IB 

Union Calendar No. 323 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5018 

[Report No. 109–567] 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2006 

Mr. POMBO (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr. YOUNG of 

Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

JULY 17, 2006 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. JINDAL, 

Mr. TIERNEY, and Mr. MELANCON

Deleted sponsor: Mr. MCGOVERN (added April 26, 2006; deleted May 4, 

2006) 

JULY 17, 2006 

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 introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 28, 2006] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act, 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: AMENDMENT REFERENCES. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—The Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘American Fisheries Management and Marine Life En6 hancement Act’’. 

7 (b) AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY

8 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Except as other9 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend10 ment or repeal is expressed as an amendment to, or repeal 

11 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid12 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Mag13 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq). 

15 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO DEFINITIONS. 

16 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) CONTINENTAL SHELF FISHERY RE18 SOURCES.—Section 102(2) of the Sustainable Fish19 eries Act (Public Law 104–297; 110 Stat. 3561) is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘COELENTERATA’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘COELENTERATA’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘CNIDARIA’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’. 

3 (2) UNITED STATES HARVESTED FISH.—Section 

4 102(11) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (Public Law 

5 104–297; 110 Stat. 3563) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘(42)’’ and inserting ‘‘(43)’’. 

7 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall take 

8 effect on the effective date of section 102 of Public 

9 Law 104–297. 

10 (b) CORRECTIONS RELATING TO SPECIAL AREAS.— 

11 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraphs (35) and (36); 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (37) through the 

14 last paragraph (relating to the definition of ‘‘waters 

15 of a foreign nation’’) in order as paragraphs (35) 

16 through (44); 

17 (3) by inserting‘‘(a) GENERAL DEFINITIONS.—’’ 

18 before ‘‘As used in this Act’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(b) TERMS RELATING TO AGREEMENT WITH THE

21 FORMER SOVIET UNION.—As used in this Act the term ‘spe22 cial areas’ means the areas referred to as eastern special 

23 areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the United 

24 States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Repub25 lics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. In 


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1 particular, the term refers to those areas east of the mari2 time boundary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie with3 in 200 nautical miles of the baselines from which the 

4 breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is measured but be5 yond 200 nautical miles of the baselines from which the 

6 breadth of the territorial sea of the United States is meas7 ured.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. SCIENCE-BASED IMPROVEMENTS TO MANAGEMENT. 

9 (a) HARVEST LEVEL CAPS.— 

10 (1) MECHANISM.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 

11 1853(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

12 semicolon at the end of paragraph (13), by striking 

13 the period at the end of paragraph (14) and inserting 

14 a semicolon, and by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(15) provide a mechanism for specifying the 

16 total allowable catch or another annual catch limit 

17 under the plan (including for a multiyear plan) for 

18 each fishery for which an annual catch limit can be 

19 established, that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is based on the best scientific informa21 tion available; and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of a plan issued by a 

23 Council, does not exceed the acceptable biological 

24 catch level recommended by the scientific and 

25 statistical committee of the Council;’’. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENT TO ADOPT.—Section 302(h) 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

3 after the semicolon at the end of paragraph (5), by 

4 striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 

5 inserting a semicolon, and by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(7) adopt a total allowable catch limit or other 

8 annual harvest effort control limit for each of the fish9 eries for which such a limit can be established, after 

10 considering the recommendation of the scientific and 

11 statistical committee of the Council having jurisdic12 tion over the fishery, which shall not exceed the rec13 ommendation for the acceptable biological catch as 

14 recommended by such scientific and statistical com15 mittee; and’’. 

16 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 303(b)(11) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(11)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘allowable biological catch’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘acceptable biological catch’’. 

20 (b) BEST SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE.—Sec21 tion 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) BEST SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE.— 

24 The Secretary shall develop guidelines for the Councils to 

25 use in determining what is the best scientific information 


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1 available. The Secretary shall base these guidelines on the 

2 recommendations for guidelines developed by the Ocean 

3 Studies Board of the National Research Council in its re4 port titled ‘Improving the Use of the Best Scientific Infor5 mation Available, Standard in Fisheries Management’.’’. 

