104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 39

AN ACT

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Sustainable Fisheries Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

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

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Findings; purposes; policy.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 104. Highly migratory species.

Sec. 105. Foreign fishing and international fishery agreements.

Sec. 106. National standards.

Sec. 107. Regional fishery management councils.

Sec. 108. Fishery management plans.

Sec. 109. Action by the Secretary.

Sec. 110. Other requirements and authority.

Sec. 111. Pacific community fisheries.

Sec. 112. State jurisdiction.

Sec. 113. Prohibited acts.

Sec. 114. Civil penalties and permit sanctions; rebuttable presumptions.

Sec. 115. Enforcement.

Sec. 116. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

Sec. 117. North Pacific and northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries.

TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Change of title.

Sec. 202. Registration and information management.

Sec. 203. Information 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. Review of Northeast fishery stock assessments.

Sec. 211. Clerical amendments.

TITLE III—FISHERIES FINANCING

Sec. 301. Short title.

Sec. 302. Individual fishing quota loans.

Sec. 303. Fisheries financing and capacity reduction.

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 fisheries amendments.

Sec. 405. Technical amendments to maritime boundary agreement.

Sec. 406. Amendments to the Fisheries Act.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON FISHERY CONSERVA2 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

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

7 section or other provision of the Magnuson Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

9 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND

10 MANAGEMENT

11 SEC. 101. 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:

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. Habitat considerations should re10 ceive increased attention for the conservation and

11 management of fishery resources of the United

12 States.

13 ‘‘(10) Pacific Insular Areas contain unique his14 torical, cultural, legal, political, and geographical cir15 cumstances which make fisheries resources impor16 tant in sustaining their economic growth.’’;

17 (4) by striking ‘‘principles;’’ in subsection

18 (b)(3) and inserting ‘‘principles, including the pro19 motion of catch and release programs in recreational

20 fishing;’’;

21 (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

22 end of subsection (b)(5);

23 (6) by striking ‘‘development.’’ in subsection

24 (b)(6) and inserting ‘‘development in a non-wasteful

25 manner; and’’;
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1 (7) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the

2 following:

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

4 habitat in the review of projects conducted under

5 Federal permits, licenses, or other authorities that

6 affect or have the potential to affect such habitat.’’;

7 (8) in subsection (c)(3)—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘promotes’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘considers’’; and

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘minimize bycatch and’’

11 after ‘‘practical measures that’’;

12 (9) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

13 (c)(5);

14 (10) striking the period at the end of paragraph

15 (c)(6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

16 (11) adding at the end of subsection (c) a new

17 paragraph as follows:

18 ‘‘(7) to ensure that the fishery resources adja19 cent to a Pacific Insular Area, including resident or

20 migratory stocks within the exclusive economic zone

21 adjacent to such areas, be explored, developed, con22 served, and managed for the benefit of the people of

23 such area and of the United States.’’.

24 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

25 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through

2 (32) as paragraphs (5) through (35) respectively,

3 and inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

4 ‘‘(2) The term ‘bycatch’ means fish which are

5 harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or

6 kept for personal use, and includes economic dis7 cards and regulatory discards. Such term does not

8 include fish released alive under a recreational catch

9 and release fishery management program.

10 ‘‘(3) The term ‘charter fishing’ means fishing

11 from a vessel carrying a passenger for hire (as de12 fined in section 2101(21a) of title 46, United States

13 Code) who is engaged in recreational fishing.

14 ‘‘(4) The term ‘commercial fishing’ means fish15 ing in which the fish harvested, either in whole or

16 in part, are intended to enter commerce or enter

17 commerce through sale, barter or trade.’’;

18 (2) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘COELENTERATA’’ from

20 the heading of the list of corals and inserting

21 ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and

22 (B) in the list appearing under the heading

23 ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’, by striking ‘‘Deep-sea Red

24 Crab—Geryon quinquedens’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘Deep-sea Red Crab—Chaceon quinquedens’’;
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1 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through

2 (35) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (11) through

3 (37), respectively, and inserting after paragraph (8)

4 (as redesignated) the following:

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

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

7 retained because they are of an undesirable size, sex,

8 or quality, or for other economic reasons.

9 ‘‘(10) The term ‘essential fish habitat’ means

10 those waters and substrate necessary to fish for

11 spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.’’;

12 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (16) through

13 (37) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (17) through

14 (38), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

15 (15) (as redesignated) the following:

16 ‘‘(16) The term ‘fishing community’ means a

17 community which is substantially dependent on or

18 substantially engaged in the harvest or processing of

19 fishery resources to meet social and economic needs,

20 and includes fishing vessel owners, operators, and

21 crew and United States fish processors that are

22 based in such community.’’;

23 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (21) through

24 (38) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (22) through
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1 (39), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

2 (20) (as redesignated) the following:

3 ‘‘(21) The term ‘individual fishing quota’ means

4 a Federal permit under a limited access system to

5 harvest a quantity of fish, expressed by a unit or

6 units representing a percentage of the total allowable

7 catch of a fishery that may be received or held for

8 exclusive use by a person. Such term does not in9 clude community development quotas as described in

10 section 305(i).’’;

11 (6) by striking ‘‘of one and one-half miles’’ in

12 paragraph (23) (as redesignated) and inserting ‘‘of

13 two and one-half kilometers’’;

14 (7) by striking paragraph (28) (as redesig15 nated), and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘(28) The term ‘optimum’, with respect to the

17 yield from a fishery, means the amount of fish

18 which—

19 ‘‘(A) will provide the greatest overall bene20 fit to the Nation, particularly with respect to

21 food production and recreational opportunities,

22 and taking into account the protection of ma23 rine ecosystems;

24 ‘‘(B) is prescribed on the basis of the max25 imum sustainable yield from the fishery, as re-
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1 duced by any relevant social, economic, or eco2 logical factor; and

3 ‘‘(C) in the case of an overfished fishery,

4 provides for rebuilding to a level consistent with

5 producing the maximum sustainable yield in

6 such fishery.’’;

7 (8) by redesignating paragraphs (29) through

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

9 (41), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

10 (28) (as redesignated) the following:

11 ‘‘(29) The terms ‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’

12 mean a rate or level of fishing mortality that jeop13 ardizes the capacity of a fishery to produce the max14 imum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.

15 ‘‘(30) The term ‘‘Pacific Insular Area’’ means

16 American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Is17 lands, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island,

18 Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island,

19 Wake Island, or Palmyra Atoll, as applicable, and

20 includes all islands and reefs appurtenant to such is21 land, reef, or atoll.’’;

22 (9) by redesignating paragraphs (32) through

23 (41) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (34) through

24 (43), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

25 (31) (as redesignated) the following:
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1 ‘‘(32) The term ‘recreational fishing’ means

2 fishing for sport or pleasure.

3 ‘‘(33) The term ‘regulatory discards’ means fish

4 harvested in a fishery which fishermen are required

5 by regulation to discard whenever caught, or are re6 quired by regulation to retain but not sell.’’;

7 (10) by redesignating paragraphs (36) through

8 (43) (as redesignated) as paragraphs (37) through

9 (44), respectively, and inserting after paragraph

10 (35) (as redesignated) the following:

11 ‘‘(36) The term ‘special areas’ means the areas

12 referred to as eastern special areas in Article 3(1)

13 of the Agreement between the United States of

14 America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

15 on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. In

16 particular, the term refers to those areas east of the

17 maritime boundary, as defined in that Agreement,

18 that lie within 200 nautical miles of the baselines

19 from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Rus20 sia is measured but beyond 200 nautical miles of the

21 baselines from which the breadth of the territorial

22 sea of the United States is measured.’’;

23 (11) by striking ‘‘for which a fishery manage24 ment plan prepared under title III or a preliminary

25 fishery management plan prepared under section
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1 201(g) has been implemented’’ in paragraph (42)

2 (as redesignated) and inserting ‘‘regulated under

3 this Act’’; and

4 (12) by redesignating paragraph (44) (as redes5 ignated) as paragraph (45), and inserting after

6 paragraph (43) the following:

7 ‘‘(44) The term ‘vessel subject to the jurisdic8 tion of the United States’ has the same meaning

9 such term has in section 3(c) of the Maritime Drug

10 Law Enforcement Act (46 U.S.C. App. 1903(c)).’’.

11 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 The Act is amended by inserting after section 3 (16

13 U.S.C. 1802) the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec16 retary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of

17 this Act, not to exceed the following sums:

18 ‘‘(1) $147,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

19 ‘‘(2) $151,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

20 ‘‘(3) $155,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

21 ‘‘(4) $159,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

22 SEC. 104. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.

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

24 ‘‘promoting the objective of optimum utilization’’ and in25 serting ‘‘shall promote the achievement of optimum yield’’.
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1 SEC. 105. FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY

2 AGREEMENTS.

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO OPERATE UNDER TRANS4 SHIPMENT PERMITS.—Section 201 (16 U.S.C. 1821) is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub7 section (a) and inserting the following:

8 ‘‘(1) is authorized under subsections (b) or (c)

9 or section 204(e), or under a permit issued under

10 section 204(d);

11 ‘‘(2) is not prohibited under subsection (f);

12 and’’;

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

14 and inserting ‘‘(h)’’;

15 (3) by striking subsection (f);

16 (4) by redesignating subsections (g) through (j)

17 as subsections (f) through (i), respectively;

18 (5) in paragraph (2) of subsection (h) (as re19 designated), redesignate subparagraphs (B) and (C)

20 as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively, and in21 sert after subparagraph (A) the following:

22 ‘‘(B) in a situation where the foreign fish23 ing vessel is operating under a Pacific Insular

24 Area fishing agreement, the Governor of the ap25 plicable Pacific Insular Area, in consultation

26 with the Western Pacific Council, has estab-
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1 lished an observer coverage program that is at

2 least equal in effectiveness to the program es3 tablished by the Secretary;’’; and

4 (6) in subsection (i) (as redesignated) by

5 striking‘‘305’’ and inserting‘‘304’’.

6 (b) INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Sec7 tion 202 (16 U.S.C. 1822) is amended—

8 (1) by adding before the period at the end of

9 subsection (c) ‘‘or section 204(e)’’;

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

11 ‘‘(h) BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of State, in cooperation

13 with the Secretary, shall seek to secure an inter14 national agreement to establish standards and meas15 ures for bycatch reduction that are comparable to

16 the standards and measures applicable to United

17 States fishermen for such purposes in any fishery

18 regulated pursuant to this Act for which the Sec19 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of State,

20 determines that such an international agreement is

21 necessary and appropriate.

22 ‘‘(2) An international agreement negotiated

23 under this subsection shall be—

24 ‘‘(A) consistent with the policies and pur25 poses of this Act; and
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1 ‘‘(B) subject to approval by Congress

2 under section 203.

3 ‘‘(3) Not later than January 1, 1997, and an4 nually thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with

5 the Secretary of State, shall submit to the Commit6 tee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

7 the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

8 House of Representatives a report describing actions

9 taken under this subsection.’’.

10 (c) PERIOD FOR CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF INTER11 NATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Section 203 (16

12 U.S.C. 1823) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘GOVERNING’’ in the section

14 heading;

15 (2) by striking ‘‘agreement’’ each place it ap16 pears in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘agreement,

17 bycatch reduction agreement, or Pacific Insular Area

18 fishery agreement’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘60 calendar days of continuous

20 session of the Congress’’ in subsection (a) and in21 serting ‘‘120 days (excluding any days in a period

22 for which the Congress is adjourned sine die)’’;

23 (4) by striking subsection (c);

24 (5) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub25 section (c); and
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1 (6) by striking ‘‘agreement’’ in subsection

2 (c)(2)(A), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘agree3 ment, bycatch reduction agreement, or Pacific Insu4 lar Area fishery agreement’’.

5 (d) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS AND PACIFIC INSU6 LAR AREA FISHING.— Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1824) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘or subsection (d)’’ in the first

9 sentence of subsection (b)(7) after ‘‘under paragraph

10 (6)’’;

11 (2) by striking ‘‘the regulations promulgated to

12 implement any such plan’’ in subsection (b)(7)(A)

13 and inserting ‘‘any applicable federal or State fish14 ing regulations’’;

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘or subsection (d)’’ in sub16 section (b)(7)(D) after ‘‘paragraph (6)(B)’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(d) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS.—

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PERMITS.—The Sec20 retary may issue a transshipment permit under this

21 subsection which authorizes a vessel other than a

22 vessel of the United States to engage in fishing con23 sisting solely of transporting fish or fish products at

24 sea from a point within the exclusive economic zone

25 or, with the concurrence of a State, within the
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1 boundaries of that State, to a point outside the

2 United States to any person who—

3 ‘‘(A) submits an application which is ap4 proved by the Secretary under paragraph (3);

5 and

6 ‘‘(B) pays a fee imposed under paragraph

7 (7).

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL.—Upon receipt of an appli9 cation for a permit under this subsection, the Sec10 retary shall promptly transmit copies of the applica11 tion to the Secretary of State, Secretary of the de12 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, any

13 appropriate Council, and any affected State.

14 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec15 retary may approve, in consultation with the appro16 priate Council or Marine Fisheries Commission, an

17 application for a permit under this section if the

18 Secretary determines that—

19 ‘‘(A) the transportation of fish or fish

20 products to be conducted under the permit, as

21 described in the application, will be in the inter22 est of the United States and will meet the ap23 plicable requirements of this Act;

24 ‘‘(B) the applicant will comply with the re25 quirements described in section 201(c)(2) with
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1 respect to activities authorized by any permit

2 issued pursuant to the application;

3 ‘‘(C) the applicant has established any

4 bonds or financial assurances that may be re5 quired by the Secretary; and

6 ‘‘(D) no owner or operator of a vessel of

7 the United States which has adequate capacity

8 to perform the transportation for which the ap9 plication is submitted has indicated to the Sec10 retary an interest in performing the transpor11 tation at fair and reasonable rates.

12 ‘‘(4) WHOLE OR PARTIAL APPROVAL.—The Sec13 retary may approve all or any portion of an applica14 tion under paragraph (3).

15 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO APPROVE APPLICATION.—If

16 the Secretary does not approve any portion of an ap17 plication submitted under paragraph (1), the Sec18 retary shall promptly inform the applicant and speci19 fy the reasons therefor.

20 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—The

21 Secretary shall establish and include in each permit

22 under this subsection conditions and restrictions, in23 cluding those conditions and restrictions set forth in

24 subsection (b)(7), which shall be complied with by
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1 the owner and operator of the vessel for which the

2 permit is issued.

3 ‘‘(7) FEES.—The Secretary shall collect a fee

4 for each permit issued under this subsection, in an

5 amount adequate to recover the costs incurred by

6 the United States in issuing the permit, except that

7 the Secretary shall waive the fee for the permit if

8 the foreign nation under which the vessel is reg9 istered does not collect a fee from a vessel of the

10 United States engaged in similar activities in the

11 waters of such foreign nation.

12 ‘‘(e) PACIFIC INSULAR AREAS.—

13 ‘‘(1) NEGOTIATION OF PACIFIC INSULAR AREA

14 FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of State,

15 with the concurrence of the Secretary and in con16 sultation with any appropriate Council, may nego17 tiate and enter into a Pacific Insular Area fishery

18 agreement to authorize foreign fishing within the ex19 clusive economic zone adjacent to a Pacific Insular

20 Area—

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of American Samoa,

22 Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands, at the

23 request and with the concurrence of, and in

24 consultation with, the Governor of the Pacific
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1 Insular Area to which such agreement applies;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of a Pacific Insular Area

4 other than American Samoa, Guam, or the

5 Northern Mariana Islands, at the request of the

6 Western Pacific Council.

7 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A

8 Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement—

9 ‘‘(A) shall not be considered to supersede

10 any governing international fishery agreement

11 currently in effect under this Act, but shall pro12 vide an alternative basis for the conduct of for13 eign fishing within the exclusive economic zone

14 adjacent to Pacific Insular Areas;

15 ‘‘(B) shall be negotiated and implemented

16 consistent only with the governing international

17 fishery agreement provisions of this title specifi18 cally made applicable in this subsection;

19 ‘‘(C) may not be negotiated with a nation

20 that is in violation of a governing international

21 fishery agreement in effect under this Act;

22 ‘‘(D) shall not be entered into if it is deter23 mined by the Governor of the applicable Pacific

24 Insular Area with respect to agreements initi25 ated under paragraph (1)(A), or the Western
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1 Pacific Council with respect to agreements initi2 ated under paragraph (1)(B), that such an

3 agreement will adversely affect the fishing ac4 tivities of the indigenous people of such Pacific

5 Insular Area;

6 ‘‘(E) shall be valid for a period not to ex7 ceed three years and shall only become effective

8 according to the procedures in section 203; and

9 ‘‘(F) shall require the foreign nation and

10 its fishing vessels to comply with the require11 ments of paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4)(A) of

12 section 201(c), section 201(d), and section

13 201(h).

14 ‘‘(3) PERMITS FOR FOREIGN FISHING.—

15 ‘‘(A) Application for permits for foreign

16 fishing authorized under a Pacific Insular

17 Areas fishing agreement shall be made, consid18 ered and approved or disapproved in accordance

19 with paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)(A) and

20 (B), (8), and (9) of subsection (b), and shall in21 clude any conditions and restrictions established

22 by the Secretary in consultation with the Sec23 retary of State, the Secretary of the department

24 in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Gov-
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1 ernor of the applicable Pacific Insular Area,

2 and the appropriate Council.

3 ‘‘(B) If a foreign nation notifies the Sec4 retary of State of its acceptance of the require5 ments of this paragraph, paragraph (2)(F), and

6 paragraph (5), including any conditions and re7 strictions established under subparagraph (A),

8 the Secretary of State shall promptly transmit

9 such notification to the Secretary. Upon receipt

10 of any payment required under a Pacific Insu11 lar Area fishing agreement, the Secretary shall

12 thereupon issue to such foreign nation, through

13 the Secretary of State, permits for the appro14 priate fishing vessels of that nation. Each per15 mit shall contain a statement of all of the re16 quirements, conditions, and restrictions estab17 lished under this subsection which apply to the

18 fishing vessel for which the permit is issued.

19 ‘‘(4) MARINE CONSERVATION PLANS.—

20 ‘‘(A) Prior to entering into a Pacific Insu21 lar Area fishery agreement, the Western Pacific

22 Council and the appropriate Governor shall de23 velop a 3-year marine conservation plan detail24 ing uses for funds to be collected by the Sec25 retary pursuant to such agreement. Such plan
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1 shall be consistent with any applicable fishery

2 management plan, identify conservation and

3 management objectives (including criteria for

4 determining when such objectives have been

5 met), and prioritize planned marine conserva6 tion projects. Conservation and management

7 objectives shall include, but not be limited to—

8 ‘‘(i) establishment of Pacific Insular

9 Area observer programs, approved by the

10 Secretary in consultation with the Western

11 Pacific Council, that provide observer cov12 erage for foreign fishing under Pacific In13 sular Area fishery agreements that is at

14 least equal in effectiveness to the program

15 established by the Secretary under section

16 201(h);

17 ‘‘(ii) conduct of marine and fisheries

18 research, including development of systems

19 for information collection, analysis, evalua20 tion, and reporting;

21 ‘‘(iii) conservation, education, and en22 forcement activities related to marine and

23 coastal management, such as living marine

24 resource assessments, habitat monitoring

25 and coastal studies;
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1 ‘‘(iv) grants to the University of Ha2 waii for technical assistance projects by the

3 Pacific Island Network, such as education

4 and training in the development and imple5 mentation of sustainable marine resources

6 development projects, scientific research,

7 and conservation strategies; and

8 ‘‘(v) western Pacific community-based

9 demonstration projects under section

10 112(b) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act

11 and other coastal improvement projects to

12 foster and promote the management, con13 servation, and economic enhancement of

14 the Pacific Insular Areas.

