II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2923 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program of the National 

Marine Fisheries Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, 

read the third time and passed 

A BILL 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program 

of the National Marine Fisheries Service, 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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fishery Resource Dis5 asters Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF. 

7 Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

8 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) 

9 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

3 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CAUSE.—The term ‘al4 lowable cause’ means a natural cause, discrete 

5 anthropogenic cause, or undetermined cause. 

6 ‘‘(B) ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSE.—The term 

7 ‘anthropogenic cause’ means an anthropogenic 

8 event, such as an oil spill or spillway opening— 

9 ‘‘(i) that could not have been ad10 dressed or prevented by fishery manage11 ment measures; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) that is otherwise beyond the con13 trol of fishery managers to mitigate 

14 through conservation and management 

15 measures, including regulatory restrictions 

16 imposed as a result of judicial action or to 

17 protect human health or marine animals, 

18 plants, or habitats. 

19 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER.—The 

20 term ‘fishery resource disaster’ means a dis21 aster that is determined by the Secretary in ac22 cordance with this subsection and— 

23 ‘‘(i) is an unexpected large decrease in 

24 fish stock biomass or other change that re25 sults in significant loss of access to the 


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1 fishery resource, which may include loss of 

2 fishing vessels and gear for a substantial 

3 period of time and results in significant 

4 revenue or subsistence loss due to an al5 lowable cause; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

7 ‘‘(I) reasonably predictable, fore8 seeable, and recurrent fishery cyclical 

9 variations in species distribution or 

10 stock abundance; or 

11 ‘‘(II) reductions in fishing oppor12 tunities resulting from conservation 

13 and management measures taken pur14 suant to this Act. 

15 ‘‘(D) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 

16 Tribe’ has the meaning given such term in sec17 tion 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian 

18 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130), and 

19 the term ‘Tribal’ means of or pertaining to such 

20 an Indian tribe. 

21 ‘‘(E) NATURAL CAUSE.—The term ‘natural 

22 cause’— 

23 ‘‘(i) means a weather, climatic, haz24 ard, or biology-related event, such as— 

25 ‘‘(I) a hurricane; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a flood; 

2 ‘‘(III) a harmful algal bloom; 

3 ‘‘(IV) a tsunami; 

4 ‘‘(V) a hypoxic zone; 

5 ‘‘(VI) a drought; 

6 ‘‘(VII) El Nin ̃o effects on water 

7 temperature; 

8 ‘‘(VIII) a marine heat wave; or 

9 ‘‘(IX) disease; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) does not mean a normal or cycli11 cal variation in a species distribution or 

12 stock abundance. 

13 ‘‘(F) 12-MONTH REVENUE LOSS.—The 

14 term ‘12-month revenue loss’ means the per15 centage reduction, as applicable, in commercial, 

16 charter, headboat, or processor revenue for the 

17 12 months during which the fishery resource 

18 disaster occurred, when compared to average 

19 annual revenue in the most recent 5 years when 

20 no fishery resource disaster occurred or equiva21 lent for stocks with cyclical life histories. 

22 ‘‘(G) UNDETERMINED CAUSE.—The term 

23 ‘undetermined cause’ means a cause in which 

24 the current state of knowledge does not allow 

25 the Secretary to identify the exact cause, and 


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1 there is no current conclusive evidence sup2 porting a possible cause of the fishery resource 

3 disaster. 

