109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2012

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce

for the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act for fiscal years 2006 through 2012,

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage6 ment Reauthorization Act of 2006’’.
 †

2

S 2012 ES

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Amendment of Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Sec. 3. Changes in findings and definitions.

Sec. 4. Highly migratory species.

Sec. 5. Total allowable level of foreign fishing.

Sec. 6. Western Ppacific sustainable fisheries fund.

Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Cumulative impacts.

Sec. 102. Caribbean Council jurisdiction.

Sec. 103. Regional fishery management councils.

Sec. 104. Fishery management plan requirements.

Sec. 105. Fishery management plan discretionary provisions.

Sec. 106. Limited access privilege programs.

Sec. 107. Environmental review process.

Sec. 108. Emergency regulations.

Sec. 109. Western Pacific community development.

Sec. 110. Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program.

Sec. 111. Secretarial action on State groundfish fishing.

Sec. 112. Joint enforcement agreements.

Sec. 113. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

Sec. 114. Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery program.

Sec. 115. Fishery finance program hurricane assistance.

Sec. 116. Shrimp fisheries hurricane assistance program.

Sec. 117. Bycatch reduction engineering program.

Sec. 118. Community-based restoration program for fishery and coastal habitats.

Sec. 119. Prohibited acts.

Sec. 120. Enforcement.

TITLE II—INFORMATION AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Recreational fisheries information.

Sec. 202. Collection of information.

Sec. 203. Access to certain information.

Sec. 204. Cooperative research and management program.

Sec. 205. Herring study.

Sec. 206. Restoration study.

Sec. 207. Western Pacific fishery demonstration projects.

Sec. 208. Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund.

Sec. 209. Use of fishery finance program and capital construction fund for sustainable purposes.

Sec. 210. Regional ecosystem research.

Sec. 211. Deep sea coral research and technology program.

Sec. 212. Impact of turtle excluder devices on shrimping.

Sec. 213. Hurricane effects on shrimp and oyster fisheries and habitats.

Sec. 214. Northwest Pacific fisheries conservation.

Sec. 215. New England groundfish fishery.
†

3

S 2012 ES

Sec. 216. Report on council management coordination.

TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES STATUTES

Sec. 301. Amendments to Northern Pacific Halibut Act.

Sec. 302. Reauthorization of other fisheries acts.

TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL

Sec. 401. International monitoring and compliance.

Sec. 402. Finding with respect to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

Sec. 403. Action to end illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing and reduce

bycatch of protected marine species.

Sec. 404. Monitoring of Pacific Insular Area fisheries.

Sec. 405. Reauthorization of Atlantic Tunas Convention Act.

Sec. 406. International overfishing and domestic equity.

Sec. 407. United States catch history.

Sec. 408. Secretarial representative for international fisheries.

TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES

CONVENTION

Sec. 501. Short title.

Sec. 502. Definitions.

Sec. 503. Appointment of United States commissioners.

Sec. 504. Authority and responsibility of the Secretary of State.

Sec. 505. Rulemaking authority of the Secretary of Commerce.

Sec. 506. Enforcement.

Sec. 507. Prohibited acts.

Sec. 508. Cooperation in carrying out convention.

Sec. 509. Territorial participation.

Sec. 510. Exclusive economic zone notification.

Sec. 511. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING

Sec. 601. Short title.

Sec. 602. Definitions.

Sec. 603. United States representation on joint management committee.

Sec. 604. United States representation on the scientific review group.

Sec. 605. United States representation on joint technical committee.

Sec. 606. United States representation on advisory panel.

Sec. 607. Responsibilities of the Secretary.

Sec. 608. Rulemaking.

Sec. 609. Administrative matters.

Sec. 610. Enforcement.

Sec. 611. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY

2 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms
†

4

S 2012 ES

1 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi2 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

3 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish4 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801

5 et seq.).

6 SEC. 3. CHANGES IN FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) ECOSYSTEMS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a))

8 is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(11) A number of the Fishery Management

10 Councils have demonstrated significant progress in

11 integrating ecosystem considerations in fisheries

12 management using the existing authorities provided

13 under this Act.’’.

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is

15 amended—

16 (1) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(6A) The term ‘confidential information’

19 means—

20 ‘‘(A) trade secrets; or

21 ‘‘(B) commercial or financial information

22 the disclosure of which is likely to result in sub23 stantial harm to the competitive position of the

24 person who submitted the information to the

25 Secretary.’’;
†

5

S 2012 ES

1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(13A) The term ‘regional fishery association’

4 means an association formed for the mutual benefit

5 of members—

6 ‘‘(A) to meet social and economic needs in

7 a region or subregion; and

8 ‘‘(B) comprised of persons engaging in the

9 harvest or processing of fishery resources in

10 that specific region or subregion or who other11 wise own or operate businesses substantially de12 pendent upon a fishery.’’;

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(20A) The term ‘import’—

16 ‘‘(A) means to land on, bring into, or in17 troduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into,

18 or introduce into, any place subject to the juris19 diction of the United States, whether or not

20 such landing, bringing, or introduction con21 stitutes an importation within the meaning of

22 the customs laws of the United States; but

23 ‘‘(B) does not include any activity de24 scribed in subparagraph (A) with respect to fish
†

6

S 2012 ES

1 caught in the exclusive economic zone or by a

2 vessel of the United States.’’;

3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (23) the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(23A) The term ‘limited access privilege’—

6 ‘‘(A) means a Federal permit, issued as

7 part of a limited access system under section

8 303A to harvest a quantity of fish expressed by

9 a unit or units representing a portion of the

10 total allowable catch of the fishery that may be

11 received or held for exclusive use by a person;

12 and

13 ‘‘(B) includes an individual fishing quota;

14 but

15 ‘‘(C) does not include community develop16 ment quotas as described in section 305(i).

17 ‘‘(23B) The term ‘limited access system’ means

18 a system that limits participation in a fishery to

19 those satisfying certain eligibility criteria or require20 ments contained in a fishery management plan or

21 associated regulation.’’; and

22 (5) by inserting after paragraph (27) the fol23 lowing:

24 ‘‘(27A) The term ‘observer information’ means

25 any information collected, observed, retrieved, or cre-
†

7

S 2012 ES

1 ated by an observer or electronic monitoring system

2 pursuant to authorization by the Secretary, or col3 lected as part of a cooperative research initiative, in4 cluding fish harvest or processing observations, fish

5 sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, ves6 sel or processor-specific information (including any

7 safety, location, or operating condition observations),

8 and video, audio, photographic, or written docu9 ments.’’.

10 (c) REDESIGNATION.—Paragraphs (1) through (45)

11 of section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by subsection

12 (a), are redesignated as paragraphs (1) thorough (51), re13 spectively.

14 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) The following provisions of the Act are

16 amended by striking ‘‘an individual fishing quota’’

17 and inserting ‘‘a limited access privilege’’:

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

19 1881a(b)(1)(D)).

20 (B) Section 407(a)(1)(D) and (c)(1) (16

21 U.S.C. 1883(a)(1)(D); (c)(1)).

22 (2) The following provisions of the Act are

23 amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing quota’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘limited access privilege’’:
†

8

S 2012 ES

1 (A) Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C.

2 1854(c)(3)).

3 (B) Section 304(d)(2)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C.

4 1854(d)(2)(A)(i)).

5 (C) Section 407(c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C.

6 1883(c)(2)(B)).

7 (3) Section 305(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(h)(1)) is

8 amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing quotas,’’

9 and inserting ‘‘limited access privileges,’’.

10 SEC. 4. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.

11 Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended—

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

13 ‘‘The’’; and

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

15 ‘‘(b) TRADITIONAL PARTICIPATION.—In managing

16 any fisheries under an international fisheries agreement

17 to which the United States is a party, the appropriate

18 Council or Secretary shall take into account the traditional

19 participation in the fishery, relative to other nations, by

20 fishermen of the United States on fishing vessels of the

21 United States.

22 ‘‘(c) PROMOTION OF STOCK MANAGEMENT.—If a rel23 evant international fisheries organization does not have a

24 process for developing a formal plan to rebuild a depleted

25 stock, an overfished stock, or a stock that is approaching
†

9

S 2012 ES

1 a condition of being overfished, the provisions of this Act

2 in this regard shall be communicated to and promoted by

3 the United States in the international or regional fisheries

4 organization.’’.

5 SEC. 5. TOTAL ALLOWABLE LEVEL OF FOREIGN FISHING.

6 Section 201(d) (16 U.S.C. 1821(d)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘shall be’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’;

8 (2) by striking ‘‘will not’’ and inserting ‘‘can9 not, or will not,’’;

10 (3) by inserting after ‘‘Act.’’ the following: ‘‘Al11 locations of the total allowable level of foreign fish12 ing are discretionary, except that the total allowable

13 level shall be zero for fisheries determined by the

14 Secretary to have adequate or excess harvest capac15 ity.’’

16 SEC. 6. WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES FUND.

17 Section 204(e) (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)(7)) is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘and any funds or contribu19 tions received in support of conservation and man20 agement objectives under a marine conservation

21 plan’’ after ‘‘agreement’’ in paragraph (7); and

22 (2) by inserting after ‘‘paragraph (4).’’ in para23 graph (8) the following: ‘‘In the case of violations by

24 foreign vessels occurring within the exclusive eco25 nomic zones off Midway Atoll, Johnston Atoll, King-
†

10

S 2012 ES

1 man Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Jarvis, Howland, Baker,

2 and Wake Islands, amounts received by the Sec3 retary attributable to fines and penalties imposed

4 under this Act, shall be deposited into the Western

5 Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund established

6 under paragraph (7) of this subsection.’’.

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is amended to read as

9 follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary to carry out the provisions of this Act—

13 ‘‘(1) $328,004,000 for fiscal year 2006;

14 ‘‘(2) $337,844,000 for fiscal year 2007;

15 ‘‘(3) $347,684,000 for fiscal year 2008;

16 ‘‘(4) $357,524,000 for fiscal year 2009;

17 ‘‘(5) $367,364,000 for fiscal year 2010;

18 ‘‘(6) $377,204,000 for fiscal year 2011; and

19 ‘‘(7) $387,044,000 for fiscal year 2012.’’.

20 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND

21 MANAGEMENT

22 SEC. 101. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS.

23 (a) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Section 301(a)(8) (16

24 U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)) is amended by inserting ‘‘by utilizing
†

11

S 2012 ES

1 economic and social data that meet the requirements of

2 paragraph (2),’’ after ‘‘fishing communities’’.

3 (b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Section 303(a)(9) (16

4 U.S.C. 1853(a)(9)) is amended by striking ‘‘describe the

5 likely effects, if any, of the conservation and management

6 measures on—’’ and inserting ‘‘analyze the likely effects,

7 if any, including the cumulative economic and social im8 pacts, of the conservation and management measures on,

9 and possible mitigation measures for—’’.

10 SEC. 102. CARIBBEAN COUNCIL JURISDICTION.

11 Section 302(a)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(D)) is

12 amended by inserting ‘‘and of commonwealths, territories,

13 and possessions of the United States in the Caribbean

14 Sea’’ after ‘‘seaward of such States’’.

15 SEC. 103. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

16 (a) TRIBAL ALTERNATE ON PACIFIC COUNCIL.—Sec17 tion 302(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5)) is amended by add18 ing at the end thereof the following:

19 ‘‘(D) The tribal representative appointed under sub20 paragraph (A) may designate as an alternate, during the

21 period of the representative’s term, an individual knowl22 edgeable concerning tribal rights, tribal law, and the fish23 ery resources of the geographical area concerned.’’.

24 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.—

25 Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended—
†

12

S 2012 ES

1 (1) by striking so much of subsection (g) as

2 precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(g) COMMITTEES AND ADVISORY PANELS.—

4 ‘‘(1)(A) Each Council shall establish, maintain,

5 and appoint the members of a scientific and statis6 tical committee to assist it in the development, col7 lection, evaluation, and peer review of such statis8 tical, biological, economic, social, and other scientific

9 information as is relevant to such Council’s develop10 ment and amendment of any fishery management

11 plan.

12 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee

13 shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for

14 fishery management decisions, including rec15 ommendations for acceptable biological catch or

16 maximum sustainable yield, and reports on stock

17 status and health, bycatch, habitat status, socio-eco18 nomic impacts of management measures, and sus19 tainability of fishing practices.

20 ‘‘(C) Members appointed by the Councils to the

21 scientific and statistical committees shall be Federal

22 employees, State employees, academicians, or inde23 pendent experts with strong scientific or technical

24 credentials and experience.
†

13

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(D) The Secretary and each Council may es2 tablish a peer review process for that Council for sci3 entific information used to advise the Council about

4 the conservation and management of the fishery.

5 The review process, which may include existing com6 mittees or panels, is deemed to satisfy the require7 ments of the guidelines issued pursuant to section

8 515 of the Treasury and General Government Ap9 propriations Act for Fiscal year 2001 (Public Law

10 106–554—Appendix C; 114 Stat. 2763A–153).

11 ‘‘(E) In addition to the provisions of section

12 302(f)(7), the Secretary may pay a stipend to mem13 bers of the scientific and statistical committees or

14 advisory panels who are not employed by the Federal

15 government or a State marine fisheries agency.’’;

16 (2) by striking ‘‘other’’ in paragraph (2); and

17 (3) by resetting the left margin of paragraphs

18 (2) through (5) 2 ems from the left.

19 (c) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.—Section 302(h) (16

20 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘authority, and’’ in paragraph

22 (5) and inserting ‘‘authority;’’;

23 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para24 graph (7); and
†

14

S 2012 ES

1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(6) develop annual catch limits for each of its

4 managed fisheries after considering the rec5 ommendations of its scientific and statistical com6 mittee or the peer review process established under

7 subsection (g); and’’.

8 (d) REGULAR AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS.—Section

9 302(i)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)(2)(C)) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘published in local newspapers in the major fish11 ing ports of the region (and in other major fishing ports

12 having a direct interest in the affected fishery) and such

13 notice may be given by such other means as will result

14 in wide publicity.’’ and inserting ‘‘provided by any means

15 that will result in wide publicity in the major fishing ports

16 of the region (and in other major fishing ports having a

17 direct interest in the affected fishery), except that e-mail

18 notification and website postings alone are not suffi19 cient.’’.

20 (e) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(3)(B) (16

21 U.S.C. 1852(i)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘notify local

22 newspapers in the major fishing ports within its region

23 (and in other major, affected fishing ports,’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘provide notice by any means that will result in wide pub25 licity in the major fishing ports of the region (and in other
†

15

S 2012 ES

1 major fishing ports having a direct interest in the affected

2 fishery),’’.

3 (f) TRAINING.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.—

6 ‘‘(1) TRAINING COURSE.—Within 6 months

7 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste8 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reau9 thorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the Councils and the National Sea Grant

11 College Program, shall develop a training course for

12 newly appointed Council members. The course may

13 cover a variety of topics relevant to matters before

14 the Councils, including—

15 ‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assess16 ment methods;

17 ‘‘(B) fishery management techniques, data

18 needs, and Council procedures;

19 ‘‘(C) social science and fishery economics;

20 ‘‘(D) tribal treaty rights and native cus21 toms, access, and other rights related to West22 ern Pacific indigenous communities;

23 ‘‘(E) legal requirements of this Act, includ24 ing conflict of interest and disclosure provisions

25 of this section and related policies;
†

16

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(F) other relevant legal and regulatory

2 requirements, including the National Environ3 mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

4 ‘‘(G) public process for development of

5 fishery management plans; and

6 ‘‘(H) other topics suggested by the Coun7 cil.

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBER TRAINING.—The training course

9 shall be available to both new and existing Council

10 members, and may be made available to committee

11 or advisory panel members as resources allow.

12 ‘‘(l) COUNCIL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.—The

13 Councils may establish a Council coordination committee

14 consisting of the chairs, vice chairs, and executive direc15 tors of each of the 8 Councils described in subsection

16 (a)(1), or other Council members or staff, in order to dis17 cuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including issues

18 related to the implementation of this Act.’’.

19 (g) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—Section 302(i) (16

20 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘to the Councils or to the sci22 entific and statistical committees or advisory panels

23 established under subsection (g).’’ in paragraph (1)

24 and inserting ‘‘to the Councils, the Council coordina25 tion committee established under subsection (l), or
†

17

S 2012 ES

1 to the scientific and statistical committees or other

2 committees or advisory panels established under sub3 section (g).’’;

4 (2) by striking ‘‘of a Council, and of the sci5 entific and statistical committee and advisory panels

6 established under subsection (g):’’ in paragraph (2)

7 and inserting ‘‘of a Council, of the Council coordina8 tion committee established under subsection (l), and

9 of the scientific and statistical committees or other

10 committees or advisory panels established under sub11 section (g):’’; and

12 (3) by inserting ‘‘the Council Coordination

13 Committee established under subsection (1),’’ in

14 paragraph (3)(A) after ‘‘Council,’’; and

15 (4) by inserting ‘‘other committees,’’ in para16 graph (3)(A) after ‘‘committee,’’.

17 (h) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 302(j) (16

18 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘lobbying, advocacy,’’ after

20 ‘‘processing,’’ in paragraph (2);

21 (2) by striking ‘‘jurisdiction.’’ in paragraph (2)

22 and inserting ‘‘jurisdiction, or with respect to an in23 dividual or organization with a financial interest in

24 such activity.’’;
†

18

S 2012 ES

1 (3) by striking subparagraph (B) of paragraph

2 (5) and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(B) be kept on file by the Council and made

4 available on the Internet and for public inspection at

5 the Council offices during reasonable hours; and’’;

6 and

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

8 ‘‘(9) On January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter,

9 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Senate Com10 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

11 House of Representatives Committee on Resources on ac12 tion taken by the Secretary and the Councils to implement

13 the disclosure of financial interest and recusal require14 ments of this subsection.’’.

15 (i) GULF OF MEXICO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

16 COUNCIL.—Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub19 paragraph (E); and

20 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary shall appoint to the Gulf of

23 Mexico Fisheries Management Council—

24 ‘‘(I) 5 representatives of the commercial fishing

25 sector;
†

19

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(II) 5 representatives of the recreational fish2 ing or charter fishing sectors; and

3 ‘‘(III) 1 other individual who is knowledgeable

4 regarding the conservation and management of fish5 eries resources in the jurisdiction of the Council.

6 ‘‘(ii) The Governor of a State submitting a list of

7 names of individuals for appointment by the Secretary of

8 Commerce to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management

9 Council under subparagraph (C) shall include—

10 ‘‘(I) at least 1 nominee each from the commer11 cial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors; and

12 ‘‘(II) at least 1 other individual who is knowl13 edgeable regarding the conservation and manage14 ment of fisheries resources in the jurisdiction of the

15 Council.

16 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding the requirements of

17 302(b)(2)(C), if the Secretary determines that the list of

18 names submitted by the Governor does not meet the re19 quirements of clause (ii), the Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(I) publish a notice in the Federal Register

21 asking the residents of that State to submit the

22 names and pertinent biographical data of individuals

23 who would meet the requirement not met for ap24 pointment to the Council; and
†

20

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(II) add the name of any qualified individual

2 submitted by the public who meets the unmet re3 quirement to the list of names submitted by the

4 Governor.

5 ‘‘(iv) For purposes of clause (ii), an individual who

6 owns or operates a fish farm outside of the Unites States

7 shall not be considered to be a representative of the com8 mercial fishing sector.

9 ‘‘(v) The requirements of subparagraph (D) shall ex10 pire at the end of fiscal year 2012.’’.

11 (j) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON GULF

12 COUNCIL AMENDMENT.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before August, 2011, the

14 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the

15 Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, shall

16 analyze the impact of the amendment made by sub17 section (i) and determine whether section

18 302(b)(2)(D) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con19 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

20 1852(b)(2)(D)) has resulted in a fair and balanced

21 apportionment of the active participants in the com22 mercial and recreational fisheries under the jurisdic23 tion of the Council.

24 (2) REPORT.—By no later than August, 2011,

25 the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Senate
†

21

S 2012 ES

1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor2 tation and the House of Representatives Committee

3 on Resources setting forth the Secretary’s findings

4 and determination, including any recommendations

5 for legislative or other changes that may be nec6 essary to achieve such a fair and balanced appor7 tionment, including whether to renew the authority.