15 ‘‘(B) In the case of American Samoa, Guam,

16 and the Northern Mariana Islands, the appropriate

17 Governor, with the concurrence of the Western Pa18 cific Council, shall develop the marine conservation

19 plan described in subparagraph (A) and submit such

20 plan to the Secretary for approval. In the case of

21 other Pacific Insular Areas, the Western Pacific

22 Council shall develop and submit the marine con23 servation plan described in subparagraph (A) to the

24 Secretary for approval.
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1 ‘‘(C) If a Governor or the Western Pacific

2 Council intends to request that the Secretary of

3 State renew a Pacific Insular Area fishery agree4 ment, a subsequent 3-year plan shall be submitted

5 to the Secretary for approval by the end of the sec6 ond year of the existing 3-year plan.

7 ‘‘(5) RECIPROCAL CONDITIONS.—Except as ex8 pressly provided otherwise in this subsection, a Pa9 cific Insular Area fishing agreemeent may include

10 terms similar to the terms applicable to United

11 States fishing vessels for access to similar fisheries

12 in waters subject to the fisheries jurisdiction of an13 other nation.

14 ‘‘(6) USE OF PAYMENTS BY AMERICAN SAMOA,

15 GUAM, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.—Any pay16 ments received by the Secretary under a Pacific In17 sular Area fishery agreement for American Samoa,

18 Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands shall be de19 posited into the United States Treasury and then

20 covered over to the Treasury of the Pacific Insular

21 Area for which those funds were collected. Amounts

22 deposited in the Treasury of a Pacific Insular Area

23 shall be available, without appropriation or fiscal

24 year limitation, to the Governor of the Pacific Insu25 lar Area—
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1 ‘‘(A) to carry out the purposes of this sub2 section;

3 ‘‘(B) to compensate (i) the Western Pacific

4 Council for mutually agreed upon administra5 tive costs incurred relating to any Pacific Insu6 lar Area fishery agreement for such Pacific In7 sular Area, and (ii) the Secretary of State for

8 mutually agreed upon travel expenses for no

9 more than 2 Federal representatives incurred

10 as a direct result of complying with paragraph

11 (1)(A); and

12 ‘‘(C) to implement a marine conservation

13 plan developed and approved under paragraph

14 (4).

15 ‘‘(7) WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISH16 ERIES FUND.—There is established in the United

17 States Treasury a Western Pacific Sustainable Fish18 eries Fund into which any payments received by the

19 Secretary under a Pacific Insular Area fishery

20 agreement for any Pacific Insular Area other than

21 American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana

22 Islands shall be deposited. The Western Pacific Sus23 tainable Fisheries Fund shall be made available,

24 without appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to the

25 Secretary, who shall provide such funds only to—
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1 ‘‘(A) the Western Pacific Council for the

2 purpose of carrying out the provisions of this

3 subsection, including implementation of a ma4 rine conservation plan approved under para5 graph (4);

6 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of State for mutually

7 agreed upon travel expenses for no more than

8 2 federal representatives incurred as a direct

9 result of complying with paragraph (1)(B); and

10 ‘‘(C) the Western Pacific Council to meet

11 conservation and management objectives in the

12 State of Hawaii if monies remain in the West13 ern Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund after

14 the funding requirements of subparagraphs (A)

15 and (B) have been satisfied.

16 Amounts deposited in such fund shall not diminish

17 funding received by the Western Pacific Council for

18 the purpose of carrying out other responsibilities

19 under this Act.

20 ‘‘(8) USE OF FINES AND PENALTIES.—In the

21 case of violations occurring within the exclusive eco22 nomic zone off American Samoa, Guam, or the

23 Northern Mariana Islands, amounts received by the

24 Secretary which are attributable to fines or penalties

25 imposed under this Act, including such sums col-
27

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1 lected from the forfeiture and disposition or sale of

2 property seized subject to its authority, after pay3 ment of direct costs of the enforcement action to all

4 entities involved in such action, shall be deposited

5 into the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area adja6 cent to the exclusive economic zone in which the vio7 lation occurred, to be used for fisheries enforcement

8 and for implementation of a marine conservation

9 plan under paragraph (4).’’.

10 (e) ATLANTIC HERRING TRANSSHIPMENT.—Within

11 30 days of receiving an application, the Secretary shall,

12 under Section 204(d) of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva13 tion and Management Act, as amended by this Act, issue

14 permits to up to fourteen Canadian transport vessels that

15 are not equipped for fish harvesting or processing, for the

16 transshipment, within the boundaries of the State of

17 Maine or within the portion of the exclusive economic zone

18 east of the line 69 degrees 30 minutes west and within

19 12 nautical miles from the seaward boundary of that

20 State, of Atlantic herring harvested by United States fish21 ermen within the area described and used solely in sardine

22 processing. In issuing a permit pursuant to this sub23 section, the Secretary shall provide a waiver under section

24 201(h)(2)(C) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

25 Management Act, as amended by this Act, provided that
28

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1 such vessels comply with Federal or State monitoring and

2 reporting requirements for the Atlantic herring fishery, in3 cluding the stationing of United States observers aboard

4 such vessels, if necessary.

5 (f) LARGE SCALE DRIFTNET FISHING.—Section 206

6 (16 U.S.C. 1826) is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (e), by striking paragraphs (3)

8 and (4), and redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6)

9 as (3) and (4), respectively; and

10 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘(e)(6),’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘(e)(4),’’.

12 (g) RUSSIAN FISHING IN THE BERING SEA.—No

13 later than September 30, 1997, the North Pacific Fishery

14 Management Council, in consultation with the North Pa15 cific and Bering Sea Advisory Body, shall submit to the

16 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

17 the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House

18 of Representatives a report describing the institutional

19 structures in Russia pertaining to stock assessment, man20 agement, and enforcement for fishery harvests in the Ber21 ing Sea, and recommendations for improving coordination

22 between the United States and Russia for managing and

23 conserving Bering Sea fishery resources of mutual con24 cern.
29

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1 SEC. 106. NATIONAL STANDARDS.

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

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

4 (b) Section 301(a) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)) is amended

5 by adding at the end thereof the following:

6 ‘‘(8) Conservation and management measures

7 shall, consistent with the conservation requirements

8 of this Act (including the prevention of overfishing

9 and rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into ac10 count the importance of fishery resources to fishing

11 communities in order to (A) provide for the sus12 tained participation of such communities, and (B) to

13 the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic

14 impacts on such communities.

15 ‘‘(9) Conservation and management measures

16 shall, to the extent practicable, (A) minimize bycatch

17 and (B) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided,

18 minimize the mortality of such bycatch.

19 ‘‘(10) Conservation and management measures

20 shall, to the extent practicable, promote the safety of

21 human life at sea.’’.

22 SEC. 107. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

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

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

25 heading;
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through

2 (8) as subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively;

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

4 appears and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’;

5 (4) in paragraph (1)(B), as amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and Virginia’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Virginia, and North Carolina’’;

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘North Carolina, and’’

9 after ‘‘except’’;

10 (C) by striking ‘‘19’’ and inserting ‘‘21’’;

11 and

12 (D) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’;

13 (5) by striking paragraph (1)(F), as redesig14 nated, and inserting the following:

15 ‘‘(F) PACIFIC COUNCIL.—The Pacific

16 Fishery Management Council shall consist of

17 the States of California, Oregon, Washington,

18 and Idaho and shall have authority over the

19 fisheries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of such

20 States. The Pacific Council shall have 14 voting

21 members, including 8 appointed by the Sec22 retary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at

23 least one of whom shall be appointed from each

24 such State), and including one appointed from

25 an Indian tribe with Federally recognized fish-
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1 ing rights from California, Oregon, Washington,

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

3 (6) by indenting the sentence at the end thereof

4 and inserting ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘Each Council’’; and

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

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

7 any highly migratory species fishery that is within

8 the geographical area of authority of more than one

9 of the following Councils: New England Council,

10 Mid-Atlantic Council, South Atlantic Council, Gulf

11 Council, and Caribbean Council.’’.

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

13 (1) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’ in para14 graphs (1)(C) and (3), and inserting in both places

15 ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (5)’’;

16 (2) by striking the last sentence in paragraph

17 (3) and inserting the following: ‘‘Any term in which

18 an individual was appointed to replace a member

19 who left office during the term shall not be counted

20 in determining the number of consecutive terms

21 served by that Council member.’’; and

22 (3) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting

23 after paragraph (4) the following:

24 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall appoint to the Pa25 cific Council one representative of an Indian tribe
32

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1 with Federally recognized fishing rights from Cali2 fornia, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho from a list of

3 not less than 3 individuals submitted by the tribal

4 governments. The Secretary, in consultation with the

5 Secretary of the Interior and tribal governments,

6 shall establish by regulation the procedure for sub7 mitting a list under this subparagraph.

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

9 tribes taking into consideration—

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

11 the list referred to in subparagraph (A),

12 ‘‘(ii) the various rights of the Indian tribes

13 involved and judicial cases that set forth how

14 those rights are to be exercised, and

15 ‘‘(iii) the geographic area in which the

16 tribe of the representative is located.

17 ‘‘(C) A vacancy occurring prior to the expira18 tion of any term shall be filled in the same manner

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

20 the Secretary may use the list from which the

21 vacating representative was chosen.

22 ‘‘(6) The Secretary may remove for cause any

23 member of a Council required to be appointed by the

24 Secretary in accordance with paragraphs (2) or (5)

25 if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the Council concerned first rec2 ommends removal by not less than two-thirds of

3 the members who are voting members and sub4 mits such removal recommendation to the Sec5 retary in writing together with a statement of

6 the basis for the recommendation; or

7 ‘‘(B) the member is found by the Sec8 retary, after notice and an opportunity for a

9 hearing in accordance with section 554 of title

10 5, United States Code, to have committed an

11 act prohibited by section 307(1)(O).’’.

12 (c) Section 302(d) (16 U.S.C. 1852(d)) is amended

13 in the first sentence—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘each Council,’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘each Council who are required to be appointed by

16 the Secretary and’’; and

17 (2) by striking ‘‘shall, until January 1, 1992,’’

18 and all that follows through ‘‘GS-16’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘shall receive compensation at the daily rate for GS20 15, step 7’’.

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

22 by adding at the end the following:

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

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

25 matter before the Council. The official minutes and
34

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1 other appropriate records of any Council meeting

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

3 each voting member present during each roll call

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

5 vote.’’.

6 (e) Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended

7 by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by

8 inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

9 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall establish advisory pan10 els to assist in the collection and evaluation of infor11 mation relevant to the development of any fishery

12 management plan or plan amendment for a fishery

13 to which subsection (a)(3) applies. Each advisory

14 panel shall participate in all aspects of the develop15 ment of the plan or amendment; be balanced in its

16 representation of commercial, recreational, and other

17 interests; and consist of not less than 7 individuals

18 who are knowledgeable about the fishery for which

19 the plan or amendment is developed, selected from

20 among—

21 ‘‘(A) members of advisory committees and

22 species working groups appointed under Acts

23 implementing relevant international fishery

24 agreements pertaining to highly migratory spe25 cies; and
35

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1 ‘‘(B) other interested persons.’’.

2 (f) Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended—

3 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(1) for each fishery under its authority that

6 requires conservation and management, prepare and

7 submit to the Secretary (A) a fishery management

8 plan, and (B) amendments to each such plan that

9 are necessary from time to time (and promptly

10 whenever changes in conservation and management

11 measures in another fishery substantially affect the

12 fishery for which such plan was developed);’’;

13 (2) in paragraph (2)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘section 204(b)(4)(C),’’ in

15 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘section

16 204(b)(4)(C) or section 204(d),’’;

17 (B) by striking ‘‘304(c)(2)’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘304(c)(4)’’; and

19 (3) by striking ‘‘304(f)(3) ‘‘in paragraph (5)

20 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(3)’’.

21 (g) Section 302 is amended further by striking sub22 section (i), and by redesignating subsections (j) and (k)

23 as subsections (i) and (j), respectively.

24 (h) Section 302(i), as redesignated, is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Councils’’ in paragraph

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

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

4 and inserting ‘‘established under subsection (g):’’;

5 (3) by striking ‘‘Council’s’’ in paragraph (2)(C);

6 (4) by adding the following at the end of para7 graph (2)(C): ‘‘The published agenda of the meeting

8 may not be modified to include additional matters

9 for Council action without public notice or within 14

10 days prior to the meeting date, unless such modifica11 tion is to address an emergency action under section

12 305(c), in which case public notice shall be given im13 mediately.’’;

14 (5) by adding the following at the end of para15 graph (2)(D): ‘‘All written information submitted to

16 a Council by an interested person shall include a

17 statement of the source and date of such informa18 tion. Any oral or written statement shall include a

19 brief description of the background and interests of

20 the person in the subject of the oral or written state21 ment.’’;

22 (6) by striking paragraph (2)(E) and inserting:

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

24 the Council, except for any closed session, shall

25 be kept and shall contain a record of the per-
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1 sons present, a complete and accurate descrip2 tion of matters discussed and conclusions

3 reached, and copies of all statements filed. The

4 Chairman shall certify the accuracy of the min5 utes of each such meeting and submit a copy

6 thereof to the Secretary. The minutes shall be

7 made available to any court of competent juris8 diction.’’;

9 (7) by striking ‘‘by the Council’’ the first place

10 it appears in paragraph (2)(F);

11 (8) by inserting ‘‘or the Secretary, as appro12 priate’’ in paragraph (2)(F) after ‘‘of the Council’’;

13 and

14 (9) by striking ‘‘303(d)’’ each place it appears

15 in paragraph (2)(F) and inserting ‘‘402(b)’’; and

16 (10) by striking ‘‘303(d)’’ in paragraph (4) and

17 inserting ‘‘402(b)’’.

18 (i) Section 302(j), as redesignated, is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘and Recusal’’ after ‘‘Interest’’

20 in the subsection heading;

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

22 following:

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

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

25 an individual who—
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1 ‘‘(i) is nominated by the Governor of

2 a State for appointment as a voting mem3 ber of a Council in accordance with sub4 section (b)(2); or

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

6 appointed—

7 ‘‘(I) under subsection (b)(2); or

8 ‘‘(II) under subsection (b)(5) who

9 is not subject to disclosure and

10 recusal requirements under the laws

11 of an Indian tribal government; and

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

13 person with expertise in Federal conflict-of-in14 terest requirements who is designated by the

15 Secretary, in consultation with the Council, to

16 attend Council meetings and make determina17 tions under paragraph (7)(B).’’;

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

19 and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(i)’’;

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

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

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

23 (4) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

24 (6)(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para25 graph (5)(A);
39

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1 (B) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (5)(B) and inserting a semicolon and the

3 word ‘‘and’’; and

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

5 following:

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

7 use in reviewing determinations under para8 graph (7)(B) and made available for public in9 spection at reasonable hours.’’;

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

11 (6) and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)(ii)’’;

12 (8) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para13 graph (8) and inserting after paragraph (6) the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(7)(A) After the effective date of regulations

16 promulgated under subparagraph (F) of this para17 graph, an affected individual required to disclose a

18 financial interest under paragraph (2) shall not vote

19 on a Council decision which would have a significant

20 and predictable effect on such financial interest. A

21 Council decision shall be considered to have a sig22 nificant and predictable effect on a financial interest

23 if there is a close causal link between the Council de24 cision and an expected and substantially dispropor25 tionate benefit to the financial interest of the af-
40

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1 fected individual relative to the financial interests of

2 other participants in the same gear type or sector of

3 the fishery. An affected individual who may not vote

4 may participate in Council deliberations relating to

5 the decision after notifying the Council of the voting

6 recusal and identifying the financial interest that

7 would be affected.

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

9 upon the initiative of the appropriate designated of10 ficial, the designated official shall make a determina11 tion for the record whether a Council decision would

12 have a significant and predictable effect on a finan13 cial interest.

14 ‘‘(C) Any Council member may submit a writ15 ten request to the Secretary to review any deter16 mination by the designated official under subpara17 graph (B) within 10 days of such determination.

18 Such review shall be completed within 30 days of re19 ceipt of the request.

20 ‘‘(D) Any affected individual who does not vote

21 in a Council decision in accordance with this sub22 section may state for the record how he or she would

23 have voted on such decision if he or she had voted.

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

25 Secretary has reviewed a determination under sub-
41

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1 paragraph (C), the eventual ruling may not be treat2 ed as cause for the invalidation or reconsideration by

3 the Secretary of such decision.

4 ‘‘(F) The Secretary, in consultation with the

5 Councils and by not later than one year from the

6 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act,

7 shall promulgate regulations which prohibit an af8 fected individual from voting in accordance with sub9 paragraph (A), and which allow for the making of

10 determinations under subparagraphs (B) and (C).’’;

11 and

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

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

14 SEC. 108. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

15 (a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—Section 303(a) (16

16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting ‘‘and re18 build overfished stocks’’ after ‘‘overfishing’’;

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘commercial, recreational, and

20 charter fishing in’’ in paragraph (5) after ‘‘with re21 spect to’’;

22 (3) 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
42

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1 the Secretary under section 305(b)(1)(A), minimize

2 to the extent practicable adverse effects on such

3 habitat caused by fishing, and identify other actions

4 to encourage the conservation and enhancement of

5 such habitat;’’;

6 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (8);

8 (5) by inserting ‘‘and fishing communities’’

9 after ‘‘fisheries’’ in paragraph (9)(A);

10 (6) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (9) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

13 ‘‘(10) specify objective and measurable criteria

14 for identifying when the fishery to which the plan

15 applies is overfished (with an analysis of how the cri16 teria were determined and the relationship of the

17 criteria to the reproductive potential of stocks of fish

18 in that fishery) and, in the case of a fishery which

19 the Council or the Secretary has determined is ap20 proaching an overfished condition or is overfished,

21 contain conservation and management measures to

22 prevent overfishing or end overfishing and rebuild

23 the fishery;

24 ‘‘(11) establish a standardized reporting meth25 odology to assess the amount and type of bycatch
43

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1 occurring in the fishery, and include conservation

2 and management measures that, to the extent prac3 ticable and in the following priority—

4 ‘‘(A) minimize bycatch; and

5 ‘‘(B) minimize the mortality of bycatch

6 which cannot be avoided;

7 ‘‘(12) assess the type and amount of fish

8 caught and released alive during recreational fishing

9 under catch and release fishery management pro10 grams and the mortality of such fish, and include

11 conservation and management measures that, to the

12 extent practicable, minimize mortality and ensure

13 the extended survival of such fish;

14 ‘‘(13) include a description of the commercial,

15 recreational, and charter fishing sectors which par16 ticipate in the fishery and, to the extent practicable,

17 quantify trends in landings of the managed fishery

18 resource by the commercial, recreational, and char19 ter fishing sectors; and

20 ‘‘(14) to the extent that rebuilding plans or

21 other conservation and management measures which

22 reduce the overall harvest in a fishery are necessary,

23 allocate any harvest restrictions or recovery benefits

24 fairly and equitably among the commercial, rec-
44

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1 reational, and charter fishing sectors in the fish2 ery.’’.

3 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 24 months

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, each Regional

5 Fishery Management Council shall submit to the Sec6 retary of Commerce amendments to each fishery manage7 ment plan under its authority to comply with the amend8 ments made in subsection (a) of this section.

9 (c) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS.—Section 303(b)

10 (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(3) establish specified limitations which are

14 necessary and appropriate for the conservation and

15 management of the fishery on the —

16 ‘‘(A) catch of fish (based on area, species,

17 size, number, weight, sex, bycatch, total bio18 mass, or other factors);

19 ‘‘(B) sale of fish caught during commer20 cial, recreational, or charter fishing, consistent

21 with any applicable Federal and State safety

22 and quality requirements; and

23 ‘‘(C) transshipment or transportation of

24 fish or fish products under permits issued pur25 suant to section 204;’’;
45

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1 (2) by striking ‘‘system for limiting access to’’

2 in paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘limited access sys3 tem for’’;

4 (3) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ in subparagraph (E)

5 of paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘fishery and any af6 fected fishing communities’’;

7 (4) by inserting ‘‘one or more’’ in paragraph

8 (8) after ‘‘require that’’;

9 (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (9);

11 (6) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para12 graph (12); and

13 (7) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow14 ing:

15 ‘‘(10) include, consistent with the other provi16 sions of this Act, conservation and management

17 measures that provide harvest incentives for partici18 pants within each gear group to employ fishing prac19 tices that result in lower levels of bycatch or in lower

20 levels of the mortality of bycatch;

21 ‘‘(11) reserve a portion of the allowable biologi22 cal catch of the fishery for use in scientific research;

23 and’’.
46

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1 (d) REGULATIONS.—Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is

2 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(c) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Proposed regula5 tions which the Council deems necessary or appropriate

6 for the purposes of—

7 ‘‘(1) implementing a fishery management plan

8 or plan amendment shall be submitted to the Sec9 retary simultaneously with the plan or amendment

10 under section 304; and

11 ‘‘(2) making modifications to regulations imple12 menting a fishery management plan or plan amend13 ment may be submitted to the Secretary at any time

14 after the plan or amendment is approved under sec15 tion 304.’’.

16 (e) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTAS.—Subsection 303

17 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended further by striking sub18 sections (d), (e), and (f), and inserting the following:

19 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTAS.—

20 ‘‘(1)(A) A Council may not submit and the Sec21 retary may not approve or implement before October

22 1, 2000, any fishery management plan, plan amend23 ment, or regulation under this Act which creates a

24 new individual fishing quota program.
47

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1 ‘‘(B) Any fishery management plan, plan

2 amendment, or regulation approved by the Secretary

3 on or after January 4, 1995, which creates any new

4 individual fishing quota program shall be repealed

5 and immediately returned by the Secretary to the

6 appropriate Council and shall not be resubmitted,

7 reapproved, or implemented during the moratorium

8 set forth in subparagraph (A).

9 ‘‘(2)(A) No provision of law shall be construed

10 to limit the authority of a Council to submit and the

11 Secretary to approve the termination or limitation,

12 without compensation to holders of any limited ac13 cess system permits, of a fishery management plan,

14 plan amendment, or regulation that provides for a

15 limited access system, including an individual fishing

16 quota program.

17 ‘‘(B) This subsection shall not be construed to

18 prohibit a Council from submitting, or the Secretary

19 from approving and implementing, amendments to

20 the North Pacific halibut and sablefish, South At21 lantic wreckfish, or Mid-Atlantic surf clam and

22 ocean (including mahogany) quahog individual fish23 ing quota programs.

24 ‘‘(3) An individual fishing quota or other lim25 ited access system authorization—
48

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1 ‘‘(A) shall be considered a permit for the

2 purposes of sections 307, 308, and 309;

3 ‘‘(B) may be revoked or limited at any

4 time in accordance with this Act;

5 ‘‘(C) shall not confer any right of com6 pensation to the holder of such individual fish7 ing quota or other such limited access system

8 authorization if it is revoked or limited; and

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

10 create, any right, title, or interest in or to any

11 fish before the fish is harvested.

12 ‘‘(4)(A) A Council may submit, and the Sec13 retary may approve and implement, a program

14 which reserves up to 25 percent of any fees collected

15 from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to be used,

16 pursuant to section 1104A(a)(7) of the Merchant

17 Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274(a)(7)), to

18 issue obligations that aid in financing the—

19 ‘‘(i) purchase of individual fishing quotas

20 in that fishery by fishermen who fish from

21 small vessels; and

22 ‘‘(ii) first-time purchase of individual fish23 ing quotas in that fishery by entry level fisher24 men.
49

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1 ‘‘(B) A Council making a submission under

2 subparagraph (A) shall recommend criteria, consist3 ent with the provisions of this Act, that a fisherman

4 must meet to qualify for guarantees under clauses

5 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) and the portion of

6 funds to be allocated for guarantees under each

7 clause.

8 ‘‘(5) In submitting and approving any new indi9 vidual fishing quota program on or after October 1,

10 2000, the Councils and the Secretary shall consider

11 the report of the National Academy of Sciences re12 quired under section 108(f) of the Sustainable Fish13 eries Act, and any recommendations contained in

14 such report, and shall ensure that any such pro15 gram—

16 ‘‘(A) establishes procedures and require17 ments for the review and revision of the terms

18 of any such program (including any revisions

19 that may be necessary once a national policy

20 with respect to individual fishing quota pro21 grams is implemented), and, if appropriate, for

22 the renewal, reallocation, or reissuance of indi23 vidual fishing quotas;

24 ‘‘(B) provides for the effective enforcement

25 and management of any such program, includ-
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1 ing adequate observer coverage, and for fees

2 under section 304(d)(2) to recover actual costs

3 directly related to such enforcement and man4 agement; and

5 ‘‘(C) provides for a fair and equitable ini6 tial allocation of individual fishing quotas, pre7 vents any person from acquiring an excessive

8 share of the individual fishing quotas issued,

9 and considers the allocation of a portion of the

10 annual harvest in the fishery for entry-level

11 fishermen, small vessel owners, and crew mem12 bers who do not hold or qualify for individual

13 fishing quotas.’’.

14 (f) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA REPORT.— (1) Not

15 later than October 1, 1998, the National Academy of

16 Sciences, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce

17 and the Regional Fishery Management Councils, shall

18 submit to the Congress a comprehensive final report on

19 individual fishing quotas, which shall include recommenda20 tions to implement a national policy with respect to indi21 vidual fishing quotas. The report shall address all aspects

22 of such quotas, including an analysis of—

23 (A) the effects of limiting or prohibiting the

24 transferability of such quotas;
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1 (B) mechanisms to prevent foreign control of

2 the harvest of United States fisheries under individ3 ual fishing quota programs, including mechanisms to

4 prohibit persons who are not eligible to be deemed

5 a citizen of the United States for the purpose of op6 erating a vessel in the coastwise trade under section

7 2(a) and section 2(c) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46

8 U.S.C. 802 (a) and (c)) from holding individual fish9 ing quotas;

10 (C) the impact of limiting the duration of indi11 vidual fishing quota programs;

12 (D) the impact of authorizing Federal permits

13 to process a quantity of fish that correspond to indi14 vidual fishing quotas, and of the value created for

15 recipients of any such permits, including a compari16 son of such value to the value of the corresponding

17 individual fishing quotas;

18 (E) mechanisms to provide for diversity and to

19 minimize adverse social and economic impacts on

20 fishing communities, other fisheries affected by the

21 displacement of vessels, and any impacts associated

22 with the shifting of capital value from fishing vessels

23 to individual fishing quotas, as well as the use of

24 capital construction funds to purchase individual

25 fishing quotas;
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1 (F) mechanisms to provide for effective mon2 itoring and enforcement, including the inspection of

3 fish harvested and incentives to reduce bycatch, and

4 in particular economic discards;

5 (G) threshold criteria for determining whether a

6 fishery may be considered for individual fishing

7 quota management, including criteria related to the

8 geographical range, population dynamics and condi9 tion of a fish stock, the socioeconomic characteristics

10 of a fishery (including participants’ involvement in

11 multiple fisheries in the region), and participation by

12 commercial, charter, and recreational fishing sectors

13 in the fishery;

14 (H) mechanisms to ensure that vessel owners,

15 vessel masters, crew members, and United States

16 fish processors are treated fairly and equitably in

17 initial allocations, to require persons holding individ18 ual fishing quotas to be on board the vessel using

19 such quotas, and to facilitate new entry under indi20 vidual fishing quota programs;

21 (I) potential social and economic costs and ben22 efits to the nation, individual fishing quota recipi23 ents, and any recipients of Federal permits described

24 in subparagraph (D) under individual fishing quota

25 programs, including from capital gains revenue, the
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1 allocation of such quotas or permits through Federal

2 auctions, annual fees and transfer fees at various

3 levels, or other measures;

4 (J) the value created for recipients of individual

5 fishing quotas, including a comparison of such value

6 to the value of the fish harvested under such quotas

7 and to the value of permits created by other types

8 of limited access systems, and the effects of creating

9 such value on fishery management and conservation;

10 and

11 (K) such other matters as the National Acad12 emy of Sciences deems appropriate.

13 (2) The report shall include a detailed analysis

14 of individual fishing quota programs already imple15 mented in the United States, including the impacts:

16 of any limits on transferability, on past and present

17 participants, on fishing communities, on the rate

18 and total amount of bycatch (including economic

19 and regulatory discards) in the fishery, on the safety

20 of life and vessels in the fishery, on any excess har21 vesting or processing capacity in the fishery, on any

22 gear conflicts in the fishery, on product quality from

23 the fishery, on the effectiveness of enforcement in

24 the fishery, on the size and composition of fishing

25 vessel fleets, of the economic value created by indi-
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1 vidual fishing quotas for initial recipients and non2 recipients, on conservation of the fishery resource,

3 on fishermen who rely on participation in several

4 fisheries, on the success in meeting any fishery man5 agement plan goals, and the fairness and effective6 ness of the methods used for allocating quotas and

7 controlling transferability. The report shall also in8 clude any information about individual fishing quota

9 programs in other countries that may be useful.

10 (3) The report shall identify and analyze alter11 native conservation and management measures, in12 cluding other limited access systems such as individ13 ual transferable effort systems, that could accom14 plish the same objectives as individual fishing quota

15 programs, as well as characteristics that are unique

16 to individual fishing quota programs.

17 (4) The Secretary of Commerce shall, in con18 sultation with the National Academy of Sciences, the

19 Councils, the fishing industry, affected States, con20 servation organizations and other interested persons,

21 establish two individual fishing quota review groups

22 to assist in the preparation of the report, which shall

23 represent: (A) Alaska, Hawaii, and the other Pacific

24 coastal States; and (B) Atlantic coastal States and

25 the Gulf of Mexico coastal States. The Secretary
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1 shall, to the extent practicable, achieve a balanced

2 representation of viewpoints among the individuals

3 on each review group. The review groups shall be

4 deemed to be advisory panels under section 302(g)

5 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage6 ment Act, as amended by this Act.

7 (5) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation

8 with the National Academy of Sciences and the

9 Councils, shall conduct public hearings in each

10 Council region to obtain comments on individual

11 fishing quotas for use by the National Academy of

12 Sciences in preparing the report required by this

13 subsection. The National Academy of Sciences shall

14 submit a draft report to the Secretary of Commerce

15 by January 1, 1998. The Secretary of Commerce

16 shall publish in the Federal Register a notice and

17 opportunity for public comment on the draft of the

18 report, or any revision thereof. A detailed summary

19 of comments received and views presented at the

20 hearings, including any dissenting views, shall be in21 cluded by the National Academy of Sciences in the

22 final report.

23 (6) Section 210 of Public Law 104-134 is here24 by repealed.
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1 (g) NORTH PACIFIC LOAN PROGRAM.—(1) By not

2 later than October 1, 1997 the North Pacific Fishery

3 Management Council shall recommend to the Secretary of

4 Commerce a program which uses the full amount of fees

5 authorized to be used under section 303(d)(4) of the Mag6 nuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as

7 amended by this Act, in the halibut and sablefish fisheries

8 off Alaska to guarantee obligations in accordance with

9 such section.

10 (2)(A) For the purposes of this subsection, the

11 phrase ‘‘fishermen who fish from small vessels’’ in

12 section 303(d)(4)(A)(i) of such Act shall mean fish13 ermen wishing to purchase individual fishing quotas

14 for use from Category B, Category C, or Category

15 D vessels, as defined in part 676.20(c) of title 50,

16 Code of Federal Regulations (as revised as of Octo17 ber 1, 1995), whose aggregate ownership of individ18 ual fishing quotas will not exceed the equivalent of

19 a total of 50,000 pounds of halibut and sablefish

20 harvested in the fishing year in which a guarantee

21 application is made if the guarantee is approved,

22 who will participate aboard the fishing vessel in the

23 harvest of fish caught under such quotas, who have

24 at least 150 days of experience working as part of

25 the harvesting crew in any U.S. commercial fishery,
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1 and who do not own in whole or in part any Cat2 egory A or Category B vessel, as defined in such

3 part and title of the Code of Federal Regulations.

4 (B) For the purposes of this subsection, the

5 phrase ‘‘entry level fishermen’’ in section

6 303(d)(4)(A)(ii) of such Act shall mean fishermen

7 who do not own any individual fishing quotas, who

8 wish to obtain the equivalent of not more than a

9 total of 8,000 pounds of halibut and sablefish har10 vested in the fishing year in which a guarantee ap11 plication is made, and who will participate aboard

12 the fishing vessel in the harvest of fish caught under

13 such quotas.

14 (h) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA REPORT.—

15 Not later than October 1, 1998, the National Academy

16 of Sciences, in consultation with the Secretary, the North

17 Pacific and Western Pacific Councils, communities and or18 ganizations participating in the program, participants in

19 affected fisheries, and the affected States, shall submit to

20 the Secretary of Commerce and Congress a comprehensive

21 report on the performance and effectiveness of the commu22 nity development quota programs under the authority of

23 the North Pacific and Western Pacific Councils. The re24 port shall—
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1 (1) evaluate the extent to which such programs

2 have met the objective of providing communities

3 with the means to develop ongoing commercial fish4 ing activities;

5 (2) evaluate the manner and extent to which

6 such programs have resulted in the communities and

7 residents—

8 (A) receiving employment opportunities in

9 commercial fishing and processing; and

10 (B) obtaining the capital necessary to in11 vest in commercial fishing, fish processing, and

12 commercial fishing support projects (including

13 infrastructure to support commercial fishing);

14 (3) evaluate the social and economic conditions

15 in the participating communities and the extent to

16 which alternative private sector employment oppor17 tunities exist;

18 (4) evaluate the economic impacts on partici19 pants in the affected fisheries, taking into account

20 the condition of the fishery resource, the market,

21 and other relevant factors;

22 (5) recommend a proposed schedule for accom23 plishing the developmental purposes of community

24 development quotas; and
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1 (6) address such other matters as the National

2 Academy of Sciences deems appropriate.

3 (i) EXISTING QUOTA PLANS.—Nothing in this Act or

4 the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to

5 require a reallocation of individual fishing quotas under

6 any individual fishing quota program approved by the Sec7 retary before January 4, 1995.

8 SEC. 109. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.

9 (a) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF PLANS AND REGULA10 TIONS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by

11 striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the follow12 ing:

13 ‘‘(a) REVIEW OF PLANS.—

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

15 Secretary of a fishery management plan or plan

16 amendment, the Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of

18 the plan or amendment to determine whether it

19 is consistent with the national standards, the

20 other provisions of this Act, and any other ap21 plicable law; and

22 ‘‘(B) immediately publish in the Federal

23 Register a notice stating that the plan or

24 amendment is available and that written infor25 mation, views, or comments of interested per-
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1 sons on the plan or amendment may be submit2 ted to the Secretary during the 60-day period

3 beginning on the date the notice is published.

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

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(A) take into account the information,

7 views, and comments received from interested

8 persons;

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

10 with respect to foreign fishing; and

11 ‘‘(C) consult with the Secretary of the de12 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating

13 with respect to enforcement at sea and to fish14 ery access adjustments referred to in section

15 303(a)(6).

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

17 or partially approve a plan or amendment within 30

18 days of the end of the comment period under para19 graph (1) by written notice to the Council. A notice

20 of disapproval or partial approval shall specify—

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

22 plan or amendment is inconsistent;

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

24 and
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1 ‘‘(C) recommendations concerning the ac2 tions that could be taken by the Council to con3 form such plan or amendment to the require4 ments of applicable law.

5 If the Secretary does not notify a Council within 30

6 days of the end of the comment period of the ap7 proval, disapproval, or partial approval of a plan or

8 amendment, then such plan or amendment shall

9 take effect as if approved.

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

11 approves a plan or amendment, the Council may

12 submit a revised plan or amendment to the Sec13 retary for review under this subsection.

14 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection and sub15 section (b), the term ‘immediately’ means on or be16 fore the 5th day after the day on which a Council

17 transmits to the Secretary a fishery management

18 plan, plan amendment, or proposed regulation that

19 the Council characterizes as final.

20 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—

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

22 Secretary of proposed regulations prepared under

23 section 303(c), the Secretary shall immediately initi24 ate an evaluation of the proposed regulations to de25 termine whether they are consistent with the fishery
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1 management plan, plan amendment, this Act and

2 other applicable law. Within 15 days of initiating

3 such evaluation the Secretary shall make a deter4 mination and—

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

6 the Secretary shall publish such regulations in

7 the Federal Register, with such technical

8 changes as may be necessary for clarity and an

9 explanation of those changes, for a public com10 ment period of 15 to 60 days; or

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

12 Secretary shall notify the Council in writing of

13 the inconsistencies and provide recommenda14 tions on revisions that would make the proposed

15 regulations consistent with the fishery manage16 ment plan, plan amendment, this Act, and

17 other applicable law.

18 ‘‘(2) Upon receiving a notification under para19 graph (1)(B), the Council may revise the proposed

20 regulations and submit them to the Secretary for re21 evaluation under paragraph (1).

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu23 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

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

25 consult with the Council before making any revisions
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1 to the proposed regulations, and must publish in the

2 Federal Register an explanation of any differences

3 between the proposed and final regulations.’’.

4 (b) PREPARATION BY THE SECRETARY.—Section

5 304(c) (16 U.S.C. 1854(c)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in7 serting ‘‘PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF SECRETAR8 IAL PLANS’’;

9 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (1)(A);

11 (3) by striking all that follows ‘‘further revised

12 plan’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘or amend13 ment; or’’;

14 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (1)(B), as

15 amended, the following new subparagraph:

16 ‘‘(C) the Secretary is given authority to

17 prepare such plan or amendment under this

18 section.’’;

19 (5) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting:

20 ‘‘(2) In preparing any plan or amendment

21 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

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

24 areas concerned, so as to allow interested per25 sons an opportunity to be heard in the prepara-
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1 tion and amendment of the plan and any regu2 lations implementing the plan; and

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

4 with respect to foreign fishing and with the

5 Secretary of the department in which the Coast

6 Guard is operating with respect to enforcement

7 at sea.’’;

8 (6) by inserting ‘‘for a fishery under the au9 thority of a Council’’ after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ in para10 graph (3);

11 (7) by striking ‘‘system described in section

12 303(b)(6)’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘system,

13 including any individual fishing quota program’’;

14 and

15 (8) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow16 ing new paragraphs:

17 ‘‘(4) Whenever the Secretary prepares a fishery

18 management plan or plan amendment under this

19 section, the Secretary shall immediately—

20 ‘‘(A) for a plan or amendment for a fishery

21 under the authority of a Council, submit such

22 plan or amendment to the appropriate Council

23 for consideration and comment; and

24 ‘‘(B) publish in the Federal Register a no25 tice stating that the plan or amendment is
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1 available and that written information, views, or

2 comments of interested persons on the plan or

3 amendment may be submitted to the Secretary

4 during the 60-day period beginning on the date

5 the notice is published.

6 ‘‘(5) Whenever a plan or amendment is submit7 ted under paragraph (4)(A), the appropriate Council

8 must submit its comments and recommendations, if

9 any, regarding the plan or amendment to the Sec10 retary before the close of the 60-day period referred

11 to in paragraph (4)(B). After the close of such 60-

12 day period, the Secretary, after taking into account

13 any such comments and recommendations, as well as

14 any views, information, or comments submitted

15 under paragraph (4)(B), may adopt such plan or

16 amendment.

