert13 ing ‘‘survivor’’; 

14 (F) in section 3543 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 894b)— 

16 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VIC17 TIM’’ and inserting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘victim’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘survivor’’; and 

20 (G) in section 3544 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 

21 894c)— 

22 (i) in subsection (a)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘VICTIMS’’ and in24 serting ‘‘SURVIVORS’’; and 


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1 (II) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘was’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘is’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘victim’’ each place it 

5 appears and inserting ‘‘survivor’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents in section 2(b) of the National Defense Au8 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and the table 

9 of contents preceding subtitle A of title XXXV of 

10 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

11 Year 2017 are both amended— 

12 (A) by striking the item relating to section 

13 3543 of that Act and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3543. Rights of the survivor of a sexual assault.’’; and 

14 (B) by striking the items relating to sec15 tions 3548 and 3549 of that Act and inserting 

16 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain cases. 

‘‘Sec. 3549. Restricted reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 3550. Mariner referral. 

‘‘Sec. 3551. Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and equal 

employment in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

‘‘Sec. 3552. Definitions.’’. 

17 (f) PROHIBITED ACTS.—Section 307(1)(L) (16 

18 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘forcibly’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘on a vessel’’. 


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1 (g) PROHIBITION ON SERVICE IN THE COMMIS2 SIONED OFFICER CORPS OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

3 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION BY INDIVIDUALS CON4 VICTED OF CERTAIN SEXUAL OFFENSES.—Section 261(a) 

5 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

6 Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 

7 3071(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (26) as para9 graph (27); and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (25) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(26) Section 657, relating to prohibition on 

13 service by individuals convicted of certain sexual of14 fenses.’’. 

15 (h) DEFINITION OF RESPONSIBLE ENTITY OF A VES16 SEL.—Section 10104(g) of title 46, United States Code, 

17 is amended— 

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

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(3) the Director of the Office of Marine and 

24 Aviation Operations, with respect to each vessel 


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1 owned or operated by the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—MODERNIZING 

4 FISHERIES SCIENCE AND DATA 

5 SEC. 401. DATA MODERNIZATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 

8 through the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, shall 

9 provide to Congress a national strategic plan for fisheries 

10 data, including a description of— 

11 (1) activities for the goals and objectives of the 

12 plan; 

13 (2) a schedule for implementation; 

14 (3) an estimated budget; 

15 (4) a plan for stakeholder engagement for de16 velopment of user-centric systems, processes, and 

17 policies; and 

18 (5) how the initiative will align with other Na19 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data 

20 management efforts to provide for efficiency and 

21 interoperability, including the Data Strategy, Cloud 

22 Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the 

23 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

24 (b) INFORMATION FROM EXPERTS.—In carrying out 

25 this section, the Secretary shall solicit information, as 


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1 needed, from data management and technology experts in2 side and outside the government. 

3 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually report to 

4 Congress regarding progress in carrying out this section. 

5 SEC. 402. EXPANDING AND IMPROVING ELECTRONIC TECH6 NOLOGIES. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) the use of electronic technologies such as 

10 digital video cameras and monitors, digital recording 

11 systems, and other forms of electronic technology as 

12 a complement to, and in some cases a replacement 

13 for, observers may maintain, increase, or improve 

14 the amount and accuracy of observer and fishery de15 pendent information collected from fisheries while 

16 reducing costs and logistical difficulties; 

17 (2) to achieve optimum yields on a continuing 

18 basis while conserving and maintaining fisheries and 

19 integrating healthy ecosystem considerations, man20 agers require reliable, timely data across all regions 

21 and fishing sectors for conservation, management, 

22 and scientific purposes; 

23 (3) to achieve management goals, especially in 

24 the context of climate change, the National Oceanic 

25 and Atmospheric Administration should work to 


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1 meet evolving management needs and, in collabora2 tion with industry stakeholders, identify appropriate 

3 data collection technologies and strategies; and 

4 (4) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration should also consider the use of innova6 tive technology in fishery independent data collection 

7 including stock and habitat assessments and envi8 ronmental conditions. 

9 (b) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.— 

10 Section 303(b)(8) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(8)) is amended to 

11 read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(8) require the collection of data necessary for 

13 the conservation and management of the fishery 

14 from a vessel of the United States engaged in fish15 ing for species that are subject to the plan 

16 through— 

17 ‘‘(A) electronic monitoring or other elec18 tronic technology; or 

19 ‘‘(B) observers carried onboard such a ves20 sel, except that such a vessel shall not be re21 quired to carry an observer on board if the fa22 cilities of the vessel for the quartering of an ob23 server, or for carrying out observer functions, 

24 are so inadequate or unsafe that the health or 


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1 safety of the observer or the safe operation of 

2 the vessel would be jeopardized;’’. 

3 (c) INFORMATION SYSTEMS.—Section 402(a) (16 

4 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘The Council 

6 shall consider the use of electronic monitoring and 

7 reporting or other electronic technology as part of an 

8 information collection program implemented under 

9 this paragraph.’’ after ‘‘request.’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘The Sec11 retary shall consider the use of electronic monitoring 

12 and reporting or other electronic technology as part 

13 of an information collection program implemented 

14 under this paragraph.’’ after ‘‘fishery.’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less often than 

18 once every 5 years, the Secretary shall review 

19 the procedures and policies by which informa20 tion is collected, managed, and used to manage 

21 fisheries and revise information collection pro22 grams and policies needed to integrate data col23 lection and management and improve the time24 liness, quality, usability, and cost-effectiveness 


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1 and reduce unnecessary duplication within and 

2 across fishery management plans and regions. 

3 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Upon the completion of 

4 each review carried out under subparagraph 

5 (A), the Secretary shall publish a report for the 

6 public describing the findings of each such re7 view and planned revisions to information col8 lection programs.’’. 

9 (d) ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES IN

10 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

12 the United States shall, in consultation with the rel13 evant committees of Congress— 

14 (A) conduct a review of the capabilities of 

15 the National Marine Fisheries Service with re16 spect to developing, deploying, and using elec17 tronic monitoring and data collection tools to 

18 monitor fisheries; and 

19 (B) make recommendations to improve 

20 such capabilities, taking into consideration cost, 

21 efficiency, and collaboration with private enti22 ties. 

23 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

24 the date of the enactment of this section, the Comp25 troller General shall submit to Congress a report deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 scribing the results of the review required under 

2 paragraph (1) and the recommendations made pur3 suant to such review. 

4 (e) ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES INNOVATION

5 PRIZE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of Defense and the 

8 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, and in con9 junction with such nongovernmental partners as the 

10 Administrator determines appropriate, shall estab11 lish at least 1 electronic technologies innovation 

12 prize competition to catalyze the rapid development 

13 and deployment of electronic technology-based data 

14 collection to be used in fisheries management. 

15 (2) SUBJECT OF PRIZE.—Each prize competi16 tion established under paragraph (1) shall focus on 

17 1 or more of the following subjects: 

18 (A) Improved fish species recognition soft19 ware. 

20 (B) Confidential data management. 

21 (C) Cost-effective storage of electronic re22 ports, imagery, location information, and other 

23 data. 

24 (D) Data analysis and visualization. 


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1 (E) Artificial intelligence and machine 

2 learning applications for data collection and 

3 monitoring. 

4 (F) Battery storage and energy supply 

5 storage at sea. 

6 (G) Improved internet connectivity onshore 

7 and at sea in support of data uploads. 

8 (H) Bycatch hotspot mapping and adaptive 

9 use of protected areas. 

10 (I) Such other subjects as the Adminis11 trator determines appropriate. 

12 (f) ADVISORY PANEL FOR ELECTRONIC TECH13 NOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish an advisory panel (referred to in this sub16 section as the ‘‘Advisory Panel’’) to inform the Ad17 ministrator, the Assistant Administrator for Fish18 eries, and the Councils regarding developments in 

19 the advancement of electronic technologies that can 

20 be used in fisheries monitoring, data collection, and 

21 management. 

22 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—In appointing individuals 

23 to the Advisory Panel, the Secretary shall appoint at 

24 least 2 individuals who are electronic technology de25 velopers, operators, or providers. 


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1 (3) SUMMARIES.—The Secretary shall publish, 

2 on an annual basis, summaries of Advisory Panel 

3 discussions, including a summary of best practices 

4 and technical guidance to support the Councils. 

