IC 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2923 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2021 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fishery Resource Dis3 asters Improvement Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF. 

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

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

7 is amended to read as follows: 

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

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

10 ‘‘(A) ALLOWABLE CAUSE.—The term ‘al11 lowable cause’ means a natural cause, discrete 

12 anthropogenic cause, or undetermined cause. 

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

14 ‘anthropogenic cause’ means an anthropogenic 

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

16 ‘‘(i) that could not have been ad17 dressed or prevented by fishery manage18 ment measures; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) that is otherwise beyond the con20 trol of fishery managers to mitigate 

21 through conservation and management 

22 measures, including regulatory restrictions 

23 imposed as a result of judicial action or to 

24 protect human health or marine animals, 

25 plants, or habitats. 


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

2 term ‘fishery resource disaster’ means a dis3 aster that is determined by the Secretary in ac4 cordance with this subsection and— 

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

6 fish stock biomass or other change that re7 sults in significant loss of access to the 

8 fishery resource, which may include loss of 

9 fishing vessels and gear for a substantial 

10 period of time and results in significant 

11 revenue or subsistence loss due to an al12 lowable cause; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

14 ‘‘(I) reasonably predictable, fore15 seeable, and recurrent fishery cyclical 

16 variations in species distribution or 

17 stock abundance; or 

18 ‘‘(II) reductions in fishing oppor19 tunities resulting from conservation 

20 and management measures taken pur21 suant to this Act. 

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

23 Tribe’ has the meaning given such term in sec24 tion 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian 

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


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

2 an Indian tribe. 

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

4 cause’— 

5 ‘‘(i) means a weather, climatic, haz6 ard, or biology-related event, such as— 

7 ‘‘(I) a hurricane; 

8 ‘‘(II) a flood; 

9 ‘‘(III) a harmful algal bloom; 

10 ‘‘(IV) a tsunami; 

11 ‘‘(V) a hypoxic zone; 

12 ‘‘(VI) a drought; 

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

14 temperature; 

15 ‘‘(VIII) a marine heat wave; or 

16 ‘‘(IX) disease; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) does not mean a normal or cycli18 cal variation in a species distribution or 

19 stock abundance. 

20 ‘‘(F) 12-MONTH REVENUE LOSS.—The 

21 term ‘12-month revenue loss’ means the per22 centage reduction, as applicable, in commercial, 

23 charter, headboat, or processor revenue for the 

24 12 months during which the fishery resource 

25 disaster occurred, when compared to average 


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1 annual revenue in the most recent 5 years when 

2 no fishery resource disaster occurred or equiva3 lent for stocks with cyclical life histories. 

4 ‘‘(G) UNDETERMINED CAUSE.—The term 

5 ‘undetermined cause’ means a cause in which 

6 the current state of knowledge does not allow 

7 the Secretary to identify the exact cause, and 

8 there is no current conclusive evidence sup9 porting a possible cause of the fishery resource 

10 disaster. 

11 ‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

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

13 have the authority to determine the existence, 

14 extent, and beginning and end dates of a fish15 ery resource disaster under this subsection in 

16 accordance with this subsection. 

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

18 Secretary determines that a fishery resource 

19 disaster has occurred, the Secretary is author20 ized to make sums available, from funds appro21 priated for such purposes, to be used by the af22 fected State, Tribal government, or interstate 

23 marine fisheries commission, or by the Sec24 retary in cooperation with the affected State, 


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1 Tribal government, or interstate marine fish2 eries commission. 

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

4 under this subsection shall take effect only with 

5 respect to requests for a fishery resource dis6 aster determination submitted after the date of 

7 enactment of the Fishery Resource Disasters 

8 Improvement 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 

13 the fishing season, a request for a fishery re14 source disaster determination may be submitted 

15 to the Secretary, if the Secretary has not inde16 pendently determined that a fishery resource 

17 disaster has 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 com24 plete request for a fishery resource disaster deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.RFH S2923

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1 termination under subparagraph (A) shall in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) identification of all presumed af4 fected fish stocks; 

5 ‘‘(ii) identification of the fishery as 

6 Federal, non-Federal, or both; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the geographical boundaries of 

8 the fishery; 

9 ‘‘(iv) preliminary information on 

10 causes of the fishery resource disaster, if 

11 known; and 

12 ‘‘(v) information needed to support a 

13 finding of a fishery resource disaster, in14 cluding— 

15 ‘‘(I) information demonstrating 

16 the occurrence of an unexpected large 

17 decrease in fish stock biomass or 

18 other change that results in signifi19 cant loss of access to the fishery re20 source, which could include the loss of 

21 fishing vessels and gear, for a sub22 stantial period of time; 

23 ‘‘(II) 12-month revenue loss or 

24 subsistence loss for the affected fish25 ery, or if a fishery resource disaster 


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1 has occurred at any time in the pre2 vious 5-year period, the most recent 5 

3 years when no fishery resource dis4 aster occurred; 

5 ‘‘(III) if applicable, information 

6 on lost resource tax revenues assessed 

7 by local communities, such as a raw 

8 fish tax and local sourcing require9 ments; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) if applicable and available, 

11 information on 12-month revenue loss 

12 for charter, headboat, or processors 

13 related to the information provided 

14 under subclause (I), subject to section 

15 402(b). 

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

17 provide data and analysis assistance to an eligi18 ble requester described in paragraph (1), if— 

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

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

21 the required information described in sub22 paragraph (B); and 

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

24 requester, in carrying out the complete re25 quest under subparagraph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(D) INITIATION OF REVIEW.—The Sec2 retary shall have the discretion to initiate a 

3 fishery resource disaster review without a re4 quest. 

5 ‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

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

7 20 days after receipt of a request under para8 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide an in9 terim response to the individual that— 

10 ‘‘(i) acknowledges receipt of the re11 quest; 

12 ‘‘(ii) provides a regional contact with13 in the National Oceanographic and Atmos14 pheric Administration; 

15 ‘‘(iii) outlines the process and timeline 

16 by which a request shall be considered; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) requests additional information 

18 concerning the fishery resource disaster, if 

19 the original request is considered incom20 plete. 

21 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF REQUESTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

23 shall complete a review, within the time 

24 frame described in clause (ii), using the 

25 best scientific information available, in 


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1 consultation with the affected fishing com2 munities, States, or Tribes, of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the information provided by 

4 the requester and any additional in5 formation relevant to the fishery, 

6 which may include— 

7 ‘‘(aa) fishery characteristics; 

8 ‘‘(bb) stock assessments; 

9 ‘‘(cc) the most recent fishery 

10 independent surveys and other 

11 fishery resource assessments and 

12 surveys conducted by Federal, 

13 State, or Tribal officials; 

14 ‘‘(dd) estimates of mortality; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ee) overall effects; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the available economic in18 formation, which may include an anal19 ysis of— 

20 ‘‘(aa) landings data; 

21 ‘‘(bb) revenue; 

22 ‘‘(cc) the number of partici23 pants involved; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) the number and type 

2 of jobs and persons impacted, 

3 which may include— 

4 ‘‘(AA) fishers; 

5 ‘‘(BB) charter fishing 

6 operators; 

7 ‘‘(CC) subsistence 

8 users; 

9 ‘‘(DD) United States 

10 fish processors; and 

11 ‘‘(EE) an owner of a 

12 related fishery infrastructure 

13 or business affected by the 

14 disaster, such as a marina 

15 operator, recreational fishing 

16 equipment retailer, or char17 ter, headboat, or tender ves18 sel owner, operator, or crew; 

19 ‘‘(ee) an impacted Indian 

20 Tribe; 

21 ‘‘(ff) other forms of disaster 

22 assistance made available to the 

23 fishery, including prior awards of 

24 disaster assistance for the same 

25 event; 


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1 ‘‘(gg) the length of time the 

2 resource, or access to the re3 source, has been restricted; 

4 ‘‘(hh) status of recovery 

5 from previous fishery resource 

6 disasters; 

7 ‘‘(ii) lost resource tax reve8 nues assessed by local commu9 nities, such as a raw fish tax; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(jj) other appropriate indi12 cators to an affected fishery, as 

13 determined by the National Ma14 rine Fisheries Service. 

15 ‘‘(ii) TIME FRAME.—The Secretary 

16 shall complete the review described in 

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

18 to the fishery— 

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

20 defined fishing season applicable to 

21 the fishery, not later than 120 days 

22 after the Secretary receives a com23 plete request for a fishery resource 

24 disaster determination; 


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

2 than 120 days after the conclusion of 

3 the fishing season; or 

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

5 the entire fishing season, not later 

6 than 120 days after the Secretary re7 ceives a complete request for a fishery 

8 resource disaster determination. 

9 ‘‘(C) FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER DE10 TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall make the 

11 determination of a fishery resource disaster 

12 based on the criteria for determinations listed 

13 in paragraph (5). 

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

15 days after the conclusion of the review under 

16 this paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the 

17 requester and the Governor of the affected 

18 State or Tribal representative of the determina19 tion of the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATIONS.— 

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

22 make a determination about whether a fishery 

23 resource disaster has occurred, based on the 

24 revenue loss thresholds under subparagraph 

25 (B), and, if a fishery resource disaster has ocVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.RFH S2923

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1 curred, whether the fishery resource disaster 

2 was due to— 

3 ‘‘(i) a natural cause; 

4 ‘‘(ii) an anthropogenic cause; 

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

6 and an anthropogenic cause; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) an undetermined cause. 

8 ‘‘(B) REVENUE LOSS THRESHOLDS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Based on the in10 formation provided or analyzed under 

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

12 apply the following 12-month revenue loss 

13 thresholds in determining whether a fish14 ery resource disaster has occurred: 

15 ‘‘(I) Losses greater than 80 per16 cent may result in a positive deter17 mination that a fishery resource dis18 aster has occurred, based on the infor19 mation provided or analyzed under 

20 paragraph (4)(B). 

21 ‘‘(II) Losses between 35 percent 

22 and 80 percent shall be evaluated to 

23 determine whether economic impacts 

24 are severe enough to declare that a 

25 fishery resource disaster has occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(III) Losses less than 35 per2 cent shall not be eligible for a deter3 mination that a fishery resource dis4 aster has occurred. 

5 ‘‘(ii) CHARTER FISHING.—In making 

6 a determination of whether a fishery re7 source disaster has occurred, the Secretary 

8 shall consider the economic impacts to the 

9 charter fishing industry to ensure financial 

10 coverage for charter fishing businesses. 

11 ‘‘(iii) SUBSISTENCE LOSS.—In consid12 ering subsistence loss, the Secretary shall 

13 evaluate the severity of loss to the fishing 

14 community instead of applying the revenue 

15 loss thresholds described in clause (i). 

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

17 subject to overfishing in any of the 3 years pre18 ceding the date of a determination under this 

19 subsection is not eligible for a determination of 

20 whether a fishery resource disaster has occurred 

21 unless the Secretary determines that overfishing 

22 was not a contributing factor to the fishery re23 source disaster. 

24 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In 

25 an exceptional circumstance where substantial 


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1 economic impacts to the affected fishery and 

2 fishing community have been subject to a dis3 aster declaration under another statutory au4 thority, such as in the case of a natural disaster 

5 or from the direct consequences of a Federal 

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

7 natural disaster for purposes of protecting life 

8 and safety, the Secretary may determine a fish9 ery resource disaster has occurred without a re10 quest. 

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

12 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary 

13 shall allocate funds available under paragraph 

14 (9) for fishery resource disasters. 

15 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED

16 FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING

18 AVAILABILITY.—When there are appro19 priated funds for 1 or more fishery re20 source disasters, the Secretary shall no21 tify— 

22 ‘‘(I) the public; and 

23 ‘‘(II) representatives of affected 

24 fishing communities with a positive 


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1 disaster determination that is un2 funded; 

3 of the availability of funds, not more than 

4 14 days after the date of the appropriation 

5 or the determination of a fishery resource 

6 disaster, whichever occurs later. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The 

8 Secretary may extend the deadline under 

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

10 determinations on eligible requests. 

11 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

12 the allocation of appropriations for a fishery re13 source disaster, the Secretary shall consider 

14 commercial, charter, headboat, or seafood proc15 essing revenue losses and may consider the fol16 lowing factors: 

17 ‘‘(i) Direct economic impacts. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Uninsured losses. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Losses of subsistence and Tribal 

20 ceremonial fishing opportunity. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Losses of recreational fishing op22 portunity. 

23 ‘‘(v) Aquaculture operations revenue 

24 loss. 


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

2 community. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Treaty obligations. 

4 ‘‘(viii) Other economic impacts. 

5 ‘‘(D) SPEND PLANS.—To receive an alloca6 tion from funds available under paragraph (9), 

7 a requester with an affirmative fishery resource 

8 disaster determination shall submit a spend 

9 plan to the Secretary, not more than 120 days 

10 after receiving notification that funds are avail11 able, that shall include the following informa12 tion, if applicable: 

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

14 emphasis on addressing the factors con15 tributing to the fishery resource disaster 

16 and minimizing future uninsured losses, if 

17 applicable. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Statement of work. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Budget details. 

20 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL CONTACT.—If so re21 quested, the Secretary shall provide a regional 

22 contact within the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration to facilitate review of 

24 spend plans and disbursal of funds. 

25 ‘‘(F) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) AVAILABILITY.—Funds shall be 

2 made available to grantees not later than 

3 90 days after the date the Secretary re4 ceives a complete spend plan. 

5 ‘‘(ii) METHOD.—The Secretary may 

6 provide an allocation of funds under this 

7 subsection in the form of a grant, direct 

8 payment, cooperative agreement, loan, or 

9 contract. 

10 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Funds allo12 cated for fishery resources disasters 

13 under this subsection shall restore the 

14 fishery affected by such a disaster, 

15 prevent a similar disaster in the fu16 ture, or assist the affected fishing 

17 community, and shall prioritize the 

18 following uses, which are not in order 

19 of priority: 

20 ‘‘(aa) Habitat conservation 

21 and restoration and other activi22 ties, including scientific research, 

23 that reduce adverse impacts to 

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1 standing of the affected species 

2 or its ecosystem. 

3 ‘‘(bb) The collection of fish4 ery information and other activi5 ties that improve management of 

6 the affected fishery. 

7 ‘‘(cc) In a commercial fish8 ery, capacity reduction and other 

9 activities that improve manage10 ment of fishing effort, including 

11 funds to offset budgetary costs to 

12 refinance a Federal fishing ca13 pacity reduction loan or to repay 

14 the principal of a Federal fishing 

15 capacity reduction loan. 

16 ‘‘(dd) Developing, repairing, 

17 or improving fishery-related pub18 lic infrastructure. 

19 ‘‘(ee) Direct assistance to a 

20 person, fishing community (in21 cluding assistance for lost fish22 eries resource levies), or a busi23 ness to alleviate economic loss in24 curred as a direct result of a 

25 fishery resource disaster, particuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.RFH S2923

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1 larly when affected by a cir2 cumstance described in para3 graph (5)(D). 

4 ‘‘(ff) Hatcheries and stock 

5 enhancement to help rebuild the 

6 affected stock or offset fishing 

7 pressure on the affected stock. 

8 ‘‘(II) DISPLACED FISHERY EM9 PLOYEES.—Where appropriate, indi10 viduals carrying out the activities de11 scribed in items (aa) through (dd) of 

12 subclause (I) shall be individuals who 

13 are, or were, employed in a commer14 cial, charter, or Tribal fishery for 

15 which the Secretary has determined 

16 that a fishery resource disaster has 

17 occurred. 

18 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro21 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Federal 

22 share of the cost of any activity carried out 

23 under the authority of this subsection shall 

24 not exceed 75 percent of the cost of that 

25 activity. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

2 waive the non-Federal share requirements 

3 of this subsection, if the Secretary deter4 mines that— 

5 ‘‘(I) no reasonable means are 

6 available through which the recipient 

7 of the Federal share can meet the 

8 non-Federal share requirement; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the probable benefit of 100 

10 percent Federal financing outweighs 

11 the public interest in imposition of the 

12 non-Federal share requirement. 

13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Federal 

14 share shall be equal to 100 percent in the 

15 case of— 

16 ‘‘(I) direct assistance as de17 scribed in paragraph (6)(F)(iii)(I)(ee); 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(II) assistance to subsistence or 

20 Tribal fisheries. 

21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE

22 EXPENSES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL.—Not more than 3 per24 cent of the funds available under this sub25 section may be used for administrative exVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:33 Nov 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2923.RFH S2923

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1 penses by the National Oceanographic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration. 

3 ‘‘(ii) STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERN4 MENTS.—Of the funds remaining after the 

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

6 5 percent may be used by States, Tribal 

7 governments, or interstate marine fisheries 

8 commissions for administrative expenses. 

9 ‘‘(C) FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PRO10 GRAM.— 

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

12 under this subsection may be used as part 

13 of a fishing capacity reduction program in 

14 a fishery unless the Secretary determines 

15 that adequate conservation and manage16 ment measures are in place in such fishery. 

17 ‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE CONDITIONS.—As a 

18 condition of providing assistance under 

19 this subsection with respect to a vessel 

20 under a fishing capacity reduction pro21 gram, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) prohibit the vessel from 

23 being used for fishing in Federal, 

24 State, or international waters; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(aa) scrapped or otherwise 

2 disposed of in a manner approved 

3 by the Secretary; 

4 ‘‘(bb) donated to a nonprofit 

5 organization and thereafter used 

6 only for purposes of research, 

7 education, or training; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) used for another non9 fishing purpose provided the Sec10 retary determines that adequate 

11 measures are in place to ensure 

12 that the vessel cannot reenter 

13 any fishery anywhere in the 

14 world. 

15 ‘‘(D) NO FISHERY ENDORSEMENT.— 

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

17 prohibited from fishing under subpara18 graph (C)(ii)(I) shall not be eligible for a 

19 fishery endorsement under section 

20 12113(a) of title 46, United States Code. 

21 ‘‘(ii) NONEFFECTIVE.—A fishery en22 dorsement for a vessel described in clause 

23 (i) shall not be effective. 


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

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

3 owner or reflagged. 

4 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON DATA COLLEC5 TION.—The Secretary shall make available and up6 date as appropriate, information on data collection 

7 and submittal best practices for the information de8 scribed in paragraph (4)(B). 

9 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

12 years 2021 through 2026.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 

14 MANAGEMENT ACT. 

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

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

17 1864) is repealed. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Section 113(b)(2) of the Magnuson19 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthor20 ization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 460ss note) is amended— 

21 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AN22 NUAL REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’; 

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

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

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


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

2 of enactment of the Fishery Resource Disasters Im3 provement Act, and biennially thereafter’’; and 

4 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘the cal5 endar year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘the most recent’’. 

6 SEC. 4. INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES ACT OF 1986. 

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

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

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

10 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)(1)) is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of Commerce under 

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

13 1986)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary of 

14 Commerce under the Fishery Resource Disasters Improve15 ment Act)’’. 

16 SEC. 5. BUDGET REQUESTS; REPORTS. 

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

18 materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget 

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

20 submitted with the budget of the President under section 

21 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), the Secretary 

22 of Commerce shall include a separate statement of the 

23 amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year 

24 for outstanding unfunded fishery resource disasters. 


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1 (b) DRIFTNET ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1990 REPORT

2 AND BYCATCH REDUCTION AGREEMENTS.— 

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

4 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

5 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (A) in section 202(h), by striking para7 graph (3); and 

8 (B) in section 206— 

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

10 and 

11 (ii) by redesignating subsections (g) 

12 and (h) as subsections (e) and (f), respec13 tively. 

14 (2) BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL

15 COMPLIANCE.—Section 607 of the High Seas 

16 Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 

17 U.S.C. 1826h) is amended— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be19 fore ‘‘The Secretary’’ and indenting appro20 priately; and 

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

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

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

24 subsection (a), the report shall include— 


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

2 out the provisions of section 206 of the Magnuson3 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1826), including— 

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

6 efforts, the impacts on living marine resources, 

7 including available observer data, and specific 

8 plans for further action; 

9 ‘‘(B) a list and description of any new fish10 eries developed by nations that conduct, or au11 thorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

12 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

13 zone of any nation; and 

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

15 authorize their nationals to conduct, large-scale 

16 driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic 

17 zone of any nation in a manner that diminishes 

18 the effectiveness of or is inconsistent with any 

19 international agreement governing large-scale 

20 driftnet fishing to which the United States is a 

21 party or otherwise subscribes; and 

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

23 out the provisions of section 202(h) of the Magnu24 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

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


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

2 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec3 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op4 erating, identifies any nation that warrants inclusion in 

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

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

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

8 a certification for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fish9 ermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).’’. 

Passed the Senate September 30, 2021. 

Attest: SONCERIA ANN BERRY, 

Secretary. 


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