6 (c) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.—Sec7 tion 302(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)) is amended by insert8 ing ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Each Council’’, and by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 

11 shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for 

12 fishery management decisions, including rec13 ommendations for acceptable biological catch and for 

14 the maximum sustainable yield for each fishery under 

15 the jurisdiction of the Council, and reports on stock 

16 status and health, bycatch, habitat status, socio-eco17 nomic impacts of management measures, and sustain18 ability of fishing practices. 

19 ‘‘(C) Members appointed to the scientific and 

20 statistical committees shall be Federal employees, 

21 State employees, academicians, or independent ex22 perts with strong scientific or technical credentials 

23 and experience. 

24 ‘‘(D) In addition to payments authorized by sub25 section (f)(7), the Secretary shall pay a stipend to 


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1 members of the scientific and statistical committees 

2 who are not employed by the Federal Government or 

3 a State government agency. 

4 ‘‘(E) A science and statistical committee shall 

5 hold its meetings in conjunction with the meetings of 

6 the Council, to the extent practicable.’’. 

7 (d) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 

8 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is further amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(8) develop, in conjunction with the scientific 

11 and statistical committee, multi-year research prior12 ities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats, and 

13 other areas of research that are necessary for manage14 ment purposes, that shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) establish priorities for 5-year periods; 

16 ‘‘(B) be updated as necessary; and 

17 ‘‘(C) be submitted to the Secretary and the 

18 regional science centers of the National Marine 

19 Fisheries Service for their consideration in devel20 oping research priorities and budgets for the re21 gion of the Council.’’. 

22 (e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AUTHORITY.— 

23 (1) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS IN FISHERY

24 MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 

25 1853(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:41 Jul 17, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 colon at the end of paragraph (11), by striking the 

2 period at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting a 

3 semicolon, and by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(13) include provisions to create a cooperative 

5 research component including the use of commercial 

6 fishing, charter fishing, or recreational fishing vessels 

7 for the gathering of data on stock abundance, com8 position, distribution, or other relevant information 

9 important for the implementation of the plan;’’. 

10 (2) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.— 

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

12 at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.—The 

14 research program under subsection (a) may include cooper15 ative research using commercial fishing, charter fishing, or 

16 recreational fishing vessels for the gathering of data on stock 

17 abundance, composition, distribution, or other relevant in18 formation.’’. 

19 (3) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—Section 

20 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is further amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—The Sec23 retary shall ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels participating in research ac25 tivities conducted pursuant to section 303(b)(13) or 


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1 title IV do not lose allocated fishing privileges (such 

2 as days at sea) based on the research activities, unless 

3 loss of such privileges is a part of the research plan 

4 under which the vessel participates; and 

5 ‘‘(2) catch history of a vessel during such re6 search activities at any time when the vessel is sacri7 ficing fishing time in an open season shall accrue to 

8 the vessel, unless loss of such accrual is part of such 

9 research plan.’’. 

10 (f) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et 

12 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 408. REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct peri15 odic regional assessments of stocks of fish. 

16 ‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall en17 sure that each periodic assessment under this section is 

18 independently reviewed in a manner that— 

19 ‘‘(1) will not delay the process of providing to 

20 Regional Fishery Management Councils current as21 sessments for use in managing fisheries; and 

22 ‘‘(2) is as transparent as possible, so that inter23 ested members of the public can provide input during 

24 the review process.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents in the first section is further amended by adding 

3 at the end of the items relating to title IV the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 408. Regional stock assessments.’’. 