5 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 2 

6 years after the date of the enactment of this section, 

7 the Advisory Panel shall make a recommendation to 

8 the Secretary regarding the potential value of na9 tional performance standards for electronic tech10 nologies used in fisheries data collection and man11 agement, including— 

12 (A) an assessment of how the National 

13 Marine Fisheries Service and electronic tech14 nology developers, operators, and providers 

15 could benefit from such performance standards; 

16 (B) if the Advisory Panel recommends es17 tablishing such performance standards, a rec18 ommendation for which factors should be in19 cluded in such performance standards and how 

20 the Secretary should determine the appropriate 

21 standards; 

22 (C) an assessment of whether such per23 formance standards are likely to spur increased 

24 use of electronic technologies by the Councils; 


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1 (D) an assessment of how such perform2 ance standards would impact existing regional 

3 or fishery-specific technologies currently in use 

4 and recommendations regarding ensuring con5 tinued use or improvement of these technologies 

6 if such performance standards are established; 

7 (E) a list of knowledge gaps or additional 

8 questions the Secretary should consider before 

9 publishing such performance standards; 

10 (F) recommendations regarding ensuring 

11 cost-effectiveness of electronic technologies for 

12 fisheries data collection and management; 

13 (G) recommendations to address data stor14 age problems of electronic technologies; 

15 (H) recommendations regarding ownership 

16 of data collected using electronic technology; 

17 and 

18 (I) recommendations regarding policies and 

19 procedures to develop and implement electronic 

20 technologies for fisheries data collection and 

21 management. 

22 (5) EXEMPTION FROM THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

23 COMMITTEE ACT.—Chapter 10 of title 5, United 

24 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Federal AdviVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 sory Committee Act’’), does not apply to the Advi2 sory Panel. 

3 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

4 subsection may be construed to preclude any Council 

5 from independently developing electronic tech6 nologies to be used in fisheries data collection and 

7 management. 

8 SEC. 403. STOCK ASSESSMENTS. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

10 of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

11 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

14 regarding the progress of the National Marine Fisheries 

15 Service with respect to prioritizing and improving stock 

16 assessments, including— 

17 (1) a summary of the methods used for assess18 ments for all stocks of fish for which a fishery man19 agement plan is in effect under the Magnuson-Ste20 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and explain which stocks of 

22 fish have not been assessed, and why; 

23 (2) a summary of each stock assessment and 

24 stock assessment update completed during the pre25 ceding year; 


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1 (3) an identification of each stock assessment 

2 that was planned but not completed and explain why 

3 such stock assessment was not completed; 

4 (4) the schedule for all upcoming stock assess5 ments and stock assessment updates; 

6 (5) a summary of data and analysis, that, if 

7 available, would reduce uncertainty in and improve 

8 the accuracy of future stock assessments, including 

9 whether such data and analysis could be provided by 

10 fishermen, fishing communities, universities, and re11 search institutions; 

12 (6) a summary of the progress with respect to 

13 autonomous surveys and an identification of oppor14 tunities to expand new technologies for stock assess15 ments data collection; and 

16 (7) a summary of data gaps that may be a re17 sult of changing ocean and climate conditions, and 

18 actions taken to address changing assessment needs. 

19 SEC. 404. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 318 (16 U.S.C. 1867) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘fishing com23 munities,’’ after ‘‘data),’’; 

24 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

3 funds available under the program established under 

4 subsection (a) on a competitive basis and based on 

5 regional fishery management needs to support coop6 erative research and management projects to ad7 dress critical needs identified by the Councils. 

8 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF CRITICAL NEEDS LIST.— 

9 Each Council shall annually submit a list of critical 

10 needs to the Secretary that identifies and prioritizes 

11 such needs. 

12 ‘‘(3) USE OF DATA.—The program established 

13 under subsection (a) shall promote and encourage 

14 efforts to use sources of data maintained by other 

15 Federal agencies, State agencies, local and tradi16 tional knowledge, or academia for use in such 

17 projects.’’; 

18 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol19 lows:— 

20 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIES.—In making funds available under 

21 subsection (b), the Secretary shall select projects that 

22 form part of a coherent program of cooperative research 

23 or management projects focused on addressing priority 

24 issues identified by the Councils, and shall give priority 

25 to the following types of projects: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Projects to collect data to improve, supple2 ment, or enhance stock assessments, including the 

3 use of fishing vessels or acoustic or other marine 

4 technology. 

5 ‘‘(2) Projects to improve fishery-dependent data 

6 collection, intake, use, and access including— 

7 ‘‘(A) to assess the amount and type of by8 catch or post-release mortality occurring in a 

9 fishery; 

10 ‘‘(B) expanding the use of electronic tech11 nology and modernizing data management sys12 tems; and 

13 ‘‘(C) improving monitoring coverage 

14 through the expanded use of electronic tech15 nology. 

16 ‘‘(3) Conservation engineering or management 

17 projects designed to reduce bycatch, including avoid18 ance of post-release mortality, reduction of bycatch 

19 in high seas fisheries, and transfer of such fishing 

20 technologies and methods to other nations, or other 

21 regional entities, including fishing communities, re22 gional fishery associations, and fishing sectors. 

23 ‘‘(4) Projects for the identification of habitat 

24 areas of particular concern and for habitat conserva25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Projects designed to collect and compile 

2 economic and social data for which electronic tech3 nologies can be added. 

4 ‘‘(6) Projects to test and expand electronic 

5 technologies for monitoring, reporting, observer cov6 erage, and other functions. 

7 ‘‘(7) Projects that use electronic technologies 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(A) monitor changing ocean conditions; 

10 ‘‘(B) improve methods; 

11 ‘‘(C) support adaptive management; and 

12 ‘‘(D) enhance climate resilience in fish13 eries. 

14 ‘‘(8) Projects designed— 

15 ‘‘(A) to identify the impacts of anticipated 

16 changing ocean conditions, including climate 

17 change, on stocks of fish, fisheries, and fishing 

18 communities; or 

19 ‘‘(B) to develop conservation and manage20 ment strategies to adapt to such impacts. 

21 ‘‘(9) Cooperative management projects that 

22 make use of data collected under this section. 

23 ‘‘(10) Projects to better understand— 

24 ‘‘(A) interactions between sharks and hu25 mans; 


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1 ‘‘(B) what causes increases in such inter2 actions; 

3 ‘‘(C) the status of shark populations; and 

4 ‘‘(D) how to best address such interactions 

5 to benefit both sharks and humans.’’; 

6 (4) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

7 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

8 (5) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of the enactment of the Sustaining Amer13 ica’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the Sec14 retary, in consultation with the Councils and with 

15 input from the public, shall issue guidance to facili16 tate a transparent, timely, uniform, and regionally 

17 based process for the development, oversight, and 

18 management of cooperative management agree19 ments. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROCESS FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

21 may use the process developed pursuant to sub22 section (d) to approve cooperative management 

23 agreements as if such agreements are cooperative 

24 fishing agreements. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—An agree2 ment authorized by this subsection shall be subject 

3 to performance standards and accountability meas4 ures specified in a fishery management plan or oth5 erwise established by the Secretary, in consultation 

6 with the Councils, and shall not allow catch in excess 

7 of annual catch limits or bycatch in excess of by8 catch caps or limits. 

9 ‘‘(4) PREEXISTING AGREEMENTS.—This sub10 section shall not apply to a cooperative management 

11 agreement submitted to or proposed or approved by 

12 the Secretary before the date of the enactment of 

13 the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future 

14 Act of 2024.’’; and 

15 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(h) PUBLIC REPORT OF DATA.—With respect to 

17 any cooperative research project funded or experimental 

18 fishing permit issued under this section, the appropriate 

19 Council shall publish a report regarding results and data 

20 generated by such project or under such permit. 

21 ‘‘(i) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining Amer23 ica’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the Assistant 

24 Administrator for Fisheries shall submit to Congress a re25 port regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the progress made by the National Marine 

2 Fisheries Service with respect to the implementation 

3 of the recommendations of the Cooperative Research 

4 and Cooperative Management Working Group report 

5 titled ‘NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS–F/ 

6 SPO–156’ (August 2015); and 

7 ‘‘(2) the development and implementation of 

8 any subsequent recommendations by such Working 

9 Group.’’. 

10 (b) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a)(8) (16 U.S.C. 

