ID 

Union Calendar No. 421 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2923 

[Report No. 117–580] 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2021 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as printed in the House of Representatives on 

on November 16, 2021] 


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AN ACT 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program 

of the National Marine Fisheries Service, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 Disas5 ters Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF. 

7 Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

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

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

12 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CAUSE.—The term ‘allow13 able cause’ means a natural cause, discrete an14 thropogenic cause, or undetermined cause. 

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

16 ‘anthropogenic cause’ means an anthropogenic 

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

18 ‘‘(i) that could not have been addressed 

19 or prevented by fishery management meas20 ures; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) that is otherwise beyond the con22 trol of fishery managers to mitigate through 

23 conservation and management measures, in24 cluding regulatory restrictions imposed as a 

25 result of judicial action or to protect human 


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1 health or marine animals, plants, or habi2 tats. 

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

4 term ‘fishery resource disaster’ means a disaster 

5 that is determined by the Secretary in accord6 ance with this subsection and— 

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

8 fish stock biomass or other change that re9 sults in significant loss of access to the fish10 ery resource, which may include loss of fish11 ing vessels and gear for a substantial period 

12 of time and results in significant revenue or 

13 subsistence loss due to an allowable cause; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

16 ‘‘(I) reasonably predictable, fore17 seeable, and recurrent fishery cyclical 

18 variations in species distribution or 

19 stock abundance; or 

20 ‘‘(II) reductions in fishing oppor21 tunities resulting from conservation 

22 and management measures taken pur23 suant to this Act. 

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

25 Tribe’ has the meaning given such term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2923.RH S2923

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1 tion 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian 

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

3 term ‘Tribal’ means of or pertaining to such an 

4 Indian tribe. 

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

6 cause’— 

7 ‘‘(i) means a weather, climatic, hazard, 

8 or biology-related event, such as— 

9 ‘‘(I) a hurricane; 

10 ‘‘(II) a flood; 

11 ‘‘(III) a harmful algal bloom; 

12 ‘‘(IV) a tsunami; 

13 ‘‘(V) a hypoxic zone; 

14 ‘‘(VI) a drought; 

15 ‘‘(VII) El Nin ̃o effects on water 

16 temperature; 

17 ‘‘(VIII) a marine heat wave; or 

18 ‘‘(IX) disease; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) does not mean a normal or cycli20 cal variation in a species distribution or 

21 stock abundance. 

22 ‘‘(F) 12-MONTH REVENUE LOSS.—The term 

23 ‘12-month revenue loss’ means the percentage re24 duction, as applicable, in commercial, charter, 

25 headboat, or processor revenue for the 12 months 


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1 during which the fishery resource disaster oc2 curred, when compared to average annual rev3 enue in the most recent 5 years when no fishery 

4 resource disaster occurred or equivalent for stocks 

5 with cyclical life histories. 

6 ‘‘(G) UNDETERMINED CAUSE.—The term 

7 ‘undetermined cause’ means a cause in which the 

8 current state of knowledge does not allow the Sec9 retary to identify the exact cause, and there is no 

10 current conclusive evidence supporting a possible 

11 cause of the fishery resource disaster. 

12 ‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

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

14 have the authority to determine the existence, ex15 tent, and beginning and end dates of a fishery 

16 resource disaster under this subsection in accord17 ance with this subsection. 

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

19 Secretary determines that a fishery resource dis20 aster has occurred, the Secretary is authorized to 

21 make sums available, from funds appropriated 

22 for such purposes, to be used by the affected 

23 State, Tribal government, or interstate marine 

24 fisheries commission, or by the Secretary in coVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2923.RH S2923

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1 operation with the affected State, Tribal govern2 ment, or interstate marine fisheries commission. 

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

4 under this subsection shall take effect only with 

5 respect to requests for a fishery resource disaster 

6 determination submitted after the date of enact7 ment of the Fishery Resource Disasters Improve8 ment Act. 

