II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3234

To protect the public’s ability to fish for sport, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. BREAUX (for himself and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following bill;

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

Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To protect the public’s ability to fish for sport, and for

other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This bill may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Fish Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 The Congress makes the following findings:

7 (1) Recreational fishing is traditionally one of

8 the most popular outdoor sports with more than 45

9 million participants of all ages, in all regions of the

10 country.
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1 (2) Recreational fishing makes substantial con2 tributions to the local, State, and national econo3 mies. According to the most recent economic figures,

4 recreational fishing infuses $108 billion annually

5 into the national economy. Nationally, over 1.2 mil6 lion jobs are related to recreational fishing; this rep7 resents approximately 1 percent of the nation’s en8 tire civilian work force. For those communities and

9 small businesses that rely on seasonal tourism, the

10 expenditures of recreational fishers result in sub11 stantial benefits to the local economies.

12 (3) Recreational fishers have long demonstrated

13 a conservation ethic. Through catch-and-release fish14 eries and through the use of non-lethal fishing gear.

15 In addition to payment of Federal excise taxes on

16 fishing equipment, motorboats and fuel, as well as li17 cense fees, recreational fishers contribute over $500

18 million annually to State fisheries conservation man19 agement programs and projects.

20 (4) The single most important element of rec21 reational fishing is open access to places to fish. The

22 open access principle is universally accepted on all

23 Federal lands and waters including wildlife refuges,

24 national parks, wilderness areas, and the exclusive

25 economic zone.
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1 (5) All recreational fishery resources can be

2 maintained through a variety of management meas3 ures including take limits, minimum size require4 ments, and closed seasons without unnecessarily re5 stricting public access to places to fish.

6 (6) The absence of clear Congressional policy

7 has confused the general public as to how programs

8 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad9 ministration complement one another with respect to

10 recreational fishing.

11 SEC. 3. POLICY.

12 It is the policy of the Congress in this Act—

13 (1) to ensure that all Federal regulations pro14 mote open access for recreational fishing to the max15 imum extent practicable;

16 (2) to ensure that recreational fishers will be

17 actively involved in any regulatory procedures that

18 contemplate restrictions on their access to places to

19 fish; and

20 (3) to ensure that whenever access to fishing

21 places is restricted, that the restricted areas be as

22 small as are scientifically necessary to provide for

23 the conservation of the fishery resource.
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1 SEC. 4. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND

2 MANAGEMENT ACT AMENDMENT.

3 Section 303(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

4 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a))

5 is amended—

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

7 paragraph (13);

8 (2) by striking ‘‘fishery.’’ in paragraph (14)

9 and inserting ‘‘fishery; and’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(15) not establish areas closed to recreational

12 fishing unless—

13 ‘‘(A) there is a clear indication that rec14 reational fishermen are the cause of a specific

15 conservation problem and that less severe con16 servation measures, such as gear restrictions,

17 quotas, or closed seasons will not adequately

18 provide for conservation and management of

19 the affected stocks of fish;

20 ‘‘(B) the closed area regulation includes

21 specific measurable criteria to determine the

22 conservation benefit of the closed area on the

23 affected stocks of fish and provides a timetable

24 for periodic review of the continued need for the

25 closed area at least once every three years;
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1 ‘‘(C) the closed area is no larger than that

2 which is supported by the best available sci3 entific information; or

4 ‘‘(D) provision is made to reopen the

5 closed area to recreational fishing whenever the

6 condition in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) that

7 was the basis of the closure no longer exists.’’.

8 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES ACT AMEND9 MENT.

10 Section 304(a)(5) of the National Marine Sanctuaries

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(5) FISHING REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall

13 provide the appropriate Regional Fishery Management

14 Council with the opportunity to propose, and revise from

15 time to time, all regulations applicable to fishing within

16 designated marine sanctuaries according to the standards

17 and procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con18 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

19 The regulations, upon approval by the Secretary, shall

20 apply within the exclusive economic zone, and may be ap21 plied within the boundaries of a State, with the approval

22 of the Governor of the State, or pursuant to the authority

23 of the Secretary under section 306(b) of that Act (16

24 U.S.C. 1856(b)).’’.

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