II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2012 

To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for fiscal years 2006 

through 2012, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2005 

Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

VITTER, and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

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 2005’’. 
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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 definitions. 

Sec. 4. Highly migratory species. 

Sec. 5. Total allowable level of foreign fishing. 

Sec. 6. Western Pacific 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. Bycatch reduction engineering program. 

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. 

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. 
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Sec. 405. Reauthorization of Atlantic Tunas Convention Act. 

Sec. 406. International overfishing and domestic equity. 

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. Penalties. 

Sec. 508. Cooperation in carrying out convention. 

Sec. 509. Territorial participation. 

Sec. 510. 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 

5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

7 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish8 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

9 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 3. CHANGES IN DEFINITIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 

12 amended— 
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1 (1) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(6A) The term ‘confidential information’ 

4 means— 

5 ‘‘(A) trade secrets; or 

6 ‘‘(B) commercial or financial information 

7 the disclosure of which is likely to result in sub8 stantial harm to the competitive position of the 

9 person who submitted the information to the 

10 Secretary.’’; 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(13B) the term ‘regional fishery association’ 

14 means an association formed for the mutual benefit 

15 of members comprising persons engaging in the har16 vest or processing of fishery resources in a specific 

17 geographic region or subregion who otherwise own or 

18 operate businesses substantially dependent upon a 

19 fishery to meet social and economic needs in that re20 gion or subregion.’’; 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the fol22 lowing: 

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

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

25 part of a limited access system under section 
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1 303A to harvest a quantity of fish that may be 

2 received or held for exclusive use by a person; 

3 and 

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

5 but 

6 ‘‘(C) does not include community develop7 ment quotas as described in section 305(i).’’; 

8 and 

9 (4) by inserting after paragraph (27) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(27A) The term ‘observer information’ means 

12 any information collected, observed, retrieved, or cre13 ated by an observer or electronic monitoring system 

14 pursuant to authorization by the Secretary, or col15 lected as part of a cooperative research initiative, in16 cluding fish harvest or processing observations, fish 

17 sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, ves18 sel or processor-specific information (including any 

19 safety, location, or operating condition observations), 

20 and video, audio, photographic, or written docu21 ments.’’. 

22 (b) REDESIGNATION.—Paragraphs (1) through (45) 

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

24 (a), are redesignated as paragraphs (1) thorough (49), re25 spectively. 
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) The following provisions of the Act are 

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

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

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

6 1854(c)(3)). 

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

8 1854(d)(2)(A)(i)). 

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

10 1881a(b)(1)(D)). 

11 (D) Section 407(a)(1)(D), (c)(1), and 

12 (c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1883(a)(1)(D), (c)(1), and 

13 (c)(2)(B)). 

14 (2) Section 305(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(h)(1)) is 

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

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

17 SEC. 4. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES. 

18 Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1912) is amended— 

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

20 ‘‘The’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(b) TRADITIONAL PARTICIPATION.—For fisheries 

23 being managed under an international fisheries agreement 

24 to which the United States is a party, Council or Secre25 tarial action, if any, shall reflect traditional participation 
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1 in the fishery, relative to other Nations, by fishermen of 

2 the United States on fishing vessels of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(c) PROMOTION OF STOCK MANAGEMENT.—If a rel4 evant international fisheries organization does not have a 

5 process for developing a formal plan to rebuild a depleted 

6 stock, an overfished stock, or a stock that is approaching 

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

8 in this regard shall be communicated to and promoted by 

9 the United States in the international or regional fisheries 

10 organization.’’. 

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

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

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

14 (2) by striking ‘‘will not’’ and inserting ‘‘can15 not, or will not,’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting after ‘‘Act.’’ the following: ‘‘Al17 locations of the total allowable level of foreign fish18 ing are discretionary, except that the total allowable 

19 level shall be zero for fisheries determined by the 

20 secretary to have adequate or excess harvest capac21 ity.’’ 

22 SEC. 6. WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES FUND. 

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

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘and any funds or contribu25 tions received in support of conservation and man-
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1 agement objectives under a marine conservation 

2 plan’’ after ‘‘agreement’’ in paragraph (7); 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘authority, after payment of di4 rect costs of the enforcement action to all entities in5 volved in such action,’’ in paragraph (8); and 

6 (3) by inserting after ‘‘paragraph (4).’’ in para7 graph (8) ‘‘In the case of violations by foreign ves8 sels occurring within the exclusive economic zones 

9 off Midway Atoll, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, 

10 Palmyra Atoll, Jarvis, Howland, Baker, and Wake 

11 Islands, amounts received by the Secretary attrib12 utable to fines and penalties imposed under this Act, 

13 shall be deposited into the Western Pacific Sustain14 able Fisheries Fund established under paragraph (7) 

15 of this subsection.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary to carry out the provisions of this Act 

22 $328,004,000.00 for fiscal year 2006, and such sums as 

23 may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2012.’’ 
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1 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND 

2 MANAGEMENT 

3 SEC. 101. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS. 

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

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

6 economic and social data and assessment methods based 

7 on the best economic and social information available,’’ 

8 after ‘‘fishing communities’’. 

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

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

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

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

13 if any, including the cumulative economic and social im14 pacts, of the conservation and management measures on, 

15 and possible mitigation measures for—’’. 

16 SEC. 102. CARIBBEAN COUNCIL JURISDICTION. 

17 Section 302(a)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 852(a)(1)(D)) is 

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

19 and possessions of the United States in the Caribbean 

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

21 SEC. 103. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS. 

22 (a) TRIBAL ALTERNATE ON PACIFIC COUNCIL.—Sec23 tion 302(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5)) is amended by add24 ing at the end thereof the following: 
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1 ‘‘(D) The tribal representative appointed under sub2 paragraph (A) may designate as an alternate, during the 

3 period of the representative’s term, an individual knowl4 edgeable concerning tribal rights, tribal law, and the fish5 ery resources of the geographical area concerned.’’. 

6 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.— 

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

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

9 precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

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

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

12 and appoint the members of, a scientific and statis13 tical committee to assist it in the development, col14 lection, evaluation, and peer review of such statis15 tical, biological, economic, social, and other scientific 

16 information as is relevant to such Council’s develop17 ment and amendment of any fishery management 

18 plan. 

19 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 

20 shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for 

21 fishery management decisions, including rec22 ommendations for acceptable biological catch or opti23 mum yield, and reports on stock status and health, 

24 bycatch, habitat status, socio-economic impacts of 
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1 management measures, and sustainability of fishing 

2 practices. 

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

4 scientific and statistical committees shall be Federal 

5 employees, State employees, academicians, or inde6 pendent experts with strong scientific or technical 

7 credentials and experience. 

8 ‘‘(D) The Secretary and each Council may es9 tablish a peer review process for that Council, devel10 oped in consultation with the Council coordination 

11 committee for scientific information used to advise 

12 the Council about the conservation and management 

13 of the fishery. The review process, which may in14 clude existing committees or panels, is deemed to 

15 satisfy the requirements of the guidelines issued pur16 suant to section 515 of the Treasury and General 

17 Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal year 2001 

18 (Public Law 106–554—Appendix C; 114 Stat. 

19 2763A–153). 

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

21 302(f)(7), the Secretary may pay a stipend to mem22 bers of the scientific and statistical committees or 

23 advisory panels who are not employed by the Federal 

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

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

2 (3) by resetting the left margin of paragraphs 

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

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

5 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 

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

7 paragraph (5); 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para9 graph (7); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(6) adopt annual catch limits for each of its 

13 managed fisheries after considering the rec14 ommendations of its scientific and statistical com15 mittee or other appropriate scientific body; and’’. 

16 (d) REGULAR AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS.—The 

17 first sentence of section 302(i)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C. 

18 1852(i)(2)(C)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘published in local newspapers’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘provided by any means that will re21 sult in wide publicity (except that e-mail notification 

22 and website postings alone are not sufficient)’’; and 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘fishery) and such notice may 

24 be given by such other means as will result in wide 

25 publicity.’’ and inserting ‘‘fishery).’’. 
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1 (e) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(3)(B) (16 

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

3 newspapers’’ and inserting ‘‘provide notice by any means 

4 that will result in wide publicity’’. 

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

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

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

9 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste10 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reau11 thorization Act of 2005, the Secretary, in consulta12 tion with the Councils and the National Sea Grant 

13 College Program, shall develop a training course for 

14 newly appointed Council members. The course may 

15 cover a variety of topics relevant to matters before 

16 the Councils, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assess18 ment methods; 

19 ‘‘(B) fishery management techniques, data 

20 needs, and Council procedures; 

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

22 ‘‘(D) tribal treaty rights and native cus23 toms, access, and other rights related to West24 ern Pacific indigenous communities; 
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1 ‘‘(E) legal requirements of this Act, includ2 ing conflict of interest and disclosure provisions 

3 of this section and related policies; 

4 ‘‘(F) other relevant legal and regulatory 

5 requirements, including the National Environ6 mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

7 ‘‘(G) public process for development of 

8 fishery management plans; and 

9 ‘‘(H) other topics suggested by the Coun10 cil. 

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

12 shall be available to both new and existing Council 

13 members, and may be made available to committee 

14 or advisory panel members as resources allow. 

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

16 Councils may establish a Council coordination committee 

17 consisting of the chairs, vice chairs, and executive direc18 tors of each of the 8 Councils described in subsection 

19 (a)(1), or other Council members or staff, in order to dis20 cuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including issues 

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

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

23 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘to the Councils or to the sci25 entific and statistical committees or advisory panels 
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1 established under subsection (g)’’ in paragraph (1) 

2 and inserting ‘‘to the Councils, the Council coordina3 tion committee established under subsection (l), or 

4 to the scientific and statistical committees or other 

5 committees or advisory panels established under sub6 section (g)’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘of a Council, and of the sci8 entific and statistical committee and advisory panels 

9 established under subsection (g)’’ in paragraph (2) 

10 and inserting ‘‘of a Council, of the Council coordina11 tion committee established under subsection (l), and 

12 of the scientific and statistical committees or other 

13 committees or advisory panels established under sub14 section (g)’’; and 

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘other committee,’’ 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 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

20 paragraph (2)(B); 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2)(C) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(D) the members of any fishing, processing, or 

24 marketing association if the individual is serving as 
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1 an employee or contractor or otherwise receiving 

2 compensation from the association; and 

3 ‘‘(E) any entity or other individual from whom 

4 the individual is receiving or will receive compensa5 tion of any kind;’’ 

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

7 (5) and inserting the following: 

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

9 available on the Internet and for public inspection at 

10 the Council offices during reasonable times; and’’; 

11 and 

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

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

14 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Senate Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

16 House of Representatives Committee on Resources on ac17 tion taken by the Secretary and the Councils to implement 

18 the disclosure of financial interest and recusal require19 ments of this subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 104. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 

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

22 1853(a)) is amended— 

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

24 (5) and inserting ‘‘charter fishing, and fish proc25 essing’’; 
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘economic information nec2 essary to meet the requirements of this Act,’’ in 

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

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

5 paragraph (13); 

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

7 and inserting ‘‘fishery; and’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(15) specify, in the plan or implementing regu10 lations, annual catch limits, which shall be estab11 lished by the Council or Secretary based on the best 

12 scientific information available at a level that does 

13 not exceed optimum yield, and, for the purposes of 

14 which harvests exceeding the specified annual catch 

15 limit (including the specified annual catch limit for 

16 a sector) shall be deducted from the following year’s 

17 annual catch limit (including that sector).’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 subsection (a)(5) shall take effect 2 years after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 105. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN DISCRETIONARY 

22 PROVISIONS. 

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

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

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(6) establish a limited access system for the 

2 fishery in order to achieve optimum yield if, in devel3 oping such system, the Council and the Secretary 

4 take into account— 

5 ‘‘(A) the conservation requirements of this 

6 Act with respect to the fishery; 

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

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

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

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

12 in the fishery to engage in other fisheries; 

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

15 communities; 

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

17 access privileges to a public resource; and 

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

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

20 paragraph (7); 

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

22 paragraph (11); and 

23 (4) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para24 graph (13) and inserting after paragraph (11) the 

25 following: 
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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 and’’. 

5 SEC. 106. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

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

7 is amended— 

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

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

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

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

12 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage13 ment Reauthorization Act of 2005, a Council may submit, 

14 and the Secretary may approve, for a fishery that has been 

15 managed under a limited access system for at least 1 year, 

16 a limited access privilege program to harvest fish, if the 

17 program meets the requirements of this section. 

18 ‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTER19 EST.—A limited access system, limited access privilege, 

20 quota share, or other authorization established, imple21 mented, or managed under this Act— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the pur23 poses of sections 307, 308, and 309; 

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

25 any time in accordance with this Act, including rev-
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1 ocation for failure to comply with the terms of the 

2 plan or if the system is found to have jeopardized 

3 the sustainability of the stock or the safety of fisher4 men; 

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

6 to the holder of such limited access privilege, quota 

7 share, or other such limited access system authoriza8 tion if it is revoked, limited, or modified; 

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

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

11 the fish is harvested or purchased by the holder; and 

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

13 to the holder of the limited access privilege or quota 

14 share to engage in activities permitted by such lim15 ited access privilege or quota share. 

16 ‘‘(c) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGES TO HARVEST

17 FISH.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to complying 

19 with the other requirements of this Act, any limited 

20 access privilege program to harvest fish submitted 

21 by a Council or approved by the Secretary under 

22 this section— 

23 ‘‘(A) shall— 
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1 ‘‘(i) if established in a fishery that is 

2 overfished or subject to a rebuilding plan, 

3 assist in its rebuilding; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) if established in a fishery that is 

5 determined by the Secretary or the Council 

6 to have excess capacity, contribute to re7 ducing capacity; 

8 ‘‘(B) shall promote— 

9 ‘‘(i) the safety of human life at sea; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the conservation and manage12 ment of the fishery; 

13 ‘‘(C) shall prohibit any person other than 

14 a United States citizen, a corporation, partner15 ship, or other entity established under the laws 

16 of the United States or any State, a permanent 

17 resident alien, a fishing community, or a re18 gional fishery association from acquiring a 

19 privilege to harvest fish; and 

20 ‘‘(D) shall require that all fish harvested 

21 under a limited access privilege program be 

22 processed by vessels of the United States in 

23 United States waters or on United States soil 

24 (including any territory of the United States). 

25 ‘‘(2) FISHING COMMUNITIES.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to par2 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to 

3 harvest fish, a fishing community shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be located within the management 

5 area of the relevant Council; 

6 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the 

7 relevant Council, approved by the Sec8 retary, and published in the Federal Reg9 ister; 

10 ‘‘(iii) consist of residents who conduct 

11 commercial or recreational fishing, proc12 essing, or fishery-dependent support busi13 nesses within the Council’s management 

14 area; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) develop and submit a community 

16 sustainability plan to the Council and the 

17 Secretary for approval based on criteria 

18 developed by the Council that have been 

19 approved by the Secretary and published in 

20 the Federal Register. 

21 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel22 oping participation criteria for eligible commu23 nities and regional fishery associations under 

24 this paragraph, a Council shall base the criteria 

25 on traditional fishing or processing practices in, 
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1 and dependence on, the fishery, the cultural 

2 and social framework relevant to the fishery, 

3 economic barriers to access to fishery, and the 

4 existence and severity of projected economic 

5 and social impacts associated with implementa6 tion of limited access privilege programs on 

7 harvesters, captains, crew, processors, and 

8 other businesses substantially dependent upon 

9 the fishery in the region or subregion. 

10 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited ac11 cess privilege program to harvest fish a Council or 

12 the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair 

14 and equitable initial allocations, including con15 sideration of— 

16 ‘‘(i) current and historical harvests; 

17 ‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting 

18 and processing sectors; 

19 ‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence 

20 upon, the fishery; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the current and historical par22 ticipation of fishing communities; 

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

24 basic cultural and social framework of the fish25 ery, especially through the development of poli-
24 

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1 cies to promote the sustained participation of 

2 small owner-operated fishing vessels and fishing 

3 communities that depend on the fisheries, in4 cluding regional or port-specific landing or de5 livery requirements; 

6 ‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when nec7 essary and appropriate, entry-level and small 

8 vessel operators, captains, crew, and fishing 

9 communities through set-asides of harvesting 

10 allocations, including providing privileges and, 

11 where appropriate, recommending the provision 

12 of economic assistance in the purchase of lim13 ited access privileges to harvest fish; 

14 ‘‘(D) ensure that limited access privilege 

15 holders do not acquire an excessive share of the 

16 total limited access privileges in the program 

17 by— 

18 ‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share, 

19 expressed as a percentage of the total lim20 ited access privileges, that a limited access 

21 privilege holder is permitted to own; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations 

23 or measures necessary to prevent an in24 equitable concentration of limited access 

25 privileges; 
25 

•S 2012 IS 

1 ‘‘(E) establish procedures to minimize geo2 graphic or other consolidation in both the har3 vesting and processing sectors of the fishery; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(F) authorize limited access privileges to 

6 harvest fish to be held by or issued under the 

7 system to persons who substantially participate 

8 in the fishery, as specified by the Council, in9 cluding, as appropriate, fishing vessel owners, 

10 vessel captains, vessel crew members, fishing 

11 communities, and regional fishery associations. 

12 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM INITIATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Ex14 cept as provided in subparagraph (D), a Coun15 cil may initiate a fishery management plan or 

16 amendment to establish a limited access privi17 lege program to harvest fish on its own initia18 tive if the Secretary has certified an appro19 priate petition. 

20 ‘‘(B) INITIATION REQUEST.—A group of 

21 fishermen constituting more than 50 percent of 

22 the permit holders, or holding more than 50 

23 percent of the allocation, in the fishery for 

24 which a limited access privilege program to har25 vest fish is sought, may submit a petition to the 
26 

•S 2012 IS 

1 Secretary requesting that the relevant Council 

2 or Councils with authority over the fishery be 

3 authorized to initiate the development of the 

4 program. Any such petition shall clearly state 

5 the fishery to which the limited access privilege 

6 program would apply. 

7 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.— 

8 Upon the receipt of any such petition, the Sec9 retary shall review all of the signatures on the 

10 petition and, if the Secretary determines that 

11 the signatures on the petition represent more 

12 than 50 percent of the permit holders, or hold13 ers of more than 50 percent of the allocation, 

14 in the fishery, the Secretary shall certify the pe15 tition to the appropriate Council or Councils. 

16 ‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND AND GULF REF17 ERENDUM.— 

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

19 for the Gulf of Mexico commercial red 

20 snapper fishery, the New England and 

21 Gulf Councils may not submit, and the 

22 Secretary may not approve or implement, a 

23 fishery management plan or amendment 

24 that creates a fishing quota system, includ25 ing a Secretarial plan, unless such a sys-
27 

•S 2012 IS 

1 tem, as ultimately developed, has been approved by more than 2 2 ⁄3 of those voting in 

3 a referendum among eligible permit hold4 ers. If a fishing quota system fails to be 

5 approved by the requisite number of those 

6 voting, it may be revised and submitted for 

7 approval in a subsequent referendum. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a 

9 referendum under this subparagraph, in10 cluding notifying all persons eligible to 

11 participate in the referendum and making 

12 available to them information concerning 

13 the schedule, procedures, and eligibility re14 quirements for the referendum process and 

15 the proposed fishing quota system. Within 

16 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

17 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

18 and Management Reauthorization Act of 

19 2005, the Secretary shall publish guide20 lines and procedures to determine proce21 dures and voting eligibility requirements 

22 for referenda and to conduct such 

23 referenda in a fair and equitable manner. 

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

25 of this Act shall apply in lieu of this sub-
28 

•S 2012 IS 

1 paragraph for any fishing quota system for 

2 the Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper 

3 fishery. 

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

5 States Code, (commonly known as the ‘Pa6 perwork Reduction Act’) does not apply to 

7 the referenda conducted under this sub8 paragraph.’’. 

9 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Any such lim10 ited access privilege program to harvest fish shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) specify the goals of the program; 

12 ‘‘(B) include provisions for the regular 

13 monitoring and review by the Council and the 

14 Secretary of the operations of the program, in15 cluding determined progress in meeting the 

16 goals of the program and this Act, and any nec17 essary modification of the program, with a for18 mal and detailed review 5 years after the estab19 lishment of the program and every 5 years 

20 thereafter; 

21 ‘‘(C) include an effective system for en22 forcement, monitoring, and management of the 

23 program, including the use of observers; 

24 ‘‘(D) include an appeals process for admin25 istrative review of determinations with respect 
29 

•S 2012 IS 

1 to the Secretary’s decisions regarding adminis2 tration of the limited access privilege program; 

3 ‘‘(E) provide for the establishment by the 

4 Secretary, in consultation with the Department 

5 of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, 

6 for a mandatory information collection and re7 view process to provide any and all information 

8 necessary for the Department of Justice and 

9 the Federal Trade Commission to determine 

10 whether any illegal acts of anti-competition, 

11 anti-trust, price collusion, or price fixing have 

12 occurred among regional fishery associations 

13 persons receiving limited access privileges to 

14 harvest fish under the program; and 

15 ‘‘(F) provide for the revocation by the Sec16 retary of limited access privileges held by any 

17 person found to have violated the antitrust laws 

18 of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(6) TRANSFERABILITY.—In establishing a lim20 ited access privilege program, a Council shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) establish a policy on the transfer22 ability of limited access privilege shares 

23 (through sale or lease), including a policy on 

24 any conditions that apply to the transferability 

25 of limited access privilege shares that is con-
30 

•S 2012 IS 

1 sistent with the policies adopted by the Council 

2 for the fishery under paragraph (3); and 

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

4 monitoring of transfers (including sales and 

5 leases) of limited access privilege shares. 

6 ‘‘(7) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

7 SECRETARIAL PLANS.—This subsection also applies 

8 to a plan prepared and implemented by the Sec9 retary under section 304(g). For the purpose of ap10 plying this subsection to such a plan— 

11 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Secretary’ shall be sub12 stituted for the term ‘Council’; and 

13 ‘‘(B) paragraphs (2)(A), (4)(A), and 

14 (4)(C) shall not apply. 

15 ‘‘(8) NO WAIVER.—Nothing in this Act shall 

16 constitute a waiver, either express or implied, of the 

17 antitrust laws of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In estab19 lishing a limited access privilege program, a Council may 

20 consider, and provide for, if appropriate, an auction sys21 tem or other program to collect royalties for the initial 

22 distribution of allocations in a limited access privilege pro23 gram if— 

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

25 such a way that the resulting distribution of limited 
31 

•S 2012 IS 

1 access privilege shares meets the program require2 ments of subsection (c)(3)(A); and 

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

4 program are deposited in the Limited Access System 

5 Administration Fund established by section 

6 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject to annual appro7 priations. 

8 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited ac9 cess privilege program, a Council shall— 

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

11 identify and assess the management, science, data 

12 collection, observer coverage, and enforcement pro13 grams that are directly related to and in support of 

14 the program; and 

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

16 program of fees paid by limited access privilege hold17 ers that will cover the costs of management, science, 

18 data collection and analysis, observer coverage, and 

19 enforcement activities. 

20 ‘‘(f) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PUR21 CHASE PROGRAM.— 

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

23 the Secretary may approve and implement, a pro24 gram which reserves up to 25 percent of any fees 

25 collected from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to 
32 

•S 2012 IS 

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

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

3 1274(a)(7)), to issue obligations that aid in financ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privi6 leges in that fishery by fishermen who fish from 

7 small vessels; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited ac9 cess privileges in that fishery by entry level 

10 fishermen. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council mak12 ing a submission under paragraph (1) shall rec13 ommend criteria, consistent with the provisions of 

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

15 guarantees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

16 paragraph (1) and the portion of funds to be allo17 cated for guarantees under each subparagraph. 

18 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON CERTAIN EXISTING SHARES AND

19 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this Act, or the amendments by 

20 this Act, shall be construed to require a reallocation of 

21 individual quota shares or processor quota shares or other 

22 quota programs, including sector allocation, submitted by 

23 a Council or approved by the Secretary or Congressional 

24 action before the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste-
33 

•S 2012 IS 

1 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza2 tion Act of 2005.’’. 

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

4 1854(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘management and 

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

6 and enforcement’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 304(d)(2)(C)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(C)(i)) is amended 

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

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

11 SEC. 107. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS. 

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

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(h) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.— 

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

16 consultation with the Councils and the Council on 

17 Environmental Quality, revise and update agency 

18 procedures for compliance with the National Envi19 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). The 

20 procedures shall— 

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

22 and approval of fishery management plans and 

23 plan amendments under this section; and 

24 ‘‘(B) integrate applicable environmental 

25 analysis process, including the time frames for 
34 

•S 2012 IS 

1 public input, with the process for the prepara2 tion and dissemination of fishery management 

3 plans, plan amendments, and other actions 

4 taken or approved pursuant to this Act in order 

5 to provide for timely, clear and concise analysis 

6 that is useful to decision makers and the public, 

7 reduce extraneous paperwork, and effectively in8 volve the public. 

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

10 promulgated in accordance with this section used by 

11 the Councils or the Secretary sill be the sole environ12 mental impact assessment process for fishery man13 agement plans, amendments, regulations, or other 

14 actions taken or approved pursuant to this Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) SCHEDULE FOR PROMULGATION OF FINAL

16 PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) propose revised procedures within 12 

18 months after the date of enactment of the Mag19 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man20 agement Reauthorization Act of 2005; 

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

22 comments; and 

23 ‘‘(C) promulgate final procedures no later 

24 than 18 months after the date of enactment of 

25 that Act. 
35 

•S 2012 IS 

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

2 authorized and directed, in cooperation with the 

3 Council on Environmental Quality and the Councils, 

4 to involve the affected public in the development of 

5 revised procedures, including workshops or other ap6 propriate means of public involvement.’’. 

7 SEC. 108. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PE9 RIOD.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘180 days,’’ and inserting ‘‘186 

11 days,’’. 

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

13 (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

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

15 SEC. 109. WESTERN PACIFIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. 

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

17 at the end thereof the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) WESTERN PACIFIC REGIONAL MARINE EDU19 CATION AND TRAINING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab21 lish a pilot program for regionally-based marine edu22 cation and training programs in the Western Pacific 

23 to foster understanding, practical use of knowledge 

24 (including native Hawaiian and other Pacific Is25 lander-based knowledge), and technical expertise rel-
36 

•S 2012 IS 

1 evant to stewardship of living marine resources. The 

2 Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Western Pa3 cific Regional Fishery Management Council, regional 

4 educational institutions, and local Western Pacific 

5 community training entities, establish programs or 

6 projects that will improve communication, education, 

7 and training on marine resource issues throughout 

8 the region and increase scientific education for ma9 rine-related professions among coastal community 

10 residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Na11 tive Hawaiians and other underrepresented groups 

12 in the region. 