17 ‘‘(6) The Secretary may propose regulations in

18 the Federal Register to implement any plan or

19 amendment prepared by the Secretary. In the case

20 of a plan or amendment to which paragraph (4)(A)

21 applies, such regulations shall be submitted to the

22 Council with such plan or amendment. The comment

23 period on proposed regulations shall be 60 days, ex24 cept that the Secretary may shorten the comment

25 period on minor revisions to existing regulations.
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1 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall promulgate final regu2 lations within 30 days after the end of the comment

3 period under paragraph (6). The Secretary must

4 publish in the Federal Register an explanation of

5 any substantive differences between the proposed

6 and final rules. All final regulations must be consist7 ent with the fishery management plan, with the na8 tional standards and other provisions of this Act,

9 and with any other applicable law.’’.

10 (c) INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA AND COMMUNITY

11 DEVELOPMENT QUOTA FEES.—Section 304(d) (16

12 U.S.C. 1854(d)) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ immediately before the

14 first sentence; and

15 (2) by inserting the at the end the following:

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

17 Secretary is authorized and shall collect a fee to re18 cover the actual costs directly related to the manage19 ment and enforcement of any—

20 ‘‘(i) individual fishing quota program; and

21 ‘‘(ii) community development quota pro22 gram that allocates a percentage of the total al23 lowable catch of a fishery to such program.

24 ‘‘(B) Such fee shall not exceed 3 percent of the

25 ex-vessel value of fish harvested under any such pro-
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1 gram, and shall be collected at either the time of the

2 landing, filing of a landing report, or sale of such

3 fish during a fishing season or in the last quarter

4 of the calendar year in which the fish is harvested.

5 ‘‘(C)(i) Fees collected under this paragraph

6 shall be in addition to any other fees charged under

7 this Act and shall be deposited in the Limited Ac8 cess System Administration Fund established under

9 section 305(h)(5)(B), except that the portion of any

10 such fees reserved under section 303(d)(4)(A) shall

11 be deposited in the Treasury and available, subject

12 to annual appropriations, to cover the costs of new

13 direct loan obligations and new loan guarantee com14 mitments as required by section 504(b)(1) of the

15 Federal Credit Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 661c(b)(1)).

16 ‘‘(ii) Upon application by a State, the Secretary

17 shall transfer to such State up to 33 percent of any

18 fee collected pursuant to subparagraph (A) under a

19 community development quota program and depos20 ited in the Limited Access System Administration

21 Fund in order to reimburse such State for actual

22 costs directly incurred in the management and en23 forcement of such program.’’.

24 (d) DELAY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding any other

25 provision of law, the Secretary shall not begin the collec-
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1 tion of fees under section 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson

2 Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended

3 by this Act, in the surf clam and ocean (including mahog4 any) quahog fishery or in the wreckfish fishery until after

5 January 1, 2000.

6 (e) OVERFISHING.—Section 304(e) (16 U.S.C.

7 1854(e)) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(e) REBUILDING OVERFISHED FISHERIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall report annually to the

10 Congress and the Councils on the status of fisheries

11 within each Council’s geographical area of authority

12 and identify those fisheries that are overfished or

13 are approaching a condition of being overfished. For

14 those fisheries managed under a fishery manage15 ment plan or international agreement, the status

16 shall be determined using the criteria for overfishing

17 specified in such plan or agreement. A fishery shall

18 be classified as approaching a condition of being

19 overfished if, based on trends in fishing effort, fish20 ery resource size, and other appropriate factors, the

21 Secretary estimates that the fishery will become

22 overfished within two years.

23 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary determines at any time

24 that a fishery is overfished, the Secretary shall im25 mediately notify the appropriate Council and request
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1 that action be taken to end overfishing in the fishery

2 and to implement conservation and management

3 measures to rebuild affected stocks of fish. The Sec4 retary shall publish each notice under this para5 graph in the Federal Register.

6 ‘‘(3) Within one year of an identification under

7 paragraph (1) or notification under paragraphs (2)

8 or (7), the appropriate Council (or the Secretary, for

9 fisheries under section 302(a)(3)) shall prepare a

10 fishery management plan, plan amendment, or pro11 posed regulations for the fishery to which the identi12 fication or notice applies—

13 ‘‘(A) to end overfishing in the fishery and

14 to rebuild affected stocks of fish; or

15 ‘‘(B) to prevent overfishing from occurring

16 in the fishery whenever such fishery is identi17 fied as approaching an overfished condition.

18 ‘‘(4) For a fishery that is overfished, any fish19 ery management plan, amendment, or proposed reg20 ulations prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) or

21 paragraph (5) for such fishery shall—

22 ‘‘(A) specify a time period for ending over23 fishing and rebuilding the fishery that shall—

24 ‘‘(i) be as short as possible, taking

25 into account the status and biology of any
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1 overfished stocks of fish, the needs of fish2 ing communities, recommendations by

3 international organizations in which the

4 United States participates, and the inter5 action of the overfished stock of fish within

6 the marine ecosystem; and

7 ‘‘(ii) not exceed 10 years, except in

8 cases where the biology of the stock of fish,

9 other environmental conditions, or manage10 ment measures under an international

11 agreement in which the United States par12 ticipates dictate otherwise;

13 ‘‘(B) allocate both overfishing restrictions

14 and recovery benefits fairly and equitably

15 among sectors of the fishery; and

16 ‘‘(C) for fisheries managed under an inter17 national agreement, reflect traditional participa18 tion in the fishery, relative to other nations, by

19 fishermen of the United States.

20 ‘‘(5) If, within the one-year period beginning on

21 the date of identification or notification that a fish22 ery is overfished, the Council does not submit to the

23 Secretary a fishery management plan, plan amend24 ment, or proposed regulations required by paragraph

25 (3)(A), the Secretary shall prepare a fishery man-
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1 agement plan or plan amendment and any accom2 panying regulations to stop overfishing and rebuild

3 affected stocks of fish within 9 months under sub4 section (c).

5 ‘‘(6) During the development of a fishery man6 agement plan, a plan amendment, or proposed regu7 lations required by this subsection, the Council may

8 request the Secretary to implement interim measures

9 to reduce overfishing under section 305(c) until such

10 measures can be replaced by such plan, amendment,

11 or regulations. Such measures, if otherwise in com12 pliance with the provisions of this Act, may be im13 plemented even though they are not sufficient by

14 themselves to stop overfishing of a fishery.

15 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall review any fishery

16 management plan, plan amendment, or regulations

17 required by this subsection at routine intervals that

18 may not exceed two years. If the Secretary finds as

19 a result of the review that such plan, amendment, or

20 regulations have not resulted in adequate progress

21 toward ending overfishing and rebuilding affected

22 fish stocks, the Secretary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of a fishery to which sec24 tion 302(a)(3) applies, immediately make revi25 sions necessary to achieve adequate progress; or
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1 ‘‘(B) for all other fisheries, immediately

2 notify the appropriate Council. Such notifica3 tion shall recommend further conservation and

4 management measures which the Council

5 should consider under paragraph (3) to achieve

6 adequate progress.’’.

7 (f) FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY OF MORE THAN

8 ONE COUNCIL.—Section 304(f) is amended by striking

9 paragraph (3).

10 (g) ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Sec11 tion 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended further by striking

12 subsection (g) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(g) ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—(1)

14 PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OR PLAN

15 AMENDMENT.—The Secretary shall prepare a fishery

16 management plan or plan amendment under subsection (c)

17 with respect to any highly migratory species fishery to

18 which section 302(a)(3) applies. In preparing and imple19 menting any such plan or amendment, the Secretary

20 shall—

21 ‘‘(A) consult with and consider the comments

22 and views of affected Councils, commissioners and

23 advisory groups appointed under Acts implementing

24 relevant international fishery agreements pertaining
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1 to highly migratory species, and the advisory panel

2 established under section 302(g);

3 ‘‘(B) establish an advisory panel under section

4 302(g) for each fishery management plan to be pre5 pared under this paragraph;

6 ‘‘(C) evaluate the likely effects, if any, of con7 servation and management measures on participants

8 in the affected fisheries and minimize, to the extent

9 practicable, any disadvantage to United States fish10 ermen in relation to foreign competitors;

11 ‘‘(D) with respect to a highly migratory species

12 for which the United States is authorized to harvest

13 an allocation, quota, or at a fishing mortality level

14 under a relevant international fishery agreement,

15 provide fishing vessels of the United States with a

16 reasonable opportunity to harvest such allocation,

17 quota, or at such fishing mortality level;

18 ‘‘(E) review, on a continuing basis (and

19 promptly whenever a recommendation pertaining to

20 fishing for highly migratory species has been made

21 under a relevant international fishery agreement),

22 and revise as appropriate, the conservation and man23 agement measures included in the plan;

24 ‘‘(F) diligently pursue, through international

25 entities (such as the International Commission for
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1 the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas), comparable

2 international fishery management measures with re3 spect to fishing for highly migratory species; and

4 ‘‘(G) ensure that conservation and management

5 measures under this subsection—

6 ‘‘(i) promote international conservation of

7 the affected fishery;

8 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration traditional

9 fishing patterns of fishing vessels of the United

10 States and the operating requirements of the

11 fisheries;

12 ‘‘(iii) are fair and equitable in allocating

13 fishing privileges among United States fisher14 men and do not have economic allocation as the

15 sole purpose; and

16 ‘‘(iv) promote, to the extent practicable,

17 implementation of scientific research programs

18 that include the tagging and release of Atlantic

19 highly migratory species.

20 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN FISH EXCLUDED FROM ‘BYCATCH’

21 DEFINITION.—Notwithstanding section 3(2), fish har22 vested in a commercial fishery managed by the Secretary

23 under this subsection or the Atlantic Tunas Convention

24 Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971d) that are not regulatory dis25 cards and that are tagged and released alive under a sci-
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1 entific tagging and release program established by the

2 Secretary shall not be considered bycatch for purposes of

3 this Act.’’.

4 (h) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR

5 ATLANTIC PELAGIC LONGLINE FISHERY.—(1) The Sec6 retary of Commerce shall—

7 (A) establish an advisory panel under section

8 302(g)(4) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

9 and Management Act, as amended by this Act, for

10 pelagic longline fishing vessels that participate in

11 fisheries for Atlantic highly migratory species;

12 (B) conduct surveys and workshops with af13 fected fishery participants to provide information

14 and identify options for future management pro15 grams;

16 (C) to the extent practicable and necessary for

17 the evaluation of options for a comprehensive man18 agement system, recover vessel production records;

19 and

20 (D) complete by January 1, 1998, a com21 prehensive study on the feasibility of implementing

22 a comprehensive management system for pelagic

23 longline fishing vessels that participate in fisheries

24 for Atlantic highly migratory species, including, but
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1 not limited to, individual fishing quota programs and

2 other limited access systems.

3 (2) Based on the study under paragraph (1)(D)

4 and consistent with the requirements of the Magnu5 son Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

6 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), in cooperation with affected

7 participants in the fishery, the United States Com8 missioners on the International Commission for the

9 Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, and the advisory

10 panel established under paragraph (1)(A), the Sec11 retary of Commerce may, after October 1, 1998, im12 plement a comprehensive management system pursu13 ant to section 304 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1854) for

14 pelagic longline fishing vessels that participate in

15 fisheries for Atlantic highly migratory species. Such

16 a system may not implement an individual fishing

17 quota program until after October 1, 2000.

18 (i) REPEAL OR REVOCATION OF A FISHERY MANAGE19 MENT PLAN.—Section 304, as amended, is further amend20 ed by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(h) REPEAL OR REVOCATION OF A FISHERY MAN22 AGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary may repeal or revoke a

23 fishery management plan for a fishery under the authority

24 of a Council only if the Council approves the repeal or
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1 revocation by a three-quarters majority of the voting mem2 bers of the Council.’’.

3 (j) AMERICAN LOBSTER FISHERY.—Section 304(h)

4 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

5 Act, as amended by this Act, shall not apply to the Amer6 ican Lobster Fishery Management Plan.

7 SEC. 110. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY.

8 (a) Section 305 (18 U.S.C. 1855) is amended—

9 (1) by striking the title and subsection (a);

10 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub11 section (f); and

12 (3) by inserting the following before subsection

13 (c):

14 ‘‘SEC. 305. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY.

15 ‘‘(a) GEAR EVALUATION AND NOTIFICATION OF

16 ENTRY.—

17 ‘‘(1) Not later than 18 months after the date

18 of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the

19 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, after

20 notice and an opportunity for public comment, a list

21 of all fisheries —

22 ‘‘(A) under the authority of each Council

23 and all fishing gear used in such fisheries,

24 based on information submitted by the Councils

25 under section 303(a); and
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1 ‘‘(B) to which section 302(a)(3) applies

2 and all fishing gear used in such fisheries.

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include with such list

4 guidelines for determining when fishing gear or a

5 fishery is sufficiently different from those listed as

6 to require notification under paragraph (3).

7 ‘‘(3) Effective 180 days after the publication of

8 such list, no person or vessel may employ fishing

9 gear or engage in a fishery not included on such list

10 without giving 90 days advance written notice to the

11 appropriate Council, or the Secretary with respect to

12 a fishery to which section 302(a)(3) applies. A

13 signed return receipt shall serve as adequate evi14 dence of such notice and as the date upon which the

15 90-day period begins.

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

17 any proposed changes to such list or such guidelines

18 the Council deems appropriate. The Secretary shall

19 publish a revised list, after notice and an oppor20 tunity for public comment, upon receiving any such

21 proposed changes from a Council.

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

23 promulgate emergency regulations under subsection

24 (c) to prohibit any persons or vessels from using an

25 unlisted fishing gear or engaging in an unlisted fish-
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1 ery if the appropriate Council, or the Secretary for

2 fisheries to which section 302(a)(3) applies, deter3 mines that such unlisted gear or unlisted fishery

4 would compromise the effectiveness of conservation

5 and management efforts under this Act.

6 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be con7 strued to permit a person or vessel to engage in fish8 ing or employ fishing gear when such fishing or gear

9 is prohibited or restricted by regulation under a fish10 ery management plan or plan amendment, or under

11 other applicable law.

12 ‘‘(b) FISH HABITAT.—(1)(A) The Secretary shall,

13 within 6 months of the date of enactment of the Sustain14 able Fisheries Act, establish by regulation guidelines to

15 assist the Councils in the description and identification of

16 essential fish habitat in fishery management plans (includ17 ing adverse impacts on such habitat) and in the consider18 ation of actions to ensure the conservation and enhance19 ment of such habitat. The Secretary shall set forth a

20 schedule for the amendment of fishery management plans

21 to include the identification of essential fish habitat and

22 for the review and updating of such identifications based

23 on new scientific evidence or other relevant information.

24 ‘‘(B) The Secretary, in consultation with par25 ticipants in the fishery, shall provide each Council
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1 with recommendations and information regarding

2 each fishery under that Council’s authority to assist

3 it in the identification of essential fish habitat, the

4 adverse impacts on that habitat, and the actions

5 that should be considered to ensure the conservation

6 and enhancement of that habitat.

7 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall review programs ad8 ministered by the Department of Commerce and en9 sure that any relevant programs further the con10 servation and enhancement of essential fish habitat.

11 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall coordinate with and

12 provide information to other Federal agencies to fur13 ther the conservation and enhancement of essential

14 fish habitat.

15 ‘‘(2) Each Federal agency shall consult with the

16 Secretary with respect to any action authorized,

17 funded, or undertaken, or proposed to be authorized,

18 funded, or undertaken, by such agency that may ad19 versely affect any essential fish habitat identified

20 under this Act.

21 ‘‘(3) Each Council—

22 ‘‘(A) may comment on and make rec23 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal

24 or State agency concerning any activity author25 ized, funded, or undertaken, or proposed to be
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1 authorized, funded, or undertaken, by any Fed2 eral or State agency that, in the view of the

3 Council, may affect the habitat, including es4 sential fish habitat, of a fishery resource under

5 its authority; and

6 ‘‘(B) shall comment on and make rec7 ommendations to the Secretary and any Federal

8 or State agency concerning any such activity

9 that, in the view of the Council, is likely to sub10 stantially affect the habitat, including essential

11 fish habitat, of an anadromous fishery resource

12 under its authority.

13 ‘‘(4)(A) If the Secretary receives information

14 from a Council or Federal or State agency or deter15 mines from other sources that an action authorized,

16 funded, or undertaken, or proposed to be authorized,

17 funded, or undertaken, by any State or Federal

18 agency would adversely affect any essential fish

19 habitat identified under this Act, the Secretary shall

20 recommend to such agency measures that can be

21 taken by such agency to conserve such habitat.

22 ‘‘(B) Within 30 days after receiving a rec23 ommendation under subparagraph (A), a Federal

24 agency shall provide a detailed response in writing to

25 any Council commenting under paragraph (3) and
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1 the Secretary regarding the matter. The response

2 shall include a description of measures proposed by

3 the agency for avoiding, mitigating, or offsetting the

4 impact of the activity on such habitat. In the case

5 of a response that is inconsistent with the rec6 ommendations of the Secretary, the Federal agency

7 shall explain its reasons for not following the rec8 ommendations.’’.

9 (b) Section 305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c) is amended—

10 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘ACTIONS’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘ACTIONS AND INTERIM MEASURES’’;

12 (2) in paragraphs (1) and (2)—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘involving’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘or that interim measures are needed to reduce

15 overfishing for’’; and

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘or interim measures’’

17 after ‘‘emergency regulations’’; and

18 (C) by inserting ‘‘or overfishing’’ after

19 ‘‘emergency’’; and

20 (3) in paragraph (3)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘or interim measure’’

22 after ‘‘emergency regulation’’ each place such

23 term appears;

24 (B) by striking subparagraph (B);
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1 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as

2 subparagraph (D); and

3 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (A)

4 the following:

5 ‘‘(B) shall, except as provided in subpara6 graph (C), remain in effect for not more than

7 180 days after the date of publication, and may

8 be extended by publication in the Federal Reg9 ister for one additional period of not more than

10 180 days, provided the public has had an op11 portunity to comment on the emergency regula12 tion or interim measure, and, in the case of a

13 Council recommendation for emergency regula14 tions or interim measures, the Council is ac15 tively preparing a fishery management plan,

16 plan amendment, or proposed regulations to ad17 dress the emergency or overfishing on a perma18 nent basis;

19 ‘‘(C) that responds to a public health

20 emergency or an oil spill may remain in effect

21 until the circumstances that created the emer22 gency no longer exist, provided that the public

23 has an opportunity to comment after the regu24 lation is published, and, in the case of a public

25 health emergency, the Secretary of Health and
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1 Human Services concurs with the Secretary’s

2 action; and’’.

3 (c) Section 305(e) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘12291, dated February 17,

5 1981,’’ and inserting ‘‘12866, dated September 30,

6 1993,’’; and

7 (2) by striking ‘‘subsection (c) or section 304(a)

8 and (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a), (b), and (c)

9 of section 304’’.