9 ‘‘(3) INITIATION OF A FISHERY RESOURCE DIS10 ASTER REVIEW.— 

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

12 than 1 year after the date of the conclusion of the 

13 fishing season, a request for a fishery resource 

14 disaster determination may be submitted to the 

15 Secretary, if the Secretary has not independently 

16 determined that a fishery resource disaster has 

17 occurred, by— 

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

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

20 ‘‘(iii) any other comparable elected or 

21 politically appointed representative as de22 termined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A complete 

24 request for a fishery resource disaster determina25 tion under subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) identification of all presumed af2 fected fish stocks; 

3 ‘‘(ii) identification of the fishery as 

4 Federal, non-Federal, or both; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the geographical boundaries of 

6 the fishery; 

7 ‘‘(iv) preliminary information on 

8 causes of the fishery resource disaster, if 

9 known; and 

10 ‘‘(v) information needed to support a 

11 finding of a fishery resource disaster, in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(I) information demonstrating 

14 the occurrence of an unexpected large 

15 decrease in fish stock biomass or other 

16 change that results in significant loss 

17 of access to the fishery resource, which 

18 could include the loss of fishing vessels 

19 and gear, for a substantial period of 

20 time; 

21 ‘‘(II) 12-month revenue loss or 

22 subsistence loss for the affected fishery, 

23 or if a fishery resource disaster has oc24 curred at any time in the previous 5- 

25 year period, the most recent 5 years 


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1 when no fishery resource disaster oc2 curred; 

3 ‘‘(III) if applicable, information 

4 on lost resource tax revenues assessed 

5 by local communities, such as a raw 

6 fish tax and local sourcing require7 ments; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) if applicable and available, 

9 information on 12-month revenue loss 

10 for charter, headboat, or processors re11 lated to the information provided 

12 under subclause (I), subject to section 

13 402(b). 

14 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may pro15 vide data and analysis assistance to an eligible 

16 requester described in paragraph (1), if— 

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

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

19 the required information described in sub20 paragraph (B); and 

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

22 requester, in carrying out the complete re23 quest under subparagraph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(D) INITIATION OF REVIEW.—The Sec2 retary shall have the discretion to initiate a fish3 ery resource disaster review without a request. 

4 ‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

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

6 20 days after receipt of a request under para7 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide an interim 

8 response to the individual that— 

9 ‘‘(i) acknowledges receipt of the request; 

10 ‘‘(ii) provides a regional contact with11 in the National Oceanographic and Atmos12 pheric Administration; 

13 ‘‘(iii) outlines the process and timeline 

14 by which a request shall be considered; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) requests additional information 

16 concerning the fishery resource disaster, if 

17 the original request is considered incom18 plete. 

19 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF REQUESTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 complete a review, within the time frame 

22 described in clause (ii), using the best sci23 entific information available, in consulta24 tion with the affected fishing communities, 

25 States, or Tribes, of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the information provided by 

2 the requester and any additional infor3 mation relevant to the fishery, which 

4 may include— 

5 ‘‘(aa) fishery characteristics; 

6 ‘‘(bb) stock assessments; 

7 ‘‘(cc) the most recent fishery 

8 independent surveys and other 

9 fishery resource assessments and 

10 surveys conducted by Federal, 

11 State, or Tribal officials; 

12 ‘‘(dd) estimates of mortality; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ee) overall effects; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the available economic infor16 mation, which may include an anal17 ysis of— 

18 ‘‘(aa) landings data; 

19 ‘‘(bb) revenue; 

20 ‘‘(cc) the number of partici21 pants involved; 

22 ‘‘(dd) the number and type of 

23 jobs and persons impacted, which 

24 may include— 

25 ‘‘(AA) fishers; 


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1 ‘‘(BB) charter fishing 

2 operators; 

3 ‘‘(CC) subsistence users; 

4 ‘‘(DD) United States 

5 fish processors; and 

6 ‘‘(EE) an owner of a re7 lated fishery infrastructure 

8 or business affected by the 

9 disaster, such as a marina 

10 operator, recreational fishing 

11 equipment retailer, or char12 ter, headboat, or tender vessel 

13 owner, operator, or crew; 

14 ‘‘(ee) an impacted Indian 

15 Tribe; 

16 ‘‘(ff) other forms of disaster 

17 assistance made available to the 

18 fishery, including prior awards of 

19 disaster assistance for the same 

20 event; 

21 ‘‘(gg) the length of time the 

22 resource, or access to the resource, 

23 has been restricted; 

24 ‘‘(hh) status of recovery from 

25 previous fishery resource disasters; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) lost resource tax reve2 nues assessed by local commu3 nities, such as a raw fish tax; and 

4 ‘‘(jj) other appropriate indi5 cators to an affected fishery, as 

6 determined by the National Ma7 rine Fisheries Service. 

8 ‘‘(ii) TIME FRAME.—The Secretary 

9 shall complete the review described in clause 

10 (i), if the fishing season, applicable to the 

11 fishery— 

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

13 defined fishing season applicable to the 

14 fishery, not later than 120 days after 

15 the Secretary receives a complete re16 quest for a fishery resource disaster de17 termination; 

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

19 than 120 days after the conclusion of 

20 the fishing season; or 

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

22 the entire fishing season, not later than 

23 120 days after the Secretary receives a 

24 complete request for a fishery resource 

25 disaster determination. 


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1 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER DETER2 MINATION.—The Secretary shall make the deter3 mination of a fishery resource disaster based on 

4 the criteria for determinations listed in para5 graph (5). 

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

7 days after the conclusion of the review under this 

8 paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the re9 quester and the Governor of the affected State or 

10 Tribal representative of the determination of the 

11 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, and, if a fishery 

16 resource disaster has occurred, whether the fish17 ery resource disaster was due to— 

18 ‘‘(i) a natural cause; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an anthropogenic cause; 

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

21 and an anthropogenic cause; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) an undetermined cause. 

23 ‘‘(B) CHARTER FISHING.—In making a de24 termination of whether a fishery resource dis25 aster has occurred, the Secretary shall consider 


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1 the economic impacts to the charter fishing in2 dustry to ensure financial coverage for charter 

3 fishing businesses. 

4 ‘‘(C) SUBSISTENCE LOSS.—In considering 

5 subsistence loss, the Secretary shall evaluate the 

6 severity of loss to the fishing community. 

7 ‘‘(D) INELIGIBLE FISHERIES.—A fishery 

8 subject to overfishing in any of the 3 years pre9 ceding the date of a determination under this 

10 subsection is not eligible for a determination of 

11 whether a fishery resource disaster has occurred 

12 unless the Secretary determines that overfishing 

13 was not a contributing factor to the fishery re14 source disaster. 

15 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In 

16 an exceptional circumstance where substantial 

17 economic impacts to the affected fishery and fish18 ing community have been subject to a disaster 

19 declaration under another statutory authority, 

20 such as in the case of a natural disaster or from 

21 the direct consequences of a Federal action taken 

22 to prevent, or in response to, a natural disaster 

23 for purposes of protecting life and safety, the 

24 Secretary may determine a fishery resource dis25 aster has occurred without a request. 


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

2 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

3 allocate funds available under paragraph (9) for 

4 fishery resource disasters. 

5 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED FISH6 ERY RESOURCE DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING AVAIL8 ABILITY.—When there are appropriated 

9 funds for 1 or more fishery resource disas10 ters, the Secretary shall notify— 

11 ‘‘(I) the public; and 

12 ‘‘(II) representatives of affected 

13 fishing communities with a positive 

14 disaster determination that is un15 funded; 

16 of the availability of funds, not more than 

17 14 days after the date of the appropriation 

18 or the determination of a fishery resource 

19 disaster, whichever occurs later. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The 

21 Secretary may extend the deadline under 

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

23 determinations on eligible requests. 

24 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 

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1 source disaster, the Secretary shall consider com2 mercial, charter, headboat, or seafood processing 

3 revenue losses and may consider the following 

4 factors: 

5 ‘‘(i) Direct economic impacts. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Uninsured losses. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Losses of subsistence and Tribal 

8 ceremonial fishing opportunity. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Losses of recreational fishing op10 portunity. 

11 ‘‘(v) Aquaculture operations revenue 

12 loss. 

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

14 community. 

15 ‘‘(vii) Treaty obligations. 

16 ‘‘(viii) Other economic impacts. 

17 ‘‘(D) SPEND PLANS.—To receive an alloca18 tion from funds available under paragraph (9), 

19 a requester with an affirmative fishery resource 

20 disaster determination shall submit a spend plan 

21 to the Secretary, not more than 120 days after 

22 receiving notification that funds are available, 

23 that shall include the following information, if 

24 applicable: 


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

2 emphasis on addressing the factors contrib3 uting to the fishery resource disaster and 

4 minimizing future uninsured losses, if ap5 plicable. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Statement of work. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Budget details. 

8 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL CONTACT.—If so requested, 

9 the Secretary shall provide a regional contact 

10 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration to facilitate review of spend 

12 plans and disbursal of funds. 

13 ‘‘(F) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS.— 

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

15 made available to grantees not later than 90 

16 days after the date the Secretary receives a 

17 complete spend plan. 

18 ‘‘(ii) METHOD.—The Secretary may 

19 provide an allocation of funds under this 

20 subsection in the form of a grant, direct 

21 payment, cooperative agreement, loan, or 

22 contract. 

23 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Funds allo25 cated for fishery resources disasters 


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1 under this subsection shall restore the 

2 fishery affected by such a disaster, pre3 vent a similar disaster in the future, or 

4 assist the affected fishing community, 

5 and shall prioritize the following uses, 

6 which are not in order of priority: 

7 ‘‘(aa) Habitat conservation 

8 and restoration and other activi9 ties, including scientific research, 

10 that reduce adverse impacts to the 

11 fishery or improve understanding 

12 of the affected species or its eco13 system. 

14 ‘‘(bb) The collection of fishery 

15 information and other activities 

16 that improve management of the 

17 affected fishery. 

18 ‘‘(cc) In a commercial fish19 ery, capacity reduction and other 

20 activities that improve manage21 ment of fishing effort, including 

22 funds to offset budgetary costs to 

23 refinance a Federal fishing capac24 ity reduction loan or to repay the 


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1 principal of a Federal fishing ca2 pacity reduction loan. 

3 ‘‘(dd) Developing, repairing, 

4 or improving fishery-related pub5 lic infrastructure. 

6 ‘‘(ee) Direct assistance to a 

7 person, fishing community (in8 cluding assistance for lost fisheries 

9 resource levies), or a business to 

10 alleviate economic loss incurred as 

11 a direct result of a fishery re12 source disaster, particularly when 

13 affected by a circumstance de14 scribed in paragraph (5)(D). 

15 ‘‘(ff) Hatcheries and stock en16 hancement to help rebuild the af17 fected stock or offset fishing pres18 sure on the affected stock. 

19 ‘‘(II) DISPLACED FISHERY EM20 PLOYEES.—Where appropriate, indi21 viduals carrying out the activities de22 scribed in items (aa) through (dd) of 

23 subclause (I) shall be individuals who 

24 are, or were, employed in a commer25 cial, charter, or Tribal fishery for 


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1 which the Secretary has determined 

2 that a fishery resource disaster has oc3 curred. 

4 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

7 in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Federal share 

8 of the cost of any activity carried out under 

9 the authority of this subsection shall not ex10 ceed 75 percent of the cost of that activity. 

11 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

12 waive the non-Federal share requirements of 

13 this subsection, if the Secretary determines 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(I) no reasonable means are 

16 available through which the recipient 

17 of the Federal share can meet the non18 Federal share requirement; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the probable benefit of 100 

20 percent Federal financing outweighs 

21 the public interest in imposition of the 

22 non-Federal share requirement. 

23 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Federal share 

24 shall be equal to 100 percent in the case 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) direct assistance as described 

2 in paragraph (6)(F)(iii)(I)(ee); or 

3 ‘‘(II) assistance to subsistence or 

4 Tribal fisheries. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE EX6 PENSES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL.—Not more than 3 per8 cent of the funds available under this sub9 section may be used for administrative ex10 penses by the National Oceanographic and 

11 Atmospheric Administration. 

12 ‘‘(ii) STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERN13 MENTS.—Of the funds remaining after the 

14 use described in clause (i), not more than 5 

15 percent may be used by States, Tribal gov16 ernments, or interstate marine fisheries 

17 commissions for administrative expenses. 

18 ‘‘(C) FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PRO19 GRAM.— 

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

21 under this subsection may be used as part 

22 of a fishing capacity reduction program in 

23 a fishery unless the Secretary determines 

24 that adequate conservation and manage25 ment measures are in place in such fishery. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE CONDITIONS.—As a 

2 condition of providing assistance under this 

3 subsection with respect to a vessel under a 

4 fishing capacity reduction program, the 

5 Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) prohibit the vessel from being 

7 used for fishing in Federal, State, or 

8 international waters; and 

9 ‘‘(II) require that the vessel be— 

10 ‘‘(aa) scrapped or otherwise 

11 disposed of in a manner approved 

12 by the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(bb) donated to a nonprofit 

14 organization and thereafter used 

15 only for purposes of research, edu16 cation, or training; or 

17 ‘‘(cc) used for another non18 fishing purpose provided the Sec19 retary determines that adequate 

20 measures are in place to ensure 

21 that the vessel cannot reenter any 

22 fishery anywhere in the world. 

23 ‘‘(D) NO FISHERY ENDORSEMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A vessel that is 

25 prohibited from fishing under subparagraph 


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1 (C)(ii)(I) shall not be eligible for a fishery 

2 endorsement under section 12113(a) of title 

3 46, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(ii) NONEFFECTIVE.—A fishery en5 dorsement for a vessel described in clause (i) 

6 shall not be effective. 

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

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

9 owner or reflagged. 

10 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON DATA COLLEC11 TION.—The Secretary shall make available and up12 date as appropriate, information on data collection 

13 and submittal best practices for the information de14 scribed in paragraph (4)(B). 

15 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

18 years 2021 through 2026.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 

20 MANAGEMENT ACT. 

21 (a) REPEAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con22 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking section 315 (16 U.S.C. 1864); 

25 and 


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1 (2) by striking the item relating to section 315 

2 in the table of contents. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Section 113(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Ste4 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthoriza5 tion Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 460ss note) is amended— 

6 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AN7 NUAL REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’; 

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

9 by striking ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of 

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

11 inserting ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of en12 actment of the Fishery Resource Disasters Improve13 ment Act, and biennially thereafter’’; and 

14 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘the cal15 endar’’ and all that follows through ‘‘recommenda16 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘the National Research Council’s 

17 most recent recommendations’’. 

18 SEC. 4. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT OF 1986. 

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

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

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

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)(1)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of Commerce under sec24 tion 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 

25 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 sub7 mitted with the budget of the President under section 

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

9 Commerce shall include a separate statement of the amount 

10 requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for out11 standing unfunded fishery resource disasters. 

12 (b) DRIFTNET ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990 REPORT

13 AND BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fish15 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 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 COM2 PLIANCE.—Section 607 of the High Seas Driftnet 

3 Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 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 sub11 section (a), the report shall include— 

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

13 out the provisions of section 206 of the Magnuson-Ste14 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

15 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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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 Magnuson11 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

12 (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 oper16 ating, identifies any nation that warrants inclusion in the 

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

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

19 President. Such certification shall be deemed to be a certifi20 cation for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fishermen’s 

21 Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 421 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2923 

[Report No. 117–580] 

AN ACT 

To improve the Fishery Resource Disaster Relief 

ice, and for other purposes. program of the National Marine Fisheries ServNOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS