Calendar No. 422

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 39

[Report No. 104–276]

A BILL

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

purposes.provide for sustainable fisheries, and for otherManagement Act to authorize appropriations, to

MAY 23, 1996

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 422

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 39

[Report No. 104–276]

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize appropriations, to provide for sustainable fisheries, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr.

PRESSLER, Mr. LOTT, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. SIMPSON) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

MAY 23, 1996

Reported by Mr. PRESSLER, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize appropriations, to provide for sustainable fisheries, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Sustainable Fisheries Act’’.

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

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Amendment of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

Act.

Sec. 102. Findings; purposes; policy.

Sec. 103. Definitions.

Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 105. Highly migratory species.

Sec. 106. Foreign fishing.

Sec. 107. Permits for foreign fishing.

Sec. 108. Large-scale driftnet fishing.

Sec. 109. National standards.

Sec. 110. Regional fishery management councils.

Sec. 111. Fishery management plans.

Sec. 112. Plan review and implementation.

Sec. 113. Ecosystem management.

Sec. 114. State jurisdiction.

Sec. 115. Prohibited acts.

Sec. 116. Civil penalties and permit sanctions.

Sec. 117. Enforcement.

Sec. 118. North Pacific fisheries conservation.

Sec. 119. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Change of title.

Sec. 202. Registration and data management.

Sec. 203. Data collection.

Sec. 204. Observers.

Sec. 205. Fisheries research.

Sec. 206. Incidental harvest research.

Sec. 207. Repeal.

Sec. 208. Clerical amendments.

TITLE III—FISHERIES STOCK RECOVERY FINANCING

Sec. 301. Short title.

Sec. 302. Fisheries stock recovery refinancing.

Sec. 303. Federal financing bank relating to fishing vessels and fishery facilities.

Sec. 304. Fees for guaranteeing obligations.

Sec. 305. Sale of acquired collateral.
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1 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND

2 MANAGEMENT

3 SEC. 101. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON FISHERY CONSERVA4 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

5 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

6 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

7 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi8 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

9 section or other provision of the Magnuson Fishery Con10 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

11 SEC. 102. FINDINGS; PURPOSES; POLICY.

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

13 (1) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting the

14 following:

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

16 point where their survival is threatened, and other

17 stocks of fish have been so substantially reduced in

18 number that they could become similarly threatened

19 as a consequence of (A) increased fishing pressure,

20 (B) the inadequacy of fishery resource conservation

21 and management practices and controls, or (C) di22 rect and indirect habitat losses which have resulted

23 in a diminished capacity to support existing fishing

24 levels.’’;
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘to facilitate long-term protec2 tion of essential fish habitats,’’ in subsection (a)(6)

3 after ‘‘conservation,’’;

4 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the

5 following:

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

7 the viability of commercial and recreational fisheries

8 is the continuing loss of marine, estuarine, and other

9 aquatic habitats on a national level. Habitat consid10 erations should receive increased attention for the

11 conservation and management of fishery resources of

12 the United States.’’;

13 (4) by inserting ‘‘in a non-wasteful manner’’ in

14 subsection (b)(6) after ‘‘such development’’; and

15 (5) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(7) to promote the protection of essential fish

18 habitat in the review of projects conducted under

19 Federal permits, licenses, or other authorities that

20 affect or have the potential to affect such habitat.’’.

21 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

22 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended—

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through

24 (32) as paragraphs (3) through (33) respectively,

25 and inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘bycatch’ means fish which are

2 harvested by a fishing vessel, but which are not sold

3 or kept for personal use, including, but not limited

4 to, economic and regulatory discards.’’;

5 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

6 (33) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (9) through

7 (35), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (6)

8 (as redesignated) the following:

9 ‘‘(7) The term ‘economic discards’ means fish

10 which are the target of a fishery, but which are not

11 retained by the fishing vessel which harvested them

12 because they are of an undesirable size, sex or qual13 ity, or for other economic reasons.

14 ‘‘(8) The term ‘essential fish habitat’ means

15 any area essential to the life cycle of a stock of fish,

16 or to the production of maximum sustainable yield

17 of one or more fisheries managed under this Act.’’;

18 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (12) through

19 (35) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (13) through

20 (36), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

21 (11) (as redesignated) the following:

22 ‘‘(12) The term ‘fishery dependent community’

23 means a community which is substantially dependent

24 on the harvest of fishery resources to meet social

25 and economic needs.’’;
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1 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through

2 (36) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (20) through

3 (37), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

4 (18) (as redesignated) the following:

5 ‘‘(19) The term ‘individual transferable quota’

6 means a revocable Federal authorization to harvest

7 or process a quantity of fish under a unit or quota

8 share that represents a percentage of the total allow9 able catch of a stock of fish, that may be received

10 or held by a specific person or persons for their ex11 clusive use, and that may be transferred in whole or

12 in part by the holder to another person or persons

13 for their exclusive use.’’;

14 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (22) through

15 (37) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (23) through

16 (38), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

17 (21) (as redesignated) the following:

18 ‘‘(22) The term ‘limited access system’ means

19 any system for controlling fishing effort which in20 cludes such measures as license limitations, individ21 ual transferable quotas, and non-transferable

22 quotas.’’;

23 (6) by striking ‘‘Pacific Marine Fisheries Com24 mission’’ in paragraph (23), as redesignated, and in-
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1 serting ‘‘Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commis2 sion’’;

3 (7) by striking paragraph (27), as redesignated,

4 and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(27) The term ‘optimum’, with respect to the

6 yield from a fishery, means the amount of fish

7 which—

8 ‘‘(A) will provide the greatest overall bene9 fit to the Nation, with particular reference to

10 food production and recreational opportunities,

11 and taking into account the protection of ma12 rine ecosystems;

13 ‘‘(B) is prescribed on the basis of the max14 imum sustainable yield from a fishery, as modi15 fied by any relevant social, economic, or ecologi16 cal factor; and

17 ‘‘(C) provides for the rebuilding of an over18 fished fishery to a level consistent with produc19 ing the maximum sustainable yield.’’;

20 (8) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through

21 (38) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (29) through

22 (39), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

23 (27) (as redesignated) the following:

24 ‘‘(28) The terms ‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’

25 mean a level or rate of fishing mortality that jeop-
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1 ardizes the capacity of a fishery to produce the max2 imum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.’’;

3 (9) by redesignating paragraphs (30) through

4 (39) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (31) through

5 (40), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

6 (29) (as redesignated) the following:

7 ‘‘(30) The term ‘regulatory discards’ means fish

8 caught in a fishery which fishermen are required by

9 regulation to discard whenever caught, or are re10 quired by regulation to retain but not sell.’’;

11 (10) by striking ‘‘for which a fishery manage12 ment plan prepared under title III or a preliminary

13 fishery management plan prepared under section

14 201(h) has been implemented’’ in paragraph (38), as

15 redesignated, and inserting ‘‘regulated under this

16 Act’’; and

17 (11) by redesignating paragraph (40), as redes18 ignated, as (41), and inserting after paragraph (39)

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(40) The term ‘vessel subject to the jurisdic21 tion of the United States’ has the same meaning as

22 in section 3(c) of the Maritime Drug Law Enforce23 ment Act (46 U.S.C. App. 1903(c)).’’.
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1 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 The Act is amended by inserting after section 3 the

3 following:

4 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of

7 this Act, not to exceed the following sums (of which 15

8 percent in each fiscal year shall be used for enforcement

9 activities):

10 ‘‘(1) $102,000,000 for fiscal year 1993;

11 ‘‘(2) $106,000,000 for fiscal year 1994;

12 ‘‘(3) $143,000,000 for fiscal year 1995;

13 ‘‘(4) $147,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

14 ‘‘(5) $151,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

15 ‘‘(6) $155,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

16 ‘‘(7) $159,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

17 SEC. 105. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.

18 Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘promoting the objective of optimum utilization’’ and in20 serting ‘‘shall promote the achievement of optimum yield’’.

21 SEC. 106. FOREIGN FISHING.

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

23 (1) by inserting a comma and ‘‘or is approved

24 under section 204(b)(6)(A)(ii)’’ before the semicolon

25 in subsection (a)(1);
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘(g)’’ in subsection (a)(2) and

2 inserting ‘‘(f)’’;

3 (3) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ in subsection (c)(2)(D)

4 and inserting ‘‘(h)’’;

5 (4) by striking ‘‘, including any regulations pro6 mulgated to implement any applicable fishery man7 agement plan or any preliminary fishery manage8 ment plan’’ in subsection (c); and

9 (5) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating

10 subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j) as (f), (g), (h), and

11 (i), respectively.

12 SEC. 107. PERMITS FOR FOREIGN FISHING.

13 (a) So much of section 204(b) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b))

14 as precedes paragraph (2) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS AND PERMITS.—

16 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—

17 ‘‘(A) Each foreign nation with which the

18 United States has entered into a governing

19 international fishery agreement shall submit an

20 application to the Secretary of State each year

21 for a permit for each of its fishing vessels that

22 wishes to engage in fishing described in sub23 section (a).

24 ‘‘(B) An owner of a vessel, other than a

25 vessel of the United States, who wishes to en-
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1 gage in the transshipment at sea of fish prod2 ucts in the exclusive economic zone or within

3 the boundary of any State, may submit an ap4 plication to the Secretary each year for a per5 mit for a vessel belonging to that owner, wheth6 er or not such vessel is subject to an inter7 national fishery agreement described in section

8 201(b) or (c).

9 ‘‘(C) No permit issued under this section

10 may be valid for longer than a year. Section

11 558(c) of title 5, United States Code, does not

12 apply to the renewal of any such permit.’’.

13 (b) Section 204(b)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(4)) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the caption;

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘submitted under paragraph

17 (1)(A)’’ after ‘‘any application’’;

18 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

19 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively;

20 and

21 (4) by inserting at the end thereof the follow22 ing:

23 ‘‘(B) Upon receipt of any application sub24 mitted under paragraph (1)(B) which complies

25 with the requirements of paragraph (3), the
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1 Secretary shall promptly transmit copies of the

2 application or summary as indicated under sub3 paragraphs (A)(ii) and (iii), and shall also

4 promptly transmit such application or summary

5 to States bordering the exclusive economic zone

6 where such transshipment is proposed to

7 occur.’’.

8 (c) Section 204(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(5)) is

9 amended by striking ‘‘under paragraph (4)(C)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘submitted under paragraph (1)’’.

11 (d) Section 204(b)(6) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(6)) is

12 amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘transmitted under paragraph

14 (4)(A)’’ in subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘submit15 ted under paragraph (1)(A)’’;

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘After’’ in sub17 paragraph (A); and

18 (3) by inserting before subparagraph (B) the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(ii) In the case of any application

21 submitted under paragraph (1)(B), the

22 Secretary, after taking into consideration

23 any comments submitted by the Council

24 under paragraph (5) or any affected State,

25 may approve the application upon deter-
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1 mining that the activity described in the

2 application will be in the interest of the

3 United States and will meet the applicable

4 requirements of this Act, and that the

5 owners or operators have agreed to comply

6 with requirements set forth in section

7 201(c)(2) and have established any bonds

8 or financial assurances that may be re9 quired by the Secretary; or the Secretary

10 may disapprove all or any portion of the

11 application.’’.

12 (e) Section 204(b)(8) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(8)) is

13 amended—

14 (1) by inserting a comma and ‘‘or the agent for

15 the foreign vessel owner for any application submit16 ted under paragraph (1)(B)’’ before the semicolon at

17 the end of subparagraph (A); and

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘and any affected State’’ be19 fore the period at the end of subparagraph (C).

20 (f) Section 204(b)(9) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(9)) is

21 amended—

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A) of’’ after

23 ‘‘by a foreign nation under’’;

24 (2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the heading in

25 paragraph (9); and
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1 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:

2 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary does not approve any

3 application submitted by a foreign vessel owner

4 under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, the

5 Secretary shall promptly inform the vessel

6 owner of the disapproval and the reasons there7 fore. The owner, after taking into consideration

8 the reasons for disapproval, may submit a re9 vised application under this subsection.’’.

10 (g) Section 204(b)(11) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(11)) is

11 amended—

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the paragraph

13 heading,

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘submitting an application

15 under paragraph (1)(A)’’ after ‘‘If a foreign nation’’;

16 and

17 (3) adding at the end thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(B) If the vessel owner submitting an ap19 plication under paragraph (1)(B) notifies the

20 Secretary of acceptance of the conditions and

21 restrictions established by the Secretary under

22 paragraph (7), and upon payment of the appli23 cable fees established pursuant to paragraph

24 (10) and confirmation of any bonds or financial

25 assurances that may be required for such trans-
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1 shipment of fish, the Secretary shall thereupon

2 issue a permit for the vessel.’’.

3 (h) Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1824) is amended by add4 ing at the end thereof the following:

5 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON PERMIT ISSUANCE.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of this Act, the Secretary is

7 prohibited from issuing, before December 1, 1999, any

8 permit to authorize the catching, taking, or harvesting of

9 Atlantic mackerel or Atlantic herring by foreign fishing

10 vessels within the exclusive economic zone. This subsection

11 shall not apply to permits to authorize foreign fish proc12 essing vessels to process Atlantic mackerel or Atlantic her13 ring harvested by fishing vessels of the United States.’’.

14 SEC. 108. LARGE-SCALE DRIFTNET FISHING.

15 (a) Section 206(e) (16 U.S.C. 1826(e)) is amended

16 by striking paragraphs (3) and (4), and redesignating

17 paragraphs (5) and (6) as (3) and (4), respectively.

18 (b) Section 206(f) (16 U.S.C. 1826(f)) is amended

19 by striking ‘‘(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)’’.

20 SEC. 109. NATIONAL STANDARDS.

21 (a) Paragraph (1) of section 301(a) (16 U.S.C.

22 1851(a)) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(1) Conservation and management measures

24 shall prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished fish-
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1 ery resources while achieving, on a continuing basis,

2 the optimum yield from each fishery.’’.

3 (b) Section 301(a)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(5)) is

4 amended by striking ‘‘promote’’ and inserting ‘‘consider’’.

5 (c) Section 301(a) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)) is amended

6 by adding at the end thereof the following:

7 ‘‘(8) Conservation and management measures

8 shall take into account the importance of the harvest

9 of fishery resources to fishery dependent commu10 nities.’’.

11 SEC. 110. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

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

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection

14 heading;

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through

16 (7) as subparagraphs (A) through (H);

17 (3) by striking ‘‘section 304(f)(3)’’ wherever it

18 appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph

19 (3)’’;

20 (4) by striking paragraph (1)(F), as redesig21 nated, and inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(F) PACIFIC COUNCIL.—The Pacific Fish23 ery Management Council shall consist of the

24 States of California, Oregon, Washington, and

25 Idaho and shall have authority over the fish-
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1 eries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of such

2 States. The Pacific Council shall have 13 voting

3 members, including 7 appointed by the Sec4 retary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at

5 least one of whom shall be appointed from each

6 such State), and including one appointed from

7 an Indian tribe with Federally recognized fish8 ing rights from California, Oregon, Washington,

9 or Idaho in accordance with subsection (b)(5).’’;

10 (5) by indenting the sentence at the end thereof

11 and inserting ‘‘(2)’’ in front of ‘‘Each Council’’, and

12 by inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall establish the

13 boundaries between the geographical areas of au14 thority of adjacent Councils.’’ after ‘‘authority.’’;

15 and

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

17 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall have authority over

18 any highly migratory species fishery that is within

19 the geographical area of authority of more than one

20 of the following Councils: New England Council,

21 Mid-Atlantic Council, South Atlantic Council, Gulf

22 Council, and Caribbean Council.’’.

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

24 (1) by striking subparagraph (C) of subsection

25 (b)(1) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) The members required to be ap2 pointed by the Secretary in accordance with

3 subsections (b)(2) and (5).’’;

4 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para5 graph (6), and inserting after paragraph (4) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall appoint to the Pa8 cific Fishery Management Council one representative

9 of an Indian tribe with Federally recognized fishing

10 rights from California, Oregon, Washington, or

11 Idaho, from a list of not less than 3 individuals sub12 mitted by the tribal governments. The representative

13 shall serve for a term of 3 years and may not serve

14 more than 3 consecutive terms. The Secretary, in

15 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and

16 tribal governments, shall establish by regulation the

17 procedure for submitting lists under this subpara18 graph.

19 ‘‘(B) Representation shall be rotated among the

20 tribes taking into consideration—

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

22 the list referred to in subparagraph (A),

23 ‘‘(ii) the various treaty rights of the Indian

24 tribes involved and judicial cases that set forth

25 how those rights are to be exercised, and
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1 ‘‘(iii) the geographic area in which the

2 tribe of the representative is located.

3 ‘‘(C) A vacancy occurring prior to the expira4 tion of any term shall be filled in the same manner

5 set out in subparagraphs (A) and (B), except that

6 the Secretary may use the list from which the

7 vacating representative was chosen.’’; and,

8 (3) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’ in para9 graph (6), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘sub10 sections (b)(2) and (5)’’.

11 (c) Section 302(e) (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)) is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(5) At the request of any voting member of a

14 Council, the Council shall hold a roll call vote on any

15 matter before the Council. The official minutes and

16 other appropriate records of any Council meeting

17 shall identify all roll call votes held, the name of

18 each voting member present during each roll call

19 vote, and how each member voted on each roll call

20 vote.’’.

21 (d) Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended

22 by redesignating paragraph (4) as (5), and by inserting

23 after paragraph (3) the following:

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall establish advisory pan25 els to assist in—
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1 ‘‘(A) the collection and evaluation of infor2 mation relevant to the development of or

3 amendment to any fishery management plan

4 under section 303(e)(2); and

5 ‘‘(B) carrying out the purposes of section

6 303(f).’’.

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

8 (1) by striking ‘‘section 304(f)(3)’’ in para9 graphs (1) and (5) and inserting ‘‘subsection

10 (a)(3)’’; and

11 (2) by striking ‘‘204(b)(4)(C)’’ in paragraph (2)

12 and inserting ‘‘204(b)(4)(A)(iii)’’.

13 (f) Section 302(i) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended to

14 read as follows:

15 ‘‘(i) NEGOTIATED CONSERVATION AND MANAGE16 MENT MEASURES.—

17 ‘‘(1) A Council may, in consultation with the

18 Secretary, establish a negotiation panel to assist in

19 the development of specific conservation and man20 agement measures for a fishery under authority of

21 such Council. In making the decision to establish

22 such panel, the Council shall consider whether—

23 ‘‘(A) there are a finite number of identifi24 able interests that will be significantly affected

25 by the development of such measures;
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1 ‘‘(B) there is a reasonable likelihood that

2 a negotiation panel can be convened with a bal3 anced representation of persons who—

4 ‘‘(i) can adequately represent the in5 terests identified under subparagraph (A);

6 and

7 ‘‘(ii) are willing to act in good faith to

8 reach a consensus on the development of

9 such measures;

10 ‘‘(C) there is reasonable likelihood that a

11 negotiation panel will contribute to the develop12 ment of such measures within a fixed period of

13 time; and

14 ‘‘(D) the process under this subsection will

15 not unreasonably delay the development of any

16 conservation and management measure or its

17 submission to the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(2) If the Council decides to establish a nego19 tiation panel it shall notify all identifiable interests

20 of its intention to convene such panel at least 30 cal21 endar days prior to the appointment of members.

22 Such notification shall be published in accordance

23 with subsection (j)(2)(C) of this section and shall

24 include—
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1 ‘‘(A) a description of the subject and scope

2 of the measures to be developed and the issues

3 to be considered;

4 ‘‘(B) a list of interests likely to be signifi5 cantly affected by the measures to be developed;

6 ‘‘(C) a list of the persons proposed to rep7 resent such interests, the person or persons

8 proposed to represent the Council, and the per9 son or persons proposed to be nominated as

10 facilitator;

11 ‘‘(D) an explanation of how a person may

12 apply or nominate another person for member13 ship on the negotiation panel; and

14 ‘‘(E) a proposed agenda and schedule for

15 completing the work of the negotiation panel.

16 ‘‘(3) No more than 45 calendar days after pro17 viding this notification the Council shall make ap18 pointments to the negotiation panel in such a man19 ner as to achieve balanced representation of all sig20 nificant interests to the conservation and manage21 ment measures. Such interests shall include, where

22 appropriate, representatives from the fishing indus23 try, consumer groups, the scientific community, trib24 al organizations, conservation organizations and
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1 other public interest organizations, and Federal and

2 State fishery managers.

3 ‘‘(4) Each negotiation panel established under

4 this section shall attempt to reach a consensus con5 cerning specific conservation and management meas6 ures and any other issue such panel determines is

7 relevant to such measures. The Council, to the maxi8 mum extent possible consistent with its legal obliga9 tions and the best scientific information available,

10 will use the consensus of the negotiation panel, with

11 respect to such measures, as the basis for the devel12 opment of the conservation and management meas13 ures to be adopted by the Council for submission by

14 the Council to the Secretary in accordance with this

15 Act.

16 ‘‘(5) The person or persons representing the

17 Council on a negotiation panel shall participate in

18 the deliberations and activities of such panel with

19 the same rights and responsibilities as other panel

20 members.

21 ‘‘(6) Any facilitator nominated by the Council

22 to a negotiation panel must be approved by the

23 panel by consensus. If the panel does not approve a

24 facilitator nominated by the Council the panel shall

25 select by consensus another person to serve as
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1 facilitator. No person appointed by the Council to

2 the negotiation panel to represent any interest on

3 the Council may serve as facilitator or otherwise

4 chair such panel.

5 ‘‘(7) A facilitator approved or selected by a ne6 gotiation panel shall—

7 ‘‘(A) chair the meetings of such panel in

8 an impartial manner;

9 ‘‘(B) impartially assist the panel members

10 in conducting discussions and negotiations; and

11 ‘‘(C) manage the keeping of any minutes

12 or records, (except that any personal notes and

13 materials of the facilitator or the panel mem14 bers shall not be subject to disclosure, except

15 upon order of a court).

16 ‘‘(8) A negotiation panel may adopt any addi17 tional procedures for the operation of the negotiation

18 panel not in conflict with those specified in this sec19 tion.

20 ‘‘(9) At the conclusion of the negotiation proc21 ess, if the negotiation panel reaches a consensus on

22 proposed conservation and management measures,

23 such panel shall transmit to the Council, and

24 present to the Council at the next scheduled meeting

25 of the Council, a report containing the proposed con-
25

•S 39 RS

1 servation and management measures. If the negotia2 tion panel does not reach consensus on proposed

3 conservation and management measures, such panel

4 shall transmit to the Council, and present to the

5 Council at the next scheduled meeting of the Coun6 cil, a report specifying its recommendations and de7 scribing the areas in which the negotiation panel

8 reached consensus and the areas in which consensus

9 was not achieved. The negotiation panel may include

10 in a report any other information or materials that

11 such panel considers appropriate. Any panel member

12 may include, as an addendum to the report, addi13 tional information or materials.

14 ‘‘(10) A negotiation panel shall terminate upon

15 transmittal and presentation to the Council of the

16 report required under paragraph (9) unless the

17 Council in consultation with the panel specifies an

18 alternative termination date.

19 ‘‘(11) For the purposes of this subsection—

20 ‘‘(A) The term ‘negotiation panel’ means

21 an advisory panel established by a Council

22 under section (g)(2) to assist in the develop23 ment of specific conservation and management

24 measures through the process established under

25 this subsection.
26

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(B) The term ‘consensus’ means general

2 but not unanimous concurrence among the in3 terests represented unless such panel—

4 ‘‘(i) agrees by consensus to define

5 such term to mean a unanimous concur6 rence; or

7 ‘‘(ii) agrees by consensus upon an8 other specified definition.

9 ‘‘(C) The term ‘facilitator’ means a person

10 experienced or trained in group mediation and

11 negotiation who impartially aids in the discus12 sions and negotiations among the members of a

13 negotiation panel.

14 ‘‘(D) The term ‘interest’ means, with re15 spect to this subsection, multiple persons or

16 parties who have a similar point of view or

17 which are likely to be affected in a similar man18 ner.’’.

19 (g) Section 302(j) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Councils’’ in paragraph

21 (1) and inserting ‘‘established under subsection (g)’’;

22 and

23 (2) by striking ‘‘of a Council:’’ in paragraph (2)

24 and inserting ‘‘established under subsection (g):’’.
27

•S 39 RS

1 (3) by adding the following at the end of para2 graph (2)(C): ‘‘Interested persons may propose to

3 modify the published agenda of a meeting by sub4 mitting to a Council, panel or committee within 14

5 calendar days of the published date of the meeting

6 a notice containing a written description of the pro7 posed modification signed by not less than two

8 Council members.’’;

9 (4) by adding the following at the end of para10 graph (2)(D): ‘‘All written data submitted to a

11 Council by an interested person shall include a state12 ment of the source and date of such information.

13 Any oral or written statement shall include a brief

14 description of the qualifications and interests of the

15 person in the subject of the oral or written state16 ment.’’;

17 (5) by amending paragraph (2)(E) to read as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of

20 the Council shall be kept and shall contain a

21 record of the persons present, a complete and

22 accurate description of matters discussed and

23 conclusions reached, and copies of all state24 ments filed, issued, or approved by the Council.

25 The Chairman shall certify the accuracy of the
28

•S 39 RS

1 minutes of each meeting and submit a copy

2 thereof to the Secretary. The minutes shall be

3 made available to any court of competent juris4 diction.’’; and

5 (6) by striking ‘‘303(d)’’ in paragraph (2)(F)

6 and inserting ‘‘402(b)’’.

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

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘and recusal’’ in the subsection

9 heading;

10 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(1) For the purposes of this subsection—

13 ‘‘(A) the term ‘affected individual’ means

14 an individual who—

15 ‘‘(i) is nominated by the Governor of

16 a State for appointment as a voting mem17 ber of a Council in accordance with sub18 section (b)(2); or

19 ‘‘(ii) is a voting member of a Council

20 appointed under subsection (b)(2); and

21 ‘‘(B) the term ‘designated official’ means a

22 person with expertise in Federal conflict-of-in23 terest requirements who is designated by the

24 Secretary, with the concurrence of a majority of

25 the voting members of the Council, to attend
29

•S 39 RS

1 Council meetings and make determinations

2 under paragraph (7)(B).’’;

3 (3) by striking ‘‘(1)(A)’’ in paragraph (3)(A)

4 and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(i)’’;

5 (4) by striking ‘‘(1)(B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

6 (3)(B) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

7 (5) by striking ‘‘(1)(B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

8 (4) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

9 (6)(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (5)(A);

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (5)(B) and inserting a semicolon and the

13 word ‘‘and’’; and

14 (C) by adding at the end of paragraph (5) the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(C) be kept on file by the Secretary for

17 use in reviewing determinations under para18 graph (7)(B) and made available for public in19 spection at reasonable hours.’’;

20 (7) by striking ‘‘(1)(B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

21 (6) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

22 (8) by redesignating paragraph (7) as (8) and

23 inserting after paragraph (6) the following:

24 ‘‘(7)(A) An affected individual required to dis25 close a financial interest under paragraph (2) shall
30

•S 39 RS

1 not vote on a Council decision which would have a

2 significant and predictable effect on such financial

3 interest. A Council decision shall be considered to

4 have a significant and predictable effect on a finan5 cial interest if there is a close causal link between

6 the Council decision and an expected and dispropor7 tionate benefit, shared only by a minority of persons

8 within the same industry sector or gear group, to

9 the financial interest. An affected individual who

10 may not vote may participate in Council delibera11 tions relating to the decision after notifying the

12 Council of the voting recusal and identifying the fi13 nancial interest that would be affected.

14 ‘‘(B) At the request of an affected individual, or

15 at the initiative of the appropriate designated offi16 cial, the designated official shall make a determina17 tion for the record whether a Council decision would

18 have a significant and predictable effect on a finan19 cial interest.

20 ‘‘(C) Any Council member may submit a writ21 ten request to the Secretary to review any deter22 mination by the designated official under subpara23 graph (B) within 10 days of such determination.

24 Such review shall be completed within 30 days of re25 ceipt of the request.
31

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(D) Any affected individual who does not par2 ticipate in a Council decision in accordance with this

3 subsection shall state for the record how he or she

4 would have voted on such decision if he or she had

5 voted.

6 ‘‘(E) If the Council makes a decision before the

7 Secretary has reviewed a determination under sub8 paragraph (C), the eventual ruling may not be treat9 ed as cause for the invalidation or reconsideration by

10 the Secretary of such decision.

11 ‘‘(F) No later than December 1, 1995, the Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Councils, shall issue

13 guidelines with respect to voting recusals under sub14 paragraph (A) and the making of determinations

15 under subparagraph (B).’’; and

16 (9) by striking ‘‘(1)(B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

17 (8), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’.

18 SEC. 111. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

19 (a) Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—

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

21 following:

22 ‘‘(6) consider and provide for, after consultation

23 with the Coast Guard and persons participating in

24 the fishery and to the extent practicable without ad25 versely affecting conservation efforts in other fish-
32

•S 39 RS

1 eries or discriminating among participants in the af2 fected fishery—

3 ‘‘(A) safety of life and property at sea;

4 ‘‘(B) temporary adjustments regarding ac5 cess to the fishery for vessels otherwise pre6 vented from harvesting because of weather or

7 other ocean conditions affecting the safe con8 duct of the fishery; and

9 ‘‘(C) effective enforcement measures (in10 cluding an estimate of the resources necessary

11 for such measures).’’;

12 (2) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(7) facilitate the protection of essential fish

15 habitat by—

16 ‘‘(A) summarizing available information on

17 the significance of such habitat to the fishery

18 and the effects of changes to such habitat on

19 the fishery; and

20 ‘‘(B) identifying Federal actions that

21 should be considered to promote the long-term

22 protection of essential fish habitats.’’;

23 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

24 (8);
33

•S 39 RS

1 (4) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (9) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

4 ‘‘(10) specify objective and measurable criteria

5 for classifying when the fishery to which the plan

6 applies would be or is overfished, with an analysis of

7 how the criteria were determined and the relation8 ship of the criteria to the reproductive potential of

9 stocks of fish in that fishery;

10 ‘‘(11) assess the level of bycatch occurring in

11 the fishery, and to the extent practicable, assess and

12 specify the effect of the fishery on stocks of fish to

13 which the plan does not apply, but which are associ14 ated with the ecosystem of the fishery; and

15 ‘‘(12) to the extent practicable, minimize mor16 tality caused by economic and regulatory discards in

17 the fishery.’’.

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

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

20 following:

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

22 fishery in order to achieve optimum yield if—

23 ‘‘(A) in developing such system, the Coun24 cil and the Secretary take into account present

25 participation in the fishery, historical fishing
34

•S 39 RS

1 practices in and dependence on the fishery, the

2 economics of the fishery, the capability of fish3 ing vessels used in the fishery to engage in

4 other fisheries, the cultural and social frame5 work relevant to the fishery and fishery depend6 ent communities, and any other relevant consid7 erations; and

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any system that pro9 vides for individual transferable quotas, such

10 system also complies with the guidelines and fee

11 requirements established under section 303(f);’’;

12 and

13 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

14 (9);

15 (3) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (10) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’;

17 and

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

19 ‘‘(11) include, consistent with the other provi20 sions of this Act, conservation and management

21 measures that provide a harvest preference or other

22 incentives for fishing vessels within each gear group

23 that employ fishing practices resulting in lower levels

24 of bycatch.’’.
35

•S 39 RS

1 (c) Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended by

2 striking subsection (c) and all thereafter and inserting the

3 following:

4 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT A FISHERY MAN5 AGEMENT PLAN.—Proposed regulations which the Council

6 deems necessary or appropriate for the purposes of imple7 menting a fishery management plan or amendment to a

8 plan may be submitted to the Secretary for action under

9 section 304—

10 ‘‘(1) simultaneously with submission of the plan

11 or amendment to the Secretary for action under sec12 tion 304; or

13 ‘‘(2) at any time after the plan or amendment

14 is approved.