10 (d) Section 305, as amended, is further amended by

11 adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(g) NEGOTIATED CONSERVATION AND MANAGE13 MENT MEASURES.—

14 ‘‘(1)(A) In accordance with regulations promul15 gated by the Secretary pursuant to this paragraph,

16 a Council may establish a fishery negotiation panel

17 to assist in the development of specific conservation

18 and management measures for a fishery under its

19 authority. The Secretary may establish a fishery ne20 gotiation panel to assist in the development of spe21 cific conservation and management measures re22 quired for a fishery under section 304(e)(5), for a

23 fishery for which the Secretary has authority under

24 section 304(g), or for any other fishery with the ap25 proval of the appropriate Council.
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1 ‘‘(B) No later than 180 days after the date of

2 enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Sec3 retary shall promulgate regulations establishing pro4 cedures, developed in cooperation with the Adminis5 trative Conference of the United States, for the es6 tablishment and operation of fishery negotiation

7 panels. Such procedures shall be comparable to the

8 procedures for negotiated rulemaking established by

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

10 Code.

11 ‘‘(2) If a negotiation panel submits a report,

12 such report shall specify all the areas where consen13 sus was reached by the panel, including, if appro14 priate, proposed conservation and management

15 measures, as well as any other information submit16 ted by members of the negotiation panel. Upon re17 ceipt, the Secretary shall publish such report in the

18 Federal Register for public comment.

19 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be con20 strued to require either a Council or the Secretary,

21 whichever is appropriate, to use all or any portion of

22 a report from a negotiation panel established under

23 this subsection in the development of specific con24 servation and management measures for the fishery

25 for which the panel was established.
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1 ‘‘(h) CENTRAL REGISTRY SYSTEM FOR LIMITED AC2 CESS SYSTEM PERMITS.—

3 ‘‘(1) Within 6 months after the date of enact4 ment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Secretary

5 shall establish an exclusive central registry system

6 (which may be administered on a regional basis) for

7 limited access system permits established under sec8 tion 303(b)(6) or other Federal law, including indi9 vidual fishing quotas, which shall provide for the

10 registration of title to, and interests in, such per11 mits, as well as for procedures for changes in the

12 registration of title to such permits upon the occur13 rence of involuntary transfers, judicial or nonjudicial

14 foreclosure of interests, enforcement of judgments

15 thereon, and related matters deemed appropriate by

16 the Secretary. Such registry system shall—

17 ‘‘(A) provide a mechanism for filing notice

18 of a nonjudicial foreclosure or enforcement of a

19 judgment by which the holder of a senior secu20 rity interest acquires or conveys ownership of a

21 permit, and in the event of a nonjudicial fore22 closure, by which the interests of the holders of

23 junior security interests are released when the

24 permit is transferred;
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1 ‘‘(B) provide for public access to the infor2 mation filed under such system, notwithstand3 ing section 402(b); and

4 ‘‘(C) provide such notice and other require5 ments of applicable law that the Secretary

6 deems necessary for an effective registry sys7 tem.

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall promulgate such regu9 lations as may be necessary to carry out this sub10 section, after consulting with the Councils and pro11 viding an opportunity for public comment. The Sec12 retary is authorized to contract with non-federal en13 tities to administer the central registry system.

14 ‘‘(3) To be effective and perfected against any

15 person except the transferor, its heirs and devisees,

16 and persons having actual notice thereof, all security

17 interests, and all sales and other transfers of per18 mits described in paragraph (1), shall be registered

19 in compliance with the regulations promulgated

20 under paragraph (2). Such registration shall con21 stitute the exclusive means of perfection of title to,

22 and security interests in, such permits, except for

23 federal tax liens thereon, which shall be perfected ex24 clusively in accordance with the Internal Revenue

25 Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). The Secretary
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1 shall notify both the buyer and seller of a permit if

2 a lien has been filed by the Secretary of Treasury

3 against the permit before collecting any transfer fee

4 under paragraph (5) of this subsection.

5 ‘‘(4) The priority of security interests shall be

6 determined in order of filing, the first filed having

7 the highest priority. A validly-filed security interest

8 shall remain valid and perfected notwithstanding a

9 change in residence or place of business of the owner

10 of record. For the purposes of this subsection, ‘secu11 rity interest’ shall include security interests, assign12 ments, liens and other encumbrances of whatever

13 kind.

14 ‘‘(5)(A) Notwithstanding section 304(d)(1), the

15 Secretary shall collect a reasonable fee of not more

16 than one-half of one percent of the value of a limited

17 access system permit upon registration of the title to

18 such permit with the central registry system and

19 upon the transfer of such registered title. Any such

20 fee collected shall be deposited in the Limited Access

21 System Administration Fund established under sub22 paragraph (B).

23 ‘‘(B) There is established in the Treasury a

24 Limited Access System Administration Fund. The

25 Fund shall be available, without appropriation or fis-
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1 cal year limitation, only to the Secretary for the pur2 poses of—

3 ‘‘(i) administering the central registry sys4 tem; and

5 ‘‘(ii) administering and implementing this

6 Act in the fishery in which the fees were col7 lected. Sums in the Fund that are not currently

8 needed for these purposes shall be kept on de9 posit or invested in obligations of, or guaran10 teed by, the United States.’’.

11 (e) REGISTRY TRANSITION.—Security interests on

12 permits described under section 305(h)(1) of the Magnu13 son Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as

14 amended by this Act, that are effective and perfected by

15 otherwise applicable law on the date of the final regula16 tions implementing section 305(h) shall remain effective

17 and perfected if, within 120 days after such date, the se18 cured party submits evidence satisfactory to the Secretary

19 of Commerce and in compliance with such regulations of

20 the perfection of such security.

21 SEC. 111. PACIFIC COMMUNITY FISHERIES.

22 (a) HAROLD SPARCK MEMORIAL COMMUNITY DE23 VELOPMENT QUOTA PROGRAM.—Section 305, as amend24 ed, is amended further by adding at the end:
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1 ‘‘(i) ALASKA AND WESTERN PACIFIC COMMUNITY

2 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.—

3 ‘‘(1)(A) The North Pacific Council and the Sec4 retary shall establish a western Alaska community

5 development quota program under which a percent6 age of the total allowable catch of any Bering Sea

7 fishery is allocated to the program.

8 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to participate in the western

9 Alaska community development quota program

10 under subparagraph (A) a community shall—

11 ‘‘(i) be located within 50 nautical miles

12 from the baseline from which the breadth of the

13 territorial sea is measured along the Bering Sea

14 coast from the Bering Strait to the western

15 most of the Aleutian Islands, or on an island

16 within the Bering Sea;

17 ‘‘(ii) not be located on the Gulf of Alaska

18 coast of the north Pacific Ocean;

19 ‘‘(iii) meet criteria developed by the Gov20 ernor of Alaska, approved by the Secretary, and

21 published in the Federal Register;

22 ‘‘(iv) be certified by the Secretary of the

23 Interior pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims

24 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to be

25 a Native village;
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1 ‘‘(v) consist of residents who conduct more

2 than one-half of their current commercial or

3 subsistence fishing effort in the waters of the

4 Bering Sea or waters surrounding the Aleutian

5 Islands; and

6 ‘‘(vi) not have previously developed har7 vesting or processing capability sufficient to

8 support substantial participation in the ground9 fish fisheries in the Bering Sea, unless the com10 munity can show that the benefits from an ap11 proved Community Development Plan would be

12 the only way for the community to realize a re13 turn from previous investments.

14 ‘‘(C)(i) Prior to October 1, 2001, the North Pa15 cific Council may not submit to the Secretary any

16 fishery management plan, plan amendment, or regu17 lation that allocates to the western Alaska commu18 nity development quota program a percentage of the

19 total allowable catch of any Bering Sea fishery for

20 which, prior to October 1, 1995, the Council had not

21 approved a percentage of the total allowable catch

22 for allocation to such community development quota

23 program. The expiration of any plan, amendment, or

24 regulation that meets the requirements of clause (ii)

25 prior to October 1, 2001, shall not be construed to
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1 prohibit the Council from submitting a revision or

2 extension of such plan, amendment, or regulation to

3 the Secretary if such revision or extension complies

4 with the other requirements of this paragraph.

5 ‘‘(ii) With respect to a fishery management

6 plan, plan amendment, or regulation for a Bering

7 Sea fishery that—

8 ‘‘(I) allocates to the western Alaska com9 munity development quota program a percent10 age of the total allowable catch of such fishery;

11 and

12 ‘‘(II) was approved by the North Pacific

13 Council prior to October 1, 1995;

14 the Secretary shall, except as provided in clause (iii)

15 and after approval of such plan, amendment, or reg16 ulation under section 304, allocate to the program

17 the percentage of the total allowable catch described

18 in such plan, amendment, or regulation. Prior to Oc19 tober 1, 2001, the percentage submitted by the

20 Council and approved by the Secretary for any such

21 plan, amendment, or regulation shall be no greater

22 than the percentage approved by the Council for

23 such fishery prior to October 1, 1995.

24 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall phase in the percent25 age for community development quotas approved in
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1 1995 by the North Pacific Council for the Bering

2 Sea crab fisheries as follows:

3 ‘‘(I) 3.5 percent of the total allowable

4 catch of each such fishery for 1998 shall be al5 located to the western Alaska community devel6 opment quota program;

7 ‘‘(II) 5 percent of the total allowable catch

8 of each such fishery for 1999 shall be allocated

9 to the western Alaska community development

10 quota program; and

11 ‘‘(III) 7.5 percent of the total allowable

12 catch of each such fishery for 2000 and there13 after shall be allocated to the western Alaska

14 community development quota program, unless

15 the North Pacific Council submits and the Sec16 retary approves a percentage that is no greater

17 than 7.5 percent of the total allowable catch of

18 each such fishery for 2001 or the North Pacific

19 Council submits and the Secretary approves any

20 other percentage on or after October 1, 2001.

21 ‘‘(D) This paragraph shall not be construed to

22 require the North Pacific Council to resubmit, or the

23 Secretary to reapprove, any fishery management

24 plan or plan amendment approved by the North Pa25 cific Council prior to October 1, 1995, that includes
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1 a community development quota program, or any

2 regulations to implement such plan or amendment.

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The Western Pacific Council and the

4 Secretary may establish a western Pacific commu5 nity development program for any fishery under the

6 authority of such Council in order to provide access

7 to such fishery for western Pacific communities that

8 participate in the program.

9 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to participate in the western

10 Pacific community development program, a commu11 nity shall—

12 ‘‘(i) be located within the Western Pacific

13 Regional Fishery Management Area;

14 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the West15 ern Pacific Council, approved by the Secretary

16 and published in the Federal Register;

17 ‘‘(iii) consist of community residents who

18 are descended from the aboriginal people indig19 enous to the area who conducted commercial or

20 subsistence fishing using traditional fishing

21 practices in the waters of the Western Pacific

22 region;

23 ‘‘(iv) not have previously developed har24 vesting or processing capability sufficient to

25 support substantial participation in fisheries in
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1 the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Manage2 ment Area; and

3 ‘‘(v) develop and submit a Community De4 velopment Plan to the Western Pacific Council

5 and the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(C) In developing the criteria for eligible com7 munities under subparagraph (B)(ii), the Western

8 Pacific Council shall base such criteria on traditional

9 fishing practices in or dependence on the fishery, the

10 cultural and social framework relevant to the fish11 ery, and economic barriers to access to the fishery.

12 ‘‘(D) For the purposes of this subsection ‘West13 ern Pacific Regional Fishery Management Area’

14 means the area under the jurisdiction of the West15 ern Pacific Council, or an island within such area.

16 ‘‘(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of

17 this Act, the Western Pacific Council shall take into

18 account traditional indigenous fishing practices in

19 preparing any fishery management plan.

20 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall deduct from any fees

21 collected from a community development quota pro22 gram under section 304(d)(2) the costs incurred by

23 participants in the program for observer and report24 ing requirements which are in addition to observer

25 and reporting requirements of other participants in
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1 the fishery in which the allocation to such program

2 has been made.

3 ‘‘(4) After the date of enactment of the Sus4 tainable Fisheries Act, the North Pacific Council

5 and Western Pacific Council may not submit to the

6 Secretary a community development quota program

7 that is not in compliance with this subsection.’’.

8 (b) WESTERN PACIFIC DEMONSTRATION

9 PROJECTS.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce and the Sec10 retary of the Interior are authorized to make direct grants

11 to eligible western Pacific communities, as recommended

12 by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, for

13 the purpose of establishing not less than three and not

14 more than five fishery demonstration projects to foster

15 and promote traditional indigenous fishing practices. The

16 total amount of grants awarded under this subsection

17 shall not exceed $500,000 in each fiscal year.

18 (2) Demonstration projects funded pursuant to this

19 subsection shall foster and promote the involvement of

20 western Pacific communities in western Pacific fisheries

21 and may—

22 (A) identify and apply traditional indigenous

23 fishing practices;

24 (B) develop or enhance western Pacific commu25 nity-based fishing opportunities; and
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1 (C) involve research, community education, or

2 the acquisition of materials and equipment necessary

3 to carry out any such demonstration project.

4 (3)(A) The Western Pacific Fishery Management

5 Council, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce,

6 shall establish an advisory panel under section 302(g) of

7 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

8 (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) to evaluate, determine the relative

9 merits of, and annually rank applications for such grants.

10 The panel shall consist of not more than 8 individuals who

11 are knowledgeable or experienced in traditional indigenous

12 fishery practices of western Pacific communities and who

13 are not members or employees of the Western Pacific

14 Fishery Management Council.

15 (B) If the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary

16 of the Interior awards a grant for a demonstration project

17 not in accordance with the rank given to such project by

18 the advisory panel, the Secretary shall provide a detailed

19 written explanation of the reasons therefor.

20 (4) The Western Pacific Fishery Management Coun21 cil shall, with the assistance of such advisory panel, submit

22 an annual report to the Congress assessing the status and

23 progress of demonstration projects carried out under this

24 subsection.
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1 (5) Appropriate Federal agencies may provide tech2 nical assistance to western Pacific community-based enti3 ties to assist in carrying out demonstration projects under

4 this subsection.

5 (6) For the purposes of this subsection, ‘western Pa6 cific community’ shall mean a community eligible to par7 ticipate under section 305(i)(2)(B) of the Magnuson Fish8 ery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by

9 this Act.

10 SEC. 112. STATE JURISDICTION.

11 (a) Paragraph (3) of section 306(a) (16 U.S.C.

12 1856(a)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(3) A State may regulate a fishing vessel out14 side the boundaries of the State in the following cir15 cumstances:

16 ‘‘(A) The fishing vessel is registered under

17 the law of that State, and (i) there is no fishery

18 management plan or other applicable federal

19 fishing regulations for the fishery in which the

20 vessel is operating; or (ii) the State’s laws and

21 regulations are consistent with the fishery man22 agement plan and applicable federal fishing reg23 ulations for the fishery in which the vessel is

24 operating.
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1 ‘‘(B) The fishery management plan for the

2 fishery in which the fishing vessel is operating

3 delegates management of the fishery to a State

4 and the State’s laws and regulations are con5 sistent with such fishery management plan. If

6 at any time the Secretary determines that a

7 State law or regulation applicable to a fishing

8 vessel under this circumstance is not consistent

9 with the fishery management plan, the Sec10 retary shall promptly notify the State and the

11 appropriate Council of such determination and

12 provide an opportunity for the State to correct

13 any inconsistencies identified in the notification.

14 If, after notice and opportunity for corrective

15 action, the State does not correct the inconsist16 encies identified by the Secretary, the authority

17 granted to the State under this subparagraph

18 shall not apply until the Secretary and the ap19 propriate Council find that the State has cor20 rected the inconsistencies. For a fishery for

21 which there was a fishery management plan in

22 place on August 1, 1996 that did not delegate

23 management of the fishery to a State as of that

24 date, the authority provided by this subpara25 graph applies only if the Council approves the
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1 delegation of management of the fishery to the

2 State by a three-quarters majority vote of the

3 voting members of the Council.

4 ‘‘(C) The fishing vessel is not registered

5 under the law of the State of Alaska and is op6 erating in a fishery in the exclusive economic

7 zone off Alaska for which there was no fishery

8 management plan in place on August 1, 1996,

9 and the Secretary and the North Pacific Coun10 cil find that there is a legitimate interest of the

11 State of Alaska in the conservation and man12 agement of such fishery. The authority provided

13 under this subparagraph shall terminate when a

14 fishery management plan under this Act is ap15 proved and implemented for such fishery.’’.

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

17 by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(3) If the State involved requests that a hear19 ing be held pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary

20 shall conduct such hearing prior to taking any action

21 under paragraph (1).’’.

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

23 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(4)(C); and’’ in subparagraph

2 (A) and inserting ‘‘(4)(C) or has received a permit

3 under section 204(d);’’;

4 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub5 paragraph (B) and inserting a semicolon and the

6 word ‘‘and’’; and

7 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol8 lowing:

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

10 submits reports on the tonnage of fish received

11 from vessels of the United States and the loca12 tions from which such fish were harvested, in

13 accordance with such procedures as the Sec14 retary by regulation shall prescribe.’’.

15 (d) INTERIM AUTHORITY FOR DUNGENESS CRAB.—

16 (1) Subject to the provisions of this subsection and not17 withstanding section 306(a) of the Magnuson Fishery

18 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1856(a)),

19 the States of Washington, Oregon, and California may

20 each enforce State laws and regulations governing fish

21 harvesting and processing against any vessel operating in

22 the exclusive economic zone off each respective State in

23 a fishery for Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) for which

24 there is no fishery management plan implemented under
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1 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

2 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

3 (2) Any law or regulation promulgated under

4 this subsection shall apply equally to vessels operat5 ing in the exclusive economic zone and adjacent

6 State waters and shall be limited to—

7 (A) establishment of season opening and

8 closing dates, including presoak dates for crab

9 pots;

10 (B) setting of minimum sizes and crab

11 meat recovery rates;

12 (C) restrictions on the retention of crab of

13 a certain sex; and

14 (D) closure of areas or pot limitations to

15 meet the harvest requirements arising under

16 the jurisdiction of United States v. Washington,

17 subproceeding 89-3.

18 (3) With respect to the States of Washington,

19 Oregon, and California—

20 (A) any State law limiting entry to a fish21 ery subject to regulation under this subsection

22 may not be enforced against a vessel that is op23 erating in the exclusive economic zone off that

24 State and is not registered under the law of

25 that State, if the vessel is otherwise legally fish-
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1 ing in the exclusive economic zone, except that

2 State laws regulating landings may be enforced;

3 and

4 (B) no vessel may harvest or process fish

5 which is subject to regulation under this sub6 section unless under an appropriate State per7 mit or pursuant to a Federal court order.

8 (4) The authority provided under this sub9 section to regulate the Dungeness crab fishery shall

10 terminate on October 1, 1999, or when a fishery

11 management plan is implemented under the Magnu12 son Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16

13 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) for such fishery, whichever date

14 is earlier.

15 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall reduce the

16 authority of any State, as such authority existed on

17 July 1, 1996, to regulate fishing, fish processing, or

18 landing of fish.

19 (6)(A) It is the sense of Congress that the Pa20 cific Fishery Management Council, at the earliest

21 practicable date, should develop and submit to the

22 Secretary fishery management plans for shellfish

23 fisheries conducted in the geographic area of author24 ity of the Council, especially Dungeness crab, which
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1 are not subject to a fishery management plan on the

2 date of enactment of this Act.

3 (B) Not later than December 1, 1997, the Pa4 cific Fishery Management Council shall provide a re5 port to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

6 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

7 Resources of the House of Representatives describ8 ing the progress in developing the fishery manage9 ment plans referred to in subparagraph (A) and any

10 impediments to such progress.

11 SEC. 113. PROHIBITED ACTS.

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

13 amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘plan,’’ and inserting ‘‘plan’’;

15 and

16 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the follow17 ing: ‘‘, or in the absence of any such plan, is smaller

18 than the minimum possession size in effect at the

19 time under a coastal fishery management plan for

20 American lobster adopted by the Atlantic States Ma21 rine Fisheries Commission under the Atlantic Coast22 al Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (16

23 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.)’’.

24 (b) Section 307(1)(K) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(K)) is

25 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘knowingly steal or without au2 thorization, to’’ and inserting ‘‘to steal or attempt to

3 steal or to negligently and without authorization’’;

4 and

5 (2) by striking ‘‘gear, or attempt to do so;’’ and

6 insert ‘‘gear;’’.