8 SEC. 104. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

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

10 1853(a)) is amended—

11 (1) striking ‘‘and charter fishing’’ in paragraph

12 (5) and inserting ‘‘charter fishing, and fish proc13 essing’’;

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘economic information nec15 essary to meet the requirements of this Act,’’ in

16 paragraph (5) after ‘‘number of hauls,’’;

17 (3) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ the first place it ap18 pears in paragraph (13) and inserting ‘‘fishery, in19 cluding its economic impact,’’;

20 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

21 paragraph (13);

22 (5) by striking ‘‘allocate’’ in paragraph (14)

23 and inserting ‘‘allocate, taking into consideration the

24 economic impact of the harvest restrictions or recov-
†

22

S 2012 ES

1 ery benefits on the fishery participants in each sec2 tor,’’;

3 (6) by striking ‘‘fishery.’’ in paragraph (14)

4 and inserting ‘‘fishery;’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(15) establish a mechanism for specifying an7 nual catch limits in the plan (including a multiyear

8 plan), implementing regulations, or annual specifica9 tions, at a level such that optimum yield is not ex10 ceeded in the fishery; and

11 ‘‘(16) establish a mechanism under which har12 vests exceeding the specified annual catch limit (in13 cluding the specified annual catch limit for a sector)

14 shall be deducted in the following fishing year, or

15 the next action in a multiyear specification that es16 tablishes or adjusts annual catch limits (including

17 those specified for that sector), and which may use

18 the type of adjustment measures already relied on in

19 the plan, unless sufficient information on the harvest

20 level cannot be obtained in that timeframe, but the

21 deduction shall occur not later than 3 fishing years

22 after the close of the fishing year in which the over23 age occurs.’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION TO CERTAIN

25 SPECIES.—The amendment made by subsection (a)(7)—
†

23

S 2012 ES

1 (1) shall take effect—

2 (A) in fishing year 2010 for fisheries de3 termined by the Secretary to be subject to over4 fishing; and

5 (B) in fishing year 2011 for all other fish6 eries; and

7 (2) shall not apply to a fishery for species that

8 have a life cycle of approximately 1 year unless the

9 Secretary has determined the fishery is subject to

10 overfishing.

11 SEC. 105. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN DISCRETIONARY

12 PROVISIONS.

13 Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended—

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’ in paragraph

15 (2);

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(B) designate such zones in areas where deep

19 sea corals are identified under section 408, to pro20 tect deep sea corals from physical damage from fish21 ing gear or to prevent loss or damage to such fishing

22 gear from interactions with deep sea corals, after

23 considering long-term sustainable uses of fishery re24 sources in such areas; and
†

24

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(C) with respect to any closure of an area

2 under this Act that prohibits all fishing, ensure that

3 such closure—

4 ‘‘(i) is based on the best scientific informa5 tion available;

6 ‘‘(ii) includes criteria to assess the con7 servation benefit of the closed area;

8 ‘‘(iii) establishes a timetable for review of

9 the closed area’s performance that is consistent

10 with the purposes of the closed area; and

11 ‘‘(iv) is based on an assessment of the ben12 efits and impacts of the closure, including its

13 size, in relation to other management measures

14 (either alone or in combination with such meas15 ures), including the benefits and impacts of lim16 iting access to: users of the area, overall fishing

17 activity, fishery science, and fishery and marine

18 conservation;’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘fishery;’’ in paragraph (5) and

20 inserting ‘‘fishery and take into account the dif21 ferent circumstances affecting fisheries from dif22 ferent States and ports, including distances to fish23 ing grounds and proximity to time and area clo24 sures;’’;
†

25

S 2012 ES

1 (4) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the

2 following:

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

4 fishery in order to achieve optimum yield if, in devel5 oping such system, the Council and the Secretary

6 take into account—

7 ‘‘(A) present participation in the fishery;

8 ‘‘(B) historical fishing practices in, and de9 pendence on, the fishery;

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

11 ‘‘(D) the capability of fishing vessels used

12 in the fishery to engage in other fisheries;

13 ‘‘(E) the cultural and social framework rel14 evant to the fishery and any affected fishing

15 communities;

16 ‘‘(F) the fair and equitable distribution of

17 access privileges in the fishery; and

18 ‘‘(G) any other relevant considerations;’’;

19 (5) by striking ‘‘(other than economic data)’’ in

20 paragraph (7);

21 (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

22 paragraph (11); and

23 (7) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para24 graph (14) and inserting after paragraph (11) the

25 following:
†

26

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(12) establish a process for complying with the

2 National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321

3 et seq.) pursuant to section 304(h) of this Act;

4 ‘‘(13) include management measures in the

5 plan to conserve target and non-target species and

6 habitats, considering the variety of ecological factors

7 affecting fishery populations; and’’.

8 SEC. 106. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.)

10 is amended—

11 (1) by striking section 303(d); and

12 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 303A. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the date of enactment of

15 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage16 ment Reauthorization Act of 2006, a Council may submit,

17 and the Secretary may approve, for a fishery that is man18 aged under a limited access system, a limited access privi19 lege program to harvest fish if the program meets the re20 quirements of this section.

21 ‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTER22 EST.—Limited access privilege, quota share, or other lim23 ited access system authorization established, implemented,

24 or managed under this Act—
†

27

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the pur2 poses of sections 307, 308, and 309;

3 ‘‘(2) may be revoked, limited, or modified at

4 any time in accordance with this Act, including rev5 ocation for failure to comply with the terms of the

6 plan or if the system is found to have jeopardized

7 the sustainability of the stock or the safety of fisher8 men;

9 ‘‘(3) shall not confer any right of compensation

10 to the holder of such limited access privilege, quota

11 share, or other such limited access system authoriza12 tion if it is revoked, limited, or modified;

13 ‘‘(4) shall not create, or be construed to create,

14 any right, title, or interest in or to any fish before

15 the fish is harvested by the holder; and

16 ‘‘(5) shall be considered a grant of permission

17 to the holder of the limited access privilege or quota

18 share to engage in activities permitted by such lim19 ited access privilege or quota share.

20 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVI21 LEGES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any limited access privilege

23 program to harvest fish submitted by a Council or

24 approved by the Secretary under this section shall—
†

28

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(A) if established in a fishery that is over2 fished or subject to a rebuilding plan, assist in

3 its rebuilding; and

4 ‘‘(B) if established in a fishery that is de5 termined by the Secretary or the Council to

6 have over-capacity, contribute to reducing ca7 pacity;

8 ‘‘(C) promote—

9 ‘‘(i) fishing safety; and

10 ‘‘(ii) fishery conservation and manage11 ment;

12 ‘‘(D) prohibit any person other than a

13 United States citizen, a corporation, partner14 ship, or other entity established under the laws

15 of the United States or any State, or a perma16 nent resident alien, that meets the eligibility

17 and participation requirements established in

18 the program from acquiring a privilege to har19 vest fish, including any person that acquires a

20 limited access privilege solely for the purpose of

21 perfecting or realizing on a security interest in

22 such privilege;

23 ‘‘(E) require that all fish harvested under

24 a limited access privilege program be processed

25 on vessels of the United States or on United
†

29

S 2012 ES

1 States soil (including any territory of the

2 United States);

3 ‘‘(F) specify the goals of the program;

4 ‘‘(G) include provisions for the regular

5 monitoring and review by the Council and the

6 Secretary of the operations of the program, in7 cluding determining progress in meeting the

8 goals of the program and this Act, and any nec9 essary modification of the program to meet

10 those goals, with a formal and detailed review

11 5 years after the establishment of the program

12 and every 5 years thereafter;

13 ‘‘(H) include an effective system for en14 forcement, monitoring, and management of the

15 program, including the use of observers or elec16 tronic monitoring systems;

17 ‘‘(I) include an appeals process for admin18 istrative review of the Secretary’s decisions re19 garding initial allocation of limited access privi20 leges;

21 ‘‘(J) provide for the establishment by the

22 Secretary, in consultation with the Department

23 of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission,

24 for an information collection and review process

25 to provide any additional information needed by
†

30

S 2012 ES

1 the Department of Justice and the Federal

2 Trade Commission to determine whether any il3 legal acts of anti-competition, anti-trust, price

4 collusion, or price fixing have occurred among

5 regional fishery associations or persons receiv6 ing limited access privileges under the program;

7 and

8 ‘‘(K) provide for the revocation by the Sec9 retary of limited access privileges held by any

10 person found to have violated the antitrust laws

11 of the United States.

12 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the

13 requirement of paragraph (1)(E) if the Secretary de14 termines that—

15 ‘‘(A) the fishery has historically processed

16 the fish outside of the United States; and

17 ‘‘(B) the United States has a seafood safe18 ty equivalency agreement with the country

19 where processing will occur.

20 ‘‘(3) FISHING COMMUNITIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

22 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to

23 participate in a limited access privilege

24 program to harvest fish, a fishing commu25 nity shall—
†

31

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(I) be located within the man2 agement area of the relevant Council;

3 ‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by

4 the relevant Council, approved by the

5 Secretary, and published in the Fed6 eral Register;

7 ‘‘(III) consist of residents who

8 conduct commercial or recreational

9 fishing, processing, or fishery-depend10 ent support businesses within the

11 Council’s management area; and

12 ‘‘(IV) develop and submit a com13 munity sustainability plan to the

14 Council and the Secretary that dem15 onstrates how the plan will address

16 the social and economic development

17 needs of fishing communities, includ18 ing those that have not historically

19 had the resources to participate in the

20 fishery, for approval based on criteria

21 developed by the Council that have

22 been approved by the Secretary and

23 published in the Federal Register.

24 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

25 PLAN.—The Secretary shall deny limited
†

32

S 2012 ES

1 access privileges granted under this section

2 for any person who fails to comply with the

3 requirements of the community sustain4 ability plan.

5 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel6 oping participation criteria for eligible commu7 nities under this paragraph, a Council shall

8 consider—

9 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing

10 practices in, and dependence on, the fish11 ery;

12 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social frame13 work relevant to the fishery;

14 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to

15 fishery;

16 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro17 jected economic and social impacts associ18 ated with implementation of limited access

19 privilege programs on harvesters, captains,

20 crew, processors, and other businesses sub21 stantially dependent upon the fishery in

22 the region or subregion;

23 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper24 ational transparency, and equitability of

25 the community sustainability plan; and
†

33

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(vi) the potential for improving eco2 nomic conditions in remote coastal commu3 nities lacking resources to participate in

4 harvesting or processing activities in the

5 fishery.

6 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to par8 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to

9 harvest fish, a regional fishery association

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(i) be located within the management

12 area of the relevant Council;

13 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the

14 relevant Council, approved by the Sec15 retary, and published in the Federal Reg16 ister;

17 ‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with

18 established by-laws and operating proce19 dures;

20 ‘‘(iv) consist of participants in the

21 fishery who hold quota share that are des22 ignated for use in the specific region or

23 subregion covered by the regional fishery

24 association, including commercial or rec25 reational fishing, processing, fishery-de-
†

34

S 2012 ES

1 pendent support businesses, or fishing

2 communities;

3 ‘‘(v) not be eligible to receive an ini4 tial allocation of a limited access privilege

5 but may acquire such privileges after the

6 initial allocation, and may hold the annual

7 fishing privileges of any limited access

8 privileges it holds or the annual fishing

9 privileges that is members contribute; and

10 ‘‘(vi) develop and submit a regional

11 fishery association plan to the Council and

12 the Secretary for approval based on cri13 teria developed by the Council that have

14 been approved by the Secretary and pub15 lished in the Federal Register.

16 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PLAN.—

17 The Secretary shall deny limited access privi18 leges granted under this section to any person

19 participating in a regional fishery association

20 who fails to comply with the requirements of

21 the regional fishery association plan.

22 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel23 oping participation criteria for eligible regional

24 fishery associations under this paragraph, a

25 Council shall consider—
†

35

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing

2 practices in, and dependence on, the fish3 ery;

4 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social frame5 work relevant to the fishery;

6 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to

7 fishery;

8 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro9 jected economic and social impacts associ10 ated with implementation of limited access

11 privilege programs on harvesters, captains,

12 crew, processors, and other businesses sub13 stantially dependent upon the fishery in

14 the region or subregion;

15 ‘‘(v) the administrative and fiduciary

16 soundness of the association; and

17 ‘‘(vi) the expected effectiveness, oper18 ational transparency, and equitability of

19 the fishery association plan.

20 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited ac21 cess privilege program to harvest fish a Council or

22 the Secretary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair

24 and equitable initial allocations, including con25 sideration of—
†

36

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(i) current and historical harvests;

2 ‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting

3 and processing sectors;

4 ‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence

5 upon, the fishery; and

6 ‘‘(iv) the current and historical par7 ticipation of fishing communities;

8 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, consider the

9 basic cultural and social framework of the fish10 ery, especially through—

11 ‘‘(i) the development of policies to

12 promote the sustained participation of

13 small owner-operated fishing vessels and

14 fishing communities that depend on the

15 fisheries, including regional or port-specific

16 landing or delivery requirements; and

17 ‘‘(ii) procedures to address concerns

18 over excessive geographic or other consoli19 dation in the harvesting or processing sec20 tors of the fishery;

21 ‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when nec22 essary and appropriate, entry-level and small

23 vessel owner-operators, captains, crew, and fish24 ing communities through set-asides of har25 vesting allocations, including providing privi-
†

37

S 2012 ES

1 leges, which may include set-asides or alloca2 tions of harvesting privileges, or economic as3 sistance in the purchase of limited access privi4 leges;

5 ‘‘(D) ensure that limited access privilege

6 holders do not acquire an excessive share of the

7 total limited access privileges in the program

8 by—

9 ‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share,

10 expressed as a percentage of the total lim11 ited access privileges, that a limited access

12 privilege holder is permitted to hold, ac13 quire, or use; and

14 ‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations

15 or measures necessary to prevent an in16 equitable concentration of limited access

17 privileges; and

18 ‘‘(E) authorize limited access privileges to

19 harvest fish to be held, acquired, used by, or

20 issued under the system to persons who sub21 stantially participate in the fishery, including in

22 a specific sector of such fishery, as specified by

23 the Council.

24 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM INITIATION.—
†

38

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in

2 subparagraph (D), a Council may initiate a

3 fishery management plan or amendment to es4 tablish a limited access privilege program to

5 harvest fish on its own initiative or if the Sec6 retary has certified an appropriate petition.

7 ‘‘(B) PETITION.—A group of fishermen

8 constituting more than 50 percent of the permit

9 holders, or holding more than 50 percent of the

10 allocation, in the fishery for which a limited ac11 cess privilege program to harvest fish is sought,

12 may submit a petition to the Secretary request13 ing that the relevant Council or Councils with

14 authority over the fishery be authorized to ini15 tiate the development of the program. Any such

16 petition shall clearly state the fishery to which

17 the limited access privilege program would

18 apply. For multispecies permits in the Gulf,

19 only those participants who have substantially

20 fished the species proposed to be included in the

21 limited access program shall be eligible to sign

22 a petition for such a program and shall serve

23 as the basis for determining the percentage de24 scribed in the first sentence of this subpara25 graph.
†

39

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—

2 Upon the receipt of any such petition, the Sec3 retary shall review all of the signatures on the

4 petition and, if the Secretary determines that

5 the signatures on the petition represent more

6 than 50 percent of the permit holders, or hold7 ers of more than 50 percent of the allocation in

8 the fishery, as described by subparagraph (B),

9 the Secretary shall certify the petition to the

10 appropriate Council or Councils.

11 ‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND AND GULF REF12 ERENDUM.—

13 ‘‘(i) Except as provided in clause (iii)

14 for the Gulf of Mexico commercial red

15 snapper fishery, the New England and

16 Gulf Councils may not submit, and the

17 Secretary may not approve or implement, a

18 fishery management plan or amendment

19 that creates an individual fishing quota

20 program, including a Secretarial plan, un21 less such a system, as ultimately developed,

has been approved by more than 2 22 ⁄3 of

23 those voting in a referendum among eligi24 ble permit holders with respect to the New

25 England Council, and by a majority of
†

40

S 2012 ES

1 those voting in the referendum among eli2 gible permit holders with respect to the

3 Gulf Council. For multispecies permits in

4 the Gulf, only those participants who have

5 substantially fished the species proposed to

6 be included in the individual fishing quota

7 program shall be eligible to vote in such a

8 referendum. If an individual fishing quota

9 program fails to be approved by the req10 uisite number of those voting, it may be

11 revised and submitted for approval in a

12 subsequent referendum.

13 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a

14 referendum under this subparagraph, in15 cluding notifying all persons eligible to

16 participate in the referendum and making

17 available to them information concerning

18 the schedule, procedures, and eligibility re19 quirements for the referendum process and

20 the proposed individual fishing quota pro21 gram. Within 1 year after the date of en22 actment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

23 Conservation and Management Reauthor24 ization Act of 2006, the Secretary shall

25 publish guidelines and procedures to deter-
†

41

S 2012 ES

1 mine procedures and voting eligibility re2 quirements for referenda and to conduct

3 such referenda in a fair and equitable

4 manner.

5 ‘‘(iii) The provisions of section 407(c)

6 of this Act shall apply in lieu of this sub7 paragraph for an individual fishing quota

8 program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial

9 red snapper fishery.

10 ‘‘(iv) Chapter 35 of title 44, United

11 States Code, (commonly known as the Pa12 perwork Reduction Act) does not apply to

13 the referenda conducted under this sub14 paragraph.

15 ‘‘(7) TRANSFERABILITY.—In establishing a lim16 ited access privilege program, a Council shall—

17 ‘‘(A) establish a policy on the transfer18 ability of limited access privileges (through sale

19 or lease), that is consistent with the policies

20 adopted by the Council for the fishery under

21 paragraph (5); and

22 ‘‘(B) establish criteria for the approval and

23 monitoring of transfers (including sales and

24 leases) of limited access privileges.
†

42

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(8) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

2 SECRETARIAL PLANS.—This subsection also applies

3 to a plan prepared and implemented by the Sec4 retary under section 304(c) or 304(g).

5 ‘‘(9) ANTITRUST SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in

6 this Act shall be construed to modify, impair, or su7 persede the operation of any of the antitrust laws.

8 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term

9 ‘antitrust laws’ has the meaning given such term in

10 subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act,

11 except that such term includes section 5 of the Fed12 eral Trade Commission Act to the extent that such

13 section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition.

14 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In estab15 lishing a limited access privilege program, a Council may

16 consider, and provide for, if appropriate, an auction sys17 tem or other program to collect royalties for the initial,

18 or any subsequent, distribution of allocations in a limited

19 access privilege program if—

20 ‘‘(1) the system or program is administered in

21 such a way that the resulting distribution of limited

22 access privilege shares meets the program require23 ments of this section; and

24 ‘‘(2) revenues generated through such a royalty

25 program are deposited in the Limited Access System
†

43

S 2012 ES

1 Administration Fund established by section

2 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject to annual appro3 priations.

4 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited ac5 cess privilege program, a Council shall—

6 ‘‘(1) develop a methodology and the means to

7 identify and assess the management, data collection

8 and analysis, and enforcement programs that are di9 rectly related to and in support of the program; and

10 ‘‘(2) provide, under section 304(d)(2), for a

11 program of fees paid by limited access privilege hold12 ers that will cover the costs of management, data

13 collection and analysis, and enforcement activities.

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITED DURATION.—In establishing a limited

15 access privilege program after the date of enactment of

16 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage17 ment Reauthorization Act of 2006, a Council may

18 establish—

19 ‘‘(1) a set term after which any initial or subse20 quent allocation of a limited access privilege shall ex21 pire;

22 ‘‘(2) different set terms within a fishery if the

23 Council determines that variation of terms will fur24 ther management goals; and
†

44

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(3) a mechanism under which participants in

2 and entrants to the program may acquire or reac3 quire allocations.

4 ‘‘(g) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PUR5 CHASE PROGRAM.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Council may submit, and

7 the Secretary may approve and implement, a pro8 gram which reserves up to 25 percent of any fees

9 collected from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to

10 be used, pursuant to section 1104A(a)(7) of the

11 Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App.

12 1274(a)(7)), to issue obligations that aid in

13 financing—

14 ‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privi15 leges in that fishery by fishermen who fish from

16 small vessels; and

17 ‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited ac18 cess privileges in that fishery by entry level

19 fishermen.

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council mak21 ing a submission under paragraph (1) shall rec22 ommend criteria, consistent with the provisions of

23 this Act, that a fisherman must meet to qualify for

24 guarantees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
†

45

S 2012 ES

1 paragraph (1) and the portion of funds to be allo2 cated for guarantees under each subparagraph.

3 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON CERTAIN EXISTING SHARES AND

4 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this Act, or the amendments

5 made by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

6 Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, shall be con7 strued to require a reallocation or a reevaluation of indi8 vidual quota shares, processor quota shares, cooperative

9 programs, or other quota programs, including sector allo10 cation in effect before the date of enactment of the Mag11 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Re12 authorization Act of 2006.

13 ‘‘(i) TRANSITION RULE.—The requirements of this

14 section shall not apply to any quota program, including

15 any individual quota program, cooperative program, or

16 sector allocation placed on a Council agenda for final ac17 tion, submitted by a Council to the Secretary, or approved

18 by the Secretary or by Congressional action, within 60

19 days after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens

20 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization

21 Act of 2006, except that—

22 ‘‘(1) the requirements of section 303(d) of this

23 Act in effect on the day before the date of enact24 ment of that Act shall apply to any such program;
†

46

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(2) the program shall be subject to review

2 under subsection (c)(1)(G) of this section not later

3 than 5 years after the program approval; and

4 ‘‘(3) nothing in this subsection precludes a

5 Council from incorporating criteria contained in this

6 section into any such plans.’’.

7 (b) FEES.—Section 304(d)(2)(A) (16 U.S.C.

8 1854(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘management and

9 enforcement’’ and inserting ‘‘management, data collection,

10 and enforcement’’.