15 ‘‘(d) FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY OF MORE THAN

16 ONE COUNCIL.—

17 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in section 302(a)(3), if

18 any fishery extends beyond the geographical area of

19 authority of any one Council, the Secretary may—

20 ‘‘(A) designate which Council shall prepare

21 the fishery management plan for such fishery

22 and any amendment to such plan, as well as

23 any proposed regulations for such fishery; or
36

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(B) require that the plan, amendment,

2 and proposed regulations be prepared jointly by

3 the Councils concerned.

4 ‘‘(2) No jointly prepared fishery management

5 plan, amendment, or proposed regulations may be

6 submitted to the Secretary unless approved by a ma7 jority of the voting members, present and voting, of

8 each Council concerned.

9 ‘‘(e) PREPARATION BY THE SECRETARY.—

10 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall prepare a fishery man11 agement plan with respect to any fishery (other than

12 a fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies), or any

13 amendment to any such plan, in accordance with the

14 national standards, the other provisions of this Act,

15 and any other applicable law, if—

16 ‘‘(A) the appropriate Council fails to de17 velop and submit to the Secretary, after a rea18 sonable period of time, a fishery management

19 plan for such fishery, or any necessary amend20 ment to such plan, if such fishery requires con21 servation and management and the Secretary

22 provides written notice to the Council of the

23 need for such conservation and management;

24 ‘‘(B) the Secretary disapproves or partially

25 disapproves any such plan or amendment, or
37

•S 39 RS

1 disapproves a revised plan or amendment, and

2 the Council involved fails, after a reasonable pe3 riod of time, to take final action on a revised

4 or further revised plan or amendment, as the

5 case may be; or

6 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines that the ap7 propriate Council has failed to take sufficient

8 action on a fishery management plan, a plan

9 amendment or proposed regulations to rebuild

10 an overfished fishery pursuant to section 305(b)

11 within 1 year after determining that such fish12 ery is overfished.

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall prepare a fishery man14 agement plan with respect to any highly migratory

15 species fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies

16 that requires conservation and management, or any

17 amendment to any such plan, in accordance with the

18 national standards, the other provisions of this Act,

19 and any other applicable law. In preparing and im20 plementing any such plan or amendment, the Sec21 retary shall—

22 ‘‘(A) conduct public hearings, at appro23 priate times and in appropriate locations in the

24 geographical areas concerned, so as to allow in25 terested persons an opportunity to be heard in
38

•S 39 RS

1 the preparation and amendment of the plan and

2 any regulations implementing the plan;

3 ‘‘(B) consult with and consider the com4 ments and views of affected Councils, as well as

5 commissioners and advisory groups appointed

6 under Acts implementing relevant international

7 fishery agreements pertaining to highly migra8 tory species;

9 ‘‘(C) establish an advisory panel under sec10 tion 302(g) for each fishery management plan

11 to be prepared under this paragraph, which

12 shall consist of a balanced number of represent13 atives (but not less than 7) who are knowledge14 able and experienced with respect to the fishery

15 concerned selected from among members of ad16 visory groups appointed under Acts implement17 ing relevant international fishery agreements

18 pertaining to highly migratory species and other

19 interested parties;

20 ‘‘(D) evaluate the likely effects, if any, of

21 conservation and management measures on par22 ticipants in the affected fisheries and minimize,

23 to the extent practicable, any disadvantage to

24 United States fishermen in relation to foreign

25 competitors;
39

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(E) with respect to a highly migratory

2 species for which the United States is author3 ized to harvest an allocation or quota or fishing

4 mortality level under a relevant international

5 fishery agreement, provide fishing vessels of the

6 United States with a reasonable opportunity to

7 harvest such allocation, quota, or fishing mor8 tality level;

9 ‘‘(F) review, on a continuing basis (and

10 promptly whenever a recommendation pertain11 ing to fishing for highly migratory species has

12 been made under a relevant international fish13 ery agreement), and revise as appropriate, the

14 conservation and management measures in15 cluded in the plan;

16 ‘‘(G) diligently pursue, through inter17 national entities (such as the International

18 Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic

19 Tunas), comparable international fishery man20 agement measures with respect to fishing for

21 highly migratory species; and

22 ‘‘(H) ensure that conservation and man23 agement measures adopted under this para24 graph—
40

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(i) promote international conserva2 tion of the affected fishery;

3 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration tradi4 tional fishing patterns of fishing vessels of

5 the United States and the operating re6 quirements of the fisheries; and

7 ‘‘(iii) are fair and equitable in allocat8 ing fishing privileges among United States

9 fishermen and not have economic allocation

10 as the sole purpose.

11 ‘‘(3) In preparing any plan or amendment

12 under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult

13 with the Secretary of State with respect to foreign

14 fishing and with the Secretary of the department in

15 which the Coast Guard is operating with respect to

16 enforcement at sea.

17 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may not include in any fish18 ery management plan, or any amendment to any

19 such plan, prepared by the Secretary under para20 graph (1), a provision establishing a limited access

21 system, unless such system is first approved by a

22 majority of the voting members of each appropriate

23 Council.

24 ‘‘(f) INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTAS.—
41

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may not approve a fishery

2 management plan that includes individual transfer3 able quotas until the Secretary has promulgated

4 guidelines under paragraph (2). Thereafter, the Sec5 retary may approve a fishery management plan or

6 amendment that includes individual transferable

7 quotas only if the plan or amendment is consistent

8 with the guidelines promulgated under paragraph

9 (2).

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall promulgate, after con11 sultation with the Councils and public notice and

12 comment, mandatory guidelines for the establish13 ment of any individual transferable quota system.

14 The guidelines shall—

15 ‘‘(A) ensure that any individual transfer16 able quota system—

17 ‘‘(i) is consistent with the require18 ments for limited access systems under

19 section 303(b)(6),

20 ‘‘(ii) promotes conservation,

21 ‘‘(iii) requires collection of fees from

22 holders of individual transferable quotas

23 under section 304(f)(2),

24 ‘‘(iv) provides for the fair and equi25 table allocation of fishing privileges, and
42

•S 39 RS

1 minimizes negative social and economic im2 pacts on fishery dependent communities;

3 ‘‘(v) establishes a national lien reg4 istry system for the identification, perfec5 tion, determination of lien priorities, and

6 nonjudicial foreclosure of encumbrances or

7 individual transferable quotas; and

8 ‘‘(vi) facilitates a reduction in exces9 sive fishing capacity in the fishery;

10 ‘‘(B) address the characteristics of fish11 eries that are relevant to the design of suitable

12 individual transferable quota systems, the na13 ture and extent of the privilege established

14 under an individual transferable quota system,

15 factors in making initial allocations and deter16 mining eligibility for ownership of individual

17 transferable quotas, limitations on the consoli18 dation of individual transferable quotas, and

19 methods of providing for new entrants, includ20 ing, in fisheries where appropriate, mechanisms

21 to provide a portion of the annual harvest for

22 entry-level fishermen or small vessel owners who

23 do not hold individual transferable quotas;

24 ‘‘(C) provide for effective monitoring and

25 enforcement of individual transferable quota
43

•S 39 RS

1 systems, including providing for the inspection

2 of fish harvested under such systems before the

3 fish is transported beyond the geographic area

4 under a Council’s jurisdiction or the jurisdiction

5 of the United States;

6 ‘‘(D) provide for appropriate penalties for

7 violations of individual transferable quota sys8 tems, including the revocation of individual

9 transferable quotas for such violations; and

10 ‘‘(E) include recommendations for poten11 tial management options related to individual

12 transferable quotas, including the authorization

13 of individual units or quotas that may not be

14 transferred by the holder, and the use of leases

15 or auctions by the Federal government in the

16 establishment or allocation of individual trans17 ferable or nontransferable units or quotas.

18 ‘‘(3) Any fishery management plan which in19 cludes individual transferable quotas that the Sec20 retary approved on or before the date of enactment

21 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act shall be amended

22 within 3 years after that date to be consistent with

23 this subsection and any other applicable provisions

24 of this Act.
44

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1 ‘‘(4) No later than 60 days after the date of en2 actment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Sec3 retary shall establish an advisory panel on individual

4 transferable quotas under section 302(g)(3) which

5 shall be comprised of fishery scientists and rep6 resentatives of the Councils, representatives of af7 fected States and fishery dependent communities,

8 fishery participants and conservation organizations.

9 Such advisory panel shall provide recommendations

10 on the guidelines required under paragraph (2), a

11 list of all United States fisheries that may be suited

12 for the development of limited access systems that

13 include individual transferable quotas, and other in14 formation as the Secretary or the advisory panel

15 deem appropriate.

16 ‘‘(5) An individual transferable quota does not

17 constitute a property right. Nothing in this section

18 or in any other provision of law shall be construed

19 to limit the authority of the Secretary to terminate

20 or limit such individual transferable quota at any

21 time and without compensation to the holder of such

22 quota. The term ‘holder of an individual transferable

23 quota’ includes (A) fishing vessel owners, fishermen,

24 crew members or other citizens of the United States,

25 and (B) United States fish processors.’’.
45

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1 SEC. 112. PLAN REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION.

2 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended to read as

3 follows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 304. PLAN REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION.

5 ‘‘(a) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY AFTER RECEIPT

6 OF PLAN.—

7 ‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the

8 Secretary of a fishery management plan, or amend9 ment to such plan, the Secretary shall—

10 ‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of

11 the management plan or amendment to deter12 mine whether it is consistent with the national

13 standards, the other provisions of this Act, and

14 any other applicable law; and

15 ‘‘(B) immediately publish in the Federal

16 Register a notice stating that the plan or

17 amendment is available and that written data,

18 views, or comments of interested persons on the

19 document or amendment may be submitted to

20 the Secretary during the 60-day period begin21 ning on the date the notice is published.

22 ‘‘(2) In undertaking the review required under

23 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

24 ‘‘(A) take into account the data, views, and

25 comments received from interested persons;
46

•S 39 RS

1 ‘‘(B) consult with the Secretary of State

2 with respect to foreign fishing; and

3 ‘‘(C) consult with the Secretary of the de4 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating

5 with respect to enforcement at sea and to fish6 ery access adjustments referred to in section

7 303(a)(6).

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall approve, disapprove,

9 or partially approve a plan or amendment within 30

10 days of the end of the comment period under para11 graph (1) by written notice to the Council. A notice

12 of disapproval or partial approval shall specify—

13 ‘‘(A) the applicable law with which the

14 plan or amendment is inconsistent;

15 ‘‘(B) the nature of such inconsistencies;

16 and

17 ‘‘(C) recommendations concerning the ac18 tions that could be taken by the Council to con19 form such plan or amendment to the require20 ments of applicable law.

21 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary disapproves or partially

22 approves a plan or amendment, the Council may

23 submit a revised plan or amendment to the Sec24 retary for review under this subsection.

25 ‘‘(b) ACTION ON REGULATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the

2 Secretary of proposed regulations prepared under

3 section 303(c), the Secretary shall immediately initi4 ate an evaluation of the proposed regulations to de5 termine whether they are consistent with the fishery

6 management plan, this Act and other applicable law.

7 Within 15 days of initiating such evaluation the Sec8 retary shall make a determination and—

9 ‘‘(A) if that determination is affirmative,

10 the Secretary shall publish such regulations,

11 with such technical changes as may be nec12 essary for clarity and an explanation of those

13 changes, in the Federal Register for a public

14 comment period of 15 to 60 days; or

15 ‘‘(B) if that determination is negative, the

16 Secretary shall notify the Council in writing of

17 the inconsistencies and provide recommenda18 tions on revisions that would make the proposed

19 regulations consistent with the fishery manage20 ment plan, this Act, and other applicable law.

21 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a notification under para22 graph (1)(B), the Council may revise the proposed

23 regulations and submit them to the Secretary for re24 evaluation under paragraph (1).
48

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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu2 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

3 period under paragraph (1)(A). The Secretary shall

4 consult with the Council before making any revisions

5 to the proposed regulations, and must publish in the

6 Federal Register an explanation of any differences

7 between the proposed and final regulations.

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.— For purposes of subsections (a)

9 and (b), the term ‘immediately’ means on or before the

10 5th day after the day on which a Council transmits to

11 the Secretary a plan, amendment, or proposed regulation

12 that the Council characterizes as final.

13 ‘‘(d) SECRETARIAL PLAN REVIEW.—

14 ‘‘(1)(A) Whenever, under section 303(e), the

15 Secretary prepares a fishery management plan or

16 amendment, the Secretary shall immediately—

17 ‘‘(i) for a plan or amendment prepared

18 under section 303(e)(1), submit such plan or

19 amendment to the appropriate Council for con20 sideration and comment; and

21 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a no22 tice stating that the plan or amendment is

23 available and that written data, views, or com24 ments of interested persons on the plan or

25 amendment may be submitted to the Secretary
49

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1 during the 60-day period beginning on the date

2 the notice is published.

3 ‘‘(B) Whenever a plan or amendment is submit4 ted under subsection (1)(A)(i), the appropriate

5 Council must submit its comments and recommenda6 tions, if any, regarding the plan or amendment to

7 the Secretary before the close of the 60-day period

8 referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii). After the close

9 of such 60-day period, the Secretary, after taking

10 into account any such comments and recommenda11 tions, as well as any views, data, or comments sub12 mitted under subparagraph (A)(ii), may adopt such

13 plan or amendment.

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may propose regulations in

15 the Federal Register to implement any plan or

16 amendment prepared by the Secretary. The com17 ment period on proposed regulations shall be 60

18 days, except that the Secretary may shorten the

19 comment period on minor revisions to existing regu20 lations.

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu22 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

23 period under paragraph (3). The Secretary must

24 publish in the Federal Register an explanation of

25 any substantive differences between the proposed
50

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1 and final rules. All final regulations must be consist2 ent with the plan, with the national standards and

3 other provisions of this Act, and with any other ap4 plicable law.

5 ‘‘(e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

6 ‘‘(1) Regulations promulgated by the Secretary

7 under this Act and actions described in paragraph

8 (2) shall be subject to judicial review to the extent

9 authorized by, and in accordance with, chapter 7 of

10 title 5, United States Code, if a complaint for such

11 review is filed within 30 days after the date on

12 which the regulations are promulgated or the action

13 is published in the Federal Register, as applicable;

14 except that—

15 ‘‘(A) section 705 of such title is not appli16 cable, and

17 ‘‘(B) the appropriate court shall only set

18 aside any such regulation or action on a ground

19 specified in section 706(2)(A), (B), (C), or (D)

20 of such title.

21 ‘‘(2) The actions referred to in paragraph (1)

22 are actions that are taken by the Secretary under

23 regulations which implement a fishery management

24 plan, including but not limited to actions that estab-
51

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1 lish the date of closure of a fishery to commercial or

2 recreational fishing.

3 ‘‘(3) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision

4 of law, the Secretary shall file a response to any

5 complaint filed in accordance with paragraph (1) not

6 later than 45 days after the date the Secretary is

7 served with that complaint, except that the appro8 priate court may extend the period for filing such a

9 response upon a showing by the Secretary of good

10 cause for that extension.

11 ‘‘(B) A response of the Secretary under this

12 paragraph shall include a copy of the administrative

13 record for the regulations that are the subject of the

14 petition.

15 ‘‘(4) Upon a motion by the person who files a

16 complaint under this subsection, the appropriate

17 court shall assign the matter for hearing at the ear18 liest possible date and shall expedite the matter in

19 every possible way.

20 ‘‘(f) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEES.—

21 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall by regulation establish

22 the level of any fees that are authorized to be

23 charged pursuant to section 303(b)(1). The Sec24 retary may enter into a cooperative agreement with

25 the States concerned under which the States admin-
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1 ister the permit system and the agreement may pro2 vide that all or part of the fees collected under the

3 system shall accrue to the States. The level of fees

4 charged under this paragraph shall not exceed the

5 administrative costs incurred in issuing the permits.

6 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the

7 Secretary shall collect a fee from each person hold8 ing an individual transferable quota pursuant to a

9 limited access system established under section

10 303(b)(6). Fees assessed under this paragraph shall

11 be sufficient to recover the cost of managing the

12 fishery to which the quota applies, including reason13 able costs for salaries, training, data analysis and

14 other costs directly related to fishery management

15 and enforcement, up to—

16 ‘‘(i) four percent annually of the value of

17 fish harvested or processed in that year under

18 the individual transferable quota; and

19 ‘‘(ii) an additional 1 percent of the value

20 of fish authorized to be harvested or processed

21 for that year under the individual transferable

22 quota to be assessed on a person receiving an

23 initial quota or transferring a quota.

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

25 Councils, shall promulgate regulations, prescribing
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1 the method of determining the value of fish author2 ized to be taken, the amount of each fee, and the

3 method of collecting fees. Fees collected under this

4 paragraph shall meet the requirements of section

5 9701(b) of title 31, United States Code. Fees col6 lected under this paragraph shall be an offsetting

7 collection and shall be available only to the Secretary

8 for the purposes of administering and implementing

9 this Act in the region in which the fees were col10 lected.

11 ‘‘(C) Persons holding individual transferable

12 quota pursuant to limited access systems established

13 in the surf clam and ocean quahog fishery or in the

14 wreckfish fishery are exempt from the collection of

15 fees under this paragraph for a period ending 5

16 years after the date of enactment of the Sustainable

17 Fisheries Act.

18 ‘‘(g) EFFECT OF CERTAIN LAWS ON CERTAIN TIME

19 REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall comply with any

20 applicable provisions of chapter 35 of title 44, United

21 States Code, chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, and

22 Executive Order Numbered 12866, dated September 30,

23 1993, within the time limitations specified in subsections

24 (a) and (b).
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1 ‘‘(h) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY.—The

2 Secretary shall have general responsibility to carry out the

3 provisions of this Act. The Secretary may promulgate such

4 regulations, in accordance with section 553 of title 5,

5 United States Code, as may be necessary to discharge

6 such responsibility.’’.

7 SEC. 113. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT.

8 Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended to read as

9 follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 305. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT.

11 ‘‘(a) REPORT ON STATUS OF FISHERIES.—The Sec12 retary shall report annually to the Congress and the Coun13 cils on the status of fisheries within each Council’s geo14 graphical area of authority and identify those fisheries

15 that are approaching a condition of being overfished or

16 are overfished. For those fisheries managed under a fish17 ery management plan, the status shall be assessed using

18 the criteria for overfishing specified by the appropriate

19 Council under section 303(a)(10). A fishery shall be classi20 fied as approaching a condition of being overfished if,

21 based on trends in fishing effort, fishery resource size, and

22 other appropriate factors, the Secretary estimates that the

23 fishery will become overfished within 2 years. Any fishery

24 determined to be a commercial fishery failure under sec-
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1 tion 316, shall be deemed to be overfished for the purposes

2 of subsections (a) and (b).

3 ‘‘(b) FISHERY RECOVERY EFFORT.—

4 ‘‘(1) The Council shall take immediate action to

5 prepare a fishery management plan, a plan amend6 ment, or proposed regulations for fisheries under

7 such Council’s authority—

8 ‘‘(A) to prevent overfishing of a fishery

9 from occurring whenever such fishery is classi10 fied under subsection (a) as approaching an

11 overfished condition, or

12 ‘‘(B) to stop overfishing of a fishery when13 ever such fishery is classified under subsection

14 (a) as overfished, and to rebuild affected stocks

15 of fish.

16 ‘‘(2) The Council shall submit a fishery man17 agement plan, amendment or proposed regulations

18 required under paragraph (1) to the Secretary with19 in 1 year from the date of transmittal of the report

20 on the status of stocks under subsection (a). For a

21 fishery that is overfished, such fishery management

22 plan, amendment or proposed regulations shall speci23 fy a time period for stopping overfishing and re24 building the fishery. The time period shall be as

25 short as possible, taking into account the status and
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1 biology of the overfished stock of fish, the needs of

2 fishery-dependent communities, and the interaction

3 of the overfished stock of fish within the marine eco4 system. The time period may not be more than 10

5 years, except under extraordinary circumstances.

6 ‘‘(3) During the development of a fishery man7 agement plan, a plan amendment, or proposed regu8 lations under this subsection, the Council may re9 quest that the Secretary promulgate emergency reg10 ulations under subsection (e)(2) to reduce overfish11 ing. Any request by the Council under this para12 graph shall be deemed an emergency.

13 ‘‘(c) FISH HABITAT.—

14 ‘‘(1) The Secretary, in cooperation with the

15 Councils and the Secretary of the Interior, after no16 tice and public comment, shall identify the essential

17 fish habitat for each fishery for which a fishery

18 management plan is in effect. The identification

19 shall be based on the description of essential fish

20 habitat contained in the plan.

21 ‘‘(2) Each Council—

22 ‘‘(A) may comment on and make rec23 ommendations concerning any activity under24 taken, or proposed to be undertaken, by any

25 Federal or State agency that, in the view of the
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1 Council, may have an adverse effect on essential

2 fish habitat of a fishery under its authority;

3 and

4 ‘‘(B) shall comment on and make rec5 ommendations to any Federal or State depart6 ment or agency concerning any such activity

7 that, in the view of the Council is likely to sub8 stantially affect the habitat of an anadromous

9 fishery resource under its jurisdiction.

10 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary receives information from

11 a Council or determines from other sources that an

12 action authorized, funded, carried out, or proposed

13 to be carried out by any Federal agency may result

14 in the destruction or adverse modification of any es15 sential fish habitat identified under paragraph (1),

16 the Secretary shall comment on and make rec17 ommendations to the Federal agency concerning that

18 action.

19 ‘‘(4) Within 45 days after receiving a comment

20 or recommendation under paragraphs (2) or (3)

21 from a Council or the Secretary, a Federal agency

22 shall provide a detailed response, in writing, to the

23 commenting Council and the Secretary regarding the

24 matter. The response shall include a description of

25 measures being considered by the agency for avoid-
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1 ing, mitigating, or offsetting the impact of the activ2 ity on such habitat. In the case of a response that

3 is inconsistent with a recommendation from any

4 Council or the Secretary, the Federal agency shall

5 explain its reasons for not following the rec6 ommendations.

7 ‘‘(d) GEAR EVALUATION AND NOTIFICATION OF

8 ENTRY.—

9 ‘‘(1) Each Council shall submit to the Secretary

10 by June 1, 1996, information describing (A) all fish11 ing technologies employed under such Council’s au12 thority; and (B) all fisheries under the authority of

13 such Council. The Secretary shall compile such in14 formation, along with information to comply with

15 both (A) and (B) for fisheries to which section

16 302(a)(3) applies.

17 ‘‘(2) By July 15, 1996, the Secretary shall pub18 lish a proposed list of all technologies and fisheries,

19 for each Council and for fisheries to which section

20 302(a)(3) applies, in the Federal Register for a pub21 lic comment period of not less than 60 days. The

22 Secretary shall include with such list specific guide23 lines for determining when a technology or fishery is

24 sufficiently different from those listed as to require

25 notification under paragraph (3). Within 30 days
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1 after the close of the public comment period the Sec2 retary shall publish in the Federal Register a final

3 list (including the guidelines), after taking into ac4 count any public comment received.

5 ‘‘(3) Beginning on the date that is 180 days

6 after the date of the publication of the final list re7 quired under paragraph (2), no person or vessel

8 shall employ a fishing technology or engage in a

9 fishery that is not included on the final list for the

10 appropriate Council or for fisheries to which section

11 302(a)(3) applies without first giving 90 days ad12 vance written notice of the intent to employ such un13 listed technology or engage in such unlisted fishery

14 to the appropriate Council, or the Secretary with re15 spect to a fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies.

16 Such notice shall be by first class mail, return re17 ceipt requested, and shall include information on the

18 use of the unlisted technology in other fisheries, if

19 any, and a detailed description, including drawings,

20 maps or diagrams if appropriate, of the unlisted

21 technology or unlisted fishery which such person or

22 vessel seeks to employ or engage in.

23 ‘‘(4) A Council may submit to the Secretary

24 amendments to the final list published under para25 graph (2) to reflect any substantial changes in the
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1 fishing technologies employed or fisheries engaged in

2 under the authority of such Council. The Secretary

3 may submit any amendments for fisheries to which

4 section 302(a)(3) applies. The Secretary shall pub5 lish any such amendments in the Federal Register

6 as proposed amendments (along with any proposed

7 revisions to the guidelines) to the final list for a

8 public comment period of not less than 60 days.

9 Within 45 days of the close of the comment period,

10 the Secretary shall publish a revised final list incor11 porating such proposed amendments, after taking

12 into account any public comments received.

13 ‘‘(5) A Council may request the Secretary to

14 promulgate emergency regulations under subsection

15 (e) prohibiting any persons or vessels from employ16 ing an unlisted technology or engaging in an un17 listed fishery if the appropriate Council, or the Sec18 retary for fisheries to which section 302(a)(3) ap19 plies, determines that use of such technology or

20 entry into such fishery would compromise the effec21 tiveness of conservation and management efforts

22 under this Act.

23 ‘‘(6) If, after providing the notice required

24 under paragraph (3), no emergency regulations are

25 implemented under paragraph (5), the person or ves-
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1 sel submitting notice under paragraph (3) may, after

2 the required 90 day period has lapsed, employ the

3 unlisted technology or enter the unlisted fishery to

4 which such notice applies. The signed return receipt

5 shall constitute adequate evidence of the submittal

6 of such notice and the date upon which the 90-day

7 period begins.

8 ‘‘(7) A violation of this subsection shall be con9 sidered a violation of section 307, punishable under

10 section 308.

11 ‘‘(e) EMERGENCY ACTIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) If the Secretary finds that an emergency

13 exists involving any fishery, he may promulgate

14 emergency regulations necessary to address the

15 emergency, without regard to whether a fishery

16 management plan exists for such fishery.

17 ‘‘(2) If a Council finds that an emergency exists

18 involving any fishery within its jurisdiction, whether

19 or not a fishery management plan exists for such

20 fishery—

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall promulgate emer22 gency regulations under paragraph (1) to ad23 dress the emergency if the Council, by unani24 mous vote of the voting members of the Coun25 cil, requests the taking of such action; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary may promulgate emer2 gency regulations under paragraph (1) to ad3 dress the emergency if the Council, by less than

4 a unanimous vote, requests the taking of such

5 action.

6 ‘‘(3) Any emergency regulation which changes

7 an existing fishery management plan shall be treated

8 as an amendment to such plan for the period in

9 which such regulation is in effect. Any emergency

10 regulation promulgated under this subsection—

11 ‘‘(A) shall be published in the Federal

12 Register together with the reasons therefor;

13 ‘‘(B) shall, except as provided in subpara14 graph (C), remain in effect for not more than

15 180 days after the date of publication, and may

16 be extended by publication in the Federal Reg17 ister for an additional period of not more than

18 180 days, provided the public has had an op19 portunity to comment on the emergency regula20 tion, and, in the case of a Council recommenda21 tion for emergency regulations, the Council is

22 actively preparing a fishery management plan,

23 amendment, or proposed regulations to address

24 the emergency on a permanent basis;
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1 ‘‘(C) that responds to a public health

2 emergency may remain in effect until the cir3 cumstances that created the emergency no

4 longer exist, provided that the Secretary of

5 Health and Human Services concurs with the

6 Secretary’s action and the public has an oppor7 tunity to comment after the regulation is pub8 lished;

9 ‘‘(D) that reduces overfishing may be ap10 proved without regard to the requirements of

11 section 301(a)(1); and

12 ‘‘(E) may be terminated by the Secretary

13 at an earlier date by publication in the Federal

14 Register of a notice of termination, except for

15 emergency regulations promulgated under para16 graph (2) in which case such early termination

17 may be made only upon the agreement of the

18 Secretary and the Council concerned.

19 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may, pursuant to guidelines

20 established by a Council in a fishery management

21 plan, close or restrict a particular fishery covered by

22 such fishery management plan in order to prevent

23 overfishing or reduce bycatch. Any such guidelines

24 shall specify appropriate means for providing timely

25 notice to fishermen of any closure or restriction. In
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1 exercising the authority granted under this para2 graph, the Secretary shall not be required to provide

3 an opportunity for notice and comment if such clo4 sure or restriction is done in accordance with the

5 fishery management plan guidelines and does not ex6 tend beyond the end of the current fishing period es7 tablished for that fishery by the fishery management

8 plan.’’.

9 SEC. 114. STATE JURISDICTION.

10 (a) Section 306(b) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(3) If the State involved requests that a hear13 ing be held pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary

14 shall conduct such hearing prior to taking any action

15 under paragraph (1).’’.

16 (b) Section 306(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1856(c)(1)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ in subparagraph (A);

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub20 paragraph (B) and inserting a semicolon and the

21 word ‘‘and’’; and

22 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol23 lowing:

24 ‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the vessel

25 submits reports on the tonnage of fish received
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1 from U.S. vessels and the locations from which

2 such fish were harvested, in accordance with

3 such procedures as the Secretary by regulation

4 shall prescribe.’’.

5 SEC. 115. PROHIBITED ACTS.

6 (a) Section 307(1)(J)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(J)(i)) is

7 amended by striking ‘‘American Lobster Fishery Manage8 ment Plan, as implemented by’’ and ‘‘, or any successor

9 to that plan, implemented under this title’’.

10 (b) Section 307(1)(L) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is

11 amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(L) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, im13 pede, intimidate, sexually harass, or interfere

14 with any observer on a vessel under this Act, or

15 any data collector employed by or under con16 tract to the National Marine Fisheries Serv17 ice;’’.

18 (c) Section 307(1)(M) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(M)) is

19 amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(M) to engage in large-scale driftnet fish21 ing on a vessel of the United States or a vessel

22 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States

23 upon the high seas beyond the exclusive eco24 nomic zone of any nation or within the exclusive

25 economic zone of the United States, (and any
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1 vessel that is shoreward of the outer boundary

2 of the exclusive economic zone of the United

3 States or beyond the exclusive economic zone of

4 any nation, and that has onboard gear that is

5 capable of use for large-scale driftnet fishing,

6 shall be presumed to be engaged in such fish7 ing, but that presumption may be rebutted);

8 or’’.

9 (d) Section 307(2)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(A)) is

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(A) in fishing within the boundaries of

12 any State, except—

13 ‘‘(i) recreational fishing permitted

14 under section 201(i),

15 ‘‘(ii) fish processing permitted under

16 section 306(c), or

17 ‘‘(iii) transshipment at sea of fish

18 products within the boundaries of any

19 State in accordance with a permit ap20 proved under section 204(b)(6)(A)(ii);’’.

21 (e) Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is

22 amended by striking ‘‘201(j)’’ and inserting ‘‘201(i)’’.

23 (f) Section 307(3) (16 U.S.C. 1857(3)) is amended

24 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(3) for any vessel of the United States, and

2 for the owner or operator of any vessel of the United

3 States, to transfer at sea directly or indirectly, or at4 tempt to so transfer at sea, any United States har5 vested fish to any foreign fishing vessel, while such

6 foreign vessel is within the exclusive economic zone

7 or within the boundaries of any State except to the

8 extent that the foreign fishing vessel has been per9 mitted under section 204(b)(6)(B) or section 306(c)

10 to receive such fish;’’.

11 (g) Section 307(4) (16 U.S.C. 1857(4)) is amended

12 by inserting ‘‘or within the boundaries of any State’’ after

13 ‘‘zone’’.

14 SEC. 116. CIVIL PENALTIES AND PERMIT SANCTIONS.

15 (a) The first sentence of section 308(b) (16 U.S.C.