7 (c) Section 307(1)(L) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(L) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, im10 pede, intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or

11 interfere with any observer on a vessel under

12 this Act, or any data collector employed by the

13 National Marine Fisheries Service or under

14 contract to any person to carry out responsibil15 ities under this Act;’’.

16 (d) Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amend17 ed—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

19 (M);

20 (2) by striking ‘‘pollock.’’ in subparagraph (N)

21 and inserting ‘‘pollock; or’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(O) to knowingly and willfully fail to dis24 close, or to falsely disclose, any financial inter25 est as required under section 302(j), or to
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1 knowingly vote on a Council decision in viola2 tion of section 302(j)(7)(A).’’.

3 (e) Section 307(2)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(A)) is

4 amended to read as follows:

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

6 any State, except—

7 ‘‘(i) recreational fishing permitted

8 under section 201(i);

9 ‘‘(ii) fish processing permitted under

10 section 306(c); or

11 ‘‘(iii) transshipment at sea of fish or

12 fish products within the boundaries of any

13 State in accordance with a permit ap14 proved under section 204(d);’’.

15 (f) Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is

16 amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(j)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)’’; and

18 (2) by striking ‘‘204(b) or (c)’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘204(b), (c), or (d)’’.

20 (g) Section 307(3) (16 U.S.C. 1857(3)) is amended

21 to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(3) for any vessel of the United States, and

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

24 States, to transfer at sea directly or indirectly, or at25 tempt to so transfer at sea, any United States har-
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1 vested fish to any foreign fishing vessel, while such

2 foreign vessel is within the exclusive economic zone

3 or within the boundaries of any State except to the

4 extent that the foreign fishing vessel has been per5 mitted under section 204(d) or section 306(c) to re6 ceive such fish;’’.

7 (h) Section 307(4) (16 U.S.C. 1857(4)) is amended

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

9 ‘‘zone’’.

10 SEC. 114. CIVIL PENALTIES AND PERMIT SANCTIONS; RE11 BUTTABLE PRESUMPTIONS.

12 (a) Section 308(a) (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended

13 by striking ‘‘ability to pay,’’ and adding at the end the

14 following new sentence: ‘‘In assessing such penalty the

15 Secretary may also consider any information provided by

16 the violator relating to the ability of the violator to pay,

17 provided that the information is served on the Secretary

18 at least 30 days prior to an administrative hearing.’’.

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

20 1858(b)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘Any person

21 against whom a civil penalty is assessed under subsection

22 (a) or against whom a permit sanction is imposed under

23 subsection (g) (other than a permit suspension for nonpay24 ment of penalty or fine) may obtain review thereof in the

25 United States district court for the appropriate district by
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1 filing a complaint against the Secretary in such court

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

3 (c) Section 308(g)(1)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1858(g)(1)(C))

4 is amended by striking the matter from ‘‘or (C) any’’

5 through ‘‘overdue,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(C) any

6 amount in settlement of a civil forfeiture imposed on a

7 vessel or other property, or any civil penalty or criminal

8 fine imposed on a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel

9 or any other person who has been issued or has applied

10 for a permit under any marine resource law enforced by

11 the Secretary has not been paid and is overdue, or (D)

12 any payment required for observer services provided to or

13 contracted by an owner or operator who has been issued

14 a permit or applied for a permit under any marine re15 source law administered by the Secretary has not been

16 paid and is overdue,’’.

17 (d) Section 310(e) (16 U.S.C. 1860(e)) is amended

18 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this Act, it shall be a re20 buttable presumption that any vessel that is shore21 ward of the outer boundary of the exclusive eco22 nomic zone of the United States or beyond the ex23 clusive economic zone of any nation, and that has

24 gear on board that is capable of use for large-scale

25 driftnet fishing, is engaged in such fishing.’’.
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1 SEC. 115. 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,

5 territory, 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

10 the Northern Mariana Islands’’.

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

12 amended—

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 or $20,000, whichever is the

17 lesser amount,’’ after ‘‘reward’’ in subparagraph

18 (B), and

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

20 the following:

21 ‘‘(E) claims of parties in interest to prop22 erty disposed of under section 612(b) of the

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

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

25 by any other marine resource law enforced by

26 the Secretary, to seizures made by the Sec-
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1 retary, in amounts determined by the Secretary

2 to be applicable to such claims at the time of

3 seizure; and’’.

4 (c) Section 311(e)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(2)) is

5 amended to read as follows:

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

7 judicial proceeding to have violated this Act or any

8 other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary

9 shall be liable for the cost incurred in the sale, stor10 age, care, and maintenance of any fish or other

11 property lawfully seized in connection with the viola12 tion.’’.

13 (d) Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by re14 designating subsection (g) as subsection (h) , and by in15 serting the following after subsection (f):

16 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT IN THE PACIFIC INSULAR

17 AREAS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Gov18 ernors of the Pacific Insular Areas and the Western Pa19 cific Council, shall to the extent practicable support coop20 erative enforcement agreements between Federal and Pa21 cific Insular Area authorities.’’.

22 (e) Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861), as amended by

23 subsection (d), is amended by striking ‘‘201(b), (c),’’ in

24 subsection (i)(1), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘201(b)

25 or (c), or section 204(d),’’.
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1 SEC. 116. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

2 (a) Section 312 is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘SEC. 312. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

4 ‘‘(a) FISHERIES DISASTER RELIEF.—(1) At the dis5 cretion of the Secretary or at the request of the Governor

6 of an affected State or a fishing community, the Secretary

7 shall determine whether there is a commercial fishery fail8 ure due to a fishery resource disaster as a result of—

9 ‘‘(A) natural causes;

10 ‘‘(B) man-made causes beyond the control of

11 fishery managers to mitigate through conservation

12 and management measures; or

13 ‘‘(C) undetermined causes.

14 ‘‘(2) Upon the determination under paragraph (1)

15 that there is a commercial fishery failure, the Secretary

16 is authorized to make sums available to be used by the

17 affected State, fishing community, or by the Secretary in

18 cooperation with the affected State or fishing community

19 for assessing the economic and social effects of the com20 mercial fishery failure, or any activity that the Secretary

21 determines is appropriate to restore the fishery or prevent

22 a similar failure in the future and to assist a fishing com23 munity affected by such failure. Before making funds

24 available for an activity authorized under this section, the

25 Secretary shall make a determination that such activity

26 will not expand the size or scope of the commercial fishery
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1 failure in that fishery or into other fisheries or other geo2 graphic regions.

3 ‘‘(3) The Federal share of the cost of any activity

4 carried out under the authority of this subsection shall not

5 exceed 75 percent of the cost of that activity.

6 ‘‘(4) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

7 Secretary such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal

8 years 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.

9 ‘‘(b) FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAM.—(1)

10 The Secretary, at the request of the appropriate Council

11 for fisheries under the authority of such Council, or the

12 Governor of a State for fisheries under State authority,

13 may conduct a fishing capacity reduction program (re14 ferred to in this section as the ‘program’) in a fishery if

15 the Secretary determines that the program—

16 ‘‘(A) is necessary to prevent or end overfishing,

17 rebuild stocks of fish, or achieve measurable and sig18 nificant improvements in the conservation and man19 agement of the fishery;

20 ‘‘(B) is consistent with the federal or State fish21 ery management plan or program in effect for such

22 fishery, as appropriate, and that the fishery manage23 ment plan—

24 ‘‘(i) will prevent the replacement of fishing

25 capacity removed by the program through a
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1 moratorium on new entrants, restrictions on

2 vessel upgrades, and other effort control meas3 ures, taking into account the full potential fish4 ing capacity of the fleet; and

5 ‘‘(ii) establishes a specified or target total

6 allowable catch or other measures that trigger

7 closure of the fishery or adjustments to reduce

8 catch; and

9 ‘‘(C) is cost-effective and capable of repaying

10 any debt obligation incurred under section 1111 of

11 title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.

12 ‘‘(2) The objective of the program shall be to obtain

13 the maximum sustained reduction in fishing capacity at

14 the least cost and in a minimum period of time. To achieve

15 that objective, the Secretary is authorized to pay—

16 ‘‘(A) the owner of a fishing vessel, if such vessel

17 is (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the

18 department in which the Coast Guard is operating,

19 subjected to title restrictions that permanently pro20 hibit and effectively prevent its use in fishing, and

21 if the permit authorizing the participation of the

22 vessel in the fishery is surrendered for permanent

23 revocation and the owner relinquishes any claim as24 sociated with the vessel and permit that could qual25 ify such owner for any present or future limited ac-
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1 cess system permit in the fishery for which the pro2 gram is established; or

3 ‘‘(B) the holder of a permit authorizing partici4 pation in the fishery, if such permit is surrendered

5 for permanent revocation, and such holder relin6 quishes any claim associated with the permit and

7 vessel used to harvest fishery resources under the

8 permit that could qualify such holder for any present

9 or future limited access system permit in the fishery

10 for which the program was established.

11 ‘‘(3) Participation in the program shall be voluntary,

12 but the Secretary shall ensure compliance by all who do

13 participate.

14 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with

15 Councils, Federal agencies, State and regional authorities,

16 affected fishing communities, participants in the fishery,

17 conservation organizations, and other interested parties

18 throughout the development and implementation of any

19 program under this section.

20 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM FUNDING.—(1) The program may be

21 funded by any combination of amounts—

22 ‘‘(A) available under clause (iv) of section

23 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C.

24 713c-3(b)(1)(A); the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act);
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1 ‘‘(B) appropriated for the purposes of this sec2 tion;

3 ‘‘(C) provided by an industry fee system estab4 lished under subsection (d) and in accordance with

5 section 1111 of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act,

6 1936; or

7 ‘‘(D) provided from any State or other public

8 sources or private or non-profit organizations.

9 ‘‘(2) All funds for the program, including any fees

10 established under subsection (d), shall be paid into the

11 fishing capacity reduction fund established under section

12 1111 of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.

13 ‘‘(d) INDUSTRY FEE SYSTEM.—(1)(A) If an industry

14 fee system is necessary to fund the program, the Sec15 retary, at the request of the appropriate Council, may con16 duct a referendum on such system. Prior to the referen17 dum, the Secretary, in consultation with the Council,

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(i) identify, to the extent practicable, and no20 tify all permit or vessel owners who would be af21 fected by the program; and

22 ‘‘(ii) make available to such owners information

23 about the industry fee system describing the sched24 ule, procedures, and eligibility requirements for the

25 referendum, the proposed program, and the amount
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1 and duration and any other terms and conditions of

2 the proposed fee system.

3 ‘‘(B) The industry fee system shall be considered ap4 proved if the referendum votes which are cast in favor of

5 the proposed system constitute a two-thirds majority of

6 the participants voting.

7 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 304(d) and consistent

8 with an approved industry fee system, the Secretary is au9 thorized to establish such a system to fund the program

10 and repay debt obligations incurred pursuant to section

11 1111 of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936. The

12 fees for a program established under this section shall—

13 ‘‘(A) be determined by the Secretary and ad14 justed from time to time as the Secretary considers

15 necessary to ensure the availability of sufficient

16 funds to repay such debt obligations;

17 ‘‘(B) not exceed 5 percent of the ex-vessel value

18 of all fish harvested from the fishery for which the

19 program is established;

20 ‘‘(C) be deducted by the first ex-vessel fish pur21 chaser from the proceeds otherwise payable to the

22 seller and accounted for and forwarded by such fish

23 purchasers to the Secretary in such manner as the

24 Secretary may establish; and
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1 ‘‘(D) be in effect only until such time as the

2 debt obligation has been fully paid.

3 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—(1) The Secretary, in

4 consultation with the appropriate Council or State and

5 other interested parties, shall prepare and publish in the

6 Federal Register for a 60-day public comment period an

7 implementation plan, including proposed regulations, for

8 each program. The implementation plan shall—

9 ‘‘(A) define criteria for determining types and

10 numbers of vessels which are eligible for participa11 tion in the program taking into account characteris12 tics of the fishery, the requirements of applicable

13 fishery management plans, the needs of fishing com14 munities, and the need to minimize program costs;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for program partici17 pation (such as submission of owner bid under an

18 auction system or fair market-value assessment) in19 cluding any terms and conditions for participation

20 which the Secretary deems to be reasonably nec21 essary to meet the goals of the program.

22 ‘‘(2) During the 60-day public comment period—

23 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall conduct a public hear24 ing in each State affected by the program; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the appropriate Council or State shall sub2 mit its comments and recommendations, if any, re3 garding the plan and regulations.

4 ‘‘(3) Within 45 days after the close of the public com5 ment period, the Secretary, in consultation with the appro6 priate Council or State, shall analyze the public comment

7 received and publish in the Federal Register a final imple8 mentation plan for the program and regulations for its

9 implementation. The Secretary may not adopt a final im10 plementation plan involving industry fees or debt obliga11 tion unless an industry fee system has been approved by

12 a referendum under this section.’’.

13 (b) STUDY OF FEDERAL INVESTMENT.—The Sec14 retary of Commerce shall establish a task force comprised

15 of interested parties to study and report to the Committee

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

17 and the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives within 2 years of the date of enactment of

19 this Act on the role of the Federal Government in—

20 (1) subsidizing the expansion and contraction of

21 fishing capacity in fishing fleets managed under the

22 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); and

24 (2) otherwise influencing the aggregate capital

25 investments in fisheries.
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1 (c) Section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11, 1939

2 (15 U.S.C. 713c3(b)(1)(A)) is amended—

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

4 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

5 (iii) and inserting a semicolon and the word ‘‘and’’;

6 and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new

8 clause:

9 ‘‘(iv) to fund the Federal share of a

10 fishing capacity reduction program estab11 lished under section 312 of the Magnuson

12 Fishery Conservation and Management

13 Act; and’’.

14 SEC. 117. NORTH PACIFIC AND NORTHWEST ATLANTIC

15 OCEAN FISHERIES.

16 (a) NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES CONSERVATION.—

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

18 (1) by striking ‘‘RESEARCH PLAN’’ in the

19 section heading and inserting ‘‘CONSERVATION’’;

20 (2) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘North Pacific

21 Fishery Management Council’’ and inserting ‘‘North

22 Pacific Council’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(f) BYCATCH REDUCTION.—In implementing sec25 tion 303(a)(11) and this section, the North Pacific Council
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1 shall submit conservation and management measures to

2 lower, on an annual basis for a period of not less than

3 four years, the total amount of economic discards occur4 ring in the fisheries under its jurisdiction.

5 ‘‘(g) BYCATCH REDUCTION INCENTIVES.—(1) Not6 withstanding section 304(d), the North Pacific Council

7 may submit, and the Secretary may approve, consistent

8 with the provisions of this Act, a system of fines in a fish9 ery to provide incentives to reduce bycatch and bycatch

10 rates; except that such fines shall not exceed $25,000 per

11 vessel per season. Any fines collected shall be deposited

12 in the North Pacific Fishery Observer Fund, and may be

13 made available by the Secretary to offset costs related to

14 the reduction of bycatch in the fishery from which such

15 fines were derived, including conservation and manage16 ment measures and research, and to the State of Alaska

17 to offset costs incurred by the State in the fishery from

18 which such penalties were derived or in fisheries in which

19 the State is directly involved in management or enforce20 ment and which are directly affected by the fishery from

21 which such penalties were derived.

22 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding section 303(d), and in addi23 tion to the authority provided in section 303(b)(10), the

24 North Pacific Council may submit, and the Secretary may

25 approve, conservation and management measures which
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1 provide allocations of regulatory discards to individual

2 fishing vessels as an incentive to reduce per vessel bycatch

3 and bycatch rates in a fishery, provided that—

4 ‘‘(i) such allocations may not be transferred for

5 monetary consideration and are made only on an an6 nual basis; and

7 ‘‘(ii) any such conservation and management

8 measures will meet the requirements of subsection

9 (h) and will result in an actual reduction in regu10 latory discards in the fishery.

11 ‘‘(B) The North Pacific Council may submit restric12 tions in addition to the restriction imposed by clause (i)

13 of subparagraph (A) on the transferability of any such al14 locations, and the Secretary may approve such rec15 ommendation.

16 ‘‘(h) CATCH MEASUREMENT.—(1) By June 1, 1997

17 the North Pacific Council shall submit, and the Secretary

18 may approve, consistent with the other provisions of this

19 Act, conservation and management measures to ensure

20 total catch measurement in each fishery under the juris21 diction of such Council. Such measures shall ensure the

22 accurate enumeration, at a minimum, of target species,

23 economic discards, and regulatory discards.

24 ‘‘(2) To the extent the measures submitted under

25 paragraph (1) do not require United States fish processors
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1 and fish processing vessels (as defined in chapter 21 of

2 title 46, United States Code) to weigh fish, the North Pa3 cific Council and the Secretary shall submit a plan to the

4 Congress by January 1, 1998, to allow for weighing, in5 cluding recommendations to assist such processors and

6 processing vessels in acquiring necessary equipment, un7 less the Council determines that such weighing is not nec8 essary to meet the requirements of this subsection.

9 ‘‘(i) FULL RETENTION AND UTILIZATION.—(1) The

10 North Pacific Council shall submit to the Secretary by Oc11 tober 1, 1998 a report on the advisability of requiring the

12 full retention by fishing vessels and full utilization by

13 United States fish processors of economic discards in fish14 eries under its jurisdiction if such economic discards, or

15 the mortality of such economic discards, cannot be avoid16 ed. The report shall address the projected impacts of such

17 requirements on participants in the fishery and describe

18 any full retention and full utilization requirements that

19 have been implemented.

20 ‘‘(2) The report shall address the advisability of

21 measures to minimize processing waste, including stand22 ards setting minimum percentages which must be proc23 essed for human consumption. For the purpose of the re24 port, ‘processing waste’ means that portion of any fish

25 which is processed and which could be used for human
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1 consumption or other commercial use, but which is not

2 so used.’’.

3 (b) NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN FISHERIES.—

4 Section 314 (16 U.S.C. 1863) is amended by striking

5 ‘‘1997’’ in subsection (a)(4) and inserting ‘‘1999’’.

6 TITLE II—FISHERY MONITORING

7 AND RESEARCH

8 SEC. 201. CHANGE OF TITLE.

9 The heading of title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY

12 MONITORING AND RESEARCH’’.

13 SEC. 202. REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION MANAGE14 MENT.

15 Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by in16 serting after the title heading the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 401. REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION MANAGE18 MENT.