5 (3) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS AND PEER

6 REVIEW.—Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(6) PEER REVIEW PROCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) The Secretary and each Council shall 

10 establish a peer review process for scientific in11 formation used to advise the Secretary or the 

12 Council, respectively, about the conservation and 

13 management of fisheries. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary and each Council shall 

15 ensure that the peer review process established 

16 under this paragraph— 

17 ‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, will not 

18 delay the process of providing to the Council 

19 or the Secretary, respectively, current infor20 mation for use in managing fisheries; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is as transparent as possible, so 

22 that interested members of the public can 

23 provide input during the review process.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VMS.—Section 305 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VMS.—The Secretary 

5 may require, if requested to do so by a Council, a Vessel 

6 Monitoring System or other similar electronic monitoring 

7 technology for a fishery or specific sectors of a fishery under 

8 the jurisdiction of the Council. To the extent that the tech9 nology is required for enforcement or data collection pur10 poses for a limited access privilege management system, the 

11 cost of such a system shall be included in the costs that 

12 are considered in determining the amount of any fee re13 quired under this Act to be paid to participate in the fish14 ery. Any information collected under this subsection shall 

15 be treated as confidential and exempt from disclosure under 

16 section 402(b).’’. 

17 (b) RECREATIONAL DATA COLLECTION.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Within 24 

19 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

20 Secretary of Commerce shall establish a program to 

21 improve the quality and accuracy of information gen22 erated by National Marine Fisheries Service rec23 reational fishing data collection programs, with a 

24 goal achieving accurate, useful, and improved data 

25 for each individual fishery. The program shall in26 clude— 


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1 (A) an increased number of intercepts above 

2 current baselines established by the National Ma3 rine Fisheries Service to accurately estimate rec4 reational catch and effort; 

5 (B) use of surveys that target anglers reg6 istered at the State level to collect participation 

7 and effort data; 

8 (C) collection and analysis of vessel trip re9 port data from for-hire vessels including party, 

10 head, and charter fishing vessels; 

11 (D) development of a weather corrective fac12 tor that can be applied to recreational catch and 

13 effort estimates; 

14 (E) an independent committee composed of 

15 recreational fishermen, other stakeholders, aca16 demia, persons with expertise in stock assess17 ments and survey design, and appropriate Na18 tional Marine Fisheries Service personnel, to re19 view data collection estimates and geographic 

20 and temporal issues, among other variables, re21 lated to intercepts, prior to the finalization of 

22 the catch estimates; and 

23 (F) identification of deficiencies in rec24 reational data collection (including with respect 

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1 ing, and random digit dialing) and develop sam2 pling methods to correct the deficiencies. 

3 (2) PROHIBITION OF FEES.—The Secretary shall 

4 not impose any new fees on recreational fishermen for 

5 the purposes of data collection. 

6 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

7 report to the Congress within 18 months after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, on— 

9 (A) the progress made in developing such a 

10 program; 

11 (B) whether the program has resulted in 

12 significantly better data for management of rec13 reational fishing, and if not, plans to correct 

14 problems in achieving that result; and 

15 (C) actions to continue to make improve16 ments in data collection. 

17 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPROIATIONS.—To 

18 carry out this section there is authorized to be appro19 priated to the Secretary of Commerce $5,000,000 for 

20 each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011. 

21 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(b) (16 U.S.C. 

23 1881a(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any information submitted 

2 to the Secretary by any person in compliance with 

3 any requirement under this Act shall be confidential 

4 and shall not be disclosed, except— 

5 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em6 ployees who are responsible for fishery manage7 ment plan development and monitoring; 

8 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis9 sion employees— 

10 ‘‘(i) as necessary for achievement of the 

11 purposes of this Act; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) in accordance with a confiden13 tiality agreement between the State or Com14 mission, as appropriate, and the Secretary 

15 that prevents public disclosure of the iden16 tity or business of any person; 

17 ‘‘(C) when required by court order; 

18 ‘‘(D) when such information is used by 

19 State, Council, or Marine Fisheries Commission 

20 employees to verify catch under a limited access 

21 privilege program, but only to the extent that 

22 such use is consistent with subparagraph (B); 