11 1801(a)(8)) is amended by inserting ‘‘Fisheries manage12 ment is most effective when it uses the best scientific in13 formation available, and incorporates such information 

14 from governmental and nongovernmental sources, includ15 ing State and Federal agency staff, fishermen, fishing 

16 communities, universities, nonprofit organizations, local 

17 and traditional knowledge from Tribes, Indigenous com18 munities, and subsistence fishermen, and research institu19 tions. Scientific and statistical committees should consider 

20 such information when seeking the best scientific informa21 tion available to form the basis of conservation and man22 agement.’’ after ‘‘States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 405. NORTHEAST REGIONAL PILOT RESEARCH TRAWL 

2 SURVEY AND STUDY. 

3 (a) INDUSTRY-BASED PILOT STUDY.—Not later than 

4 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

5 Secretary shall, in coordination with the relevant Councils 

6 as determined by the Secretary and the Northeast Area 

7 Monitoring and Assessment Program, develop a fishing in8 dustry-based Northeast regional pilot research trawl sur9 vey and study to enhance and improve the current Na10 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel 

11 trawl surveys. 

12 (b) COMPONENTS.—Under the pilot survey and 

13 study— 

14 (1) the Secretary— 

15 (A) may select fishing industry vessels to 

16 participate in the study by issuing a request for 

17 procurement; 

18 (B) may use the Northeast Area Moni19 toring and Assessment Program Southern New 

20 England/Mid-Atlantic Nearshore Trawl Survey 

21 or another methodology selected in partnership 

22 with the National Marine Fisheries Service 

23 Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Vir24 ginia Institute of Marine Science as a model for 

25 the pilot survey; 


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1 (C) shall outfit participating vessels with a 

2 peer-reviewed net configuration; and 

3 (D) shall ensure the pilot study uses a sta4 tistically valid sampling method and spatial cov5 erage that allows for comparison with results 

6 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration vessel trawl surveys; and 

8 (2) the National Marine Fisheries Service 

9 Northeast Fisheries Science Center shall, in partner10 ship with the relevant Councils and the Virginia In11 stitute of Marine Science, collect data for 5 years. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Upon completion of the pilot survey 

13 and study, the Secretary and the relevant Councils shall 

14 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a de17 tailed report regarding the results of the pilot survey and 

18 study. 

19 SEC. 406. RECREATIONAL DATA CONSISTENCY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(m) RECREATIONAL DATA IMPROVEMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

24 after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining 

25 America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the 


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1 Secretary shall establish guidelines for recreational 

2 catch data, which shall include the development of 

3 data standards to improve timeliness, accuracy, pre4 cision, and validation of data produced by rec5 reational surveys in order to facilitate the use of 

6 such data in stock assessments, for use in manage7 ment actions, and for other uses as applicable. 

8 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS CONSIDERED.—In es9 tablishing guidelines under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary shall consider the relevant recommendations 

11 developed under section 404(e), subsections 

12 (g)(4)(C) and (h) of section 401, and section 201(b) 

13 of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Manage14 ment Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 1881 note). 

15 ‘‘(3) MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES.—If rec16 reational catch data for a stock of fish come from 

17 more than 1 survey program, such as Federal and 

18 non-Federal sources, including from States or Ma19 rine Fisheries Commissions, the Secretary shall im20 plement measures, which may include the use of 

21 calibration methods, as needed for the timely inte22 gration of such data to ensure consistent methods 

23 and approaches are used for monitoring of catch 

24 against the relevant annual catch limits and for 

25 other fishery science and management purposes.’’. 


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1 (b) RECREATIONAL DATA IMPROVEMENT PRO2 GRAM.—Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 409. RECREATIONAL DATA IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 and carry out a comprehensive program to implement the 

7 guidelines established under section 305(m). 

8 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.—In car9 rying out the program established under subsection (a), 

10 the Secretary shall coordinate with programs established 

11 under subsection 401(g) and promote collaboration with 

12 State and Federal partners. 

13 ‘‘(c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of the enactment of the Sustaining Amer16 ica’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, and not 

17 less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, 

18 the Secretary shall develop, publish in the Federal 

19 Register, and submit to the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

22 House of Representatives a strategic plan for rec23 reational data improvements for the 5 years imme24 diately following such publication. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each plan published 

2 under paragraph (1) shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) improve coordination between Federal 

4 programs that implement recreational fishing 

5 surveys and other data from non-Federal 

6 sources, including data from States or Marine 

7 Fisheries Commissions; 

8 ‘‘(B) improve the timeliness, accuracy, pre9 cision, and validation of data produced by sur10 veys; 

11 ‘‘(C) describe processes to calibrate data 

12 sources with historical time series data prior to 

13 being used for management; 

14 ‘‘(D) develop methods to integrate rec15 reational data collected from more than 1 

16 source for use in stock assessments; 

17 ‘‘(E) create goals, objectives, and time18 frames for achievement of subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (D); 

20 ‘‘(F) consider the use and effectiveness of 

21 experimental fishing permits to carry out such 

22 research; and 

23 ‘‘(G) describe the role of fishery partici24 pants in the program. 


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1 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—In developing each stra2 tegic plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

3 cooperate with the Councils and affected States, pro4 vide for coordination with the Councils, affected 

5 States, and other research and data collection enti6 ties, and allow for public input. 

7 ‘‘(4) PROPOSED PLAN.—Prior to publishing 

8 each plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

9 publish a proposed plan in the Federal Register for 

10 the purpose of receiving public comment on the plan. 

11 ‘‘(d) AREAS OF RESEARCH.—In carrying out the pro12 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

13 prioritize research and improvement in the following 

14 areas: 

15 ‘‘(1) Development of data standards and valida16 tion processes for survey programs collecting data on 

17 recreational fishing catch and effort, including those 

18 produced by State agencies and considered integral 

19 or supplemental to Federal surveys. 

20 ‘‘(2) Research to understand how surveys of 

21 recreational fishing can more effectively account for 

22 differences in fishing rate and effort, including 

23 among fishermen who use private or public access 

24 points, and fishermen who are State residents or 

25 nonresidents. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Methods and policies to improve the esti2 mation of discards in recreational fisheries, including 

3 estimation of discarded fish both during and outside 

4 of fishing seasons. 

5 ‘‘(4) To improve understanding of best prac6 tices for minimizing discard mortality as well as esti7 mation of adoption rates of such practices by fisher8 men. 

9 ‘‘(5) To assess changes in discard mortality es10 timates when best fishing practices are adequately 

11 and verifiably applied. 

12 ‘‘(6) Research regarding how the use of elec13 tronic applications can be used to collect data in rec14 reational fisheries, including spatial information, 

15 depth, discard rate and disposition, release method, 

16 and socioeconomic information, while meeting data 

17 and validation standards. 

18 ‘‘(7) Research regarding how electronic tech19 nologies can most effectively be incorporated into 

20 survey designs. 

21 ‘‘(8) Research regarding methods to integrate 

22 recreational catch data from more than 1 survey 

23 source for use in assessments. 

24 ‘‘(9) The use of approaches to improve rec25 reational data, including the use of tag and endorseVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 ment measures to fund such data improvement, 

2 stock-wide regional effort surveys, and species-spe3 cific oversampling.’’. 

4 SEC. 407. EMERGENCY OPERATING PLANS. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator, 

7 in consultation with the Councils, relevant Federal, State, 

8 and international agencies, scientific and technical ex9 perts, and interested stakeholders, shall develop a contin10 gency plan for circumstances that would make fisheries 

11 monitoring, including human observation, surveys, and 

12 other data collection to support stock assessments, im13 practical. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 

16 submit to Congress a report regarding the contingency 

17 plan developed under subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 408. ZEKE GRADER FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND 

19 MANAGEMENT FUND. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of the Magnuson-Ste21 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza22 tion Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 1891b) is amended— 

23 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘ZEKE

24 GRADER’’ before ‘‘FISHERIES CONSERVATION

25 AND MANAGEMENT FUND’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘Zeke Grad2 er’’ before ‘‘Fisheries Conservation and Management 

3 Fund’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Fishery Con5 servation and Management Fund’’ each place such 

6 term appears and inserting ‘‘Zeke Grader Fisheries 

7 Conservation and Management Fund’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(8) conducting research and analysis to pre15 pare and adapt fisheries and fishing communities to 

16 the effects of climate change.’’; and 

17 (5) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall, every 2 

22 years, apportion amounts from the Fund among the 

23 regions of each Council according to recommenda24 tions of such Councils, based on regional priorities 

25 identified through the process of such Councils. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—In the case of 

2 amounts deposited in the Fund pursuant to sub3 section (c)(2), unless specified otherwise, the Sec4 retary shall allocate not less than 5 percent of the 

5 Fund in each allocation period to each region de6 scribed in paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) SPECIFICALLY APPORTIONED FUNDS.— 

8 The Secretary may apportion amounts from the 

9 Fund to a specific project or region described in 

10 paragraph (1) if such amounts were identified by the 

11 Council that designated such amounts for inclusion 

12 in the Fund under subsection (c)(1), or by the ap13 propriation Act, State, public source, or nonprofit or 

14 organization from which they were received under 

15 subsection (c)(2), as being deposited for that specific 

16 project or region.’’. 