11 (c) INVESTMENT IN UNITED STATES SEAFOOD

12 PROCESSING FACILITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce

13 shall work with the Small Business Administration and

14 other Federal agencies to develop financial and other

15 mechanisms to encourage United States investment in sea16 food processing facilities in the United States for fisheries

17 that lack capacity needed to process fish harvested by

18 United States vessels in compliance with the Magnuson—

19 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

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

21 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

22 304(d)(2)(C)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(C)(i)) is amended

23 by striking ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B)’’ and all that follows

24 and inserting ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B).’’.
†

47

S 2012 ES

1 (e) APPLICATION WITH AMERICAN FISHERIES

2 ACT.—Nothing in section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens

3 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

4 1801 et seq.), as added by subsection (a), shall be con5 strued to modify or supersede any provision of the Amer6 ican Fisheries Act (46 U.S.C. 12102 note; 16 U.S.C. 1851

7 note; et alia).

8 SEC. 107. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.

9 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(i) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.—

12 ‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, in

13 consultation with the Councils and the Council on

14 Environmental Quality, revise and update agency

15 procedures for compliance with the National Envi16 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). The

17 procedures shall—

18 ‘‘(A) conform to the time lines for review

19 and approval of fishery management plans and

20 plan amendments under this section; and

21 ‘‘(B) integrate applicable environmental

22 analytical procedures, including the time frames

23 for public input, with the procedure for the

24 preparation and dissemination of fishery man25 agement plans, plan amendments, and other ac-
†

48

S 2012 ES

1 tions taken or approved pursuant to this Act in

2 order to provide for timely, clear and concise

3 analysis that is useful to decision makers and

4 the public, reduce extraneous paperwork, and

5 effectively involve the public.

6 ‘‘(2) USAGE.—The updated agency procedures

7 promulgated in accordance with this section used by

8 the Councils or the Secretary shall be the sole envi9 ronmental impact assessment procedure for fishery

10 management plans, amendments, regulations, or

11 other actions taken or approved pursuant to this

12 Act.

13 ‘‘(3) SCHEDULE FOR PROMULGATION OF FINAL

14 PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall—

15 ‘‘(A) propose revised procedures within 12

16 months after the date of enactment of the Mag17 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man18 agement Reauthorization Act of 2006;

19 ‘‘(B) provide 90 days for public review and

20 comments; and

21 ‘‘(C) promulgate final procedures no later

22 than 18 months after the date of enactment of

23 that Act.

24 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary is

25 authorized and directed, in cooperation with the
†

49

S 2012 ES

1 Council on Environmental Quality and the Councils,

2 to involve the affected public in the development of

3 revised procedures, including workshops or other ap4 propriate means of public involvement.’’.

5 SEC. 108. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS.

6 (a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PE7 RIOD.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B))

8 is amended by striking ‘‘180 days,’’ the second time it ap9 pears and inserting ‘‘186 days,’’.

10 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 305(c)(3)(D)

11 (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or

12 interim measures’’ after ‘‘emergency regulations’’.

13 SEC. 109. WESTERN PACIFIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

14 Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding

15 at the end thereof the following:

16 ‘‘(j) WESTERN PACIFIC REGIONAL MARINE EDU17 CATION AND TRAINING.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab19 lish a pilot program for regionally-based marine edu20 cation and training programs in the Western Pacific

21 to foster understanding, practical use of knowledge

22 (including native Hawaiian and other Pacific Is23 lander-based knowledge), and technical expertise rel24 evant to stewardship of living marine resources. The

25 Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Western Pa-
†

50

S 2012 ES

1 cific Regional Fishery Management Council, regional

2 educational institutions, and local Western Pacific

3 community training entities, establish programs or

4 projects that will improve communication, education,

5 and training on marine resource issues throughout

6 the region and increase scientific education for ma7 rine-related professions among coastal community

8 residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Na9 tive Hawaiians and other underrepresented groups

10 in the region.

11 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program

12 shall—

13 ‘‘(A) include marine science and technology

14 education and training programs focused on

15 preparing community residents for employment

16 in marine related professions, including marine

17 resource conservation and management, marine

18 science, marine technology, and maritime oper19 ations;

20 ‘‘(B) include fisheries and seafood-related

21 training programs, including programs for fish22 ery observers, seafood safety and seafood mar23 keting, focused on increasing the involvement of

24 coastal community residents in fishing, fishery

25 management, and seafood-related operations;
†

51

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(C) include outreach programs and mate2 rials to educate and inform consumers about

3 the quality and sustainability of wild fish or

4 fish products farmed through responsible aqua5 culture, particularly in Hawaii and the Western

6 Pacific;

7 ‘‘(D) include programs to identify, with the

8 fishing industry, methods and technologies that

9 will improve the data collection, quality, and re10 porting and increase the sustainability of fish11 ing practices, and to transfer such methods and

12 technologies among fisheries sectors and to

13 other nations in the Western and Central Pa14 cific;

15 ‘‘(E) develop means by which local and

16 traditional knowledge (including Pacific islander

17 and Native Hawaiian knowledge) can enhance

18 science-based management of fishery resources

19 of the region; and

20 ‘‘(F) develop partnerships with other West21 ern Pacific Island agencies, academic institu22 tions, and other entities to meet the purposes of

23 this section.’’.
†

52

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 110. WESTERN ALASKA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

2 QUOTA PROGRAM.

3 Section 305(i)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)) is

4 amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘To’’ in subparagraph (B) and

6 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subparagraph (E),

7 to’’; and

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

9 ‘‘(E) A community shall be eligible to par10 ticipate in the western Alaska community devel11 opment quota program under subparagraph (A)

12 if the community was—

13 ‘‘(i) listed in table 7 to part 679 of

14 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, as in

15 effect on January 1, 2004; or

16 ‘‘(ii) approved by the National Marine

17 Fisheries Service on April 19, 1999.’’.

18 SEC. 111. SECRETARIAL ACTION ON STATE GROUNDFISH

19 FISHING.

20 Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855), as amended by section

21 109, is further amended by adding at the end thereof the

22 following:

23 ‘‘(k) MULTISPECIES GROUNDFISH.—Within 60 days

24 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens

25 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization

26 Act of 2006, the Secretary of Commerce shall determine
†

53

S 2012 ES

1 whether fishing in State waters without a New England

2 multispecies groundfish fishery permit on regulated spe3 cies within the multispecies complex is not consistent with

4 the applicable Federal fishery management plan. If the

5 Secretary makes a determination that such actions are not

6 consistent with the plan, the Secretary shall, in consulta7 tion with the Council, and after notifying the affected

8 State, develop and implement measures to cure the incon9 sistency pursuant to section 306(b).’’.

10 SEC. 112. JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is

12 amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

14 subsection (b)(1)(A)(iv);

15 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

16 subsection (b)(1)(A)(v);

17 (3) by inserting after clause (v) of subsection

18 (b)(1)(A) the following:

19 ‘‘(vi) access, directly or indirectly, for

20 enforcement purposes any data or informa21 tion required to be provided under this

22 title or regulations under this title, includ23 ing data from Global Maritime Distress

24 and Safety Systems, vessel monitoring sys-
†

54

S 2012 ES

1 tems, or any similar system, subject to the

2 confidentiality provisions of section 402;’’;

3 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub4 section (j); and

5 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘(h) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of an eligible

9 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a

10 joint enforcement agreement with the Secretary that

11 will authorize the deputization and funding of State

12 law enforcement officers with marine law enforce13 ment responsibilities to perform duties of the Sec14 retary relating to law enforcement provisions under

15 this title or any other marine resource law enforced

16 by the Secretary. Upon receiving an application

17 meeting the requirements of this subsection, the Sec18 retary may enter into a joint enforcement agreement

19 with the requesting State.

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible to

21 participate in the cooperative enforcement agree22 ments under this section if it is in, or bordering on,

23 the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea),

24 the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of
†

55

S 2012 ES

1 Mexico, Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the

2 Great Lakes.

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint enforcement

4 agreements executed under paragraph (1)—

5 ‘‘(A) shall be consistent with the purposes

6 and intent of this section to the extent applica7 ble to the regulated activities;

8 ‘‘(B) may include specifications for joint

9 management responsibilities as provided by the

10 first section of Public Law 91–412 (15 U.S.C.

11 1525); and

12 ‘‘(C) shall provide for confidentiality of

13 data and information submitted to the State

14 under section 402.

15 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary

16 shall include in each joint enforcement agreement an

17 allocation of funds to assist in management of the

18 agreement. The allocation shall be fairly distributed

19 among all eligible States participating in cooperative

20 enforcement agreements under this subsection, based

21 upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement

22 needs, the specific marine conservation enforcement

23 needs of each participating eligible State, and the

24 capacity of the State to undertake the marine en25 forcement mission and assist with enforcement
†

56

S 2012 ES

1 needs. The agreement may provide for amounts to

2 be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any

3 technical or other assistance provided to the State

4 by the Secretary under the agreement.

5 ‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

7 provision of this Act, as soon as practicable but no

8 later than 21 months after the date of enactment of

9 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

10 Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Sec11 retary shall implement data-sharing measures to

12 make any data required to be provided by this Act

13 from Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems,

14 vessel monitoring systems, or similar systems—

15 ‘‘(A) directly accessible by State enforce16 ment officers authorized under subsection (a) of

17 this section; and

18 ‘‘(B) available to a State management

19 agency involved in, or affected by, management

20 of a fishery if the State has entered into an

21 agreement with the Secretary under section

22 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act.

23 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary

24 shall promptly enter into an agreement with a State

25 under section 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act if—
†

57

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General or highest rank2 ing legal officer of the State provides a written

3 opinion or certification that State law allows

4 the State to maintain the confidentiality of in5 formation required by Federal law to be kept

6 confidential; or

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other rea8 sonable assurance that the State can and will

9 protect the identity or business of any person to

10 which such information relates.’’.

11 (b) REPORT ON USING GMDSS FOR FISHERY PUR12 POSES.—Within 15 months after the date of enactment

13 of this Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the

14 United States Coast Guard shall transmit a joint report

15 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

16 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com17 mittee on Resources containing—

18 (1) a cost-to-benefit analysis of the feasibility,

19 value, and cost of using the Global Maritime Dis20 tress and Safety Systems, vessel monitoring systems,

21 or similar systems for fishery management, con22 servation, enforcement, and safety purposes with the

23 Federal government bearing the capital costs of any

24 such system;
†

58

S 2012 ES

1 (2) an examination of the cumulative impact of

2 existing requirements for commercial vessels;

3 (3) an examination of whether the Global Mari4 time Distress and Safety Systems or similar require5 ments would overlap existing requirements or render

6 them redundant;

7 (4) an examination of how data integration

8 from such systems could be addressed;

9 (5) an examination of how to maximize the

10 data-sharing opportunities between relevant State

11 and Federal agencies and provide specific informa12 tion on how to develop these opportunities, including

13 the provision of direct access to the Global Maritime

14 Distress and Safety Systems or similar system data

15 to State enforcement officers, while considering the

16 need to maintain or provide an appropriate level of

17 individual vessel confidentiality where practicable;

18 and

19 (6) an assessment of how the Global Maritime

20 Distress and Safety Systems or similar systems

21 could be developed, purchased, and distributed to

22 regulated vessels.

23 SEC. 113. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 (16 U.S.C. 1861a)

25 is amended—
†

59

S 2012 ES

1 (1) by striking ‘‘measures;’’ in subsection

2 (a)(1)(B) and inserting ‘‘measures, including regu3 latory restrictions (including those imposed as a re4 sult of judicial action) imposed to protect human

5 health or the marine environment;’’;

6 (2) by striking ‘‘1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’

7 in subsection (a)(4) and inserting ‘‘2006 through

8 2012.’’;

9 (3) by striking ‘‘or the Governor of a State for

10 fisheries under State authority, may conduct a fish11 ing’’ in subsection (b)(1) and inserting ‘‘the Gov12 ernor of a State for fisheries under State authority,

13 or a majority of permit holders in the fishery, may

14 conduct a voluntary fishing’’;

15 (4) by inserting ‘‘practicable’’ after ‘‘entrants,’’

16 in subsection (b)(1)(B)((i);

17 (5) by striking ‘‘cost-effective and’’ in sub18 section (b)(1)C) and inserting ‘‘cost-effective and, in

19 the instance of a program involving an industry fee

20 system, prospectively’’;

21 (6) by striking subparagraph (A) of subsection

22 (b)(2) and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘(A) the owner of a fishing vessel, if the permit

24 authorizing the participation of the vessel in the

25 fishery is surrendered for permanent revocation and
†

60

S 2012 ES

1 the vessel owner and permit holder relinquish any

2 claim associated with the vessel or permit that could

3 qualify such owner or holder for any present or fu4 ture limited access system permit in the fishery for

5 which the program is established and such vessel is

6 (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the de7 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating,

8 subjected to title restrictions (including loss of the

9 vessel’s fisheries endorsement) that permanently

10 prohibit and effectively prevent its use in fishing in

11 federal or state waters, or fishing on the high seas

12 or in the waters of a foreign nation; or’’;

13 (7) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall consult, as

14 appropriate, with Councils,’’ in subsection (b)(4) and

15 inserting ‘‘The harvester proponents of each pro16 gram and the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate

17 and practicable, with Councils,’’;

18 (8) by striking ‘‘Secretary, at the request of the

19 appropriate Council,’’ in subsection (d)(1)(A) and

20 inserting ‘‘Secretary’’;

21 (9) by striking ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with

22 the Council,’’ in subsection (d)(1)(A) and inserting

23 ‘‘Secretary’’;

24 (10) by striking ‘‘a two-thirds majority of the

25 participants voting.’’ in subsection (d)(1)(B) and in-
†

61

S 2012 ES

1 serting ‘‘at least a majority of the permit holders in

2 the fishery, or 50 percent of the permitted allocation

3 of the fishery, who participated in the fishery.’’;

4 (11) by striking ‘‘establish;’’ in subsection

5 (d)(2)((C) and inserting ‘‘establish, unless the Sec6 retary determines that such fees should be collected

7 from the seller;’’ and

8 (12) striking subsection (e) and inserting the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—

11 ‘‘(1) FRAMEWORK REGULATIONS.—The Sec12 retary shall propose and adopt framework regula13 tions applicable to the implementation of all pro14 grams under this section.

15 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REGULATIONS.—The Secretary

16 shall implement each program under this section by

17 promulgating regulations that, together with the

18 framework regulations, establish each program and

19 control its implementation.

20 ‘‘(3) HARVESTER PROPONENTS’ IMPLEMENTA21 TION PLAN.—The Secretary may not propose imple22 mentation regulations for a program to be paid for

23 by an industry fee system until the harvester pro24 ponents of the program provide to the Secretary a
†

62

S 2012 ES

1 proposed implementation plan that, among other

2 matters—

3 ‘‘(A) proposes the types and numbers of

4 vessels or permits that are eligible to participate

5 in the program and the manner in which the

6 program shall proceed, taking into account—

7 ‘‘(i) the requirements of this section;

8 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of the frame9 work regulations;

10 ‘‘(iii) the characteristics of the fishery;

11 ‘‘(iv) the requirements of the applica12 ble fishery management plan and any

13 amendment that such plan may require to

14 support the proposed program;

15 ‘‘(v) the general needs and desires of

16 harvesters in the fishery;

17 ‘‘(vi) the need to minimize program

18 costs; and

19 ‘‘(vii) other matters, including the

20 manner in which such proponents propose

21 to fund the program to ensure its cost ef22 fectiveness, as well as any relevant factors

23 demonstrating the potential for, or nec24 essary to obtain, the support and general

25 cooperation of a substantial number of af-
†

63

S 2012 ES

1 fected harvesters in the fishery (or portion

2 of the fishery) for which the program is in3 tended; and

4 ‘‘(B) proposes procedures for program par5 ticipation (such as submission of owner bids

6 under an auction system or fair market-value

7 assessment), including any terms and condi8 tions for participation, that the harvester pro9 ponents deem to be reasonably necessary to

10 meet the program’s proposed objectives.

11 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION CONTRACTS.—The Sec12 retary shall contract with each person participating

13 in a program, and each such contract shall, in addi14 tion to including such other matters as the Secretary

15 deems necessary and appropriate to effectively im16 plement each program (including penalties for con17 tract non-performance) be consistent with the frame18 work and implementing regulations and all other ap19 plicable law.

20 ‘‘(5) REDUCTION AUCTIONS.—Each program

21 not involving fair market assessment shall involve a

22 reduction auction that scores the reduction price of

23 each bid offer by the data relevant to each bidder

24 under an appropriate fisheries productivity factor. If

25 the Secretary accepts bids, the Secretary shall ac-
†

64

S 2012 ES

1 cept responsive bids in the rank order of their bid

2 scores, starting with the bid whose reduction price is

3 the lowest percentage of the productivity factor, and

4 successively accepting each additional responsive bid

5 in rank order until either there are no more respon6 sive bids or acceptance of the next bid would cause

7 the total value of bids accepted to exceed the amount

8 of funds available for the program.

9 ‘‘(6) BID INVITATIONS.—Each program shall

10 proceed by the Secretary issuing invitations to bid

11 setting out the terms and conditions for participa12 tion consistent with the framework and imple13 menting regulations. Each bid that the Secretary re14 ceives in response to the invitation to bid shall con15 stitute an irrevocable offer from the bidder.’’.

16 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 116, 203,

17 204, 205, and 206 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act are

18 deemed to have added sections 312, 402, 403, 404, and

19 405, respectively to the Act as of the date of enactment

20 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act.

21 SEC. 114. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE,

22 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.)

24 is amended by adding at the end the following:
†

65

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 315. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE,

2 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re4 gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the re5 quest of, and in consultation with, the Governors of af6 fected States, establish a regional economic transition pro7 gram to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the

8 fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish

9 processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af10 fected by the disaster.

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability

13 of appropriations, the program shall provide funds

14 or other economic assistance to affected entities, or

15 to governmental entities for disbursement to affected

16 entities, for—

17 ‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside

18 fishery infrastructure needs, including proc19 essing facilities, cold storage facilities, ice

20 houses, docks, including temporary docks and

21 storage facilities, and other related shoreside

22 fishery support facilities and infrastructure;

23 ‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training

24 assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in

25 a fishery in the region that may be temporarily
†

66

S 2012 ES

1 closed as a result of environmental or other ef2 fects associated with the disaster;

3 ‘‘(C) funding, pursuant to the require4 ments of section 312(b), to fishermen who are

5 willing to scrap a fishing vessel and perma6 nently surrender permits for fisheries named on

7 that vessel; and

8 ‘‘(D) any other activities authorized under

9 section 312(a) of this Act or section 308(d) of

10 the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986

11 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).

12 ‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who de13 cides to scrap a fishing vessel under the program

14 shall be eligible for job training assistance.

15 ‘‘(3) STATE PARTICIPATION OBLIGATION.—The

16 participation by a State in the program shall be con17 ditioned upon a commitment by the appropriate

18 State entity to ensure that the relevant State fishery

19 meets the requirements of section 312(b) of this Act

20 to ensure excess capacity does not re-enter the fish21 ery.

22 ‘‘(4) NO MATCHING REQUIRED.—The Secretary

23 may waive the matching requirements of section 312

24 of this Act, section 308 of the Interjurisdictional

25 Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107), and any
†

67

S 2012 ES

1 other provision of law under which the Federal share

2 of the cost of any activity is limited to less than 100

3 percent if the Secretary determines that—

4 ‘‘(A) no reasonable means are available

5 through which applicants can meet the match6 ing requirement; and

7 ‘‘(B) the probable benefit of 100 percent

8 Federal financing outweighs the public interest

9 in imposition of the matching requirement.

10 ‘‘(5) NET REVENUE LIMIT INAPPLICABLE.—

11 Section 308(d)(3) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3)) shall not apply to assist13 ance under this section.

14 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL IMPACT EVALUATION.—Within 2

15 months after a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the

16 Secretary shall provide the Governor of each State partici17 pating in the program a comprehensive economic and

18 socio-economic evaluation of the affected region’s fisheries

19 to assist the Governor in assessing the current and future

20 economic viability of affected fisheries, including the eco21 nomic impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indi22 rect, or environmental impact of the disaster on the fish23 ery and coastal communities.

24 ‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER

25 DEFINED.—In this section the term ‘catastrophic regional
†

68

S 2012 ES

1 fishery disaster’ means a natural disaster, including a hur2 ricane or tsunami, or a regulatory closure (including regu3 latory closures resulting from judicial action) to protect

4 human health or the marine environment, that—

5 ‘‘(1) results in economic losses to coastal or

6 fishing communities;

7 ‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fish8 ery managed by a Council or interstate fishery com9 mission; and

10 ‘‘(3) is determined by the Secretary to be a

11 commercial fishery failure under section 312(a) of

12 this Act or a fishery resource disaster or section

13 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of

14 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’.

15 (b) SALMON PLAN AND STUDY.—

16 (1) RECOVERY PLAN.—Not later than 6 months

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of Commerce shall complete a recovery plan

19 for Klamath River Coho salmon and make it avail20 able to the public.

21 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually

23 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit

24 a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce,
†

69

S 2012 ES

1 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep2 resentatives Committee on Resources on—

3 (A) the actions taken under the recovery

4 plan and other law relating to recovery of

5 Klamath River Coho salmon, and how those ac6 tions are specifically contributing to its recov7 ery;

8 (B) the progress made on the restoration

9 of salmon spawning habitat, including water

10 conditions as they relate to salmon health and

11 recovery, with emphasis on the Klamath River

12 and its tributaries below Iron Gate Dam;

13 (C) the status of other Klamath River

14 anadromous fish populations, particularly Chi15 nook salmon; and

16 (D) the actions taken by the Secretary to

17 address the calendar year 2003 National Re18 search Council recommendations regarding

19 monitoring and research on Klamath River

20 Basin salmon stocks.

21 (c) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA SALMON FISHERY.—

22 Federally recognized Indian tribes and small businesses,

23 including fishermen, fish processors, and related busi24 nesses serving the fishing industry, adversely affected by

25 Federal closures and fishing restrictions in the Oregon
†

70

S 2012 ES

1 and California 2006 fall Chinook salmon fishery are eligi2 ble to receive direct assistance under section 312(a) of the

3 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage4 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) and section 308(d) of the

5 Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C.