23 ‘‘(E) if such information is required to be 

24 submitted to the Secretary for any determination 

25 under a limited access program; 


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1 ‘‘(F) that observer information collected in 

2 fisheries under the authority of the North Pacific 

3 Council may be released to the public as speci4 fied in a fishery management plan or regulation 

5 for weekly summary bycatch information identi6 fied by vessel, and for haul-specific bycatch in7 formation without vessel identification; or 

8 ‘‘(G) when the Secretary has obtained writ9 ten authorization from the person submitting 

10 such information to release such information to 

11 persons for reasons not otherwise provided for in 

12 this subsection, and such release does not violate 

13 other requirements of this Act. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES TO PRESERVE CONFIDEN15 TIALITY.—The Secretary shall, by regulation, pre16 scribe such procedures as may be necessary to preserve 

17 the confidentiality of any observer information, infor18 mation produced by a vessel monitoring system, or 

19 information produced by other technology used on20 board a vessel for enforcement or data collection pur21 poses, that is submitted in compliance with any re22 quirement or regulation under this Act, except that 

23 the Secretary may release or make public— 

24 ‘‘(A) any such information that in any ag25 gregate or summary form that does not directly 


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1 or indirectly disclose the identity or business of 

2 any person who submits such information. 

3 ‘‘(B) any such information when it is nec4 essary in proceedings to adjudicate observer cer5 tifications; and 

6 ‘‘(C) any such information as authorized by 

7 any regulations issued under paragraph (4) al8 lowing the collection of observer information, 

9 pursuant to a confidentiality agreement between 

10 the observers, observer employers, and the Sec11 retary prohibiting disclosure of the information 

12 by the observers or observer employers, for pur13 poses of— 

14 ‘‘(i) allowing the sharing of observer 

15 information among observers and between 

16 observers and observer employers as nec17 essary to train and prepare observers for de18 ployments on specific vessels; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) validating the accuracy of the ob20 server information collected. 

21 ‘‘(3) USE FOR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

22 PURPOSES.—Nothing in this subsection shall be inter23 preted or construed to prevent the use for conservation 

24 and management purposes by the Secretary, or with 

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1 formation submitted in compliance with any require2 ment or regulation under this Act or the use, release, 

3 or publication of bycatch information pursuant to 

4 paragraph (1)(F). 

5 ‘‘(4) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

6 Secretary may enter into a memorandum of under7 standing with the heads of other Federal agencies for 

8 the sharing of confidential information for purposes 

9 of this Act, such as information produced by vessel 

10 monitoring systems or other electronic monitoring 

11 systems, if the Secretary determines there is a compel12 ling need to do so and if the heads of the other Fed13 eral agencies agree to maintain the confidentiality of 

14 the information in accordance with the requirements 

15 that apply to the Secretary under this section.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 404(c)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)(4)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘under section 401’’. 

19 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 

20 further amended in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(4A) The term ‘confidential information’ 

24 means— 

25 ‘‘(A) trade secrets; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) commercial or financial information 

2 the disclosure of which is likely to result in sub3 stantial harm to the competitive position of the 

4 person who submitted the information to the Sec5 retary.’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (27) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(27A) The term ‘observer information’ means 

9 any information collected, observed, retrieved, or cre10 ated by an observer or electronic monitoring system 

11 pursuant to authorization by the Secretary, or col12 lected as part of a cooperative research initiative, in13 cluding fish harvest or fish processing observations, 

14 fish sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, 

15 vessel- or fish processor-specific information (includ16 ing any safety, location, or operating condition obser17 vations), and video, audio, photographic, or written 

18 documents.’’. 

19 (d) SOCIOECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES.— 

20 Section 402 (16 U.S.C. 1881a) is further amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) SOCIOECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may provide funds to Coun24 cils to carry out collection of socioeconomic data, in25 cluding information on fishermen and fishing comVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:41 Jul 17, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 munities, necessary to carry out the functions of the 

2 Councils. 

3 ‘‘(2) To carry out this subsection there is author4 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary, in addition 

5 to other amounts authorized, $2,000,000 for each fis6 cal year.’’. 