17 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg18 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

19 States to the ‘‘Fisheries Conservation and Management 

20 Fund’’ is deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Zeke Grader 

21 Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund’’. 

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

23 for the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man24 agement Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– 


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1 479) is amended by striking the item relating to section 

2 208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 208. Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund.’’. 

3 SEC. 409. OFFSHORE WIND COLLABORATION. 

4 The Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, act5 ing through the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

6 Management, shall enter into a cooperative agreement to 

7 fund such survey mitigation programs, additional stock as8 sessments, and fisheries and marine wildlife research as 

9 may be necessary as a result of actions by such Bureau 

10 related to the development of offshore wind energy. 

11 SEC. 410. SHARK POPULATIONS ANALYSIS. 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

13 of this section, the Secretary shall develop a strategy to 

14 identify research priorities and funding opportunities to 

15 update and improve shark research, shark population sur16 veys, and shark stock assessments, and incorporate, as ap17 plicable, new and emerging survey technology techniques 

18 to integrate into the status of stock reports. 

19 TITLE V—SUSTAINING FISH20 ERIES THROUGH HEALTHY 

21 ECOSYSTEMS AND IMPROVED 

22 MANAGEMENT 

23 SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that protection of essential 

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1 rine ecosystems, particularly as oceans conditions shift 

2 due to climate change, and that impacts from both fishing 

3 gear and nonfishing activities should be considered 

4 through consistent application of essential fish habitat 

5 provisions under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva6 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

7 SEC. 502. ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT CONSULTATION. 

8 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 2(b)(7) (16 U.S.C. 

9 1801(b)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the review of 

10 projects’’ and inserting ‘‘from adverse effects caused by 

11 fishing and from projects’’. 

12 (b) HABITAT AREA OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.—Sec13 tion 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraph (1) as para15 graph (1A); 

16 (2) by inserting before paragraph (1A), as so 

17 redesignated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘adverse effect’ means, with re19 spect to essential fish habitat, any impact that re20 duces the quality or quantity of essential fish habi21 tat.’’; and 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(19A) The term ‘habitat area of particular 

2 concern’ means a specific type or area of habitat 

3 that is part of or within essential fish habitat that— 

4 ‘‘(A) provides an important ecological func5 tion, including maintaining and restoring the 

6 biomass, demographic, spatial, or genetic char7 acteristics of fish populations; 

8 ‘‘(B) is sensitive to human-induced envi9 ronmental degradation; 

10 ‘‘(C) is or will be significantly stressed by 

11 human activities; 

12 ‘‘(D) due to prevailing or anticipated fu13 ture environmental conditions, is or may be14 come important to the health of a managed spe15 cies; or 

16 ‘‘(E) is rare.’’. 

17 (c) CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.— 

18 Section 303(a)(7) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(7)) is amended to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(7)(A) describe and identify essential fish 

21 habitat for the fishery based on the guidelines estab22 lished by the Secretary under section 305(b)(1)(A), 

23 minimize adverse effects on essential fish habitat 

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1 courage the conservation and enhancement of essen2 tial fish habitat; and 

3 ‘‘(B) describe and identify habitat areas of par4 ticular concern based on the guidelines established 

5 by the Secretary under section 305(b)(1)(A), avoid 

6 adverse effects on such habitat caused by fishing, 

7 monitor efficacy of actions to avoid adverse effects, 

8 and identify other actions to encourage the conserva9 tion and enhancement of such habitat;’’. 

10 (d) ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT.—Section 305(b) (16 

11 U.S.C. 1855(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)(D)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘use existing programs 

14 administered by the Secretary and’’ after 

15 ‘‘shall’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘and such agencies shall 

17 take action’’ after ‘‘agencies’’; 

18 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (4); and 

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

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AGENCY

21 ACTIONS WITH ADVERSE EFFECT.—Each Federal 

22 agency shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) with respect to an action authorized, 

24 funded, or undertaken, or proposed to be au25 thorized, funded, or undertaken, by such agency 


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1 that may adversely affect essential fish habitat 

2 identified under this Act, notify and consult 

3 with the Secretary; 

4 ‘‘(B) with respect to an action that may 

5 adversely affect essential fish habitat, ensure 

6 that any action authorized, funded, or under7 taken by such agency avoids the adverse effect 

8 of such action on essential fish habitat or, to 

9 the extent that the adverse effect cannot be 

10 avoided, minimize and mitigate the adverse ef11 fect; and 

12 ‘‘(C) with respect to an action that may 

13 adversely affect a habitat area of particular 

14 concern, in consultation with the Secretary— 

15 ‘‘(i) monitor, or require monitoring 

16 for, such adverse effect for the period dur17 ing which such adverse effect is likely to 

18 occur; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) take action to minimize and miti20 gate such adverse effect of the action on 

21 the habitat area of particular concern and 

22 the species with respect to which the habi23 tat area of particular concern is des24 ignated. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO COUNCIL.—The Sec2 retary shall inform each Council that has authority 

3 over an affected fishery of any consultation carried 

4 out under this subsection, including information re5 garding the proposed action and the potential ad6 verse effects, and each such Council— 

7 ‘‘(A) may comment on and make rec8 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal 

9 or State agency concerning any activity author10 ized, funded, or undertaken, or proposed to be 

11 authorized, funded, or undertaken, by any Fed12 eral or State agency that, in the view of the 

13 Council, may affect the habitat, including es14 sential fish habitat, of a fishery resource under 

15 the authority of such Council; and 

16 ‘‘(B) shall comment on and make rec17 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal 

18 or State agency concerning any such activity 

19 that, in the view of the Council, is likely to sub20 stantially affect the habitat, including essential 

21 fish habitat, of an anadromous fishery resource 

22 under the authority of such Council. 

23 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) RECEIPT OF INFORMATION.—If the 

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1 ceived from a Council, Federal or State agency, 

2 or other source that an action authorized, fund3 ed, or undertaken, or proposed to be author4 ized, funded, or undertaken, by a Federal or 

5 State agency will adversely affect essential fish 

6 habitat identified under this Act— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall recommend to 

8 such agency measures for such agency to 

9 take to avoid such adverse effects; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) to the extent such adverse effects 

11 cannot be avoided, such agency shall mini12 mize and mitigate such adverse effects. 

13 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED RESPONSE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The head of a 

15 Federal agency that receives a rec16 ommendation from the Secretary under 

17 subparagraph (A) regarding measures for 

18 such agency to take to avoid the adverse 

19 effects of an action described in that sub20 paragraph on essential fish habitat identi21 fied under this Act shall, not later than 30 

22 days after the date on which such agency 

23 head receives such recommendation, sub24 mit to the Secretary and each Council that 

25 comments under paragraph (3) a detailed 


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1 response in writing regarding such rec2 ommendation, including— 

3 ‘‘(I) a description of each meas4 ure such agency proposes to take to 

5 avoid the adverse effects; 

6 ‘‘(II) to the extent the adverse ef7 fects cannot be avoided, a description 

8 of each measure such agency proposes 

9 to take to minimize and mitigate the 

10 adverse effects of the action on such 

11 essential fish habitat; and 

12 ‘‘(III) if such response is incon13 sistent with such recommendation an 

14 explanation regarding— 

15 ‘‘(aa) how each measure de16 scribed in subclause (I) will avoid 

17 such adverse effects; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) to the extent such ad19 verse effects cannot be avoided, a 

20 description of each measure such 

21 agency proposes to take to mini22 mize and mitigate such adverse 

23 effects. 

24 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 make available to the public— 


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1 ‘‘(i) each recommendation made under 

2 subparagraph (A) on the date on which 

3 such recommendation is made; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) each response made by an agency 

5 under subparagraph (B) on the date on 

6 which such response is received by the Sec7 retary. 

8 ‘‘(D) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall 

9 monitor each measure taken by each Federal 

10 agency to meet the requirements of this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue 

13 regulations regarding the consultation process estab14 lished under this subsection, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) ensuring that each recommendation 

16 made by the Secretary under paragraph (4) re17 sults in the avoidance of adverse effects on es18 sential fish habitat and, to the extent adverse 

19 effects cannot be avoided, the minimization and 

20 mitigation of any such adverse effects; 

21 ‘‘(B) measures to streamline such con22 sultation process with other environmental re23 view processes; and 

24 ‘‘(C) procedures to develop programmatic 

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1 mize, and mitigate adverse impacts of actions 

2 on essential fish habitat. 