19 ‘‘(a) STANDARDIZED FISHING VESSEL REGISTRA20 TION AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The

21 Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Secretary of the

22 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the

23 States, the Councils, and Marine Fisheries Commissions,

24 develop recommendations for implementation of a stand25 ardized fishing vessel registration and information man-
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1 agement system on a regional basis. The recommendations

2 shall be developed after consultation with interested gov3 ernmental and nongovernmental parties and shall—

4 ‘‘(1) be designed to standardize the require5 ments of vessel registration and information collec6 tion systems required by this Act, the Marine Mam7 mal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and

8 any other marine resource law implemented by the

9 Secretary, and, with the permission of a State, any

10 marine resource law implemented by such State;

11 ‘‘(2) integrate information collection programs

12 under existing fishery management plans into a non13 duplicative information collection and management

14 system;

15 ‘‘(3) avoid duplication of existing state, tribal,

16 or federal systems and shall utilize, to the maximum

17 extent practicable, information collected from exist18 ing systems;

19 ‘‘(4) provide for implementation of the system

20 through cooperative agreements with appropriate

21 State, regional, or tribal entities and Marine Fish22 eries Commissions;

23 ‘‘(5) provide for funding (subject to appropria24 tions) to assist appropriate State, regional, or tribal
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1 entities and Marine Fisheries Commissions in imple2 mentation;

3 ‘‘(6) establish standardized units of measure4 ment, nomenclature, and formats for the collection

5 and submission of information;

6 ‘‘(7) minimize the paperwork required for ves7 sels registered under the system;

8 ‘‘(8) include all species of fish within the geo9 graphic areas of authority of the Councils and all

10 fishing vessels including charter fishing vessels, but

11 excluding recreational fishing vessels;

12 ‘‘(9) require United States fish processors, and

13 fish dealers and other first ex-vessel purchasers of

14 fish that are subject to the proposed system, to sub15 mit information (other than economic information )

16 which may be necessary to meet the goals of the pro17 posed system; and

18 ‘‘(10) include procedures necessary to ensure—

19 ‘‘(A) the confidentiality of information col20 lected under this section in accordance with sec21 tion 402(b); and

22 ‘‘(B) the timely release or availability to

23 the public of information collected under this

24 section consistent with section 402(b).
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1 ‘‘(b) FISHING VESSEL REGISTRATION.—The pro2 posed registration system should, at a minimum, obtain

3 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) gross tonnage, vessel capacity, type and

8 quantity of fishing gear, mode of operation (catcher,

9 catcher processor, or other), and such other perti10 nent information with respect to vessel characteris11 tics as the Secretary may require; and

12 ‘‘(3) identification (by species, gear type, geo13 graphic area of operations, and season) of the fish14 eries in which the fishing vessel participates.

15 ‘‘(c) FISHERY INFORMATION.—The proposed infor16 mation management system should, at a minimum, pro17 vide basic fisheries performance information for each fish18 ery, including—

19 ‘‘(1) the number of vessels participating in the

20 fishery including charter fishing vessels;

21 ‘‘(2) the time period in which the fishery oc22 curs;

23 ‘‘(3) the approximate geographic location or of24 ficial reporting area where the fishery occurs;
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1 ‘‘(4) a description of fishing gear used in the

2 fishery, including the amount and type of such gear

3 and the appropriate unit of fishing effort; and

4 ‘‘(5) other information required under sub5 section 303(a)(5) or requested by the Council under

6 section 402 .

7 ‘‘(d) USE OF REGISTRATION.—Any registration rec8 ommended under this section shall not be considered a

9 permit for the purposes of this Act, and the Secretary may

10 not propose to revoke, suspend, deny, or impose any other

11 conditions or restrictions on any such registration or the

12 use of such registration under this Act.

13 ‘‘(e) 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 information collection system that meets the

19 requirements of subsections (a) through (c). The proposal

20 shall include—

21 ‘‘(1) a description of the arrangements of the

22 Secretary for consultation and cooperation with the

23 department in which the Coast Guard is operating,

24 the States, the Councils, Marine Fisheries Commis-
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1 sions, the fishing industry and other interested par2 ties; and

3 ‘‘(2) any proposed regulations or legislation

4 necessary to implement the proposal.

5 ‘‘(f) CONGRESSIONAL TRANSMITTAL.—Within 60

6 days after the end of the comment period and after consid7 eration of comments received under subsection (e), the

8 Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce,

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com10 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives a

11 recommended proposal for implementation of a national

12 fishing vessel registration system that includes—

13 ‘‘(1) any modifications made after comment and

14 consultation;

15 ‘‘(2) a proposed implementation schedule, in16 cluding a schedule for the proposed cooperative

17 agreements required under subsection (a)(4); and

18 ‘‘(3) recommendations for any such additional

19 legislation as the Secretary considers necessary or

20 desirable to implement the proposed system.

21 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 15 months

22 after the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries

23 Act, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the need

24 to include recreational fishing vessels into a national fish25 ing vessel registration and information collection system.
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1 In preparing its report, the Secretary shall cooperate with

2 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard

3 is operating, the States, the Councils, and Marine Fish4 eries Commissions, and consult with governmental and

5 nongovernmental parties.’’.

6 SEC. 203. INFORMATION COLLECTION.

7 Section 402 is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘SEC. 402. INFORMATION COLLECTION.

9 ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—If a Council determines

10 that additional information (other than information that

11 would disclose proprietary or confidential commercial or

12 financial information regarding fishing operations or fish

13 processing operations) would be beneficial for developing,

14 implementing, or revising a fishery management plan or

15 for determining whether a fishery is in need of manage16 ment, the Council may request that the Secretary imple17 ment an information collection program for the fishery

18 which would provide the types of information (other than

19 information that would disclose proprietary or confidential

20 commercial or financial information regarding fishing op21 erations or fish processing operations) specified by the

22 Council. The Secretary shall undertake such an informa23 tion collection program if he determines that the need is

24 justified, and shall promulgate regulations to implement

25 the program within 60 days after such determination is
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1 made. If the Secretary determines that the need for an

2 information collection program is not justified, the Sec3 retary shall inform the Council of the reasons for such

4 determination in writing. The determinations of the Sec5 retary under this subsection regarding a Council request

6 shall be made within a reasonable period of time after re7 ceipt of that request.

8 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—(1) Any

9 information submitted to the Secretary by any person in

10 compliance with any requirement under this Act shall be

11 confidential and shall not be disclosed, except—

12 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council employ13 ees who are responsible for fishery management plan

14 development and monitoring;

15 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission

16 employees pursuant to an agreement with the Sec17 retary that prevents public disclosure of the identity

18 or business of any person;

19 ‘‘(C) when required by court order;

20 ‘‘(D) when such information is used to verify

21 catch under an individual fishing quota program;

22 ‘‘(E) that observer information collected in fish23 eries under the authority of the North Pacific Coun24 cil may be released to the public as specified in a

25 fishery management plan or regulation for weekly
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1 summary bycatch information identified by vessel,

2 and for haul-specific bycatch information without

3 vessel identification; or

4 ‘‘(F) when the Secretary has obtained written

5 authorization from the person submitting such infor6 mation to release such information to persons for

7 reasons not otherwise provided for in this subsection,

8 and such release does not violate other requirements

9 of this Act.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe

11 such procedures as may be necessary to preserve the con12 fidentiality of information submitted in compliance with

13 any requirement or regulation under this Act, except that

14 the Secretary may release or make public any such infor15 mation in any aggregate or summary form which does not

16 directly or indirectly disclose the identity or business of

17 any person who submits such information. Nothing in this

18 subsection shall be interpreted or construed to prevent the

19 use for conservation and management purposes by the

20 Secretary, or with the approval of the Secretary, the Coun21 cil, of any information submitted in compliance with any

22 requirement or regulation under this Act or the use, re23 lease, or publication of bycatch information pursuant to

24 paragraph (1)(E) .
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1 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF CERTAIN INFORMA2 TION.—(1) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to

3 restrict the use, in civil enforcement or criminal proceed4 ings under this Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act

5 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the Endangered

6 Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), of information col7 lected by voluntary fishery data collectors, including sea

8 samplers, while aboard any vessel for conservation and

9 management purposes if the presence of such a fishery

10 data collector aboard is not required by any of such Acts

11 or regulations thereunder.

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not require the submission

13 of a federal or State income tax return or statement as

14 a prerequisite for issuance of a permit until such time as

15 the Secretary has promulgated regulations to ensure the

16 confidentiality of information contained in such return or

17 statement, to limit the information submitted to that nec18 essary to achieve a demonstrated conservation and man19 agement purpose, and to provide appropriate penalties for

20 violation of such regulations.

21 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding

22 any other provision of law, the Secretary may provide a

23 grant, contract, or other financial assistance on a sole24 source basis to a State, Council, or Marine Fisheries Com-
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1 mission for the purpose of carrying out information collec2 tion or other programs if—

3 ‘‘(1) the recipient of such a grant, contract, or

4 other financial assistance is specified by statute to

5 be, or has customarily been, such State, Council, or

6 Marine Fisheries Commission; or

7 ‘‘(2) the Secretary has entered into a coopera8 tive agreement with such State, Council, or Marine

9 Fisheries Commission.

10 ‘‘(e) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS.—(1) The Secretary

11 may use the private sector to provide vessels, equipment,

12 and services necessary to survey the fishery resources of

13 the United States when the arrangement will yield statis14 tically reliable results.

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in consultation with the ap16 propriate Council and the fishing industry—

17 ‘‘(A) may structure competitive solicita18 tions under paragraph (1) so as to compensate

19 a contractor for a fishery resources survey by

20 allowing the contractor to retain for sale fish

21 harvested during the survey voyage;

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of a survey during which

23 the quantity or quality of fish harvested is not

24 expected to be adequately compensatory, may

25 structure those solicitations so as to provide
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1 that compensation by permitting the contractor

2 to harvest on a subsequent voyage and retain

3 for sale a portion of the allowable catch of the

4 surveyed fishery; and

5 ‘‘(C) may permit fish harvested during

6 such survey to count towards a vessel’s catch

7 history under a fishery management plan if

8 such survey was conducted in a manner that

9 precluded a vessel’s participation in a fishery

10 that counted under the plan for purposes of de11 termining catch history.

12 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall undertake efforts to expand

13 annual fishery resource assessments in all regions of the

14 Nation.’’.

15 SEC. 204. OBSERVERS.

16 Section 403 is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘SEC. 403. OBSERVERS.

18 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES FOR CARRYING OBSERVERS.—

19 Within one year after the date of enactment of the Sus20 tainable Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall promulgate reg21 ulations, after notice and opportunity for public comment,

22 for fishing vessels that carry observers. The regulations

23 shall include guidelines for determining—

24 ‘‘(1) when a vessel is not required to carry an

25 observer on board because the facilities of such ves-
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1 sel for the quartering of an observer, or for carrying

2 out observer functions, are so inadequate or unsafe

3 that the health or safety of the observer or the safe

4 operation of the vessel would be jeopardized; and

5 ‘‘(2) actions which vessel owners or operators

6 may reasonably be required to take to render such

7 facilities adequate and safe.

8 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary, in cooperation with

9 the appropriate States and the National Sea Grant College

10 Program, shall—

11 ‘‘(1) establish programs to ensure that each ob12 server receives adequate training in collecting and

13 analyzing the information necessary for the con14 servation and management purposes of the fishery to

15 which such observer is assigned;

16 ‘‘(2) require that an observer demonstrate com17 petence in fisheries science and statistical analysis at

18 a level sufficient to enable such person to fulfill the

19 responsibilities of the position;

20 ‘‘(3) ensure that an observer has received ade21 quate training in basic vessel safety; and

22 ‘‘(4) make use of university and any appro23 priate private nonprofit organization training facili24 ties and resources, where possible, in carrying out

25 this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(c) OBSERVER STATUS.—An observer on a vessel

2 and under contract to carry out responsibilities under this

3 Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16

4 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) shall be deemed to be a Federal em5 ployee for the purpose of compensation under the Federal

6 Employee Compensation Act (5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.).’’.

7 SEC. 205. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

8 Section 404 is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘SEC. 404. FISHERIES RESEARCH.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate and

11 maintain, in cooperation with the Councils, a comprehen12 sive program of fishery research to carry out and further

13 the purposes, policy, and provisions of this Act. Such pro14 gram shall be designed to acquire knowledge and informa15 tion, including statistics, on fishery conservation and man16 agement and on the economics and social characteristics

17 of the fisheries.

18 ‘‘(b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Within one year after the

19 date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, and

20 at least every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall de21 velop and publish in the Federal Register a strategic plan

22 for fisheries research for the five years immediately follow23 ing such publication. The plan shall—

24 ‘‘(1) identify and describe a comprehensive pro25 gram with a limited number of priority objectives for
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1 research in each of the areas specified in subsection

2 (c);

3 ‘‘(2) indicate goals and timetables for the pro4 gram described in paragraph (1);

5 ‘‘(3) provide a role for commercial fishermen in

6 such research, including involvement in field testing;

7 ‘‘(4) provide for collection and dissemination, in

8 a timely manner, of complete and accurate informa9 tion concerning fishing activities, catch, effort, stock

10 assessments, and other research conducted under

11 this section; and

12 ‘‘(5) be developed in cooperation with the Coun13 cils and affected States, and provide for coordination

14 with the Councils, affected States, and other re15 search entities.

16 ‘‘(c) AREAS OF RESEARCH.—Areas of research are

17 as follows:

18 ‘‘(1) Research to support fishery conservation

19 and management, including but not limited to, bio20 logical research concerning the abundance and life

21 history parameters of stocks of fish, the interdepend22 ence of fisheries or stocks of fish, the identification

23 of essential fish habitat, the impact of pollution on

24 fish populations, the impact of wetland and estua-
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1 rine degradation, and other factors affecting the

2 abundance and availability of fish.

3 ‘‘(2) Conservation engineering research, includ4 ing the study of fish behavior and the development

5 and testing of new gear technology and fishing tech6 niques to minimize bycatch and any adverse effects

7 on essential fish habitat and promote efficient har8 vest of target species.

9 ‘‘(3) Research on the fisheries, including the so10 cial, cultural, and economic relationships among

11 fishing vessel owners, crew, United States fish proc12 essors, associated shoreside labor, seafood markets

13 and fishing communities.

14 ‘‘(4) Information management research, includ15 ing the development of a fishery information base

16 and an information management system under sec17 tion 401 that will permit the full use of information

18 in the support of effective fishery conservation and

19 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 INFORMATION.—Within nine

13 months after the date of enactment of the Sustainable

14 Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall, after consultation with

15 the Gulf Council and South Atlantic Council, conclude the

16 collection of information in the program to assess the im17 pact on fishery resources of incidental harvest by the

18 shrimp trawl fishery within the authority of such Councils.

19 Within the same time period, the Secretary shall make

20 available to the public aggregated summaries of informa21 tion collected prior to June 30, 1994 under such program.

22 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF STOCK.—The program con23 cluded pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide for the

24 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 INFORMATION.—For stocks of fish identified pur5 suant to subsection (b), with priority given to stocks which

6 (based upon the best available scientific information) are

7 considered to be overfished, the Secretary shall conduct—

8 ‘‘(1) a program to collect and evaluate informa9 tion on the nature and extent (including the spatial

10 and temporal distribution) of incidental mortality of

11 such stocks as a direct result of shrimp trawl fishing

12 activities;

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 information collection and

21 evaluation for such stocks on the magnitude and dis22 tribution 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) BYCATCH REDUCTION PROGRAM.—Not later

2 than 12 months after the enactment of the Sustainable

3 Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall, in cooperation with af4 fected interests, and based upon the best scientific infor5 mation 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

14 benefits and costs of such devices and changes in

15 fishing 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

20 this section, submit a detailed report on the results of such

21 programs to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

22 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Re23 sources of the House of Representatives.

24 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION CRITERIA.—To the extent

25 practicable, any conservation and management measure
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1 implemented under this Act to reduce the incidental mor2 tality of bycatch in the course of shrimp trawl fishing shall

3 be consistent with—

4 ‘‘(1) measures applicable to fishing throughout

5 the range in United States waters of the bycatch

6 species concerned; and

7 ‘‘(2) the need to avoid any serious adverse envi8 ronmental impacts on such bycatch species or the

9 ecology of the affected area.’’.

10 SEC. 207. MISCELLANEOUS RESEARCH.

11 (a) FISHERIES SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—Section 406

12 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 406. FISHERIES SYSTEMS RESEARCH.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL.—Not later than

15 180 days after the date of enactment of the Sustainable

16 Fisheries Act, the Secretary shall establish an advisory

17 panel under this Act to develop recommendations to ex18 pand the application of ecosystem principles in fishery

19 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 struc23 tures, functions, and physical and biological charac24 teristics of ecosystems; and
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1 ‘‘(2) representatives from the Councils, States,

2 fishing industry, conservation organizations, or oth3 ers with expertise in the management of marine re4 sources.

5 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Prior to selecting advi6 sory panel members, the Secretary shall, with respect to

7 panel members described in subsection (b)(1), solicit rec8 ommendations from the National Academy of Sciences.

9 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Within 2 years after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Con11 gress a completed report of the panel established under

12 this section, which shall include—

13 ‘‘(1) an analysis of the extent to which eco14 system principles are being applied in fishery con15 servation and management activities, including re16 search activities;

17 ‘‘(2) proposed actions by the Secretary and by

18 the Congress that should be undertaken to expand

19 the application of ecosystem principles in fishery

20 conservation and management; and

21 ‘‘(3) such other information as may be appro22 priate.

23 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURAL MATTER.—The advisory panel es24 tablished under this section shall be deemed an advisory

25 panel under section 302(g).’’.
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1 (b) GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER RESEARCH.—

2 Title IV of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by add3 ing the following new section:

4 ‘‘SEC. 407. GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER RESEARCH.

5 ‘‘(a) INDEPENDENT PEER REVIEW.—(1) Within 30

6 days of the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries

7 Act, the Secretary shall initiate an independent peer re8 view to evaluate—

9 ‘‘(A) the accuracy and adequacy of fishery sta10 tistics used by the Secretary for the red snapper

11 fishery in the Gulf of Mexico to account for all com12 mercial, recreational, and charter fishing harvests

13 and fishing effort on the stock;

14 ‘‘(B) the appropriateness of the scientific meth15 ods, information, and models used by the Secretary

16 to assess the status and trends of the Gulf of Mexico

17 red snapper stock and as the basis for the fishery

18 management plan for the Gulf of Mexico red snap19 per fishery;

20 ‘‘(C) the appropriateness and adequacy of the

21 management measures in the fishery management

22 plan for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico for con23 serving and managing the red snapper fishery under

24 this Act; and
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1 ‘‘(D) the costs and benefits of all reasonable al2 ternatives to an individual fishing quota program for

3 the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that commercial, rec5 reational, and charter fishermen in the red snapper fishery

6 in the Gulf of Mexico are provided an opportunity to—

7 ‘‘(A) participate in the peer review under this

8 subsection; and

9 ‘‘(B) provide information to the Secretary con10 cerning the review of fishery statistics under this

11 subsection without being subject to penalty under

12 this Act or other applicable law for any past viola13 tion of a requirement to report such information to

14 the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall submit a detailed written re16 port on the findings of the peer review conducted under

17 this subsection to the Gulf Council no later than one year

18 after the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries

19 Act.

20 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—In addition to the restrictions

21 under section 303(d)(1)(A), the Gulf Council may not,

22 prior to October 1, 2000, undertake or continue the prepa23 ration of any fishery management plan, plan amendment

24 or regulation under this Act for the Gulf of Mexico com25 mercial red snapper fishery that creates an individual fish-
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1 ing quota program or that authorizes the consolidation of

2 licenses, permits, or endorsements that result in different

3 trip limits for vessels in the same class.

4 ‘‘(c) REFERENDUM.—

5 ‘‘(1) On or after October 1, 2000, the Gulf

6 Council may prepare and submit a fishery manage7 ment plan, plan amendment, or regulation for the

8 Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery that

9 creates an individual fishing quota program or that

10 authorizes the consolidation of licenses, permits, or

11 endorsements that result in different trip limits for

12 vessels in the same class, only if the preparation of

13 such plan, amendment, or regulation is approved in

14 a referendum conducted under paragraph (2) and

15 only if the submission to the Secretary of such plan,

16 amendment, or regulation is approved in a subse17 quent referendum conducted under paragraph (2).

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, at the request of the Gulf

19 Council, shall conduct referendums under this sub20 section. Only a person who held an annual vessel

21 permit with a red snapper endorsement for such per22 mit on September 1, 1996 (or any person to whom

23 such permit with such endorsement was transferred

24 after such date) and vessel captains who harvested

25 red snapper in a commercial fishery using such en-
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1 dorsement in each red snapper fishing season occur2 ring between January 1, 1993, and such date may

3 vote in a referendum under this subsection. The ref4 erendum shall be decided by a majority of the votes

5 cast. The Secretary shall develop a formula to

6 weight votes based on the proportional harvest under

7 each such permit and endorsement and by each such

8 captain in the fishery between January 1, 1993, and

9 September 1, 1996. Prior to each referendum, the

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall—

11 ‘‘(A) identify and notify all such persons

12 holding permits with red snapper endorsements

13 and all such vessel captains; and

14 ‘‘(B) make available to all such persons

15 and vessel captains information about the

16 schedule, procedures, and eligibility require17 ments for the referendum and the proposed in18 dividual fishing quota program.

19 ‘‘(d) CATCH LIMITS.—Any fishery management plan,

20 plan amendment, or regulation submitted by the Gulf

21 Council for the red snapper fishery after the date of enact22 ment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act shall contain con23 servation and management measures that—

24 ‘‘(1) establish separate quotas for recreational

25 fishing (which, for the purposes of this subsection
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1 shall include charter fishing) and commercial fishing

2 that, when reached, result in a prohibition on the re3 tention of fish caught during recreational fishing

4 and commercial fishing, respectively, for the remain5 der of the fishing year; and

6 ‘‘(2) ensure that such quotas reflect allocations

7 among such sectors and do not reflect any harvests

8 in excess of such allocations.’’.

9 SEC. 208. STUDY OF CONTRIBUTION OF BYCATCH TO CHAR10 ITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

11 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall con12 duct a study of the contribution of bycatch to charitable

13 organizations by commercial fishermen. The study shall

14 include determinations of—

15 (1) the amount of bycatch that is contributed

16 each year to charitable organizations by commercial

17 fishermen;

18 (2) the economic benefits to commercial fisher19 men from those contributions; and

20 (3) the impact on fisheries of the availability of

21 those benefits.

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall

24 submit to the Congress a report containing determinations

25 made in the study under subsection (a).
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1 (c) BYCATCH DEFINED.—In this section the term

2 ‘‘bycatch’’ has the meaning given that term in section 3

3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

4 Act, as amended by section 102 of this Act.

5 SEC. 209. STUDY OF IDENTIFICATION METHODS FOR HAR6 VEST STOCKS.

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

8 conduct a study to determine the best possible method of

9 identifying various Atlantic and Pacific salmon and

10 steelhead stocks in the ocean at time of harvest. The study

11 shall include an assessment of—

12 (1) coded wire tags;

13 (2) fin clipping; and

14 (3) other identification methods.

15 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report the results

16 of the study, together with any recommendations for legis17 lation deemed necessary based on the study, within 6

18 months after the date of enactment of this Act to the

19 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

20 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate.

22 SEC. 210. REVIEW OF NORTHEAST FISHERY STOCK ASSESS23 MENTS.

24 The National Academy of Sciences, in consultation

25 with regionally recognized fishery experts, shall conduct
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1 a peer review of Canadian and United States stock assess2 ments, information collection methodologies, biological as3 sumptions and projections, and other relevant scientific in4 formation used as the basis for conservation and manage5 ment in the Northeast multispecies fishery. The National

6 Academy of Sciences shall submit the results of such re7 view to the Congress and the Secretary of Commerce no

8 later than March 1, 1997.

9 SEC. 211. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

10 The table of contents is amended by striking the mat11 ter relating to title IV and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries.

‘‘Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation.

‘‘Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program.

‘‘TITLE IV—FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH

‘‘Sec. 401. Registration and information management.

‘‘Sec. 402. Information collection.

‘‘Sec. 403. Observers.

‘‘Sec. 404. Fisheries research.

‘‘Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research.

‘‘Sec. 406. Fisheries systems research.

‘‘Sec. 407. Gulf of Mexico red snapper research.’’.

12 TITLE III—FISHERIES

13 FINANCING

14 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fisheries Financing

16 Act’’.

17 SEC. 302. INDIVIDUAL FISHING QUOTA LOANS.

18 (a) AMENDMENT OF MERCHANT MARINE ACT,

19 1936.—Section 1104A of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936

20 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subsection

22 (a)(5);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 section (a)(6) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘or’’;

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

4 following:

5 ‘‘(7) financing or refinancing, including, but not

6 limited to, the reimbursement of obligors for expend7 itures previously made, for the purchase of individ8 ual fishing quotas in accordance with section

9 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

10 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)(4)).’’; and

11 (4) by striking ‘‘paragraph (6)’’ in the last sen12 tence of subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘paragraphs

13 (6) and (7)’’; and

14 (5) by striking ‘‘equal to’’ in the third proviso

15 of subsection (b)(2) and inserting ‘‘not to exceed’’.

16 (b) PROHIBITION.—Until October 1, 2001, no new

17 loans may be guaranteed by the Federal Government for

18 the construction of new fishing vessels if the construction

19 will result in an increased harvesting capacity within the

20 United States exclusive economic zone.

21 SEC. 303. FISHERIES FINANCING AND CAPACITY REDUC22 TION.

23 (a) CAPACITY REDUCTION AND FINANCING AUTHOR24 ITY.—Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46
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1 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.), is amended by adding at the

2 end the following new sections:

3 ‘‘SEC.1111. (a) The Secretary is authorized to guar4 antee the repayment of debt obligations issued by entities

5 under this section. Debt obligations to be guaranteed may

6 be issued by any entity that has been approved by the Sec7 retary and has agreed with the Secretary to such condi8 tions as the Secretary deems necessary for this section to

9 achieve the objective of the program and to protect the

10 interest of the United States.

11 ‘‘(b) Any debt obligation guaranteed under this sec12 tion shall—

13 ‘‘(1) be treated in the same manner and to the

14 same extent as other obligations guaranteed under

15 this title, except with respect to provisions of this

16 title that by their nature cannot be applied to obliga17 tions guaranteed under this section;

18 ‘‘(2) have the fishing fees established under the

19 program paid into a separate subaccount of the fish20 ing capacity reduction fund established under this

21 section;

22 ‘‘(3) not exceed $100,000,000 in an unpaid

23 principal amount outstanding at any one time for a

24 program;
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1 ‘‘(4) have such maturity (not to exceed 20

2 years), take such form, and contain such conditions

3 as the Secretary determines necessary for the pro4 gram to which they relate;

5 ‘‘(5) have as the exclusive source of repayment

6 (subject to the proviso in subsection (c)(2)) and as

7 the exclusive payment security, the fishing fees es8 tablished under the program; and

9 ‘‘(6) at the discretion of the Secretary be issued

10 in the public market or sold to the Federal Financ11 ing Bank.

12 ‘‘(c)(1) There is established in the Treasury of the

13 United States a separate account which shall be known

14 as the fishing capacity reduction fund (referred to in this

15 section as the ‘fund’). Within the fund, at least one sub16 account shall be established for each program into which

17 shall be paid all fishing fees established under the program

18 and other amounts authorized for the program.

19 ‘‘(2) Amounts in the fund shall be available, without

20 appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to the Secretary to

21 pay the cost of the program, including payments to finan22 cial institutions to pay debt obligations incurred by enti23 ties under this section; provided that funds available for

24 this purpose from other amounts available for the program

25 may also be used to pay such debt obligations.
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1 ‘‘(3) Sums in the fund that are not currently needed

2 for the purpose of this section shall be kept on deposit

3 or invested in obligations of the United States.

4 ‘‘(d) The Secretary is authorized and directed to issue

5 such regulations as the Secretary deems necessary to carry

6 out this section.

7 ‘‘(e) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘pro8 gram’ means a fishing capacity reduction program estab9 lished under section 312 of the Magnuson Fishery Con10 servation and Management Act.

11 ‘‘SEC.1112. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision

12 of this title, all obligations involving any fishing vessel,

13 fishery facility, aquaculture facility, individual fishing

14 quota, or fishing capacity reduction program issued under

15 this title after the date of enactment of the Sustainable

16 Fisheries Act shall be direct loan obligations, for which

17 the Secretary shall be the obligee, rather than obligations

18 issued to obligees other than the Secretary and guaranteed

19 by the Secretary. All direct loan obligations under this sec20 tion shall be treated in the same manner and to the same

21 extent as obligations guaranteed under this title except

22 with respect to provisions of this title which by their na23 ture can only be applied to obligations guaranteed under

24 this title.
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1 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this

2 title, the annual rate of interest which obligors shall pay

3 on direct loan obligations under this section shall be fixed

4 at two percent of the principal amount of such obligations

5 outstanding plus such additional percent as the Secretary

6 shall be obligated to pay as the interest cost of borrowing

7 from the United States Treasury the funds with which to

8 make such direct loans.’’.

9 TITLE IV—MARINE FISHERY

10 STATUTE REAUTHORIZATIONS

11 SEC. 401. MARINE FISH PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION OF AP12 PROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) FISHERIES INFORMATION COLLECTION AND

14 ANALYSIS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to

15 the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oce16 anic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out fish17 eries information and analysis activities under the Fish

18 and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) and

19 any other law involving those activities, $51,800,000 for

20 fiscal year 1997, and $52,345,000 for each of the fiscal

21 years 1998, 1999, and 2000. Such activities may include,

22 but are not limited to, the collection, analysis, and dis23 semination of scientific information necessary for the man24 agement of living marine resources and associated marine

25 habitat.
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1 (b) FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

2 OPERATIONS.— There are authorized to be appropriated

3 to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oce4 anic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out activi5 ties relating to fisheries conservation and management op6 erations under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16

7 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) and any other law involving those

8 activities, $29,028,000 for fiscal year 1997, and

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 con12 servation and management measures to achieve continued

13 optimum use of living marine resources, hatchery oper14 ations, habitat conservation, and protected species man15 agement.

16 (c) FISHERIES STATE AND INDUSTRY COOPERATIVE

17 PROGRAMS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to

18 the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out State

20 and industry cooperative programs under the Fish and

21 Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.) and any

22 other law involving those activities, $27,932,000 for fiscal

23 year 1997, and $28,226,000 for each of the fiscal years

24 1998, 1999, and 2000. These activities include, but are

25 not limited to, ensuring the quality and safety of seafood
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1 products and providing grants to States for improving the

2 management of interstate fisheries.

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

4 CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.—Section 2(e) of the National

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fish6 eries Program Authorization Act (Public Law 98-210; 97

7 Stat. 1409) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘1992 and 1993’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘1997 and 1998’’;

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 author16 ized under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man17 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the Marine

18 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.),

19 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 3301 et

20 seq.), the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

21 757 et seq.), and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (16

22 U.S.C. 4107 et seq.).

23 (f) NEW ENGLAND HEALTH PLAN.—The Secretary

24 of Commerce is authorized to provide up to $2,000,000

25 from previously appropriated funds to Caritas Christi for
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1 the implementation of a health care plan for fishermen

2 in New England if Caritas Christi submits such plan to

3 the Secretary no later than January 1, 1997, and the Sec4 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and

5 Human Services, approves such plan.

6 SEC. 402. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT AMEND7 MENTS.

8 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 308 of the Inter9 jurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107) is

10 amended—

11 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol12 lows:

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS.—There are author14 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce

15 for apportionment to carry out the purposes of this title—

16 ‘‘(1) $3,400,000 for fiscal year 1996;

17 ‘‘(2) $3,900,000 for fiscal year 1997;

18 ‘‘(3) $4,400,000 for each of the fiscal years

19 1998, 1999, and 2000.’’;

20 (2) by striking ‘‘$350,000 for each of the fiscal

21 years 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, and

22 $600,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and

23 1995,’’ in subsection (c) and inserting ‘‘$700,000

24 for fiscal year 1997, and $750,000 for each of the

25 fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000,’’.
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1 (b) NEW ENGLAND REPORT.—Section 308(d) of the

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

3 4107(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following

4 new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(7) With respect to funds available for the

6 New England region, the Secretary shall submit to

7 the Congress by January 1, 1997, with annual up8 dates thereafter as appropriate, a report on the New

9 England fishing capacity reduction initiative which

10 provides:

11 ‘‘(A) the total number of Northeast multi12 species permits in each permit category and cal13 culates the maximum potential fishing capacity

14 of vessels holding such permits based on the

15 principal gear, gross registered tonnage, engine

16 horsepower, length, age, and other relevant

17 characteristics;

18 ‘‘(B) the total number of days at sea avail19 able to the permitted Northeast multispecies

20 fishing fleet and the total days at sea weighted

21 by the maximum potential fishing capacity of

22 the fleet;

23 ‘‘(C) an analysis of the extent to which the

24 weighted days at sea are used by the active par25 ticipants in the fishery and of the reduction in
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1 such days as a result of the fishing capacity re2 duction program; and

3 ‘‘(D) an estimate of conservation benefits

4 (such as reduction in fishing mortality) directly

5 attributable to the fishing capacity reduction

6 program.’’.

7 SEC. 403. ANADROMOUS FISHERIES AMENDMENTS.

8 Section 4 of the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act

9 (16 U.S.C. 757d) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a)(1) There are authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out the purposes of this Act not to exceed

12 the following sums:

13 ‘‘(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

14 ‘‘(B) $4,250,000 for each of fiscal years 1998,

15 1999, and 2000.

16 ‘‘(2) Sums appropriated under this subsection are au17 thorized to remain available until expended.

18 ‘‘(b) Not more than $625,000 of the funds appro19 priated under this section in any one fiscal year shall be

20 obligated in any one State.’’.

21 SEC. 404. ATLANTIC COASTAL FISHERIES AMENDMENTS.

22 (a) DEFINITION.—Paragraph (1) of section 803 of

23 the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management

24 Act (16 U.S.C. 5102) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

2 subparagraph (A);

3 (2) by striking ‘‘States; and’’ in subparagraph

4 (B) and inserting ‘‘States.’’; and

5 (3) by striking subparagraph (C).

6 (b) IMPLEMENTATION STANDARD FOR FEDERAL

7 REGULATION.—Subparagraph (A) of section 804(b)(1) of

8 such Act (16 U.S.C. 5103(b)(1)) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘necessary to support’’ and inserting ‘‘compatible with’’.

10 (c) AMERICAN LOBSTER MANAGEMENT.—Section

11 809 (16 U.S.C. 5108) and section 810 of such Act are

12 redesignated as sections 811 and 812, respectively, and

13 the following new sections are inserted at the end of sec14 tion 808:

15 ‘‘SEC. 809. STATE PERMITS VALID IN CERTAIN WATERS.

16 ‘‘(a) PERMITS.—Notwithstanding any provision of

17 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

18 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries

19 Cooperative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.),

20 or any requirement of a fishery management plan or coast21 al fishery management plan to the contrary, a person hold22 ing a valid license issued by the State of Maine which law23 fully permits that person to engage in commercial fishing

24 for American lobster may, with the approval of the State

25 of Maine, engage in commercial fishing for American Lob-
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1 ster in the following areas designated as federal waters,

2 if such fishing is conducted in such waters in accordance

3 with all other applicable federal and state regulations:

4 ‘‘(1) west of Monhegan Island in the area lo5 cated north of the line 43° 42′ 08′′ N, 69° 34′ 18′′

6 W and 43° 42′ 15′′ N, 69° 19′ 18′′ W;

7 ‘‘(2) east of Monhegan Island in the area lo8 cated west of the line 43° 44′ 00′′ N, 69° 15′ 05′′

9 W and 43° 48′ 10′′ N, 69° 08′ 01′′ W;

10 ‘‘(3) south of Vinalhaven in the area located

11 west of the line 43° 52′ 21′′ N, 68° 39′ 54′′ W and

12 43° 48′ 10′′ N, 69° 08′ 01′′ W; and

13 ‘‘(4) south of Bois Bubert Island in the area lo14 cated north of the line 44° 19′ 15′′ N, 67° 49′ 30′′

15 W and 44° 23′ 45′′ N, 67° 40′ 33′′ W.

16 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The exemption from federal

17 fishery permitting requirements granted by subsection (a)

18 may be revoked or suspended by the Secretary in accord19 ance with section 308(g) of the Magnuson Fishery Con20 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(g)) for

21 violations of such Act or this Act.

22 ‘‘SEC. 810. TRANSITION TO MANAGEMENT OF AMERICAN

23 LOBSTER FISHERY BY COMMISSION.

24 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY LIMITS.—Notwithstanding any

25 other provision of this Act or of the Magnuson Fishery
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1 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

2 seq.), if no regulations have been issued under section

3 804(b) of this Act by December 31, 1997, to implement

4 a coastal fishery management plan for American lobster,

5 then the Secretary shall issue interim regulations before

6 March 1, 1998, that will prohibit any vessel that takes

7 lobsters in the exclusive economic zone by a method other

8 than pots or traps from landing lobsters (or any parts

9 thereof) at any location within the United States in excess

10 of—

11 ‘‘(1) 100 lobsters (or parts thereof) for each

12 fishing trip of 24 hours or less duration (up to a

13 maximum of 500 lobsters, or parts thereof, during

14 any 5-day period); or

15 ‘‘(2) 500 lobsters (or parts thereof) for a fish16 ing trip of 5 days or longer.

17 ‘‘(b) SECRETARY TO MONITOR LANDINGS.—Before

18 January 1, 1998, the Secretary shall monitor, on a timely

19 basis, landings of American lobster, and, if the Secretary

20 determines that catches from vessels that take lobsters in

21 the exclusive economic zone by a method other than pots

22 or traps have increased significantly, then the Secretary

23 may, consistent with the national standards in section 301

24 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801), and after opportunity for public
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1 comment and consultation with the Atlantic States Marine

2 Fisheries Commission, implement regulations under sec3 tion 804(b) of this Act that are necessary for the conserva4 tion of American lobster.

5 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS TO REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL

6 PLAN IMPLEMENTED.—Regulations issued under sub7 section (a) or (b) shall remain in effect until the Secretary

8 implements regulations under section 804(b) of this Act

9 to implement a coastal fishery management plan for

10 American lobster.’’.

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

12 810 of such Act, as amended by this Act, is amended fur13 ther by striking ‘‘1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘1996, and

14 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999,

15 and 2000.’’.

16 SEC. 405. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO MARITIME BOUND17 ARY AGREEMENT.

18 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS TO DEFINI19 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 308 of the Act entitled

20 ‘‘An Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Gar21 den Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March

22 9, 1992 (Public Law 102-251; 106 Stat. 66) hereinafter

23 referred to as the ‘‘FGB Act’’, section 301(b) of that Act

24 (adding a definition of the term ‘‘special areas’’) shall take

25 effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) Section 301(h)(2)(A) of the FGB Act is re3 pealed.

4 (2) Section 304 of the FGB Act is repealed.

5 (3) Section 3(15) of the Marine Mammal Pro6 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1362(15)) is amend7 ed to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(15) The term ‘waters under the jurisdiction

9 of the United States’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) the territorial sea of the United

11 States;

12 ‘‘(B) the waters included within a zone,

13 contiguous to the territorial sea of the United

14 States, of which the inner boundary is a line co15 terminous with the seaward boundary of each

16 coastal State, and the other boundary is a line

17 drawn in such a manner that each point on it

18 is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from

19 which the territorial sea is measured; and

20 ‘‘(C) the areas referred to as eastern spe21 cial areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement be22 tween the United States of America and the

23 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Mar24 itime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in par25 ticular, those areas east of the maritime bound-
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1 ary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie with2 in 200 nautical miles of the baselines from

3 which the breadth of the territorial sea of Rus4 sia is measured but beyond 200 nautical miles

5 of the baselines from which the breadth of the

6 territorial sea of the United States is measured,

7 except that this subparagraph shall not apply

8 before the date on which the Agreement be9 tween the United States and the Union of So10 viet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Bound11 ary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for

12 the United States.’’.

13 SEC. 406. AMENDMENTS TO THE FISHERIES ACT.

14 Section 309(b) of the Fisheries Act of 1995 (Public

15 Law 104-43) is amended by striking ‘‘July 1, 1996’’ and

16 inserting ‘‘July 1, 1997’’.

Passed the Senate September 19, 1996.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 39

AN ACT

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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