I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2023 

To modernize recreational fisheries management. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 6, 2017 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. WITTMAN, and Mr. WEBSTER of Florida) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modernize recreational fisheries management. 

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 ‘‘Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 

6 2017’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 


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Sec. 101. Process for allocation review for South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

mixed-use fisheries. 

Sec. 102. Alternative fishery management. 

Sec. 103. Moratorium on limited access privilege programs for mixed-use fisheries. 

Sec. 104. Rebuilding overfished and depleted fisheries. 

Sec. 105. Modifications to the annual catch limit requirement. 

Sec. 106. Exempted fishing permits. 

TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY INFORMATION, RESEARCH, AND 

DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 201. Cooperative data collection. 

Sec. 202. Recreational data collection. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISH2 ERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever 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-Stevens Fish8 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

9 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 (a) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—Section 2(a) (16 

12 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(13) While both provide significant cultural 

15 and economic benefits to the Nation, recreational 

16 fishing and commercial fishing are fundamentally 

17 different activities, therefore requiring management 

18 approaches adapted to the characteristics of each 

19 sector.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 2(a)(3) (16 

2 U.S.C. 1801(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(3) Commercial and recreational fishing con4 stitute major sources of employment and contributes 

5 significantly to the economy of the Nation. Many 

6 coastal areas are dependent upon fishing and related 

7 activities.’’. 

8 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND 

9 MANAGEMENT 

10 SEC. 101. PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW FOR SOUTH 

11 ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO MIXED-USE 

12 FISHERIES. 

13 (a) STUDY OF ALLOCATIONS IN MIXED-USE FISH14 ERIES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enact15 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter 

16 into an arrangement with the National Academy of 

17 Sciences to conduct a study of the South Atlantic and Gulf 

18 of Mexico mixed-use fisheries— 

19 (1) to provide guidance to the South Atlantic 

20 Fishery Management Council and Gulf of Mexico 

21 Fishery Management Council on criteria that could 

22 be used for allocating fishing privileges, including 

23 consideration of the conservation and socioeconomic 

24 benefits of the commercial, recreational, and charter 

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1 agement Council established under section 302 of 

2 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

3 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852) in the prepara4 tion of a fishery management plan under that Act; 

5 (2) to identify sources of information that could 

6 reasonably support the use of such criteria in alloca7 tion decisions; and 

8 (3) to develop procedures for allocation reviews 

9 and potential adjustments in allocations based on 

10 the guidelines and requirements established by this 

11 section. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Pursuant to subsection (a), not later 

13 than 1 year after the date an arrangement is entered into, 

14 the National Academy of Sciences shall submit a report 

15 on the study to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Nat17 ural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

18 (c) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW AND ESTAB19 LISHMENT.—The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

20 Council and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

21 shall— 

22 (1) notwithstanding the report required pursu23 ant to this section, and any other provision of law, 

24 shall each— 


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1 (A) within 2 years after the date of enact2 ment of this Act, perform an initial review of 

3 the allocations to the commercial fishing sector 

4 and the recreational fishing sector of all appli5 cable fisheries in the Councils’ respective juris6 dictions; and 

7 (B) every 3 years thereafter, perform a re8 view of such allocations; and 

9 (2) consider the conservation and socioeconomic 

10 benefits of each of the commercial fishing sector and 

11 the recreational fishing sector in any allocation deci12 sions. 

13 SEC. 102. ALTERNATIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT. 

14 (a) REPEAL.—Section 407(d) (16 U.S.C. 1883), and 

15 the corresponding reference in the table of contents, are 

16 repealed. 

17 (b) MANAGEMENT.—Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 

18 1852(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi19 colon at the end of paragraph (7), by redesignating para20 graph (8) as paragraph (9), and by inserting the following 

21 after paragraph (7): 

22 ‘‘(8) have the authority to use alternative fish23 ery management measures in a recreational fishery 

24 (or the recreational component of a mixed-use fish25 ery) in developing a fishery management plan, plan 


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1 amendment, or proposed regulations, which may in2 clude extraction rates, fishing mortality targets, har3 vest control rules, or traditional or cultural practices 

4 of native communities; and’’. 

5 (c) SUMMARY.—Within 180 days after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 

7 transmit a summary to Congress that describes actions 

8 to implement this subsection. 

9 SEC. 103. MORATORIUM ON LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE 

10 PROGRAMS FOR MIXED-USE FISHERIES. 

11 For areas under the jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico 

12 Fishery Management Council or the South Atlantic Fish13 ery Management Council, there shall be a moratorium on 

14 the development or consideration of any new limited access 

15 privilege program for any mixed-use fisheries consisting 

16 of both commercial and recreational fishing sectors. 

17 SEC. 104. REBUILDING OVERFISHED AND DEPLETED FISH18 ERIES. 

19 Section 304(e)(4)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(4)(A)) is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(A) specify a time period for rebuilding 

22 the fishery that— 

23 ‘‘(i) shall be as short as practicable, 

24 taking into account the status and biology 

25 of any overfished stock of fish, the needs 


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1 of fishing communities, recommendations 

2 by international organizations in which the 

3 United States participates, and the inter4 action of the overfished stock of fish within 

5 the marine ecosystem; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) except where management meas7 ures under an international agreement in 

8 which the United States participates dic9 tate otherwise, shall not exceed— 

10 ‘‘(I) 10 years, except in cases 

11 where the biology of the stock of fish 

12 or other environmental conditions dic13 tate otherwise; or 

14 ‘‘(II) the sum of the time in 

15 which the affected stock of fish is ex16 pected to surpass its maximum sus17 tainable yield biomass level in the ab18 sence of fishing mortality, and the 

19 mean generation of time of the af20 fected stock of fish.’’. 

21 SEC. 105. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT 

22 REQUIREMENT. 

23 Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) CONSIDERATIONS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO AN2 NUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION OF ECOSYSTEM AND ECO4 NOMIC IMPACTS.—In establishing annual catch lim5 its a Council may, consistent with subsection (h)(6), 

6 consider changes in an ecosystem and the economic 

7 needs of fishing communities. 

8 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS TO ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT

9 REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIAL FISHERIES.—Notwith10 standing subsection (h)(6), a Council is not required 

11 to develop an annual catch limit for— 

12 ‘‘(A) an ecosystem-component species; 

13 ‘‘(B) a fishery for a species that has a life 

14 cycle of approximately 1 year, unless the Sec15 retary has determined the fishery is subject to 

16 overfishing; 

17 ‘‘(C) a stock of fish for which— 

18 ‘‘(i) fishing mortality is below the 

19 fishing mortality target; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a peer-reviewed stock survey and 

21 stock assessment have not been performed 

22 during the preceding 5-year period; 

23 ‘‘(D) the Secretary determines that over24 fishing is not occurring; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) for a sector of a fishery that is not 

2 monitored by a data collection system deter3 mined by the Secretary to be adequate for the 

4 development, implementation, and enforcement 

5 of annual catch limits specific to that sector, 

6 based on the evaluation recommended by the 

7 National Academy of Sciences in its report enti8 tled ‘Review of the Marine Recreational Infor9 mation Program (2017)’ of whether the design 

10 of a Marine Recreational Information Program 

11 for the purposes of stock assessment and the 

12 determination of stock management reference 

13 points is compatible with the needs of in-season 

14 management of annual catch limits. 

15 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION FOR MULTISPECIES COM16 PLEXES AND MULTIYEAR ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.— 

17 For purposes of subsection (h)(6), a Council may es18 tablish— 

19 ‘‘(A) an annual catch limit for a stock 

20 complex; or 

21 ‘‘(B) annual catch limits for each year in 

22 any continuous period that is not more than 

23 three years in duration. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ECOSYSTEM-COMPONENT SPECIES DE2 FINED.—In this subsection the term ‘ecosystem-com3 ponent species’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) a stock of fish that is a non-target, 

5 incidentally harvested stock of fish in a fishery; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(B) a nontarget, incidentally harvested 

8 stock of fish that a Council or the Secretary 

9 has determined— 

10 ‘‘(i) is not subject to overfishing, ap11 proaching a depleted condition, or de12 pleted; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is not likely to become subject to 

14 overfishing or depleted in the absence of 

15 conservation and management measures.’’. 

16 SEC. 106. EXEMPTED FISHING PERMITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before the approval and issuance 

18 of any new exempted fishing permit under section 600.745 

19 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

20 regulations, the Secretary of Commerce shall— 

21 (1) conduct a joint peer review of the proposed 

22 exempted fishing permit by the appropriate regional 

23 fisheries science center and State marine fisheries 

24 commission; and 


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1 (2) certify that the regional fishery manage2 ment council or Federal agency with jurisdiction 

3 over the affected fishery determined that— 

4 (A) the fishing activity conducted under 

5 the proposed exempted fishing permit would be 

6 consistent with any management measures or 

7 conservation objectives included within existing 

8 fishery management plans or amendments; 

9 (B) the social and economic impacts in 

10 both dollar amounts and loss of fishing oppor11 tunities on all participants in each sector of the 

12 fishery expected to occur as a result of the pro13 posed exempted fishing permit would be mini14 mal; 

15 (C) the information collected through fish16 ing activity conducted under the proposed ex17 empted fishing permit will have a positive and 

18 direct impact on the conservation, assessment, 

19 or management of the fishery; and 

20 (D) the Governor of each State, any part 

21 of which is located within 100 nautical miles of 

22 the proposed activity under the exempted fish23 ing permit has been consulted on the proposed 

24 exempted fishing permit. 


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1 (b) DURATION AND RENEWAL.—Any exempted fish2 ing permit— 

3 (1) shall expire at the end of the 12-month pe4 riod beginning on the date the permit is issued; and 

5 (2) may be renewed consistent with this section. 

6 TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY 

7 INFORMATION, RESEARCH, 

8 AND DEVELOPMENT 

9 SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE DATA COLLECTION. 

10 (a) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 

11 Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANAL14 YSIS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the science and statistical committees of 

17 the Councils established under section 302(g) and 

18 the Marine Fisheries Commissions, shall develop and 

19 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

21 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

22 by not later than 1 year after the date of the enact23 ment of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries 

24 Management Act of 2017 a report on facilitating 

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1 ments, and surveys from State agencies and non2 governmental sources described in paragraph (2) 

3 into fisheries management decisions. 

4 ‘‘(2) NONGOVERNMENTAL SOURCES.—Non5 governmental sources referred to in paragraph (1) 

6 are the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Fishermen. 

8 ‘‘(B) Fishing communities. 

9 ‘‘(C) Universities. 

10 ‘‘(D) Research institutions. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONTENT.—The report under paragraph 

12 (1) shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) identify types of data and analysis, 

14 especially concerning recreational fishing, that 

15 can be reliably used for purposes of this Act 

16 and the basis for establishing conservation and 

17 management measures as required by section 

18 303(a)(1), including setting standards for the 

19 collection and use of that data and analysis in 

20 stock assessments and surveys and for other 

21 purposes; 

22 ‘‘(B) provide specific recommendations for 

23 collecting data and performing analyses identi24 fied as necessary to reduce uncertainty in and 

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1 ments, including whether such data and anal2 ysis could be provided by nongovernmental 

3 sources, including fishermen, fishing commu4 nities, universities, and research institutions; 

5 ‘‘(C) consider the extent to which it is pos6 sible to establish a registry of persons providing 

7 such information; and 

8 ‘‘(D) consider the extent to which the ac9 ceptance and use of data and analyses identi10 fied in the report in fishery management deci11 sions is practicable.’’. 

12 (b) NAS REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec13 retary of Commerce shall take into consideration and, to 

14 the extent feasible, implement the recommendations of the 

15 National Academy of Sciences in its report entitled ‘‘Re16 view of the Marine Recreational Information Program 

17 (2017)’’, including— 

18 (1) prioritizing the evaluation of electronic data 

19 collection for the Fishing Effort Survey, including 

20 smartphone apps, electronic diaries for prospective 

21 data collection, and an Internet website option for 

22 all or just panel members; and 

23 (2) evaluating whether the design of the Marine 

24 Recreational Information Program for the purposes 

25 of stock assessment and the determination of stock 


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1 management reference points is compatible with the 

2 needs of in-season management of annual catch lim3 its and, if such program is incompatible with such 

4 needs, determining an alternative method for in-sea5 son management. 

6 SEC. 202. RECREATIONAL DATA COLLECTION. 

7 (a) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Section 

8 401(g) (16 U.S.C. 1881(g)) is amended by redesignating 

9 paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by inserting after 

10 paragraph (3) the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

13 shall establish partnerships with States to de14 velop best practices for implementation of State 

15 programs established pursuant to paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de18 velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 

19 that details best practices for administering 

20 State programs pursuant to paragraph (2), and 

21 provide such guidance to the States. 

22 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Secretary 

23 shall submit to the Congress and publish bien24 nial reports that include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the estimated accuracy of the reg2 istry program established under paragraph 

3 (1) and of State programs that are ex4 empted under paragraph (2); 

5 ‘‘(ii) priorities for improving rec6 reational fishing data collection; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of any use of in8 formation collected by such State programs 

9 and by the Secretary, including a descrip10 tion of any consideration given to the in11 formation by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(D) STATES GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec13 retary shall make grants to States to improve 

14 implementation of State programs consistent 

15 with this subsection. The Secretary shall 

16 prioritize such grants based on the ability of the 

17 grant to improve the quality and accuracy of 

18 such programs. 

19 ‘‘(E) FUNDING.—A portion of the funds 

20 appropriated to the Marine Recreational Infor21 mation Program shall be provided for imple22 mentation of this section.’’. 

23 (b) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary of Com24 merce shall— 


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1 (1) within 90 days after the date of enactment 

2 of this Act, enter into an agreement with the Na3 tional Academy of Sciences to evaluate, in the form 

4 of a report, whether the design of the Marine Rec5 reational Information Program, for the purposes of 

6 stock assessment and the determination of stock 

7 management reference points, is compatible with the 

8 needs of in-season management of annual catch lim9 its under section 303(a)(15) of the Magnuson-Ste10 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

11 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)), including whether in-season 

12 management of annual catch limits is appropriate 

13 for all recreational fisheries; and 

14 (2) within 6 months after receiving the report 

15 under paragraph (1), submit to Congress rec16 ommendations of changes to be made to the Marine 

17 Recreational Information Program to make the pro18 gram compatible with in-season management of an19 nual catch limits and other requirements under such 

20 section for those recreational fisheries for which in21 season management of annual catch limits is appro22 priate. 

Æ 


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