16 1858(b)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘Any person

17 against whom a civil penalty is assessed under subsection

18 (a), or against whom a permit sanction is imposed under

19 subsection (g) (other than a permit suspension for nonpay20 ment of penalty or fine), may obtain review thereof in the

21 United States district court for the appropriate district by

22 filing a complaint against the Secretary in such court

23 within 30 days from the date of such order.’’.

24 (b) Section 308(g)(1)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1858(g)(1)(C))

25 is amended by striking the matter from ‘‘(C) any’’ through
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1 ‘‘overdue,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(C) any amount

2 in settlement of a civil forfeiture imposed on a vessel or

3 other property, or any civil penalty or criminal fine im4 posed on a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel or any

5 other person who has been issued or has applied for a per6 mit under any marine resource law enforced by the Sec7 retary, has not been paid and is overdue,’’.

8 (c) Section 308(16 U.S.C. 1858) is amended by in9 serting at the end thereof the following:

10 ‘‘(h) After deduction for any administrative or en11 forcement costs incurred or other expenditures authorized

12 under this Act, all funds collected under this section shall

13 be deposited in a separate account of the Ocean Conserva14 tion Trust Fund established under section 315.’’.

15 SEC. 117. ENFORCEMENT.

16 (a) Section 311(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ each place it appears

19 and inserting ‘‘marine’’;

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘of not less than 20 percent of

21 the penalty collected’’ after ‘‘reward’’ in subpara22 graph (B), and

23 (3) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(E) claims of parties in interest to prop2 erty disposed of under section 612(b) of the

3 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1612(b)), as

4 made applicable by section 310(c) of this Act or

5 by any other marine resource law enforced by

6 the Secretary, to seizures made by the Sec7 retary, in amounts determined by the Secretary

8 to be applicable to such claims at the time of

9 seizure; and’’.

10 (b) Section 311(e)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(2)) is

11 amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(2) Any person found in an administrative or

13 judicial proceeding to have violated this Act or any

14 other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary

15 shall be liable for the cost incurred in the sale, stor16 age, care, and maintenance of any fish or other

17 property lawfully seized in connection with the viola18 tion.’’.

19 (c) Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by re20 designating subsection (f) as subsection (h), and by insert21 ing the following after subsection (e):

22 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT.—Each

23 year at the time the President’s budget is submitted to

24 the Congress, the Secretary and the Secretary of the De25 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall,
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1 after consultation with the Councils, submit a report on

2 the effectiveness of the enforcement of fishery manage3 ment plans and regulations to implement such plans under

4 the jurisdiction of each Council, including—

5 ‘‘(1) an analysis of the adequacy of federal per6 sonnel and funding resources related to the enforce7 ment of fishery management plans and regulations

8 to implement such plans; and

9 ‘‘(2) recommendations to improve enforcement

10 that should be considered in developing amendments

11 to plans or to regulations implementing such plans.

12 ‘‘(g) FISHERMEN’S INFORMATION NETWORKS.—The

13 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the de14 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall con15 duct a program to encourage the formation of volunteer

16 networks, to be designated as Fishermen’s Information

17 Networks, to advise on and assist in the monitoring, re18 porting, and prevention of violations of this Act.’’.

19 SEC. 118. NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES CONSERVATION.

20 Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘research plan’’ in the section

22 heading and inserting ‘‘conservation’’; and

23 (b) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF WASTE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) No later than June 1, 1996, the North Pa2 cific Fishery Management Council shall include in

3 each fishery management plan under its jurisdiction

4 conservation and management measures, including

5 fees or other incentives, to reduce bycatch in each

6 fishery. Notwithstanding section 304(d), in imple7 menting this subsection the Council may rec8 ommend, and the Secretary may approve and imple9 ment any such recommendation, consistent with the

10 other provisions of this Act, a system of fees to pro11 vide an incentive to reduce bycatch, and, in particu12 lar, economic and regulatory discards. Any such sys13 tem of fees or incentives shall be fair and equitable

14 to all fishermen and United States fish processors,

15 and shall not have economic allocation as its sole

16 purpose.

17 ‘‘(2) Not later than January 1, 1997, the North

18 Pacific Fishery Management Council shall rec19 ommend, and the Secretary may approve and imple20 ment any such recommendation, consistent with the

21 other provisions of this Act, conservation and man22 agement measures to ensure total catch measure23 ment in each fishery under the Council’s jurisdic24 tion. Such conservation and management measures
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1 shall ensure the accurate enumeration of target spe2 cies, economic discards, and regulatory discards.

3 ‘‘(3) Beginning on January 1, 1998, such con4 servation and management measures shall include a

5 harvest preference or other incentives to fishing and

6 processing practices within each gear group that re7 sult in the lowest levels of economic discards, proc8 essing waste, regulatory discards, and other bycatch.

9 In determining which practices shall be given prior10 ity, the reduction of economic discards shall be given

11 the greatest weight, followed by processing waste

12 (where applicable), regulatory discards and other

13 bycatch, in that order.

14 ‘‘(4) In determining the level of target species

15 catch, economic discards, regulatory discards, other

16 bycatch, and processing waste, the Council and Sec17 retary shall base such determinations on observer

18 data or the best available information.

19 ‘‘(5) In the case of fisheries occurring under an

20 individual transferable quota system under the juris21 diction of the North Pacific Fishery Management

22 Council after January 1, 1998—

23 ‘‘(A) the Council shall designate non-target

24 species, bycatch species, and regulatory discards

25 for each such fishery;
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1 ‘‘(B) the Council may not recommend, and

2 the Secretary may not approve, any assignment

3 or allocation of individual transferable quotas

4 for regulatory discards, or non-target species

5 for those fisheries, other than for each individ6 ual fishing season on an annual basis pursuant

7 to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph; and

8 ‘‘(C) any harvest preference required under

9 paragraph (3) shall be implemented by giving

10 priority in the allocation of quotas for regu11 latory discards and non-target species and to

12 fishing practices that result in the lowest levels

13 of economic discards, regulatory discards, proc14 essing waste, and other bycatch.

15 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed

16 to preclude the North Pacific Fishery Management

17 Council from allocating a portion of any quota for

18 a directed fishery for use as bycatch in another fish19 ery or fisheries, if the Council determines such allo20 cation is necessary to prosecute a fishery, after tak21 ing into account the requirements of this section re22 garding reduction of bycatch and processing waste.

23 ‘‘(g) FULL RETENTION AND FULL UTILIZATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) The North Pacific Fishery Management

25 Council shall, consistent with the other provisions of
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1 this Act, submit to the Secretary by January 1,

2 1997, a plan to phase-in by January 1, 2000, to the

3 maximum extent practicable, fishery management

4 plan amendments to require full retention by fishing

5 vessels and full utilization by United States fish

6 processors of all fishery resources, except regulatory

7 discards, caught under the jurisdiction of such

8 Council if such fishery resources cannot be quickly

9 returned alive to the sea with the expectation of ex10 tended survival.

11 ‘‘(2) The plan shall include conservation and

12 management measures to minimize processing waste

13 and ensure the optimum utilization of target species,

14 including standards setting minimum percentages of

15 target species harvest which must be processed for

16 human consumption.

17 ‘‘(3) In determining the maximum extent prac18 ticable, the North Pacific Fishery Management

19 Council shall consider—

20 ‘‘(A) the state of available technology;

21 ‘‘(B) the extent to which species brought

22 on board can be safely returned alive, with the

23 expectation of extended survival, to the sea;
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1 ‘‘(C) the extent to which each species is

2 fully utilized as a target species by United

3 States fishermen;

4 ‘‘(D) the impact of different processing

5 practices on the price paid to fishermen and

6 processors;

7 ‘‘(E) the nature and economic costs of

8 each specific fishery; and

9 ‘‘(F) the effect of a full retention or full

10 utilization requirement in a given fishery on

11 other fisheries when compared with the bene12 ficial effect of reducing economic discards and

13 processing waste.

14 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding section 304(f), the North

15 Pacific Fishery Management Council may propose,

16 and the Secretary may approve and implement any

17 such recommendation, consistent with the other pro18 visions of this Act, a system of fines or other incen19 tives to implement this section. Any such fines or in20 centive system shall be fair and equitable to all fish21 ing vessels and United States fish processors, and

22 shall not have economic allocation as its sole pur23 pose.

24 ‘‘(h) REGULATORY DISCARDS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Regulatory discards shall not be consid2 ered an economic discard for purposes of this sec3 tion, however, the North Pacific Fishery Manage4 ment Council shall seek to reduce the incidental

5 catch of regulatory discards to the maximum extent

6 practicable while allowing for the prosecution of fish7 eries under its jurisdiction.

8 ‘‘(2) Not later than June 1, 1996, the North

9 Pacific Fishery Management Council shall propose,

10 and the Secretary may approve and implement any

11 such recommendation, consistent with the other pro12 visions of this Act, for each groundfish fishery under

13 the Council’s jurisdiction, conservation and manage14 ment measures to reduce the incidental harvest of

15 regulatory discards to the minimum level necessary

16 to prosecute directed fisheries for designated target

17 species, and to otherwise meet the requirements of

18 this section. Notwithstanding section 304(f), such

19 conservation and management measures may include

20 a system of fines, caps, or other incentives to reduce

21 the incidental harvest of regulatory discards. Any

22 system of fines or incentives under this section shall

23 be fair and equitable to all fishing vessels and Unit24 ed States fish processors, and shall not have eco25 nomic allocation as its sole purpose.
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1 ‘‘(3) The North Pacific Fishery Management

2 Council shall establish for each fishery which inci3 dentally harvests regulatory discards under the

4 Council’s jurisdiction a cap which prevents such reg5 ulatory discards from being overfished or from being

6 placed in risk of being overfished. Upon reaching

7 such cap, the commercial fishery in which such regu8 latory discards are incidentally caught shall be

9 closed for that season.

10 ‘‘(i) OBSERVER PROGRAM.—

11 ‘‘(1) Beginning June 1, 1996, the North Pacific

12 Fishery Management Council shall require under the

13 authority granted to it by subsection (a)—

14 ‘‘(A) 100 percent observer coverage on all

15 fishing vessels which can safely accommodate

16 an observer or observers, and at all United

17 States fish processors to the extent that fund18 ing for such coverage is available, and

19 ‘‘(B) for vessels which cannot safely ac20 commodate an observer, statistically reliable

21 sampling of a fishing vessel’s effort in each

22 fishery in which that fishing vessel participates,

23 when such vessel or processor is fishing in a fishery

24 under the North Pacific Fishery Management Coun25 cil’s jurisdiction. In implementing subparagraph (A)
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1 the North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall

2 require that more than one observer be stationed on

3 a fishing vessel or at a United States fish processor

4 whenever the Council determines that more than one

5 such observer is necessary to accurately monitor that

6 vessel or processor’s operation.

7 ‘‘(2) Observers stationed on fishing vessels or at

8 United States fish processors under the authority of

9 this section shall be paid by the Secretary using

10 funds deposited in the North Pacific Fishery Ob11 server Fund. Such payment shall not make an ob12 server an employee of the Federal Government, un13 less such observer is otherwise employed by an agen14 cy of the United States.

15 ‘‘(3) Failure to pay the fee established by the

16 North Pacific Fishery Management Council under

17 subsection (a) shall be a considered a violation of

18 section 307, punishable under section 308. Any fines

19 collected pursuant to the authority granted by this

20 subsection shall be deposited in the North Pacific

21 Fishery Observer Fund account in the United States

22 Treasury, and shall remain available until expended

23 under the terms of that fund.

24 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding sections 304(f) and sub25 section (b), the Secretary is authorized to recover
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1 from vessels participating in a fishery under an indi2 vidual fishing quota regime or other limited access

3 program established by the North Pacific Fishery

4 Management Council, the full cost of any observers

5 stationed on such vessel (including all costs for sala6 ries, expenses, equipment, food and lodging, trans7 portation, insurance, and analysis of observer data,

8 plus reasonable costs for training and administrative

9 overhead). Each participant in an individual fishing

10 quota regime shall only be required to contribute the

11 same proportion of the costs as that participant’s

12 quota shares represent to the total number of quota

13 shares in such regime. To the extent that the costs

14 recovered under this paragraph exceed the fee estab15 lished by the Council under subsection (b), the Sec16 retary shall deduct any payment by a vessel under

17 subsection (b) from the amount owed by such vessel

18 under this paragraph. The Secretary shall deposit

19 any fees collected under this paragraph in the North

20 Pacific Fishery Observer Fund account in the Unit21 ed States Treasury.

22 ‘‘(j) INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE.—

23 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall submit a plan by Jan24 uary 1, 1996, to the Committee on Commerce,

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
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1 Committee on Resources of the House of Represent2 atives to develop jointly with industry accurate

3 methods of weighing the fish harvested by United

4 States fishing vessels in fisheries under the jurisdic5 tion of the North Pacific Fishery Management

6 Council. Such plan shall include methods for assess7 ing contributions from industry to fund such devel8 opment, as well as recommendations from the Sec9 retary concerning the level of funds needed to suc10 cessfully implement the plan in fiscal year 1997.

11 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall submit by January 1,

12 1996, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

13 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

14 Resources of the House of Representatives a plan to

15 develop markets and harvesting and processing tech16 niques for arrowtooth flounder. The Secretary shall

17 include in such plan recommendations concerning

18 the level of funds needed to successfully implement

19 the plan in fiscal year 1997.

20 ‘‘(3) For fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, and

21 1999, $50,000 is authorized to be appropriated for

22 the purposes of implementing paragraph (1), and

23 $250,000 is authorized to be appropriated for pro24 grams to implement paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(k) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section,

2 ‘processing waste’ means that portion of a fish which is

3 processed and which could be used for human consump4 tion or other commercial use, but which is not so used.’’.

5 SEC. 119. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

6 (a) The Act is amended by adding at the end of title

7 III the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 315. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

9 ‘‘(a) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—

10 ‘‘(1) At the discretion of the Secretary or at the

11 request of the Governor of an affected State or a

12 fishery dependent community, the Secretary, in con13 sultation with the Councils and Federal agencies, as

14 appropriate, may work with regional authorities, af15 fected States, fishery dependent communities, the

16 fishing industry, conservation organizations, and

17 other interested parties, to develop a sustainable de18 velopment strategy for any fishery classified as over19 fished under section 305(a) or determined to be a

20 commercial fishery failure under section 316.

21 ‘‘(2) Such sustainable development strategy

22 shall—

23 ‘‘(A) take into consideration the economic,

24 social, and ecological factors affecting the fish25 ery and provide recommendations for address-
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1 ing such factors in the development of a fishery

2 recovery effort under section 305(b);

3 ‘‘(B) identify Federal and State programs

4 which can be used to provide assistance to fish5 ery dependent communities during development

6 and implementation of a fishery recovery effort;

7 ‘‘(C) develop a balanced and comprehensive

8 long-term plan to guide the transition to a sus9 tainable fishery, identifying alternative eco10 nomic opportunities and establishing long-term

11 objectives for the fishery including vessel types

12 and sizes, harvesting and processing capacity,

13 and optimal fleet size;

14 ‘‘(D) establish procedures to implement

15 such a plan and facilitate consensus and coordi16 nation in regional decision-making; and

17 ‘‘(E) include any program established

18 under subsection (b) to reduce the number of

19 vessels or level of capital investment in the fish20 ery.

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall complete

22 and submit to the Congress a report on any sustain23 able development strategy developed under this sec24 tion within 6 months and annually thereafter.

25 ‘‘(b) BUY-OUT PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the ap2 propriate Council, may develop and implement a

3 buy-out program for fishing vessels or permits in a

4 fishery for the purpose of reducing the number of

5 fishing vessels and fishing effort in such fishery, if

6 the Secretary, with the concurrence of the majority

7 of the voting members of such Council, determines

8 that a buy-out program is necessary for the develop9 ment and implementation of a fishery recovery effort

10 under section 305(b).

11 ‘‘(2) Any buy-out program developed or imple12 mented in a fishery shall—

13 ‘‘(A) require a fishery management plan to

14 be in place for such fishery that is adequate to

15 limit access to the fishery and prevent the re16 placement of fishing effort removed by the buy17 out program;

18 ‘‘(B) require fishing vessels or permits ac19 quired under such program to be disposed of in

20 a manner ensuring that such vessels or permits

21 do not re-enter the fishery or contribute to ex22 cess fishing effort in other fisheries;

23 ‘‘(C) establish criteria for determining

24 types and numbers of vessels which are eligible
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1 for participation in such program consistent

2 with—

3 ‘‘(i) any strategy developed under sub4 section (a);

5 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of applicable

6 fishery management plans; and

7 ‘‘(iii) the need to minimize program

8 costs;

9 ‘‘(D) establish procedures (such as submis10 sion of owner bid under an auction system or

11 fair market-value assessment) to be used in de12 termining the level of payment for fishing ves13 sels or permits acquired under the program;

14 and

15 ‘‘(E) identify Federal and non-Federal

16 mechanisms for funding the buy-out program,

17 consistent with paragraphs (3) and (4).

18 ‘‘(3) The Federal share of the cost of a buy-out

19 program implemented under this section shall not

20 exceed 50 percent of the cost of that program. Such

21 Federal share may be provided from monies depos22 ited in the Ocean Conservation Trust Fund under

23 section 308(h) or monies made available under sec24 tion 316(b) of this Act or under section 2(b) of the

25 Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)).
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1 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding section 305(f)(1), the

2 Secretary, with the concurrence of a majority of the

3 voting members of the affected Council, may estab4 lish a fee system to collect those funds required for

5 the non-Federal share of such program that are not

6 available from other non-Federal sources. Under

7 such fee system, the Secretary may assess an annual

8 fee on holders of fishing permits in the fishery for

9 which the buy-out program is established which may

10 not exceed 5 percent annually of the value of the

11 fish harvested under the fishing permit. Assessments

12 may not be used to pay any costs of administrative

13 overhead or other costs not directly incurred in car14 rying out the specific buy-out program under which

15 they are collected. Assessments shall be deposited in

16 the Ocean Conservation Trust fund established

17 under subsection (d) and shall be considered part of

18 the non-Federal share of the cost of a buyout pro19 gram.

20 ‘‘(5)(A) Upon completion of a proposal for a

21 buy-out program (including any fee system to be es22 tablished under this subsection), the Secretary shall

23 immediately—

24 ‘‘(i) submit the proposed program and reg25 ulations necessary for its implementation to the
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1 appropriate Council for consideration and com2 ment; and

3 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a no4 tice stating that the proposed program and reg5 ulations are available and that written data,

6 views, or comments of interested persons on the

7 proposed program and regulations may be sub8 mitted to the Secretary during the 60-day pe9 riod beginning on the date the notice is pub10 lished.

11 ‘‘(B) During the 60-day public comment pe12 riod—

13 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall conduct a public

14 hearing in each State affected by the proposed

15 buy-out program; and

16 ‘‘(ii) the appropriate Council shall submit

17 its comments and recommendations, if any, re18 garding the proposed program and regulations.

19 ‘‘(C) Within 45 days after the close of the pub20 lic comment period, the Secretary, in consultation

21 with the affected Council, shall analyze the public

22 comment received and publish a final buy-out pro23 gram and regulations for its implementation. The

24 Secretary shall include an explanation of any sub-
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1 stantive differences between the proposed and final

2 program and regulations.

3 ‘‘(c) TASK FORCE.—The Secretary shall establish a

4 task force to assist in the development of a sustainable

5 development strategy or a buy-out program under this sec6 tion. Such task force shall, at a minimum, consist of mem7 bers of the affected communities and individuals with ex8 pertise in fishery management and conservation, econom9 ics, and sociology. Members of the task force are author10 ized to receive per diem and travel expenses consistent

11 with section 302 of this Act.

12 ‘‘(d) OCEAN CONSERVATION TRUST FUND.—There is

13 established in the Treasury an Ocean Conservation Trust

14 Fund. The Fund shall be available, without appropriation

15 or fiscal year limitation, only to the Secretary for the pur16 pose of carrying out the provisions of this section subject

17 to the restrictions of this Act. This fund shall consist of

18 all monies deposited into it in accordance with this section

19 and section 308(h). Sums in the Fund that are not cur20 rently needed for the purpose of this section shall be kept

21 on deposit or invested in obligations of, or guaranteed by,

22 the United States.

23 ‘‘SEC. 316. FISHERIES DISASTER RELIEF.

24 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF FAILURE.—At the discre25 tion of the Secretary or at the request of the Governor
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1 of an affected State or a fishery dependent community,

2 the Secretary shall determine whether there is a commer3 cial fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster as

4 a result of—

5 ‘‘(1) natural causes;

6 ‘‘(2) man-made causes beyond the control of

7 fishery managers to mitigate through conservation

8 and management measures; or

9 ‘‘(3) undetermined causes.

10 ‘‘(b) ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—

11 ‘‘(1) Upon the determination under subsection

12 (a) that there is a commercial fishery failure, the

13 Secretary is authorized to make sums available to be

14 used by the affected State, fishery dependent com15 munity, or by the Secretary in cooperation with the

16 affected State or fishery dependent community for—

17 ‘‘(A) assessing the economic and social ef18 fects of the commercial fishery failure; and

19 ‘‘(B) any activity that the Secretary deter20 mines is appropriate to restore the fishery or

21 prevent a similar failure in the future and to

22 assist a fishery dependent community affected

23 by such failure.

24 ‘‘(2) Before making funds available for an ac25 tivity authorized under this section, the Secretary
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1 shall make a determination that such activity will

2 not expand the size or scope of the commercial fish3 ery failure into other fisheries or other geographic

4 regions.

5 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL COST-SHARING.—The Federal share

6 of the cost of any activity carried out under the authority

7 of this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of

8 that activity.

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such

11 sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995,

12 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, provided that such sums are

13 designated by Congress as an emergency requirement pur14 suant to section 251(b)(2)(D)(i) of the Balanced Budget

15 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.’’.

16 (b) Section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11, 1939

17 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)(1)(A)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii);

19 and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new

21 clause:

22 ‘‘(iii) to fund the Federal share of a

23 buy-out program established under section

24 315(b) of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva25 tion and Management Act.’’.
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1 TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING

2 AND RESEARCH

3 SEC. 201. CHANGE OF TITLE.

4 The heading of title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is

5 amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY

7 MONITORING AND RESEARCH’’.

8 SEC. 202. REGISTRATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT.

9 Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by in10 serting after the title heading the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 401. REGISTRATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT.

12 ‘‘(a) STANDARDIZED FISHING VESSEL REGISTRA13 TION AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Secretary

14 shall, in cooperation with the Secretary of the department

15 in which the Coast Guard is operating, the States, the

16 Councils, and Marine Fisheries Commissions, develop rec17 ommendations for implementation of a standardized fish18 ing vessel registration and data management system on

19 a regional basis. The proposed system shall be developed

20 after consultation with interested governmental and non21 governmental parties and shall—

22 ‘‘(1) be designed to standardize the require23 ments of vessel registration and data collection sys24 tems required by this Act, the Marine Mammal Pro-
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1 tection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and any other

2 marine resource law implemented by the Secretary;

3 ‘‘(2) integrate programs under existing fishery

4 management plans into a nonduplicative data collec5 tion and management system;

6 ‘‘(3) avoid duplication of existing state, tribal,

7 or federal systems (other than a federal system

8 under paragraph (1)) and utilize, to the maximum

9 extent practicable, information collected from exist10 ing systems;

11 ‘‘(4) provide for implementation through coop12 erative agreements with appropriate State, regional,

13 or tribal entities and Marine Fisheries Commissions;

14 ‘‘(5) establish standardized units of measure15 ment, nomenclature, and formats for the collection

16 and submission of information;

17 ‘‘(6) minimize the paperwork required for ves18 sels registered under the system;

19 ‘‘(7) include all species of fish within the geo20 graphic areas of authority of the Councils and all

21 fishing vessels, except for private recreational fishing

22 vessels used exclusively for pleasure; and

23 ‘‘(8) prescribe procedures necessary to ensure

24 the confidentiality of information collected under

25 this section.
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1 ‘‘(b) FISHING VESSEL INFORMATION.—The registra2 tion and data management system should, at a minimum,

3 obtain the following information for each fishing vessel—

4 ‘‘(1) the name and official number or other

5 identification, together with the name and address of

6 the owner or operator or both;

7 ‘‘(2) vessel capacity, type and quantity of fish8 ing gear, mode of operation (catcher, catcher proc9 essor or other), and such other pertinent information

10 with respect to vessel characteristics as the Sec11 retary may require;

12 ‘‘(3) identification of the fisheries in which the

13 fishing vessel participates;

14 ‘‘(4) estimated amounts of fish caught, and

15 processed (if applicable) in each fishery; and

16 ‘‘(5) the geographic area of operations and the

17 season or period during which the fishing vessel op18 erates.

19 ‘‘(c) FISHERY INFORMATION.—The registration and

20 data management system should, at a minimum, provide

21 basic fisheries performance data for each fishery, includ22 ing—

23 ‘‘(1) the number of vessels participating in the

24 fishery;
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1 ‘‘(2) the time period in which the fishery oc2 curs;

3 ‘‘(3) the approximate geographic location, or of4 ficial reporting area where the fishery occurs;

5 ‘‘(4) a description of fishery gear used in the

6 fishery, including the amount of such gear and the

7 appropriate unit of fishery effort;

8 ‘‘(5) catch and ex-vessel value of the catch for

9 each stock of fish in the fishery; and

10 ‘‘(6) the amount and types of economic and

11 regulatory discards, and an estimate of any other

12 bycatch.

13 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Within one year after the

14 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the

15 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register for a 60-

16 day public comment period, a proposal that would provide

17 for implementation of a standardized fishing vessel reg18 istration and data collection system that meets the re19 quirements of subsections (a) through (c). The proposal

20 shall include—

21 ‘‘(1) a description of the arrangements for con22 sultation and cooperation with the department in

23 which the Coast Guard is operating, the States, the

24 Councils, Marine Fisheries Commissions, the fishing

25 industry and other interested parties; and
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1 ‘‘(2) proposed regulations and legislation nec2 essary to implement the proposal.

3 ‘‘(e) CONGRESSIONAL TRANSMITTAL.—Within 60

4 days after the end of the comment period and after consid5 eration of comments received under subsection (d), the

6 Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce,

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com8 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives a

9 proposal for implementation of a national fishing vessel

10 registration system that includes—

11 ‘‘(1) any modifications made after comment and

12 consultation;

13 ‘‘(2) a proposed implementation schedule; and

14 ‘‘(3) recommendations for any such additional

15 legislation as the Secretary considers necessary or

16 desirable to implement the proposed system.

17 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 15 months

18 after the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries

19 Act, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the need

20 to include private recreational fishing vessels used exclu21 sively for pleasure into a national fishing vessel registra22 tion and data collection system. In preparing its report,

23 the Secretary shall cooperate with the Secretary of the de24 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, the

25 States, the Councils, and Marine Fisheries Commissions,
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1 and consult with governmental and nongovernmental par2 ties.’’.

3 SEC. 203. DATA COLLECTION.

4 Section 402 is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 402. DATA COLLECTION.

6 ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—If a Council determines

7 that additional information and data (other than informa8 tion and data that would disclose proprietary or confiden9 tial commercial or financial information regarding fishing

10 operations or fish processing operations) would be bene11 ficial for developing, implementing, or revising a fishery

12 management plan or for determining whether a fishery is

13 in need of management, the Council may request that the

14 Secretary implement a data collection program for the

15 fishery which would provide the types of information and

16 data (other than information and data that would disclose

17 proprietary or confidential commercial or financial infor18 mation regarding fishing operations or fish processing op19 erations) specified by the Council. The Secretary shall ap20 prove such a data collection program if he determines that

21 the need is justified, and shall promulgate regulations to

22 implement the program within 60 days after such deter23 mination is made. If the Secretary determines that the

24 need for a data collection program is not justified, the Sec25 retary shall inform the Council of the reasons for such
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1 determination in writing. The determinations of the Sec2 retary under this subsection regarding a Council request

3 shall be made within a reasonable period of time after re4 ceipt of that request.

5 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—Any in6 formation submitted to the Secretary by any person in

7 compliance with any requirement under this Act shall be

8 confidential and shall not be disclosed if disclosure would

9 significantly impair the commercial interests of the person

10 from whom the information was obtained, except—

11 ‘‘(1) to Federal employees and Council employ12 ees who are responsible for fishery management plan

13 development and monitoring;

14 ‘‘(2) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission

15 employees pursuant to an agreement with the Sec16 retary that prevents public disclosure of the identity

17 or business of any person;

18 ‘‘(3) when required by court order;

19 ‘‘(4) when such information is used to verify

20 catch under an individual transferable quota system;

21 or

22 ‘‘(5) unless the Secretary has obtained written

23 authorization from the person submitting such infor24 mation to release such information and such release
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1 does not violate other requirements of this sub2 section.

3 The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe such proce4 dures as may be necessary to preserve such confidentiality,

5 except that the Secretary may release or make public any

6 such information in any aggregate or summary form

7 which does not directly or indirectly disclose the identity

8 or business of any person who submits such information.

9 Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted or con10 strued to prevent the use for conservation and manage11 ment purposes by the Secretary, or with the approval of

12 the Secretary, the Council, of any information submitted

13 in compliance with regulations promulgated under this

14 Act.

15 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF CERTAIN DATA.—

16 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

17 to restrict the use, in civil enforcement or criminal

18 proceedings under this Act, the Marine Mammal

19 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), or

20 the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

21 seq.), of information collected by voluntary fishery

22 data collectors, including sea samplers, while aboard

23 any vessel for conservation and management pur24 poses if the presence of such a fishery data collector
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1 aboard is not required by any of such Acts or regu2 lations thereunder.

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not require the submis4 sion of a Federal or State income tax return or

5 statement as a prerequisite for issuance of a Federal

6 fishing permit until such time as the Secretary has

7 promulgated regulations to ensure the confidentiality

8 of information contained in such return or state9 ment, to limit the information submitted to that nec10 essary to achieve a demonstrated conservation and

11 management purpose, and to provide appropriate

12 penalties for violation of such regulations.’’.

13 SEC. 204. OBSERVERS.

14 Title IV of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by

15 adding the following new section 403:

16 ‘‘SEC. 403. OBSERVERS.

17 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES FOR CARRYING OBSERVERS.—

18 Within one year of the date of enactment of the Sustain19 able Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regula20 tions, after notice and public comment, for fishing vessels

21 that are required to carry observers. The regulations shall

22 include guidelines for determining—

23 ‘‘(1) when a vessel is not required to carry an

24 observer on board because the facilities of such ves25 sel for the quartering of an observer, or for carrying
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1 out observer functions, are so inadequate or unsafe

2 that the health or safety of the observer or the safe

3 operation of the vessel would be jeopardized; and

4 ‘‘(2) actions which vessel owners or operators

5 may reasonably be asked to take to render such fa6 cilities adequate and safe.

7 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary, in cooperation with

8 State programs and the National Sea Grant College Pro9 gram, shall—

10 ‘‘(1) establish programs to ensure that each ob11 server receives adequate training in collecting and

12 analyzing data necessary for the conservation and

13 management purposes of the fishery to which such

14 observer is assigned; and

15 ‘‘(2) require that an observer demonstrate com16 petence in fisheries science and statistical analysis at

17 a level sufficient to enable such person to fulfill the

18 responsibilities of the position.

19 ‘‘(c) WAGES AS MARITIME LIENS.—Claims for ob20 servers’ wages shall be considered maritime liens against

21 the vessel and be accorded the same priority as seamen’s

22 liens under admiralty and general maritime law.’’.

23 SEC. 205. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

24 Section 404 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 404. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate and

3 maintain, in cooperation with the Councils, a comprehen4 sive program of fishery research to carry out and further

5 the purposes, policy, and provisions of this Act. Such pro6 gram shall be designed to acquire knowledge and informa7 tion, including statistics, on fishery conservation and man8 agement and on the economics of the fisheries.

