II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 273 

To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2021 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driftnet Modernization 

5 and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

7 Section 3(25) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(25)) is 

9 amended by inserting ‘‘, or with a mesh size of 14 inches 

10 or greater,’’ after ‘‘more’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 206(b) of the Magnuson-Ste3 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1826(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 

8 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(8) within the exclusive economic zone, large11 scale driftnet fishing that deploys nets with large 

12 mesh sizes causes significant entanglement and mor13 tality of living marine resources, including myriad 

14 protected species, despite limitations on the lengths 

15 of such nets.’’. 

16 (b) POLICY.—Section 206(c) of the Magnuson-Ste17 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

18 U.S.C. 1826(c)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

22 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(4) prioritize the phase out of large-scale 

25 driftnet fishing in the exclusive economic zone and 

26 promote the development and adoption of alternative 


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1 fishing methods and gear types that minimize the in2 cidental catch of living marine resources.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROGRAM. 

4 Section 206 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con5 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1826) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following— 

7 ‘‘(i) FISHING GEAR TRANSITION PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period 

9 beginning on the date of enactment of the Driftnet 

10 Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, the Sec11 retary shall conduct a transition program to facili12 tate the phase-out of large-scale driftnet fishing and 

13 adoption of alternative fishing practices that mini14 mize the incidental catch of living marine resources, 

15 and shall award grants to eligible permit holders 

16 who participate in the program. 

17 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Any permit holder 

18 receiving a grant under paragraph (1) may use such 

19 funds only for the purpose of covering— 

20 ‘‘(A) any fee originally associated with a 

21 permit authorizing participation in a large-scale 

22 driftnet fishery, if such permit is surrendered 

23 for permanent revocation, and such permit 

24 holder relinquishes any claim associated with 

25 the permit; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a forfeiture of fishing gear associated 

2 with a permit described in subparagraph (A); or 

3 ‘‘(C) the purchase of alternative gear with 

4 minimal incidental catch of living marine re5 sources, if the fishery participant is authorized 

6 to continue fishing using such alternative gears. 

7 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer8 tify that, with respect to each participant in the pro9 gram under this subsection, any permit authorizing 

10 participation in a large-scale driftnet fishery has 

11 been permanently revoked and that no new permits 

12 will be issued to authorize such fishing.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. EXCEPTION. 

14 Section 307(1)(M) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

15 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 1857(1)(M)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon 

17 the following: ‘‘, unless such large-scale driftnet fishing— 

18 ‘‘(i) deploys, within the exclusive eco19 nomic zone, a net with a total length of 

20 less than two and one-half kilometers and 

21 a mesh size of 14 inches or greater; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is conducted within 5 years of 

23 the date of enactment of the Driftnet Mod24 ernization and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. FEES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The North Pacific Fishery Man3 agement Council may recommend, and the Secretary of 

4 Commerce may approve, regulations necessary for the col5 lection of fees from charter vessel operators who guide rec6 reational anglers who harvest Pacific halibut in Inter7 national Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory areas 2C 

8 and 3A as those terms are defined in part 300 of title 

9 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regula10 tions). 

11 (b) USE OF FEES.—Any fees collected under this sec12 tion shall be available, without appropriation or fiscal year 

13 limitation, for the purposes of— 

14 (1) financing administrative costs of the Rec15 reational Quota Entity program; 

16 (2) the purchase of halibut quota shares in 

17 International Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory 

18 areas 2C and 3A by the recreational quota entity 

19 authorized in part 679 of title 50, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations (or any successor regulations); 

21 (3) halibut conservation and research; and 

22 (4) promotion of the halibut resource by the 

23 recreational quota entity authorized in part 679 of 

24 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc25 cessor regulations). 

Æ 


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