6 4107(d)). The Secretary may use no more than 4 percent

7 of any monetary assistance to pay for administrative costs.

8 SEC. 115. FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM HURRICANE ASSIST9 ANCE.

10 (a) LOAN ASSISTANCE.—Subject to availability of ap11 propriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall provide as12 sistance to eligible holders of fishery finance program

13 loans and allocate such assistance among eligible holders

14 based upon their outstanding principal balances as of De15 cember 2, 2005, for any of the following purposes:

16 (1) To defer principal payments on the debt for

17 1 year and re-amortize the debt over the remaining

18 term of the loan.

19 (2) To allow for an extension of the term of the

20 loan for up to 1 year beyond the remaining term of

21 the loan, or September 30, 2013, whichever is later.

22 (3) To pay the interest costs for such loans over

23 fiscal years 2006 through 2012, not to exceed

24 amounts authorized under subsection (d).
†

71

S 2012 ES

1 (4) To provide opportunities for loan forgive2 ness, as specified in subsection (c).

3 (b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application made by

5 an eligible holder of a fishery finance program loan,

6 made at such time, in such manner, and containing

7 such information as the Secretary may require, the

8 Secretary, on a calendar year basis beginning in

9 2005, may—

10 (A) offset against the outstanding balance

11 on the loan an amount equal to the sum of the

12 amounts expended by the holder during the cal13 endar year to repair or replace covered vessels

14 or facilities, or to invest in new fisheries infra15 structure within or for use within the declared

16 fisheries disaster area; or

17 (B) cancel the amount of debt equal to

18 100 hundred percent of actual expenditures on

19 eligible repairs, reinvestment, expansion, or new

20 investment in fisheries infrastructure in the dis21 aster region, or repairs to, or replacement of,

22 eligible fishing vessels.

23 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

24 (1) DECLARED FISHERIES DISASTER AREA.—

25 The term ‘‘declared fisheries disaster area’’ means
†

72

S 2012 ES

1 fisheries located in the major disaster area des2 ignated by the President under the Robert T. Staf3 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

4 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricane

5 Katrina or Hurricane Rita.

6 (2) ELIGIBLE HOLDER.—The term ‘‘eligible

7 holder’’ means the holder of a fishery finance pro8 gram loan if—

9 (A) that loan is used to guarantee or fi10 nance any fishing vessel or fish processing facil11 ity home-ported or located within the declared

12 fisheries disaster area; and

13 (B) the holder makes expenditures to re14 pair or replace such covered vessels or facilities,

15 or invests in new fisheries infrastructure within

16 or for use within the declared fisheries disaster

17 area, to restore such facilities following the dis18 aster.

19 (3) FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM LOAN.—The

20 term ‘‘fishery finance program loan’’ means a loan

21 made or guaranteed under the fishery finance pro22 gram under title XI of the Merchant Marine Act,

23 1936, (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq,).

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com-
†

73

S 2012 ES

1 merce for the purposes of this section not more than

2 $15,000,000 for each eligible holder for the period begin3 ning with fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2012.

4 SEC. 116. SHRIMP FISHERIES HURRICANE ASSISTANCE

5 PROGRAM.

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

7 establish an assistance program for the Gulf of Mexico

8 shrimp fishing industry.

9 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Under the program,

10 the Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to carry

11 out the program among the States of Alabama, Louisiana,

12 Florida, Mississippi, and Texas in proportion to the per13 centage of the shrimp catch landed by each State, except

14 that the amount allocated to Florida shall be based exclu15 sively on the proportion of such catch landed by the Flor16 ida Gulf Coast fishery.

17 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made available

18 to each State under the program—

19 (1) 2 percent shall be retained by the State to

20 be used for the distribution of additional payments

21 to fishermen with a demonstrated record of compli22 ance with turtle excluder and bycatch reduction de23 vice regulations; and

24 (2) the remainder of the amounts shall be used

25 for—
†

74

S 2012 ES

1 (A) personal assistance, with priority given

2 to food, energy needs, housing assistance,

3 transportation fuel, and other urgent needs;

4 (B) assistance for small businesses, includ5 ing fishermen, fish processors, and related busi6 nesses serving the fishing industry;

7 (C) domestic product marketing and sea8 food promotion;

9 (D) State seafood testing programs;

10 (E) the development of limited entry pro11 grams for the fishery;

12 (F) funding or other incentives to ensure

13 widespread and proper use of turtle excluder

14 devices and bycatch reduction devices in the

15 fishery; and

16 (G) voluntary capacity reduction programs

17 for shrimp fisheries under limited access pro18 grams.

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com21 merce $17,500,000 for fiscal years 2006 through 2011 to

22 carry out this section.
†

75

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 117. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.

2 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by

3 section 114 of this Act, is further amended by adding at

4 the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 316. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.

6 ‘‘(a) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PRO7 GRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man9 agement Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in

10 cooperation with the Councils and other affected interests,

11 and based upon the best scientific information available,

12 shall establish a bycatch reduction program to develop

13 technological devices and other conservation engineering

14 changes designed to minimize bycatch, seabird bycatch,

15 bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in Federally

16 managed fisheries. The program shall—

17 ‘‘(1) be regionally based;

18 ‘‘(2) be coordinated with projects conducted

19 under the cooperative research and management

20 program established under this Act;

21 ‘‘(3) provide information and outreach to fish22 ery participants that will encourage adoption and

23 use of technologies developed under the program;

24 and

25 ‘‘(4) provide for routine consultation with the

26 Councils in order to maximize opportunities to incor-
†

76

S 2012 ES

1 porate results of the program in Council actions and

2 provide incentives for adoption of methods developed

3 under the program in fishery management plans de4 veloped by the Councils.

5 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVES.—Any fishery management plan

6 prepared by a Council or by the Secretary may establish

7 a system of incentives to reduce total bycatch and seabird

8 bycatch amounts, bycatch rates, and post-release mortality

9 in fisheries under the Council’s or Secretary’s jurisdiction,

10 including—

11 ‘‘(1) measures to incorporate bycatch into

12 quotas, including the establishment of collective or

13 individual bycatch quotas;

14 ‘‘(2) measures to promote the use of gear with

15 verifiable and monitored low bycatch and seabird by16 catch rates; and

17 ‘‘(3) measures that, based on the best scientific

18 information available, will reduce bycatch and

19 seabird bycatch, bycatch mortality, post-release mor20 tality, or regulatory discards in the fishery.

21 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION ON SEABIRD BYCATCH.—The

22 Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Interior,

23 is authorized to undertake projects in cooperation with in24 dustry to improve information and technology to reduce

25 seabird bycatch, including—
†

77

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(1) outreach to industry on new technologies

2 and methods; and

3 ‘‘(2) projects to mitigate for seabird mor4 tality.’’.

5 SEC. 118. COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION PROGRAM

6 FOR FISHERY AND COASTAL HABITATS.

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

8 establish a community-based fishery and coastal habitat

9 restoration program to implement and support the res10 toration of fishery and coastal habitats.

11 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the

12 program, the Secretary may—

13 (1) provide funding and technical expertise to

14 fishery and coastal communities to assist them in re15 storing fishery and coastal habitat;

16 (2) advance the science and monitoring of

17 coastal habitat restoration;

18 (3) transfer restoration technologies to the pri19 vate sector, the public, and other governmental

20 agencies;

21 (4) develop public-private partnerships to ac22 complish sound coastal restoration projects;

23 (5) promote significant community support and

24 volunteer participation in fishery and coastal habitat

25 restoration;
†

78

S 2012 ES

1 (6) promote stewardship of fishery and coastal

2 habitats; and

3 (7) leverage resources through national, re4 gional, and local public-private partnerships.

5 SEC. 119. PROHIBITED ACTS.

6 Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub8 paragraph (O);

9 (2) by striking ‘‘carcass.’’ in subparagraph (P)

10 and inserting ‘‘carcass;’’; and

11 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) and be12 fore the last sentence the following:

13 ‘‘(Q) to import, export, transport, sell, re14 ceive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or for15 eign commerce any fish taken, possessed, trans16 ported, or sold in violation of any foreign law

17 or regulation; or

18 ‘‘(R) to use any fishing vessel to engage in

19 fishing in Federal or State waters, or on the

20 high seas or in the waters of another country,

21 after the Secretary has made a payment to the

22 owner of that fishing vessel under section

23 312(b)(2).’’.
†

79

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 120. ENFORCEMENT.

2 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—Section 308 (16 U.S.C.

3 1858) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ in subsection (a)

5 and inserting ‘‘$240,000’’;

6 (2) by striking ‘‘this section,’’ in subsection (f)

7 and inserting ‘‘this Act (or any other marine re8 source law enforced by the Secretary),’’;

9 (3) by inserting ‘‘a permit, or any interest in a

10 permit,’’ in subsection (g)(3) after ‘‘vessel,’’ each

11 place it appears;

12 (4) by striking ‘‘the vessel’’ in subsection (g)(3)

13 and inserting ‘‘the vessel, permit, or interest’’;

14 (5) by inserting ‘‘or any amount in settlement

15 of a civil forfeiture,’’ after ‘‘criminal fine,’’ in sub16 section (g)(4); and

17 (6) by striking ‘‘penalty or fine’’ in subsection

18 (g)(4) and inserting ‘‘penalty, fine, or settlement

19 amount’’.

20 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 309 (16 U.S.C.

21 1859) is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 309. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

23 ‘‘(a) FINES AND IMPRISONMENT.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person (other than a

25 foreign government or entity thereof) who knowingly

26 violates subparagraph (D), (E), (F), (H), (I), or (L)
†

80

S 2012 ES

1 of paragraph (1) of section 307, or paragraph (2) of

2 section 307, shall be imprisoned for not more than

3 5 years and fined—

4 ‘‘(A) not more than $500,000 if such per5 son is an individual; or

6 ‘‘(B) not more than $1,000,000 if such

7 person is a corporation or other legal entity

8 other than an individual.

9 ‘‘(2) AGGRAVATED OFFENSES.—Notwith10 standing paragraph (1), the maximum term of im11 prisonment shall be for not more than 10 years if—

12 ‘‘(A) the violator is an individual; and

13 ‘‘(B) in the commission of a violation de14 scribed in paragraph (1), that individual—

15 ‘‘(A) used a dangerous weapon;

16 ‘‘(B) engaged in conduct that caused bod17 ily injury to any observer described in section

18 307, any officer authorized to enforce the provi19 sions of this Act under section 311, or any

20 Council member or staff; or

21 ‘‘(C) placed any such observer, officer,

22 Council member, or staff in fear of imminent

23 bodily injury.

24 ‘‘(b) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—Any person (other than

25 a foreign government or entity thereof) who knowingly vio-
†

81

S 2012 ES

1 lates any other provision of section 307 shall be fined

2 under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not

3 more than 5 years, or both.

4 ‘‘(c) JURISDICTION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The district courts of the

6 United States shall have jurisdiction over any action

7 arising under this Act.

8 ‘‘(2) VENUE.—For purposes of this Act—

9 ‘‘(A) each violation of this Act shall con10 stitute a separate offense and the offense shall

11 be deemed to have been committed not only in

12 the district where it first occurred, but also in

13 any other district as authorized by law;

14 ‘‘(B) any offense not committed within a

15 judicial district of the United States is subject

16 to the venue provisions of section 3238 of title

17 18, United States Code; and

18 ‘‘(C) American Samoa shall be included

19 within the judicial district of the United States

20 District Court for the District of Hawaii.’’.

21 (c) CIVIL FORFEITURES.—Section 310(a) (16 U.S.C.

22 1860(a)) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(other than any act for which

24 the issuance of a citation under section 311(a) is

25 sufficient sanction)’’; and
†

82

S 2012 ES

1 (2) by striking ‘‘States.’’ and inserting ‘‘States,

2 except that no fishing vessel shall be subject to for3 feiture under this section as the result of any act for

4 which the issuance of a citation under section 311(a)

5 is sufficient sanction.’’.

6 (d) ENFORCEMENT RESPONSIBILITY.—Section

7 311(a) (16 U.S.C. 1861(a)) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Act, and

9 the provisions of any marine resource law adminis10 tered by the Secretary,’’; and

11 (2) by striking ‘‘State agency,’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘agency of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or

13 Tribe,’’.

14 (e) POWERS OF AUTHORIZED OFFICERS.—Section

15 311(b) (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Fed16 eral or State’’.

17 (f) PAYMENT OF STORAGE, CARE, AND OTHER

18 COSTS.—Section 311(e)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)(B))

19 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(B) a reward to any person who furnishes in21 formation which leads to an arrest, conviction, civil

22 penalty assessment, or forfeiture of property for any

23 violation of any provision of this Act or any other

24 marine resource law enforced by the Secretary of up

25 to the lesser of—
†

83

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(i) 20 percent of the penalty or fine col2 lected; or

3 ‘‘(ii) $20,000;’’.

4 TITLE II—INFORMATION AND

5 RESEARCH

6 SEC. 201. RECREATIONAL FISHERIES INFORMATION.

7 Section 401 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended by striking

8 subsection (g) and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall

11 establish and implement a regionally based registry

12 program for recreational fishermen in each of the 8

13 fishery management regions. The program, which

14 shall not require a fee before January 1, 2011, shall

15 provide for—

16 ‘‘(A) the registration (including identifica17 tion and contact information) of individuals

18 who engage in recreational fishing—

19 ‘‘(i) in the Exclusive Economic Zone;

20 ‘‘(ii) for anadromous species; or

21 ‘‘(iii) for Continental Shelf fishery re22 sources beyond the Exclusive Economic

23 Zone; and

24 ‘‘(B) if appropriate, the registration (in25 cluding the ownership, operator, and identifica-
†

84

S 2012 ES

1 tion of the vessel) of vessels used in such fish2 ing.

3 ‘‘(2) STATE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall

4 exempt from registration under the program rec5 reational fishermen and charter fishing vessels li6 censed, permitted, or registered under the laws of a

7 State if the Secretary determines that information

8 from the State program is suitable for the Sec9 retary’s use or is used to assist in completing marine

10 recreational fisheries statistical surveys, or evalu11 ating the effects of proposed conservation and man12 agement measures for marine recreational fisheries.

13 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—

14 ‘‘(A) IMPROVEMENT OF THE MARINE REC15 REATIONAL FISHERY STATISTICS SURVEY.—

16 Within 24 months after the date of enactment

17 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation

18 and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006,

19 the Secretary, in consultation with representa20 tives of the recreational fishing industry and ex21 perts in statistics, technology, and other appro22 priate fields, shall establish a program to im23 prove the quality and accuracy of information

24 generated by the Marine Recreational Fishery

25 Statistics Survey, with a goal of achieving ac-
†

85

S 2012 ES

1 ceptable accuracy and utility for each individual

2 fishery.

3 ‘‘(B) NRC REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—

4 The program shall take into consideration and,

5 to the maximum extent feasible, implement the

6 recommendations of the National Research

7 Council in its report Review of Recreational

8 Fisheries Survey Methods (2006), including—

9 ‘‘(i) redesigning the Survey to improve

10 the effectiveness and appropriateness of

11 sampling and estimation procedures, its

12 applicability to various kinds of manage13 ment decisions, and its usefulness for so14 cial and economic analyses; and

15 ‘‘(ii) providing for ongoing technical

16 evaluation and modification as needed to

17 meet emerging management needs.

18 ‘‘(C) METHODOLOGY.—Unless the Sec19 retary determines that alternate methods will

20 achieve this goal more efficiently and effec21 tively, the program shall, to the extent possible,

22 include—

23 ‘‘(i) an adequate number of dockside

24 interviews to accurately estimate rec25 reational catch and effort;
†

86

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) use of surveys that target anglers

2 registered or licensed at the State or Fed3 eral level to collect participation and effort

4 data;

5 ‘‘(iii) collection and analysis of vessel

6 trip report data from charter fishing ves7 sels; and

8 ‘‘(iv) development of a weather correc9 tive factor that can be applied to rec10 reational catch and effort estimates.

11 ‘‘(D) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall

12 complete the program under this paragraph and

13 implement the improved Marine Recreational

14 Fishery Statistics Survey not later than Janu15 ary 1, 2011.

16 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Within 24 months after estab17 lishment of the program, the Secretary shall submit

18 a report to Congress that describes the progress

19 made toward achieving the goals and objectives of

20 the program.’’.

21 SEC. 202. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.

22 Section 402(a) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ in

24 the subsection heading and inserting ‘‘(a) COLLEC25 TION PROGRAMS.—’’;
†

87

S 2012 ES

1 (2) by resetting the text following ‘‘(a) COLLEC2 TION PROGRAMS.—’’ as a new paragraph 2 ems

3 from the left margin;

4 (3) by inserting ‘‘(1) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’

5 before ‘‘If a Council’’;

6 (4) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ in the last sentence

7 and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’;

8 (5) by striking ‘‘(other than information that

9 would disclose proprietary or confidential commercial

10 or financial information regarding fishing operations

11 or fish processing operations)’’ each place it appears;

12 and

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

14 ‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL INITIATION.—If the Sec15 retary determines that additional information is nec16 essary for developing, implementing, revising, or

17 monitoring a fishery management plan, or for deter18 mining whether a fishery is in need of management,

19 the Secretary may, by regulation, implement an in20 formation collection or observer program requiring

21 submission of such additional information for the

22 fishery.’’.

23 SEC. 203. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(b) (16 U.S.C.

25 1881a(b)) is amended—
†

88

S 2012 ES

1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para2 graph (3) and resetting it 2 ems from the left mar3 gin;

4 (2) by striking all preceding paragraph (3), as

5 redesignated, and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Sec8 retary, a state fishery management agency, or a ma9 rine fisheries commission by any person in compli10 ance with the requirements of this Act that contains

11 confidential information shall be confidential and

12 shall be exempt from disclosure under section

13 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, except—

14 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em15 ployees who are responsible for fishery manage16 ment plan development, monitoring, or enforce17 ment;

18 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis19 sion employees as necessary to further the De20 partment’s mission, subject to a confidentiality

21 agreement that prohibits public disclosure of

22 confidential information relating to any person;

23 ‘‘(C) to State employees who are respon24 sible for fishery management plan enforcement,

25 if the States employing those employees have
†

89

S 2012 ES

1 entered into a fishery enforcement agreement

2 with the Secretary and the agreement is in ef3 fect;

4 ‘‘(D) when such information is used by

5 State, Council, or Marine Fisheries Commission

6 employees to verify catch under a limited access

7 program, but only to the extent that such use

8 is consistent with subparagraph (B);

9 ‘‘(E) when the Secretary has obtained

10 written authorization from the person submit11 ting such information to release such informa12 tion to persons for reasons not otherwise pro13 vided for in this subsection, and such release

14 does not violate other requirements of this Act;

15 ‘‘(F) when such information is required to

16 be submitted to the Secretary for any deter17 mination under a limited access program; or

18 ‘‘(G) in support of homeland and national

19 security activities, including the Coast Guard’s

20 homeland security missions as defined in sec21 tion 888(a)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of

22 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468(a)(2)).

23 ‘‘(2) Any observer information shall be con24 fidential and shall not be disclosed, except in accord-
†

90

S 2012 ES

1 ance with the requirements of subparagraphs (A)

2 through (G) of paragraph (1), or—

3 ‘‘(A) as authorized by a fishery manage4 ment plan or regulations under the authority of

5 the North Pacific Council to allow disclosure to

6 the public of weekly summary bycatch informa7 tion identified by vessel or for haul-specific by8 catch information without vessel identification;

9 ‘‘(B) when such information is necessary

10 in proceedings to adjudicate observer certifi11 cations; or

12 ‘‘(C) as authorized by any regulations

13 issued under paragraph (3) allowing the collec14 tion of observer information, pursuant to a con15 fidentiality agreement between the observers,

16 observer employers, and the Secretary prohib17 iting disclosure of the information by the ob18 servers or observer employers, in order—

19 ‘‘(i) to allow the sharing of observer

20 information among observers and between

21 observers and observer employers as nec22 essary to train and prepare observers for

23 deployments on specific vessels; or

24 ‘‘(ii) to validate the accuracy of the

25 observer information collected.’’; and
†

91

S 2012 ES

1 (3) by striking ‘‘(1)(E).’’ in paragraph (3), as

2 redesignated, and inserting ‘‘(2)(A).’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 404(c)(4)

4 (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘under

5 section 401’’.

6 SEC. 204. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

7 PROGRAM.

8 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by

9 section 115, is further amended by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 317. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

12 PROGRAM.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in

14 consultation with the Councils, shall establish a coopera15 tive research and management program to address needs

16 identified under this Act and under any other marine re17 source laws enforced by the Secretary. The program shall

18 be implemented on a regional basis and shall be developed

19 and conducted through partnerships among Federal,

20 State, and Tribal managers and scientists (including inter21 state fishery commissions), fishing industry participants,

22 and educational institutions.