7 (e) NEED FOR MORE FREQUENT STOCK SURVEYS.— 

8 The Secretary of Commerce— 

9 (1) shall determine the need for more frequent 

10 surveys of stocks of fish, and whether State agencies 

11 or cooperative research activities can fill the data 

12 gaps identified; and 

13 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the cur14 rent activities and the needs for such surveys, by not 

15 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. COUNCIL OPERATIONS AND AUTHORITIES. 

18 (a) COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS.—Section 302(b)(2)(C) 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting after the 

20 first sentence the following: ‘‘A Governor may submit the 

21 names of individuals from academia, or other public inter22 est areas including conservation organizations and the sea23 food consuming public, if the Governor has determined that 

24 each such individual is qualified under the requirements 

25 of subparagraph (A).’’. 


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1 (b) TRAINING.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) TRAINING COURSE.—Within 6 months after 

5 the date of the enactment of the American Fisheries 

6 Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act, the 

7 Secretary, in consultation with the Councils and the 

8 National Sea Grant College Program, shall develop a 

9 training course for newly appointed Council mem10 bers. The course may cover a variety of topics rel11 evant to matters before the Councils, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assess13 ment methods; 

14 ‘‘(B) fishery management techniques, data 

15 needs, and Council procedures; 

16 ‘‘(C) social science and fishery economics; 

17 ‘‘(D) tribal treaty rights and native cus18 toms, access, and other rights related to Western 

19 Pacific indigenous communities; 

20 ‘‘(E) legal requirements of this Act, includ21 ing conflict of interest and disclosure provisions 

22 of this section and related policies; 

23 ‘‘(F) other relevant legal and regulatory re24 quirements, including the National Environ25 mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(G) public process for development of fish2 ery management plans; 

3 ‘‘(H) recreational and commercial fishing 

4 information including fish harvesting techniques, 

5 gear types, fishing vessel types, and economics, 

6 for the fisheries within each Council’s jurisdic7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(I) other topics suggested by the Council. 

9 ‘‘(2) MEMBER TRAINING.—The training course— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall be available to both new and ex11 isting Council members, staff from the regional 

12 offices and regional science centers of the Na13 tional Marine Fisheries Service; and 

14 ‘‘(B) may be made available to committee 

15 or advisory panel members as resources allow. 

16 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED TRAINING.—Council members 

17 appointed after the date of the enactment of the Amer18 ican Fisheries Management and Marine Life En19 hancement Act must complete the training course de20 veloped under this subsection.’’. 

21 (c) AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP ECOSYSTEM-BASED

22 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 

23 1853(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(14) contain research, conservation, and man2 agement measures that encompass more than one fish3 ery and are for the purpose of managing the fishery 

4 resources concerned under an ecosystem-based man5 agement system;’’. 

6 (d) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VESSEL MONITORING

7 SYSTEMS.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is further 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(15) require a Vessel Monitoring System or 

10 other similar electronic monitoring technology for the 

11 purposes of enforcing, monitoring, or collecting data 

12 from a fishery or fishery sector;’’. 

13 (e) OBSERVER FUNDING CLARIFICATION.—Section 303 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is further amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) OBSERVER PROVISIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) COSTS.—Costs for observer coverage that is 

18 primarily for the enforcement of a fishery manage19 ment plan or for data collection necessary for the 

20 monitoring of a fishery— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall be paid for by the Secretary; and 

22 ‘‘(B) under a limited access program, may 

23 be considered as a cost to be recovered under the 

24 authority of section 303A(e)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY FOR SANCTIONS.—A fishing ves2 sel that is required to have an observer onboard pur3 suant to section 303(b)(8), the owner or operator of 

4 such a fishing vessel, and the United States shall not 

5 be liable for any sanction imposed on the observer for 

6 actions of the observer in the course of performance of 

7 duties as an observer.’’. 