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

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) include marine science and technology 

16 education and training programs focused on 

17 preparing community residents for employment 

18 in marine related professions, including marine 

19 resource conservation and management, marine 

20 science, marine technology, and maritime oper21 ations; 

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

23 training programs, including programs for fish24 ery observers, seafood safety and seafood mar25 keting, focused on increasing the involvement of 
37 

•S 2012 IS 

1 coastal community residents in fishing, fishery 

2 management, and seafood-related operations; 

3 ‘‘(C) include outreach programs and mate4 rials to educate and inform consumers about 

5 the quality and sustainability of wild fish or 

6 fish products farmed through responsible aqua7 culture, particularly in Hawaii and the Western 

8 Pacific; 

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

10 fishing industry, methods and technologies that 

11 will improve the data collection, quality, and re12 porting and increase the sustainability of fish13 ing practices, and to transfer such methods and 

14 technologies among fisheries sectors and to 

15 other nations in the Western and Central Pa16 cific; 

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

18 traditional knowledge (including Pacific islander 

19 and Native Hawaiian knowledge) can enhance 

20 science-based management of fishery resources 

21 of the region; and 

22 ‘‘(F) develop partnerships with other West23 ern Pacific Island agencies, academic institu24 tions, and other entities to meet the purposes of 

25 this section.’’. 
38 

•S 2012 IS 

1 SEC. 110. WESTERN ALASKA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 

2 QUOTA PROGRAM. 

3 Section 305(i)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)) is amend4 ed— 

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) is amended by adding 

21 at the end thereof the following: 

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

23 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 

24 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization 

25 Act of 2005, the Secretary of Commerce shall determine 

26 whether fishing in State waters without a New England 
39 

•S 2012 IS 

1 multispecies groundfish fishery permit on regulated spe2 cies within the multispecies complex is not consistent with 

3 the applicable Federal fishery management plan. If the 

4 Secretary makes a determination that such actions are not 

5 consistent with the plan, the Secretary shall, in consulta6 tion with the Council, and after notifying the affected 

7 State, develop and implement measures to cure the incon8 sistency.’’. 

9 SEC. 112. JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 

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

11 amended— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 enforcement purposes any data or informa20 tion required to be provided under this 

21 title or regulations under this title, includ22 ing data from Global Maritime Distress 

23 and Safety Systems, vessel monitoring sys24 tems, or any similar system, subject to the 

25 confidentiality provisions of section 402;’’; 
40 

•S 2012 IS 

1 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (j); and 

3 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(h) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

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

7 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a 

8 joint enforcement agreement with the Secretary that 

9 will authorize the deputization and funding of State 

10 law enforcement officers with marine law enforce11 ment responsibilities to perform duties of the Sec12 retary relating to law enforcement provisions under 

13 this title or any other marine resource law enforced 

14 by the Secretary. Upon receiving an application 

15 meeting the requirements of this subsection, the Sec16 retary may enter into a joint enforcement agreement 

17 with the requesting State. 

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

19 participate in the cooperative enforcement agree20 ments under this section if it is in, or bordering on, 

21 the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea), 

22 the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of 

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

24 Great Lakes. 
41 

•S 2012 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint enforcement 

2 agreements executed under paragraph (1)— 

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

4 and intent of this section to the extent applica5 ble to the regulated activities; 

6 ‘‘(B) may include specifications for joint 

7 management responsibilities as provided by the 

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

9 1525); and 

10 ‘‘(C) shall provide for confidentiality of 

11 data and information submitted to the State 

12 under section 402. 

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

14 shall include in each joint enforcement agreement an 

15 allocation of funds to assist in management of the 

16 agreement. The allocation shall be fairly distributed 

17 among all eligible States participating in cooperative 

18 enforcement agreements under this subsection, based 

19 upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement 

20 needs, the specific marine conservation enforcement 

21 needs of each participating eligible State, and the 

22 capacity of the State to undertake the marine en23 forcement mission and assist with enforcement 

24 needs. The agreement may provide for amounts to 

25 be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any 
42 

•S 2012 IS 

1 technical or other assistance provided to the State 

2 by the Secretary under the agreement. 

3 ‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.— 

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

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

6 later than 21 months after the date of enactment of 

7 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

8 Management Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Sec9 retary shall implement data-sharing measures to 

10 make any data required to be provided by this Act 

11 from Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems 

12 or similar systems— 

13 ‘‘(A) directly accessible by State enforce14 ment officers authorized under subsection (a) of 

15 this section; and 

16 ‘‘(B) available to a State management 

17 agency involved in, or affected by, management 

18 of a fishery if the State has entered into an 

19 agreement with the Secretary under section 

20 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act. 

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

22 shall promptly enter into an agreement with a State 

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

24 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General or highest rank25 ing legal officer of the State provides a written 
43 

•S 2012 IS 

1 opinion or certification that State law allows 

2 the State to maintain the confidentiality of in3 formation required by Federal law to be kept 

4 confidential; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other rea6 sonable assurance that the State can and will 

7 protect the identity or business of any person to 

8 which such information relates.’’. 

9 (b) REPORT ON USING GMDSS FOR FISHERY PUR10 POSES.—Within 15 months after the date of enactment 

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

12 United States Coast Guard shall transmit a joint report 

13 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com15 mittee on Resources containing— 

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

17 value, and cost of using the Global Maritime Dis18 tress and Safety Systems or similar systems for fish19 ery management, conservation, enforcement, and 

20 safety purposes with the Federal government bear21 ing the capital costs of any such system; 

22 (2) an examination of the cumulative impact of 

23 existing requirements for commercial vessels; 

24 (3) an examination of whether the Global Mari25 time Distress and Safety Systems or similar require-
44 

•S 2012 IS 

1 ments would overlap existing requirements or render 

2 them redundant; 

3 (4) an examination of how data integration 

4 from such systems could be addressed; 

5 (5) an examination of how to maximize the 

6 data-sharing opportunities between relevant State 

7 and Federal agencies and provide specific informa8 tion on how to develop these opportunities, including 

9 the provision of direct access to the Global Maritime 

10 Distress and Safety Systems or similar system data 

11 to State enforcement officers, while considering the 

12 need to maintain or provide an appropriate level of 

13 individual vessel confidentiality where practicable; 

14 and 

15 (6) an assessment of how the Global Maritime 

16 Distress and Safety Systems or similar systems 

17 could be developed, purchased, and distributed to 

18 regulated vessels. 

19 SEC. 113. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES. 

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

21 is amended— 

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

23 (a)(1)(B) and inserting ‘‘measures, including regu24 latory or judicial harvest restrictions imposed to pro25 tect human health or the marine environment;’’; 
45 

•S 2012 IS 

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

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

3 2012.’’; 

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

5 fisheries under State authority, may conduct a fish6 ing’’ in subsection (b)(1) and inserting ‘‘the Gov7 ernor of a State for fisheries under State authority, 

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

9 conduct a voluntary fishing’’; 

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

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

12 (5) by striking ‘‘cost-effective and’’ in sub13 section (b)(1)C) and inserting ‘‘cost-effective and, in 

14 the instance of a program involving an industry fee 

15 system, prospectively, and’’; 

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

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

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

19 authorizing the participation of the vessel in the 

20 fishery is surrendered for permanent revocation and 

21 the vessel owner and permit holder relinquish any 

22 claim associated with the vessel or permit that could 

23 qualify such owner or holder for any present or fu24 ture limited access system permit in the fishery for 

25 which the program is established and such vessel is 
46 

•S 2012 IS 

1 (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the de2 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

3 subjected to title restrictions (including loss of the 

4 vessel’s fisheries endorsement) that permanently 

5 prohibit and effectively prevent its use in fishing in 

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

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

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

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

10 inserting ‘‘The harvester proponents of each pro11 gram and the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate 

12 and practicable, with Councils,’’; 

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

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

15 inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

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

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

18 ‘‘Secretary’’; 

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

20 participants voting.’’ in subsection (d)(1)(B) and in21 serting ‘‘at least a majority of the permit holders in 

22 the fishery, or 50 percent of the permitted allocation 

23 of the fishery.’’; 

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

25 (d)(2)((C) and inserting ‘‘establish, unless the Sec-
47 

•S 2012 IS 

1 retary determines that such fees should be collected 

2 from the seller;’’ and 

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FRAMEWORK REGULATIONS.—The Sec7 retary shall propose and adopt framework regula8 tions applicable to the implementation of all pro9 grams under this section. 

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

11 shall implement each program under this section by 

12 promulgating regulations that, together with the 

13 framework regulations, establish each program and 

14 control its implementation. 

15 ‘‘(3) HARVESTER PROPONENTS’ IMPLEMENTA16 TION PLAN.—The Secretary may not propose imple17 mentation regulations for a program to be paid for 

18 by an industry fee system until the harvester pro19 ponents of the program provide to the Secretary a 

20 proposed implementation plan that, among other 

21 matters— 

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

23 vessels or permits that are eligible to participate 

24 in the program and the manner in which the 

25 program shall proceed, taking into account— 
48 

•S 2012 IS 

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

2 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of the frame3 work regulations; 

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

5 ‘‘(iv) the requirements of the applica6 ble fishery management plan and any 

7 amendment that such plan may require to 

8 support the proposed program; 

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

10 harvesters in the fishery; 

11 ‘‘(vi) the need to minimize program 

12 costs; and 

13 ‘‘(vii) other matters, including the 

14 manner in which such proponents propose 

15 to fund the program to ensure its cost ef16 fectiveness, as well as any relevant factors 

17 demonstrating the potential for, or nec18 essary to obtain, the support and general 

19 cooperation of a substantial number of af20 fected harvesters in the fishery (or portion 

21 of the fishery) for which the program is in22 tended; and 

23 ‘‘(B) proposes procedures for program par24 ticipation (such as submission of owner bids 

25 under an auction system or fair market-value 
49 

•S 2012 IS 

1 assessment), including any terms and condi2 tions for participation, that the harvester pro3 ponents deem to be reasonably necessary to 

4 meet the program’s proposed objectives. 

5 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION CONTRACTS.—The Sec6 retary shall contract with each person participating 

7 in a program, and each such contract shall, in addi8 tion to including such other matters as the Secretary 

9 deems necessary and appropriate to effectively im10 plement each program (including penalties for con11 tract non-performance) be consistent with the frame12 work and implementing regulations and all other ap13 plicable law. 

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

15 not involving fair market assessment shall involve a 

16 reduction auction that scores the reduction price of 

17 each bid offer by the data relevant to each bidder 

18 under an appropriate fisheries productivity factor. If 

19 the Secretary accepts bids, the Secretary shall ac20 cept responsive bids in the rank order of their bid 

21 scores, starting with the bid whose reduction price is 

22 the lowest percentage of the productivity factor, and 

23 successively accepting each additional responsive bid 

24 in rank order until either there are no more respon25 sive bids or acceptance of the next bid would cause 
50 

•S 2012 IS 

1 the total value of bids accepted to exceed the amount 

2 of funds available for the program. 

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

4 proceed by the Secretary issuing invitations to bid 

5 setting out the terms and conditions for participa6 tion consistent with the framework and imple7 menting regulations. Each bid that the Secretary re8 ceives in response to the invitation to bid shall con9 stitute an irrevocable offer from the bidder.’’. 

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

11 204, 205, and 206 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act are 

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

13 405, respectively to the Act as of the date of enactment 

14 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act. 

15 SEC. 114. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 

16 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

17 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

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

20 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re22 gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the re23 quest of, and in consultation with, the Governors of af24 fected States, establish a regional economic transition pro25 gram to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the 
51 

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1 fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish 

2 processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af3 fected by the disaster. 

4 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The program shall provide 

6 funds or other economic assistance to affected enti7 ties for— 

8 ‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside 

9 fishery infrastructure needs, including proc10 essing facilities, cold storage facilities, ice 

11 houses, docks, including temporary docks and 

12 storage facilities, and other related shoreside 

13 fishery support facilities and infrastructure; 

14 ‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training 

15 assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in 

16 a fishery in the region that may be temporarily 

17 closed as a result of environmental or other ef18 fects associated with the disaster; 

19 ‘‘(C) funding, pursuant to the require20 ments of section 312(b), to fishermen who are 

21 willing to scrap a fishing vessel and perma22 nently surrender permits for fisheries named on 

23 that vessel; and 

24 ‘‘(D) any other activities authorized under 

25 section 312(a) of this Act or section 308(d) of 
52 

•S 2012 IS 

1 the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 

2 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). 

3 ‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who de4 cides to scrap a fishing vessel under the program 

5 shall be eligible for job training assistance. 

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

7 participation by a State in the program shall be con8 ditioned upon a commitment by the appropriate 

9 State entity to ensure that the relevant State fishery 

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

11 to ensure excess capacity does not re-enter the fish12 ery. 

13 ‘‘(4) NO MATCHING.—Amounts provided under 

14 the program may not be conditioned upon matching 

15 State or local government funds or contributions. 

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

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

18 Act (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3)) shall not apply to assist19 ance under this section.’’. 

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

21 months after a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the 

22 Secretary shall provide the Governor of each State partici23 pating in the program a comprehensive economic and 

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

25 to assist the Governor in assessing the current and future 
53 

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1 economic viability of affected fisheries, including the eco2 nomic impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indi3 rect, or environmental impact of the disaster on the fish4 ery and coastal communities. 

5 ‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER

6 DEFINED.—In this section the term ‘catastrophic regional 

7 fishery disaster’ means a natural disaster, including a hur8 ricane or tsunami, or a judicial or regulatory closure to 

9 protect human health or the marine environment, that— 

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

11 fishing communities; 

12 ‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fish13 ery managed by a Council or interstate fishery com14 mission; and 

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

16 commercial fishery failure under section 312(a) of 

17 this Act or a fishery resource disaster or section 

18 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 

19 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’. 

20 SEC. 115. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM. 

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

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

23 the end the following: 
54 

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

2 ‘‘(a) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PRO3 GRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man5 agement Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Secretary, in 

6 cooperation with the Councils and other affected interests, 

7 and based upon the best scientific information available, 

8 shall establish a bycatch reduction program to develop 

9 technological devices and other conservation engineering 

10 changes designed to minimize bycatch, bycatch mortality, 

11 and post-release mortality in Federally managed fisheries. 

12 The program shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be regionally based; 

14 ‘‘(2) be coordinated with projects conducted 

15 under the cooperative research and management 

16 program established under this Act; 

17 ‘‘(3) provide information and outreach to fish18 ery participants that will encourage adoption and 

19 use of technologies developed under the program; 

20 and 

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

22 Councils in order to maximize opportunities to incor23 porate results of the program in Council actions and 

24 provide incentives for adoption of methods developed 

25 under the program in fishery management plans de26 veloped by the Councils. 
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1 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVES.—Any fishery management plan 

2 prepared by a Council or by the Secretary may establish 

3 a system of incentives to reduce total bycatch amounts, 

4 bycatch rates, and post-release mortality in fisheries under 

5 the Council’s or Secretary’s jurisdiction, including— 

6 ‘‘(1) measures to incorporate bycatch into 

7 quotas, including the establishment of collective or 

8 individual bycatch quotas; 

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

10 verifiable and monitored low bycatch rates; and 

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

12 information available, will reduce bycatch, bycatch 

13 mortality, post-release mortality, or regulatory dis14 cards in the fishery.’’. 

15 TITLE II—INFORMATION AND 

16 RESEARCH 

17 SEC. 201. RECREATIONAL FISHERIES INFORMATION. 

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

19 subsection (g) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.— 

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

22 establish and implement a regionally based registry 

23 program for recreational fishermen in each of the 8 

24 fishery management regions. The program, which 

25 shall not require a fee, shall provide for— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the registration (including identifica2 tion and contact information) of individuals 

3 who engage in recreational fishing— 

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

5 ‘‘(ii) for anadromous species; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) for Continental Shelf fishery re7 sources beyond the Exclusive Economic 

8 Zone; and 

9 ‘‘(B) if appropriate, the registration (in10 cluding the ownership, operator, and identifica11 tion of the vessel) of vessels used in such fish12 ing. 

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

14 exempt from registration under the program rec15 reational fishermen and charter fishing vessels li16 censed, permitted, or registered under the laws of a 

17 State if the Secretary determines that information 

18 from the State program is suitable for the Sec19 retary’s use or is used to assist in completing marine 

20 recreational fisheries statistical surveys, or evalu21 ating the effects of proposed conservation and man22 agement measures for marine recreational fisheries. 

23 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—Within 24 months 

24 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste25 vens Fishery conservation and Management Reau-
57 

•S 2012 IS 

1 thorization Act of 2005, the Secretary shall establish 

2 a program to improve the quality and accuracy of 

3 information generated by the Marine Recreational 

4 Fishery Statistics Survey, with a goal of achieving 

5 acceptible accuracy and utility for each individual 

6 fishery. Unless the Secretary determines that alter7 nate methods will achieve this goal more efficiently 

8 and effectively, the program shall, to the extent pos9 sible, include— 

10 ‘‘(A) an adequate number of dockside 

11 interviews to accurately estimate recreational 

12 catch and effort; 

13 ‘‘(B) use of surveys that target anglers 

14 registered or licensed at the State or Federal 

15 level to collect participation and effort data; 

16 ‘‘(C) collection and analysis of vessel trip 

17 report data from charter fishing vessels; and 

18 ‘‘(D) development of a weather corrective 

19 factor that can be applied to recreational catch 

20 and effort estimates. 

21 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Within 24 months after estab22 lishment of the program, the Secretary shall submit 

23 a report to Congress that describes the progress 

24 made toward achieving the goals and objectives of 

25 the program.’’. 
58 

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1 SEC. 202. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. 

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

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

4 the subsection heading and inserting ‘‘(a) COLLEC5 TION PROGRAMS.—’’; 

6 (2) by resetting the text following ‘‘(a) COLLEC7 TION PROGRAMS.—’’ as a new paragraph 2 ems 

8 from the left margin; 

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

10 before ‘‘If a Council’’; 

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

12 and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 

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

14 would disclose proprietary or confidential commercial 

15 or financial information regarding fishing operations 

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

17 and 

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

19 ‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL INITIATION.—If the Sec20 retary determines that additional information is nec21 essary for developing, implementing, revising, or 

22 monitoring a fishery management plan, or for deter23 mining whether a fishery is in need of management, 

24 the Secretary may, by regulation, implement an in25 formation collection or observer program requiring 
59 

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1 submission of such additional information for the 

2 fishery.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION. 

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

5 1881a(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para7 graph (3) and resetting it 2 ems from the left mar8 gin; 

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

10 redesignated, and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Sec13 retary, a state fishery management agency, or a ma14 rine fisheries commission by any person in compli15 ance with the requirements of this Act that contains 

16 confidential information shall be confidential and 

17 shall be exempt from disclosure under section 

18 552(h)(3) of title 5, United States Code, except— 

19 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em20 ployees who are responsible for fishery manage21 ment plan development, monitoring, or enforce22 ment; 

23 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis24 sion employees as necessary to further the De25 partment’s mission, subject to a confidentiality 
60 

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1 agreement that prohibits public disclosure of 

2 confidential information relating to any person; 

3 ‘‘(C) to State employees who are respon4 sible for fishery management plan enforcement, 

5 if the States employing those employees have 

6 entered into a fishery enforcement agreement 

7 with the Secretary and the agreement is in ef8 fect; 

9 ‘‘(D) when such information is used by 

10 State, Council, or Marine Fisheries Commission 

11 employees to verify catch under a limited access 

12 program, but only to the extent that such use 

13 is consistent with subparagraph (B); 

14 ‘‘(E) when the Secretary has obtained 

15 written authorization from the person submit16 ting such information to release such informa17 tion to persons for reasons not otherwise pro18 vided for in this subsection, and such release 

19 does not violate other requirements of this Act; 

20 ‘‘(F) when such information is required to 

21 be submitted to the Secretary for any deter22 mination under a limited access program; or 

23 ‘‘(G) in support of homeland and national 

24 security activities, including the Coast Guard’s 

25 homeland security missions as defined in sec-
61 

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1 tion 888(a)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

2 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468(a)(2)). 

3 ‘‘(2) Any observer information shall be con4 fidential and shall not be disclosed, except in accord5 ance with the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

6 through (G) of paragraph (1), or— 

7 ‘‘(A) as authorized by a fishery manage8 ment plan or regulations under the authority of 

9 the North Pacific Council to allow disclosure to 

10 the public of weekly summary bycatch informa11 tion identified by vessel or for haul-specific by12 catch information without vessel identification; 

13 ‘‘(B) when such information is necessary 

14 in proceedings to adjudicate observer certifi15 cations; or 

16 ‘‘(C) as authorized by any regulations 

17 issued under paragraph (3) allowing the collec18 tion of observer information, pursuant to a con19 fidentiality agreement between the observers, 

20 observer employers, and the Secretary prohib21 iting disclosure of the information by the ob22 servers or observer employers, in order— 

23 ‘‘(i) to allow the sharing of observer 

24 information among observers and between 

25 observers and observer employers as nec-
62 

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1 essary to train and prepare observers for 

2 deployments on specific vessels; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) to validate the accuracy of the 

4 observer information collected.’’; and 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘(1)(E).’’ in paragraph (3), as 

6 redesignated, and inserting ‘‘(2)(A).’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 404(c)(4) 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘under 

9 section 401’’. 

10 SEC. 204. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 

11 PROGRAM. 

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

13 section 111, is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 317. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in 

18 consultation with the Councils, shall establish a coopera19 tive research and management program to address needs 

20 identified under this Act and under any other marine re21 source laws enforced by the Secretary. The program shall 

22 be implemented on a regional basis and shall be developed 

23 and conducted through partnerships among Federal, 

24 State, and Tribal managers and scientists (including inter-
63 

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1 state fishery commissions), fishing industry participants, 

2 and educational institutions. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall 

4 make funds available under the program for the support 

5 of projects to address critical needs identified by the Sec6 retary in consultation with the Councils. The program 

7 shall promote and encourage efforts to utilize sources of 

8 data maintained by other Federal agencies, State agen9 cies, or academia for use in such projects. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—In making funds available the Sec11 retary shall award funding on a competitive basis and 

12 based on regional fishery management needs, select pro13 grams that form part of a coherent program of research 

14 focused on solving priority issues identified by the Coun15 cils, and shall give priority to the following projects: 

16 ‘‘(1) Projects to collect data to improve, supple17 ment, or enhance stock assessments, including the 

18 use of fishing vessels or acoustic or other marine 

19 technology. 

20 ‘‘(2) Projects to assess the amount and type of 

21 bycatch or post-release mortality occurring in a fish22 ery. 

23 ‘‘(3) Conservation engineering projects designed 

24 to reduce bycatch, including avoidance of post-re25 lease mortality, reduction of bycatch in high seas 
64 

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1 fisheries, and transfer of such fishing technologies to 

2 other nations. 

3 ‘‘(4) Projects for the identification of habitat 

4 areas of particular concern and for habitat conserva5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(5) Projects designed to collect and compile 

7 economic and social data. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXPERIMENTAL PERMITTING PROCESS.—Not 

9 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

10 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage11 ment Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Secretary, in con12 sultation with the Councils, shall promulgate regulations 

13 that create an expedited, uniform, and regionally-based 

14 process to promote issuance, where practicable, of experi15 mental fishing permits. 

16 ‘‘(e) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary, in consultation 

17 with the Councils, shall establish guidelines to ensure that 

18 participation in a research project funded under this sec19 tion does not result in loss of a participant’s catch history 

20 or unexpended days-at-sea as part of a limited entry sys21 tem.’’. 

22 SEC. 205. HERRING STUDY. 

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

24 section 204, is further amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 
65 

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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-
66 

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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)).’’. 
67 

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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; 
68 

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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; and 

12 (6) providing financial assistance to fishermen 

13 to offset the costs of modifying fishing practices and 

14 gear to meet the requirements of this Act, the Mag15 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage16 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and other Fed17 eral laws in pari materia. 

18 (c) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.— 

19 (1) COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.—Paragraph (1) 

20 of section 311(e) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

22 in subparagraph (E); 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘law.’’ in subparagraph 

24 (F); and 

25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 
69 

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1 ‘‘(G) amounts to the Fishery Conservation 

2 and Management fund established by section 

3 208 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con4 servation and Management Reauthorization Act 

5 of 2005 necessary to assist in improving moni6 toring, enforcement, and compliance activities 

7 under this Act.’’. 

8 (2) QUOTA SET-ASIDES.—Any amount gen9 erated through quota set-asides established by a 

10 Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con11 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

12 seq.) and designated by the Council for inclusion in 

13 the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund, 

14 may be deposited in the Fund. 

15 (3) OTHER FUNDS.—In addition to amounts re16 ceived under sections 311(e)(1)(G) of the Magnuson17 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)(G), and amounts received 

19 pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the 

20 Fishery Conservation and Management Fund may 

21 also receive funds from— 

22 (A) appropriations for the purposes of this 

23 section; and 
70 

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1 (B) States or other public sources or pri2 vate or non-profit organizations for purposes of 

3 this section. 

4 (d) REGIONAL ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall, 

5 every 2 years, apportion monies from the Fund among the 

6 eight Council regions according to consensus recommenda7 tions of the Councils, based on regional priorities identi8 fied through the Council process, except that no region 

9 shall receive less than 5 percent of the Fund in each allo10 cation period. 

11 (e) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF THE FUND.—No 

12 amount made available from the Fund may be used to de13 fray the costs of carrying out other requirements of this 

14 Act or the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

15 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

16 SEC. 209. USE OF FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM AND CAP17 ITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND FOR SUSTAIN18 ABLE PURPOSES. 

19 (a) PURPOSE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 

20 1104A(a)(7) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 

21 U.S.C. App. 1274(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘financing or refinancing including, 

23 ‘‘(A) the reimbursement of obligors for ex24 penditures previously made, for the purchase of 

25 individual fishing quotas in accordance with 
71 

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1 section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

2 Fishery Conservation and Management Act; 

3 ‘‘(B) activities that assist in the transition 

4 to reduced fishing capacity; 

5 ‘‘(C) technologies or upgrades designed to 

6 improve collection and reporting of fishery-de7 pendent data, to reduce bycatch, to improve se8 lectivity or reduce adverse impacts of fishing 

9 gear, or to improve safety; or 

10 ‘‘(D) developing a sustainable fisheries la11 beling and marketing plan for a fishery, as de12 fined in section 607(k)(10) of this Act, deter13 mined by the Secretary to be in compliance with 

14 the requirements of this Act and any other ma15 rine resource law implemented by the Sec16 retary.’’. 

17 (b) by striking ‘‘fisheries of the United States’’ in the 

18 second sentence of subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘fisheries 

19 of the United States, or for the purpose of developing a 

20 sustainable fisheries labeling and marketing plan for a 

21 fishery determined by the Secretary to be in compliance 

22 with the requirements of this Act and any other living ma23 rine resource law implemented by the Secretary, or with 

24 respect to seafood imports, to have been taken and re25 tained in a manner consistent with international regula-
72 

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1 tions governing the taking of such stock of fish and is ac2 companied by a certificate of origin under section 219 of 

3 the Fish and Seafood Promotion Act of 1986,’’; 

4 (c) EXPANSION OF PURPOSES FOR QUALIFIED

5 WITHDRAWALS.—Section 607(f)(1) of the Merchant Ma6 rine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1177(f)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘for:’’ and inserting ‘‘for—’’; 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘vessel,’’ in subparagraph (A) 

9 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘vessel, or’’ in subparagraph (B) 

11 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; 

12 (4) by striking ‘‘vessel.’’ in subparagraph (C) 

13 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; and 

14 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(D) in the case of any person for whose 

17 benefit the fund was established and who par18 ticipates in the fishing capacity reduction pro19 gram under section 312 of the Magnuson-Ste20 vens Fishery Conservation and Management 

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a)— 

22 ‘‘(i) if such person remains in the 

23 fishery, the satisfaction of any debt obliga24 tion undertaken pursuant to such program; 

25 and 
73 

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1 ‘‘(ii) if such person withdraws 1 or 

2 more vessels from the fishery, the substi3 tution of amounts the person would other4 wise receive under such program for such 

5 person’s vessel or permit to engage in the 

6 fishery; 

7 ‘‘(E) the repair, maintenance, or upgrade 

8 of an eligible vessel or its equipment for the 

9 purpose of— 

10 ‘‘(i) making conservation engineering 

11 changes to reduce bycatch, improve selec12 tivity of fishing gear, or reduce adverse im13 pacts of fishing gear; 

14 ‘‘(ii) improving vessel safety; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) acquiring, installing, or upgrad16 ing equipment to improve collection, re17 porting, or accuracy of fishery data; or 

18 ‘‘(F) the acquisition, construction, recon19 struction, upgrading, or investment in shoreside 

20 fishery-related facilities or infrastructure in the 

21 United States for the purpose of promoting 

22 United States ownership of fishery-related fa23 cilities in the United States without contrib24 uting to overcapacity in the sector.’’. 
74 

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1 TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES 

2 STATUTES 

3 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO NORTHERN PACIFIC HALIBUT 

4 ACT. 

5 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 8(a) of the Northern 

6 Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f(a)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$200,000’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘violation, the degree of culpa11 bility, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay,’’ 

12 in the fifth sentence and inserting ‘‘violator, the de13 gree of culpability, any history of prior offenses,’’; 

14 and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In as16 sessing such penalty, the Secretary may also con17 sider any information provided by the violator relat18 ing to the ability of the violator to pay if the infor19 mation is provided to the Secretary at least 30 days 

20 prior to an administrative hearing.’’. 

21 (b) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—Section 8 of the Northern 

22 Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF PERMIT.— 
75 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may take 

2 any action described in paragraph (2) in any case in 

3 which— 

4 ‘‘(A) a vessel has been used in the commis5 sion of any act prohibited under section 7; 

6 ‘‘(B) the owner or operator of a vessel or 

7 any other person who has been issued or has 

8 applied for a permit under this Act has acted 

9 in violation of section 7; or 

10 ‘‘(C) any amount in settlement of a civil 

11 forfeiture imposed on a vessel or other property, 

12 or any civil penalty or criminal fine imposed on 

13 a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel or any 

14 other person who has been issued or has ap15 plied for a permit under any marine resource 

16 law enforced by the Secretary has not been paid 

17 and is overdue. 

18 ‘‘(2) PERMIT-RELATED ACTIONS.—Under the 

19 circumstances described in paragraph (1) the Sec20 retary may— 

21 ‘‘(A) revoke any permit issued with respect 

22 to such vessel or person, with or without preju23 dice to the issuance of subsequent permits; 
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1 ‘‘(B) suspend such permit for a period of 

2 time considered by the Secretary to be appro3 priate; 

4 ‘‘(C) deny such permit; or 

5 ‘‘(D) impose additional conditions and re6 strictions on any permit issued to or applied for 

7 by such vessel or person under this Act and, 

8 with respect to any foreign fishing vessel, on 

9 the approved application of the foreign nation 

10 involved and on any permit issued under that 

11 application. 

12 ‘‘(3) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In impos13 ing a sanction under this subsection, the Secretary 

14 shall take into account— 

15 ‘‘(A) the nature, circumstances, extent, 

16 and gravity of the prohibited acts for which the 

17 sanction is imposed; and 

18 ‘‘(B) with respect to the violator, the de19 gree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, 

20 and such other matters as justice may require. 

21 ‘‘(4) TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP.—Transfer of 

22 ownership of a vessel, a permit, or any interest in 

23 a permit, by sale or otherwise, shall not extinguish 

24 any permit sanction that is in effect or is pending 

25 at the time of transfer of ownership. Before exe-
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1 cuting the transfer of ownership of a vessel, permit, 

2 or interest in a permit, by sale or otherwise, the 

3 owner shall disclose in writing to the prospective 

4 transferee the existence of any permit sanction that 

5 will be in effect or pending with respect to the ves6 sel, permit, or interest at the time of the transfer. 

7 ‘‘(5) REINSTATEMENT.—In the case of any per8 mit that is suspended under this subsection for non9 payment of a civil penalty, criminal fine, or any 

10 amount in settlement of a civil forfeiture, the Sec11 retary shall reinstate the permit upon payment of 

12 the penalty, fine, or settlement amount and interest 

13 thereon at the prevailing rate. 

14 ‘‘(6) HEARING.—No sanction shall be imposed 

15 under this subsection unless there has been prior op16 portunity for a hearing on the facts underlying the 

17 violation for which the sanction is imposed either in 

18 conjunction with a civil penalty proceeding under 

19 this section or otherwise. 

20 ‘‘(7) PERMIT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

21 term ‘permit’ means any license, certificate, ap22 proval, registration, charter, membership, exemption, 

23 or other form of permission issued by the Commis24 sion or the Secretary, and includes any quota share 
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1 or other transferable quota issued by the Sec2 retary.’’. 

3 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 9(b) of the 

4 Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773g(b)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘$200,000’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘$100,000,’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$400,000,’’. 

10 SEC. 302. REAUTHORIZATION OF OTHER FISHERIES ACTS. 

11 (a) ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION ACT.— 

12 Section 7(a) of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act 

13 (16 U.S.C. 5156(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—For each of fiscal years 

15 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, there are authorized 

16 to be appropriated to carry out this Act— 

17 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 to the Secretary of Commerce; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) $250,000 to the Secretary of the Inte20 rior.’’. 

21 (b) YUKON RIVER SALMON ACT OF 2000.—Section 

22 208 of the Yukon River Salmon Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

23 5727) is amended by striking ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fis24 cal years 2004 through 2008,’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000 

25 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010,’’. 
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1 (c) SHARK FINNING PROHIBITION ACT.—Section 10 

2 of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (16 U.S.C. 1822 

3 note) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2001 through 

4 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2006 through 2010’’. 

5 (d) PACIFIC SALMON TREATY ACT.— 

6 (1) TRANSFER OF SECTION TO ACT.—The text 

7 of section 623 of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat. 

8 1501A–56), as introduced on November 17, 1999, 

9 and enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1) of the 

10 Act of November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113)— 

11 (A) is transferred to the Pacific Salmon 

12 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.) and in13 serted after section 15; and 

14 (B) amended— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘SEC. 623.’’; and 

16 (ii) inserting before ‘‘(a) NORTHERN

17 FUND AND SOUTHERN FUND.—’’ the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 16. NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FUNDS; TREATY IM20 PLEMENTATION; ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZA21 TION OF APPROPRIATIONS.’’. 

22 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—The amendment 

23 made by the Department of Commerce and Related 

24 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 under the head25 ing ‘‘PACIFIC COASTAL SALMON RECOVERY’’ (118 
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1 Stat. 2881), to section 628(2)(A) of the Depart2 ments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judici3 ary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 

4 is deemed to have been made to section 

5 623(d)(2)(A) of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat. 

6 1501A–56), as introduced on November 17, 1999, 

7 enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1) of the Act of 

8 November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113) instead 

9 of to such section 628(2)(A), as of the date of enact10 ment of the Department of Commerce and Related 

11 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005. 

12 (3) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 16(d)(2)(A) 

13 of the Pacific Salmon Treaty Act, as transferred by 

14 subsection (a), is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘sustainable salmon fish16 eries,’’ after ‘‘enhancement,’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 

18 and 2010,’’ after ‘‘2005,’’. 

19 (e) ATLANTIC COASTAL FISHERIES COOPERATIVE

20 MANAGEMENT ACT.—Section 811(a) of the Atlantic 

21 Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (16 

22 U.S.C. 5108(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2005.’’ and in23 serting ‘‘2005 and $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

24 2006 through 2010.’’. 
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1 (f) STATE AUTHORITY FOR DUNGENESS CRAB FISH2 ERY MANAGEMENT.—Section 203 of Public Law 105–384 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1856 note) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 2006.’’ in sub5 section (i) and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2011.’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘health’’ in subsection (j) and 

7 inserting ‘‘status’’; and 

8 (3) by striking ‘‘California.’’ in subsection (j) 

9 and inserting ‘‘California, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) stock status and trends throughout its 

11 range; 

12 ‘‘(2) a description of applicable research and 

13 scientific review processes used to determine stock 

14 status and trends; and 

15 ‘‘(3) measures implemented or planned that are 

16 designed to prevent or end overfishing in the fish17 ery.’’. 

18 TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL 

19 SEC. 401. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE. 

20 Title II (16 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 207. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLI23 ANCE. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may undertake 

25 activities to promote improved monitoring and compliance 
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1 for high seas fisheries, or fisheries governed by inter2 national fishery management agreements, and to imple3 ment the requirements of this title. 

4 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out sub5 section (a), the Secretary may— 

6 ‘‘(1) share information on harvesting and proc7 essing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregu8 lated fishing on the high seas, in areas covered by 

9 international fishery management agreements, and 

10 by vessels of other nations within the United States 

11 exclusive economic zone, with relevant law enforce12 ment organizations of foreign nations and relevant 

13 international organizations; 

14 ‘‘(2) further develop real time information shar15 ing capabilities, particularly on harvesting and proc16 essing capacity and illegal, unreported and unregu17 lated fishing; 

18 ‘‘(3) participate in global and regional efforts to 

19 build an international network for monitoring, con20 trol, and surveillance of high seas fishing and fishing 

21 under regional or global agreements; 

22 ‘‘(4) support efforts to create an international 

23 registry or database of fishing vessels, including by 

24 building on or enhancing registries developed by 

25 international fishery management organizations; 
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1 ‘‘(5) enhance enforcement capabilities through 

2 the application of commercial or governmental re3 mote sensing technology to locate or identify vessels 

4 engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fish5 ing on the high seas, including encroachments into 

6 the exclusive economic zone by fishing vessels of 

7 other nations; 

8 ‘‘(6) provide technical or other assistance to de9 veloping countries to improve their monitoring, con10 trol, and surveillance capabilities; and 

11 ‘‘(7) support coordinated international efforts 

12 to ensure that all large-scale fishing vessels oper13 ating on the high seas are required by their flag 

14 State to be fitted with vessel monitoring systems no 

15 later than December 31, 2008, or earlier if so de16 cided by the relevant flag State or any relevant 

17 international fishery management organization.’’. 

18 SEC. 402. FINDING WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNRE19 PORTED, AND UNREGULATED FISHING. 

20 Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1802(a)) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(11) International cooperation is necessary to 

23 address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 

24 and other fishing practices which may harm the sus-
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1 tainability of living marine resources and disadvan2 tage the United States fishing industry.’’. 

3 SEC. 403. ACTION TO END ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UN4 REGULATED FISHING AND REDUCE BYCATCH 

5 OF PROTECTED MARINE SPECIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The High Seas Driftnet Fishing 

7 Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et seq.), is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 607 BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPLI10 ANCE. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

12 State, shall provide to Congress, by not later than 2 years 

13 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 

14 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization 

15 Act of 2005, and every 2 years thereafter, a report that 

16 includes— 

17 ‘‘(1) the state of knowledge on the status of 

18 international living marine resources, including a list 

19 of all 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 
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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 with the provisions of sections 

5 609 and 610, and an evaluation of the progress of 

6 those efforts, including steps taken by the United 

7 States to implement those sections and to improve 

8 international compliance; 

9 ‘‘(4) progress at the international level, pursu10 ant to section 608, to strengthen the efforts of inter11 national fishery management organizations to end il12 legal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; and 

13 ‘‘(5) a plan of action for ensuring the conclu14 sion and entry into force of international measures 

15 comparable to those of the United States to reduce 

16 impacts of fishing and other practices on protected 

17 living marine resources, if no international agree18 ment to achieve such goal exists, or if the relevant 

19 international fishery or conservation organization 

20 has failed to implement effective measures to end or 

21 reduce the adverse impacts of fishing practices on 

22 such species. 
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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, shall take actions to improve the effective6 ness of international fishery management organizations in 

7 conserving and managing fish stocks under their jurisdic8 tion. These actions shall include— 

9 ‘‘(1) urging international fishery management 

10 organizations to which the United States is a mem11 ber— 

12 ‘‘(A) to incorporate multilateral sanctions 

13 against member governments whose vessels en14 gage in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fish15 ing; 

16 ‘‘(B) to seek adoption of lists that identify 

17 fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or 

18 unregulated fishing, including authorized 

19 (green) and unauthorized (red) vessel lists, 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 with an 

24 independent secretariat in order to monitor and 

25 document capacity in fleets of all nations in26 volved in fishing in areas under the an inter-
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1 national fishery management organization’s ju2 risdiction; 

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 greater port state 

10 controls in all nations, particularly those na11 tions whose vessels engage in illegal, unre12 ported, or unregulated fishing; 

13 ‘‘(2) urging international fishery management 

14 organizations to which the United States is a mem15 ber, as well as all members of those organizations, 

16 to adopt and expand the use of market-related meas17 ures to combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated 

18 fishing, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) import prohibitions, landing restric20 tions, or other market-based measures needed 

21 to enforce compliance with international fishery 

22 management organization measures, such as 

23 quotas and catch limits; 

24 ‘‘(B) import restrictions or other market25 based measures to prevent the trade or impor-
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1 tation of fish caught by vessels identified multi2 laterally as engaging in illegal, unreported, or 

3 unregulated fishing; and 

4 ‘‘(C) catch documentation and certification 

5 schemes to improve tracking and identification 

6 of catch of vessels engaged in illegal, unre7 ported, or unregulated fishing, including ad8 vance transmission of catch documents to ports 

9 of entry; and 

10 ‘‘(3) urging other nations at bilateral, regional, 

11 and international levels, including the Convention on 

12 International Trade in Endangered Species of 

13 Fauna and Flora and the World Trade Organization 

14 to take all steps necessary, consistent with inter15 national law, to adopt measures and policies that 

16 will prevent fish or other living marine resources 

17 harvested by vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, 

18 or unregulated fishing from being traded or im19 ported into their nation or territories. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 609 ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISH21 ING. 

22 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, 

23 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if— 

24 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged, 

25 or have been engaged during the preceding calendar 
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1 year in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) the relevant international fishery manage4 ment organization has failed to implement effective 

5 measures to end the illegal unreported, or unregu6 lated fishing activity by vessels of that nation or the 

7 nation is not a party to, or does not maintain co8 operating status with, such organization, or where 

9 no international fishery management organization 

10 exists. 

11 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.—An identification under sub12 section (a) or section 610(a) is deemed to be an identifica13 tion under section 101(b)(1)(A) of the High Seas Driftnet 

14 Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)(1)(A)), 

15 and the Secretary shall notify the President and that na16 tion of such identification. 

17 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—No later than 60 days after 

18 submitting a report to Congress under section 607, the 

19 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) notify nations listed in the report of the 

22 requirements of this section; 

23 ‘‘(2) initiate consultations for the purpose of 

24 encouraging such nations to take the appropriate 

25 corrective action with respect to the offending activi-
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1 ties of their fishing vessels identified in the report; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(3) notify any relevant international fishery 

4 management organization of the actions taken by 

5 the United States under this section. 

6 ‘‘(d) IUU CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall es8 tablish a procedure, consistent with the provisions of 

9 subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

10 Code, and including notice and an opportunity for 

11 comment by the governments of any nation listed by 

12 the Secretary under subsection (a), for determining 

13 if that government has taken appropriate corrective 

14 action with respect to the offending activities of its 

15 fishing vessels identified in the report under section 

16 607. The Secretary shall determine, on the basis of 

17 the procedure, and certify to the Congress no later 

18 than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary 

19 promulgates a final rule containing the procedure, 

20 and biennially thereafter in the report under section 

21 607— 

22 ‘‘(A) whether the government of each na23 tion identified under subsection (b) has pro24 vided documentary evidence that it has taken 

25 corrective action with respect to the offending 
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1 activities of its fishing vessels identified in the 

2 report; or 

3 ‘‘(B) whether the relevant international 

4 fishery management organization has imple5 mented measures that are effective in ending 

6 the illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing 

7 activity by vessels of that nation. 

8 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec9 retary may establish a procedure for certification, on 

10 a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or other 

11 basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of a har12 vesting nation not certified under paragraph (1) if 

13 the Secretary determines that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the vessel has not engaged in illegal, 

15 unreported, or unregulated fishing under an 

16 international fishery management agreement to 

17 which the United States is a party; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the vessel is not identified by an 

19 international fishery management organization 

20 as participating in illegal, unreported, or un21 regulated fishing activities. 

22 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi23 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and 

24 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and 

25 (b)(4)) shall apply to any nation identified under 
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1 subsection (a) that has not been certified by the Sec2 retary under this subsection, or for which the Sec3 retary has issued a negative certification under this 

4 subsection, but shall not apply to any nation identi5 fied under subsection (a) for which the Secretary 

6 has issued a positive certification under this sub7 section. 

8 ‘‘(e) ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED

9 FISHING DEFINED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this Act the term ‘ille11 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing’ has the 

12 meaning established under paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY TO DEFINE TERM WITHIN

14 LEGISLATIVE GUIDELINES.—Within 3 months after 

15 the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 

16 Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza17 tion Act of 2005, the Secretary shall publish a defi18 nition of the term ‘illegal, unreported, or unregu19 lated fishing’ for purposes of this Act. 

20 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall include 

21 in the definition, at a minimum— 

22 ‘‘(A) fishing activities that violate con23 servation and management measures required 

24 under an international fishery management 

25 agreement to which the United States is a 
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1 party, including catch limits or quotas, capacity 

2 restrictions, and bycatch reduction require3 ments; 

4 ‘‘(B) overfishing of fish stocks for which 

5 there are no applicable conservation or manage6 ment measures or in areas with no applicable 

7 international fishery management organization 

8 or agreement; and 

9 ‘‘(C) destructive fishing practices, includ10 ing bottom trawling, that have adverse impacts 

11 on seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold 

12 water corals located beyond national jurisdic13 tion, for which there are no applicable conserva14 tion or management measures or in areas with 

15 no applicable international fishery management 

16 organization or agreement. 

17 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis19 cal years 2006 through 2012 such sums as are necessary 

20 to carry out this section. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 610. EQUIVALENT CONSERVATION MEASURES. 

22 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, 

23 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if— 

24 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged, 

25 or have been engaged during the preceding calendar 
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1 year in fishing activities or practices beyond the ex2 clusive economic zone that result in bycatch of a 

3 protected living marine resource; 

4 ‘‘(2) the relevant international organization for 

5 the conservation and protection of such species or 

6 the relevant international or regional fishery organi7 zation has failed to implement effective measures to 

8 end or reduce the impacts of the fishing practices of 

9 the nation’s vessels on such species, or the nation is 

10 not a party to, or does not maintain cooperating sta11 tus with, such organization; and 

12 ‘‘(3) the nation has not adopted a regulatory 

13 program governing such fishing practices and associ14 ated bycatch of protected living marine resources 

15 that are comparable to those of the United States, 

16 taking into account different conditions. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION.—The Sec18 retary, acting through the Secretary of State, shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) notify, as soon as possible, other nations 

20 whose vessels engage in fishing activities or practices 

21 described in subsection (a), about the requirements 

22 of this section and this Act; 

23 ‘‘(2) initiate discussions as soon as possible 

24 with all foreign governments which are engaged in, 

25 or which have persons or companies engaged in, 
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1 fishing activities or practices described in subsection 

2 (a), for the purpose of entering into bilateral and 

3 multilateral treaties with such countries to protect 

4 such species; 

5 ‘‘(3) seek agreements calling for international 

6 restrictions on fishing activities or practices de7 scribed in subsection (a) through the United Na8 tions, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Com9 mittee on Fisheries, and appropriate international 

10 fishery management bodies; and 

11 ‘‘(4) initiate the amendment of any existing 

12 international treaty for the protection and conserva13 tion of such species to which the United States is a 

14 party in order to make such treaty consistent with 

15 the purposes and policies of this section. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall de18 termine, on the basis of a procedure consistent with 

19 the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 

20 5, United States Code, and including notice and an 

21 opportunity for comment by the governments of any 

22 nation identified by the Secretary under subsection 

23 (a). The Secretary shall certify to the Congress by 

24 January 31, 2007, and annually thereafter whether 

25 the government of each harvesting nation— 
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1 ‘‘(A) has provided documentary evidence of 

2 the adoption of a regulatory program governing 

3 the conservation of the protected living marine 

4 resource, including measures to ensure max5 imum probability for survival after release, that 

6 is comparable to that of the United States, tak7 ing into account different conditions, and 

8 which, in the case of pelagic longline fishing, in9 cludes mandatory use of circle hooks, careful 

10 handling and release equipment, and training 

11 and observer programs; and 

12 ‘‘(B) has established a management plan 

13 containing requirements that will assist in gath14 ering species-specific data to support inter15 national stock assessments and conservation en16 forcement efforts for protected living marine re17 sources. 

18 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec19 retary shall establish a procedure for certification, 

20 on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or 

21 other basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of 

22 a harvesting nation not certified under paragraph 

23 (1) if the Secretary determines that such imports 

24 were harvested by practices that do not result in by-
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1 catch of a protected marine species, or were har2 vested by practices that— 

3 ‘‘(A) are comparable to those of the United 

4 States, taking into account different conditions, 

5 and which, in the case of pelagic longline fish6 ing, includes mandatory use of circle hooks, 

7 careful handling and release equipment, and 

8 training and observer programs; and 

9 ‘‘(B) include the gathering of species spe10 cific data that can be used to support inter11 national and regional stock assessments and 

12 conservation efforts for protected living marine 

13 resources. 

14 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi15 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and 

16 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and 

17 (b)(4)) shall apply to any nation identified under 

18 subsection (a) that has not been certified by the Sec19 retary under this subsection, or for which the Sec20 retary has issued a negative certification under this 

21 subsection, but shall not apply to any nation identi22 fied under subsection (a) for which the Secretary 

23 has issued a positive certification under this sub24 section. 
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1 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSIST2 ANCE.—To the greatest extent possible consistent with ex3 isting authority and the availability of funds, the Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) provide appropriate assistance to nations 

6 identified by the Secretary under subsection (a) and 

7 international organizations of which those nations 

8 are members to assist those nations in qualifying for 

9 certification under subsection (c); 

10 ‘‘(2) undertake, where appropriate, cooperative 

11 research activities on species statistics and improved 

12 harvesting techniques, with those nations or organi13 zations; 

14 ‘‘(3) encourage and facilitate the transfer of ap15 propriate technology to those nations or organiza16 tions to assist those nations in qualifying for certifi17 cation under subsection (c); and 

18 ‘‘(4) provide assistance to those nations or or19 ganizations in designing and implementing appro20 priate fish harvesting plans. 

21 ‘‘(e) PROTECTED LIVING MARINE RESOURCE DE22 FINED.—In this section the term ‘protected living marine 

23 resource’— 

24 ‘‘(1) means non-target fish, sea turtles, or ma25 rine mammals occurring in areas beyond United 
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1 States jurisdiction that are protected under United 

2 States law or international agreement, including the 

3 Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered 

4 Species Act, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, and 

5 the Convention on International Trade in Endan6 gered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna; but 

7 ‘‘(2) does not include species, except sharks, 

8 managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con9 servation and Management Act, the Atlantic Tunas 

10 Convention Act, or any international fishery man11 agement agreement. 

12 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis14 cal years 2006 through 2012 such sums as are necessary 

15 to carry out this section.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) DENIAL OF PORT PRIVILEGES.—Section 

18 101(b) of the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforce19 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)) is amended by in20 serting ‘‘or illegal, unreported, or unregulated fish21 ing’’ after ‘‘fishing’’ in paragraph (1)(A)(i), para22 graph (1)(B), paragraph (2), and paragraph 

23 (4)(A)(i). 

24 (2) DURATION OF DENIAL.—Section 102 of the 

25 High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 
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1 U.S.C. 1826b) is amended by inserting ‘‘or illegal, 

2 unreported, or unregulated fishing’’ after ‘‘fishing’’. 

3 SEC. 404. MONITORING OF PACIFIC INSULAR AREA FISH4 ERIES. 

5 (a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Section 201(h)(2)(B) (16 

6 U.S.C. 1821(h)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘that is at 

7 least equal in effectiveness to the program established by 

8 the Secretary;’’ and inserting ‘‘or other monitoring pro9 gram that the Secretary, in consultation with the Western 

10 Pacific Management Council, determines is adequate to 

11 monitor harvest, bycatch, and compliance with the laws 

12 of the United States by vessels fishing under the agree13 ment;’’. 

14 (b) MARINE CONSERVATION PLANS.—Section 

15 204(e)(4)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)(4)(A)(i)) is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(i) Pacific Insular Area observer programs, or 

18 other monitoring programs, that the Secretary deter19 mines are adequate to monitor the harvest, bycatch, 

20 and compliance with the laws of the United States 

21 by foreign fishing vessels that fish under Pacific In22 sular Area fishing agreements;’’. 
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1 SEC. 405. REAUTHORIZATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS CON2 VENTION ACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the Atlantic Tunas 

4 Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971h) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap8 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act, including 

9 use for payment of the United States share of the joint 

10 expenses of the Commission as provided in Article X of 

11 the Convention— 

12 ‘‘(1) $5,495,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

13 ‘‘(2) $5,770,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 

14 and 2008; 

15 ‘‘(3) $6,058,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

16 and 2010; and 

17 ‘‘(4) $6,631,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

18 and 2012. 

19 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made available 

20 under subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 

21 ‘‘(1) $160,000 are authorized for the advisory 

22 committee established under section 4 of this Act 

23 and the species working groups established under 

24 section 4A of this Act; and 

25 ‘‘(2) $7,500,000 are authorized for research ac26 tivities under this Act and section 3 of Public Law 
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1 94–339 (16 U.S.C. 971i), of which $3,000,000 shall 

2 be for the cooperative research program under sec3 tion 3(b)(2)(H) of that section (16 U.S.C. 

4 971i(b)(2)(H).’’. 

5 (b) ATLANTIC BILLFISH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

6 PROGRAM.—Section 3(b)(2) of the Atlantic Tunas Con7 vention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971i(b)(2)) is amended— 

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

9 subparagraph (G); 

10 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as sub11 paragraph (I); and 

12 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(H) include a cooperative research pro15 gram on Atlantic billfish based on the South16 east Fisheries Science Center Atlantic Billfish 

17 Research Plan of 2002; and’’. 

18 SEC. 406. INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING AND DOMESTIC 

19 EQUITY. 

20 (a) REBUILDING OVERFISHED FISHERIES.—Section 

21 304(e) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end thereof the following: 

23 ‘‘(8) The provisions of this paragraph shall 

24 apply in lieu of paragraphs (2) through (7) of this 

25 subsection to a fishery that the Secretary determines 
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1 is overfished or approaching a condition of being 

2 overfished due to excessive international fishing 

3 pressure, and for which there are no management 

4 measures to end overfishing under an international 

5 agreement to which the United States is a party. 

6 For such fisheries— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

8 Secretary of State, immediately take appro9 priate action at the international level to end 

10 the overfishing; and 

11 ‘‘(B) within 1 year after the Secretary’s 

12 determination, the appropriate Council, or Sec13 retary, for fisheries under section 302(a)(3) 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) develop recommendations for do16 mestic regulations to address the relative 

17 impact of fishing vessels of the United 

18 States on the stock and, if developed by a 

19 Council, the Council shall submit such rec20 ommendations to the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) develop and submit recommenda22 tions to the Secretary of State, and to the 

23 Congress, for international actions that 

24 will end overfishing in the fishery and re25 build the affected stocks, taking into ac-
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1 count the relative impact of vessels of 

2 other nations and vessels of the United 

3 States on the relevant stock.’’. 

4 (b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES TAGGING RE5 SEARCH.—Section 304(g)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(2)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d)’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d), or highly migratory species harvested 

8 in a commercial fishery managed by a Council under this 

9 Act or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Conven10 tion Implementation Act,’’. 

11 TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF 

12 WESTERN AND CENTRAL PA13 CIFIC FISHERIES CONVEN14 TION 

15 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Western and Central 

17 Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act’’. 

18 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) 1982 CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘1982 Con21 vention’’ means the United Nations Convention on 

22 the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. 

23 (2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

24 means the Agreement for the Implementation of the 

25 Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the 
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1 Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the 

2 Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish 

3 Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. 

4 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

5 means the Commission for the Conservation and 

6 Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

7 Western and Central Pacific Ocean established in 

8 accordance with this Convention. 

9 (4) CONVENTION AREA.—The term ‘‘convention 

10 area’’ means all waters of the Pacific Ocean bounded 

11 to the south and to the east by the following line: 

12 From the south coast of Australia due south along 

13 the 141th meridian of east longitude to its intersec14 tion with the 55th parallel of south latitude; thence 

15 due east along the 55th parallel of south latitude to 

16 its intersection with the 150th meridian of east lon17 gitude; thence due south along the 150th meridian 

18 of east longitude to its intersection with the 60th 

19 parallel of south latitude; thence due east along the 

20 60th parallel of south latitude to its intersection 

21 with the 130th meridian of west longitude; thence 

22 due north along the 130th meridian of west lon23 gitude to its intersection with the 4th parallel of 

24 south latitude; thence due west along the 4th par25 allel of south latitude to its intersection with the 
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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; and 

23 (F) use of any other vessel, vehicle, air24 craft, or hovercraft, for any activity described 

25 in subparagraphs (A) through (E) except for 
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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. 
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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 President shall appoint at 

15 least 5 individuals as United States Commissioners to rep16 resent the United States as members of the United States 

17 Section of the Commission. In making the appointments, 

18 the President shall select Commissioners from among indi19 viduals, including officials of the United States govern20 ment (one of whom shall be an officer or employee of the 

21 Department of Commerce), and the chairman of the West22 ern Pacific Fishery Management Council or the chair23 man’s designee, who are knowledgeable or experienced 

24 concerning highly migratory fish stocks in the Western 

25 and Central Pacific Ocean. The Secretary of State, or the 
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1 Secretary of State’s designee, shall also serve as a member 

2 of the United States Section. The Commissioners shall be 

3 entitled to select a Chairman and to adopt such rules of 

4 procedures as they find necessary. 

5 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—The Secretary of 

6 State, in consultation with the Secretary, may designate 

7 from time to time and for periods of time deemed appro8 priate Alternate United States Commissioners to the Com9 mission. Any Alternate United States Commissioner may 

10 exercise at any meeting of the Commission, Council, any 

11 Panel, or the advisory committee established pursuant to 

12 subsection (d), all powers and duties of a United States 

13 Commissioner in the absence of any Commissioner ap14 pointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section for what15 ever reason. The number of such Alternate United States 

16 Commissioners that may be designated for any such meet17 ing shall be limited to the number of United States Com18 missioners appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this 

19 section who will not be present at such meeting. 

20 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 

21 (1) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals serving 

22 as such Commissioners shall not be considered to be 

23 Federal employees while performing such service, ex24 cept for purposes of injury compensation or tort 
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1 claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5 

2 and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code. 

3 (2) COMPENSATION.—The United States Com4 missioners or Alternate Commissioners, although of5 ficers of the United States while so serving, shall re6 ceive no compensation for their services as such 

7 Commissioners or Alternate Commissioners. 

8 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

9 (A) The Secretary of State shall pay the 

10 necessary travel expenses of United States 

11 Commissioners, Alternate United States Com12 missioners, and authorized advisers in accord13 ance with the Federal Travel Regulations and 

14 sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 

15 5731 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (B) The Secretary may reimburse the Sec17 retary of State for amounts expended by the 

18 Secretary of State under this subsection. 

19 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT ADVISORY

21 COMMITTEE.— 

22 (A) MEMBERSHIP.—There is established 

23 an advisory committee which shall be composed 

24 of— 
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1 (i) not less than 10 nor more than 15 

2 individuals appointed by the United States 

3 Commissioners who shall select such indi4 viduals from the various groups concerned 

5 with the fisheries covered by the WCPFC 

6 Convention, providing, to the maximum ex7 tent practicable, an equitable balance 

8 among such groups; 

9 (ii) the chair of the Western Pacific 

10 Fishery Management Council’s Advisory 

11 Committee or the chair’s designee; and 

12 (iii) officials of the fisheries manage13 ment authorities of American Samoa, 

14 Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands 

15 (or their designees). 

16 (B) TERMS AND PRIVILEGES.—Each mem17 ber of the advisory committee appointed under 

18 subparagraph (A) shall serve for a term of 2 

19 years and shall be eligible for reappointment. 

20 Members of the advisory committee may attend 

21 all public meetings of the Commission, Council, 

22 or any Panel and any other meetings to which 

23 they are invited by the Commission, Council, or 

24 any Panel. The advisory committee shall be in25 vited to attend all non-executive meetings of the 
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1 United States Commissioners and at such meet2 ings shall be given opportunity to examine and 

3 to be heard on all proposed programs of inves4 tigation, reports, recommendations, and regula5 tions of the Commission. 

6 (C) PROCEDURES.—The advisory com7 mittee established by subparagraph (A) shall 

8 determine its organization, and prescribe its 

9 practices and procedures for carrying out its 

10 functions under this chapter, the Magnuson11 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and the WCPFC 

13 Convention. The advisory committee shall pub14 lish and make available to the public a state15 ment of its organization, practices, and proce16 dures. A majority of the members of the advi17 sory committee shall constitute a quorum, but 

18 one or more such members designated by the 

19 advisory committee may hold meetings to pro20 vide for public participation and to discuss 

21 measures relating to the United States imple22 mentation of Commission recommendations. 

23 Meetings of the advisory committee, except 

24 when in executive session, shall be open to the 

25 public, and prior notice of meetings shall be 
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1 made public in a timely fashion. and the advi2 sory committee shall not be subject to the Fed3 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

4 (D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The 

5 Secretary and the Secretary of State shall fur6 nish the advisory committee with relevant infor7 mation concerning fisheries and international 

8 fishery agreements. 

9 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 

10 (A) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary 

11 shall provide to advisory committees in a timely 

12 manner such administrative and technical sup13 port services as are necessary for their effective 

14 functioning. 

15 (B) COMPENSATION; STATUS; EX16 PENSES.—Individuals appointed to serve as a 

17 member of an advisory committee— 

18 (i) shall serve without pay, but while 

19 away from their homes or regular places of 

20 business in the performance of services for 

21 the advisory committee shall be allowed 

22 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

23 of subsistence, in the same manner as per24 sons employed intermittently in the Gov25 ernment service are allowed expenses under 
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1 section 5703 of title 5, United States 

2 Code; and 

3 (ii) shall not be considered Federal 

4 employees by reason of their service as 

5 members of an advisory committee, except 

6 for purposes of injury compensation or tort 

7 claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of 

8 title 5, United States Code, and chapter 

9 171 of title 28, United States Code. 

10 (e) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—For highly 

11 migratory species in the Pacific, the Secretary, in coordi12 nation with the Secretary of State, shall develop a memo13 randum of understanding with the Western Pacific, Pa14 cific, and North Pacific Fishery Management Councils, 

15 that establishes a mechanism for the relevant Council or 

16 Councils to— 

17 (1) participate in United States delegations to 

18 international fishery organizations in the Pacific 

19 Ocean, including government-to-government con20 sultations; 

21 (2) make formal recommendations to the Sec22 retary and the Secretary of State regarding nec23 essary measures for both domestic and foreign ves24 sels fishing for these species; 
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1 (3) coordinate positions with the United States 

2 delegation for presentation to the appropriate inter3 national fishery organization; and 

4 (4) recommend those domestic fishing regula5 tions that are consistent with the actions of the 

6 international fishery organization, for approval and 

7 implementation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fish8 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 1801 et seq.) 

10 SEC. 504. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEC11 RETARY OF STATE. 

12 The Secretary of State may— 

13 (1) receive and transmit, on behalf of the 

14 United States, reports, requests, recommendations, 

15 proposals, and other communications of and to the 

16 Commission; 

17 (2) in consultation with the Secretary and the 

18 United States Commissioners, approve, disapprove, 

19 object to, or withdraw objections to the general an20 nual program of the WCPFC Commission with re21 spect to conservation and management measures 

22 and other measures proposed or adopted in accord23 ance with the WCPCF Convention; and 
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1 (3) act upon, or refer to other appropriate au2 thority, any communication referred to in paragraph 

3 (1). 

4 SEC. 505. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF 

5 COMMERCE. 

6 (a) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec7 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Depart8 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating and the ap9 propriate Regional Fishery Management Council, shall 

10 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

11 out the United States international obligations under the 

12 WCPFC Convention and this title. The Secretary shall 

13 promulgate such regulations in accordance with the proce14 dures established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con15 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

16 (b) ADDITIONS TO FISHERY REGIMES AND REGULA17 TIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate regulations appli18 cable to nationals or vessels of the United States, or both, 

19 which are in addition to, and not in conflict with, fishery 

20 conservation and management measures and regulations 

21 adopted under the WCPFC Convention. 

22 SEC. 506. ENFORCEMENT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

24 (1) administer and enforce this title and any 

25 regulations issued under this title, including enforce-
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1 ment of any such regulations within the boundaries 

2 of any State bordering on the convention area; 

3 (2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non4 reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, 

5 equipment, and facilities of other Federal depart6 ments and agencies in— 

7 (A) the administration and enforcement of 

8 this title; and 

9 (B) the conduct of scientific, research, and 

10 other programs under this title; 

11 (3) conduct fishing operations and biological ex12 periments for purposes of scientific investigation or 

13 other purposes necessary to implement the WCPFC 

14 Convention; 

15 (4) collect, utilize, and disclose such informa16 tion as may be necessary to implement the WCPFC 

17 Convention, subject to sections 552 and 552a of title 

18 5, United States Code, and section 402(b) of the 

19 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man20 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b)); 

21 (5) assess and collect fees to recover the costs 

22 of implementing and enforcing this title, policy and 

23 rulemaking activities, user information services, 

24 international activities under this title, and the costs 

25 to the United States of enforcing the WCPFC Con-
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1 vention, which shall be deposited as an offsetting 

2 collection in, and credited to, the account providing 

3 appropriations to carry out the functions of the Sec4 retary under this title; and 

5 (6) issue permits to owners and operators of 

6 United States vessels to fish in the convention area 

7 seaward of the United States Exclusive Economic 

8 Zone. 

9 (b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any per10 son to violate any provision of this title or the regulations 

11 promulgated under this title. 

12 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

13 shall prevent any person from violating this title in the 

14 same manner, by the same means, and with the same ju15 risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable 

16 terms and provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

17 Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) were incorporated into 

18 and made a part of this title. Any person that violates 

19 any provision of this title is subject to the penalties and 

20 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the 

21 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act in the same 

22 manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdic23 tion, power, and duties as though all applicable terms and 

24 provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made 

25 a part of this title. 
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1 SEC. 507. PENALTIES. 

2 This title shall be enforced by the Secretary as if a 

3 violation of this title or of any regulation promulgated by 

4 the Commission under this title were a violation of section 

5 307 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1857). 

7 SEC. 508. COOPERATION IN CARRYING OUT CONVENTION. 

8 (a) FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES; PRIVATE INSTI9 TUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS.—The United States Com10 missioners, through the Secretary of State and with the 

11 concurrence of the Secretary, institution, or organization 

12 concerned, may arrange for the cooperation of Federal 

13 agencies and of State and private institutions and organi14 zations in carrying out responsibilities under the WCPFC 

15 Convention. 

16 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER PROGRAMS; FACILITIES

17 AND PERSONNEL.—All Federal agencies are authorized, 

18 upon the request of the Secretary of Commerce Commis19 sion, to cooperate in the conduct of scientific and other 

20 programs and to furnish facilities and personnel for the 

21 purpose of assisting the Commission in carrying out its 

22 duties under the WCPFC Convention. 

23 SEC. 509. TERRITORIAL PARTICIPATION. 

24 The Secretary of State shall ensure participation in 

25 the Commission and its subsidiary bodies by American 
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1 Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands to the 

2 same extent provided to the territories of other nations. 

3 SEC. 510. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary of Commerce such sums as may be necessary to 

6 carry out this title and to pay the United States’ contribu7 tion to the Commission under section 5 of part III of the 

8 WCPFC Convention. 

9 TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING 

10 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Whiting Act 

12 of 2005’’. 

13 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory 

16 panel’’ means the Advisory Panel on Pacific Hake/ 

17 Whiting established by the Agreement. 

18 (2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

19 means the Agreement between the Government of 

20 the United States and the Government of Canada on 

21 Pacific Hake/Whiting, signed at Seattle, Wash22 ington, on November 21, 2003. 

23 (3) CATCH.—The term ‘‘catch’’ means all fish24 ery removals from the offshore whiting resource, in-
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1 cluding landings, discards, and bycatch in other fish2 eries. 

3 (4) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.—The 

4 term ‘‘joint management committee’’ means the 

5 joint management committee established by the 

6 Agreement. 

7 (5) JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.—The term 

8 ‘‘joint technical committee’’ means the joint tech9 nical committee established by the Agreement. 

10 (6) OFFSHORE WHITING RESOURCE.—The term 

11 ‘‘offshore whiting resource’’ means the 

12 transboundary stock of Merluccius productus that is 

13 located in the offshore waters of the United States 

14 and Canada except in Puget Sound and the Strait 

15 of Georgia. 

16 (7) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—The term 

17 ‘‘scientific review group’’ means the scientific review 

18 group established by the Agreement. 

19 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Commerce. 

21 (9) UNITED STATES SECTION.—The term 

22 ‘‘United States Section’’ means the United States 

23 representatives on the joint management committee. 
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1 SEC. 603. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT 

2 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. 

3 (a) REPRESENTATIVES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta5 tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint 4 in6 dividuals to represent the United States as the 

7 United States Section on the joint management com8 mittee. In making the appointments, the Secretary 

9 shall select representatives from among individuals 

10 who are knowledgeable or experienced concerning 

11 the offshore whiting resource. Of these— 

12 (A) 1 shall be an official of the National 

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

14 (B) 1 shall be a member of the Pacific 

15 Fishery Management Council, appointed with 

16 consideration given to any recommendation pro17 vided by that Council; 

18 (C) 1 shall be appointed from a list sub19 mitted by the treaty Indian tribes with treaty 

20 fishing rights to the offshore whiting resource; 

21 and 

22 (D) 1 shall be appointed from the commer23 cial sector of the whiting fishing industry con24 cerned with the offshore whiting resource. 

25 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each representative ap26 pointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for 
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1 a term not to exceed 4 years, except that, of the ini2 tial appointments, 2 representatives shall be ap3 pointed for terms of 2 years. Any individual ap4 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expi5 ration of the term of office of that individual’s pred6 ecessor shall be appointed for the remainder of that 

7 term. A representative may be appointed for a term 

8 of less than 4 years if such term is necessary to en9 sure that the term of office of not more than 2 rep10 resentatives will expire in any single year. An indi11 vidual appointed to serve as a representative is eligi12 ble for reappointment. 

13 (3) CHAIR.—Unless otherwise agreed by all of 

14 the 4 representatives, the chair shall rotate annually 

15 among the 4 members, with the order of rotation de16 termined by lot at the first meeting. 

17 (b) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—The Secretary, 

18 in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate 

19 alternate representatives of the United States to serve on 

20 the joint management committee. An alternative rep21 resentative may exercise, at any meeting of the committee, 

22 all the powers and duties of a representative in the ab23 sence of a duly designated representative for whatever rea24 son. 
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1 SEC. 604. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON THE SCI2 ENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

4 with the Secretary of State, shall appoint no more than 

5 2 scientific experts to serve on the scientific review group. 

6 An individual shall not be eligible to serve on the scientific 

7 review group while serving on the joint technical com8 mittee. 

9 (b) TERM.—An individual appointed under sub10 section (a) shall be appointed for a term of not to exceed 

11 4 years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. An indi12 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the 

13 expiration of a term of office of that individual’s prede14 cessor shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of that 

15 term. 

16 (c) JOINT APPOINTMENTS.—In addition to individ17 uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly 

18 with the Government of Canada, may appoint to the sci19 entific review group, from a list of names provided by the 

20 advisory panel — 

21 (1) up to 2 independent members of the sci22 entific review group; and 

23 (2) 2 public advisors. 

24 SEC. 605. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT 

25 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE. 

26 (a) SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta2 tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint at 

3 least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve as 

4 scientific experts on the joint technical committee, at 

5 least 1 of whom shall be an official of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term 

9 of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re10 appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va11 cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 

12 of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap13 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

14 (b) INDEPENDENT MEMBER.—In addition to individ15 uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly 

16 with the Government of Canada, shall appoint 1 inde17 pendent member to the joint technical committee selected 

18 from a list of names provided by the advisory panel. 

19 SEC. 606. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON ADVISORY 

20 PANEL. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in con23 sultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint 

24 at least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve 
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1 as members of the advisory panel, selected from 

2 among individuals who are— 

3 (A) knowledgeable or experienced in the 

4 harvesting, processing, marketing, management, 

5 conservation, or research of the offshore whiting 

6 resource; and 

7 (B) not employees of the United States. 

8 (2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term 

10 of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re11 appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va12 cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 

13 of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap14 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

15 SEC. 607. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is responsible for 

17 carrying out the Agreement and this title, including the 

18 authority, to be exercised in consultation with the Sec19 retary of State, to accept or reject, on behalf of the United 

20 States, recommendations made by the joint management 

21 committee. 

22 (b) REGULATIONS; COOPERATION WITH CANADIAN

23 OFFICIALS.—In exercising responsibilities under this title, 

24 the Secretary— 
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1 (1) may promulgate such regulations as may be 

2 necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of 

3 the Agreement and this title; and 

4 (2) with the concurrence of the Secretary of 

5 State, may cooperate with officials of the Canadian 

6 Government duly authorized to carry out the Agree7 ment. 

8 SEC. 608. RULEMAKING. 

9 (a) APPLICATION WITH MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.— 

10 The Secretary shall establish the United States catch level 

11 for Pacific whiting according to the standards and proce12 dures of the Agreement and this title rather than under 

13 the standards and procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens 

14 Fishery Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), except 

15 to the extent necessary to address the rebuilding needs 

16 of other species. Except for establishing the catch level, 

17 all other aspects of Pacific whiting management shall be— 

18 (1) subject to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

19 Conservation Act; and 

20 (2) consistent with this title. 

21 (b) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REC22 OMMENDATIONS.—For any year in which both parties to 

23 the Agreement approve recommendations made by the 

24 joint management committee with respect to the catch 

25 level, the Secretary shall implement the approved rec-
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1 ommendations. Any regulation promulgated by the Sec2 retary to implement any such recommendation shall apply, 

3 as necessary, to all persons and all vessels subject to the 

4 jurisdiction of the United States wherever located. 

5 (c) YEARS WITH NO APPROVED CATCH REC6 OMMENDATIONS.—If the parties to the Agreement do not 

7 approve the joint management committee’s recommenda8 tion with respect to the catch level for any year, the Sec9 retary shall establish the total allowable catch for Pacific 

10 whiting for the United States catch. In establishing the 

11 total allowable catch under this subsection, the Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (1) take into account any recommendations 

14 from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the 

15 joint management committee, the joint technical 

16 committee, the scientific review group, and the advi17 sory panel; 

18 (2) base the total allowable catch on the best 

19 scientific information available; 

20 (3) use the default harvest rate set out in para21 graph 1 of Article III of the Agreement unless the 

22 Secretary determines that the scientific evidence 

23 demonstrates that a different rate is necessary to 

24 sustain the offshore whiting resource; and 
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1 (4) establish the United State’s share of the 

2 total allowable catch based on paragraph 2 of Article 

3 III of the Agreement and make any adjustments 

4 necessary under section 5 of Article II of the Agree5 ment. 

6 SEC. 609. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. 

7 (a) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Except for an individual 

8 who is an employee (as defined in section 2103 of title 

9 5, United States Code), without regard to an appointment 

10 under this title, an individual appointed as a United States 

11 representative under section 603(a), an alternate United 

12 States representative under section 603(b), a scientific ex13 pert under section 604(a) or 605(a), or a member of the 

14 advisory panel under section 606(a) (other than an indi15 vidual described in subsection (b)(2)) shall not be consid16 ered to be a Federal employee while serving as such a rep17 resentative, alternate representative, scientific expert, or 

18 member, except for purposes of injury compensation or 

19 tort claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5 

20 and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code. 

21 (b) COMPENSATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), an individual appointed under this title 

24 shall receive no compensation for the individual’s 

25 service as a representative, alternate representative, 
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1 scientific expert, or advisory panel member under 

2 this title. 

3 (2) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—Notwith4 standing paragraph (1), the Secretary may employ 

5 and fix the compensation of an individual appointed 

6 under section 604(a) to serve as a scientific expert 

7 on the scientific review group who is not employed 

8 by the United States government, a State govern9 ment, or an Indian tribal government in accordance 

10 with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (c) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Except as provided in sub12 section (d), the Secretary shall pay the necessary travel 

13 expenses of individuals appointed under this title in ac14 cordance with the Federal Travel Regulations and sections 

15 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (d) JOINT APPOINTEES.—With respect to the 2 inde18 pendent members of the scientific review group and the 

19 2 public advisors to the scientific review group jointly ap20 pointed under section 604(c), and the 1 independent mem21 ber to the joint technical committee jointly appointed 

22 under section 605(b), the Secretary may pay up to 50 per23 cent of— 

24 (1) any compensation paid to such individuals; 

25 and 
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1 (2) the necessary travel expenses of such indi2 viduals. 

3 SEC. 610. ENFORCEMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

5 (1) administer and enforce this title and any 

6 regulations issued under this title; 

7 (2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non8 reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, 

9 equipment, and facilities of other Federal depart10 ments and agencies in the administration and en11 forcement of this title; and 

12 (3) collect, utilize, and disclose such informa13 tion as may be necessary to implement the Agree14 ment and this title, subject to sections 552 and 552a 

15 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any per17 son to violate any provision of this title or the regulations 

18 promulgated under this title. 

19 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

20 shall prevent any person from violating this title in the 

21 same manner, by the same means, and with the same ju22 risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable 

23 terms and provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

24 Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) were incorporated into 

25 and made a part of this title. Any person that violates 
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1 any provision of this title is subject to the penalties and 

2 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the 

3 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act in the same 

4 manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdic5 tion, power, and duties as though all applicable terms and 

6 provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made 

7 a part of this title. 

8 (d) PENALTIES.—This title shall be enforced by the 

9 Secretary as if a violation of this title or of any regulation 

10 promulgated by the Secretary under this title were a viola11 tion of section 307 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con12 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 

13 SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec15 retary such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 

16 obligations of the United States under the Agreement and 

17 this title. 

Æ