3 ‘‘(6) REQUIRED RESTRICTIONS.—A Federal 

4 agency may not enter into a lease, easement, right5 of-way, or sale of any area designated as essential 

6 fish habitat unless such agency attaches appropriate 

7 covenants or restrictions on the use of the area to 

8 require that parties avoid causing adverse effects to 

9 the relevant essential fish habitat. 

10 ‘‘(7) CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESTORATION

11 PROJECTS.—In consulting with a Federal agency 

12 under this section for projects that seek to restore 

13 and improve the long-term resilience of habitat, par14 ticularly in estuarine environments heavily affected 

15 by sea level rise and other climate change factors, 

16 the Secretary shall account for the consequences of 

17 not pursuing such restoration and habitat resilience 

18 projects and the long-term positive impacts on fish 

19 populations of such activities.’’. 

20 SEC. 503. REDUCING BYCATCH. 

21 (a) MINIMIZING BYCATCH.— 

22 (1) NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FISHERY CON23 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT.—Section 301(a)(9) 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(9)) is amended to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(9) Conservation and management measures 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) minimize bycatch; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to the extent bycatch cannot be 

5 avoided, minimize the mortality of such by6 catch.’’. 

7 (2) CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT

8 PLANS.—Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amend9 ed— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (5), by inserting 

12 ‘‘quantification of bycatch,’’ after ‘‘hauls,’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘to 

15 the extent practicable and’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (b)— 

17 (i) in paragraph (12), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

19 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (12) 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(13) consider full retention requirements for 

22 species with high catch mortality rates, provided 

23 that an annual catch limit and accountability meas24 ures are in place for the species and constrain catch 

25 in the fishery; and’’. 


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1 (3) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 304 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended— 

3 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 

4 (i) as subsection (j); and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(k) STANDARDIZED BYCATCH REPORTING PRO7 GRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 3 years 

9 after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining 

10 America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the 

11 Secretary shall establish a national standardized re12 porting program (referred to in this subsection as 

13 ‘the program’)— 

14 ‘‘(A) to assess the amount and type of by15 catch occurring in each fishery and across fish16 eries; 

17 ‘‘(B) to determine the contribution of by18 catch to the total fishing-related mortality of 

19 each fishery; and 

20 ‘‘(C) to evaluate the effects of bycatch on 

21 relevant fisheries and the ecosystem. 

22 ‘‘(2) METHODOLOGY AND STANDARDS.—The 

23 Secretary shall, in carrying out the program— 

24 ‘‘(A) identify appropriate methodologies 

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1 tically accurate and precise information regard2 ing bycatch; and 

3 ‘‘(B) require consistent data reporting, col4 lection, and assessment for each fishery man5 aged under a fishery management plan. 

6 ‘‘(3) MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS.—If a species is 

7 caught in areas under the jurisdiction of more than 

8 1 Council or fishery management plan, the Secretary 

9 shall require consistent reporting mechanisms across 

10 each such jurisdiction to ensure that data with re11 spect to such species can be aggregated and com12 pared. 

13 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—The Sec14 retary shall coordinate with State fishery managers 

15 to carry out paragraph (3).’’. 

16 (b) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PRO17 GRAM.—Section 316 (16 U.S.C. 1865) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(in this section referred 

20 to as the ‘program’)’’ after ‘‘bycatch reduction 

21 program’’; and 

22 (B) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and 

23 inserting the following: 

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1 ery participants that will encourage adoption and 

2 use of technologies and methods developed under the 

3 program; and 

4 ‘‘(4) provide for routine consultation with the 

5 Councils to maximize opportunities to incorporate 

6 results of the program in Council actions and pro7 vide incentives for adoption of technologies and 

8 methods developed under the program in fishery 

9 management plans, actions, and other measures de10 veloped by the Councils or the Secretary.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘transmit an annual re13 port’’ and inserting ‘‘, not less frequently than 

14 once every 3 years, transmit a report’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

16 the end; 

17 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(4) includes a description of each bycatch re21 duction technology and method developed, tested, or 

22 supported by the program, and a summary of how 

23 each such technology and method have been imple24 mented into fishery management, or an explanation 


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1 for why each such technology and method has not 

2 been implemented.’’. 

3 SEC. 504. IMPROVING REBUILDING OUTCOMES. 

4 Section 304(e) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended to 

5 read as follows:— 

6 ‘‘(e) REBUILDING OVERFISHED FISHERIES AND

7 ENDING OVERFISHING.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF STATUS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 determine, at any time based on the best sci11 entific information available, for each stock of 

12 fish within the geographic area of authority of 

13 each Council (or the Secretary, for stocks of 

14 fish managed under section 302(a)(3)), whether 

15 each such stock of fish is— 

16 ‘‘(i) subject to overfishing; 

17 ‘‘(ii) overfished; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) approaching a condition of being 

19 overfished. 

20 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) CRITERIA PROVIDED BY MAN22 AGING DOCUMENT.—In making a deter23 mination under subparagraph (A), the Sec24 retary shall, with respect to a stock of fish 

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1 ment plan or international agreement, use 

2 the criteria specified in such plan or agree3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(ii) APPROACHING A CONDITION OF

5 BEING OVERFISHED.—In making a deter6 mination under subparagraph (A), the Sec7 retary shall classify a stock of fish as ap8 proaching a condition of being overfished 

9 if, based on trends in fishing effort, fishery 

10 resource size, and other appropriate fac11 tors, the Secretary estimates that the stock 

12 of fish will become overfished within 2 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(iii) STOCKS OF FISH LACKING CRI15 TERIA.—For stocks of fish that lack cri16 teria as required under section 303(a)(10), 

17 the Secretary shall determine whether the 

18 stock of fish is subject to overfishing or 

19 overfished using the best available sci20 entific information. 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 publish each determination made under para24 graph (1) in the Federal Register. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF COUNCIL.—If the 

2 Secretary determines that a stock of fish is sub3 ject to overfishing, overfished, or approaching a 

4 condition of being overfished under paragraph 

5 (1), the Secretary shall immediately notify the 

6 appropriate Council and request that action be 

7 taken— 

8 ‘‘(i) to end overfishing with respect to 

9 the stock of fish immediately; 

10 ‘‘(ii) for a stock of fish that is over11 fished, to end overfishing immediately and 

12 to implement conservation and manage13 ment measures to rebuild the affected 

14 stock of fish; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) for a stock of fish that is ap16 proaching a condition of being overfished, 

17 to end overfishing immediately and prevent 

18 the stock of fish from reaching a over19 fished condition. 

20 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary 

21 shall annually submit to Congress and each 

22 Council a report regarding the status of each 

23 stock of fish, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a list of each determination made 

2 with respect to a stock of fish under para3 graph (1) during the preceding year; 

4 ‘‘(ii) an identification of each stock of 

5 fish managed under this Act that is under 

6 a rebuilding plan or in need of a rebuilding 

7 plan (as specified by this section), includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(I) specifying the number of 

10 years the stock of fish has been in a 

11 rebuilding plan; 

12 ‘‘(II) the anticipated length in 

13 years of the current rebuilding plan of 

14 the stock of fish; 

15 ‘‘(III) the number of rebuilding 

16 plans that have been implemented for 

17 the stock of fish; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) whether a lack of adequate 

19 progress toward ending overfishing 

20 and rebuilding has been found for the 

21 stock of fish; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the use, as appropriate, of the 

23 term ‘depleted’ to further describe an over24 fished stock of fish that has been signifi25 cantly impacted by environmental factors 


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1 in addition to (or in the absence of) fishing 

2 pressure. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED ACTION BY COUNCIL.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION THAT REQUIRES AC5 TION.—Not later than 2 years after date on 

6 which the Secretary makes any of the following 

7 determinations, the appropriate Council (or the 

8 Secretary, for a fishery managed under section 

9 302(a)(3)) shall take an action described in 

10 subparagraph (B): 

11 ‘‘(i) A determination that a stock of 

12 fish is subject to overfishing, overfished, or 

13 approaching a condition of being over14 fished. 

15 ‘‘(ii) A determination that a rebuild16 ing plan has failed under paragraph 

17 (7)(C). 

18 ‘‘(iii) A determination that a stock of 

19 fish has reached the end of the time period 

20 for a rebuilding plan under paragraph (8). 