4 ‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 have the authority to determine the existence, 

7 extent, and beginning and end dates of a fish8 ery resource disaster under this subsection in 

9 accordance with this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—After the 

11 Secretary determines that a fishery resource 

12 disaster has occurred, the Secretary is author13 ized to make sums available, from funds appro14 priated for such purposes, to be used by the af15 fected State, Tribal government, or interstate 

16 marine fisheries commission, or by the Sec17 retary in cooperation with the affected State, 

18 Tribal government, or interstate marine fish19 eries commission. 

20 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The requirements 

21 under this subsection shall take effect only with 

22 respect to requests for a fishery resource dis23 aster determination submitted after the date of 

24 enactment of the Fishery Resource Disasters 

25 Improvement Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INITIATION OF A FISHERY RESOURCE DIS2 ASTER REVIEW.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE REQUESTERS.—Not later 

4 than 1 year after the date of the conclusion of 

5 the fishing season, a request for a fishery re6 source disaster determination may be submitted 

7 to the Secretary, if the Secretary has not inde8 pendently determined that a fishery resource 

9 disaster has occurred, by— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Governor of an affected State; 

11 ‘‘(ii) an official Tribal resolution; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) any other comparable elected or 

13 politically appointed representative as de14 termined by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A com16 plete request for a fishery resource disaster de17 termination under subparagraph (A) shall in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(i) identification of all presumed af20 fected fish stocks; 

21 ‘‘(ii) identification of the fishery as 

22 Federal, non-Federal, or both; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the geographical boundaries of 

24 the fishery; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) preliminary information on 

2 causes of the fishery resource disaster, if 

3 known; and 

4 ‘‘(v) information needed to support a 

5 finding of a fishery resource disaster, in6 cluding— 

7 ‘‘(I) information demonstrating 

8 the occurrence of an unexpected large 

9 decrease in fish stock biomass or 

10 other change that results in signifi11 cant loss of access to the fishery re12 source, which could include the loss of 

13 fishing vessels and gear, for a sub14 stantial period of time; 

15 ‘‘(II) 12-month revenue loss or 

16 subsistence loss for the affected fish17 ery, or if a fishery resource disaster 

18 has occurred at any time in the pre19 vious 5-year period, the most recent 5 

20 years when no fishery resource dis21 aster occurred; 

22 ‘‘(III) if applicable, information 

23 on lost resource tax revenues assessed 

24 by local communities, such as a raw 


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1 fish tax and local sourcing require2 ments; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) if applicable and available, 

4 information on 12-month revenue loss 

5 for charter, headboat, or processors 

6 related to the information provided 

7 under subclause (I), subject to section 

8 402(b). 

9 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

10 provide data and analysis assistance to an eligi11 ble requester described in paragraph (1), if— 

12 ‘‘(i) the assistance is so requested; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary is in possession of 

14 the required information described in sub15 paragraph (B); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the data is not available to the 

17 requester, in carrying out the complete re18 quest under subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(D) INITIATION OF REVIEW.—The Sec20 retary shall have the discretion to initiate a 

21 fishery resource disaster review without a re22 quest. 

23 ‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INTERIM RESPONSE.—Not later than 

25 20 days after receipt of a request under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Oct 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.CPS S2923

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1 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide an in2 terim response to the individual that— 

3 ‘‘(i) acknowledges receipt of the re4 quest; 

5 ‘‘(ii) provides a regional contact with6 in the National Oceanographic and Atmos7 pheric Administration; 

8 ‘‘(iii) outlines the process and timeline 

9 by which a request shall be considered; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) requests additional information 

11 concerning the fishery resource disaster, if 

12 the original request is considered incom13 plete. 

14 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF REQUESTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

16 shall complete a review, within the time 

17 frame described in clause (ii), using the 

18 best scientific information available, in 

19 consultation with the affected fishing com20 munities, States, or Tribes, of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the information provided by 

22 the requester and any additional in23 formation relevant to the fishery, 

24 which may include— 

25 ‘‘(aa) fishery characteristics; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) stock assessments; 

2 ‘‘(cc) the most recent fishery 

3 independent surveys and other 

4 fishery resource assessments and 

5 surveys conducted by Federal, 

6 State, or Tribal officials; 

7 ‘‘(dd) estimates of mortality; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ee) overall effects; and 

10 ‘‘(II) the available economic in11 formation, which may include an anal12 ysis of— 

13 ‘‘(aa) landings data; 

14 ‘‘(bb) revenue; 

15 ‘‘(cc) the number of partici16 pants involved; 

17 ‘‘(dd) the number and type 

18 of jobs and persons impacted, 

19 which may include— 

20 ‘‘(AA) fishers; 

21 ‘‘(BB) charter fishing 

22 operators; 

23 ‘‘(CC) subsistence 

24 users; 


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1 ‘‘(DD) United States 

2 fish processors; and 

3 ‘‘(EE) an owner of a 

4 related fishery infrastructure 

5 or business affected by the 

6 disaster, such as a marina 

7 operator, recreational fishing 

8 equipment retailer, or char9 ter, headboat, or tender ves10 sel owner, operator, or crew; 

11 ‘‘(ee) an impacted Indian 

12 Tribe; 

13 ‘‘(ff) other forms of disaster 

14 assistance made available to the 

15 fishery, including prior awards of 

16 disaster assistance for the same 

17 event; 

18 ‘‘(gg) the length of time the 

19 resource, or access to the re20 source, has been restricted; 

21 ‘‘(hh) status of recovery 

22 from previous fishery resource 

23 disasters; 

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1 nities, such as a raw fish tax; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(jj) other appropriate indi4 cators to an affected fishery, as 

5 determined by the National Ma6 rine Fisheries Service. 

7 ‘‘(ii) TIME FRAME.—The Secretary 

8 shall complete the review described in 

9 clause (i), if the fishing season, applicable 

10 to the fishery— 

11 ‘‘(I) has concluded or there is no 

12 defined fishing season applicable to 

13 the fishery, not later than 120 days 

14 after the Secretary receives a com15 plete request for a fishery resource 

16 disaster determination; 

17 ‘‘(II) has not concluded, not later 

18 than 120 days after the conclusion of 

19 the fishing season; or 

20 ‘‘(III) is expected to be closed for 

21 the entire fishing season, not later 

22 than 120 days after the Secretary re23 ceives a complete request for a fishery 

24 resource disaster determination. 


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1 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER DE2 TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall make the 

3 determination of a fishery resource disaster 

4 based on the criteria for determinations listed 

5 in paragraph (5). 

6 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 14 

7 days after the conclusion of the review under 

8 this paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the 

9 requester and the Governor of the affected 

10 State or Tribal representative of the determina11 tion of the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 make a determination about whether a fishery 

15 resource disaster has occurred, based on the 

16 revenue loss thresholds under subparagraph 

17 (B), and, if a fishery resource disaster has oc18 curred, whether the fishery resource disaster 

19 was due to— 

20 ‘‘(i) a natural cause; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an anthropogenic cause; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a combination of a natural cause 

23 and an anthropogenic cause; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) an undetermined cause. 

25 ‘‘(B) REVENUE LOSS THRESHOLDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Based on the in2 formation provided or analyzed under 

3 paragraph (4)(B), the Secretary shall 

4 apply the following 12-month revenue loss 

5 thresholds in determining whether a fish6 ery resource disaster has occurred: 

7 ‘‘(I) Losses greater than 80 per8 cent may result in a positive deter9 mination that a fishery resource dis10 aster has occurred, based on the infor11 mation provided or analyzed under 

12 paragraph (4)(B). 

13 ‘‘(II) Losses between 35 percent 

14 and 80 percent shall be evaluated to 

15 determine whether economic impacts 

16 are severe enough to declare that a 

17 fishery resource disaster has occurred. 

18 ‘‘(III) Losses less than 35 per19 cent shall not be eligible for a deter20 mination that a fishery resource dis21 aster has occurred. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CHARTER FISHING.—In making 

23 a determination of whether a fishery re24 source disaster has occurred, the Secretary 

25 shall consider the economic impacts to the 


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1 charter fishing industry to ensure financial 

2 coverage for charter fishing businesses. 

3 ‘‘(iii) SUBSISTENCE LOSS.—In consid4 ering subsistence loss, the Secretary shall 

5 evaluate the severity of loss to the fishing 

6 community instead of applying the revenue 

7 loss thresholds described in clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBLE FISHERIES.—A fishery 

9 subject to overfishing in any of the 3 years pre10 ceding the date of a determination under this 

11 subsection is not eligible for a determination of 

12 whether a fishery resource disaster has occurred 

13 unless the Secretary determines that overfishing 

14 was not a contributing factor to the fishery re15 source disaster. 

16 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In 

17 an exceptional circumstance where substantial 

18 economic impacts to the affected fishery and 

19 fishing community have been subject to a dis20 aster declaration under another statutory au21 thority, such as in the case of a natural disaster 

22 or from the direct consequences of a Federal 

23 action taken to prevent, or in response to, a 

24 natural disaster for purposes of protecting life 

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1 ery resource disaster has occurred without a re2 quest. 

3 ‘‘(6) DISBURSAL OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary 

5 shall allocate funds available under paragraph 

6 (9) for fishery resource disasters. 

7 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED

8 FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING

10 AVAILABILITY.—When there are appro11 priated funds for 1 or more fishery re12 source disasters, the Secretary shall no13 tify— 

14 ‘‘(I) the public; and 

15 ‘‘(II) representatives of affected 

16 fishing communities with a positive 

17 disaster determination that is un18 funded; 

19 of the availability of funds, not more than 

20 14 days after the date of the appropriation 

21 or the determination of a fishery resource 

22 disaster, whichever occurs later. 

23 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The 

24 Secretary may extend the deadline under 


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1 clause (i) by 90 days to evaluate and make 

2 determinations on eligible requests. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

4 the allocation of appropriations for a fishery re5 source disaster, the Secretary shall consider 

6 commercial, charter, headboat, or seafood proc7 essing revenue losses and may consider the fol8 lowing factors: 

9 ‘‘(i) Direct economic impacts. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Uninsured losses. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Losses of subsistence and Tribal 

12 ceremonial fishing opportunity. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Losses of recreational fishing op14 portunity. 

15 ‘‘(v) Aquaculture operations revenue 

16 loss. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Direct revenue losses to a fishing 

18 community. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Treaty obligations. 

20 ‘‘(viii) Other economic impacts. 

21 ‘‘(D) SPEND PLANS.—To receive an alloca22 tion from funds available under paragraph (9), 

23 a requester with an affirmative fishery resource 

24 disaster determination shall submit a spend 

25 plan to the Secretary, not more than 120 days 


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1 after receiving notification that funds are avail2 able, that shall include the following informa3 tion, if applicable: 

4 ‘‘(i) Objectives and outcomes, with an 

5 emphasis on addressing the factors con6 tributing to the fishery resource disaster 

7 and minimizing future uninsured losses, if 

8 applicable. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Statement of work. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Budget details. 

11 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL CONTACT.—If so re12 quested, the Secretary shall provide a regional 

13 contact within the National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration to facilitate review of 

15 spend plans and disbursal of funds. 

16 ‘‘(F) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) AVAILABILITY.—Funds shall be 

18 made available to grantees not later than 

19 90 days after the date the Secretary re20 ceives a complete spend plan. 

21 ‘‘(ii) METHOD.—The Secretary may 

22 provide an allocation of funds under this 

23 subsection in the form of a grant, direct 

24 payment, cooperative agreement, loan, or 

25 contract. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Funds allo3 cated for fishery resources disasters 

4 under this subsection shall restore the 

5 fishery affected by such a disaster, 

6 prevent a similar disaster in the fu7 ture, or assist the affected fishing 

8 community, and shall prioritize the 

9 following uses, which are not in order 

10 of priority: 

11 ‘‘(aa) Habitat conservation 

12 and restoration and other activi13 ties, including scientific research, 

14 that reduce adverse impacts to 

15 the fishery or improve under16 standing of the affected species 

17 or its ecosystem. 

18 ‘‘(bb) The collection of fish19 ery information and other activi20 ties that improve management of 

21 the affected fishery. 

22 ‘‘(cc) In a commercial fish23 ery, capacity reduction and other 

24 activities that improve manage25 ment of fishing effort, including 


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1 funds to offset budgetary costs to 

2 refinance a Federal fishing ca3 pacity reduction loan or to repay 

4 the principal of a Federal fishing 

5 capacity reduction loan. 

6 ‘‘(dd) Developing, repairing, 

7 or improving fishery-related pub8 lic infrastructure. 

9 ‘‘(ee) Direct assistance to a 

10 person, fishing community (in11 cluding assistance for lost fish12 eries resource levies), or a busi13 ness to alleviate economic loss in14 curred as a direct result of a 

15 fishery resource disaster, particu16 larly when affected by a cir17 cumstance described in para18 graph (5)(D). 

19 ‘‘(ff) Hatcheries and stock 

20 enhancement to help rebuild the 

21 affected stock or offset fishing 

22 pressure on the affected stock. 

23 ‘‘(II) DISPLACED FISHERY EM24 PLOYEES.—Where appropriate, indi25 viduals carrying out the activities deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Oct 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.CPS S2923

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1 scribed in items (aa) through (dd) of 

2 subclause (I) shall be individuals who 

3 are, or were, employed in a commer4 cial, charter, or Tribal fishery for 

5 which the Secretary has determined 

6 that a fishery resource disaster has 

7 occurred. 

8 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro11 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Federal 

12 share of the cost of any activity carried out 

13 under the authority of this subsection shall 

14 not exceed 75 percent of the cost of that 

15 activity. 

16 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

17 waive the non-Federal share requirements 

18 of this subsection, if the Secretary deter19 mines that— 

20 ‘‘(I) no reasonable means are 

21 available through which the recipient 

22 of the Federal share can meet the 

23 non-Federal share requirement; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the probable benefit of 100 

25 percent Federal financing outweighs 


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1 the public interest in imposition of the 

2 non-Federal share requirement. 

3 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Federal 

4 share shall be equal to 100 percent in the 

5 case of— 

6 ‘‘(I) direct assistance as de7 scribed in paragraph (6)(F)(iii)(I)(ee); 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(II) assistance to subsistence or 

10 Tribal fisheries. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE

12 EXPENSES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL.—Not more than 3 per14 cent of the funds available under this sub15 section may be used for administrative ex16 penses by the National Oceanographic and 

17 Atmospheric Administration. 

18 ‘‘(ii) STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERN19 MENTS.—Of the funds remaining after the 

20 use described in clause (i), not more than 

21 5 percent may be used by States, Tribal 

22 governments, or interstate marine fisheries 

23 commissions for administrative expenses. 

24 ‘‘(C) FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PRO25 GRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No funds available 

2 under this subsection may be used as part 

3 of a fishing capacity reduction program in 

4 a fishery unless the Secretary determines 

5 that adequate conservation and manage6 ment measures are in place in such fishery. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE CONDITIONS.—As a 

8 condition of providing assistance under 

9 this subsection with respect to a vessel 

10 under a fishing capacity reduction pro11 gram, the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) prohibit the vessel from 

13 being used for fishing in Federal, 

14 State, or international waters; and 

15 ‘‘(II) require that the vessel be— 

16 ‘‘(aa) scrapped or otherwise 

17 disposed of in a manner approved 

18 by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(bb) donated to a nonprofit 

20 organization and thereafter used 

21 only for purposes of research, 

22 education, or training; or 

23 ‘‘(cc) used for another non24 fishing purpose provided the Sec25 retary determines that adequate 


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1 measures are in place to ensure 

2 that the vessel cannot reenter 

3 any fishery anywhere in the 

4 world. 

5 ‘‘(D) NO FISHERY ENDORSEMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A vessel that is 

7 prohibited from fishing under subpara8 graph (C)(ii)(I) shall not be eligible for a 

9 fishery endorsement under section 

10 12113(a) of title 46, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(ii) NONEFFECTIVE.—A fishery en12 dorsement for a vessel described in clause 

13 (i) shall not be effective. 

14 ‘‘(iii) NO SALE.—A vessel described in 

15 clause (i) shall not be sold to a foreign 

16 owner or reflagged. 

17 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON DATA COLLEC18 TION.—The Secretary shall make available and up19 date as appropriate, information on data collection 

20 and submittal best practices for the information de21 scribed in paragraph (4)(B). 

22 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this subsection $377,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

25 years 2021 through 2026.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 

2 MANAGEMENT ACT. 

3 (a) REPEAL.—Section 315 of the Magnuson-Stevens 

4 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

5 1864) is repealed. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Section 113(b)(2) of the Magnuson7 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthor8 ization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 460ss note) is amended— 

9 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AN10 NUAL REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’; 

11 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

12 by striking ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date 

15 of enactment of the Fishery Resource Disasters Im16 provement Act, and biennially thereafter’’; and 

17 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘the cal18 endar year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘the most recent’’. 

19 SEC. 4. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT OF 1986. 

20 (a) REPEAL.—Section 308 of the Interjurisdictional 

21 Fisheries Act of 1986 (16. U.S.C. 4107) is repealed. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL EDIT.—Section 3(k)(1) of the Small 

23 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)(1)) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of Commerce under 

25 section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 

26 1986)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of 


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1 Commerce under the Fishery Resource Disasters Improve2 ment Act)’’. 

3 SEC. 5. BUDGET REQUESTS; REPORTS. 

4 (a) BUDGET REQUEST.—In the budget justification 

5 materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget 

6 of the Department of Commerce for each fiscal year (as 

7 submitted with the budget of the President under section 

8 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), the Secretary 

9 of Commerce shall include a separate statement of the 

10 amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year 

11 for outstanding unfunded fishery resource disasters. 

12 (b) DRIFTNET ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990 REPORT

13 AND BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens 

15 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (A) in section 202(h), by striking para18 graph (3); and 

19 (B) in section 206— 

20 (i) by striking subsections (e) and (f); 

21 and 

22 (ii) by redesignating subsections (g) 

23 and (h) as subsections (e) and (f), respec24 tively. 


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1 (2) BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL

2 COMPLIANCE.—Section 607 of the High Seas 

3 Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1826h) is amended— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be6 fore ‘‘The Secretary’’ and indenting appro7 priately; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—In addition to the 

10 information described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of 

11 subsection (a), the report shall include— 

12 ‘‘(1) a description of the actions taken to carry 

13 out the provisions of section 206 of the Magnuson14 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1826), including— 

16 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the progress of those 

17 efforts, the impacts on living marine resources, 

18 including available observer data, and specific 

19 plans for further action; 

20 ‘‘(B) a list and description of any new fish21 eries developed by nations that conduct, or au22 thorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

23 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

24 zone of any nation; and 


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28 

•S 2923 CPS

1 ‘‘(C) a list of the nations that conduct, or 

2 authorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

3 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

4 zone of any nation in a manner that diminishes 

5 the effectiveness of or is inconsistent with any 

6 international agreement governing large-scale 

7 driftnet fishing to which the United States is a 

8 party or otherwise subscribes; and 

9 ‘‘(2) a description of the actions taken to carry 

10 out the provisions of section 202(h) of the Magnu11 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 1822(h)). 

13 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—If, at any time, the Secretary, 

14 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec15 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op16 erating, identifies any nation that warrants inclusion in 

17 the list described under subsection (b)(1)(C), due to large 

18 scale drift net fishing, the Secretary shall certify that fact 

19 to the President. Such certification shall be deemed to be 

20 a certification for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fish21 ermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).’’. 

Æ 


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