9 ‘‘(b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Within one year after the

10 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, and

11 at least every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall de12 velop and publish in the Federal Register a strategic plan

13 for fisheries research for the five years immediately follow14 ing such publication. The plan shall—

15 ‘‘(1) identify and describe a comprehensive pro16 gram with a limited number of priority objectives for

17 research in each of the areas specified in subsection

18 (c);

19 ‘‘(2) indicate the goals and timetables for the

20 program described in paragraph (1); and

21 ‘‘(3) provide a role for commercial fishermen in

22 such research, including involvement in field testing.

23 ‘‘(c) AREAS OF RESEARCH.—The areas of research

24 referred to in subsection (a) are as follows:

25 ‘‘(1) Research to support fishery conservation

26 and management, including but not limited to, re-
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1 search on the economics of fisheries and biological

2 research concerning the abundance and life history

3 parameters of stocks of fish, the interdependence of

4 fisheries or stocks of fish, the identification of essen5 tial fish habitat, the impact of pollution on fish pop6 ulations, the impact of wetland and estuarine deg7 radation, and other matters bearing upon the abun8 dance and availability of fish.

9 ‘‘(2) Conservation engineering research, includ10 ing the study of fish behavior and the development

11 and testing of new gear technology and fishing tech12 niques to minimize bycatch and any adverse effects

13 on essential fish habitat and promote efficient har14 vest of target species.

15 ‘‘(3) Information management research, includ16 ing the development of a fishery information base

17 and an information management system that will

18 permit the full use of data in the support of effective

19 fishery conservation and management.

20 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC NOTICE.—In developing the plan re21 quired under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult

22 with relevant Federal, State, and international agencies,

23 scientific and technical experts, and other interested per24 sons, public and private, and shall publish a proposed plan

25 in the Federal Register for the purpose of receiving public
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1 comment on the plan. The Secretary shall ensure that af2 fected commercial fishermen are actively involved in the

3 development of the portion of the plan pertaining to con4 servation engineering research. Upon final publication in

5 the Federal Register, the plan shall be submitted by the

6 Secretary to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

7 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Re8 sources of the House of Representatives.’’.

9 SEC. 206. INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.

10 Section 405 is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 405. INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.

12 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION OF DATA.—Within 9 months after

13 the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act,

14 the Secretary shall, after consultation with the Gulf of

15 Mexico Fishery Management Council and South Atlantic

16 Fishery Management Council, conclude the collection of

17 data in the program to assess the impact on fishery re18 sources of incidental harvest by the shrimp trawl fishery

19 within the authority of such Councils. Within the same

20 time period, the Secretary shall make available to the pub21 lic aggregated summaries of data collected prior to June

22 30, 1994 under such program.

23 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF STOCK.—The program con24 cluded pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide for the

25 identification of stocks of fish which are subject to signifi-
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1 cant incidental harvest in the course of normal shrimp

2 trawl fishing activity.

3 ‘‘(c) COLLECTION AND ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC

4 STOCK DATA.—For stocks of fish identified pursuant to

5 subsection (b), with priority given to stocks which (based

6 upon the best available scientific information) are consid7 ered to be overfished, the Secretary shall conduct—

8 ‘‘(1) a program to collect and evaluate data on

9 the nature and extent (including the spatial and

10 temporal distribution) of incidental mortality of such

11 stocks as a direct result of shrimp trawl fishing ac12 tivities;

13 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the status and condition

14 of such stocks, including collection of information

15 which would allow the estimation of life history pa16 rameters with sufficient accuracy and precision to

17 support sound scientific evaluation of the effects of

18 various management alternatives on the status of

19 such stocks; and

20 ‘‘(3) a program of data collection and evalua21 tion for such stocks on the magnitude and distribu22 tion of fishing mortality and fishing effort by

23 sources of fishing mortality other than shrimp trawl

24 fishing activity.
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1 ‘‘(d) INCIDENTAL MORTALITY REDUCTION PRO2 GRAM.—The Secretary shall, in cooperation with affected

3 interests, commence a program to design and evaluate the

4 efficacy of technological devices and other changes in fish5 ing technology for the reduction of incidental mortality of

6 nontarget fishery resources in the course of shrimp trawl

7 fishing activity which are designed to be inexpensive to

8 operate and which cause insignificant loss of shrimp. Such

9 program shall take into account local conditions and in10 clude evaluation of any reduction in incidental mortality,

11 as well as any reduction or increase in the retention of

12 shrimp in the course of normal fishing activity.

13 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Secretary

14 shall, within one year of completing the programs required

15 by this subsection, submit a detailed report on the results

16 of such programs to the Committee on Commerce,

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com18 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives.

19 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION CRITERIA.—Any measure im20 plemented under this Act to reduce the incidental mortal21 ity of nontarget fishery resources in the course of shrimp

22 trawl fishing shall, to the extent practicable—

23 ‘‘(1) apply to such fishing throughout the range

24 of the nontarget fishery resource concerned; and
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1 ‘‘(2) be implemented first in those areas and at

2 those times where the greatest reduction of such in3 cidental mortality can be achieved.’’.

4 SEC. 207. REPEAL.

5 Section 406 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is repealed.

6 SEC. 208. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

7 The table of contents is amended by striking the mat8 ter relating to title IV and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 315. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

‘‘Sec. 316. Fisheries disaster relief.

‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 401. Registration.

‘‘Sec. 402. Data collection.

‘‘Sec. 403. Observers.

‘‘Sec. 404. Fisheries research.

‘‘Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research.’’.

9 TITLE III—FISHERIES STOCK

10 RECOVERY FINANCING

11 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fisheries Stock Recov13 ery Financing Act’’.

14 SEC. 302. FISHERIES STOCK RECOVERY REFINANCING.

15 Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46

16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.), is amended by adding at the end

17 the following new section:

18 ‘‘Sec. 1111. (a) Pursuant to the authority granted

19 under section 1103(a) of this title, the Secretary shall,

20 under such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall

21 prescribe by regulation, guarantee and make commitments
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1 to guarantee the principal of, and interest on, obligations

2 which aid in refinancing, in a manner consistent with the

3 reduced cash flows available to obligors because of reduced

4 harvesting allocations during implementation of a fishery

5 recovery effort, existing obligations relating to fishing ves6 sels or fishery facilities. Guarantees under this section

7 shall be subject to all other provisions of this title not in8 consistent with the provisions of this section. The provi9 sions of this section shall, notwithstanding any other pro10 visions of this title, apply to guarantees under this section.

11 ‘‘(b) Obligations eligible to be refinanced under this

12 section shall include all obligations which financed or refi13 nanced any expenditures associated with the ownership or

14 operation of fishing vessels or fishery facilities, including

15 but not limited to expenditures for reconstructing, recon16 ditioning, purchasing, equipping, maintaining, repairing,

17 supplying, or any other aspect whatsoever of operating

18 fishing vessels or fishery facilities, excluding only such

19 obligations—

20 ‘‘(1) which were not in existence prior to the

21 time the Secretary approved a fishery recovery effort

22 eligible for guarantees under this section and whose

23 purpose, in whole or in part, involved expenditures

24 which resulted in increased vessel harvesting capac25 ity; and
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1 ‘‘(2) as may be owed by an obligor either to any

2 stockholder, partner, guarantor, or other principal of

3 such obligor or to any unrelated party if the purpose

4 of such obligation had been to pay an obligor’s pre5 existing obligation to such stockholder, partner,

6 guarantor, or other principal of such obligor.

7 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall refinance up to 100 percent

8 of the principal of, and interest on, such obligations, but,

9 in no event, shall the Secretary refinance an amount ex10 ceeding 75 percent of the unencumbered (after deducting

11 the amount to be refinanced by guaranteed obligations

12 under this section) market value, as determined by an

13 independent marine surveyor, of the fishing vessel or fish14 ery facility to which such obligations relate plus 75 percent

15 of the unencumbered (including but not limited to home16 stead exemptions) market value, as determined by an inde17 pendent marine surveyor, of all other supplementary col18 lateral. The Secretary shall do so regardless of—

19 ‘‘(1) any fishing vessel or fishery facility’s ac20 tual cost or depreciated actual cost; and

21 ‘‘(2) any limitations elsewhere in this title on

22 the amount of obligations to be guaranteed or such

23 amount’s relationship to actual cost or depreciated

24 actual cost.
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1 ‘‘(d) Obligations guaranteed under this section shall

2 have such maturity dates and other provisions as are con3 sistent with the intent and purpose of this section (includ4 ing but not limited to provisions for obligors to pay only

5 the interest accruing on the principal of such obligations

6 during the period in which fisheries stocks are recovering,

7 with the principal and interest accruing thereon being

8 fully amortized between the date stock recovery is pro9 jected to be completed and the maturity date of such obli10 gations).

11 ‘‘(e) No provision of section 1104A(d) of this title

12 shall apply to obligations guaranteed under this section.

13 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall neither make commitments

14 to guarantee nor guarantee obligations under this section

15 unless—

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has first approved the fish17 ery recovery effort, for the fishery in which vessels

18 eligible for the guarantee of obligations under this

19 section are participants; and

20 ‘‘(2) the Secretary has considered such factors

21 as—

22 ‘‘(A) the projected degree and duration of

23 reduced fisheries allocations;

24 ‘‘(B) the projected reduction in fishing ves25 sel and fishery facility cash flows;
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1 ‘‘(C) the projected severity of the impact

2 on fishing vessels and fishery facilities;

3 ‘‘(D) the projected effect of the fishery re4 covery effort;

5 ‘‘(E) the provisions of any related fishery

6 management plan under the Magnuson Fishery

7 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

8 1801 et seq.); and

9 ‘‘(F) the need for and advisability of guar10 antees under this section;

11 ‘‘(3) the Secretary finds that the obligation to

12 be guaranteed will, considering the projected effect

13 of the fishery recovery effort involved and all other

14 aspects of the obligor, project, property, collateral,

15 and any other aspects whatsoever of the obligation

16 involved, constitute, in the Secretary’s opinion, a

17 reasonable prospect of full repayment; and

18 ‘‘(4) the obligors agree to provide such security

19 and meet such other terms and conditions as the

20 Secretary may, pursuant to regulations prescribed

21 under this section, require to protect the interest of

22 the United States and carry out the purpose of this

23 section.

24 ‘‘(g) All obligations guaranteed under this section

25 shall be accounted for separately, in a subaccount of the
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1 Federal Ship Financing Fund to be known as the Fishery

2 Recovery Refinancing Account, from all other obligations

3 guaranteed under the other provisions of this title and the

4 assets and liabilities of the Federal Ship Financing Fund

5 and the Fishery Recovery Refinancing Account shall be

6 segregated accordingly.

7 ‘‘(h) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘fish8 ery recovery effort’ means a fishery management plan,

9 amendment, or regulations required under section 305(b)

10 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 1854(b)) to rebuild a fishery which the

12 Secretary has determined to be a commercial fishery fail13 ure under section 316 of such Act.’’.

14 SEC. 303. FEDERAL FINANCING BANK RELATING TO FISH15 ING VESSELS AND FISHERY FACILITIES.

16 Section 1104A(b)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act,

17 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1274(b)(2)), is amended by striking

18 ‘‘Provided, further, That in the case of a fishing vessel or

19 fishery facility, the obligation shall be in an aggregate

20 principal amount equal to 80 percent of the actual cost

21 or depreciated actual cost of the fishing vessel or fishery

22 facility, except that no debt may be placed under this pro23 viso through the Federal Financing Bank:’’ and inserting

24 the following: ‘‘Provided, further, That in the case of a

25 fishing vessel or fishery facility, the obligation shall be in
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1 an aggregate principal amount not to exceed 80 percent

2 of the actual cost or depreciated actual cost of the fishing

3 vessel or fishery facility, and obligations related to fishing

4 vessels and fishery facilities under this title shall be placed

5 through the Federal Financing Bank unless placement

6 through the Federal Financing Bank is not reasonably

7 available or placement elsewhere is available at a lower

8 annual effective yield than placement through the Federal

9 Financing Bank:’’.

10 SEC. 304. FEES FOR GUARANTEEING OBLIGATIONS.

11 Section 1104A(e) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936

12 (46 U.S.C. 1274(e)), is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary is authorized to fix a fee for

14 the guarantee of obligations under this title. Obligors shall

15 pay all such fees to the Secretary when moneys are first

16 advanced under guaranteed obligations and at least 60

17 days prior to each anniversary date thereafter. All such

18 fees shall be computed and shall be payable to the Sec19 retary under such regulations as the Secretary may pre20 scribe.

21 ‘‘(2) For fishing vessels and fishery facilities, such

22 fee shall—

23 ‘‘(A) if the obligation will not be purchased by

24 the Federal Financing Bank, be in an amount equal

25 to 1 percent per year of the average principal
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1 amount of the obligation outstanding (unless such

2 obligation is issued under section 1111 of this title,

3 in which case such fee shall be 1 and one-half per4 cent per year of such average principal amount; and

5 ‘‘(B) if the obligation will be purchased by the

6 Federal Financing Bank, be in an amount equal to

7 2 percent per year of the average principal amount

8 of the obligation outstanding (unless such obligation

9 is issued under section 1111 of this title, in which

10 case such fee shall be 2 and one-half percent per

11 year of such average principal amount), less any fee

12 the Federal Financing Bank customarily charges for

13 its services with respect to federally guaranteed obli14 gations purchased by it and less the amount, if any,

15 by which the interest rate on such obligation (which

16 shall be fixed at the time the Federal Financing

17 Bank commits to purchase such obligation) exceeds

18 the current new issue rate on outstanding market19 able obligations of the United States of comparable

20 maturity.

21 ‘‘(3) For everything other than fishing vessels and

22 fishery facilities, such fee shall—

23 ‘‘(A) if the security for the guarantee of an ob24 ligation under this title relates to a delivered vessel,

25 not be less than one-half of 1 percent per year nor
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1 more than 1 percent per year of the average prin2 cipal amount of such obligation outstanding, exclud3 ing the average amount (except interest) on deposit

4 in an escrow fund created under section 1108 of this

5 title; and

6 ‘‘(B) if the security for the guarantee of an ob7 ligation under this title relates to a vessel to be con8 structed, reconstructed, or reconditioned, not be less

9 than one-quarter of 1 percent per year nor more

10 than one-half of 1 percent per year of the average

11 principal amount of such obligation outstanding, ex12 cluding the average amount (except interest) on de13 posit in an escrow fund created under section 1108

14 of this title. For the purposes of this subsection, if

15 the security for the guarantee of an obligation under

16 this title relates both to a delivered vessel or vessels

17 and to a vessel or vessels to be constructed, recon18 structed, or reconditioned, the principal amount of

19 such obligation shall be prorated in accordance with

20 regulations prescribed by the Secretary. The regula21 tions to be prescribed by the Secretary under this

22 subsection shall provide a formula for determining

23 the creditworthiness of obligors under which the

24 most creditworthy obligors pay a fee computed on

25 the lowest allowable percentage and the least credit-
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1 worthy obligors pay a fee which may be computed on

2 the highest allowable percentage (the range of cred3 itworthiness to be based on obligors which have ac4 tually issued guaranteed obligations).’’.

5 SEC. 305. SALE OF ACQUIRED COLLATERAL.

6 Section 1104A(a)(3) of the Merchant Marine Act,

7 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1274(a)(3)), is amended by inserting

8 after ‘‘financing’’ the following: ‘‘(without requiring sub9 sidy cost ceiling or other authorization under the Federal

10 Credit Reform Act of 1990)’’.

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

12 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sus13 tainable Fisheries Act’’.

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

15 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Amendment of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

Act.

Sec. 102. Findings; purposes; policy.

Sec. 103. Definitions.

Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 105. Highly migratory species.

Sec. 106. Foreign fishing and international fishery agreements.

Sec. 107. National standards.

Sec. 108. Regional Fishery Management Councils.

Sec. 109. Fishery management plans.

Sec. 110. Action by the Secretary.

Sec. 111. Other requirements and authority.

Sec. 112. Pacific community fisheries.

Sec. 113. State jurisdiction.

Sec. 114. Prohibited acts.

Sec. 115. Civil penalties and permit sanctions; rebuttable presumptions

Sec. 116. Enforcement.

Sec. 117. North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic Ocean Fisheries.

Sec. 118. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH
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Sec. 201. Change of title.

Sec. 202. Registration and data management.

Sec. 203. Data collection.

Sec. 204. Observers.

Sec. 205. Fisheries research.

Sec. 206. Incidental harvest research.

Sec. 207. Miscellaneous research.

Sec. 208. Study of contribution of bycatch to charitable organizations.

Sec. 209. Study of identification methods for harvest stocks.

Sec. 210. Clerical amendments.

TITLE III—FISHERIES FINANCING

Sec. 301. Short title.

Sec. 302. Fisheries financing and capacity reduction.

Sec. 303. Fisheries loan guarantee reform.

TITLE IV—MARINE FISHERY STATUTE REAUTHORIZATIONS

Sec. 401. Marine fish program authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 402. Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act amendments.

Sec. 403. Anadromous fisheries amendments.

Sec. 404. Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Management Act amendments.

Sec. 405. Technical amendments to Maritime Boundary Agreement.

1 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND

2 MANAGEMENT

3 SEC. 101. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON FISHERY CONSERVA4 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

5 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

6 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

7 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

8 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

9 other provision of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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

11 SEC. 102. FINDINGS; PURPOSES; POLICY.

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

13 (1) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting

14 the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) Certain stocks of fish have declined to the

2 point where their survival is threatened, and other

3 stocks of fish have been so substantially reduced in

4 number that they could become similarly threatened

5 as a consequence of (A) increased fishing pressure,

6 (B) the inadequacy of fishery resource conservation

7 and management practices and controls, or (C) direct

8 and indirect habitat losses which have resulted in a

9 diminished capacity to support existing fishing lev10 els.’’;

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘to facilitate long-term protec12 tion of essential fish habitats,’’ in subsection (a)(6)

13 after ‘‘conservation,’’;

14 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the fol15 lowing:

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

17 viability of commercial and recreational fisheries is

18 the continuing loss of marine, estuarine, and other

19 aquatic habitats. Habitat considerations should re20 ceive increased attention for the conservation and

21 management of fishery resources of the United States.

22 ‘‘(10) Pacific Insular Areas contain unique his23 torical, cultural, legal, political, and geographical cir24 cumstances which make fisheries resources important

25 in sustaining their economic growth.’’;
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1 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

2 end of subsection (b)(5);

3 (5) by striking ‘‘development.’’ in subsection

4 (b)(6) and inserting ‘‘development in a non-wasteful

5 manner; and’’;

6 (6) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(7) to promote the protection of essential fish

9 habitat in the review of projects conducted under Fed10 eral permits, licenses, or other authorities that affect

11 or have the potential to affect such habitat.’’;

12 (7) by inserting ‘‘minimize bycatch and’’ after

13 ‘‘practical measures that’’ in subsection (c)(3);

14 (8) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

15 (c)(5);

16 (9) striking the period at the end of paragraph

17 (c)(6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (10) adding at the end a new paragraph as fol19 lows:

20 ‘‘(7) to ensure that the fishery resources adjacent

21 to a Pacific Insular Area, including resident or mi22 gratory stocks within the exclusive economic zone ad23 jacent to such areas, be explored, developed, conserved,

24 and managed for the benefit of the people of such area

25 and of the United States.’’.
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1 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended—

3 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (32)

4 as paragraphs (4) through (34), respectively, and in5 serting after paragraph (1) the following:

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘bycatch’ means fish which are

7 harvested by a fishing vessel, but which are not sold

8 or kept for personal use, and includes economic dis9 cards and regulatory discards but does not include

10 fish caught and released alive that are the target spe11 cies of recreational fishing under catch and release

12 programs.

13 ‘‘(3) The term ‘commercial fishing’ means fishing

14 in which the fish harvested, either in whole or in

15 part, enter commerce through sale, barter or trade.’’;

16 (2) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘COELENTERATA’’ from

18 the heading of the list of corals and inserting

19 ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and

20 (B) in the list appearing under the heading

21 ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’, by striking ‘‘Deep-sea Red

22 Crab—Geryon quinquedens’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘Deep-sea Red Crab—Chaceon quinquedens’’;

24 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (34)

25 (as redesignated) as paragraphs (10) through (36), re-
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1 spectively, and inserting after paragraph (7) (as re2 designated) the following:

3 ‘‘(8) The term ‘economic discards’ means fish

4 which are the target of a fishery, but which are not

5 retained by a fishing vessel because they are of an un6 desirable size, sex, or quality, or for other economic

7 reasons.’’

8 ‘‘(9) The term ‘essential fish habitat’ means those

9 waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning,

10 breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.’’;

11 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through

12 (36) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (16) through

13 (37), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (14)

14 (as redesignated) the following:

15 ‘‘(15) The term ‘fishing community’ means a

16 community which is substantially dependent on the

17 harvest of fishery resources to meet social and eco18 nomic needs, and includes fishing vessel owners, oper19 ators and crew and United States fish processors that

20 are based in such community.’’;

21 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (20) through

22 (37) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (21) through

23 (38), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (19)

24 (as redesignated) the following:
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1 ‘‘(20) The term ‘individual fishing quota’ means

2 a revocable Federal permit under a limited access sys3 tem to harvest a quantity of fish that is expressed by

4 a unit or units representing a percentage of the total

5 allowable catch of a fishery that may be received or

6 held for exclusive use by a person.’’;

7 (6) by striking ‘‘of one and one-half miles’’ in

8 paragraph (22) (as redesignated) and inserting ‘‘of

9 two and one-half kilometers’’;

10 (7) by striking paragraph (27), as redesignated,

11 and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(27) The term ‘optimum’, with respect to the

13 yield from a fishery, means the amount of fish

14 which—

15 ‘‘(A) will provide the greatest overall benefit

16 to the Nation, particularly with respect to food

17 production and recreational opportunities, and

18 taking into account the protection of marine

19 ecosystems;

20 ‘‘(B) is prescribed on the basis of the maxi21 mum sustainable yield from the fishery, as re22 duced by any relevant social, economic, or eco23 logical factor; and

24 ‘‘(C) in the case of an overfished fishery,

25 provides for rebuilding to a level consistent with
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1 producing the maximum sustainable yield in

2 such fishery.’’;

3 (8) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through

4 (38) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (30) through

5 (40), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (27)

6 (as redesignated) the following:

7 ‘‘(28) The terms ‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’

8 mean a rate or level of fishing mortality that jeopard9 izes the capacity of a fishery to produce the maximum

10 sustainable yield on a continuing basis.’’;

11 ‘‘(29) The term ‘‘Pacific Insular Area’’ means

12 American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Is13 lands, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island,

14 Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Wake

15 Island, or Palmyra Atoll, as applicable, and includes

16 all islands and reefs appurtenant to such island, reef,

17 or atoll.

18 (9) by redesignating paragraphs (31) through

19 (40) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (33) through

20 (42), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (30)

21 (as redesignated) the following:

22 ‘‘(31) The term ‘recreational fishing’ means fish23 ing for sport or pleasure.

24 ‘‘(32) The term ‘regulatory discards’ means fish

25 caught in a fishery which fishermen are required by
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1 regulation to discard whenever caught, or are re2 quired by regulation to retain but not sell.’’;

3 (10) by redesignating paragraphs (34) through

4 (42) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (35) through

5 (43), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (33)

6 (as redesignated) the following:

7 ‘‘(34) The term ‘special areas’ means the areas

8 referred to as eastern special areas in Article 3(1) of

9 the Agreement between the United States of America

10 and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the

11 Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in particu12 lar, the term refers to those areas east of the maritime

13 boundary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie with14 in 200 nautical miles of the baselines from which the

15 breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is measured

16 but beyond 200 nautical miles of the baselines from

17 which the breadth of the territorial sea of the United

18 States is measured.’’;

19 (11) by striking ‘‘for which a fishery manage20 ment plan prepared under title III or a preliminary

21 fishery management plan prepared under section

22 201(h) has been implemented’’ in paragraph (42) (as

23 redesignated) and inserting ‘‘regulated under this

24 Act’’;
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1 (12) by redesignating paragraph (43), as redes2 ignated, as paragraph (44), and inserting after para3 graph (42) the following:

4 ‘‘(43) The term ‘vessel subject to the jurisdiction

5 of the United States’ has the same meaning such term

6 has in section 3(c) of the Maritime Drug Law En7 forcement Act (46 U.S.C. App. 1903(c)).’’; and

8 (13) by redesignating paragraph (33) as para9 graph (45).

10 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 The Act is amended by inserting after section 3 (16

12 U.S.C. 1802) the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec15 retary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of

16 this Act, not to exceed the following sums (of which not less

17 than 10 percent in each fiscal year shall be used for enforce18 ment activities):

19 ‘‘(1) $147,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

20 ‘‘(2) $151,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

21 ‘‘(3) $155,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

22 ‘‘(4) $159,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

23 ‘‘(5) $163,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.

2 Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended by striking

3 ‘‘promoting the objective of optimum utilization’’ and in4 serting ‘‘shall promote the achievement of optimum yield’’.

5 SEC. 106. FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY

6 AGREEMENTS.

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO OPERATE UNDER TRANSSHIPMENT

8 PERMITS.—Section 201(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1821(a)(1)) is

9 amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(1) is authorized under subsections (b) or (c) or

11 section 204(e), under a permit issued under section

12 204(d);’’.

13 (b) INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Section

14 202 (16 U.S.C. 1822) is amended—

15 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (c) ‘‘or

16 section 204(e)’’;

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

18 ‘‘(h) BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.—(1) The

19 Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary, shall

20 seek to secure an international agreement to establish stand21 ards and measures for bycatch reduction that are com22 parable to the standards and measures applicable to United

23 States fishermen for such purposes in any fishery regulated

24 pursuant to this Act for which the Secretary, in consulta25 tion with the Secretary of State, determines that such an

26 international agreement is necessary and appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(2) An international agreement negotiated under this

2 subsection shall be—

3 ‘‘(A) consistent with the policies and purposes of

4 this Act; and

5 ‘‘(B) approved by Congress in the manner estab6 lished in section 203 for approval of a governing

7 international fishery agreement.

8 ‘‘(3) Not later than January 1, 1997, and annually

9 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary

10 of State, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Commit12 tee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report

13 describing actions taken under this subsection and section

14 205(a)(5).’’.

15 (c) PERIOD FOR CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF GOVERN16 ING INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Section 203

17 (16 U.S.C. 1823) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘60 calendar

19 days of continuous session of the Congress’’ and in20 serting ‘‘120 days (excluding any days in a period for

21 which the Congress is adjourned sine die)’’;

22 (2) by striking subsection (c); and

23 (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection

24 (c).
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1 (d) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS AND PACIFIC INSULAR

2 AREA FISHING.—Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1824) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(d) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS.—

5 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PERMITS.—The Sec6 retary may issue a transshipment permit under this

7 subsection which authorizes a vessel other than a ves8 sel of the United States to engage in fishing consisting

9 solely of transporting fish products at sea from a

10 point within the boundaries of any State or the exclu11 sive economic zone to a point outside the United

12 States to any person who—

13 ‘‘(A) submits an application which is ap14 proved by the Secretary under paragraph (3);

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) pays a fee imposed under paragraph

17 (7).

18 ‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL.—Upon receipt of an appli19 cation for a permit under this subsection, the Sec20 retary shall promptly transmit copies of the applica21 tion to the Secretary of the department in which the

22 Coast Guard is operating, any appropriate Council,

23 and any interested State.

24 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary

25 may approve, with the concurrence of the appropriate
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1 Council, an application for a permit under this sec2 tion if the Secretary determines that—

3 ‘‘(A) the transportation of fish products to

4 be conducted under the permit, as described in

5 the application, will be in the interest of the

6 United States and will meet the applicable re7 quirements of this Act;

8 ‘‘(B) the applicant will comply with the re9 quirements described in section 201(c)(2) with

10 respect to activities authorized by any permit is11 sued pursuant to the application;

12 ‘‘(C) the applicant has established any

13 bonds or financial assurances that may be re14 quired by the Secretary; and

15 ‘‘(D) no owner or operator of a vessel of the

16 United States which has adequate capacity to

17 perform the transportation for which the appli18 cation is submitted has indicated to the Sec19 retary an interest in performing the transpor20 tation at fair and reasonable rates.

21 ‘‘(4) WHOLE OR PARTIAL APPROVAL.—The Sec22 retary may approve all or any portion of an applica23 tion under paragraph (3).

24 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO APPROVE APPLICATION.—If the

25 Secretary does not approve any portion of an appli-
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1 cation submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary

2 shall promptly inform the applicant and specify the

3 reasons therefore.

4 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—The Sec5 retary shall establish and include in each permit

6 under this subsection conditions and restrictions

7 which shall be complied with by the owner and opera8 tor of the vessel for which the permit is issued. The

9 conditions and restrictions shall include the require10 ments, regulations, and restrictions set forth in sub11 section (b)(7).

12 ‘‘(7) FEES.—The Secretary shall collect a fee for

13 each permit issued under this subsection, in an

14 amount adequate to recover the costs incurred by the

15 United States in issuing the permit.

16 ‘‘(e) PACIFIC INSULAR AREAS.—

17 ‘‘(1) At the request of and with the concurrence

18 of the Governor of the applicable Pacific Insular

19 Area, the Secretary of State in concurrence with the

20 Secretary of Commerce, and the Western Pacific

21 Council, may negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insu22 lar Area Fishery Agreement (hereinafter in this sub23 section referred to as a ‘Pacific Fishery Agreement’)

24 to authorize foreign fishing within the exclusive eco25 nomic zone adjacent to such Pacific Insular Area.
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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a Pacific Insular Area other

2 than American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mari3 ana Islands, the Secretary of State, with the concur4 rence of the Secretary of Commerce and the Western

5 Pacific Council, may negotiate and enter into a Pa6 cific Fishery Agreement to authorize foreign fishing

7 within the exclusive economic zone adjacent to such

8 an area.

9 ‘‘(3) In the case of American Samoa, Guam, or

10 the Northern Mariana Islands, the Secretary of State

11 shall not negotiate a Pacific Fishery Agreement to au12 thorize foreign fishing within the exclusive economic

13 zone adjacent to such a Pacific Insular Area without

14 consultation with and the concurrence of the Governor

15 of the applicable Pacific Insular Area.

16 ‘‘(4) A Pacific Fishery Agreement shall not be

17 considered to supersede any governing international

18 fishery agreement currently in effect under this Act,

19 but shall provide an alternative basis for the conduct

20 of foreign fishing within the exclusive economic zone

21 adjacent to Pacific Insular Areas.

22 ‘‘(5) A Pacific Fishery Agreement shall not be

23 entered into if it is determined by the Governor of the

24 appropriate Pacific Insular Area, the Secretary, or

25 the Western Pacific Council that such an agreement
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1 will adversely affect the fishing activities of the indig2 enous peoples of such Pacific Insular Area.

3 ‘‘(6) Foreign fishing authorized under a Pacific

4 Fishery Agreement shall conform to the terms of such

5 agreement establishing the conditions under which a

6 permit is issued and held valid. These terms, at a

7 minimum, shall require that a Pacific Fishery Agree8 ment include provisions for a Western Pacific based

9 observer program, annual determination of the quan10 tity of fish that may be harvested, annual determina11 tion of fees, data collection and reporting systems, re12 search plans, and monitoring and enforcement tools

13 such as the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to en14 sure effective compliance with the provisions of the

15 Pacific Fishery Agreement and any other terms and

16 conditions deemed appropriate by the Secretary of

17 State, in consultation with the Secretary, the Gov18 ernor of the appropriate Pacific Insular Area, and

19 the Western Pacific Council.