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall

24 make funds available under the program for the support

25 of projects to address critical needs identified by the Coun-
†

92

S 2012 ES

1 cils in consultation with the Secretary. The program shall

2 promote and encourage efforts to utilize sources of data

3 maintained by other Federal agencies, State agencies, or

4 academia for use in such projects.

5 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—In making funds available the Sec6 retary shall award funding on a competitive basis and

7 based on regional fishery management needs, select pro8 grams that form part of a coherent program of research

9 focused on solving priority issues identified by the Coun10 cils, and shall give priority to the following projects:

11 ‘‘(1) Projects to collect data to improve, supple12 ment, or enhance stock assessments, including the

13 use of fishing vessels or acoustic or other marine

14 technology.

15 ‘‘(2) Projects to assess the amount and type of

16 bycatch or post-release mortality occurring in a fish17 ery.

18 ‘‘(3) Conservation engineering projects designed

19 to reduce bycatch, including avoidance of post-re20 lease mortality, reduction of bycatch in high seas

21 fisheries, and transfer of such fishing technologies to

22 other nations.

23 ‘‘(4) Projects for the identification of habitat

24 areas of particular concern and for habitat conserva25 tion.
†

93

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(5) Projects designed to collect and compile

2 economic and social data.

3 ‘‘(d) EXPERIMENTAL PERMITTING PROCESS.—Not

4 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the

5 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage6 ment Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Councils, shall promulgate regulations

8 that create an expedited, uniform, and regionally-based

9 process to promote issuance, where practicable, of experi10 mental fishing permits.

11 ‘‘(e) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary, in consultation

12 with the Councils, shall establish guidelines to ensure that

13 participation in a research project funded under this sec14 tion does not result in loss of a participant’s catch history

15 or unexpended days-at-sea as part of a limited entry sys16 tem.

17 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTED PROJECTS.—The procedures of this

18 section shall not apply to research funded by quota set19 asides in a fishery.’’.

20 SEC. 205. HERRING STUDY.

21 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by

22 section 204, is further amended by adding at the end the

23 following:
†

94

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 318. HERRING STUDY.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a co3 operative research program to study the issues of abun4 dance, distribution and the role of herring as forage fish

5 for other commercially important fish stocks in the North6 west Atlantic, and the potential for local scale depletion

7 from herring harvesting and how it relates to other fish8 eries in the Northwest Atlantic. In planning, designing,

9 and implementing this program, the Secretary shall en10 gage multiple fisheries sectors and stakeholder groups

11 concerned with herring management.

12 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall present the final

13 results of this study to Congress within 3 months following

14 the completion of the study, and an interim report at the

15 end of fiscal year 2008.

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

17 are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal

18 year 2007 through fiscal year 2009 to conduct this

19 study.’’.

20 SEC. 206. RESTORATION STUDY.

21 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by

22 section 205, is further amended by adding at the end the

23 following:

24 ‘‘SEC. 319. RESTORATION STUDY.

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a

26 study to update scientific information and protocols need-
†

95

S 2012 ES

1 ed to improve restoration techniques for a variety of coast

2 habitat types and synthesize the results in a format easily

3 understandable by restoration practitioners and local com4 munities.

5 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

6 are authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for fiscal year

7 2007 to conduct this study.’’.

8 SEC. 207. WESTERN PACIFIC FISHERY DEMONSTRATION

9 PROJECTS.

10 Section 111(b) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (16

11 U.S.C. 1855 note) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and the Secretary of the Inte13 rior are’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘is’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘not less than three and not

15 more than five’’ in paragraph (1); and

16 (3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(6) In this subsection the term ‘Western Pa19 cific community’ means a community eligible to par20 ticipate under section 305(i)(2)(B)(i) through (iv) of

21 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

22 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(2)(B)(i)

23 through (iv)).’’.
†

96

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 208. FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

2 FUND.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and

4 maintain a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Fisheries Conserva5 tion and Management Fund’’, which shall consist of

6 amounts retained and deposited into the Fund under sub7 section (c).

8 (b) PURPOSES.—Subject to the allocation of funds

9 described in subsection (d), amounts in the Fund shall be

10 available to the Secretary of Commerce, without appro11 priation or fiscal year limitation, to disburse as described

12 in subsection (e) for—

13 (1) efforts to improve fishery harvest data col14 lection including—

15 (A) expanding the use of electronic catch

16 reporting programs and technology; and

17 (B) improvement of monitoring and ob18 server coverage through the expanded use of

19 electronic monitoring devices and satellite track20 ing systems such as VMS on small vessels;

21 (2) cooperative fishery research and analysis, in

22 collaboration with fishery participants, academic in23 stitutions, community residents, and other interested

24 parties;
†

97

S 2012 ES

1 (3) development of methods or new technologies

2 to improve the quality, health safety, and value of

3 fish landed;

4 (4) conducting analysis of fish and seafood for

5 health benefits and risks, including levels of con6 taminants and, where feasible, the source of such

7 contaminants;

8 (5) marketing of sustainable United States fish9 ery products, including consumer education regard10 ing the health or other benefits of wild fishery prod11 ucts harvested by vessels of the United States;

12 (6) improving data collection under the Marine

13 Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey in accordance

14 with section 401(g)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens

15 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

16 U.S.C. 1881(g)(3)); and

17 (7) providing financial assistance to fishermen

18 to offset the costs of modifying fishing practices and

19 gear to meet the requirements of this Act, the Mag20 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage21 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and other Fed22 eral laws in pari materia.

23 (c) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.—

24 (1) QUOTA SET-ASIDES.—Any amount gen25 erated through quota set-asides established by a
†

98

S 2012 ES

1 Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con2 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

3 seq.) and designated by the Council for inclusion in

4 the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund,

5 may be deposited in the Fund.

6 (2) OTHER FUNDS.—In addition to amounts re7 ceived pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection,

8 the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund

9 may also receive funds from—

10 (A) appropriations for the purposes of this

11 section; and

12 (B) States or other public sources or pri13 vate or non-profit organizations for purposes of

14 this section.

15 (d) REGIONAL ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall,

16 every 2 years, apportion monies from the Fund among the

17 eight Council regions according to recommendations of the

18 Councils, based on regional priorities identified through

19 the Council process, except that no region shall receive less

20 than 5 percent of the Fund in each allocation period.

21 (e) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF THE FUND.—No

22 amount made available from the Fund may be used to de23 fray the costs of carrying out requirements of this Act or

24 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage-
†

99

S 2012 ES

1 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) other than those uses

2 identified in this section.

3 SEC. 209. USE OF FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM AND CAP4 ITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND FOR SUSTAIN5 ABLE PURPOSES.

6 (a) PURPOSE OF FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM OBLI7 GATIONS.—Section 1104A(a)(7) of the Merchant Marine

8 Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274(a)(7)) is amended to

9 read as follows:

10 ‘‘(7) financing or refinancing including,

11 ‘‘(A) the reimbursement of obligors for ex12 penditures previously made, for the purchase of

13 individual fishing quotas in accordance with

14 section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens

15 Fishery Conservation and Management Act;

16 ‘‘(B) activities that assist in the transition

17 to reduced fishing capacity; or

18 ‘‘(C) technologies or upgrades designed to

19 improve collection and reporting of fishery-de20 pendent data, to reduce bycatch, to improve se21 lectivity or reduce adverse impacts of fishing

22 gear, or to improve safety.’’.

23 (b) EXPANSION OF PURPOSES FOR QUALIFIED

24 WITHDRAWALS.—Section 607(f)(1) of the Merchant Ma25 rine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1177(f)(1)) is amended—
†

100

S 2012 ES

1 (1) by striking ‘‘for:’’ and inserting ‘‘for—’’;

2 (B) by striking ‘‘vessel,’’ in subparagraph (A)

3 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’;

4 (C) by striking ‘‘vessel, or’’ in subparagraph

5 (B) and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’;

6 (D) by striking ‘‘vessel.’’ in subparagraph (C)

7 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; and

8 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(D) in the case of any person for whose

11 benefit the fund was established and who par12 ticipates in the fishing capacity reduction pro13 gram under section 312 of the Magnuson-Ste14 vens Fishery Conservation and Management

15 Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a)—

16 ‘‘(i) if such person remains in the

17 fishery, the satisfaction of any debt obliga18 tion undertaken pursuant to such program;

19 and

20 ‘‘(ii) if such person withdraws 1 or

21 more vessels from the fishery, the substi22 tution of amounts the person would other23 wise receive under such program for such

24 person’s vessel or permit to engage in the

25 fishery;
†

101

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(E) the repair, maintenance, or upgrade

2 of an eligible vessel or its equipment for the

3 purpose of—

4 ‘‘(i) making conservation engineering

5 changes to reduce bycatch, improve selec6 tivity of fishing gear, or reduce adverse im7 pacts of fishing gear;

8 ‘‘(ii) improving vessel safety; or

9 ‘‘(iii) acquiring, installing, or upgrad10 ing equipment to improve collection, re11 porting, or accuracy of fishery data; or

12 ‘‘(F) the acquisition, construction, recon13 struction, upgrading, or investment in shoreside

14 fishery-related facilities or infrastructure in the

15 United States for the purpose of promoting

16 United States ownership of fishery-related fa17 cilities in the United States without contrib18 uting to overcapacity in the sector.’’.

19 SEC. 210. REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.

20 Section 406 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by adding

21 at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.—

23 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Within 180 days after the date

24 of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con25 servation and Management Reauthorization Act of
†

102

S 2012 ES

1 2006, the Secretary, in consultation with the Coun2 cils, shall undertake and complete a study on the

3 state of the science for advancing the concepts and

4 integration of ecosystem considerations in regional

5 fishery management. The study should build upon

6 the recommendations of the advisory panel and

7 include—

8 ‘‘(A) recommendations for scientific data,

9 information and technology requirements for

10 understanding ecosystem processes, and meth11 ods for integrating such information from a va12 riety of federal, state, and regional sources;

13 ‘‘(B) recommendations for processes for in14 corporating broad stake holder participation;

15 ‘‘(C) recommendations for processes to ac16 count for effects of environmental variation on

17 fish stocks and fisheries; and

18 ‘‘(D) a description of existing and devel19 oping council efforts to implement ecosystem

20 approaches, including lessons learned by the

21 councils.

22 ‘‘(2) AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVICE AND ASSIST23 ANCE, REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary

24 is authorized to provide necessary technical advice

25 and assistance, including grants, to the Councils for
†

103

S 2012 ES

1 the development and design of regional pilot pro2 grams that build upon the recommendations of the

3 advisory panel and, when completed, the study.’’.

4 SEC. 211. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

5 PROGRAM.

6 Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 408. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

9 PROGRAM.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation

11 with appropriate regional fishery management councils

12 and in coordination with other federal agencies and edu13 cational institutions, shall establish a program—

14 ‘‘(1) to identify existing research on, and known

15 locations of, deep sea corals and submit such infor16 mation to the appropriate Councils;

17 ‘‘(2) to locate and map locations of deep sea

18 corals and submit such information to the Councils;

19 ‘‘(3) to monitor activity in locations where deep

20 sea corals are known or likely to occur, based on

21 best scientific information available, including

22 through underwater or remote sensing technologies

23 and submit such information to the appropriate

24 Councils;
†

104

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(4) to conduct research, including cooperative

2 research with fishing industry participants, on deep

3 sea corals and related species, and on survey meth4 ods;

5 ‘‘(5) to develop technologies or methods de6 signed to assist fishing industry participants in re7 ducing interactions between fishing gear and deep

8 sea corals; and

9 ‘‘(6) to prioritize program activities in areas

10 where deep sea corals are known to occur, and in

11 areas where scientific modeling or other methods

12 predict deep sea corals are likely to be present.

13 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Beginning 1 year after the date

14 of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva15 tion and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the

16 Secretary, in consultation with the Councils, shall submit

17 biennial reports to Congress and the public on steps taken

18 by the Secretary to identify and monitor, and the Councils

19 to protect, deep sea coral areas, including summaries of

20 the results of mapping, research, and data collection per21 formed under the program.’’.

22 SEC. 212. IMPACT OF TURTLE EXCLUDER DEVICES ON

23 SHRIMPING.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Undersecretary of Commerce

25 for Oceans and Atmosphere shall execute an agreement
†

105

S 2012 ES

1 with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, jointly,

2 a multi-year, comprehensive in-water study designed—

3 (1) to measure accurately the efforts and ef4 fects of shrimp fishery efforts to utilize turtle ex5 cluder devices;

6 (2) to analyze the impact of those efforts on sea

7 turtle mortality, including interaction between tur8 tles and shrimp trawlers in the inshore, nearshore,

9 and offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico and simi10 lar geographical locations in the waters of the

11 Southeastern United States; and

12 (3) to evaluate innovative technologies to in13 crease shrimp retention in turtle excluder devices

14 while ensuring the protection of endangered and

15 threatened sea turtles.

16 (b) OBSERVERS.—In conducting the study, the Un17 dersecretary shall ensure that observers are placed on18 board commercial shrimp fishing vessels where appro19 priate or necessary.

20 (c) INTERIM REPORTS.—During the course of the

21 study and until a final report is submitted to the Senate

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

23 and the House of Representatives Committee on Re24 sources, the National Academy of Sciences shall transmit

25 interim reports to the Committees biannually containing
†

106

S 2012 ES

1 a summary of preliminary findings and conclusions from

2 the study.

3 SEC. 213. HURRICANE EFFECTS ON SHRIMP AND OYSTER

4 FISHERIES AND HABITATS.

5 (a) FISHERIES REPORT.—Within 180 days after the

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce

7 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep9 resentatives Committee on Resources on the impact of

10 Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma

11 on—

12 (1) commercial and recreational fisheries in the

13 States of Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi,

14 and Texas;

15 (2) shrimp fishing vessels in those States; and

16 (3) the oyster industry in those States.

17 (b) HABITAT REPORT.—Within 180 days after the

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce

19 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep21 resentatives Committee on Resources on the impact of

22 Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma

23 on habitat, including the habitat of shrimp and oysters

24 in those States.
†

107

S 2012 ES

1 (c) HABITAT RESTORATION.—The Secretary shall

2 carry out activities to restore fishery habitats, including

3 the shrimp and oyster habitats in Louisiana and Mis4 sissippi.

5 SEC. 214. NORTHWEST PACIFIC FISHERIES CONSERVATION.

6 Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘all fisheries under the Council’s

8 jurisdiction except salmon fisheries’’ in subsection

9 (a) and inserting ‘‘any fishery under the Council’s

10 jurisdiction except a salmon fishery’’;

11 (2) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting

12 the following:

13 ‘‘(2) establishes a system, or system, of fees,

14 which may vary by fishery, management area, or ob15 server coverage level, to pay for the cost of imple16 menting the plan.’’;

17 (3) by striking ‘‘observers’’ in subsection

18 (b)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘observers, or electronic

19 monitoring systems,’’;

20 (4) by inserting ‘‘a fixed amount reflecting ac21 tual observer costs as described in subparagraph (A)

22 or’’ in subsection (b)(2)(E) after ‘‘expressed as’’;

23 (5) by inserting ‘‘some or’’ in subsection

24 (b)(2)(F) after ‘‘against’’;
†

108

S 2012 ES

1 (6) by inserting ‘‘or an electronic monitoring

2 system’’ after ‘‘observer’’ in subsection (b)(2)(F);

3 (7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

4 subsection (b)(2)(H); and

5 (8) by redesignating subparagraph (I) of sub6 section (b)(2) as subparagraph (J) and inserting

7 after subparagraph (H) the following:

8 ‘‘(I) provide that fees collected will be credited

9 against any fee for stationing observers or electronic

10 monitoring systems on board fishing vessels and

11 United States fish processors and the actual cost of

12 inputting collected data to which a fishing vessel or

13 fish processor is subject under section 304(d) of this

14 Act; and’’.

15 SEC. 215. NEW ENGLAND GROUNDFISH FISHERY.

16 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Commerce shall con17 duct a unique, thorough examination of the potential im18 pact on all affected and interested parties of Framework

19 42 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management

20 Plan.

21 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report the Sec22 retary’s findings under subsection (a) within 30 days after

23 the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall in24 clude in the report a detailed discussion of each of the

25 following:
†

109

S 2012 ES

1 (1) The economic and social implications for af2 fected parties within the fishery, including potential

3 losses to infrastructure, expected from the imposi4 tion of Framework 42.

5 (2) The estimated average annual income gen6 erated by fishermen in New England, separated by

7 State and vessel size, and the estimated annual in8 come expected after the imposition of Framework

9 42.

10 (3) Whether the differential days-at-sea count11 ing imposed by Framework 42 would result in a re12 duction in the number of small vessels actively par13 ticipating in the New England Fishery.

14 (4) The percentage and approximate number of

15 vessels in the New England fishery, separated by

16 State and vessel type, that are incapable of fishing

17 outside the areas designated in Framework 42 for

18 differential days-at-sea counting.

19 (5) The percentage of the annual groundfish

20 catch in the New England fishery that is harvested

21 by small vessels.

22 (6) The current monetary value of groundfish

23 permits in the New England fishery and the actual

24 impact that the potential imposition of Framework

25 42 is having on such value.
†

110

S 2012 ES

1 (7) Whether permitting days-at-sea to be leased

2 is altering the market value for groundfish permits

3 or days-at-sea in New England.

4 (8) Whether there is a substantially high prob5 ability that the biomass targets used as a basis for

6 Amendment 13 remain achievable.

7 (9) An identification of the year in which the

8 biomass targets used as a basis for Amendment 13

9 were last evident or achieved, and the evidence used

10 to determine such date.

11 (10) Any separate or non-fishing factors, in12 cluding environmental factors, that may be leading

13 to a slower rebuilding of groundfish than previously

14 anticipated.

15 (11) The potential harm to the non-fishing en16 vironment and ecosystem from the reduction in fish17 ing resulting from Framework 42 and the potential

18 redevelopment of the coastal land for other purposes,

19 including potential for increases in non-point source

20 of pollution and other impacts.

21 SEC. 216. REPORT ON COUNCIL MANAGEMENT COORDINA22 TION.

23 The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council, in consultation

24 with the New England Fishery Council, shall submit a re25 port to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
†

111

S 2012 ES

1 Transportation within 9 months after the date of enact2 ment of this Act—

3 (1) describing the role of council liaisons be4 tween the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils,

5 including an explanation of council policies regarding

6 the liaison’s role in Council decision-making since

7 1996;

8 (2) describing how management actions are

9 taken regarding the operational aspects of current

10 joint fishery management plans, and how such joint

11 plans may undergo changes through amendment or

12 framework processes;

13 (3) evaluating the role of the New England

14 Fishery Council and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Coun15 cil liaisons in the development and approval of man16 agement plans for fisheries in which the liaisons or

17 members of the non-controlling Council have a dem18 onstrated interest and significant current and histor19 ical landings of species managed by either Council;

20 (4) evaluating the effectiveness of the various

21 approaches developed by the Councils to improve

22 representation for affected members of the non-con23 trolling Council in Council decision-making, such as

24 use of liaisons, joint management plans, and other

25 policies, taking into account both the procedural and
†

112

S 2012 ES

1 conservation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens

2 Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and

3 (5) analyzing characteristics of North Carolina

4 and Florida that supported their inclusion as voting

5 members of more than one Council and the extent

6 to which those characteristics support Rhode Is7 land’s inclusion on a second Council (the Mid-Atlan8 tic Council).

9 TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES

10 STATUTES

11 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO NORTHERN PACIFIC HALIBUT

12 ACT.

13 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 8(a) of the Northern

14 Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f(a)) is

15 amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘$200,000’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘violation, the degree of culpa19 bility, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay,’’

20 in the fifth sentence and inserting ‘‘violator, the de21 gree of culpability, any history of prior offenses,’’;

22 and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In as24 sessing such penalty, the Secretary may also con25 sider any information provided by the violator relat-
†

113

S 2012 ES

1 ing to the ability of the violator to pay if the infor2 mation is provided to the Secretary at least 30 days

3 prior to an administrative hearing.’’.

4 (b) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—Section 8 of the Northern

5 Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f) is amended

6 by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF PERMIT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may take

9 any action described in paragraph (2) in any case in

10 which—

11 ‘‘(A) a vessel has been used in the commis12 sion of any act prohibited under section 7;

13 ‘‘(B) the owner or operator of a vessel or

14 any other person who has been issued or has

15 applied for a permit under this Act has acted

16 in violation of section 7; or

17 ‘‘(C) any amount in settlement of a civil

18 forfeiture imposed on a vessel or other property,

19 or any civil penalty or criminal fine imposed on

20 a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel or any

21 other person who has been issued or has ap22 plied for a permit under any marine resource

23 law enforced by the Secretary has not been paid

24 and is overdue.
†

114

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(2) PERMIT-RELATED ACTIONS.—Under the

2 circumstances described in paragraph (1) the Sec3 retary may—

4 ‘‘(A) revoke any permit issued with respect

5 to such vessel or person, with or without preju6 dice to the issuance of subsequent permits;

7 ‘‘(B) suspend such permit for a period of

8 time considered by the Secretary to be appro9 priate;

10 ‘‘(C) deny such permit; or

11 ‘‘(D) impose additional conditions and re12 strictions on any permit issued to or applied for

13 by such vessel or person under this Act and,

14 with respect to any foreign fishing vessel, on

15 the approved application of the foreign nation

16 involved and on any permit issued under that

17 application.

18 ‘‘(3) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In impos19 ing a sanction under this subsection, the Secretary

20 shall take into account—

21 ‘‘(A) the nature, circumstances, extent,

22 and gravity of the prohibited acts for which the

23 sanction is imposed; and
†

115

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(B) with respect to the violator, the de2 gree of culpability, any history of prior offenses,

3 and such other matters as justice may require.

4 ‘‘(4) TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP.—Transfer of

5 ownership of a vessel, a permit, or any interest in

6 a permit, by sale or otherwise, shall not extinguish

7 any permit sanction that is in effect or is pending

8 at the time of transfer of ownership. Before exe9 cuting the transfer of ownership of a vessel, permit,

10 or interest in a permit, by sale or otherwise, the

11 owner shall disclose in writing to the prospective

12 transferee the existence of any permit sanction that

13 will be in effect or pending with respect to the ves14 sel, permit, or interest at the time of the transfer.

15 ‘‘(5) REINSTATEMENT.—In the case of any per16 mit that is suspended under this subsection for non17 payment of a civil penalty, criminal fine, or any

18 amount in settlement of a civil forfeiture, the Sec19 retary shall reinstate the permit upon payment of

20 the penalty, fine, or settlement amount and interest

21 thereon at the prevailing rate.

22 ‘‘(6) HEARING.—No sanction shall be imposed

23 under this subsection unless there has been prior op24 portunity for a hearing on the facts underlying the

25 violation for which the sanction is imposed either in
†

116

S 2012 ES

1 conjunction with a civil penalty proceeding under

2 this section or otherwise.

3 ‘‘(7) PERMIT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the

4 term ‘permit’ means any license, certificate, ap5 proval, registration, charter, membership, exemption,

6 or other form of permission issued by the Commis7 sion or the Secretary, and includes any quota share

8 or other transferable quota issued by the Sec9 retary.’’.

10 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 9(b) of the

11 Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773g(b))

12 is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘$200,000’’; and

15 (2) by striking ‘‘$100,000,’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘$400,000,’’.

17 SEC. 302. REAUTHORIZATION OF OTHER FISHERIES ACTS.

18 (a) ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION ACT.—

19 Section 7(a) of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act

20 (16 U.S.C. 5156(a)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—For each of fiscal years

22 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, there are authorized

23 to be appropriated to carry out this Act—

24 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 to the Secretary of Commerce;

25 and
†

117

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(2) $250,000 to the Secretary of the Inte2 rior.’’.

3 (b) YUKON RIVER SALMON ACT OF 2000.—Section

4 208 of the Yukon River Salmon Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C.

5 5727) is amended by striking ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fis6 cal years 2004 through 2008,’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000

7 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010,’’.

8 (c) SHARK FINNING PROHIBITION ACT.—Section 10

9 of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (16 U.S.C. 1822

10 note) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2001 through

11 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2006 through 2010’’.

12 (d) PACIFIC SALMON TREATY ACT.—

13 (1) TRANSFER OF SECTION TO ACT.—The text

14 of section 623 of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat.

15 1501A–56), as introduced on November 17, 1999,

16 and enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1) of the

17 Act of November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113)—

18 (A) is transferred to the Pacific Salmon

19 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.) and in20 serted after section 15; and

21 (B) amended—

22 (i) by striking ‘‘SEC. 623.’’; and

23 (ii) inserting before ‘‘(a) NORTHERN

24 FUND AND SOUTHERN FUND.—’’ the fol25 lowing:
†

118

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 16. NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FUNDS; TREATY IM2 PLEMENTATION; ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZA3 TION OF APPROPRIATIONS.’’.

4 (2) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 16(d)(2)(A)

5 of the Pacific Salmon Treaty Act, as transferred by

6 subsection (a), is amended—

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘sustainable salmon fisheries,’’

8 after ‘‘enhancement,’’; and

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009,’’

10 after ‘‘2005,’’.

11 (e) STATE AUTHORITY FOR DUNGENESS CRAB FISH12 ERY MANAGEMENT.—Section 203 of Public Law 105–384

13 (16 U.S.C. 1856 note) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 2006.’’ in sub15 section (i) and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2016.’’;

16 (2) by striking ‘‘health’’ in subsection (j) and

17 inserting ‘‘status’’; and

18 (3) by striking ‘‘California.’’ in subsection (j)

19 and inserting ‘‘California, including—

20 ‘‘(1) stock status and trends throughout its

21 range;

22 ‘‘(2) a description of applicable research and

23 scientific review processes used to determine stock

24 status and trends; and
†

119

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(3) measures implemented or planned that are

2 designed to prevent or end overfishing in the fish3 ery.’’.

4 (f) PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Pacific Fishery Man6 agement Council shall develop a proposal for the ap7 propriate rationalization program for the Pacific

8 trawl groundfish and whiting fisheries, including the

9 shore-based sector of the Pacific whiting fishery

10 under its jurisdiction. The proposal may include only

11 the Pacific whiting fishery, including the shore-based

12 sector, if the Pacific Council determines that a ra13 tionalization plan for the fishery as a whole cannot

14 be achieved before the report is required to be sub15 mitted under paragraph (3).

16 (2) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—In developing the

17 proposal to rationalize the fishery, the Pacific Coun18 cil shall fully analyze alternative program designs,

19 including the allocation of limited access privileges

20 to harvest fish to fishermen and processors working

21 together in regional fishery associations or some

22 other cooperative manner to harvest and process the

23 fish, as well as the effects of these program designs

24 and allocations on competition and conservation.

25 The analysis shall include an assessment of the im-
†

120

S 2012 ES

1 pact of the proposal on conservation and the eco2 nomics of communities, fishermen, and processors

3 participating in the trawl groundfish fisheries, in4 cluding the shore-based sector of the Pacific whiting

5 fishery.

6 (3) REPORT.—The Pacific Council shall submit

7 the proposal and related analysis to the Senate Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

9 and the House of Representatives Committee on Re10 sources no later than 24 months after the date of

11 enactment of this Act.

12 TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL

13 SEC. 401. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE.

14 Title II (16 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.) is amended by add15 ing at the end the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 207. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLI17 ANCE.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may undertake

19 activities to promote improved monitoring and compliance

20 for high seas fisheries, or fisheries governed by inter21 national fishery management agreements, and to imple22 ment the requirements of this title.

23 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out sub24 section (a), the Secretary may—
†

121

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(1) share information on harvesting and proc2 essing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregu3 lated fishing on the high seas, in areas covered by

4 international fishery management agreements, and

5 by vessels of other nations within the United States

6 exclusive economic zone, with relevant law enforce7 ment organizations of foreign nations and relevant

8 international organizations;

9 ‘‘(2) further develop real time information shar10 ing capabilities, particularly on harvesting and proc11 essing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregu12 lated fishing;

13 ‘‘(3) participate in global and regional efforts to

14 build an international network for monitoring, con15 trol, and surveillance of high seas fishing and fishing

16 under regional or global agreements;

17 ‘‘(4) support efforts to create an international

18 registry or database of fishing vessels, including by

19 building on or enhancing registries developed by

20 international fishery management organizations;

21 ‘‘(5) enhance enforcement capabilities through

22 the application of commercial or governmental re23 mote sensing technology to locate or identify vessels

24 engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fish25 ing on the high seas, including encroachments into
†

122

S 2012 ES

1 the exclusive economic zone by fishing vessels of

2 other nations;

3 ‘‘(6) provide technical or other assistance to de4 veloping countries to improve their monitoring, con5 trol, and surveillance capabilities; and

6 ‘‘(7) support coordinated international efforts

7 to ensure that all large-scale fishing vessels oper8 ating on the high seas are required by their flag

9 State to be fitted with vessel monitoring systems no

10 later than December 31, 2008, or earlier if so de11 cided by the relevant flag State or any relevant

12 international fishery management organization.’’.

13 SEC. 402. FINDING WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNRE14 PORTED, AND UNREGULATED FISHING.

15 Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)), as amended by sec16 tion 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the

17 end the following:

18 ‘‘(12) International cooperation is necessary to

19 address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing

20 and other fishing practices which may harm the sus21 tainability of living marine resources and disadvan22 tage the United States fishing industry.’’.
†

123

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 403. ACTION TO END ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UN2 REGULATED FISHING AND REDUCE BYCATCH

3 OF PROTECTED MARINE SPECIES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the High Seas Driftnet

5 Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et

6 seq.), is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 607. BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPLI8 ANCE.

9 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

10 State, shall provide to Congress, by not later than 2 years

11 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens

12 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization

13 Act of 2006, and every 2 years thereafter, a report that

14 includes—

15 ‘‘(1) the state of knowledge on the status of

16 international living marine resources shared by the

17 United States or subject to treaties or agreements to

18 which the United States is a party, including a list

19 of all such fish stocks classified as overfished, over20 exploited, depleted, endangered, or threatened with

21 extinction by any international or other authority

22 charged with management or conservation of living

23 marine resources;

24 ‘‘(2) a list of nations whose vessels have been

25 identified under sections 609(a) or 610(a), including
†

124

S 2012 ES

1 the specific offending activities and any subsequent

2 actions taken pursuant to section 609 or 610;

3 ‘‘(3) a description of efforts taken by nations on

4 those lists to comply take appropriate corrective ac5 tion consistent with sections 609 and 610, and an

6 evaluation of the progress of those efforts, including

7 steps taken by the United States to implement those

8 sections and to improve international compliance;

9 ‘‘(4) progress at the international level, con10 sistent with section 608, to strengthen the efforts of

11 international fishery management organizations to

12 end illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; and

13 ‘‘(5) steps taken by the Secretary at the inter14 national level to adopt international measures com15 parable to those of the United States to reduce im16 pacts of fishing and other practices on protected liv17 ing marine resources, if no international agreement

18 to achieve such goal exists, or if the relevant inter19 national fishery or conservation organization has

20 failed to implement effective measures to end or re21 duce the adverse impacts of fishing practices on

22 such species.
†

125

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 608. ACTION TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL FISH2 ERY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

3 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

4 State, and in cooperation with relevant fishery manage5 ment councils and any relevant advisory committees, shall

6 take actions to improve the effectiveness of international

7 fishery management organizations in conserving and man8 aging fish stocks under their jurisdiction. These actions

9 shall include—

10 ‘‘(1) urging international fishery management

11 organizations to which the United States is a

12 member—

13 ‘‘(A) to incorporate multilateral market-re14 lated measures against member or nonmember

15 governments whose vessels engage in illegal, un16 reported, or unregulated fishing;

17 ‘‘(B) to seek adoption of lists that identify

18 fishing vessels and vessel owners engaged in il19 legal, unreported, or unregulated fishing that

20 can be shared among all members and other

21 international fishery management organizations;

22 ‘‘(C) to seek international adoption of a

23 centralized vessel monitoring system in order to

24 monitor and document capacity in fleets of all

25 nations involved in fishing in areas under the
†

126

S 2012 ES

1 an international fishery management organiza2 tion’s jurisdiction;

3 ‘‘(D) to increase use of observers and tech4 nologies needed to monitor compliance with con5 servation and management measures estab6 lished by the organization, including vessel

7 monitoring systems and automatic identification

8 systems; and

9 ‘‘(E) to seek adoption of stronger port

10 state controls in all nations, particularly those

11 nations in whose ports vessels engaged in ille12 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing land or

13 transship fish;

14 ‘‘(2) urging international fishery management

15 organizations to which the United States is a mem16 ber, as well as all members of those organizations,

17 to adopt and expand the use of market-related meas18 ures to combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated

19 fishing, including—

20 ‘‘(A) import prohibitions, landing restric21 tions, or other market-based measures needed

22 to enforce compliance with international fishery

23 management organization measures, such as

24 quotas and catch limits;
†

127

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(B) import restrictions or other market2 based measures to prevent the trade or impor3 tation of fish caught by vessels identified multi4 laterally as engaging in illegal, unreported, or

5 unregulated fishing; and

6 ‘‘(C) catch documentation and certification

7 schemes to improve tracking and identification

8 of catch of vessels engaged in illegal, unre9 ported, or unregulated fishing, including ad10 vance transmission of catch documents to ports

11 of entry; and

12 ‘‘(3) urging other nations at bilateral, regional,

13 and international levels, including the Convention on

14 International Trade in Endangered Species of

15 Fauna and Flora and the World Trade Organization

16 to take all steps necessary, consistent with inter17 national law, to adopt measures and policies that

18 will prevent fish or other living marine resources

19 harvested by vessels engaged in illegal, unreported,

20 or unregulated fishing from being traded or im21 ported into their nation or territories.

22 ‘‘SEC. 609. ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED

23 FISHING.

24 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify,

25 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if fishing
†

128

S 2012 ES

1 vessels of that nation are engaged, or have been engaged

2 at any point during the preceding two years in illegal, un3 reported, or unregulated fishing; and—

4 ‘‘(1) the relevant international fishery manage5 ment organization has failed to implement effective

6 measures to end the illegal unreported, or unregu7 lated fishing activity by vessels of that nation or the

8 nation is not a party to, or does not maintain co9 operating status with, such organization; or

10 ‘‘(2) where no international fishery manage11 ment organization exists with a mandate to regulate

12 the fishing activity in question.

13 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.—An identification under sub14 section (a) or section 610(a) is deemed to be an identifica15 tion under section 101(b)(1)(A) of the High Seas Driftnet

16 Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)(1)(A)),

17 and the Secretary shall notify the President and that na18 tion of such identification.

19 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—No later than 60 days after

20 submitting a report to Congress under section 607, the

21 Secretary, acting through the Secretary of State, shall—

22 ‘‘(1) notify nations listed in the report of the

23 requirements of this section;

24 ‘‘(2) initiate consultations for the purpose of

25 encouraging such nations to take the appropriate
†

129

S 2012 ES

1 corrective action with respect to the offending activi2 ties of their fishing vessels identified in the report;

3 and

4 ‘‘(3) notify any relevant international fishery

5 management organization of the actions taken by

6 the United States under this section.

7 ‘‘(d) IUU CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—

8 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall es9 tablish a procedure, consistent with the provisions of

10 subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States

11 Code, and including notice and an opportunity for

12 comment by the governments of any nation listed by

13 the Secretary under subsection (a), for determining

14 if that government has taken appropriate corrective

15 action with respect to the offending activities of its

16 fishing vessels identified in the report under section

17 607. The Secretary shall determine, on the basis of

18 the procedure, and certify to the Congress no later

19 than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary

20 promulgates a final rule containing the procedure,

21 and biennially thereafter in the report under section

22 607—

23 ‘‘(A) whether the government of each na24 tion identified under subsection (b) has pro25 vided documentary evidence that it has taken
†

130

S 2012 ES

1 corrective action with respect to the offending

2 activities of its fishing vessels identified in the

3 report; or

4 ‘‘(B) whether the relevant international

5 fishery management organization has imple6 mented measures that are effective in ending

7 the illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing

8 activity by vessels of that nation.

9 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec10 retary may establish a procedure for certification, on

11 a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or other

12 basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of a har13 vesting nation not certified under paragraph (1) if

14 the Secretary determines that—

15 ‘‘(A) the vessel has not engaged in illegal,

16 unreported, or unregulated fishing under an

17 international fishery management agreement to

18 which the United States is a party; or

19 ‘‘(B) the vessel is not identified by an

20 international fishery management organization

21 as participating in illegal, unreported, or un22 regulated fishing activities.

23 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi24 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and

25 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and
†

131

S 2012 ES

1 (b)(4)) (except to the extent that such provisions

2 apply to sport fishing equipment or fish or products

3 thereof not managed under the relevant inter4 national fishery agreement (or, where there is no

5 such agreement, not caught by the vessels engaged

6 in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing)) shall

7 apply to any nation identified under subsection (a)

8 that has not been certified by the Secretary under

9 this subsection, or for which the Secretary has

10 issued a negative certification under this subsection,

11 but shall not apply to any nation identified under

12 subsection (a) for which the Secretary has issued a

13 positive certification under this subsection.

14 ‘‘(e) ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED

15 FISHING DEFINED.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this Act the term ‘ille17 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing’ has the

18 meaning established under paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY TO DEFINE TERM WITHIN

20 LEGISLATIVE GUIDELINES.—Within 3 months after

21 the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens

22 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza23 tion Act of 2006, the Secretary shall publish a defi24 nition of the term ‘illegal, unreported, or unregu25 lated fishing’ for purposes of this Act.
†

132

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall include

2 in the definition, at a minimum—

3 ‘‘(A) fishing activities that violate con4 servation and management measures required

5 under an international fishery management

6 agreement to which the United States is a

7 party, including catch limits or quotas, capacity

8 restrictions, and bycatch reduction require9 ments;

10 ‘‘(B) overfishing of fish stocks shared by

11 the United States, for which there are no appli12 cable international conservation or management

13 measures or in areas with no applicable inter14 national fishery management organization or

15 agreement, that has adverse impacts on such

16 stocks; and

17 ‘‘(C) fishing activity, including bottom

18 trawling, that has adverse impacts on

19 seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold water

20 corals located beyond national jurisdiction, for

21 which there are no applicable conservation or

22 management measures or in areas with no ap23 plicable international fishery management orga24 nization or agreement.
†

133

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis3 cal years 2006 through 2012 such sums as are necessary

4 to carry out this section.

5 ‘‘SEC. 610. EQUIVALENT CONSERVATION MEASURES.

6 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify,

7 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if—

8 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged,

9 or have been engaged during the preceding calendar

10 year in fishing activities or practices;

11 ‘‘(A) beyond the exclusive economic zone of

12 any nation that result in bycatch of a protected

13 living marine resource; or

14 ‘‘(B) beyond the exclusive economic zone of

15 the United States that result in bycatch of a

16 protected living marine resource shared by the

17 United States;

18 ‘‘(2) the relevant international organization for

19 the conservation and protection of such resources or

20 the relevant international or regional fishery organi21 zation has failed to implement effective measures to

22 end or reduce such bycatch, or the nation is not a

23 party to, or does not maintain cooperating status

24 with, such organization; and
†

134

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(3) the nation has not adopted a regulatory

2 program governing such fishing practices designed

3 to end or reduce such bycatch that is comparable to

4 that of the United States, taking into account dif5 ferent conditions.

6 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION.—The Sec7 retary, acting through the Secretary of State, shall—

8 ‘‘(1) notify, as soon as possible, other nations

9 whose vessels engage in fishing activities or practices

10 described in subsection (a), about the provisions of

11 this section and this Act;

12 ‘‘(2) initiate discussions as soon as possible

13 with all foreign governments which are engaged in,

14 or which have persons or companies engaged in,

15 fishing activities or practices described in subsection

16 (a), for the purpose of entering into bilateral and

17 multilateral treaties with such countries to protect

18 such species;

19 ‘‘(3) seek agreements calling for international

20 restrictions on fishing activities or practices de21 scribed in subsection (a) through the United Na22 tions, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Com23 mittee on Fisheries, and appropriate international

24 fishery management bodies; and
†

135

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(4) initiate the amendment of any existing

2 international treaty for the protection and conserva3 tion of such species to which the United States is a

4 party in order to make such treaty consistent with

5 the purposes and policies of this section.

6 ‘‘(c) CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—

7 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall de8 termine, on the basis of a procedure consistent with

9 the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title

10 5, United States Code, and including notice and an

11 opportunity for comment by the governments of any

12 nation identified by the Secretary under subsection

13 (a). The Secretary shall certify to the Congress by

14 January 31, 2007, and biennially thereafter whether

15 the government of each harvesting nation—

16 ‘‘(A) has provided documentary evidence of

17 the adoption of a regulatory program governing

18 the conservation of the protected living marine

19 resource that is comparable to that of the

20 United States, taking into account different

21 conditions, and which, in the case of pelagic

22 longline fishing, includes mandatory use of cir23 cle hooks, careful handling and release equip24 ment, and training and observer programs; and
†

136

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(B) has established a management plan

2 containing requirements that will assist in gath3 ering species-specific data to support inter4 national stock assessments and conservation en5 forcement efforts for protected living marine re6 sources.

7 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec8 retary shall establish a procedure for certification,

9 on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or

10 other basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of

11 a harvesting nation not certified under paragraph

12 (1) if the Secretary determines that such imports

13 were harvested by practices that do not result in by14 catch of a protected marine species, or were har15 vested by practices that—

16 ‘‘(A) are comparable to those of the United

17 States, taking into account different conditions,

18 and which, in the case of pelagic longline fish19 ing, includes mandatory use of circle hooks,

20 careful handling and release equipment, and

21 training and observer programs; and

22 ‘‘(B) include the gathering of species spe23 cific data that can be used to support inter24 national and regional stock assessments and
†

137

S 2012 ES

1 conservation efforts for protected living marine

2 resources.

3 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi4 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and

5 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and

6 (b)(4)) (except to the extent that such provisions

7 apply to sport fishing equipment or fish or fish prod8 ucts not caught by the vessels engaged in illegal, un9 reported, or unregulated fishing) shall apply to any

10 nation identified under subsection (a) that has not

11 been certified by the Secretary under this sub12 section, or for which the Secretary has issued a neg13 ative certification under this subsection, but shall

14 not apply to any nation identified under subsection

15 (a) for which the Secretary has issued a positive cer16 tification under this subsection.

17 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSIST18 ANCE.—To the greatest extent possible consistent with ex19 isting authority and the availability of funds, the Secretary

20 shall—

21 ‘‘(1) provide appropriate assistance to nations

22 identified by the Secretary under subsection (a) and

23 international organizations of which those nations

24 are members to assist those nations in qualifying for

25 certification under subsection (c);
†

138

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(2) undertake, where appropriate, cooperative

2 research activities on species statistics and improved

3 harvesting techniques, with those nations or organi4 zations;

5 ‘‘(3) encourage and facilitate the transfer of ap6 propriate technology to those nations or organiza7 tions to assist those nations in qualifying for certifi8 cation under subsection (c); and

9 ‘‘(4) provide assistance to those nations or or10 ganizations in designing and implementing appro11 priate fish harvesting plans.

12 ‘‘(e) PROTECTED LIVING MARINE RESOURCE DE13 FINED.—In this section the term ‘protected living marine

14 resource’—

15 ‘‘(1) means non-target fish, sea turtles, or ma16 rine mammals that are protected under United

17 States law or international agreement, including the

18 Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered

19 Species Act, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, and

20 the Convention on International Trade in Endan21 gered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna; but

22 ‘‘(2) does not include species, except sharks,

23 managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con24 servation and Management Act, the Atlantic Tunas
†

139

S 2012 ES

1 Convention Act, or any international fishery man2 agement agreement.

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

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis5 cal years 2006 through 2012 such sums as are necessary

6 to carry out this section.‘‘.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) DENIAL OF PORT PRIVILEGES.—Section

9 101(b) of the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforce10 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)) is amended by in11 serting ‘‘or illegal, unreported, or unregulated

12 fishing‘‘ after ‘‘fishing‘‘ in paragraph (1)(A)(i),

13 paragraph (1)(B), paragraph (2), and paragraph

14 (4)(A)(i).

15 (2) DURATION OF DENIAL.—Section 102 of the

16 High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act (16

17 U.S.C. 1826b) is amended by inserting ‘‘or illegal,

18 unreported , or unregulated fishing‘‘ after ‘‘fishing‘‘.

19 SEC. 404. MONITORING OF PACIFIC INSULAR AREA FISH20 ERIES.

21 (a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Section 201(h)(2)(B) (16

22 U.S.C. 1821(h)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘that is at

23 least equal in effectiveness to the program established by

24 the Secretary;’’ and inserting ‘‘or other monitoring pro25 gram that the Secretary, in consultation with the Western
†

140

S 2012 ES

1 Pacific Management Council, determines is adequate to

2 monitor harvest, bycatch, and compliance with the laws

3 of the United States by vessels fishing under the agree4 ment;’’.

5 (b) MARINE CONSERVATION PLANS.—Section

6 204(e)(4)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)(4)(A)(i)) is amended

7 to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(i) Pacific Insular Area observer programs, or

9 other monitoring programs, that the Secretary deter10 mines are adequate to monitor the harvest, bycatch,

11 and compliance with the laws of the United States

12 by foreign fishing vessels that fish under Pacific In13 sular Area fishing agreements;’’.

14 SEC. 405. REAUTHORIZATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS CON15 VENTION ACT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the Atlantic Tunas

17 Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971h) is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act, including

22 use for payment of the United States share of the joint

23 expenses of the Commission as provided in Article X of

24 the Convention—

25 ‘‘(1) $5,495,000 for fiscal year 2006;
†

141

S 2012 ES

1 ‘‘(2) $5,770,000 for each of fiscal years 2007

2 and 2008;

3 ‘‘(3) $6,058,000 for each of fiscal years 2009

4 and 2010; and

5 ‘‘(4) $6,361,000 for each of fiscal years 2011

6 and 2012.

7 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made available

8 under subsection (a) for each fiscal year—

9 ‘‘(1) $160,000 are authorized for the advisory

10 committee established under section 4 of this Act

11 and the species working groups established under

12 section 4A of this Act; and

13 ‘‘(2) $7,500,000 are authorized for research ac14 tivities under this Act and section 3 of Public Law

15 96–339 (16 U.S.C. 971i), of which $3,000,000 shall

16 be for the cooperative research program under sec17 tion 3(b)(2)(H) of that section (16 U.S.C.

18 971i(b)(2)(H).’’.

19 (b) DISQUALIFICATION FROM APPOINTMENT TO

20 INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE CONSERVATION

21 OF ATLANTIC TUNAS.—Section 3(a) of the Atlantic Tunas

22 Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971a(a)) is amended

23 by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(4) An individual who has directly represented,

25 aided, or advised a foreign entity in any marine re-
†

142

S 2012 ES

1 sources negotiation, or marine resource dispute, with

2 the United States may not be appointed or serve as

3 a Commissioner.’’.

4 (c) ATLANTIC BILLFISH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

5 PROGRAM.—Section 3(b)(2) of Public Law 96–339 (16

6 U.S.C. 971i(b)(2)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

8 subparagraph (G);

9 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as sub10 paragraph (I); and

11 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(H) include a cooperative research pro14 gram on Atlantic billfish based on the South15 east Fisheries Science Center Atlantic Billfish

16 Research Plan of 2002; and’’.

17 SEC. 406. INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING AND DOMESTIC

18 EQUITY.

19 (a) INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING.—Section 304

20 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding at the end thereof

21 the following:

22 ‘‘(i) INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING.—The provisions

23 of this subsection shall apply in lieu of subsection (e) to

24 a fishery that the Secretary determines is overfished or

25 approaching a condition of being overfished due to exces-
†

143

S 2012 ES

1 sive international fishing pressure, and for which there are

2 no management measures to end overfishing under an

3 international agreement to which the United States is a

4 party. For such fisheries—

5 ‘‘(1) the Secretary, in cooperation with the Sec6 retary of State, immediately take appropriate action

7 at the international level to end the overfishing; and

8 ‘‘(2) within 1 year after the Secretary’s deter9 mination, the appropriate Council, or Secretary, for

10 fisheries under section 302(a)(3) shall—

11 ‘‘(A) develop recommendations for domes12 tic regulations to address the relative impact of

13 fishing vessels of the United States on the stock

14 and, if developed by a Council, the Council shall

15 submit such recommendations to the Secretary;

16 and

17 ‘‘(B) develop and submit recommendations

18 to the Secretary of State, and to the Congress,

19 for international actions that will end over20 fishing in the fishery and rebuild the affected

21 stocks, taking into account the relative impact

22 of vessels of other nations and vessels of the

23 United States on the relevant stock.’’.

24 (b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES TAGGING RE25 SEARCH.—Section 304(g)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(2)) is
†

144

S 2012 ES

1 amended by striking ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d)’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d), or highly migratory species harvested

3 in a commercial fishery managed by a Council under this

4 Act or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Conven5 tion Implementation Act,’’.

6 SEC. 407. UNITED STATES CATCH HISTORY.

7 In establishing catch allocations under international

8 fisheries agreements, the Secretary, in consultation with

9 the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard

10 is operating, and the Secretary of State, shall ensure that

11 all catch history in a fishery associated with a vessel of

12 the United States remains with the United States in that

13 fishery, and is not transferred or credited to any other

14 nation or vessel of such nation, including when a vessel

15 of the United States is sold or transferred to a citizen

16 of another nation or to an entity controlled by citizens of

17 another nation.

18 SEC. 408. SECRETARIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR INTER19 NATIONAL FISHERIES.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation

21 with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and

22 Atmosphere, shall designate a Senate-confirmed, senior of23 ficial within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad24 ministration to perform the duties of the Secretary with

25 respect to international agreements involving fisheries and
†

145

S 2012 ES

1 other living marine resources, including policy develop2 ment and representation as a U.S. Commissioner, under

3 any such international agreements.

4 (b) ADVICE.—The designated official shall, in con5 sultation with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter6 national Affairs and the Administrator of the National

7 Marine Fisheries Service, advise the Secretary, Undersec8 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and

9 other senior officials of the Department of Commerce and

10 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on

11 development of policy on international fisheries conserva12 tion and management matters.

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—The designated official shall

14 consult with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,

15 and Transportation and the House Committee on Re16 sources on matters pertaining to any regional or inter17 national negotiation concerning living marine resources,

18 including shellfish, including before initialing any agree19 ment concerning living marine resources or attending any

20 official meeting at which management measures will be

21 discussed, and shall otherwise keep the committees in22 formed throughout the negotiation process.

23 (d) DELEGATION.—The designated official may dele24 gate and authorize successive re-delegation of such func25 tions, powers, and duties to such officers and employees
†

146

S 2012 ES

1 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2 as deemed necessary to discharge the responsibility of the

3 Office.

4 (e) DISQUALIFICATION FROM DESIGNATION.—The

5 Secretary may not designate an individual under sub6 section (a) who has directly represented, aided, or advised

7 a foreign entity (as defined in section 207(f)(3) of title

8 18, United States Code) in any marine resource negotia9 tion, or marine resource dispute, with the United States.

10 TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF

11 WESTERN AND CENTRAL PA12 CIFIC FISHERIES CONVEN13 TION

14 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Western and Central

16 Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act’’.

17 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this title:

19 (1) 1982 CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘1982 Con20 vention’’ means the United Nations Convention on

21 the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982.

22 (2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’

23 means the Agreement for the Implementation of the

24 Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the

25 Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the
†

147

S 2012 ES

1 Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish

2 Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.

3 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

4 means the Commission for the Conservation and

5 Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the

6 Western and Central Pacific Ocean established in

7 accordance with this Convention.

8 (4) CONVENTION AREA.—The term ‘‘convention

9 area’’ means all waters of the Pacific Ocean bounded

10 to the south and to the east by the following line:

11 From the south coast of Australia due south along

12 the 141th meridian of east longitude to its intersec13 tion with the 55th parallel of south latitude; thence

14 due east along the 55th parallel of south latitude to

15 its intersection with the 150th meridian of east lon16 gitude; thence due south along the 150th meridian

17 of east longitude to its intersection with the 60th

18 parallel of south latitude; thence due east along the

19 60th parallel of south latitude to its intersection

20 with the 130th meridian of west longitude; thence

21 due north along the 130th meridian of west lon22 gitude to its intersection with the 4th parallel of

23 south latitude; thence due west along the 4th par24 allel of south latitude to its intersection with the
†

148

S 2012 ES

1 150th meridian of west longitude; thence due north

2 along the 150th meridian of west longitude.

3 (5) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term

4 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone estab5 lished by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030

6 of March 10, 1983.

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

8 (A) searching for, catching, taking, or har9 vesting fish.

10 (B) attempting to search for, catch, take,

11 or harvest fish.

12 (C) engaging in any other activity which

13 can reasonably be expected to result in the lo14 cating, catching, taking, or harvesting of fish

15 for any purpose.

16 (D) placing, searching for, or recovering

17 fish aggregating devices or associated electronic

18 equipment such as radio beacons.

19 (E) any operations at sea directly in sup20 port of, or in preparation for, any activity de21 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D), in22 cluding transshipment.

23 (F) use of any other vessel, vehicle, air24 craft, or hovercraft, for any activity described

25 in subparagraphs (A) through (E) except for
†

149

S 2012 ES

1 emergencies involving the health and safety of

2 the crew or the safety of a vessel.

3 (7) FISHING VESSEL.—The term ‘‘fishing ves4 sel’’ means any vessel used or intended for use for

5 the purpose of fishing, including support ships, car6 rier vessels, and any other vessel directly involved in

7 such fishing operations.

8 (8) HIGHLY MIGRATORY FISH STOCKS.—The

9 term ‘‘highly migratory fish stocks’’ means all fish

10 stocks of the species listed in Annex 1 of the 1982

11 Convention occurring in the Convention Area, and

12 such other species of fish as the Commission may

13 determine.

14 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

15 the Secretary of Commerce.

16 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

17 the several States of the United States, the District

18 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern

19 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and any

20 other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the

21 United States.

22 (11) TRANSHIPMENT.—The term ‘‘trans23 shipment’’ means the unloading of all or any of the

24 fish on board a fishing vessel to another fishing ves25 sel either at sea or in port.
†

150

S 2012 ES

1 (12) WCPCF CONVENTION; WESTERN AND

2 CENTRAL PACIFIC CONVENTION.—The terms

3 ‘‘WCPCF Convention’’ and ‘‘Western and Central

4 Pacific Convention’’ means the Convention on the

5 Conservation and Management of the Highly Migra6 tory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific

7 Ocean, with Annexes, which was adopted at Hono8 lulu, Hawaii, on September 5, 2000, by the Multilat9 eral High Level Conference on the Highly Migratory

10 Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific

11 Ocean.

12 SEC. 503. APPOINTMENT OF UNITED STATES COMMIS13 SIONERS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall be rep15 resented on the Commission by 5 United States Commis16 sioners. The President shall appoint individuals to serve

17 on the Commission at the pleasure of the President. In

18 making the appointments, the President shall select Com19 missioners from among individuals who are knowledgeable

20 or experienced concerning highly migratory fish stocks in

21 the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, one of whom shall

22 be an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce,

23 and one of whom shall be the chairman or a member of

24 the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. The

25 Commissioners shall be entitled to adopt such rules of pro-
†

151

S 2012 ES

1 cedures as they find necessary and to select a chairman

2 from among members who are officers or employees of the

3 United States Government.

4 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—The Secretary of

5 State, in consultation with the Secretary, may designate

6 from time to time and for periods of time deemed appro7 priate Alternate United States Commissioners to the Com8 mission. Any Alternate United States Commissioner may

9 exercise at any meeting of the Commission, Council, any

10 Panel, or the advisory committee established pursuant to

11 subsection (d), all powers and duties of a United States

12 Commissioner in the absence of any Commissioner ap13 pointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section for what14 ever reason. The number of such Alternate United States

15 Commissioners that may be designated for any such meet16 ing shall be limited to the number of United States Com17 missioners appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this

18 section who will not be present at such meeting.

19 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—

20 (1) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals serving

21 as such Commissioners, other than officers or em22 ployees of the United States Government, shall be

23 considered to be Federal employees while performing

24 such service, only for purposes of—
†

152

S 2012 ES

1 (A) injury compensation under chapter 81

2 of title 5, United States Code;

3 (B) tort claims liability as provided under

4 chapter 171 of title 28 United States Code;

5 (C) requirements concerning ethics, con6 flicts of interest, and corruption as provided

7 under title 18, United States Code; and

8 (D) any other criminal or civil statute or

9 regulation governing the conduct of Federal em10 ployees.

11 (2) COMPENSATION.—The United States Com12 missioners or Alternate Commissioners, although of13 ficers of the United States while so serving, shall re14 ceive no compensation for their services as such

15 Commissioners or Alternate Commissioners.

16 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

17 (A) The Secretary of State shall pay the

18 necessary travel expenses of United States

19 Commissioners and Alternate United States

20 Commissioners in accordance with the Federal

21 Travel Regulations and sections 5701, 5702,

22 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United

23 States Code.
†

153

S 2012 ES

1 (B) The Secretary may reimburse the Sec2 retary of State for amounts expended by the

3 Secretary of State under this subsection.

4 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT ADVISORY

6 COMMITTEE.—

7 (A) MEMBERSHIP.—There is established

8 an advisory committee which shall be composed

9 of—

10 (i) not less than 15 nor more than 20

11 individuals appointed by the United States

12 Commissioners who shall select such indi13 viduals from the various groups concerned

14 with the fisheries covered by the WCPFC

15 Convention, providing, to the maximum ex16 tent practicable, an equitable balance

17 among such groups;

18 (ii) the chair of the Western Pacific

19 Fishery Management Council’s Advisory

20 Committee or the chair’s designee; and

21 (iii) officials of the fisheries manage22 ment authorities of American Samoa,

23 Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands

24 (or their designees).
†

154

S 2012 ES

1 (B) TERMS AND PRIVILEGES.—Each mem2 ber of the advisory committee appointed under

3 subparagraph (A) shall serve for a term of 2

4 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

5 Members of the advisory committee may attend

6 all public meetings of the Commission, Council,

7 or any Panel to which they are invited by the

8 Commission, Council, or any Panel. The advi9 sory committee shall be invited to attend all

10 non-executive meetings of the United States

11 Commissioners and at such meetings shall be

12 given opportunity to examine and to be heard

13 on all proposed programs of investigation, re14 ports, recommendations, and regulations of the

15 Commission.

16 (C) PROCEDURES.—The advisory com17 mittee established by subparagraph (A) shall

18 determine its organization, and prescribe its

19 practices and procedures for carrying out its

20 functions under this chapter, the Magnuson21 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management

22 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and the WCPFC

23 Convention. The advisory committee shall pub24 lish and make available to the public a state25 ment of its organization, practices, and proce-
†

155

S 2012 ES

1 dures. A majority of the members of the advi2 sory committee shall constitute a quorum.

3 Meetings of the advisory committee, except

4 when in executive session, shall be open to the

5 public, and prior notice of meetings shall be

6 made public in a timely fashion. and the advi7 sory committee shall not be subject to the Fed8 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

9 (D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The

10 Secretary and the Secretary of State shall fur11 nish the advisory committee with relevant infor12 mation concerning fisheries and international

13 fishery agreements.

14 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—

15 (A) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary

16 shall provide to advisory committees in a timely

17 manner such administrative and technical sup18 port services as are necessary for their effective

19 functioning.

20 (B) COMPENSATION; STATUS; EX21 PENSES.—Individuals appointed to serve as a

22 member of an advisory committee—

23 (i) shall serve without pay, but while

24 away from their homes or regular places of

25 business in the performance of services for
†

156

S 2012 ES

1 the advisory committee shall be allowed

2 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

3 of subsistence, in the same manner as per4 sons employed intermittently in the Gov5 ernment service are allowed expenses under

6 section 5703 of title 5, United States

7 Code; and

8 (ii) shall not be considered Federal

9 employees by reason of their service as

10 members of an advisory committee, except

11 for purposes of injury compensation or tort

12 claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of

13 title 5, United States Code, and chapter

14 171 of title 28, United States Code.

15 (f) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—For highly

16 migratory species in the Pacific, the Secretary, in coordi17 nation with the Secretary of State, shall develop a memo18 randum of understanding with the Western Pacific, Pa19 cific, and North Pacific Fishery Management Councils,

20 that specifies the role of the relevant Council or Councils

21 with respect to—

22 (1) participation in United States delegations to

23 international fishery organizations in the Pacific

24 Ocean, including government-to-government con25 sultations;
†

157

S 2012 ES

1 (2) providing formal recommendations to the

2 Secretary and the Secretary of State regarding nec3 essary measures for both domestic and foreign ves4 sels fishing for these species;

5 (3) coordinating positions with the United

6 States delegation for presentation to the appropriate

7 international fishery organization; and

8 (4) recommending those domestic fishing regu9 lations that are consistent with the actions of the

10 international fishery organization, for approval and

11 implementation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fish12 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

13 1801 et seq.)

14 SEC. 504. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEC15 RETARY OF STATE.

16 The Secretary of State may—

17 (1) receive and transmit, on behalf of the

18 United States, reports, requests, recommendations,

19 proposals, decisions, and other communications of

20 and to the Commission;

21 (2) in consultation with the Secretary and the

22 United States Commissioners, approve, disapprove,

23 object to, or withdraw objections to bylaws and

24 rules, or amendments thereof, adopted by the

25 WCPFC Commission, and, with the concurrence of
†

158

S 2012 ES

1 the Secretary to approve or disapprove the general

2 annual program of the WCPFC Commission with re3 spect to conservation and management measures

4 and other measures proposed or adopted in accord5 ance with the WCPFC Convention; and

6 (3) act upon, or refer to other appropriate au7 thority, any communication referred to in paragraph

8 (1).

9 SEC. 505. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF

10 COMMERCE.

11 (a) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of State and,

13 with respect to enforcement measures, the Secretary of the

14 Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, is au15 thorized to promulgate such regulations as may be nec16 essary to carry out the United States international obliga17 tions under the WCPFC Convention and this title, includ18 ing recommendations and decisions adopted by the Com19 mission. In cases where the Secretary has discretion in

20 the implementation of one or more measures adopted by

21 the Commission that would govern fisheries under the au22 thority of a Regional Fishery Management Council, the

23 Secretary may, to the extent practicable within the imple24 mentation schedule of the WCPFC Convention and any

25 recommendations and decisions adopted by the Commis-
†

159

S 2012 ES

1 sion, promulgate such regulations in accordance with the

2 procedures established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

3 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

4 seq.).

5 (b) ADDITIONS TO FISHERY REGIMES AND REGULA6 TIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate regulations appli7 cable to all vessels and persons subject to the jurisdiction

8 of the United States, including United States flag vessels

9 wherever they may be operating, on such date as the Sec10 retary shall prescribe.

