II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1161 

To provide for the development of a fishery management plan for the Gulf 

of Mexico red snapper, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2013 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide for the development of a fishery management 

plan for the Gulf of Mexico red snapper, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico Red 

5 Snapper Conservation Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COASTAL WATERS.—The term ‘‘coastal 

9 waters’’ means— 


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1 (A) all waters, whether salt or fresh, of the 

2 Gulf coastal State shoreward of the baseline 

3 from which the territorial sea of the United 

4 States is measured; and 

5 (B) the waters of the Gulf coastal State 

6 seaward from the baseline referred to in sub7 paragraph (A) to the inner boundary of the ex8 clusive economic zone 200 mile limit. 

9 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

10 means the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commis11 sion. 

12 (3) FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

13 ‘‘fishery management plan’’ means a plan for the 

14 conservation and management of Gulf of Mexico red 

15 snapper prepared and adopted by the Commission 

16 pursuant to section 4. 

17 (4) GULF COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘Gulf 

18 coastal State’’ means the following States bordering 

19 the Gulf of Mexico: 

20 (A) Alabama. 

21 (B) Florida. 

22 (C) Louisiana. 

23 (D) Mississippi. 

24 (E) Texas. 


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1 (5) GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER.—The 

2 term ‘‘Gulf of Mexico red snapper’’ means members 

3 of stocks or populations of the species Lutjanis 

4 campechanus, which ordinarily are found seaward of 

5 the coastal waters. 

6 (6) MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—The term 

7 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Act’’ means the Magnuson-Ste8 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

10 SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT OF GULF OF MEXICO 

11 RED SNAPPER. 

12 (a) NEW FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN FROM COM13 MISSION.—The Commission shall submit to the Secretary 

14 of Commerce a fishery management plan for Gulf of Mex15 ico red snapper adopted by the Commission pursuant to 

16 section 4. 

17 (b) ACTIONS BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.— 

18 (1) REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION OF PLAN.— 

19 The Secretary of Commerce shall— 

20 (A) review the plan submitted pursuant to 

21 subsection (a) to determine whether or not the 

22 plan— 

23 (i) includes fishery management meas24 ures that are compatible to the extent 

25 practicable with the national standards set 


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1 forth in section 301 of the Magnuson-Ste2 vens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851) and other ap3 plicable provisions of the Magnuson-Ste4 vens Act; and 

5 (ii) will ensure the long-term con6 servation of Gulf of Mexico red snapper 

7 populations; and 

8 (B) certify whether or not the Commission 

9 has submitted a fishery management plan to 

10 properly conserve and manage Gulf of Mexico 

11 red snapper consistent with this Act. 

12 (2) REVOCATION OF SUPERSEDED PLAN.— 

13 Upon receipt of a certification by the Commission 

14 under section 4(b)(2) that all of the Gulf coastal 

15 States will have sufficient management measures 

16 under section 4(b)(1), the Secretary shall publish a 

17 notice in the Federal Register revoking those regula18 tions and portions of the Federal fishery manage19 ment plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf 

20 of Mexico that are in conflict with the fishery man21 agement plan for Gulf of Mexico red snapper, in22 cluding the deletion of the species from the manage23 ment unit. 

24 (c) STATE ACTIONS.—Upon certification by the Sec25 retary under subsection (b)(1) that the fishery manageVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 18, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1161.IS S1161

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1 ment plan will properly conserve and manage Gulf of Mex2 ico red snapper consistent with this Act, the Gulf coastal 

3 States shall implement all appropriate measures to man4 age the Gulf of Mexico red snapper resource in the adja5 cent coastal waters in accordance with the fishery manage6 ment plan. 

7 SEC. 4. GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER FISHERY MANAGE8 MENT PLAN. 

9 (a) COMMISSION PROCESS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pre11 pare and adopt a fishery management plan to pro12 vide for the conservation and management of Gulf of 

13 Mexico red snapper and specify the requirements 

14 necessary for Gulf coastal States to be in compliance 

15 with the plan. 

16 (2) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—Not later 

17 than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act, the Commission shall establish standards and 

19 procedures for the preparation of the fishery man20 agement plan, including standards and procedures to 

21 ensure— 

22 (A) the long-term sustainability of Gulf of 

23 Mexico red snapper based on the available 

24 science; and 


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1 (B) adequate opportunity for public par2 ticipation in the preparation of the fishery man3 agement plan, including at least four public 

4 hearings and procedures for the submittal to 

5 the Commission of written comments on the 

6 fishery management plan. 

7 (3) LIMITATION ON REDUCTION IN QUOTAS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), the fishery management 

10 plan may not reduce the overall quota of Gulf 

11 of Mexico red snapper apportioned to commer12 cial fishing on the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act until the date that is 3 years after such 

14 date of enactment. Such plan may increase such 

15 a quota based on stock assessments. 

16 (B) EXCEPTION IN CASE OF A REDUCTION

17 IN STOCK.—In the event of a reduction in the 

18 stock of Gulf of Mexico red snapper, the fishery 

19 management plan shall reduce the quota de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) in a manner that 

21 ensures a sustainable harvest of Gulf of Mexico 

22 red snapper. 

23 (b) STATE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

24 (1) SUBMITTAL OF MANAGEMENT MEASURES.— 

25 Each Gulf coastal State shall submit to the CommisVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 18, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1161.IS S1161

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1 sion management measures to ensure compliance 

2 with the conservation objectives of the fishery man3 agement plan. 

4 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon certification by 

5 the Commission that all Gulf coastal States have 

6 submitted sufficient management measures de7 scribed in paragraph (1), the Commission shall cer8 tify to the Secretary of Commerce under section 

9 3(b)(2) to revoke Federal management of Gulf of 

10 Mexico red snapper, and the Gulf coastal States 

11 shall manage the Gulf of Mexico red snapper in the 

12 adjacent coastal waters consistent with the fishery 

13 management plan. 

14 SEC. 5. MONITORING OF IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCE15 MENT OF GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER 

16 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN BY GULF 

17 COASTAL STATES. 

18 (a) DETERMINATION.—In December each year, and 

19 at any other time it considers appropriate, the Commission 

20 shall determine— 

21 (1) whether each Gulf coastal State has adopt22 ed all regulatory measures to fully implement the 

23 fishery management plan; and 

24 (2) whether the enforcement of the fishery 

25 management plan by each Gulf coastal State is satVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 18, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1161.IS S1161

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1 isfactory to maintain the long-term sustainability 

2 and abundance of Gulf of Mexico red snapper. 

3 (b) SATISFACTORY STATE ENFORCEMENT.—For 

4 purposes of subsection (a)(2), enforcement by a Gulf 

5 coastal State shall not be considered satisfactory by the 

6 Commission if, in its view, such enforcement is being car7 ried out in such a manner that the implementation of the 

8 fishery management plan within the coastal waters of the 

9 Gulf coastal State is being, or will likely be, substantially 

10 and adversely affected. 

11 (c) NOTICE TO SECRETARY OF COMMERCE OF AD12 VERSE DETERMINATION.—The Commission shall imme13 diately notify the Secretary of Commerce of each negative 

14 determination made with respect to a Gulf coastal State 

15 under subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 6. GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER FISHERY MANAGE17 MENT REVIEW. 

18 (a) COMMISSION REVIEW AND REPORT ON CERTIFI19 CATION ON CERTAIN STATE ACTIONS.— 

20 (1) COMMISSION REVIEW OF STATE CERTIFI21 CATION.—Each Gulf coastal State that manages 

22 Gulf of Mexico red snapper shall submit to the Com23 mission a certification as follows: 

24 (A) If Gulf of Mexico red snapper is un25 dergoing overfishing or subject to a rebuilding 


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1 plan, that such Gulf coastal State shall imple2 ment immediately the necessary measures to 

3 end overfishing and rebuild the fishery. 

4 (B) That such Gulf coastal State shall im5 plement a program to provide for data collec6 tion adequate to monitor the harvest of Gulf of 

7 Mexico red snapper by such Gulf coastal State. 

8 (2) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Upon the review 

9 of each certification submitted to the Commission 

10 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall certify to 

11 the Secretary of Commerce whether or not the Gulf 

12 coastal State concerned is fully carrying out the 

13 matters covered by the certification. 

14 (b) ACTION BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—Upon 

15 receipt by the Secretary of Commerce of a notice under 

16 section 5(c) or a report under subsection (a)(2) that a 

17 Gulf Coastal State is not fully complying with the matters 

18 specified in subsection (a)(1) as certified by that State 

19 pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may declare 

20 a closure of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery within 

21 the Federal waters adjacent to the Gulf coastal State. In 

22 making such a declaration the Secretary shall fully con23 sider and review the comments of the Gulf coastal State 

24 and the Commission. 


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1 (c) ACTIONS PROHIBITED DURING CLOSURE.—Dur2 ing a closure of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery 

3 under subsection (b), it is unlawful for any person— 

4 (1) to engage in fishing for Gulf of Mexico red 

5 snapper within the Federal waters adjacent to the 

6 Gulf coastal State covered by the closure; 

7 (2) to land, or attempt to land, the Gulf of 

8 Mexico red snapper that is subject to the closure; or 

9 (3) to fail to return to the water the Gulf of 

10 Mexico red snapper to which the closure applies that 

11 are caught incidental to commercial harvest or in 

12 other recreational fisheries. 

13 SEC. 7. IMPROVED STUDIES AND DATA COLLECTION FOR 

14 GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of carrying out 

16 this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall support the Gulf 

17 coastal States and the Commission in developing and im18 plementing a comprehensive study on Gulf of Mexico Red 

19 Snapper. This study shall include, but shall not be limited 

20 to, the following: 

21 (1) Annual stock assessments of Gulf of Mexico 

22 red snapper. 

23 (2) The number of participants, both commer24 cial and recreational, in the coastal waters of the 


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1 Gulf coastal States that harvest Gulf of Mexico red 

2 snapper. 

3 (3) Recommendations for improved conserva4 tion and management of Gulf of Mexico red snapper. 

5 (b) COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—The 

6 Secretary of Commerce shall, in consultation with the Gulf 

7 coastal States and the Commission, conduct a comprehen8 sive study and analysis of the economic impacts and bene9 fits for the local, regional, and national economy of the 

10 Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery. The study shall in11 clude the following: 

12 (1) A thorough analysis of the beneficial eco13 nomic impacts of industries directly related to the 

14 Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery, including, but 

15 not limited to, boat sales, marina activity, boat con16 struction and repair, fishing gear and tackle sales, 

17 and other closely associated industries. 

18 (2) A proper economic analysis of the down19 stream economic impacts of the Gulf of Mexico red 

20 snapper fishery on the economies of the Gulf coastal 

21 States, including, but not limited to, hotels, res22 taurants, grocery stores, related tourism, and other 

23 peripheral businesses and industries. 

24 (c) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of Com25 merce shall submit to Congress, the Gulf coastal States, 


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1 and the Commission on a biennial basis a report on the 

2 progress and findings of studies conducted under sub3 sections (a) and (b), and shall make each report available 

4 to the public. Each report shall, to the extent practicable, 

5 include recommendations on additional actions to be taken 

6 to encourage the sustainable conservation and manage7 ment of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery. 

Æ 


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