20 ‘‘(7) The Secretary of State may not negotiate a

21 Pacific Fishery Agreement with a country that is in

22 violation of a governing international fishery agree23 ment in effect under this Act.

24 ‘‘(8) A Pacific Fishery Agreement shall be valid

25 for a period not to exceed three years and shall be-
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1 come effective according to the procedure of section

2 203 of this Act.

3 ‘‘(9) Foreign Fishing under a Pacific Fishery

4 Agreement shall not be subject to sections 201(d)

5 through (f) and section 201(i) of this Act.

6 ‘‘(10) Prior to entering into a Pacific Fishery

7 Agreement, the Western Pacific Council or the appro8 priate Governor shall develop a three-year plan de9 tailing uses for funds to be collected by the Secretary

10 pursuant to such agreement. Such plan shall include

11 conservation goals and guidelines and prioritize

12 planned conservation and management projects. In

13 the case of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern

14 Mariana Islands, the appropriate Governor shall de15 velop such a plan in consultation with the Western

16 Pacific Council. In the case of other Pacific Insular

17 Areas, the Western Pacific Council shall develop such

18 a plan in consultation with the Secretary. If a Gov19 ernor or the Western Pacific Council intends to renew

20 a Pacific Fishery Agreement, a subsequent three-year

21 plan shall be developed at the end of the second year

22 of the existing three-year plan.

23 ‘‘(11) Fees established pursuant to a Pacific

24 Fishery Agreement shall be paid to the Secretary by

25 the owner or operator of any foreign fishing vessel for
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1 which a permit has been issued pursuant to this sec2 tion. The prescription of such fees is not subject to 31

3 U.S.C. 9701. The amount of fees may exceed adminis4 trative costs and shall be reasonable, fair, and equi5 table to all participants in the fisheries.

6 ‘‘(12) Amounts collected by the Secretary from a

7 Pacific Fishery Agreement for American Samoa,

8 Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands shall be de9 posited into the United States Treasury and then cov10 ered over to the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area

11 for which those funds were collected. After the transfer

12 of such funds, the Governor of each appropriate Pa13 cific Insular Area shall compensate:

14 ‘‘(A) the Western Pacific Council for mutu15 ally agreed upon administrative costs incurred

16 relating to any Pacific Fishery Agreement of the

17 respective Pacific Insular Area; and

18 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of State for mutually

19 agreed upon travel expenses for no more than

20 two federal representatives incurred as a direct

21 result of complying with section 204(e)(1).

22 ‘‘(13) There is established in the United States

23 Treasury a Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries

24 Fund into which amounts collected by the Secretary

25 from a Pacific Fisheries Agreement in any Pacific
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1 Insular Area other than American Samoa, Guam, or

2 the Northern Mariana Islands shall be deposited. The

3 Fund shall be made available, without appropriation

4 or fiscal year limitation, by the Secretary to the West5 ern Pacific Council, for the purpose of carrying out

6 the provisions of this section.

7 ‘‘(14) Amounts used from this Fund to carry out

8 the provisions of this section shall not diminish other

9 funding received by the Western Pacific Council for

10 the purpose of carrying out activities within the

11 Western Pacific Council’s mandate other than Pacific

12 Fisheries Agreements.

13 ‘‘(15) Amounts generated by Pacific Fishery

14 Agreements in American Samoa, Guam, or the North15 ern Mariana Islands shall be used for purposes, as de16 scribed in a three year conservation and management

17 plan developed under paragraph (10), that have been

18 determined by the Governors of the respective Pacific

19 Insular Areas in consultation with the Western Pa20 cific Council to contribute to fishery conservation and

21 management in the respective Pacific Insular Area.

22 ‘‘(16) The Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries

23 Fund, shall be made available by the Secretary to the

24 Western Pacific Council for purposes, as described in

25 the three year conservation and management plan,
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1 that have been determined by the Western Pacific

2 Council in consultation with the Secretary to contrib3 ute to fishery conservation and management in the

4 Western Pacific Region. Travel costs of no more than

5 two federal representatives, incurred by the Secretary

6 of State as a direct result of complying with para7 graph (2) shall be reimbursed from the Western Pa8 cific Sustainable Fisheries Fund.

9 ‘‘(17) ‘Fishery conservation and management’ as

10 used in paragraphs (15) and (16) includes but is not

11 limited to:

12 ‘‘(A) An approved Western Pacific based ob13 server program to be operated by the Secretary,

14 subject to the approval of the Western Pacific

15 Council, and in consultation with the Governor

16 of the relevant Pacific Insular Area;

17 ‘‘(B) Marine and fisheries research, includ18 ing but not limited to: data collection, analysis,

19 evaluation, and reporting;

20 ‘‘(C) Conservation, education, and enforce21 ment, including but not limited to: living ma22 rine resource, habitat monitoring and coastal

23 studies;

24 ‘‘(D) Grants to the University of Hawaii

25 for technical assistance projects in the United
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1 States Pacific Insular Areas and the Freely As2 sociated States including but not limited to:

3 Education and training in the development and

4 implementation of sustainable marine resources

5 development projects, scientific research, data

6 collection and analysis, and conservation strate7 gies;

8 ‘‘(E) Western Pacific Community-Based

9 Demonstration Projects to foster and promote the

10 management, conservation, and economic en11 hancement of the indigenous, traditional fishery

12 practices of Western Pacific Communities.

13 ‘‘(18) Monies collected by the Secretary from a

14 Pacific Fishery Agreement for a Pacific Insular Area

15 may be allocated for other marine and coastal related

16 uses by the government of each Pacific Insular Area

17 or in the case of Pacific Insular Areas other than

18 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana

19 Islands by the Western Pacific Council only after the

20 costs of uses specified in paragraphs (6) and (17)(A)

21 through (17)(E) under this title and the administra22 tive costs of Pacific Fisheries Agreements have been

23 met. The determination of when conservation and

24 management and administrative costs have been met

25 shall be made, in the case of American Samoa, Guam,
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1 and the Northern Mariana Islands by the Governor

2 of the respective Pacific Insular Area with the concur3 rence of the Western Pacific Council, and in the case

4 of any Pacific Insular Area other than American

5 Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands by

6 the Western Pacific Council.

7 ‘‘(19) The Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries

8 Fund of the United States Treasury, shall be made

9 available by the Secretary for the purpose of fisheries

10 conservation and management in the State of Hawaii

11 and the Western Pacific Region only after fisheries

12 conservation and management needs in such Pacific

13 Insular Area other than American Samoa, Guam, or

14 the Northern Mariana Islands have been met as deter15 mined by the Western Pacific Council in accordance

16 with its operational standards, policies, procedures,

17 and program milestones.

18 ‘‘(20) In the case of American Samoa, Guam, or

19 the Northern Mariana Islands, amounts received by

20 the Secretary which are attributable to fines or pen21 alties imposed under this Act, including such sums

22 collected from the forfeiture and disposition or sale of

23 property seized subject to its authority, will be covered

24 over to the Treasury of the Pacific Island Area adja25 cent to the exclusive economic zone in which the viola-
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1 tion occurred, after payment of direct costs of the en2 forcement action to other entities involved in such en3 forcement action. The Governor of the respective Pa4 cific Insular Area may use such monies available

5 under this paragraph for purposes other than fisheries

6 conservation and management. In the case of viola7 tions occurring in the exclusive economic zone adja8 cent to a Pacific Insular Area other than American

9 Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands,

10 amounts received by the Secretary which are attrib11 utable to fines or penalties imposed under this Act,

12 including such sums collected from the forfeiture and

13 disposition or sale of property seized subject to its au14 thority, will be covered over to the Western Pacific

15 Sustainable Fisheries Fund of the United States

16 Treasury to be used for conservation and management

17 as described in paragraphs (6) and (17)(A) through

18 (17)(E) or other related marine and coastal

19 projects.’’.

20 (e) IMPORT PROHIBITIONS.—Section 205(a) (16

21 U.S.C. 1825(a)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (3);

23 (2) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the

24 end of paragraph (4); and

25 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(5) he has been unable, within a reasonable pe2 riod of time, to conclude with any foreign nation an

3 international agreement to establish standards and

4 measures for bycatch reduction under section

5 202(g),’’.

6 (f) LARGE SCALE DRIFTNET FISHING.—Section 206

7 (16 U.S.C. 1826) is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (e), by striking paragraphs (3)

9 and (4), and redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as

10 (3) and (4), respectively; and

11 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘(e)(6),’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘(e)(4),’’.

13 SEC. 107. NATIONAL STANDARDS.

14 (a) Section 301(a)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(5)) is

15 amended by striking ‘‘promote’’ and inserting ‘‘consider’’.

16 (b) Section 301(a) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)) is amended by

17 adding at the end thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(8) Conservation and management measures

19 shall take into account the importance of the harvest

20 of fishery resources to minimize, to the extent prac21 ticable, adverse economic impacts on, and provide for

22 the sustained participation of, fishing communities;

23 except that no such measure shall have economic allo24 cation as its sole purpose.
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1 ‘‘(9) Conservation and management measures

2 shall, to the extent practicable, minimize bycatch and

3 the mortality of bycatch which cannot be avoided.

4 ‘‘(10) Conservation and management measures

5 shall promote the safety of human life at sea.’’.

6 SEC. 108. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

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

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection head9 ing;

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (8)

11 as subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively;

12 (3) by striking ‘‘section 304(f)(3)’’ wherever it

13 appears and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’;

14 (4) in paragraph (1)(B), as amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘and Virginia’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘Virginia, and North Carolina’’;

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘North Carolina, and’’

18 after ‘‘except’’;

19 (C) by striking ‘‘19’’ and inserting ‘‘21’’;

20 and

21 (D) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’;

22 and

23 (5) by striking paragraph (1)(F), as redesig24 nated, and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(F) PACIFIC COUNCIL.—The Pacific Fishery

2 Management Council shall consist of the States of

3 California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and shall

4 have authority over the fisheries in the Pacific Ocean

5 seaward of such States. The Pacific Council shall

6 have 14 voting members, including 8 appointed by

7 the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at

8 least one of whom shall be appointed from each such

9 State), and including one appointed from an Indian

10 tribe with Federally recognized fishing rights from

11 California, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho in accord12 ance with subsection (b)(5).’’;

13 (6) by indenting the sentence at the end thereof

14 and inserting ‘‘(2)’’ in front of ‘‘Each Council’’; and

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

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall have authority over any

17 highly migratory species fishery that is within the

18 geographical area of authority of more than one of the

19 following Councils: New England Council, Mid-Atlan20 tic Council, South Atlantic Council, Gulf Council,

21 and Caribbean Council.’’.

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

23 (1) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’ in paragraph

24 (1)(C) and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (5) of this

25 subsection’’;
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘full’’ before ‘‘consecutive’’ in

2 the second sentence of paragraph (3); and

3 (3) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting after

4 paragraph (4) the following:

5 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall appoint to the Pa6 cific Fishery Management Council one representative

7 of an Indian tribe with Federally recognized fishing

8 rights from California, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho,

9 from a list of not less than 3 individuals submitted

10 by the tribal governments. The representative shall

11 serve for a term of 3 years and may not serve more

12 than 3 full consecutive terms. The Secretary, in con13 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior and tribal

14 governments, shall establish by regulation the proce15 dure for submitting lists under this subparagraph.

16 ‘‘(B) Representation shall be rotated among the

17 tribes taking into consideration—

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

19 the list referred to in subparagraph (A),

20 ‘‘(ii) the various treaty rights of the Indian

21 tribes involved and judicial cases that set forth

22 how those rights are to be exercised, and

23 ‘‘(iii) the geographic area in which the tribe

24 of the representative is located.
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1 ‘‘(C) A vacancy occurring prior to the expiration

2 of any term shall be filled in the same manner as set

3 out in subparagraphs (A) and (B), except that the

4 Secretary may use the list from which the vacating

5 representative was chosen.

6 ‘‘(6) The Secretary may remove for cause any

7 member of a Council required to be appointed by the

8 Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) if—

9 ‘‘(A) the Council concerned first rec10 ommends removal by not less than two-thirds of

11 the members who are voting members and sub12 mits such removal recommendation to the Sec13 retary in writing together with a statement of

14 the basis for the recommendation; or

15 ‘‘(B) the member is found by the Secretary,

16 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing in

17 accordance with section 554 of title 5, United

18 States Code, to have committed an act prohibited

19 by section 307(1)(O).’’.

20 (c) Section 302(d) (16 U.S.C. 1852(d)) is amended in

21 the first sentence—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘each Council,’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘each Council who are required to be appointed by

24 the Secretary and’’; and
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘shall, until January 1, 1992,’’

2 and all that follows through ‘‘GS–16’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘shall receive compensation at the daily rate for GS–

4 15, step 7’’.

5 (d) Section 302(e) (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)) is amended by

6 adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(5) At the request of any voting member of a

8 Council, the Council shall hold a rollcall vote on any

9 matter before the Council. The official minutes and

10 other appropriate records of any Council meeting

11 shall identify all rollcall votes held, the name of each

12 voting member present during each rollcall vote, and

13 how each member voted on each rollcall vote.’’.

14 (e) Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended by

15 redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by in16 serting after paragraph (3) the following:

17 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall establish advisory pan18 els to assist in the collection and evaluation of infor19 mation relevant to the development of any fishery

20 management plan or plan amendment under section

21 304(g). Each advisory panel shall participate in all

22 aspects of the development of the plan or amendment;

23 be balanced in its representation of commercial, rec24 reational, and other interests; and consist of not less

25 than 7 individuals who are knowledgeable about the
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1 fishery for which the plan or amendment is developed,

2 selected from among—

3 ‘‘(A) members of advisory committees and

4 species working groups appointed under Acts im5 plementing relevant international fishery agree6 ments pertaining to highly migratory species;

7 and

8 ‘‘(B) other interested persons.’’.

9 (f) Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘section 304(f)(3)’’ in paragraphs

11 (1) and (5) and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(3)’’; and

12 (2) by striking ‘‘section 204(b)(4)(C),’’ in para13 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘section 204(b)(4)(C) or sec14 tion 204(d),’’.

15 (g) Section 302 is amended further by striking sub16 section (i), and by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as

17 subsections (i) and (j), respectively.

18 (h) Section 302(i), as redesignated, is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Councils’’ in paragraph

20 (1) and inserting ‘‘established under subsection (g)’’;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘of a Council:’’ in paragraph (2)

22 and inserting ‘‘established under subsection (g):’’;

23 (3) in paragraph (2)(C)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘Council’s’’;
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1 (B) by adding the following at the end:

2 ‘‘The published agenda of the meeting may not

3 be modified without public notice or within 14

4 days prior to the meeting date.’’;

5 (4) by adding the following at the end of para6 graph (2)(D): ‘‘All written data submitted to a Coun7 cil by an interested person shall include a statement

8 of the source and date of such information. Any oral

9 or written statement shall include a brief description

10 of the background and interests of the person in the

11 subject of the oral or written statement.’’;

12 (5) by striking paragraph (2)(E) and inserting:

13 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of

14 the Council shall be kept and shall contain a

15 record of the persons present, a complete and ac16 curate description of matters discussed and con17 clusions reached, and copies of all statements

18 filed. The Chairman shall certify the accuracy of

19 the minutes of each meeting and submit a copy

20 thereof to the Secretary. The minutes shall be

21 made available to any court of competent juris22 diction.’’; and

23 (6) in paragraph (2)(F)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘by the Council’’ the first

25 place it appears;
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or the Secretary, as ap2 propriate’’ after ‘‘of the Council’’; and

3 (C) by striking ‘‘303(d)’’ each place it ap4 pears and inserting ‘‘402(b)’’.

5 (i) Section 302(j), as redesignated, is amended—

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘AND RECUSAL’’ after ‘‘INTER7 EST’’ in the subsection heading;

8 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(1) For the purposes of this subsection—

11 ‘‘(A) the term ‘affected individual’ means

12 an individual who—

13 ‘‘(i) is nominated by the Governor of a

14 State for appointment as a voting member

15 of a Council in accordance with subsection

16 (b)(2); or

17 ‘‘(ii) is a voting member of a Council

18 appointed under subsection (b)(2); and

19 ‘‘(B) the term ‘designated official’ means a

20 person with expertise in Federal conflict-of-inter21 est requirements who is designated by the Sec22 retary, with the concurrence of a majority of the

23 voting members of the Council, to attend Council

24 meetings and make determinations under para25 graph (7)(B).’’;
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘(1)(A)’’ in paragraph (3)(A)

2 and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(i)’’;

3 (4) by striking ‘‘(1) (B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

4 (3)(B) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

5 (5) by striking ‘‘(1) (B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

6 (4) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

7 (6)(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para8 graph (5)(A);

9 (B) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (5)(B) and inserting a semicolon and the word

11 ‘‘and’’; and

12 (C) by adding at the end of paragraph (5) the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(C) be kept on file by the Secretary for use

15 in reviewing determinations under paragraph

16 (7)(B) and made available for public inspection

17 at reasonable hours.’’;

18 (7) by striking ‘‘(1) (B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

19 (6) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

20 (8) by redesignating paragraph (7) as (8) and

21 inserting after paragraph (6) the following:

22 ‘‘(7)(A) After the effective date of regulations

23 promulgated under subparagraph (F) of this para24 graph, an affected individual required to disclose a fi25 nancial interest under paragraph (2) shall not vote
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1 on a Council decision which would have a significant

2 and predictable effect on such financial interest. A

3 Council decision shall be considered to have a signifi4 cant and predictable effect on a financial interest if

5 there is a close causal link between the Council deci6 sion and an expected and disproportionate benefit,

7 shared only by a minority of persons within the same

8 fishery and gear type, to the financial interest. An af9 fected individual who may not vote may participate

10 in Council deliberations relating to the decision after

11 notifying the Council of the voting recusal and identi12 fying the financial interest that would be affected.

13 ‘‘(B) At the request of an affected individual, or

14 upon the initiative of the appropriate designated offi15 cial, the designated official shall make a determina16 tion for the record whether a Council decision would

17 have a significant and predictable effect on a finan18 cial interest.

19 ‘‘(C) Any Council member may submit a written

20 request to the Secretary to review any determination

21 by the designated official under subparagraph (B)

22 within 10 days of such determination. Such review

23 shall be completed within 30 days of receipt of the re24 quest.
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1 ‘‘(D) Any affected individual who does not vote

2 in a Council decision in accordance with this sub3 section shall state for the record how he or she would

4 have voted on such decision if he or she had voted.

5 ‘‘(E) If the Council makes a decision before the

6 Secretary has reviewed a determination under sub7 paragraph (C), the eventual ruling may not be treat8 ed as cause for the invalidation or reconsideration by

9 the Secretary of such decision.

10 ‘‘(F) The Secretary, in consultation with the

11 Councils and by not later than one year from the date

12 of enactment of this Act, shall promulgate regulations

13 which prohibit an affected individual from voting in

14 accordance with subparagraph (A), and which allow

15 for the making of determinations under subpara16 graphs (B) and (C).’’; and

17 (9) by striking ‘‘(1) (B) or (C)’’ in paragraph

18 (8), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’.

19 SEC. 109. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

20 (a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—Section 303(a) (16

21 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(7) describe and identify essential fish habitat

25 for the fishery based on the guidelines established by
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1 the Secretary under section 305(b)(1)(A), minimize

2 where practicable adverse effects on such habitat

3 caused by fishing, and identify other actions which

4 should be considered to encourage the conservation

5 and enhancement of such habitat.’’

6 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (8);

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘and fishing communities’’ after

9 ‘‘fisheries’’ in paragraph (9)(A);

10 (4) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (9) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

13 ‘‘(10) specify objective and measurable criteria

14 for identifying when the fishery to which the plan ap15 plies is overfished (with an analysis of how the cri16 teria were determined and the relationship of the cri17 teria to the reproductive potential of stocks of fish in

18 that fishery) and, in the case of a fishery which the

19 Council or Secretary has determined is overfished, or

20 is approaching an overfished condition, contain con21 servation and management measures to rebuild the

22 fishery;

23 ‘‘(11) assess the amount and type of bycatch oc24 curring in the fishery, and, to the extent practicable
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1 and in the following priority, include conservation

2 and management measures to—

3 ‘‘(A) minimize bycatch; and

4 ‘‘(B) minimize the mortality of bycatch

5 which cannot be avoided;

6 ‘‘(12) assess the amount and type of fish caught

7 during recreational fishing, and to the extent prac8 ticable, include conservation and management meas9 ures to minimize the mortality of fish caught and re10 leased that are the target species of recreational fish11 ing, under catch and release programs;

12 ‘‘(13) take into account the safety of human life

13 at sea.’’.

14 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 18 months after

15 the date of enactment of this Act, each Regional Fishery

16 Management Council shall submit to the Secretary of Com17 merce amendments to each fishery management plan under

18 its authority to comply with the amendments made in sub19 section (a) of this Act.

20 (c) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS.—Section 303(b) (16

21 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (6)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘system for limiting access

24 to’’ and inserting ‘‘limited access system for’’;

25 and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ in subparagraph

2 (E) and inserting ‘‘fishery and fishing commu3 nity’’;

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘one or more’’ in paragraph (8)

5 after ‘‘require’’;

6 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (9);

8 (4) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para9 graph (11); and

10 (5) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(10) include, consistent with the other provi13 sions of this Act, conservation and management meas14 ures that provide a harvest preference or other incen15 tives for participants within each gear group to em16 ploy fishing practices that result in lower levels of

17 bycatch; and’’.

18 (d) REGULATIONS.—Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is

19 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(c) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Proposed regulations

22 which the Council deems necessary or appropriate for the

23 purposes of implementing a fishery management plan or

24 plan amendment may be submitted to the Secretary for ac25 tion under section 304—
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1 ‘‘(1) simultaneously with submission of the plan

2 or amendment to the Secretary for action under sec3 tion 304; or

4 ‘‘(2) at any time after the plan or amendment

5 is approved.’’.

6 (e) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTAS.—Subsection 303

7 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended further by striking subsections

8 (d), (e), and (f), and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTAS.—

10 ‘‘(1)(A) A Council may not recommend and the

11 Secretary may not approve or implement any fishery

12 management plan, plan amendment or regulation

13 under this Act which creates a new individual fishing

14 quota program during the fiscal years for which funds

15 are authorized under section 4.

16 ‘‘(B) Any fishery management plan, plan

17 amendment or regulation approved by the Secretary

18 on or after January 4, 1995 which creates any new

19 individual fishing quota program shall be repealed

20 and immediately resubmitted by the Secretary to the

21 appropriate Council and shall not be recommended,

22 approved or implemented during the moratorium set

23 forth in paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(2)(A) No provision of law shall be construed to

25 limit the authority of a Council to recommend and
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1 the Secretary to approve the termination or limita2 tion, without compensation to holders of any limited

3 access system permits, of a fishery management plan,

4 plan amendment or regulation that provides for a

5 limited access system, including an individual fishing

6 quota system.

7 ‘‘(B) This subsection shall not be construed to

8 prohibit a Council from recommending and the Sec9 retary from approving amendments to a fishery man10 agement plan, plan amendment, or regulation which

11 implement an individual fishing quota program, if

12 such program was approved prior to January 4,

13 1995.

14 ‘‘(3) Individual fishing quotas shall be consid15 ered permits for the purposes of sections 307, 308 and

16 309.

17 ‘‘(4)(A) A Council may recommend, and the Sec18 retary may approve and administer, a program

19 which allows up to 25 percent of any fees collected

20 under section 304(d)(2) to be used, pursuant to sec21 tion 1104A(a)(7) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936

22 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274(a)(7)), to guarantee or make a

23 commitment to guarantee, payment of principal of

24 and interest on an obligation which aids in financing

25 the—
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1 ‘‘(i) purchase of individual fishing quotas

2 by fishermen who fish from small vessels; and

3 ‘‘(ii) first-time purchase of individual fish4 ing quotas by entry level fishermen.

5 ‘‘(B) A Council making a recommendation under

6 subparagraph (A) shall recommend criteria, consist7 ent with the provisions of this Act, that a fisherman

8 must meet to qualify for guarantees under clauses (i)

9 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) and the portion of funds

10 to be allocated for guarantees under each clause.’’.

11 (f) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA REPORT.—(1) Not

12 later than June 1, 1999, the Secretary, in consultation with

13 the Councils and National Academy of Sciences, shall sub14 mit to the Congress a comprehensive report on individual

15 fishing quotas, which shall propose amendments to the Mag16 nuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

17 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) to implement a national policy with

18 respect to individual fishing quotas. The report shall ad19 dress all aspects of such quotas, including an assessment

20 of the impacts and advisability of—

21 (A) limiting or prohibiting the transferability of

22 such quotas;

23 (B) mechanisms to prevent foreign control of

24 United States fisheries under individual fishing quota

25 programs, including mechanisms to prohibit persons
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1 who are not eligible to be deemed a citizen of the

2 United States for the purpose of operating a vessel in

3 the coastwise trade under section 2(a) and section

4 2(c) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C. 802) from

5 holding individual fishing quotas;

6 (C) limiting the duration of individual fishing

7 quota programs;

8 (D) providing revocable Federal permits to proc9 ess a quantity of fish that correspond to individual

10 fishing quotas;

11 (E) mechanisms to provide for diversity and to

12 minimize adverse social and economic impacts on

13 fishing communities, other fisheries affected by the

14 displacement of vessels, and any impacts associated

15 with the shifting of capital value from fishing vessels

16 to individual fishing quotas, as well as the advisabil17 ity of allowing capital construction funds to be used

18 to purchase individual fishing quotas;

19 (F) mechanisms to provide for effective monitor20 ing and enforcement, including incentives to reduce

21 economic discards and allow for the inspection of fish

22 harvested;

23 (G) establishing threshold criteria for determin24 ing whether a fishery may be considered for individ25 ual fishing quota management, including criteria re-
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1 lated to geographical range, population dynamics and

2 condition of a fish stock, characteristics of a fishery,

3 and participation by commercial and recreational

4 fishermen in the fishery;

5 (H) mechanisms to ensure that vessel owners,

6 vessel masters, crew members, and United States fish

7 processors are treated fairly and equitably in initial

8 allocations, to require persons holding individual fish9 ing quotas to be on board a vessel, and to facilitate

10 new entry under individual fishing quota programs;

11 (I) allowing individual fishing quotas to be sold

12 by the Federal government through auctions; and

13 (J) such other matters as the Secretary deems

14 appropriate.

15 (2) The report shall include a detailed analysis of indi16 vidual fishing quota programs already implemented in the

17 United States, including the impacts of transferability, the

18 impacts on past and present participants, on fishing com19 munities, on the rate and total amount of bycatch (includ20 ing economic and regulatory discards) in the fishery, on

21 the safety of life and vessels in the fishery, on any excess

22 harvesting or processing capacity in the fishery, on any

23 gear conflicts in the fishery, on product quality from the

24 fishery, on the effectiveness of enforcement in the fishery,

25 and on the size and composition of fishing vessel fleets. The
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1 report shall also include any information about individual

2 fishing quota programs in other countries that may be use3 ful.

4 (3) The report shall identify alternative conservation

5 and management measures, including other limited access

6 systems, that could accomplish the same objectives as indi7 vidual fishing quota programs, as well as characteristics

8 that are unique to individual fishing quotas.

9 (4) The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Coun10 cils, the fishing industry, affected States, conservation orga11 nizations and other interested persons, establish two indi12 vidual fishing quota review groups to assist in the prepara13 tion of the report, which shall represent: (A) Alaska, Ha14 waii, and Pacific Coast States; and (B) Atlantic Coast and

15 Gulf of Mexico States. The Secretary shall, to the maximum

16 extent practicable, attempt to achieve a balanced represen17 tation of viewpoints among the individuals on each review

18 group. The review groups shall not be subject to the Federal

19 Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).

20 (5) The Secretary shall conduct public hearings in

21 each Council region to obtain comments on individual fish22 ing quotas in preparing the report, and shall publish in

23 the Federal Register a notice and opportunity for public

24 comment on the draft of the report, or any revision thereof.
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1 The dissenting views of any Council or affected State shall

2 be included in the final report.

3 (6) In the event that the authorization of appropria4 tions under section 4 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

5 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) expires prior

6 to enactment of amendments to such Act implementing a

7 national policy with respect to individual fishing quotas,

8 a Council may recommend and the Secretary may approve

9 new individual fishing quota programs only with the ap10 proval of a two-thirds majority of voting members of the

11 Council. In such event, the Councils and Secretary shall

12 take into account changes that may be required upon enact13 ment of such amendments.

14 (g) NORTH PACIFIC LOAN PROGRAM.—(1) By not later

15 than January 1, 1997, the North Pacific Fishery Manage16 ment Council shall recommend to the Secretary a program

17 which uses the full amount of fees authorized to be used

18 under section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva19 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)(4)) in the

20 halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska to guarantee obli21 gations in accordance with such section.

22 (2)(A) For the purposes of this subsection, the phrase

23 ‘‘fishermen who fish from small vessels’’ in section

24 303(d)(4)(A)(i) of such Act shall mean fishermen wishing

25 to purchase individual fishing quotas for use from Category
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1 B, Category C, or Category D vessels, as defined in 50 CFR

2 676.20(a)(2) (iii) and (iv), whose aggregate ownership of

3 individual fishing quotas will not exceed the equivalent of

4 a total of 50,000 pounds of halibut and sablefish harvested

5 in the fishing year in which a guarantee application is

6 made if the guarantee is approved, who will participate

7 aboard the vessel in the harvest of fish caught under such

8 quotas, who have at least 150 days’ experience working as

9 part of the harvesting crew in any U.S. commercial fishery,

10 and who do not own in whole or in part any Category A

11 or Category B vessel.

12 (B) For the purposes of this subsection, the phrase

13 ‘‘entry level fishermen’’ in section 303(d)(4)(A)(ii) of such

14 Act shall mean fishermen who do not own any individual

15 fishing quotas, who wish to obtain the equivalent of not

16 more than a total of 8,000 pounds of halibut and sablefish

17 harvested in the fishing year in which a guarantee applica18 tion is made, and who will participate aboard a vessel in

19 the harvest of fish caught under such quotas.

20 (h) Nothing in the Sustainable Fisheries Act shall be

21 construed to require a reallocation of individual fishing

22 quotas under any individual fishing quota program.
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1 SEC. 110. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.

2 (a) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF PLANS AND REGULA3 TIONS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by strik4 ing subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(a) REVIEW OF PLANS.—

6 ‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the Sec7 retary of a fishery management plan or plan amend8 ment, the Secretary shall—

9 ‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of the

10 plan or plan amendment to determine whether it

11 is consistent with the national standards, the

12 other provisions of this Act, and any other appli13 cable law; and

14 ‘‘(B) immediately publish in the Federal

15 Register a notice stating that the plan or plan

16 amendment is available and that written data,

17 views, or comments of interested persons on the

18 plan or amendment may be submitted to the Sec19 retary during the 60-day period beginning on

20 the date the notice is published.

21 ‘‘(2) In undertaking the review required under

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) take into account the data, views, and

24 comments received from interested persons;

25 ‘‘(B) consult with the Secretary of State

26 with respect to foreign fishing; and
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1 ‘‘(C) consult with the Secretary of the de2 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating

3 with respect to enforcement at sea and to fishery

4 access adjustments referred to in section

5 303(a)(6).

6 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall approve, disapprove, or

7 partially approve a plan or plan amendment within

8 30 days of the end of the comment period under para9 graph (1) by written notice to the Council. A notice

10 of disapproval or partial approval shall specify—

11 ‘‘(A) the applicable law with which the plan

12 or amendment is inconsistent;

13 ‘‘(B) the nature of such inconsistencies; and

14 ‘‘(C) recommendations concerning the ac15 tions that could be taken by the Council to con16 form such plan or amendment to the require17 ments of applicable law.

18 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary disapproves or partially

19 approves a plan or amendment, the Council may sub20 mit a revised plan or amendment to the Secretary for

21 review under this subsection.

22 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection and sub23 section (b), the term ‘immediately’ means on or before

24 the 5th day after the day on which a Council trans-
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1 mits to the Secretary a plan, amendment, or proposed

2 regulation that the Council characterizes as final.

3 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the Sec5 retary of proposed regulations prepared under section

6 303(c), the Secretary shall immediately initiate an

7 evaluation of the proposed regulations to determine

8 whether they are consistent with the fishery manage9 ment plan, this Act and other applicable law. Within

10 15 days of initiating such evaluation the Secretary

11 shall make a determination and—

12 ‘‘(A) if that determination is affirmative,

13 the Secretary shall publish such regulations, with

14 such technical changes as may be necessary for

15 clarity and an explanation of those changes, in

16 the Federal Register for a public comment period

17 of 15 to 60 days; or

18 ‘‘(B) if that determination is negative, the

19 Secretary shall notify the Council in writing of

20 the inconsistencies and provide recommendations

21 on revisions that would make the proposed regu22 lations consistent with the fishery management

23 plan, this Act, and other applicable law.

24 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a notification under para25 graph (1)(B), the Council may revise the proposed
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1 regulations and submit them to the Secretary for re2 evaluation under paragraph (1).

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu4 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

5 period under paragraph (1)(A). The Secretary shall

6 consult with the Council before making any revisions

7 to the proposed regulations, and must publish in the

8 Federal Register an explanation of any differences be9 tween the proposed and final regulations.’’;

10 (b) PREPARATION BY THE SECRETARY.—Section

11 304(c) (16 U.S.C. 1854(c)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘fishery,’’ in paragraph (1) and

13 inserting ‘‘fishery (other than a fishery to which sec14 tion 302(a)(3) applies),’’

15 (2) by striking all that follows ‘‘as the case may

16 be.’’ in paragraph (1);

17 (3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting :

18 ‘‘(2) In preparing any plan or amendment

19 under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with

20 the Secretary of State with respect to foreign fishing

21 and with the Secretary of the department in which

22 the Coast Guard is operating with respect to enforce23 ment at sea.’’;

24 (4) by inserting ‘‘under this subsection’’ after

25 ‘‘him’’ in paragraph (3); and
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1 (5) by striking ‘‘system described in section

2 303(b)(6)’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘system,

3 including any individual fishing quota system’’.

4 (c) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA FEES.—Section

5 304(d) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)) is amended—

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ immediately before the

7 first sentence; and

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

9 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary is

10 authorized and shall collect a fee of up to 3 percent of the

11 annual ex-vessel value of fish harvested under any individ12 ual fishing quota program or community development

13 quota program to recover the costs directly related to the

14 management and enforcement of such program. Fees col15 lected under this paragraph shall be in addition to any

16 other fees charged under this Act and shall be an offsetting

17 collection available only to the Secretary for the purposes

18 of administering and implementing this Act in the fishery

19 in which the fees were collected.’’.

20 (d) DELAY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding any other law,

21 the Secretary shall not begin the collection of fees under sec22 tion 304(d)(2) from persons holding individual fishing

23 quotas in the surf clam and ocean quahog fishery or in the

24 wreckfish fishery until January 1, 2000.
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1 (e) OVERFISHING.—Section 304(e) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e))

2 is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(e) REBUILDING OVERFISHED FISHERIES.—

4 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall report annually to the

5 Congress and the Councils on the status of fisheries

6 within each Council’s geographical area of authority

7 and identify those fisheries that are overfished or are

8 approaching a condition of being overfished. For those

9 fisheries managed under a fishery management plan

10 or international agreement, the status shall be deter11 mined using the criteria for overfishing specified in

12 such plan or agreement. A fishery shall be classified

13 as approaching a condition of being overfished if,

14 based on trends in fishing effort, fishery resource size,

15 and other appropriate factors, the Secretary estimates

16 that the fishery will become overfished within two

17 years.

18 ‘‘(2) In addition, if the Secretary determines at

19 any time that a fishery is overfished, the Secretary

20 immediately shall notify the appropriate Council and

21 request that action be taken to end overfishing in the

22 fishery and to implement conservation and manage23 ment measures to rebuild affected stocks of fish. The

24 Secretary shall publish each notice under this para25 graph in the Federal Register.
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1 ‘‘(3) Within one year of an identification or no2 tification under this subsection, the Council (or the

3 Secretary, consistent with section 304(g) and where

4 practicable for fisheries under section 302(a)(3)) shall

5 prepare a fishery management plan, a plan amend6 ment, or proposed regulations for fisheries under the

7 authority of such Council or the Secretary—

8 ‘‘(A) to end overfishing in the fishery and

9 to rebuild affected stocks of fish; or

10 ‘‘(B) to prevent overfishing from occurring

11 in the fishery whenever such fishery is identified

12 as approaching an overfished condition.

13 ‘‘(4) For a fishery that is overfished, any fishery

14 management plan, amendment or proposed regula15 tions prepared under this section shall—

16 ‘‘(A) specify a time period for ending over17 fishing and rebuilding the fishery that shall—

18 ‘‘(i) be as short as possible, taking into

19 account the status and biology of any over20 fished stocks of fish, the needs of fishing

21 communities and other economic interests,

22 recommendations by international organi23 zations in which the United States partici24 pates and the interaction of the overfished
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1 stock of fish within the marine ecosystem;

2 and

3 ‘‘(ii) not exceed 10 years, except in

4 cases where the biology of the stock of fish

5 or other environmental conditions dictate

6 otherwise.

7 ‘‘(B) allocate both overfishing restrictions

8 and recovery benefits fairly and equitably among

9 sectors of the fishery; and

10 ‘‘(C) for fisheries managed under an inter11 national agreement, reflect the traditional par12 ticipation by fishermen of the United States in

13 the fishery relative to other nations.

14 ‘‘(5) If, within the one-year period beginning on

15 the date of identification or notification, the Council

16 does not submit to the Secretary a fishery manage17 ment plan, plan amendment or proposed regulations

18 under paragraph (3)(A), the Secretary shall within

19 nine months prepare under subsection (c) a fishery

20 management plan or plan amendment to stop over21 fishing and rebuild affected stocks of fish.

22 ‘‘(6) During the development of a fishery man23 agement plan, a plan amendment, or proposed regu24 lations under this subsection, the Council may request

25 the Secretary to implement interim measures, to be
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1 replaced by such plan, amendment or regulations, to

2 reduce overfishing. Such measures, if otherwise in

3 compliance with the provisions of this Act, may be

4 implemented even though they are not sufficient by

5 themselves to stop overfishing of a fishery.

6 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall review any fishery

7 management plan, plan amendment or regulations

8 implemented under this subsection at routine inter9 vals that may not exceed two years. If the Secretary

10 finds as a result of the review that such plan, amend11 ment or regulations have not resulted in adequate

12 progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding af13 fected fish stocks, the Secretary shall—

14 ‘‘(A) in the case of a fishery to which sec15 tion 302(a)(3) applies, immediately make revi16 sions necessary to achieve adequate progress; or

17 ‘‘(B) for all other fisheries, immediately no18 tify the appropriate Council under paragraph

19 (2).’’.

20 (f) FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY OF MORE THAN

21 ONE COUNCIL.—Section 304(f) is amended by striking

22 paragraph (3).

23 (g) ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section

24 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended further by striking sub25 section (g) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(g) ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—The

2 Secretary shall prepare a fishery management plan or plan

3 amendment with respect to any highly migratory species

4 fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies that requires con5 servation and management, in accordance with the na6 tional standards, the other provisions of this Act, and any

7 other applicable law. In preparing and implementing any

8 such plan or amendment, the Secretary shall—

9 ‘‘(1) conduct public hearings, at appropriate

10 times and in appropriate locations in the geographi11 cal areas concerned, so as to allow interested persons

12 an opportunity to be heard in the preparation and

13 amendment of the plan and any regulations imple14 menting the plan;

15 ‘‘(2)(A) consult with the Secretary of State with

16 respect to foreign fishing and with the Secretary of

17 the department in which the Coast Guard is operat18 ing with respect to enforcement at sea; and

19 ‘‘(B) consult with and consider the comments

20 and views of affected Councils, as well as commis21 sioners and advisory groups appointed under Acts

22 implementing relevant international fishery agree23 ments pertaining to highly migratory species and the

24 advisory panel established under section 302(g);
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1 ‘‘(3) establish an advisory panel under section

2 302(g) for each fishery management plan to be pre3 pared under this paragraph;

4 ‘‘(4) evaluate the likely effects, if any, of con5 servation and management measures on participants

6 in the affected fisheries and minimize, to the extent

7 practicable, any disadvantage to United States fisher8 men in relation to foreign competitors;

9 ‘‘(5) with respect to a highly migratory species

10 for which the United States is authorized to harvest

11 an allocation, quota, or at a fishing mortality level

12 under a relevant international fishery agreement, pro13 vide fishing vessels of the United States with a rea14 sonable opportunity to harvest such allocation, quota,

15 or fishing mortality level;

16 ‘‘(6) review, on a continuing basis (and prompt17 ly whenever a recommendation pertaining to fishing

18 for highly migratory species has been made under a

19 relevant international fishery agreement), and revise

20 as appropriate, the conservation and management

21 measures included in the plan;

22 ‘‘(7) diligently pursue, through international en23 tities (such as the International Commission for the

24 Conservation of Atlantic Tunas), comparable inter-
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1 national fishery management measures with respect

2 to fishing for highly migratory species; and

3 ‘‘(8) ensure that conservation and management

4 measures adopted under this paragraph—

5 ‘‘(A) promote international conservation of

6 the affected fishery;

7 ‘‘(B) take into consideration traditional

8 fishing patterns of fishing vessels of the United

9 States and the operating requirements of the

10 fisheries;

11 ‘‘(C) are fair and equitable in allocating

12 fishing privileges among United States fishermen

13 and not have economic allocation as the sole pur14 pose;

15 ‘‘(D) minimize the discarding of Atlantic

16 highly migratory species which cannot be re17 turned to the sea alive; and

18 ‘‘(E) promote, to the extent practicable, im19 plementation of scientific research programs that

20 include the tag and release of Atlantic highly mi21 gratory species.’’.

22 (h) REVIEW OF SECRETARIAL PLAN.—Section 304, as

23 amended, is amended further by adding at the end the fol24 lowing:

25 ‘‘(h) REVIEW OF SECRETARIAL PLAN.—
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1 ‘‘(1)(A) Whenever the Secretary prepares a fish2 ery management plan or plan amendment under this

3 section, the Secretary shall immediately—

4 ‘‘(i) for a plan or amendment prepared

5 under subsection (c), submit such plan or

6 amendment to the appropriate Council for con7 sideration and comment; and

8 ‘‘(ii) publish in the Federal Register a no9 tice stating that the plan or amendment is avail10 able and that written data, views, or comments

11 of interested persons on the plan or amendment

12 may be submitted to the Secretary during the 60-

13 day period beginning on the date the notice is

14 published.

15 ‘‘(B) Whenever a plan or amendment is submit16 ted under paragraph (1)(A)(i), the appropriate Coun17 cil must submit its comments and recommendations,

18 if any, regarding the plan or amendment to the Sec19 retary before the close of the 60-day period referred to

20 in subparagraph (A)(ii). After the close of such 60-

21 day period, the Secretary, after taking into account

22 any such comments and recommendations, as well as

23 any views, data, or comments submitted under sub24 paragraph (A)(ii), may adopt such plan or amend25 ment.
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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may propose regulations in

2 the Federal Register to implement any plan or

3 amendment prepared by the Secretary. The comment

4 period on proposed regulations shall be 60 days, ex5 cept that the Secretary may shorten the comment pe6 riod on minor revisions to existing regulations.

7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu8 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

9 period under paragraph (3). The Secretary must pub10 lish in the Federal Register an explanation of any

11 substantive differences between the proposed and final

12 rules. All final regulations must be consistent with the

13 plan, with the national standards and other provi14 sions of this Act, and with any other applicable

15 law.’’.

16 SEC. 111. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY.

17 (a) Section 305 (18 U.S.C. 1855) is amended—

18 (1) by striking the title and subsection (a);

19 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection

20 (f); and

21 (3) by inserting the following before subsection

22 (f), as redesignated:

23 ‘‘SEC. 305. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY.

24 ‘‘(a) GEAR EVALUATION AND NOTIFICATION OF

25 ENTRY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of

2 enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Sec3 retary shall publish in the Federal Register, after no4 tice and an opportunity for public comment, a list of

5 all fisheries

6 ‘‘(A) under the authority of each Council

7 and all fishing gear used in such fisheries, based

8 on information submitted by the Councils under

9 section 303(a); and

10 ‘‘(B) to which section 302(a)(3) applies and

11 all fishing gear used in such fisheries.

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include with such list

13 guidelines for determining when fishing gear or a

14 fishery is sufficiently different from those listed as to

15 require notification under paragraph (3).

16 ‘‘(3) Effective 180 days after the publication of

17 such list, no person or vessel shall employ fishing gear

18 or engage in a fishery not included on such list with19 out giving 90 days advance written notice to the ap20 propriate Council, or the Secretary with respect to a

21 fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies. A signed

22 return receipt shall serve as adequate evidence of such

23 notice and as the date upon which the 90-day period

24 begins.
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1 ‘‘(4) A Council may submit to the Secretary any

2 proposed changes to such list or such guidelines the

3 Council deems appropriate. The Secretary shall pub4 lish a revised list, after notice and an opportunity for

5 public comment, upon receiving any such proposed

6 changes from a Council.

7 ‘‘(5) A Council may request the Secretary to pro8 mulgate emergency regulations under subsection (c) to

9 prohibit any persons or vessels from using an unlisted

10 fishing gear or engaging in an unlisted fishery if the

11 appropriate Council, or the Secretary for fisheries to

12 which section 302(a)(3) applies, determines that such

13 unlisted gear or unlisted fishery would compromise

14 the effectiveness of conservation and management ef15 forts under this Act.

16 ‘‘(b) FISH HABITAT.—

17 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary shall, within six months

18 of the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries

19 Act, establish guidelines to assist the Councils in the

20 description and identification of essential fish habitat

21 in fishery management plans (including adverse im22 pacts on such habitat) and the actions which should

23 be considered to ensure the conservation and enhance24 ment of such habitat, and set forth a schedule for the
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1 amendment of fishery management plans to include

2 the identification of essential fish habitat.

3 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall provide each Council

4 with recommendations and information regarding

5 each fishery under that Council’s authority to assist

6 it in the identification of essential fish habitat, the

7 adverse impacts on that habitat, and the actions that

8 should be considered to ensure the conservation and

9 enhancement of that habitat.

10 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall review programs ad11 ministered by the Department of Commerce and en12 sure that any relevant programs further the conserva13 tion and enhancement of essential fish habitat.

14 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall coordinate with and

15 provide information to other Federal agencies to fur16 ther the conservation and enhancement of essential

17 fish habitat.

18 ‘‘(2) Each Federal agency shall consult with the

19 Secretary with respect to any action undertaken, or

20 proposed to be undertaken by such agency that may

21 adversely affect any essential fish habitat identified

22 under this Act.

23 ‘‘(3) Each Council—

24 ‘‘(A) may comment on and make rec25 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal
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1 or State agency concerning any activity under2 taken, or proposed to be undertaken, by any Fed3 eral or State agency that, in the view of the

4 Council, may affect the habitat, including essen5 tial fish habitat, of a fishery resource under its

6 authority; and

7 ‘‘(B) shall comment on and make rec8 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal

9 or State agency concerning any such activity

10 that, in the view of the Council, is likely to sub11 stantially affect the habitat, including essential

12 fish habitat, of an anadromous fishery resource

13 under its authority.

14 ‘‘(4)(A) If the Secretary receives information

15 from a Council or Federal or State agency or deter16 mines from other sources that an action undertaken,

17 or proposed to be undertaken by any State or Federal

18 agency would adversely affect any essential fish habi19 tat identified under this Act, the Secretary shall rec20 ommend to such agency measures that can be taken

21 by such agency to conserve such habitat.

22 ‘‘(B) Within 30 days after receiving a rec23 ommendation under paragraph (4)(A), a Federal

24 agency shall provide a detailed response, in writing,

25 to the commenting Council and the Secretary regard-
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1 ing the matter. The response shall include a descrip2 tion of measures being considered by the agency for

3 avoiding, mitigating, or offsetting the impact of the

4 activity on such habitat. In the case of a response

5 that is inconsistent with the recommendations of the

6 Secretary, the Federal agency shall explain its rea7 sons for not following the recommendations.’’.

8 (b) Section 305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c) is amended by

9 striking paragraph (3) and by inserting the following after

10 paragraph (2):

11 ‘‘(3) Any emergency regulation which changes an

12 existing fishery management plan shall be treated as

13 an amendment to such plan for the period in which

14 such regulation is in effect. Any emergency regulation

15 promulgated under this subsection—

16 ‘‘(A) shall be published in the Federal Reg17 ister together with the reasons therefor;

18 ‘‘(B) shall, except as provided in subpara19 graph (C), remain in effect for not more than

20 180 days after the date of publication, and may

21 be extended by publication in the Federal Reg22 ister for an additional period of not more than

23 180 days, provided the public has had an oppor24 tunity to comment on the emergency regulation,

25 and, in the case of a Council recommendation for
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1 emergency regulations, the Council is actively

2 preparing a fishery management plan, amend3 ment, or proposed regulations to address the

4 emergency on a permanent basis;

5 ‘‘(C) that responds to a public health emer6 gency may remain in effect until the cir7 cumstances that created the emergency no longer

8 exist, provided that the Secretary of Health and

9 Human Services concurs with the Secretary’s ac10 tion and the public has an opportunity to com11 ment after the regulation is published; and

12 ‘‘(D) may be terminated by the Secretary at

13 an earlier date by publication in the Federal

14 Register of a notice of termination, except for

15 emergency regulations promulgated under para16 graph (2) in which case such early termination

17 may be made only upon the agreement of the

18 Secretary and the Council concerned.’’.

19 (c) Section 305(e) is amended by striking ‘‘12291,

20 dated February 17, 1981’’ and inserting ‘‘12866, dated Sep21 tember 30, 1993’’.

22 (d) Section 305, as amended, is further amended by

23 adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(g) NEGOTIATED CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

25 MEASURES.—(1)(A) A Council or the Secretary may, in
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1 accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary

2 pursuant to this paragraph, establish a fishery negotiation

3 panel to assist in the development of specific conservation

4 and management measures for a fishery under authority

5 of such Council or the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(B) No later than 180 days after the enactment of

7 this section, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations es8 tablishing procedures, developed in cooperation with the Ad9 ministrative Conference of the United States, for the estab10 lishment and operation of fishery negotiation panels. Such

11 procedures shall be comparable to the procedures for nego12 tiated rulemaking established by subchapter III of chapter

13 5 of title 5, United States Code.

14 ‘‘(2) Upon receipt of a report containing proposed con15 servation and management measures from a negotiation

16 panel convened under this subsection, the report shall be

17 published in the Federal Register for public comment.

18 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

19 require either a Council or the Secretary, whichever is ap20 propriate, to include all or any portion of a report from

21 a negotiation panel established under this subsection in a

22 fishery management plan or plan amendment for the fish23 ery for which the panel was established.

24 ‘‘(h) CENTRAL REGISTRY SYSTEM FOR LIMITED AC25 CESS SYSTEM PERMITS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Within 6 months after the date of enactment

2 of the Sustainable Fishery Act, the Secretary shall es3 tablish an exclusive central registry system (which

4 may be administered on a regional basis) for any

5 limited access system permits established under sec6 tion 303(b)(6) or other Federal law, including indi7 vidual fishing quotas, which shall provide for the reg8 istration of title to, and interests in, such permits, as

9 well as for procedures for changes in the registration

10 of title to such permits upon the occurrence of invol11 untary transfers, judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of

12 interests, enforcement of judgments thereon, and relat13 ed matters deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Such

14 registry system shall—

15 ‘‘(A) provide a mechanism for filing notice

16 of a nonjudicial foreclosure or enforcement of a

17 judgment by which the holder of a senior security

18 interest acquires or conveys ownership of a per19 mit, and in the event of a nonjudicial fore20 closure, by which the interests of the holders of

21 junior security interests are released when the

22 permit is transferred;

23 ‘‘(B) provide for public access to the infor24 mation filed under such system, notwithstanding

25 section 402(b); and
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1 ‘‘(C) provide such notice and other require2 ments of applicable law that the Secretary deems

3 necessary for an effective registry system.

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall promulgate such regula5 tions as may be necessary to carry out this subsection,

6 after consulting with the Councils and providing an

7 opportunity for public comment. The Secretary is au8 thorized to contract with non-federal entities to ad9 minister the central registry system.

10 ‘‘(3) To be effective and perfected against any

11 person except the transferor, its heirs and devisees,

12 and persons having actual notice thereof, all security

13 interests, and all sales and other transfers of permits

14 described in paragraph (1), shall be registered in

15 compliance with the regulations promulgated under

16 paragraph (2). Such registration shall constitute the

17 exclusive means of perfection of title to, and security

18 interests in, such permits, except for federal tax liens

19 thereon, which shall be perfected exclusively in accord20 ance with section 6323 of the Internal Revenue Code

21 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6323).

22 ‘‘(4) The priority of security interests shall be

23 determined in order of filing, the first filed having the

24 highest priority. A validly-filed security interest shall

25 remain valid and perfected notwithstanding a change
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1 in residence or place of business of the owner of

2 record. For the purposes of this subsection, ‘‘security

3 interest’’ shall include security interests, assignments,

4 liens and other encumbrances of whatever kind.

5 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding section 304(d)(1), the Sec6 retary may collect a reasonable fee of not more than

7 one-half of one percent of the value of limited access

8 system permits upon registration and transfer to re9 cover the costs of administering the central registry

10 system.’’.

11 (e) REGISTRY TRANSITION.—Security interests on per12 mits described under section 305(h)(1) that are effective and

13 perfected by otherwise applicable law on the date of the final

14 regulations implementing section 305(h) shall remain effec15 tive and perfected if, within 120 days after such date, the

16 secured party submits evidence satisfactory to the Secretary

17 and in compliance with such regulations of the perfection

18 of such security.

19 SEC. 112. PACIFIC COMMUNITY FISHERIES.

20 (a) HAROLD SPARCK MEMORIAL COMMUNITY DEVEL21 OPMENT PROGRAM.—Section 305, as amended, is amended

22 further by adding at the end:

23 ‘‘(i) ALASKA AND WESTERN PACIFIC COMMUNITY DE24 VELOPMENT PROGRAMS.—
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1 ‘‘(1)(A) The North Pacific Council and the Sec2 retary shall establish a western Alaska community de3 velopment quota program under which a percentage

4 of the total allowable catch of any Bering Sea fishery

5 is allocated to the program.

6 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to participate in the western

7 Alaska community development quota program under

8 paragraph (1), a community shall—

9 ‘‘(i) be located within 50 nautical miles

10 from the baseline from which the breadth of the

11 territorial sea is measured along the Bering Sea

12 coast from the Bering Strait to the western most

13 of the Aleutian Islands, or an island within the

14 Bering Sea;

15 ‘‘(ii) not be located on the Gulf of Alaska

16 coast of the north Pacific Ocean;

17 ‘‘(iii) meet criteria developed by the Gov18 ernor of Alaska, approved by the Secretary, and

19 published in the Federal Register; and

20 ‘‘(iv) be certified by the Secretary of the In21 terior pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Set22 tlement Act to be a Native village;

23 ‘‘(v) consist of residents who conduct more

24 than one-half of their current commercial or sub-
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1 sistence fishing effort in the waters of the Bering

2 Sea and Aleutian Islands management area; and

3 ‘‘(vi) not have previously developed harvest4 ing or processing capability sufficient to support

5 substantial participation in the groundfish fish6 eries in the Bering Sea, unless the community

7 can show that the benefits from an approved

8 Community Development Plan would be the only

9 way for the community to realize a return from

10 previous investments.

11 ‘‘(C)(i) During the fiscal years for which funds

12 are authorized under section 4, the North Pacific

13 Council may not recommend to the Secretary any

14 fishery management plan, plan amendment, or regu15 lation that allocates to the western Alaska community

16 development quota program a percentage of the total

17 allowable catch of any Bering Sea fishery for which,

18 prior to October 1, 1995, the Council had not rec19 ommended that a percentage of the total allowable

20 catch be allocated to western Alaska community devel21 opment quota programs.

22 ‘‘(ii) During the fiscal years for which funds are

23 authorized under section 4, with respect to a fishery

24 management plan, plan amendment, or regulation for

25 a Bering Sea fishery that—
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1 ‘‘(I) allocates to the western Alaska commu2 nity development quota program a percentage of

3 the total allowable catch of such fishery; and

4 ‘‘(II) was recommended by the North Pa5 cific Council to the Secretary prior to October 1,

6 1995,

7 the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any expiration

8 date in such plan, plan amendment, or regulation, al9 locate to the program a percentage of the total allow10 able catch that is no greater than the percentage de11 scribed in such plan or plan amendment.

12 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall deduct from any fees

13 collected under section 304(d)(2) for fish harvested

14 under the western Alaska community development

15 quota program costs incurred by fishing vessels in the

16 program for observer or reporting requirements which

17 are in addition to observer or reporting requirements

18 of other fishing vessels in the fishery in which the al19 location to such program has been made.

20 ‘‘(2)(A) The Western Pacific Council and the

21 Secretary may establish a western Pacific community

22 development program which may include an alloca23 tion of a percentage of the total catch of any fishery,

24 limited entry permits, or other quotas related to vessel
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1 size and fishing zones to western Pacific communities

2 that participate in the program.

3 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to participate in the western

4 Pacific community development program, a commu5 nity shall—

6 ‘‘(i) be located within the Western Pacific

7 Regional Fishery Management Area;

8 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the Western

9 Pacific Council, approved by the Secretary and

10 published in the Federal Register, and based on

11 historical fishing practices in and dependence on

12 the fishery, the cultural and social framework

13 relevant to the fishery, and economic barriers to

14 access to the fishery;

15 ‘‘(iii) consist of community residents who

16 conduct more than one-half of their current com17 mercial or subsistence fishing effort in the waters

18 within the Western Pacific Regional Manage19 ment Area;

20 ‘‘(iv) not have previously developed harvest21 ing or processing capability sufficient to support

22 substantial participation in the western Pacific

23 Regional Fishery Management Area; and
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1 ‘‘(v) develop and submit a Community De2 velopment Plan to the Western Pacific Council

3 and Secretary.

4 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of this subsection—

5 ‘‘(i) ‘Western Pacific Regional Management

6 Area’ means the area under the jurisdiction of

7 the Western Pacific Council, or an island within

8 such area; and

9 ‘‘(ii) ‘western Pacific community’ means

10 any community located in the Western Pacific

11 Regional Management Area where a majority of

12 the inhabitants are descended from the aborigi13 nal peoples indigenous to the area and in which

14 traditional fishing practices are or have been

15 historically used for subsistence or commercial

16 purposes.

17 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of

18 this Act, the Western Pacific Council shall take into

19 account traditional indigenous fishing practices in

20 preparing any fishery management plan.

21 ‘‘(E) After the date of enactment of the Sustain22 able Fisheries Act, no Council may recommend a

23 community development quota program except as pro24 vided in this subsection.’’.
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1 (b) WESTERN PACIFIC DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—

2 (1) The Secretary and Secretary of Interior are authorized

3 to make direct grants to eligible western Pacific commu4 nities, as recommended by the Western Pacific Fishery

5 Management Council, for the purpose of establishing not

6 less than three and not more than five fishery demonstra7 tion projects to foster and promote traditional indigenous

8 fishing practices, which shall not exceed a total of $500,000

9 in each fiscal year.

10 (2) Demonstration project funded pursuant to this sub11 section shall foster and promote the involvement of western

12 Pacific communities in western Pacific fisheries and

13 may—

14 (A) identify and apply traditional indigenous

15 fishing practices;

16 (B) develop or enhance western Pacific commu17 nity-based fishing opportunities; and

18 (C) involve research, community education, or

19 the acquisition of materials and equipment necessary

20 to carry any such demonstration project.

21 (3)(A) The Western Pacific Fishery Management

22 Council, in consultation with the Secretary shall establish

23 an advisory panel under section 302(g)(2) of the Sustain24 able Fisheries Act to evaluate, determine the relative merits

25 of, and annually rank applications for such grants, which
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1 shall consist of not more than eight individuals who are

2 knowledgeable or experienced in traditional indigenous fish3 ery practices of western Pacific communities and who are

4 not members or employees of the Western Pacific Fishery

5 Management Council.

6 (B) If the Secretary or Secretary of Interior awards

7 a grant for a demonstration project not in accordance with

8 the rank given to such project by the advisory panel, the

9 Secretary shall provide a detailed written explanation for

10 the reasons thereof.

11 (4) The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council

12 shall, with the assistance of such advisory panel, submit

13 an annual report to the Congress assessing the status and

14 progress of demonstration projects carried out under this

15 subsection.

16 (5) Appropriate Federal agencies may provide tech17 nical assistance to western Pacific community-based enti18 ties to assist in carrying out demonstration projects under

19 this subsection.

20 (6) For the purposes of this subsection, ‘western Pacific

21 community’ shall have the same meaning as such term has

22 in section 305(i)(2)(C)(ii) of the Magnuson Fishery Con23 servation and Management Act.
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1 SEC. 113. STATE JURISDICTION.

2 (a) Paragraph (3) of section 306(a) (16 U.S.C.

3 1856(a)) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(3)(A) A State may regulate a fishing vessel

5 outside the boundaries of the State if the fishing vessel

6 is registered under the law of that State, and—

7 ‘‘(i) there is no fishery management plan in

8 place for that fishery; or

9 ‘‘(ii) if there is a fishery management plan

10 or plan amendment in place for that fishery, the

11 State’s laws and regulations are consistent with

12 the purposes of that fishery management plan or

13 plan amendment.

14 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the

15 term ‘registered under the law of that State’ means

16 that—

17 ‘‘(i) the owner, captain, or vessel holds a

18 fishing license, or other document that is a pre19 requisite to participating in the fishery, issued

20 by the State;

21 ‘‘(ii) the vessel is numbered by the State in

22 accordance with chapter 123 of title 46, United

23 States Code; or

24 ‘‘(iii) the documentation of the vessel under

25 chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, iden-
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1 tifies the vessel’s homeport as located in the

2 State.’’.

3 (b) Section 306(b) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)) is amended by

4 adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(3) If the State involved requests that a hearing

6 be held pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall

7 conduct such hearing prior to taking any action

8 under paragraph (1).

9 ‘‘(4) For any fishery occurring off Alaska for

10 which there is no fishery management plan approved

11 and implemented under this Act, or pursuant to a

12 fishery management plan under this Act, the State of

13 Alaska may enforce its fishing laws and regulations

14 in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska, provided

15 there is a legitimate State interest in the conservation

16 and management of the fishery, until a Federal fish17 ery management plan is implemented for any such

18 fishery which does not allow for such enforcement.

19 Fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska

20 currently managed pursuant to a Federal fishery

21 management plan shall not be removed from Federal

22 management and placed under State authority with23 out the unanimous consent (except for the Regional

24 Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service) of

25 the North Pacific Council. The preceding sentence
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1 shall not be construed to require the North Pacific

2 Council to unanimously vote to continue a fishery

3 management plan under which the State of Alaska is

4 already principally involved in the management or

5 enforcement of a fishery.’’.

6 (c) Section 306(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1856(c)(1)) is amend7 ed—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ in subparagraph (A);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara10 graph (B) and inserting a semicolon and the word

11 ‘‘and’’; and

12 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the vessel sub15 mits reports on the tonnage of fish received from

16 vessels of the United States and the locations

17 from which such fish were harvested, in accord18 ance with such procedures as the Secretary by

19 regulation shall prescribe.’’.

20 SEC. 114. PROHIBITED ACTS.

21 (a) Section 307(1)(J)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(J)(i)) is

22 amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘plan,’’ and inserting ‘‘plan’’;

24 and
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1 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the follow2 ing: ‘‘, or in the absence of any such plan is smaller

3 than the minimum possession size in effect at the

4 time under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com5 mission’s American Lobster Fishery Management

6 Plan (and, for purposes of this clause, if the Secretary

7 withdraws the Federal plan or any successor to that

8 plan, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com9 mission has not implemented a plan to manage the

10 American Lobster Fishery, the minimum possession

11 size in effect at the time the American Lobster Fish12 ery Management Plan was withdrawn shall remain

13 in effect until the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

14 Commission implements a plan that contains a mini15 mum possession size)’’.

16 (b) Section 307(1)(K) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(K)) is

17 amended by striking ‘‘knowingly steal or without authoriza18 tion, to’’ and inserting ‘‘to steal or to negligently and with19 out authorization’’.

20 (c) Section 307(1)(L) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is

21 amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(L) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, im23 pede, intimidate, sexually harass, or interfere

24 with any observer on a vessel under this Act, or

25 any data collector employed by the National Ma-
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1 rine Fisheries Service or under contract to carry

2 out responsibilities under this Act;’’.

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

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

5 (M);

6 (2) by striking ‘‘pollock.’’ in subparagraph (N)

7 and inserting ‘‘pollock; or’’, and

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

9 ‘‘(O) to knowingly and willfully fail to dis10 close or falsely disclose any financial interest as

11 required under section 302(j), or to knowingly

12 vote on a Council decision in violation of section

13 302(j)(7)(A).’’.

14 (e) Section 307(2)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(A)) is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(A) in fishing within the boundaries of

17 any State, except—

18 ‘‘(i) recreational fishing permitted

19 under section 201(i),

20 ‘‘(ii) fish processing permitted under

21 section 306(c), or

22 ‘‘(iii) transhipment at sea of fish prod23 ucts within the boundaries of any State in

24 accordance with a permit approved under

25 section 204(b)(6)(A)(ii);’’.
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1 (f) Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is

2 amended by striking ‘‘204 (b) or (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘204

3 (b), (c), or (d)’’.

4 (f) Section 307(3) (16 U.S.C. 1857(3)) is amended to

5 read as follows:

6 ‘‘(3) for any vessel of the United States, and for

7 the owner or operator of any vessel of the United

8 States, to transfer at sea directly or indirectly, or at9 tempt to so transfer at sea, any United States har10 vested fish to any foreign fishing vessel, while such

11 foreign vessel is within the exclusive economic zone or

12 within the boundaries of any State except to the ex13 tent that the foreign fishing vessel has been permitted

14 under section 204(b)(6)(B) or section 306(c) to receive

15 such fish;’’.

16 (g) Section 307(4) (16 U.S.C. 1857(4)) is amended by

17 inserting ‘‘or within the boundaries of any State’’ after

18 ‘‘zone’’.

19 SEC. 115. CIVIL PENALTIES AND PERMIT SANCTIONS; RE20 BUTTABLE PRESUMPTIONS.

21 (a) Section 308(a) (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended by

22 striking ‘‘ability to pay,’’.

23 (b) The first sentence of section 308(b) (16 U.S.C.

24 1858(b)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘Any person

25 against whom a civil penalty is assessed under subsection
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1 (a) or against whom a permit sanction is imposed under

2 subsection (g) (other than a permit suspension for nonpay3 ment of penalty or fine) may obtain review thereof in the

4 United States district court for the appropriate district by

5 filing a complaint against the Secretary in such court with6 in 30 days from the date of such order.’’.

7 (c) Section 308(g)(1)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1858(g)(1)(C)) is

8 amended by striking the matter from ‘‘(C) any’’ through

9 ‘‘overdue,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(C) any amount

10 in settlement of a civil forfeiture imposed on a vessel or

11 other property, or any civil penalty or criminal fine im12 posed on a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel or any

13 other person who has been issued or has applied for a per14 mit under any marine resource law enforced by the Sec15 retary, has not been paid and is overdue,’’.

16 (d) Section 310(e) (16 U.S.C. 1860(e)) is amended by

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this Act, it shall be a rebut19 table presumption that any vessel that is shoreward

20 of the outer boundary of the exclusive economic zone

21 of the United States or beyond the exclusive economic

22 zone of any nation, and that has gear on board that

23 is capable of use for large-scale driftnet fishing, is en24 gaged in such fishing.’’.
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1 SEC. 116. ENFORCEMENT.

2 (a) The second sentence of section 311(d) (16 U.S.C.

3 1861(d)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Guam, any Commonwealth, ter5 ritory, or’’ and inserting ‘‘Guam or any’’; and

6 (2) by inserting a comma before the period and

7 the following: ‘‘and except that in the case of the

8 Northern Mariana Islands, the appropriate court is

9 the United States District Court for the District of the

10 Northern Mariana Islands’’.

11 (b) Section 311(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)) is amend12 ed—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ each place it appears

14 and inserting ‘‘marine’’;

15 (2) by inserting ‘‘of not less than 20 percent of

16 the penalty collected’’ after ‘‘reward’’ in subparagraph

17 (B), and

18 (3) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(E) claims of parties in interest to prop21 erty disposed of under section 612(b) of the Tar22 iff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1612(b)), as made ap23 plicable by section 310(c) of this Act or by any

24 other marine resource law enforced by the Sec25 retary, to seizures made by the Secretary, in

26 amounts determined by the Secretary to be ap-
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1 plicable to such claims at the time of seizure;

2 and’’.

3 (c) Section 311(e)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(2)) is amend4 ed to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(2) Any person found in an administrative or

6 judicial proceeding to have violated this Act or any

7 other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary

8 shall be liable for the cost incurred in the sale, stor9 age, care, and maintenance of any fish or other prop10 erty lawfully seized in connection with the viola11 tion.’’.

12 (d) Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by redes13 ignating subsection (g) as subsection (i), and by inserting

14 the following after subsection (f):

15 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT IN THE PACIFIC INSULAR

16 AREAS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Governors

17 of the Pacific Insular Areas and the Western Pacific Re18 gional Fishery Management Council, shall to the extent

19 practicable support cooperative enforcement agreements be20 tween Federal and Pacific Insular Area authorities.

21 ‘‘(h) ANNUAL REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT.—Each year

22 at the time the President’s budget is submitted to the Con23 gress, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Department

24 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall, after consulta25 tion with the Councils, submit a report on the effectiveness
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1 of the enforcement of fishery management plans and regula2 tions to implement such plans under the jurisdiction of each

3 Council, including—

4 ‘‘(1) an analysis of the adequacy of Federal per5 sonnel and funding resources related to the enforce6 ment of fishery management plans and regulations to

7 implement such plans; and

8 ‘‘(2) recommendations to improve enforcement

9 that should be considered in developing plan amend10 ments or regulations implementing such plans.’’.

11 (e) Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861), as amended by sub12 section (d), is amended by striking ‘‘201 (b), (c),’’ in sub13 section (i)(1), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘201 (b) or

14 (c), or section 204(d),’’.

15 SEC. 117. NORTH PACIFIC AND NORTHWEST ATLANTIC

16 OCEAN FISHERIES.

17 (a) NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES CONSERVATION.—Sec18 tion 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘RESEARCH PLAN’’ in the sec20 tion heading and inserting ‘‘CONSERVATION’’; and

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

22 ‘‘(f) BYCATCH REDUCTION.—In implementing section

23 303(a)(11) and this section, the North Pacific Council shall

24 recommend conservation and management measures to

25 lower, on an annual basis for a period of not less than four
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1 years, the total amount of economic discards occurring in

2 the fisheries under its jurisdiction.

3 ‘‘(g) BYCATCH REDUCTION INCENTIVES.—(1) Notwith4 standing section 304(d), the North Pacific Council may rec5 ommend, and the Secretary may approve, consistent with

6 the provisions of this Act, a system of fees in a fishery to

7 provide incentives to reduce bycatch and bycatch rates; ex8 cept that such fees shall not exceed one percent of the esti9 mated annual ex-vessel value of the target species in the

10 fishery. Any fees collected shall be deposited in the North

11 Pacific Fishery Observer Fund, and may be made available

12 by the Secretary to offset costs related to the reduction of

13 bycatch in the fishery from which such fees were derived,

14 including conservation and management measures and re15 search, and to the State of Alaska to offset costs incurred

16 by the State in the fishery from which such fees were derived

17 and in which the State is directly involved in management

18 or enforcement.

19 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding section 303(d), and in addi20 tion to the authority provided in section 303(b)(10), the

21 North Pacific Council may recommend, and the Secretary

22 may approve, conservation and management measures

23 which provide allocations of regulatory discards to individ24 ual fishing vessels as an incentive to reduce per vessel

25 bycatch and bycatch rates in a fishery, provided that—
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1 ‘‘(i) such allocations may not be transferred for

2 monetary consideration and are made only on an an3 nual basis; and

4 ‘‘(ii) any such conservation and management

5 measures will meet the requirements of subsection (h)

6 and will result in an actual reduction in regulatory

7 discards in the fishery.

8 ‘‘(B) The North Pacific Council may recommend re9 strictions in addition to the restriction imposed by clause

10 (i) of subparagraph (A) on the transferability of any such

11 allocations, and the Secretary may approve such rec12 ommendation.

13 ‘‘(h) CATCH MEASUREMENT.—(1) By June 1, 1997,

14 the North Pacific Council shall recommend, and the Sec15 retary may approve, consistent with the other provisions

16 of this Act, conservation and management measures to en17 sure total catch measurement in each fishery under its ju18 risdiction. Such measures shall ensure the accurate enu19 meration, at a minimum, of target species, economic dis20 cards, and regulatory discards.

21 ‘‘(2) To the extent the measures submitted under para22 graph (1) do not require United States fish processors and

23 fish processing vessels (as defined in chapter 21 of title 46,

24 United States Code) to weigh fish, the North Pacific Council

25 and Secretary shall submit a plan to the Congress by Janu-
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1 ary 1, 1998, to allow for weighing, including recommenda2 tions to assist such processors and processing vessels in ac3 quiring necessary equipment, unless the Council determines

4 that such weighing is not necessary to meet the requirements

5 of this subsection.

6 ‘‘(i) FULL RETENTION AND UTILIZATION.—(1) The

7 North Pacific Council shall submit to the Secretary by June

8 1, 1999, a report on the advisability of requiring the full

9 retention by fishing vessels and full utilization by United

10 States fish processors of economic discards in fisheries

11 under its jurisdiction if such economic discards, or the mor12 tality of such economic discards, cannot be avoided. The

13 report shall address the projected impacts of such require14 ments on participants in the fishery.

15 ‘‘(2) The report shall address the advisability of meas16 ures to minimize processing waste, including standards set17 ting minimum percentages which must be processed for

18 human consumption. For the purpose of the report, ‘process19 ing waste’ means that portion of any fish which is processed

20 and which could be used for human consumption or other

21 commercial use, but which is not so used.’’.

22 (b) NORTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN FISHERIES.—Sec23 tion 314 (16 U.S.C. 1863) is amended by striking ‘‘1997’’

24 in subsection (a)(4) and inserting ‘‘2000’’.
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1 SEC. 118. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

2 (a) The Act is amended by adding at the end of title

3 III the following:

4 ‘‘SEC. 315. FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAMS.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary, with the ap6 proval of the appropriate Council, may conduct a fishing

7 capacity reduction program (referred to in this section as

8 the ‘program’) in a fishery if the Secretary determines

9 that—

10 ‘‘(A) the program is necessary to prevent or end

11 overfishing, rebuild stocks of fish, or adequate to

12 achieve measurable and significant improvements in

13 the conservation and management of the fishery;

14 ‘‘(B) the fishery management plan implemented

15 for the fishery—

16 ‘‘(i) is consistent with the program objec17 tive;

18 ‘‘(ii) will prevent the replacement of fishing

19 capacity removed by the program through a

20 moratorium on new entrants, restrictions on ves21 sel upgrades, and other effort control measures

22 and accounting for the full potential capacity of

23 the fleet; and

24 ‘‘(iii) establishes a specified or target total

25 allowable catch that triggers closure of the fishery

26 or proportional adjustments to reduce catch; and
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1 ‘‘(C) the program is cost-effective and capable of

2 repaying any debt obligation incurred under section

3 1112 of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46

4 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.).

5 ‘‘(2) The objective of the program shall be to obtain

6 the maximum sustained reduction in fishing capacity at

7 the least cost and in a minimum period of time. To achieve

8 that objective, the Secretary is authorized to pay the owners

9 of—

10 ‘‘(A) permits authorizing participation in the

11 fishery, Provided that such permits are surrendered

12 for permanent revocation; or

13 ‘‘(B) fishing vessels, Provided that any such ves14 sel is—

15 ‘‘(i) scrapped; or

16 ‘‘(ii) through the Secretary of the de17 partment in which the Coast Guard is oper18 ating, subjected to title restrictions that per19 manently prohibit and effectively prevent

20 its use in fishing.

21 ‘‘(3) Participation in the program shall be voluntary,

22 but the Secretary shall ensure compliance by all who do

23 participate.

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with the appropriate

25 Council, other Federal agencies, appropriate regional au-
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1 thorities, affected States and fishing communities, partici2 pants in the fishery, conservation organizations, and other

3 interested parties throughout the development and imple4 mentation of any program.

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM FUNDING.—(1) The program may be

6 funded by any combination of amounts—

7 ‘‘(A) available under clause (iv) of section

8 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.A.

9 713c–3(b)(1)(A); Saltonstall-Kennedy Act);

10 ‘‘(B) appropriated for fisheries disaster relief

11 under section 316 of this Act or section 308 of the

12 Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (16 U.S.C. 4107);

13 ‘‘(C) provided by an industry fee system under

14 this section and in accordance with section 1112 of

15 title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936; and

16 ‘‘(D) provided from any State or other public

17 sources and private or nonprofit organizations.

18 ‘‘(2) All funds for the program, including any fees es19 tablished under subsection (c), shall be paid into the fishing

20 capacity reduction fund established under section 1112 of

21 title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.

22 ‘‘(c) INDUSTRY FEE SYSTEM.—(1)(A) If an industry

23 fee system is necessary to fund the program, the Secretary,

24 with the approval of the appropriate Council, may conduct
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1 a referendum on such system. Prior to the referendum, the

2 Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall—

3 ‘‘(i) identify, to the extent practicable, and no4 tify all permit or vessel owners who would be affected

5 by the program and who meet eligibility requirements

6 for participation in the referendum; and

7 ‘‘(ii) make available to such owners information

8 about the industry fee system describing the schedule

9 and procedures for the referendum, the proposed pro10 gram, and the amount and duration and any other

11 terms and conditions of the fee system.

12 ‘‘(B) The industry fee system shall be considered ap13 proved if the referendum votes which are cast in favor of

14 the proposed system constitute a two-thirds majority of the

15 participants voting.

16 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 304(d) and consistent

17 with an approved industry fee system, the Secretary is au18 thorized to establish such a system to fund the program and

19 repay debt obligations incurred pursuant to section 1112

20 of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936. The fees for

21 a program under this section shall—

22 ‘‘(A) be established by the Secretary and adjusted

23 from time to time as the Secretary determines nec24 essary to ensure the availability of sufficient funds to

25 repay such debt obligations;
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1 ‘‘(B) not exceed 5 percent of the gross sale pro2 ceeds of all fish landed from the fishery for which the

3 program is established;

4 ‘‘(C) be deducted by the first ex-vessel fish pur5 chaser from the gross fish sales proceeds otherwise

6 payable to the seller and accounted for and forwarded

7 by such fish purchasers to the Secretary in such man8 ner as the Secretary may establish; and

9 ‘‘(D) be in effect only until such time as the debt

10 obligation has been fully paid.

11 ‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—(1) The Secretary, in

12 consultation with the appropriate Council and other inter13 ested parties, shall prepare and publish in the Federal Reg14 ister for a 60-day public comment period, an implementa15 tion plan for each program. The implementation plan

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(A) define criteria for determining types and

18 numbers of vessels which are eligible for participation

19 in the program taking into account characteristics of

20 the fishery, the requirements of applicable fishery

21 management plans, the needs of fishing communities,

22 any strategy developed under section 316, and the

23 need to minimize program costs; and

24 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for program participa25 tion (such as submission of owner bid under an auc-
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1 tion system or fair market-value assessment) includ2 ing any terms and conditions for participation which

3 the Secretary deems to be reasonably necessary to

4 meet the goals of the program;

5 ‘‘(2) During the 60-day public comment period—

6 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall conduct a public

7 hearing in each State affected by the program;

8 and

9 ‘‘(B) the appropriate Council shall submit

10 its comments and recommendations, if any, re11 garding the plan and regulations.

12 ‘‘(3) Within 45 days after the close of the public com13 ment period, the Secretary, in consultation with the appro14 priate Council, shall analyze the public comment received

15 and publish in the Federal Register a final implementation

16 plan for the program and regulations for its implementa17 tion. The Secretary may not adopt a final implementation

18 plan involving industry fees or debt obligation unless an

19 industry fee system has been approved by a referendum

20 under this section.’’.

21 (b) The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a task

22 force comprised of interested parties to study and report

23 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

25 House of Representatives within two years of the date of
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1 enactment of this Act on the role of the Federal government

2 in—

3 (1) subsidizing the expansion and contraction of

4 fishing capacity in fishing fleets managed under the

5 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

6 Act; and

7 (2) otherwise influencing the aggregate capital

8 investments in fisheries.

9 (c) The Act, as amended by subsection (a), is amended

10 by adding at the end of title III the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 316. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

12 ‘‘(a) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—(1) At

13 the discretion of the Secretary or at the request of the Gov14 ernor of an affected State or a fishing community, the Sec15 retary, in consultation with the Councils and Federal agen16 cies, as appropriate, may work with regional authorities,

17 affected States, fishing communities, the fishing industry,

18 conservation organizations, and other interested parties, to

19 develop a sustainable development strategy for any fishery

20 identified as overfished under section 304(d) or determined

21 to be a commercial fishery failure under this section or any

22 other Federal fishery for which a fishery management plan

23 is being developed or amended under section 303.

24 ‘‘(2) Such sustainable development strategy shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) develop a balanced and comprehensive long2 term plan to guide the transition to a sustainable

3 fishery and the development of fishery management

4 plan under section 303 or a fishery rebuilding effort

5 under section 304(d) which—

6 ‘‘(i) takes into consideration the economic,

7 social, and environmental factors affecting the

8 fishery;

9 ‘‘(ii) identifies alternative economic oppor10 tunities; and

11 ‘‘(iii) establishes long-term objectives for the

12 fishery including vessel types and sizes, harvest13 ing and processing capacity, and optimal fleet

14 size;

15 ‘‘(B) identify Federal and State programs which

16 can be used to provide assistance to fishing commu17 nities during development and implementation of a

18 fishery recovery effort; and

19 ‘‘(C) establish procedures to implement such a

20 plan and facilitate consensus and coordination in re21 gional decision-making;

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall complete and submit to the

23 Congress a report on any sustainable development strategy

24 developed under this section within 6 months after it is de25 veloped and annually thereafter.
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1 ‘‘(b) FISHERIES DISASTER RELIEF.—(1) At the dis2 cretion of the Secretary or at the request of the Governor

3 of an affected State or a fishery community, the Secretary

4 shall determine whether there is a commercial fishery fail5 ure due to a fishery resource disaster as a result of—

6 ‘‘(A) natural causes;

7 ‘‘(B) man-made causes beyond the control of fish8 ery managers to mitigate through conservation and

9 management measures; or

10 ‘‘(C) undetermined causes.

11 ‘‘(2) Upon the determination under paragraph (1) that

12 there is a commercial fishery failure, the Secretary is au13 thorized to make sums available to be used by the affected

14 State, fishing community, or by the Secretary in coopera15 tion with the affected State or fishing community for assess16 ing the economic and social effects of the commercial fishery

17 failure, or any activity that the Secretary determines is ap18 propriate to restore the fishery or prevent a similar failure

19 in the future and to assist a fishing community affected

20 by such failure. Before making funds available for an activ21 ity authorized under this section, the Secretary shall make

22 a determination that such activity will not expand the size

23 or scope of the commercial fishery failure into other fisheries

24 or other geographic regions.
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1 ‘‘(3) The Federal share of the cost of any activity car2 ried out under the authority of this section shall not exceed

3 75 percent of the cost of that activity.

4 ‘‘(4) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

5 Secretary such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal

6 years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.’’.

7 (d) Section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11, 1939

8 (15 U.S.C. 713c3(b)(1)(A)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii);

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

11 (iii) and inserting a semicolon and the word ‘‘and’’;

12 and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new

14 clause:

15 ‘‘(iv) to fund the Federal share of a buy-out

16 program established under section 315(b) of the

17 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage18 ment Act; and’’.

19 TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING

20 AND RESEARCH

21 SEC. 201. CHANGE OF TITLE.

22 The heading of title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is

23 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY MONITORING AND

2 RESEARCH’’.

3 SEC. 202. REGISTRATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT.

4 Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by insert5 ing after the title heading the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 401. REGISTRATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT.

7 ‘‘(a) STANDARDIZED FISHING VESSEL REGISTRATION

8 AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall, in

9 cooperation with the Secretary of the department in which

10 the Coast Guard is operating, the States, the Councils, and

11 Marine Fisheries Commissions, develop recommendations

12 for implementation of a standardized fishing vessel registra13 tion and data management system on a regional basis. The

14 proposed system shall be developed after consultation with

15 interested governmental and nongovernmental parties and

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(1) be designed to standardize the requirements

18 of vessel registration and data collection systems re19 quired by this Act, the Marine Mammal Protection

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and any other marine

21 resource law implemented by the Secretary, and, with

22 the permission of a State, any marine resource law

23 implemented by such State;
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1 ‘‘(2) integrate programs under existing fishery

2 management plans into a nonduplicative data collec3 tion and management system;

4 ‘‘(3) avoid duplication of existing state, tribal, or

5 federal systems (other than a federal system under

6 paragraph (1)) and utilize, to the maximum extent

7 practicable, information collected from existing sys8 tems;

9 ‘‘(4) provide for implementation through cooper10 ative agreements with, appropriate State, regional, or

11 tribal entities and Marine Fisheries Commissions;

12 ‘‘(5) provide for authorization of funding (subject

13 to appropriations) to assist appropriate State, re14 gional, or tribal entities and Marine Fisheries Com15 missions in implementation;

16 ‘‘(6) establish standardized units of measure17 ment, nomenclature, and formats for the collection

18 and submission of information;

19 ‘‘(7) minimize the paperwork required for vessels

20 registered under the system;

21 ‘‘(8) include all species of fish within the geo22 graphic areas of authority of the Councils and all

23 fishing vessels including vessels carrying a passenger

24 for hire engaged in recreational fishing, except for
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1 private recreational fishing vessels used exclusively for

2 pleasure;

3 ‘‘(9) require United States fish processors, and

4 fish dealers and other first ex-vessel purchasers of fish

5 that are subject to the proposed system to submit data

6 (other than economic data) which may be necessary

7 to meet the goals of the proposed system; and

8 ‘‘(10) prescribe procedures necessary to ensure—

9 ‘‘(A) the confidentiality of information col10 lected under this section in accordance with sec11 tion 402(b); and

12 ‘‘(B) the timely release or availability to the

13 public of complete and accurate information col14 lected under this section.

15 ‘‘(b) FISHING VESSEL REGISTRATION.—The registra16 tion system should, at a minimum, obtain the following in17 formation for each fishing vessel—

18 ‘‘(1) the name and official number or other iden19 tification, together with the name and address of the

20 owner or operator or both;

21 ‘‘(2) gross tonnage, vessel capacity, type and

22 quantity of fishing gear, mode of operation (catcher,

23 catcher processor or other), and such other pertinent

24 information with respect to vessel characteristics as

25 the Secretary may require; and
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1 ‘‘(3) identification (by species, gear type, geo2 graphic area of operations, and season) of the fish3 eries in which the fishing vessel participates.

4 ‘‘(c) FISHERY INFORMATION.—The data management

5 system should, at a minimum, provide basic fisheries per6 formance data for each fishery, including—

7 ‘‘(1) the number of vessels participating in the

8 fishery including vessels carrying a passenger for hire

9 engaged in recreational fishing;

10 ‘‘(2) the time period in which the fishery occurs;

11 ‘‘(3) the approximate geographic location, or of12 ficial reporting area where the fishery occurs;

13 ‘‘(4) a description of fishing gear used in the

14 fishery, including the amount and type of such gear

15 and the appropriate unit of fishery effort; and

16 ‘‘(5) other such data as required under subsection

17 303(a)(5).

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, the

19 term ‘passenger for hire’ shall have the same meaning as

20 the definition for such term in section 2102(21a) of title

21 46, United States Code.

22 ‘‘(e) USE OF REGISTRATION.—Any registration under

23 this section shall not be considered a permit for the purposes

24 of this Act, and the Secretary may not revoke, suspend,

25 deny, or impose any other conditions or restrictions on any
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1 such registration or the use of such registration under this

2 Act.

3 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Within one year after the

4 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Sec5 retary shall publish in the Federal Register for a 60-day

6 public comment period, a proposal that would provide for

7 implementation of a standardized fishing vessel registration

8 and data collection system that meets the requirements of

9 subsections (a) through (c). The proposal shall include—

10 ‘‘(1) a description of the arrangements for con11 sultation and cooperation with the department in

12 which the Coast Guard is operating, the States, the

13 Councils, Marine Fisheries Commissions, the fishing

14 industry and other interested parties; and

15 ‘‘(2) any proposed regulations or legislation nec16 essary to implement the proposal.

17 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL TRANSMITTAL.—Within 60 days

18 after the end of the comment period and after consideration

19 of comments received under subsection (d), the Secretary

20 shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

21 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Re22 sources of the House of Representatives a proposal for im23 plementation of a national fishing vessel registration system

24 that includes—
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1 ‘‘(1) any modifications made after comment and

2 consultation;

3 ‘‘(2) a proposed implementation schedule; and

4 ‘‘(3) recommendations for any such additional

5 legislation as the Secretary considers necessary or de6 sirable to implement the proposed system.

7 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 15 months after

8 the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the

9 Secretary shall report to Congress on the need to include

10 private recreational fishing vessels used exclusively for

11 pleasure into a national fishing vessel registration and data

12 collection system. In preparing its report, the Secretary

13 shall cooperate with the Secretary of the department in

14 which the Coast Guard is operating, the States, the Coun15 cils, and Marine Fisheries Commissions, and consult with

16 governmental and nongovernmental parties.’’.

17 SEC. 203. DATA COLLECTION.

18 Section 402 is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘SEC. 402. DATA COLLECTION.

20 ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—If a Council determines

21 that additional information and data (other than informa22 tion and data that would disclose proprietary or confiden23 tial commercial or financial information regarding fishing

24 operations or fish processing operations) would be beneficial

25 for developing, implementing, or revising a fishery manage-
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1 ment plan or for determining whether a fishery is in need

2 of management, the Council may request that the Secretary

3 implement a data collection program for the fishery which

4 would provide the types of information and data (other

5 than information and data that would disclose proprietary

6 or confidential commercial or financial information regard7 ing fishing operations or fish processing operations) speci8 fied by the Council. The Secretary shall approve such a data

9 collection program if he determines that the need is justi10 fied, and shall promulgate regulations to implement the

11 program within 60 days after such determination is made.

12 If the Secretary determines that the need for a data collec13 tion program is not justified, the Secretary shall inform

14 the Council of the reasons for such determination in writ15 ing. The determinations of the Secretary under this sub16 section regarding a Council request shall be made within

17 a reasonable period of time after receipt of that request.

18 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—(1) Any

19 information submitted to the Secretary by any person in

20 compliance with any requirement under this Act shall be

21 confidential and shall not be disclosed, except—

22 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council employ23 ees who are responsible for fishery management plan

24 development and monitoring;
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1 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission

2 employees pursuant to an agreement with the Sec3 retary that prevents public disclosure of the identity

4 or business of any person;

5 ‘‘(C) when required by court order;

6 ‘‘(D) when such information is used to verify

7 catch under an individual fishing quota system;

8 ‘‘(E) unless the Secretary has obtained written

9 authorization from the person submitting such infor10 mation to release such information and such release

11 does not violate other requirements of this subsection;

12 or

13 ‘‘(F) that observer data collected under the North

14 Pacific Research Plan may be released as specified for

15 weekly summary bycatch data identified by vessel,

16 and haul-specific bycatch data without vessel identi17 fication.

18 Nothing in this paragraph prevents the use by the Sec19 retary, or (with the approval of the Secretary) the Council,

20 for conservation and management purposes information

21 submitted in compliance with regulations promulgated

22 under this Act, or the use, release, or publication of bycatch

23 data pursuant to paragraph (1)(F).

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe such

25 procedures as may be necessary to preserve such confiden-
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1 tiality, except that the Secretary may release or make pub2 lic any such information in any aggregate or summary

3 form which does not directly or indirectly disclose the iden4 tity or business of any person who submits such informa5 tion. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted or con6 strued to prevent the use for conservation and management

7 purposes by the Secretary, or with the approval of the Sec8 retary, the Council, of any information submitted in com9 pliance with regulations promulgated under this Act or the

10 use, release, or publication of bycatch data pursuant to

11 paragraph (1)(F).

12 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF CERTAIN DATA.—(1)

13 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to restrict the

14 use, in civil enforcement or criminal proceedings under this

15 Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

16 1361 et seq.), or the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.

17 1531 et seq.), of information collected by voluntary fishery

18 data collectors, including sea samplers, while aboard any

19 vessel for conservation and management purposes if the

20 presence of such a fishery data collector aboard is not re21 quired by any of such Acts or regulations thereunder.

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not require the submission of

23 a Federal or State income tax return or statement as a pre24 requisite for issuance of a Federal fishing permit until such

25 time as the Secretary has promulgated regulations to ensure
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1 the confidentiality of information contained in such return

2 or statement, to limit the information submitted to that nec3 essary to achieve a demonstrated conservation and manage4 ment purpose, and to provide appropriate penalties for vio5 lation of such regulations.

6 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—In case of a pro7 gram for which—

8 ‘‘(1) the recipient of a grant, contract, or other

9 financial assistance is specified by statute to be, or

10 has customarily been, a State, Council, or a Marine

11 Fisheries Commission; or

12 ‘‘(2) the Secretary has entered into a cooperative

13 agreement with a State, Council, or Marine Fisheries

14 Commission,

15 such financial assistance may be provided by the Secretary

16 to that recipient on a sole-source basis, notwithstanding

17 any other provision of law.

18 ‘‘(e) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS.—(1) The Secretary

19 may use the private sector to provide vessels, equipment,

20 and services necessary to survey the fishery resources of the

21 United States when the arrangement will yield statistically

22 reliable results.

23 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in consultation with the appro24 priate Council and the fishing industry—
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1 ‘‘(A) may structure competitive solicitations

2 under paragraph (1) so as to compensate a contractor

3 for a fishery resources survey by allowing the contrac4 tor to retain for sale fish harvested during the survey

5 voyage; and

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of a survey during which the

7 quantity or quality of fish harvested is not expected

8 to be adequately compensatory, may structure those

9 solicitations so as to provide that compensation by

10 permitting the contractor to harvest on a subsequent

11 voyage and retain for sale a portion of the allowable

12 catch of the surveyed fishery.

13 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall undertake efforts to expand

14 annual fishery resource assessments in all regions of the Na15 tion.’’.

16 SEC. 204. OBSERVERS.

17 Section 403 is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘SEC. 403. OBSERVERS.

19 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES FOR CARRYING OBSERVERS.—

20 Within one year of the date of enactment of the Sustainable

21 Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations,

22 after notice and public comment, for fishing vessels that

23 carry observers. The regulations shall include guidelines for

24 determining—
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1 ‘‘(1) when a vessel is not required to carry an

2 observer on board because the facilities of such vessel

3 for the quartering of an observer, or for carrying out

4 observer functions, are so inadequate or unsafe that

5 the health or safety of the observer or the safe oper6 ation of the vessel would be jeopardized; and

7 ‘‘(2) actions which vessel owners or operators

8 may reasonably be required to take to render such fa9 cilities adequate and safe.

10 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary, in cooperation with

11 the appropriate States and the National Sea Grant College

12 Program, shall—

13 ‘‘(1) establish programs to ensure that each ob14 server receives adequate training in collecting and

15 analyzing data necessary for the conservation and

16 management purposes of the fishery to which such ob17 server is assigned; and

18 ‘‘(2) require that an observer demonstrate com19 petence in fisheries science and statistical analysis at

20 a level sufficient to enable such person to fulfill the

21 responsibilities of the position;

22 ‘‘(3) ensure that an observer has received ade23 quate training in basic vessel safety; and
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1 ‘‘(4) make use of university training facilities

2 and resources, where possible, in carrying out this

3 subsection.

4 ‘‘(c) WAGES AS MARITIME LIENS.— Claims for observ5 ers’ wages shall be considered maritime liens against the

6 vessel and be accorded the same priority as seamen’s liens

7 under admiralty and general maritime law.

8 ‘‘(d) OBSERVER STATUS.—(1) An observer on a vessel

9 and under contract to carry out responsibilities under this

10 Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16

11 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) shall be deemed to be a Federal em12 ployee for the purpose of compensation for work injuries

13 under the Federal Employee Compensation Act (5 U.S.C.

14 8101 et seq.)

15 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply if the observer is

16 engaged by the owner, master, or individual in charge of

17 the vessel to perform any duties in service to the vessel.’’.

18 SEC. 205. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

19 Section 404 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 404. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate and

22 maintain, in cooperation with the Councils, a comprehen23 sive program of fishery research to carry out and further

24 the purposes, policy, and provisions of this Act. Such pro25 gram shall be designed to acquire knowledge and informa-
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1 tion, including statistics, on fishery conservation and man2 agement and on the economics of the fisheries.

3 ‘‘(b) STRATEGIC PLAN.— Within one year after the

4 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, and at

5 least every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall develop

6 and publish in the Federal Register a strategic plan for

7 fisheries research for the five years immediately following

8 such publication. The plan shall—

9 ‘‘(1) identify and describe a comprehensive pro10 gram with a limited number of priority objectives for

11 research in each of the areas specified in subsection

12 (c);

13 ‘‘(2) indicate the goals and timetables for the

14 program described in paragraph (1); and

15 ‘‘(3) provide a role for commercial fishermen in

16 such research, including involvement in field testing.

17 ‘‘(4) provide for collection and dissemination, in

18 a timely manner, of complete and accurate data con19 cerning fishing activities, catch, effort, stock assess20 ments, and other research conducted under this sec21 tion.

22 ‘‘(c) AREAS OF RESEARCH.—The areas of research re23 ferred to in subsection (a) are as follows:

24 ‘‘(1) Research to support fishery conservation

25 and management, including but not limited to, re-
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1 search on the economics of fisheries and biological re2 search concerning the abundance and life history pa3 rameters of stocks of fish, the interdependence of fish4 eries or stocks of fish, the identification of essential

5 fish habitat, the impact of pollution on fish popu6 lations, the impact of wetland and estuarine degrada7 tion, and other factors affecting the abundance and

8 availability of fish.

9 ‘‘(2) Conservation engineering research, includ10 ing the study of fish behavior and the development

11 and testing of new gear technology and fishing tech12 niques to minimize bycatch and any adverse effects on

13 essential fish habitat and promote efficient harvest of

14 target species.

15 ‘‘(3) Information management research, includ16 ing the development of a fishery information base and

17 an information management system that will permit

18 the full use of data in the support of effective fishery

19 conservation and management.

20 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC NOTICE.—In developing the plan re21 quired under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with

22 relevant Federal, State, and international agencies, sci23 entific and technical experts, and other interested persons,

24 public and private, and shall publish a proposed plan in

25 the Federal Register for the purpose of receiving public com-
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1 ment on the plan. The Secretary shall ensure that affected

2 commercial fishermen are actively involved in the develop3 ment of the portion of the plan pertaining to conservation

4 engineering research. Upon final publication in the Federal

5 Register, the plan shall be submitted by the Secretary to

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

7 of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House

8 of Representatives.’’.

9 SEC. 206. INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.

10 Section 405 is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 405. INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.

12 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— Within 9 months after

13 the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the

14 Secretary shall, after consultation with the Gulf of Mexico

15 Fishery Management Council and South Atlantic Fishery

16 Management Council, conclude the collection of data in the

17 program to assess the impact on fishery resources of inci18 dental harvest by the shrimp trawl fishery within the au19 thority of such Councils. Within the same time period, the

20 Secretary shall make available to the public aggregated

21 summaries of data collected prior to June 30, 1994 under

22 such program.

23 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF STOCK.—The program con24 cluded pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide for the iden25 tification of stocks of fish which are subject to significant
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1 incidental harvest in the course of normal shrimp trawl

2 fishing activity.

3 ‘‘(c) COLLECTION AND ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC

4 STOCK DATA.— For stocks of fish identified pursuant to

5 subsection (b), with priority given to stocks which (based

6 upon the best available scientific information) are consid7 ered to be overfished, the Secretary shall conduct—

8 ‘‘(1) a program to collect and evaluate data on

9 the nature and extent (including the spatial and tem10 poral distribution) of incidental mortality of such

11 stocks as a direct result of shrimp trawl fishing ac12 tivities;

13 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the status and condition of

14 such stocks, including collection of information which

15 would allow the estimation of life history parameters

16 with sufficient accuracy and precision to support

17 sound scientific evaluation of the effects of various

18 management alternatives on the status of such stocks;

19 and

20 ‘‘(3) a program of data collection and evaluation

21 for such stocks on the magnitude and distribution of

22 fishing mortality and fishing effort by sources of fish23 ing mortality other than shrimp trawl fishing activ24 ity.
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1 ‘‘(d) BYCATCH REDUCTION PROGRAM.—Not later than

2 twelve months after the enactment of the Sustainable Fish3 eries Act, the Secretary shall, in cooperation with affected

4 interests, and based upon the best scientific information

5 available, complete a program to—

6 ‘‘(1) develop technological devices and other

7 changes in fishing operations necessary and appro8 priate to minimize the incidental mortality of

9 bycatch in the course of shrimp trawl activity to the

10 extent practicable, taking into account the level of

11 bycatch mortality in the fishery on November 28,

12 1990;

13 ‘‘(2) evaluate the ecological impacts and the ben14 efits and costs of such devices and changes in fishing

15 operations; and

16 ‘‘(3) assess whether it is practicable to utilize

17 bycatch which is not avoidable.

18 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall,

19 within one year of completing the programs required by this

20 section, submit a detailed report on the results of such pro21 grams to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans22 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Resources

23 of the House of Representatives.

24 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION CRITERIA.— Any conservation

25 and management measure implemented under this Act to
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1 reduce the incidental mortality of bycatch in the course of

2 shrimp trawl fishing must be consistent with—

3 ‘‘(1) measures applicable to fishing throughout

4 the range of the bycatch species concerned; and

5 ‘‘(2) the need to avoid any serious adverse envi6 ronmental impacts on such bycatch species or the

7 ecology of the affected area.’’.

8 SEC. 207. MISCELLANEOUS RESEARCH.

9 (a) FISHERIES ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT RE10 SEARCH.—Section 406 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended to read

11 as follows:

12 ‘‘SEC. 406. FISHERIES ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT RE13 SEARCH.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL.—Not later than 180

15 days after the enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act,

16 the Secretary shall establish a fisheries ecosystem manage17 ment advisory panel under this Act to develop recommenda18 tions to expand the application of ecosystem principles in

19 fishery conservation and management activities.

20 ‘‘(b) PANEL MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory panel shall

21 consist of not more than 20 individuals and include—

22 ‘‘(1) individuals with expertise in the structures,

23 functions, and physical and biological characteristics

24 of ecosystems; and
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1 ‘‘(2) representatives from the Councils, States,

2 fishing industry, conservation organizations, or others

3 with expertise in the management of marine re4 sources.

5 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Prior to selecting advisory

6 panel members, the Secretary shall, with respect to panel

7 members described in subsection (b)(1), solicit recommenda8 tions from the National Academy of Sciences.

9 ‘‘(d) ECOSYSTEM REPORT.—Within two years of the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit

11 to the Congress a completed report of the fisheries ecosystem

12 management advisory panel, which shall include—

13 ‘‘(1) an analysis of the extent to which ecosystem

14 principles are being applied in fishery conservation

15 and management activities, including research activi16 ties;

17 ‘‘(2) proposed actions by the Secretary and by

18 the Congress that should be undertaken to expand the

19 application of ecosystem principles in fishery con20 servation and management; and

21 ‘‘(3) such other information as may be appro22 priate.

23 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURAL MATTER.—The procedural matters

24 under section 302(j) with respect to advisory panels shall
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1 apply to the Fisheries Ecosystem Management advisory

2 panel’’.

3 (b) GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER RESEARCH.—

4 Title IV of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by adding

5 the following new section.

6 ‘‘SEC. 407. GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER RESEARCH.

7 ‘‘(a) THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE SHALL ENSURE

8 THAT—

9 ‘‘(1) no later than one year after the effective

10 date of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, an independent

11 peer review is completed of whether—

12 ‘‘(A) the fishery statistics of the Secretary

13 concerning the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of

14 Mexico accurately and completely account for all

15 commercial and recreational harvests and fishing

16 effort on the stock;

17 ‘‘(B) the scientific methods, data and mod18 els used by the Secretary to assess the status and

19 trends of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper stock

20 are appropriate under this Act;

21 ‘‘(C) the scientific information upon which

22 the fishery management plan for red snapper in

23 the Gulf of Mexico is based is appropriate under

24 this Act;
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1 ‘‘(D) the management measures in the fish2 ery management plan for red snapper in the

3 Gulf of Mexico are appropriate for conserving

4 and managing the red snapper fishery under this

5 Act; and

6 ‘‘(E) the benefits and costs of establishing

7 an individual fishing quota program for the red

8 snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and rea9 sonable alternatives thereto have been properly

10 evaluated under this Act; and

11 ‘‘(2) commercial and recreational fishermen in

12 the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico are pro13 vided an opportunity to—

14 ‘‘(A) participate in the peer review under

15 paragraph (1); and

16 ‘‘(B) provide information to the Secretary

17 of Commerce in connection with the review of

18 fishery statistics under paragraph (a)(1) without

19 being subject to penalty under this Act or other

20 applicable law for any past violation of a re21 quirement to report such information to the Sec22 retary of Commerce.

23 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of Commerce shall submit a de24 tailed written report on the findings of the peer review con25 ducted under subsection (a)(1) to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
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1 Management Council no later than one year after the effec2 tive date of the Sustainable Fisheries Act.’’.

3 SEC. 208. STUDY OF CONTRIBUTION OF BYCATCH TO CHAR4 ITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

5 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall conduct

6 a study of the contribution of bycatch to charitable organi7 zations by commercial fishermen. The study shall include

8 determination of—

9 (1) the amount of bycatch that is contributed

10 each year to charitable organizations by commercial

11 fishermen;

12 (2) the economic benefits to commercial fisher13 men from those contributions; and

14 (3) the impact on fisheries of the availability of

15 those benefits.

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

17 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall

18 submit to the Congress a report containing determinations

19 made in the study under subsection (a).

20 (c) BYCATCH DEFINED.—In this section the term

21 ‘‘bycatch’’ has the meaning given that term in section 3(2)

22 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

23 Act, as amended by section 103 of this Act.
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1 SEC. 209. STUDY OF IDENTIFICATION METHODS FOR HAR2 VEST STOCKS.

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

4 conduct a study to determine the best possible method of

5 identifying various Atlantic and Pacific salmon and

6 steelhead stocks in the ocean at time of harvest. The study

7 shall include an assessment of—

8 (1) coded wire tags;

9 (2) fin clipping; and

10 (3) other identification methods.

11 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report the results of

12 the study, together with any recommendations for legisla13 tion deemed necessary based on the study, within 6 months

14 after the date of enactment of this Act to the Committee

15 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

17 Senate.

18 SEC. 210. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

19 The table of contents is amended by striking the matter

20 relating to title IV and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 315. Fishing Capacity Reduction Programs.

‘‘Sec. 316. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 401. Registration and data management.

‘‘Sec. 402. Data collection.

‘‘Sec. 403. Observers.

‘‘Sec. 404. Fisheries research.

‘‘Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research.

‘‘Sec. 406. Fisheries ecosystem management research.

‘‘Sec. 407. Gulf of Mexico red snapper research.
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1 TITLE III—FISHERIES

2 FINANCING

3 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fisheries Financing

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 302. FISHERIES FINANCING AND CAPACITY REDUC7 TION.

8 Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C.

9 App. 1271 et seq.), is amended by adding at the end the

10 following new sections:

11 ‘‘SEC. 1111. (a) Pursuant to the authority granted

12 under section 1103(a) of this title, the Secretary may, under

13 such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall prescribe

14 by regulation, guarantee and make commitments to guar15 antee the principal of, and interest on, obligations which

16 aid in refinancing, in a manner consistent with the reduced

17 cash flows available to obligors because of reduced harvest18 ing allocations during implementation of a fishery recovery

19 effort, existing obligations relating to fishing vessels or fish20 ery facilities. Guarantees under this section shall be subject

21 to all other provisions of this title not inconsistent with the

22 provisions of this section. The provisions of this section

23 shall, notwithstanding any other provisions of this title,

24 apply to guarantees under this section.
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1 ‘‘(b) Obligations eligible to be refinanced under this

2 section shall include all obligations which financed or refi3 nanced any expenditures associated with the ownership or

4 operation of fishing vessels or fishery facilities, including

5 but not limited to expenditures for reconstructing, recondi6 tioning, purchasing, equipping, maintaining, repairing,

7 supplying, or any other aspect whatsoever of operating fish8 ing vessels or fishery facilities, excluding only such obliga9 tions—

10 ‘‘(1) which were not in existence prior to the

11 time the Secretary approved a fishery rebuilding ef12 fort eligible for guarantees under this section and

13 whose purpose, in whole or in part, involved expendi14 tures which resulted in increased vessel harvesting ca15 pacity; and

16 ‘‘(2) as may be owed by an obligor either to any

17 stockholder, partner, guarantor, or other principal of

18 such obligor or to any unrelated party if the purpose

19 of such obligation had been to pay an obligor’s pre20 existing obligation to such stockholder, partner, guar21 antor, or other principal of such obligor.

22 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may refinance up to 100 percent

23 of the principal of, and interest on, such obligations, but,

24 in no event, shall the Secretary refinance an amount exceed25 ing 75 percent of the unencumbered (after deducting the
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1 amount to be refinanced by guaranteed obligations under

2 this section) market value, as determined by an independent

3 marine surveyor or other competent person for a fishery fa4 cility, of the fishing vessel or fishery facility to which such

5 obligations relate plus 75 percent of the unencumbered (in6 cluding but not limited to homestead exemptions) market

7 value, as determined by an independent marine surveyor,

8 of all other supplementary collateral. The Secretary shall

9 do so regardless of—

10 ‘‘(1) any fishing vessel or fishery facility’s actual

11 cost or depreciated actual cost; and

12 ‘‘(2) any limitations elsewhere in this title on the

13 amount of obligations to be guaranteed or such

14 amount’s relationship to actual cost or depreciated

15 actual cost.

16 ‘‘(d) Obligations guaranteed under this section shall

17 have such maturity dates and other provisions as are con18 sistent with the intent and purpose of this section (includ19 ing but not limited to provisions for obligors to pay only

20 the interest accruing on the principal of such obligations

21 during the period in which fisheries stocks are recovering,

22 with the principal and interest accruing thereon being fully

23 amortized between the date stock recovery is projected to be

24 completed and the maturity date of such obligations).
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1 ‘‘(e) No provision of section 1104A(d) of this title shall

2 apply to obligations guaranteed under this section.

3 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall neither make commitments to

4 guarantee nor guarantee obligations under this section un5 less—

6 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has first approved the fishery

7 rebuilding effort for the fishery in which vessels eligi8 ble for the guarantee of obligations under this section

9 are participants and has determined that such guar10 antees will have no adverse impacts on other fisheries

11 in the region;

12 ‘‘(2) the Secretary has considered such factors

13 as—

14 ‘‘(A) the projected degree and duration of

15 reduced fisheries allocations;

16 ‘‘(B) the projected reduction in fishing ves17 sel and fishery facility cash flows;

18 ‘‘(C) the projected severity of the impact on

19 fishing vessels and fishery facilities;

20 ‘‘(D) the projected effect of the fishery re21 building effort;

22 ‘‘(E) the provisions of any related fishery

23 management plan under the Magnuson Fishery

24 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

25 1801 et seq.); and
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1 ‘‘(F) the need for and advisability of guar2 antees under this section;

3 ‘‘(3) the Secretary finds that the obligation to be

4 guaranteed will, considering the projected effect of the

5 fishery recovery effort involved and all other aspects

6 of the obligor, project, property, collateral, and any

7 other aspects whatsoever of the obligation involved,

8 constitute, in the Secretary’s opinion, a reasonable

9 prospect of full repayment; and

10 ‘‘(4) the obligors agree to provide such security

11 and meet such other terms and conditions as the Sec12 retary may, pursuant to regulations prescribed under

13 this section, require to protect the interest of the Unit14 ed States and carry out the purpose of this section.

15 ‘‘(g) All obligations guaranteed under this section shall

16 be accounted for separately, in a subaccount of the Federal

17 Ship Financing Fund to be known as the Fishery Recovery

18 Refinancing Account, from all other obligations guaranteed

19 under the other provisions of this title and the assets and

20 liabilities of the Federal Ship Financing Fund and the

21 Fishery Recovery Refinancing Account shall be segregated

22 accordingly.

23 ‘‘(h) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘fishery

24 rebuilding effort’ means a fishery management plan,

25 amendment, or regulations required under section 304(e) of
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1 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

2 to rebuild a fishery which the Secretary has determined to

3 be a commercial fishery failure under section 316 of such

4 Act.

5 ‘‘SEC. 1112. (a) The Secretary is authorized to guaran6 tee the repayment of debt obligations issued by entities

7 under this section. Debt obligations to be guaranteed may

8 be issued by any entity that has been approved by the Sec9 retary and has agreed with the Secretary to such conditions

10 as the Secretary deems necessary for this section to achieve

11 the objective of the program and to protect the interest of

12 the United States.

13 ‘‘(b) Any debt obligation guaranteed under this section

14 shall—

15 ‘‘(1) be treated in the same manner and to the

16 same extent as other obligations guaranteed under

17 this title, except with respect to provisions of this title

18 that by their nature cannot be applied to obligations

19 guaranteed under this section;

20 ‘‘(2) have the fishing fees established under the

21 program paid into a separate subaccount of the fish22 ing capacity reduction fund established under this

23 section;
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1 ‘‘(3) not exceed $100,000,000 in an unpaid prin2 cipal amount outstanding at any one time for a pro3 gram;

4 ‘‘(4) have such maturity (not to exceed 20 years),

5 take such form, and contain such conditions as the

6 Secretary determines necessary for the program to

7 which they relate;

8 ‘‘(5) have as the exclusive source of repayment

9 (subject to the proviso in subsection (c)(2)) and as the

10 exclusive payment security, the fishing fees established

11 under the program; and

12 ‘‘(6) at the discretion of the Secretary be issued

13 in the public market or sold to the Federal Financing

14 Bank.

15 ‘‘(c)(1) There is established in the Treasury of the

16 United States a separate account which shall be known as

17 the fishing capacity reduction fund (referred to in this sec18 tion as the ‘fund’). Within the fund, at least one subaccount

19 shall be established for each program into which shall be

20 paid all fishing fees established under the program and

21 other amounts authorized for the program.

22 ‘‘(2) Amounts in the fund shall be available, without

23 appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to the Secretary to

24 pay the cost of the program, including payments to finan25 cial institutions to pay debt obligations incurred by entities
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1 under this section, Provided that funds available for this

2 purpose from other amounts available for the program may

3 also be used to pay such debt obligations.

4 ‘‘(3) Sums in the fund that are not currently needed

5 for the purpose of this section shall be kept on deposit or

6 invested in obligations of the United States.

7 ‘‘(d) The Secretary is authorized and directed to issue

8 such regulations as the Secretary deems necessary to carry

9 out this section.

10 ‘‘(e) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘pro11 gram’ means a fishing capacity reduction program estab12 lished under section 315 of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva13 tion and Management Act.’’.

14 SEC. 303. FISHERIES LOAN GUARANTEE REFORM.

15 (a) AMENDMENT OF MERCHANT MARINE ACT, 1936.—

16 Section 1104A of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C.

17 App. 1274) is amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (a)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ and the end of para20 graph (5);

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of

22 paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘; or’’;

23 (C) by inserting the following new para24 graph:
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1 ‘‘(7) financing or refinancing, including, but not

2 limited to, the reimbursement of obligors for expendi3 tures previously made for, the purchase of individual

4 fishing quotas in accordance with section 303(d)(4) of

5 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)(4)).’’; and

7 (D) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘para8 graph (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (6) and

9 (7)’’; and

10 (2) in paragraph (b)(2)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘equal to’’ in the third pro12 viso and inserting ‘‘not to exceed’’; and

13 (B) by striking ‘‘except that no debt may be

14 placed under this proviso through the Federal

15 Financing Bank:’’ in the third proviso and in16 serting ‘‘and obligations related to fishing vessels

17 and fishery facilities under this title shall be

18 placed through the Federal Financing Bank un19 less placement through the Federal Financing

20 Bank is not reasonably available or placement

21 elsewhere is available at a lower annual yield

22 than placement through the Federal Financing

23 Bank:’’.

24 (b) LIMIT ON GUARANTEES.—Fishing Vessel Obliga25 tion loan guarantees may not exceed $40,000,000 annually
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1 for the purposes of section 504(b) of the Federal Credit Re2 form Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661c(b)).

3 (c) ADJUSTMENT OF FEES.—The Secretary of Com4 merce may take such actions as necessary to adjust fees im5 posed on new loan guarantee applicants to capture any sav6 ings from placement of loan guarantee obligations through

7 the Federal Financing Bank if the total fees charged to ap8 plicants do not exceed the percentage amounts paid before

9 the date of enactment of this Act.

10 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—(1) Fees generated from

11 the adjustment in subsection (c) shall be deposited in the

12 appropriate account of the Federal Ship Financing Fund.

13 The Secretary of Commerce may transfer annually up to

14 $1,700,000 from such account to pay for the administrative

15 costs associated with the Fisheries Obligation Guarantee

16 Program if that program has resulted in job cost, as defined

17 in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act (2

18 U.S.C. 661a(5)).

19 (2) Fees allocated to an individual fishing quota obli20 gation guarantee program pursuant to section 303(d)(4)(A)

21 (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)(4)(A)) shall be placed in a separate ac22 count for each such program in the Federal Ship Financing

23 Fund for the purpose of providing budget authority for each

24 such program. Amounts in any such accounts shall be iden-
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1 tified in future fiscal year budget submissions of the Execu2 tive Branch.

3 (e) PROHIBITION.—Until October 1, 2001, no new

4 loans may be guaranteed by the Federal Government for

5 the construction of new fishing vessels if the construction

6 will result in an increased harvesting capacity within the

7 United States exclusive economic zone.

8 TITLE IV—MARINE FISHERY

9 STATUTE REAUTHORIZATIONS

10 SEC. 401. MARINE FISH PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION OF AP11 PROPRIATIONS.

12 (a) FISHERIES INFORMATION COLLECTION AND ANAL13 YSIS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and

15 Atmospheric Administration to carry out fisheries informa16 tion and analysis activities under the Fish and Wildlife Act

17 of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) and any other law involv18 ing those activities, $49,340,000 for fiscal year 1996,

19 $50,820,000 for fiscal year 1997, and $52,345,000 for each

20 of the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000. Such activities

21 may include, but are not limited to, the collection, analysis

22 and dissemination of scientific data necessary for the man23 agement of living marine resources and associated marine

24 habitat.
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1 (b) FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OP2 ERATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the

3 Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and

4 Atmospheric Administration to carry out activities relating

5 to fisheries conservation and management operations under

6 the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.)

7 and any other law involving those activities, $28,183,000

8 for fiscal year 1996, $29,028,000 for fiscal year 1997,

9 $29,899,000 for each of the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and

10 2000. Such activities may include, but are not limited to,

11 development, implementation, and enforcement of conserva12 tion and management measures to achieve continued opti13 mum use of living marine resources, hatchery operations,

14 habitat conservation, and protected species management.

15 (c) FISHERIES STATE AND INDUSTRY COOPERATIVE

16 PROGRAMS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to

17 the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic

18 and Atmospheric Administration to carry out State and in19 dustry cooperative programs under the Fish and Wildlife

20 Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) and any other law

21 involving those activities, $22,405,000 for fiscal year 1996,

22 $23,077,000 for fiscal year 1997, and $23,769,000 for each

23 of the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000. These activities

24 include, but are not limited to ensuring the quality and
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1 safety of seafood products and providing grants to States

2 for improving the management of interstate fisheries.

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR CHESA4 PEAKE BAY OFFICE.—Section 2(e) of the National Oceanic

5 and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Pro6 gram Authorization Act (Public Law 98–210; 97 Stat.

7 1409) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘1992 and 1993’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘1996 and 1997’’;

10 (2) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and inserting ‘‘oper11 ate’’;

12 (3) by striking ‘‘306’’ and inserting ‘‘307’’; and

13 (4) by striking ‘‘1991’’ and inserting ‘‘1992’’.

14 (e) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Authorizations

15 under this section shall be in addition to monies authorized

16 under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage17 ment Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the Marine Mam18 mal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the

19 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.),

20 the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 757 et

21 seq.), and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (16 U.S.C.

22 4107 et seq.).
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1 SEC. 402. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT AMEND2 MENTS.

3 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 308 of the Interjuris4 dictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107) is amend5 ed—

6 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol7 lows:

8 ‘‘(a) GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS.—There are author9 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce for

10 apportionment to carry out the purposes of this title—

11 ‘‘(1) $3,400,000 for fiscal year 1996;

12 ‘‘(2) $3,900,000 for fiscal year 1997;

13 ‘‘(3) $4,400,000 for each of the fiscal years 1998,

14 1999, and 2000.’’;

15 (2) by striking ‘‘1994 and 1995,’’ in subsection

16 (b) and inserting ‘‘1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,

17 1999, and 2000’’; and

18 (3) by striking ‘‘$350,000 for each of the fiscal

19 years 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, and

20 $600,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995,’’

21 in subsection (c) and inserting ‘‘$650,000 for fiscal

22 year 1996, $700,000 for fiscal year 1997, $750,000 for

23 each of the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000,’’.

24 (b) AMENDMENT TO IMPLEMENT THE NORTHEAST,

25 NORTHWEST, AND GULF OF MEXICO DISASTER RELIEF
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1 PROGRAMS.—Section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fish2 eries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)) is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘award grants to persons engaged

4 in commercial fisheries, for uninsured losses deter5 mined by the Secretary to have been suffered’’ in

6 paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘assist persons engaged

7 in commercial fisheries, either directly through assist8 ance to persons or indirectly through assistance to

9 State and local government agencies and non-profit

10 organizations, for projects or other measures designed

11 to alleviate impacts determined by the Secretary to

12 have been incurred’’;

13 (2) by striking ‘‘a grant’’ in paragraph (3) and

14 inserting ‘‘assistance’’;

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘, if provided directly to a per16 son,’’ in paragraph (3) after ‘‘subsection’’;

17 (4) by striking out ‘‘gross revenues annually,’’ in

18 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘net annual revenue

19 from commercial fisheries,’’;

20 (5) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(4) Assistance may not be provided under this

23 subsection as part of a fishing capacity reduction

24 program in a fishery unless the Secretary determines

25 that—
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1 ‘‘(A) adequate conservation and manage2 ment measures are in place in that fishery; and

3 ‘‘(B) adequate measures are in place to pre4 vent the replacement of fishing capacity elimi5 nated by the program in that fishery.’’; and

6 (6) by striking ‘‘awarding’’ and all that follows

7 in paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘assistance provided

8 under this subsection.’’.

9 SEC. 403. ANADROMOUS FISHERIES AMENDMENTS.

10 Section 4(a)(2) of the Anadromous Fish Conservation

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 757d(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘and

12 1995.’’ and inserting ‘‘1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and

13 2000.’’.

14 SEC. 404. ATLANTIC COASTAL FISHERIES COOPERATIVE

15 MANAGEMENT ACT AMENDMENTS.

16 (a) DEFINITION.—Paragraph (1) of section 803 of the

17 Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (16

18 U.S.C. 5102) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

20 subparagraph (A);

21 (2) by striking ‘‘States; and’’ in subparagraph

22 (B) and inserting ‘‘States.’’; and

23 (3) by striking subparagraph (C).

24 (b) IMPLEMENTATION STANDARD FOR FEDERAL REG25 ULATION.—Subparagraph (A) of section 804(b)(1) of such
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1 Act (16 U.S.C. 5103(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘nec2 essary to support’’ and inserting ‘‘compatible with’’.

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

4 809 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 5108) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘1995,’’; and

6 (2) striking ‘‘1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘1996, and

7 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1997, 1998,

8 1999, and 2000.’’.

9 SEC. 405. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO MARITIME BOUND10 ARY AGREEMENT.

11 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS TO DEFINI12 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 308 of the Act entitled

13 ‘‘An Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Garden

14 Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9,

15 1992 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 66) hereinafter re16 ferred to as the ‘‘FGB Act’’, section 301(b) of that Act (add17 ing a definition of the term ‘‘special areas’’) shall take effect

18 on the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

20 (1) Section 301(h)(2)(A) of the FGB Act is re21 pealed.

22 (2) Section 304 of the FGB Act is repealed.

23 (3) Section 3(15) of the Marine Mammal Protec24 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1362(15)) is amended to

25 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(15) The term ‘waters under the jurisdiction of

2 the United States’ means—

3 ‘‘(A) the territorial sea of the United States;

4 ‘‘(B) the waters included within a zone,

5 contiguous to the territorial sea of the United

6 States, of which the inner boundary is a line co7 terminous with the seaward boundary of each

8 coastal State, and the other boundary is a line

9 drawn in such a manner that each point on it

10 is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from

11 which the territorial sea is measured; and

12 ‘‘(C) the areas referred to as eastern special

13 areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between

14 the United States of America and the Union of

15 Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime

16 Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in particular,

17 those areas east of the maritime boundary, as de18 fined in that Agreement, that lie within 200

19 nautical miles of the baselines from which the

20 breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is meas21 ured but beyond 200 nautical miles of the base22 lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea

23 of the United States is measured, except that this

24 subparagraph shall not apply before the date on

25 which the Agreement between the United States
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1 and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on

2 the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990,

3 enters into force for the United States.’’.