11 SEC. 506. ENFORCEMENT.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may—

13 (1) administer and enforce this title and any

14 regulations issued under this title, except to the ex15 tent otherwise provided for in this Act;

16 (2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non17 reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel,

18 equipment, and facilities of other Federal depart19 ments and agencies in—

20 (A) the administration and enforcement of

21 this title; and

22 (B) the conduct of scientific, research, and

23 other programs under this title;

24 (3) conduct fishing operations and biological ex25 periments for purposes of scientific investigation or
†

160

S 2012 ES

1 other purposes necessary to implement the WCPFC

2 Convention;

3 (4) collect, utilize, and disclose such informa4 tion as may be necessary to implement the WCPFC

5 Convention, subject to sections 552 and 552a of title

6 5, United States Code, and section 402(b) of the

7 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man8 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b));

9 (5) if recommended by the United States Com10 missioners or proposed by a Council with authority

11 over the relevant fishery, assess and collect fees, not

12 to exceed three percent of the ex-vessel value of fish

13 harvested by vessels of the United States in fisheries

14 managed pursuant to this title, to recover the actual

15 costs to the United States of management and en16 forcement under this title, which shall be deposited

17 as an offsetting collection in, and credited to, the ac18 count providing appropriations to carry out the func19 tions of the Secretary under this title; and

20 (6) issue permits to owners and operators of

21 United States vessels to fish in the convention area

22 seaward of the United States Exclusive Economic

23 Zone, under such terms and conditions as the Sec24 retary may prescribe, and shall remain valid for a

25 period to be determined by the Secretary.
†

161

S 2012 ES

1 (b) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAWS.—The Sec2 retary shall ensure the consistency, to the extent prac3 ticable, of fishery management programs administered

4 under this Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva5 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the

6 Tuna Conventions Act (16 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), the South

7 Pacific Tuna Act (16 U.S.C. 973 et seq.), section 401 of

8 Public Law 108–219 (16 U.S.C. 1821 note) (relating to

9 Pacific albacore tuna), and the Atlantic Tunas Convention

10 Act (16 U.S.C. 971).

11 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary

12 shall prevent any person from violating this title in the

13 same manner, by the same means, and with the same ju14 risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable

15 terms and provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

16 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) were

17 incorporated into and made a part of this title. Any person

18 that violates any provision of this title is subject to the

19 penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities

20 provided in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation

21 and Management Act in the same manner, by the same

22 means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties

23 as though all applicable terms and provisions of that Act

24 were incorporated into and made a part of this title.

25 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—
†

162

S 2012 ES

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any information submitted

2 to the Secretary in compliance with any requirement

3 under this Act shall be confidential and shall not be

4 disclosed, except—

5 (A) to Federal employees who are respon6 sible for administering, implementing, and en7 forcing this Act;

8 (B) to the Commission, in accordance with

9 requirements in the Convention and decisions of

10 the Commission, and, insofar as possible, in ac11 cordance with an agreement with the Commis12 sion that prevents public disclosure of the iden13 tity or business of any person;

14 (C) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis15 sion employees pursuant to an agreement with

16 the Secretary that prevents public disclosure of

17 the identity or business or any person;

18 (D) when required by court order; or

19 (E) when the Secretary has obtained writ20 ten authorization from the person submitting

21 such information to release such information to

22 persons for reasons not otherwise provided for

23 in this subsection, and such release does not

24 violate other requirements of this Act.
†

163

S 2012 ES

1 (2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary

2 shall, by regulation, prescribe such procedures as

3 may be necessary to preserve the confidentiality of

4 information submitted in compliance with any re5 quirement or regulation under this Act, except that

6 the Secretary may release or make public any such

7 information in any aggregate or summary form that

8 does not directly or indirectly disclose the identity or

9 business of any person. Nothing in this subsection

10 shall be interpreted or construed to prevent the use

11 for conservation and management purposes by the

12 Secretary of any information submitted in compli13 ance with any requirement or regulation under this

14 Act.

15 SEC. 507. PROHIBITED ACTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person—

17 (1) to violate any provision of this title or any

18 regulation or permit issued pursuant to this title;

19 (2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fish20 ing after the revocation, or during the period of sus21 pension, or an applicable permit issued pursuant to

22 this title;

23 (3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to

24 enforce the provisions of this title to board a fishing

25 vessel subject to such person’s control for the pur-
†

164

S 2012 ES

1 poses of conducting any search, investigation, or in2 spection in connection with the enforcement of this

3 title or any regulation, permit, or the Convention;

4 (4) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede,

5 intimidate, or interfere with any such authorized of6 ficer in the conduct of any search, investigations, or

7 inspection in connection with the enforcement of this

8 title or any regulation, permit, or the Convention;

9 (5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib10 ited by this title;

11 (6) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur12 chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or

13 possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation

14 of this title or any regulation, permit, or agreement

15 referred to in paragraph (1) or (2);

16 (7) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any

17 means, the apprehension or arrest of another person,

18 knowing that such other person has committed any

19 chapter prohibited by this section;

20 (8) to knowingly and willfully submit to the

21 Secretary false information (including false informa22 tion regarding the capacity and extent to which a

23 United States fish processor, on an annual basis,

24 will process a portion of the optimum yield of a fish25 ery that will be harvested by fishery vessels of the
†

165

S 2012 ES

1 United States), regarding any matter that the Sec2 retary is considering in the course of carrying out

3 this title;

4 (9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede,

5 intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with

6 any observer one a vessel under this title, or any

7 data collector employed by the National Marine

8 Fisheries Service or under contract to any person to

9 carry out responsibilities under this title;

10 (10) to engage in fishing in violation of any

11 regulation adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of

12 this title;

13 (11) to ship, transport, purchase, sell, offer for

14 sale, import, export, or have in custody, possession,

15 or control any fish taken or retained in violation of

16 such regulations;

17 (12) to fail to make, keep, or furnish any catch

18 returns, statistical records, or other reports as are

19 required by regulations adopted pursuant to this

20 title to be made, kept, or furnished;

21 (13) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed

22 and instructed to stop by a duly authorized official

23 of the United States;

24 (14) to import, in violation of any regulation

25 adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this title, any
†

166

S 2012 ES

1 fish in any form of those species subject to regula2 tion pursuant to a recommendation, resolution, or

3 decision of the Commission, or any tuna in any form

4 not under regulation but under investigation by the

5 Commission, during the period such fish have been

6 denied entry in accordance with the provisions of

7 section 506(a) of this title.

8 (b) ENTRY CERTIFICATION.—In the case of any fish

9 described in subsection (a) offered for entry into the

10 United States, the Secretary of Commerce shall require

11 proof satisfactory to the Secretary that such fish is not

12 ineligible for such entry under the terms of section 506(a)

13 of this title.

14 SEC. 508. COOPERATION IN CARRYING OUT CONVENTION.

15 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES; PRIVATE INSTI16 TUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary may co17 operate with agencies of the United States government,

18 any public or private institutions or organizations within

19 the United States or abroad, and, through the Secretary

20 of State, the duly authorized officials of the government

21 of any party to the WCPFC Convention, in carrying out

22 responsibilities under this title.

23 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER PROGRAMS; FACILITIES

24 AND PERSONNEL.—All Federal agencies are authorized,

25 upon the request of the Secretary, to cooperate in the con-
†

167

S 2012 ES

1 duct of scientific and other programs and to furnish facili2 ties and personnel for the purpose of assisting the Com3 mission in carrying out its duties under the WCPFC Con4 vention.

5 (c) SANCTIONED FISHING OPERATIONS AND BIO6 LOGICAL EXPERIMENTS.—Nothing in this title, or in the

7 laws or regulations of any State, prevents the Secretary

8 or the Commission from—

9 (1) conducting or authorizing the conduct of

10 fishing operations and biological experiments at any

11 time for purposes of scientific investigation; or

12 (2) discharging any other duties prescribed by

13 the WCPFC Convention.

14 (d) STATE JURISDICTION NOT AFFECTED.—Except

15 as provided in subsection (e) of this section, nothing in

16 this title shall be construed to diminish or to increase the

17 jurisdiction of any State in the territorial sea of the

18 United States.

19 (e) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—regulations promulgated

21 under section 506(a) of this title shall apply within

22 the boundaries of any State bordering on the Con23 vention area if the Secretary has provided notice to

24 such State, the State does not request an agency
†

168

S 2012 ES

1 hearing, and the Secretary determines that the

2 State—

3 (A) has not, within a reasonable period of

4 time after the promulgation of regulations pur5 suant to this title, enacted laws or promulgated

6 regulations that implement the recommenda7 tions of the Commission within the boundaries

8 of such State; or

9 (B) has enacted laws or promulgated regu10 lations that implement the recommendations of

11 the commission within the boundaries of such

12 State that—

13 (i) are less restrictive that the regula14 tions promulgated under section 506(a) of

15 this title; or

16 (ii) are not effectively enforced.

17 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The reg18 ulations promulgated pursuant to section 506(a) of

19 this title shall apply until the Secretary determines

20 that the State is effectively enforcing within its

21 boundaries measures that are not less restrictive

22 than the regulations promulgated under section

23 506(a) of this title.

24 (3) HEARING.—If a State requests a formal

25 agency hearing, the Secretary shall not apply the
†

169

S 2012 ES

1 regulations promulgated pursuant section 506(a) of

2 this title within that State’s boundaries unless the

3 hearing record supports a determination under para4 graph (1)(A) or (B).

5 (f) REVIEW OF STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS.—

6 To ensure that the purposes of subsection (e) are carried

7 out, the Secretary shall undertake a continuing review of

8 the laws and regulations of all States to which subsection

9 (e) applies or may apply and the extent to which such laws

10 and regulations are enforced.

11 SEC. 509. TERRITORIAL PARTICIPATION.

12 The Secretary of State shall ensure participation in

13 the Commission and its subsidiary bodies by American

14 Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands to the

15 same extent provided to the territories of other nations.

16 SEC. 510. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE NOTIFICATION.

17 Masters of commercial fishing vessels of nations fish18 ing for species under the management authority of the

19 Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention that do

20 not carry vessel monitoring systems capable of commu21 nicating with United States enforcement authorities shall,

22 prior to, or as soon as reasonably possible after, entering

23 and transiting the Exclusive Economic Zone seaward of

24 Hawaii and of the Commonwealths, territories, and pos25 sessions of the United States in the Pacific Ocean area—
†

170

S 2012 ES

1 (1) notify the United States Coast Guard or the

2 National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law En3 forcement in the appropriate region of the name,

4 flag state, location, route, and destination of the ves5 sel and of the circumstances under which it will

6 enter United States waters;

7 (2) ensure that all fishing gear on board the

8 vessel is stowed below deck or otherwise removed

9 from the place where it is normally used for fishing

10 and placed where it is not readily available for fish11 ing; and

12 (3) where requested by an enforcement officer,

13 proceed to a specified location so that a vessel in14 spection can be conducted.

15 SEC. 511. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary of Commerce such sums as may be necessary to

18 carry out this title and to pay the United States’ contribu19 tion to the Commission under section 5 of part III of the

20 WCPFC Convention.

21 TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING

22 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Whiting Act

24 of 2006’’.
†

171

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title:

3 (1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory

4 panel’’ means the Advisory Panel on Pacific Hake/

5 Whiting established by the Agreement.

6 (2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’

7 means the Agreement between the Government of

8 the United States and the Government of Canada on

9 Pacific Hake/Whiting, signed at Seattle, Wash10 ington, on November 21, 2003.

11 (3) CATCH.—The term ‘‘catch’’ means all fish12 ery removals from the offshore whiting resource, in13 cluding landings, discards, and bycatch in other fish14 eries.

15 (4) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.—The

16 term ‘‘joint management committee’’ means the

17 joint management committee established by the

18 Agreement.

19 (5) JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.—The term

20 ‘‘joint technical committee’’ means the joint tech21 nical committee established by the Agreement.

22 (6) OFFSHORE WHITING RESOURCE.—The term

23 ‘‘offshore whiting resource’’ means the

24 transboundary stock of Merluccius productus that is

25 located in the offshore waters of the United States
†

172

S 2012 ES

1 and Canada except in Puget Sound and the Strait

2 of Georgia.

3 (7) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—The term

4 ‘‘scientific review group’’ means the scientific review

5 group established by the Agreement.

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

7 the Secretary of Commerce.

8 (9) UNITED STATES SECTION.—The term

9 ‘‘United States Section’’ means the United States

10 representatives on the joint management committee.

11 SEC. 603. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT

12 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

13 (a) REPRESENTATIVES.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta15 tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint 4 in16 dividuals to represent the United States as the

17 United States Section on the joint management com18 mittee. In making the appointments, the Secretary

19 shall select representatives from among individuals

20 who are knowledgeable or experienced concerning

21 the offshore whiting resource. Of these—

22 (A) 1 shall be an official of the National

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

24 (B) 1 shall be a member of the Pacific

25 Fishery Management Council, appointed with
†

173

S 2012 ES

1 consideration given to any recommendation pro2 vided by that Council;

3 (C) 1 shall be appointed from a list sub4 mitted by the treaty Indian tribes with treaty

5 fishing rights to the offshore whiting resource;

6 and

7 (D) 1 shall be appointed from the commer8 cial sector of the whiting fishing industry con9 cerned with the offshore whiting resource.

10 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each representative ap11 pointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for

12 a term not to exceed 4 years, except that, of the ini13 tial appointments, 2 representatives shall be ap14 pointed for terms of 2 years. Any individual ap15 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expi16 ration of the term of office of that individual’s pred17 ecessor shall be appointed for the remainder of that

18 term. A representative may be appointed for a term

19 of less than 4 years if such term is necessary to en20 sure that the term of office of not more than 2 rep21 resentatives will expire in any single year. An indi22 vidual appointed to serve as a representative is eligi23 ble for reappointment.

24 (3) CHAIR.—Unless otherwise agreed by all of

25 the 4 representatives, the chair shall rotate annually
†

174

S 2012 ES

1 among the 4 members, with the order of rotation de2 termined by lot at the first meeting.

3 (b) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—The Secretary,

4 in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate

5 alternate representatives of the United States to serve on

6 the joint management committee. An alternative rep7 resentative may exercise, at any meeting of the committee,

8 all the powers and duties of a representative in the ab9 sence of a duly designated representative for whatever rea10 son.

11 SEC. 604. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON THE SCI12 ENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation

14 with the Secretary of State, shall appoint no more than

15 2 scientific experts to serve on the scientific review group.

16 An individual shall not be eligible to serve on the scientific

17 review group while serving on the joint technical com18 mittee.

19 (b) TERM.—An individual appointed under sub20 section (a) shall be appointed for a term of not to exceed

21 4 years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. An indi22 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the

23 expiration of a term of office of that individual’s prede24 cessor shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of that

25 term.
†

175

S 2012 ES

1 (c) JOINT APPOINTMENTS.—In addition to individ2 uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly

3 with the Government of Canada, may appoint to the sci4 entific review group, from a list of names provided by the

5 advisory panel —

6 (1) up to 2 independent members of the sci7 entific review group; and

8 (2) 2 public advisors.

9 SEC. 605. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT

10 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.

11 (a) SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint at

14 least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve as

15 scientific experts on the joint technical committee, at

16 least 1 of whom shall be an official of the National

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

18 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed

19 under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term

20 of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re21 appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va22 cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term

23 of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap24 pointed for the remainder of that term.
†

176

S 2012 ES

1 (b) INDEPENDENT MEMBER.—In addition to individ2 uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly

3 with the Government of Canada, shall appoint 1 inde4 pendent member to the joint technical committee selected

5 from a list of names provided by the advisory panel.

6 SEC. 606. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON ADVISORY

7 PANEL.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint

11 at least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve

12 as members of the advisory panel, selected from

13 among individuals who are—

14 (A) knowledgeable or experienced in the

15 harvesting, processing, marketing, management,

16 conservation, or research of the offshore whiting

17 resource; and

18 (B) not employees of the United States.

19 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed

20 under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term

21 of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re22 appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va23 cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term

24 of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap25 pointed for the remainder of that term.
†

177

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 607. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is responsible for

3 carrying out the Agreement and this title, including the

4 authority, to be exercised in consultation with the Sec5 retary of State, to accept or reject, on behalf of the United

6 States, recommendations made by the joint management

7 committee.

8 (b) REGULATIONS; COOPERATION WITH CANADIAN

9 OFFICIALS.—In exercising responsibilities under this title,

10 the Secretary—

11 (1) may promulgate such regulations as may be

12 necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of

13 the Agreement and this title; and

14 (2) with the concurrence of the Secretary of

15 State, may cooperate with officials of the Canadian

16 Government duly authorized to carry out the Agree17 ment.

18 SEC. 608. RULEMAKING.

19 (a) APPLICATION WITH MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—

20 The Secretary shall establish the United States catch level

21 for Pacific whiting according to the standards and proce22 dures of the Agreement and this title rather than under

23 the standards and procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens

24 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

25 1801 et seq.), except to the extent necessary to address

26 the rebuilding needs of other species. Except for estab-
†

178

S 2012 ES

1 lishing the catch level, all other aspects of Pacific whiting

2 management shall be—

3 (1) subject to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

4 Conservation and Management Act; and

5 (2) consistent with this title.

6 (b) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REC7 OMMENDATIONS.—For any year in which both parties to

8 the Agreement approve recommendations made by the

9 joint management committee with respect to the catch

10 level, the Secretary shall implement the approved rec11 ommendations. Any regulation promulgated by the Sec12 retary to implement any such recommendation shall apply,

13 as necessary, to all persons and all vessels subject to the

14 jurisdiction of the United States wherever located.

15 (c) YEARS WITH NO APPROVED CATCH REC16 OMMENDATIONS.—If the parties to the Agreement do not

17 approve the joint management committee’s recommenda18 tion with respect to the catch level for any year, the Sec19 retary shall establish the total allowable catch for Pacific

20 whiting for the United States catch. In establishing the

21 total allowable catch under this subsection, the Secretary

22 shall—

23 (1) take into account any recommendations

24 from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the

25 joint management committee, the joint technical
†

179

S 2012 ES

1 committee, the scientific review group, and the advi2 sory panel;

3 (2) base the total allowable catch on the best

4 scientific information available;

5 (3) use the default harvest rate set out in para6 graph 1 of Article III of the Agreement unless the

7 Secretary determines that the scientific evidence

8 demonstrates that a different rate is necessary to

9 sustain the offshore whiting resource; and

10 (4) establish the United State’s share of the

11 total allowable catch based on paragraph 2 of Article

12 III of the Agreement and make any adjustments

13 necessary under section 5 of Article II of the Agree14 ment.

15 SEC. 609. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

16 (a) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals serving as

17 such Commissioners, other than officers or employees of

18 the United States Government, shall be considered to be

19 Federal employees while performing such service, only for

20 purposes of—

21 (1) injury compensation under chapter 81 of

22 title 5, United States Code;

23 (2) tort claims liability as provided under chap24 ter 171 of title 28 United States Code;
†

180

S 2012 ES

1 (3) requirements concerning ethics, conflicts of

2 interest, and corruption as provided under title 18,

3 United States Code; and

4 (4) any other criminal or civil statute or regula5 tion governing the conduct of Federal employees.

6 (b) COMPENSATION.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), an individual appointed under this title

9 shall receive no compensation for the individual’s

10 service as a representative, alternate representative,

11 scientific expert, or advisory panel member under

12 this title.

13 (2) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—Notwith14 standing paragraph (1), the Secretary may employ

15 and fix the compensation of an individual appointed

16 under section 604(a) to serve as a scientific expert

17 on the scientific review group who is not employed

18 by the United States government, a State govern19 ment, or an Indian tribal government in accordance

20 with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

21 (c) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Except as provided in sub22 section (d), the Secretary shall pay the necessary travel

23 expenses of individuals appointed under this title in ac24 cordance with the Federal Travel Regulations and sections
†

181

S 2012 ES

1 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5,

2 United States Code.

3 (d) JOINT APPOINTEES.—With respect to the 2 inde4 pendent members of the scientific review group and the

5 2 public advisors to the scientific review group jointly ap6 pointed under section 604(c), and the 1 independent mem7 ber to the joint technical committee jointly appointed

8 under section 605(b), the Secretary may pay up to 50 per9 cent of—

10 (1) any compensation paid to such individuals;

11 and

12 (2) the necessary travel expenses of such indi13 viduals.

14 SEC. 610. ENFORCEMENT.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may—

16 (1) administer and enforce this title and any

17 regulations issued under this title;

18 (2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non19 reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel,

20 equipment, and facilities of other Federal depart21 ments and agencies in the administration and en22 forcement of this title; and

23 (3) collect, utilize, and disclose such informa24 tion as may be necessary to implement the Agree-
†

182

S 2012 ES

1 ment and this title, subject to sections 552 and 552a

2 of title 5, United States Code.

3 (b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any per4 son to violate any provision of this title or the regulations

5 promulgated under this title.

6 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary

7 shall prevent any person from violating this title in the

8 same manner, by the same means, and with the same ju9 risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable

10 terms and provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

11 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) were

12 incorporated into and made a part of this title. Any person

13 that violates any provision of this title is subject to the

14 penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities

15 provided in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation

16 and Management Act in the same manner, by the same

17 means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties

18 as though all applicable terms and provisions of that Act

19 were incorporated into and made a part of this title.

20 (d) PENALTIES.—This title shall be enforced by the

21 Secretary as if a violation of this title or of any regulation

22 promulgated by the Secretary under this title were a viola23 tion of section 307 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con24 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).
†

183

S 2012 ES

1 SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

4 obligations of the United States under the Agreement and

5 this title.

Passed the Senate June 19, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2012

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of

poses.years 2006 through 2012, and for other purConservation and Management Act for fiscalCommerce for the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery