II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1609 

To authorize a single fisheries cooperative for the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands 

longline catcher processor subsector, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. 

BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize a single fisheries cooperative for the Bering 

Sea Aleutian Islands longline catcher processor subsector, 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 ‘‘Longline Catcher Proc5 essor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO APPROVE AND IMPLEMENT A SIN2 GLE FISHERY COOPERATIVE FOR THE 

3 LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUB4 SECTOR IN THE BSAI. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of eligible mem6 bers of the longline catcher processor subsector holding 

7 at least 80 percent of the licenses issued for that sub8 sector, the Secretary is authorized to approve a single fish9 ery cooperative for the longline catcher processor sub10 sector in the BSAI. 

11 (b) LIMITATION.—A single fishery cooperative ap12 proved under this section shall include a limitation prohib13 iting any eligible member from harvesting a total of more 

14 than 20 percent of the Pacific cod available to be har15 vested in the longline catcher processor subsector, the vio16 lation of which is subject to the penalties, sanctions, and 

17 forfeitures under section 308 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

18 Act (16 U.S.C. 1858), except that such limitation shall 

19 not apply to harvest amounts from quota assigned explic20 itly to a CDQ group as part of a CDQ allocation to an 

21 entity established by section 305(i) of the Magnuson-Ste22 vens Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)). 

23 (c) CONTRACT SUBMISSION AND REVIEW.—The 

24 longline catcher processor subsector shall submit to the 

25 Secretary— 


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1 (1) not later than November 1 of each year, a 

2 contract to implement a single fishery cooperative 

3 approved under this section for the following cal4 endar year; and 

5 (2) not later than 60 days prior to the com6 mencement of fishing under the single fishery coop7 erative, any interim modifications to the contract 

8 submitted under paragraph (1). 

9 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REVIEW.—Not later 

10 than November 1 before the first year of fishing under 

11 a single fishery cooperative approved under this section, 

12 the longline catcher processor sector shall submit to the 

13 Secretary a copy of a letter from a party to the contract 

14 under subsection (c)(1) requesting a business review letter 

15 from the Attorney General and any response to such re16 quest. 

17 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall imple18 ment a single fishery cooperative approved under this sec19 tion not later than 2 years after receiving a request under 

20 subsection (a). 

21 (f) STATUS QUO FISHERY.—If the longline catcher 

22 processor subsector does not submit a contract to the Sec23 retary under subsection (c) then the longline catcher proc24 essor subsector in the BSAI shall operate as a limited ac25 cess fishery for the following year subject to the license 


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1 limitation program in effect for the longline catcher proc2 essor subsector on the date of enactment of this Act or 

3 any subsequent modifications to the license limitation pro4 gram recommended by the Council and approved by the 

5 Secretary. 

6 SEC. 3. HARVEST AND PROHIBITED SPECIES ALLOCATIONS 

7 TO A SINGLE FISHERY COOPERATIVE FOR 

8 THE LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUB9 SECTOR IN THE BSAI. 

10 A single fishery cooperative approved under section 

11 2 may, on an annual basis, collectively— 

12 (1) harvest the total amount of BSAI Pacific 

13 cod total allowable catch, less any amount allocated 

14 to the longline catcher processor subsector non-coop15 erative limited access fishery; 

16 (2) utilize the total amount of BSAI Pacific cod 

17 prohibited species catch allocation, less any amount 

18 allocated to a longline catcher processor subsector 

19 non-cooperative limited access fishery; and 

20 (3) harvest any reallocation of Pacific cod to 

21 the longline catcher processor subsector during a 

22 fishing year by the Secretary. 


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1 SEC. 4. LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUBSECTOR NON2 COOPERATIVE LIMITED ACCESS FISHERY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible member that elects not 

4 to participate in a single fishery cooperative approved 

5 under section 2 shall operate in a non-cooperative limited 

6 access fishery subject to the license limitation program in 

7 effect for the longline catcher processor subsector on the 

8 date of enactment of this Act or any subsequent modifica9 tions to the license limitation program recommended by 

10 the Council and approved by the Secretary. 

11 (b) HARVEST AND PROHIBITED SPECIES ALLOCA12 TIONS.—Eligible members operating in a non-cooperative 

13 limited access fishery under this section may collectively— 

14 (1) harvest the percentage of BSAI Pacific cod 

15 total allowable catch equal to the combined average 

16 percentage of the BSAI Pacific cod harvest allocated 

17 to the longline catcher processor sector and retained 

18 by the vessel or vessels designated on the eligible 

19 members license limitation program license or li20 censes for 2006, 2007, and 2008, according to the 

21 catch accounting system data used to establish total 

22 catch; and 

23 (2) utilize the percentage of BSAI Pacific cod 

24 prohibited species catch allocation equal to the per25 centage calculated under paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF THE NORTH PACIFIC FISHERY MAN2 AGEMENT COUNCIL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall super4 sede the authority of the Council to recommend for ap5 proval by the Secretary such conservation and manage6 ment measures, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) as it considers necessary to 

8 ensure that this Act does not diminish the effectiveness 

9 of fishery management in the BSAI or the Gulf of Alaska 

10 Pacific cod fishery. 

11 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

12 (1) Notwithstanding the authority provided to 

13 the Council under this section, the Council is prohib14 ited from altering or otherwise modifying— 

15 (A) the methodology established under sec16 tion 3 for allocating the BSAI Pacific cod total 

17 allowable catch and BSAI Pacific cod prohib18 ited species catch allocation to a single fishery 

19 cooperative approved under this Act; or 

20 (B) the methodology established under sec21 tion 4 of this Act for allocating the BSAI Pa22 cific cod total allowable catch and BSAI Pacific 

23 cod prohibited species catch allocation to the 

24 non-cooperative limited access fishery. 

25 (2) No sooner than 7 years after approval of a 

26 single fisheries cooperative under section 2 of this 


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1 Act, the Council may modify the harvest limitation 

2 established under section 2(b) if such modification 

3 does not negatively impact any eligible member of 

4 the longline catcher processor subsector. 

5 (c) PROTECTIONS FOR THE GULF OF ALASKA PA6 CIFIC COD FISHERY.—The Council may recommend for 

7 approval by the Secretary such harvest limitations of Pa8 cific cod by the longline catcher processor subsector in the 

9 Western Gulf of Alaska and the Central Gulf of Alaska 

10 as may be necessary to protect coastal communities and 

11 other Gulf of Alaska participants from potential competi12 tive advantages provided to the longline catcher processor 

13 subsector by this Act. 

14 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with section 301(a) of 

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

17 fishery cooperative approved under section 2 of this Act 

18 is intended to enhance conservation and sustainable fish19 ery management, reduce and minimize bycatch, promote 

20 social and economic benefits, and improve the vessel safety 

21 of the longline catcher processor subsector in the BSAI. 

22 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—A single fishery cooperative 

23 approved under section 2 of this Act is deemed to meet 

24 the requirements of section 303A(i) of the Magnuson-Ste25 vens Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a(i)) as if it had been approved 


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1 by the Secretary within 6 months after the date of enact2 ment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

3 Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, unless the Sec4 retary makes a determination, within 30 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, that application of section 

6 303A(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to the cooperative 

7 approved under section 2 of this Act would be inconsistent 

8 with the purposes for which section 303A was added to 

9 the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

10 (c) COST RECOVERY.—Consistent with section 

11 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 1854(d)(2)), the Secretary is authorized to recover reason13 able costs to administer a single fishery cooperative ap14 proved under section 2 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 7. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA PROGRAM. 

16 Nothing in this Act shall affect the western Alaska 

17 community development program established by section 

18 305(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)), 

19 including the allocation of fishery resources in the directed 

20 Pacific cod fishery. 

21 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) BSAI.—The term ‘‘BSAI’’ has the meaning 

24 given that term in section 219(a)(2) of the Depart25 ment of Commerce and Related Agencies AppropriaVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:54 Aug 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1609.IS S1609

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1 tions Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 

2 2886). 

3 (2) BSAI PACIFIC COD TOTAL ALLOWABLE

4 CATCH.—The term ‘‘BSAI Pacific cod total allow5 able catch’’ means the Pacific cod total allowable 

6 catch for the directed longline catcher processor sub7 sector in the BSAI as established on an annual basis 

8 by the Council and approved by the Secretary. 

9 (3) BSAI PACIFIC COD PROHIBITED SPECIES

10 CATCH ALLOCATION.—The term ‘‘BSAI Pacific cod 

11 prohibited species catch allocation’’ means the pro12 hibited species catch allocation for the directed 

13 longline catcher processor subsector in the BSAI as 

14 established on an annual basis by the Council and 

15 approved by the Secretary. 

16 (4) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

17 North Pacific Fishery Management Council estab18 lished under section 302(a)(1)(G) of the Magnuson19 Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(G)). 

20 (5) ELIGIBLE MEMBER.—The term ‘‘eligible 

21 member’’ means a holder of a license limitation pro22 gram license, or licenses, eligible to participate in 

23 the longline catcher processor subsector. 

24 (6) GULF OF ALASKA.—The term ‘‘Gulf of 

25 Alaska’’ means that portion of the Exclusive EcoVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Aug 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1609.IS S1609

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1 nomic Zone contained in Statistical Areas 610, 620, 

2 and 630. 

3 (7) LONGLINE CATCHER PROCESSOR SUB4 SECTOR.—The term ‘‘longline catcher processor sub5 sector’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

6 219(a)(6) of the Department of Commerce and Re7 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public 

8 Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 2886). 

9 (8) MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—The term 

10 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Act’’ means the Magnuson-Ste11 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

13 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Commerce. 

Æ 


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