21 ‘‘(B) ACTIONS.—The actions described in 

22 this subparagraph are— 

23 ‘‘(i) with respect to a stock of fish 

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1 fishing immediately and prevent over2 fishing of the stock; 

3 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a stock of fish 

4 that is overfished, to end overfishing imme5 diately and to rebuild the stock of fish; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a stock of fish 

7 that is approaching a condition of being 

8 overfished, to end overfishing immediately 

9 and prevent the stock of fish from reaching 

10 such condition. 

11 ‘‘(4) REBUILDING PLAN REQUIRED.—For a 

12 stock of fish that is overfished, any management 

13 document prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) or (5) 

14 for such fishery shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) specify a time period for rebuilding 

16 the stock of fish that shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) be as short as possible, taking 

18 into account the status and biology of over19 fished stocks of fish, the needs of fishing 

20 communities, recommendations by inter21 national organizations in which the United 

22 States participates, and the interaction of 

23 the overfished stock of fish within the ma24 rine ecosystem; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not exceed the time the stock of 

2 fish would be rebuilt in the absence of any 

3 fishing mortality plus 1 mean generation; 

4 ‘‘(B) allocate both overfishing restrictions 

5 and recovery benefits fairly and equitably 

6 among sectors of the fishery; 

7 ‘‘(C) for a stock of fish managed under an 

8 international agreement, reflect traditional par9 ticipation in the stock of fish, relative to other 

10 nations, by fishermen of the United States; and 

11 ‘‘(D) contain objective and measurable cri12 teria for evaluating rebuilding progress. 

13 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL PLAN.—If a Council does 

14 not meet the deadline described in paragraph (3)(A) 

15 to submit a management document the Secretary 

16 shall, not later than 9 months after the date on 

17 which such deadline expires, prepare such manage18 ment document for the affected stock of fish under 

19 subsection (c). 

20 ‘‘(6) INTERIM MEASURES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the develop22 ment of a management document for a stock of 

23 fish required by this subsection, a Council may 

24 request that the Secretary implement interim 

25 measures to reduce overfishing under section 


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1 305(c) until such measures can be replaced by 

2 such management document. 

3 ‘‘(B) MEASURES ALLOWED.—Interim 

4 measures described in subparagraph (A), if oth5 erwise in compliance with the provisions of this 

6 Act, may be implemented even if such measures 

7 are not sufficient to stop overfishing of a fish8 ery. 

9 ‘‘(7) ASSESSMENT OF REBUILDING PLAN.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

12 shall review each management document 

13 relating to a stock of fish required by this 

14 subsection not less often than once every 2 

15 years to determine whether such manage16 ment document has resulted in adequate 

17 progress toward rebuilding affected stocks 

18 of fish. 

19 ‘‘(ii) LACK OF ADEQUATE

20 PROGRESS.—In carrying out a review 

21 under clause (i), the Secretary shall find a 

22 lack of adequate progress toward rebuild23 ing an affected stock of fish if— 

24 ‘‘(I) the status of the stock of 

25 fish is not improving sufficiently such 


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1 that it becomes unlikely that the stock 

2 of fish will be rebuilt within the re3 building time period; 

4 ‘‘(II) the applicable fishing mor5 tality rate or annual catch limits are 

6 exceeded, and the causes and rebuild7 ing consequences of such exceedances 

8 have not been corrected; 

9 ‘‘(III) new scientific information 

10 demonstrates that assumptions re11 garding the biology of the stock of 

12 fish that formed the basis for the re13 building plan, such as the productivity 

14 of the stock of fish, were fundamen15 tally inaccurate, and such inaccuracies 

16 render the current rebuilding plan un17 able to address the rebuilding needs of 

18 the stock of fish; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) for such other reasons as 

20 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(B) FINDING OF INADEQUATE

22 PROGRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro24 vided in subparagraph (C), if the Secretary 

25 finds after a review under subparagraph 


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1 (A) that a management document has not 

2 resulted in adequate progress toward re3 building affected stocks of fish, the Sec4 retary shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) in the case of a stock of fish 

6 to which section 302(a)(3) applies, 

7 immediately make revisions necessary 

8 to achieve adequate progress toward 

9 rebuilding the stock of fish by the 

10 deadline established under paragraph 

11 (4); or 

12 ‘‘(II) for all other stocks of fish, 

13 immediately notify the appropriate 

14 Council, which shall make revisions 

15 necessary to achieve adequate 

16 progress toward rebuilding the stock 

17 of fish by not later than the deadline 

18 established under paragraph (4). 

19 ‘‘(ii) COUNCIL INACTION.—If a Coun20 cil fails to complete the action required 

21 under subclause (II) by the date that is 9 

22 months after the date of the Council re23 ceives a notification from the Secretary 

24 under that subclause, the Secretary shall, 

25 not later than 18 months after the date of 


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1 such notification, make such revisions as 

2 are needed to ensure adequate progress to3 ward rebuilding the stock of fish by not 

4 later than the rebuilding deadline estab5 lished under paragraph (4). 

6 ‘‘(C) FAILED REBUILDING PLAN.—If the 

7 Secretary finds that revisions pursuant to sub8 paragraph (B) cannot achieve adequate 

9 progress within the time period set under para10 graph (4), the Secretary may find that the re11 building plan for the stock of fish has failed. 

12 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall 

13 publish the results of a review performed under 

14 this paragraph in the Federal Register, includ15 ing a determination of adequate progress or in16 adequate progress, and the basis for such deter17 mination. 

18 ‘‘(8) SUBSEQUENT REBUILDING PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a rebuilding time 

20 period established under paragraph (4) expires 

21 and the relevant stock of fish has not been re22 built, or the Secretary determines that an exist23 ing rebuilding plan for a stock of fish has failed 

24 under paragraph (7)(C), the Council (or Sec25 retary in the case of a stock of fish to which 


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1 section 302(a)(3) applies) shall prepare a new 

2 rebuilding plan pursuant to paragraphs (3) 

3 through (6), except that such plan shall have 

4 not less than a 75-percent chance of rebuilding 

5 the stock of fish by the end of the new rebuild6 ing time period set under paragraph (4). 

7 ‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN EF8 FECT.—Management measures intended to re9 build the stock of fish shall remain in effect 

10 during the preparation of a rebuilding plan 

11 under subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(9) MANAGEMENT DOCUMENT.—In this sub13 section, the term ‘management document’ means a 

14 management plan, management plan amendment, or 

15 proposed regulations for a stock of fish.’’. 

16 SEC. 505. OVERFISHED FISHERIES AND PREVENTING OVER17 FISHING. 

18 (a) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SCIENTIFIC AND

19 STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 302(g)(1) (16 

20 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘ecologi22 cal,’’ after ‘‘social,’’; and 

23 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 

2 shall provide its Council with ongoing scientific ad3 vice for fishery management decisions, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) recommendations— 

5 ‘‘(I) for accounting for all sources of 

6 mortality in establishing management 

7 measures; 

8 ‘‘(II) for the acceptable biological 

9 catch levels; 

10 ‘‘(III) for preventing overfishing; 

11 ‘‘(IV) for maximum sustainable yield; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(V) for achieving rebuilding targets 

14 and promoting resilience of stocks of fish 

15 to climate change; 

16 ‘‘(ii) objective and measurable criteria to 

17 determine whether a stock of fish is overfished 

18 or experiencing overfishing; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) reports regarding stock status and 

20 health, sources of mortality, bycatch, habitat 

21 status, social, ecological, and economic impacts 

22 of management measures, and sustainability of 

23 fishing practices, and prevailing and anticipated 

24 future impacts of climate change on stocks of 

25 fish, fishing communities, and fishery sectors.’’. 


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1 (b) MINIMUM REQUIRED PRECAUTIONARY STAND2 ARD.—Section 303(a)(10) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(10)) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(10) specify objective and measurable criteria 

5 for identifying when the stock of fish to which the 

6 plan applies is overfished or subject to overfishing 

7 (with an analysis of how such criteria were deter8 mined and the relationship of such criteria to the re9 productive potential of stocks of fish in that fishery), 

10 which may not be less precautionary than the rec11 ommendation of the scientific and statistical commit12 tees for such fishery as required by section 

13 302(g)(1)(B), and, in the case of a fishery which the 

14 Council or the Secretary has determined is ap15 proaching a condition of being overfished or is over16 fished, contain conservation and management meas17 ures to prevent overfishing or end overfishing and 

18 rebuild the fishery;’’. 

19 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 301 of the 

20 Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 

21 2018 (16 U.S.C. 1801 note) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

23 ‘‘Nothing in this Act, including the amendment made 

24 by section 102(a)(3), may be construed to modify the re25 quirements of section 301(a), 302(h)(6), 303(a)(15), or 


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1 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

2 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a), 1852(h)(6), 

3 1853(a)(15), or 1854(e)), or the equal application of such 

4 requirements and other standards and requirements under 

5 that Act (18 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) to commercial, charter, 

6 and recreational fisheries, including each component of 

7 mixed-use fisheries.’’. 

8 SEC. 506. PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF SECRETARIAL 

9 PLANS. 

10 Section 304(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(c)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘not to 

13 exceed 2 years, or 9 months in the case of a man14 agement plan or amendment subject to section 

15 304(e)(7)(B)’’ after ‘‘time’’; 

16 (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘not later 

17 than 180 days after the disapproval’’ before the 

18 semicolon; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘Not later than 30 days before the date on which a time 

21 period established in subparagraph (B) or (C) ends, the 

22 Secretary shall provide written notification to the affected 

23 Council that if such Council does not fulfill the require24 ments described in such subparagraph, the Secretary shall 

25 issue a Secretarial plan.’’. 


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1 SEC. 507. COUNCILS. 

2 Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; 

5 (2) in paragraph (7)— 

6 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

7 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec8 tively; and 

9 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) prioritize fisheries and habitats expe12 riencing or expected to experience shifts in geo13 graphic range, spatial distribution, or produc14 tivity;’’; 

15 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

16 paragraphs (11) and (12), respectively; and 

17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(8) approve, for each of its managed stocks of 

20 fish, objective and measurable criteria for identifying 

21 whether the stock of fish is overfished or experi22 encing overfishing, which may not be less pre23 cautionary than the recommendation of its scientific 

24 and statistical committee; 

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1 gion of the Council from adverse effects caused by 

2 fishing, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) quantitative and measurable targets 

4 and goals to increase quality, quantity, and rep5 resentativeness of essential fish habitat; and 

6 ‘‘(B) conservation and management meas7 ures in a fishery management plan to imple8 ment the habitat protection plan; 

9 ‘‘(10) at routine intervals not less frequently 

10 than every 7 years and based on scientific evidence 

11 or other relevant information, review habitat protec12 tion plans developed under paragraph (9) by such 

13 Council and each designation of essential fish habi14 tat and habitat areas of particular concern under 

15 section 303(a)(7) by such Council, and amend fish16 ery management plans of such Council as necessary 

17 and appropriate;’’. 

18 SEC. 508. FORAGE FISH CONSERVATION. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(17) Forage fish are generally small to inter22 mediate-sized species, occurring in schools or dense 

23 aggregations, and function as a main pathway for 

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1 lock, and other wildlife, in marine ecosystems. While 

2 most species function as prey of others at some life 

3 stage, especially when small and young, forage fish 

4 maintain this important trophic role throughout 

5 their life. Further, fluctuations in their populations 

6 can result in significant changes in marine commu7 nities and ecosystems. Therefore, particular atten8 tion to management of forage fish species, and ad9 dressing their unique role in marine ecosystems, is 

10 critical to maintaining ecosystem function and sus11 tainable fisheries.’’. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.— 

13 (1) SECRETARY TO DEFINE FORAGE FISH.— 

14 Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(n) FORAGE FISH.—Not later than 6 months after 

17 the date of the enactment of the Sustaining America’s 

18 Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the Secretary shall 

19 issue a definition of the term ‘forage fish’ for the purposes 

20 of this Act. In defining such term, the Secretary shall con21 sider factors including whether a species covered by such 

22 definition, throughout such species’ lifecycle— 

23 ‘‘(1) is at a low trophic level; 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) occurs in schools or other dense aggrega2 tions; 

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

4 other fish, marine mammals, or birds; and 

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

6 species at a higher trophic level.’’. 

7 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) 

8 is amended— 

9 (A) by redesignating the second paragraph 

10 (33) as paragraph (53); 

11 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (28) 

12 through (50) as paragraphs (30) through (52), 

13 respectively; 

14 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (19) 

15 through (27) as paragraphs (20) through (28), 

16 respectively; 

17 (D) by inserting after paragraph (18) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(19) The term ‘forage fish’— 

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

21 the Secretary under section 305(n); and 

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

23 managed pursuant to a fishery management 

24 plan or plan amendment that is approved by 

25 the Secretary under section 304(a), means any 


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1 species identified in such plan as a forage 

2 fish.’’; 

3 (E) by inserting after paragraph (28), as 

4 so redesignated by paragraph (3) of this sec5 tion, the following: 

6 ‘‘(29) The term ‘low trophic level’ means a posi7 tion in the marine food web in which the fish gen8 erally consume plankton.’’; and 

9 (F) in paragraph (35), as so redesignated 

10 by paragraph (2) of this subsection— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

15 and’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(D) in the case of a forage fish, is re19 duced, pursuant to subparagraph (B), to pro20 vide for the diet needs of fish species and other 

21 marine wildlife, including marine mammals and 

22 birds, for which forage fish is a significant die23 tary component.’’. 

24 (c) SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.—Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 

25 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical com2 mittee shall provide its Council ongoing sci3 entific advice for fishery management decisions, 

4 including recommendations for— 

5 ‘‘(i) acceptable biological catch; 

6 ‘‘(ii) preventing overfishing; 

7 ‘‘(iii) maximum sustainable yield; 

8 ‘‘(iv) achieving rebuilding targets; 

9 ‘‘(v) maintaining a sufficient abun10 dance, diversity, and localized distribution 

11 of forage fish populations to support their 

12 role in marine ecosystems; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) reports on stock status and 

14 health, bycatch, habitat status, social and 

15 economic impacts of management meas16 ures, and sustainability of fishing prac17 tices.’’. 

18 (d) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.— 

19 (1) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 302(h)(7) 

20 (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7)) is amended, in the matter 

21 preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘forage 

22 fish populations and distribution,’’ after ‘‘habitats,’’. 

23 (2) UNMANAGED FORAGE FISH.—Section 

24 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated 

2 by section 507 of this Act, by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

3 the end; 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraph (12), as so 

5 redesignated by section 507 of this Act, as 

6 paragraph (13); and 

7 (C) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(12) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish 

10 occurring in the area under its authority and pro11 hibit the development of any new directed forage fish 

12 fishery until the Council has— 

13 ‘‘(A) considered the best scientific informa14 tion available and evaluated the potential im15 pacts of forage fish harvest on existing fish16 eries, fishing communities, and the marine eco17 system; 

18 ‘‘(B) determined whether conservation and 

19 management of the forage fish fishery is need20 ed; 

21 ‘‘(C) if a determination is made that con22 servation and management is needed, prepared 

23 and submitted to the Secretary a fishery man24 agement plan or amendment consistent with 

25 section 303; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) received final, approved regulations 

2 from the Secretary pursuant to section 

3 304(b)(3); and’’. 

4 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

5 by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect 2 years 

6 after the date of the enactment of this section. 

7 (e) CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.— 

8 (1) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT.—Section 

9 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (16), as added by section 

11 102 of this Act, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (B) in paragraph (17), as added by section 

13 102 of this Act, by striking the period at the 

14 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(18) when setting annual catch limits for for17 age fish fisheries, assess, specify, and reduce such 

18 limits by the diet needs of fish species and other ma19 rine wildlife, such as marine mammals and birds, for 

20 which forage fish is a significant part of their diet.’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

22 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 5 years after the 

23 date of the enactment of this section. 

24 (f) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 

25 1854) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(l) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.— 

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

3 after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining 

4 America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2024, the 

5 Secretary shall establish by regulation guidelines to 

6 assist the Councils in implementing sections 3(19), 

7 302(h)(9), and 303(a)(16). 

8 ‘‘(2) WORKSHOPS.—In developing the guide9 lines under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con10 duct workshops with Councils and other scientific, 

11 fisheries, and conservation interests.’’. 

12 (g) RIVER HERRING AND SHAD.— 

13 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 (A) RIVER HERRING.—The term ‘‘river 

15 herring’’ means blueback herring (Alosa 

16 aestivalis) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus). 

17 (B) SHAD.—The term ‘‘shad’’ means 

18 American shad (Alosa sapidissima) and hickory 

19 shad (Alosa mediocris). 

20 (2) AMENDMENTS OF PLANS.—Not later than 

21 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall— 

23 (A) amend the fishery management plans 

24 for the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, 

25 Squid, and Butterfish fisheries for the New 


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1 England and Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad 

2 and river herring as managed stocks in such 

3 plans consistent with section 302(h)(1) of the 

4 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

5 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(1)); 

6 (B) initiate additional fishery management 

7 plan amendments to be completed in not more 

8 than 1 year from the date of the addition of the 

9 species identified in paragraph (1) in order to 

10 develop and implement all required conservation 

11 and management measures for such stocks con12 sistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries 

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

14 1801 et seq.), and all other applicable law; and 

15 (C) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or 

16 fishery management plan provision, including 

17 conservation and management measures under 

18 section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

19 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing re21 sources to provide, for not less than 50 percent 

22 of all relevant fishing trips, not fewer than 1 at23 sea observer or an on-board electronic or video 

24 means of producing equivalent at-sea moni25 toring information, for any vessel using 


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1 midwater trawl or paired midwater trawl fish2 ing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlantic 

3 mackerel fisheries. 

4 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed as— 

6 (1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or 

7 authority of any State within its boundaries; or 

8 (2) affecting— 

9 (A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

10 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

11 U.S.C. 1856); or 

12 (B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooper13 ative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 et 

14 seq.). 

15 SEC. 509. FUNDING FOR MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION 

16 OF NORTHEAST MULTISPECIES FISHERY 

17 MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

18 Section 311(f)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1861(f)(4)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘pursuant to this section to enforce that Plan’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘to enforce and monitor (including elec21 tronic monitoring) implementation of such Plan’’. 

22 SEC. 510. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES. 

23 Section 304(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)) is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘a sci2 entific and statistical committee and’’ after ‘‘estab3 lish’’; and 

4 (2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(C) for stocks of fish not managed pursuant to 

7 the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 

8 U.S.C. 971 et seq.), develop annual catch limits that 

9 may not exceed the fishing level recommendations of 

10 the scientific and statistical committee;’’. 

11 TITLE VI—INTERNATIONAL 

12 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 

13 SEC. 601. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER OF ATLANTIC 

14 TUNAS CONVENTION. 

15 (a) APPOINTMENT AND PROCEDURE OF COMMIS16 SIONERS.—Section 3(a) of the Atlantic Tunas Convention 

17 Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971a(a)) is amended to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT AND NUMBER; RULES OF PRO20 CEDURE; TERM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap22 point 4 Commissioners to serve as delegates of the 

23 United States to the Commission as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) 1 Commissioner shall be a Federal 

25 employee who shall serve as Chair. 


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1 ‘‘(B) 3 Commissioners shall not be Federal 

2 employees, of whom— 

3 ‘‘(i) 1 shall have knowledge and expe4 rience regarding commercial fishing in the 

5 Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Carib6 bean Sea; 

7 ‘‘(ii) 1 shall have knowledge and expe8 rience regarding recreational fishing in the 

9 Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Carib10 bean Sea; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) 1 shall have knowledge and ex12 perience in marine conservation and shall 

13 represent the public interest in marine con14 servation and nonconsumptive uses of the 

15 Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

16 Carribean Sea. 

17 ‘‘(2) TERM OF APPOINTMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) LENGTH OF TERM.—The term of a 

19 Commissioner appointed under paragraph (1) 

20 shall be 3 years. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—No indi22 vidual appointed under paragraph (1) shall 

23 serve more than 2 consecutive terms as Com24 missioner. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PLEASURE OF PRESIDENT.—Each 

2 Commissioner appointed under paragraph (1) 

3 shall serve at the pleasure of the President. 

4 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION OF THE UNITED

5 STATES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At meetings of the 

7 Commission, Council, any Panel, or any other 

8 function as provided for in the Convention, the 

9 United States shall be represented by the Com10 missioner described in paragraph (1)(A) and 2 

11 Commissioners described in paragraph (1)(B). 

12 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES FOR ROTATION.— The 

13 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec14 retary, shall establish procedures under which 

15 the Commissioners appointed described in para16 graph (1)(B) rotate in representing the United 

17 States to the Commission. 

18 ‘‘(C) RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION.—Each 

19 Commissioner appointed under paragraph (1) 

20 may— 

21 ‘‘(i) attend all meetings of the Com22 mission, Council, any Panel, or any other 

23 function as provided for in the Convention; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) participate fully in all United 

2 States preparatory activity for any activity 

3 relating to the Convention.’’. 

4 (b) REGULATION MAY NOT DECREASE ALLOCATION

5 OR QUOTA.—Section 6(c)(3) of the Atlantic Tunas Con6 vention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971d(c)(3)) is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘or decreasing’’. 

8 SEC. 602. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER OF WESTERN 

9 AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES CONVEN10 TION. 

11 Section 503(a) of the Western and Central Pacific 

12 Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 6902(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REPRESENTATION.—The United States 

16 shall be represented on the Commission by 5 United 

17 States Commissioners. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

20 appoint individuals to serve on the Commission. 

21 ‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS OF COMMIS22 SIONERS.—In making appointments under this 

23 paragraph, the President shall select Commis24 sioners from among individuals who are knowl25 edgeable or experienced concerning highly miVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00181 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8862.IH H8862

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1 gratory fish stocks and commercial fishing in 

2 the Western and Central Pacific Ocean— 

3 ‘‘(i) 1 of whom shall be an officer or 

4 employee of the Department of Commerce; 

5 ‘‘(ii) 1 of whom shall be the chairman 

6 or a member of the Western Pacific Fish7 ery Management Council; 

8 ‘‘(iii) 1 of whom shall be the chairman 

9 or a member of the Pacific Fishery Man10 agement Council; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) 1 of whom shall be an individual 

12 with knowledge and experience in marine 

13 conservation who shall represent the public 

14 interest in marine conservation and non15 consumptive uses of the Western and Cen16 tral Pacific Ocean. 

17 ‘‘(3) PLEASURE OF PRESIDENT.—Each indi18 vidual appointed by the President to serve on the 

19 Commission shall serve at the pleasure of the Presi20 dent. 

21 ‘‘(4) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Commis22 sioners shall be entitled to adopt such rules of proce23 dures as they find necessary and to select a chair24 man from among members who are officers or em25 ployees of the United States Government.’’. 


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1 SEC. 603. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER OF INTER-AMER2 ICAN TROPICAL TUNA COMMISSION. 

3 Section 3(a) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 

4 (16 U.S.C. 952) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(a) COMMISSIONERS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap7 point 4 individuals to represent the United States on 

8 the Commission. 

9 ‘‘(2) REMOVAL.—The Commissioners appointed 

10 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to supervision 

11 and removal by the Secretary of State, in consulta12 tion with the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making an appoint14 ment under paragraph (1), the President shall select 

15 Commissioners from among individuals who are 

16 knowledgeable or experienced concerning highly mi17 gratory fish stocks in the eastern tropical Pacific 

18 Ocean— 

19 ‘‘(A) 1 of whom shall be an officer or em20 ployee of the Department of Commerce; and 

21 ‘‘(B) 1 of whom shall be an individual with 

22 knowledge and experience in marine conserva23 tion, and who shall represent the public interest 

24 in marine conservation and nonconsumptive 

25 uses of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.—The 

2 President may not appoint more than 2 Commis3 sioners under paragraph (1) who reside in a State 

4 other than a State the vessels of which maintain a 

5 substantial fishery in the area of the Convention.’’. 

6 SEC. 604. APPLICATION OF ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT AND AC7 COUNTABILITY MEASURES REQUIREMENT. 

8 Section 104(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

9 Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 

10 2006 (16 U.S.C. 1853 note) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION TO CERTAIN

12 SPECIES.—The amendment made by subsection (a)(10)— 

13 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), shall 

14 apply to any management plan for a stock of fish 

15 prepared by any Council or the Secretary, including 

16 a management plan governing a stock of fish man17 aged under an international agreement in which the 

18 United States participates; and 

19 ‘‘(2) shall not apply to a management plan for 

20 a stock of fish for a species that has a life cycle of 

21 approximately 1 year unless the Secretary has deter22 mined such stock of fish is subject to overfishing 

23 with respect to such species; and 

24 ‘‘(3) shall not limit or otherwise affect the re25 quirements of section 301(a)(1) or 304(e) of the 


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1 Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man2 agement Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary the following amounts to carry out the provisions 

6 of this Act: 

7 (1) For fiscal year 2025, $698,142,000. 

8 (2) For fiscal year 2026, $714,200,000. 

9 (3) For fiscal year 2027, $730,626,000. 

10 (4) For fiscal year 2028, $747,431,000. 

11 (5) For fiscal year 2029, $764,621,000. 

Æ 


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