8 (f) INCENTIVES.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) 

9 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(16) establish a system of incentives to reduce 

11 total bycatch and seabird interaction, bycatch rates, 

12 and post-release mortality in fisheries under the 

13 Council’s or Secretary’s jurisdiction, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) measures to incorporate bycatch into 

15 quotas, including the establishment of collective 

16 or individual bycatch quotas; 

17 ‘‘(B) measures to promote the use of gear 

18 with verifiable and monitored low bycatch and 

19 seabird interaction rates; and 

20 ‘‘(C) measures that, based on the best sci21 entific information available, will reduce bycatch 

22 and seabird interaction, bycatch mortality, post23 release mortality, or regulatory discards in the 

24 fishery; and’’. 

25 (g) MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—Section 303(b) 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is further amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(17) designate closed areas, seasonal closures, 

5 time/area closures, gear restrictions, or other methods 

6 for limiting impacts on habitat, limit bycatch im7 pacts of gear, or limit fishing impact on spawning 

8 congregations in specific geographic areas.’’. 

9 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 

10 1853(a)) is further amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(16) with respect to any closure of an area to 

13 all fisheries managed under this Act, include provi14 sions that ensure that such closure— 

15 ‘‘(A) is based on the best scientific informa16 tion available; 

17 ‘‘(B) includes criteria to assess the conserva18 tion benefit of the closed area; 

19 ‘‘(C) establishes a timetable for review of the 

20 closed area’s performance that is consistent with 

21 the purposes of the closed area; and 

22 ‘‘(D) is based on an assessment of the bene23 fits and impacts of the closure, including its size, 

24 in relation to other management measures (ei25 ther alone or in combination with such measVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:41 Jul 17, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 ures), including the benefits and impacts of lim2 iting access to— 

3 ‘‘(i) users of the area; 

4 ‘‘(ii) overall fishing activity; 

5 ‘‘(iii) fishery science; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) fishery and marine conservation; 

7 and’’. 

8 (h) FRAMEWORK AUTHORITY.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 

9 1854) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURAL MECHANISMS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) In a fishery management plan or amend12 ment, the Council or Secretary, as appropriate, may 

13 develop alternative procedural mechanisms to be used 

14 in lieu of plan amendments for implementing con15 servation and management measures. 

16 ‘‘(2) Such mechanisms may allow for abbre17 viated processes for the implementation of regulations 

18 or other actions as appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(3) Alternative procedural mechanisms shall 

20 only be approved or adopted for use in situations in 

21 which— 

22 ‘‘(A) the conservation and management 

23 measures are within the scope of conservation 

24 and management measures established in an ex25 isting fishery management plan; 


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1 ‘‘(B) otherwise applicable regulatory proc2 esses are not sufficient to allow timely and effi3 cient implementation of conservation and man4 agement measures in response to new informa5 tion; and 

6 ‘‘(C) notice of the conservation and manage7 ment measures is provided appropriate to the 

8 significance of the expected impacts on affected 

9 fishery resources and on the participants in the 

10 fishery. 

11 ‘‘(4) Any final agency action taken pursuant to 

12 the alternative procedural mechanism must be 

13 promptly published in the Federal Register.’’. 

14 (i) COUNCIL MEETING NOTICE.— 

15 (1) REGULAR AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS.—The 

16 first sentence of section 302(i)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C. 

17 1852(i)(2)(C)) is amended— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘published in local news19 papers’’ and inserting ‘‘provided by any means 

20 that will result in wide publicity (except that e21 mail notification and Web site postings alone are 

22 not sufficient)’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘fishery) and such notice 

24 may be given by such other means as will result 

25 in wide publicity.’’ and inserting ‘‘fishery).’’. 


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1 (2) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(3)(B) 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘notify local newspapers’’ and inserting ‘‘provide no4 tice by any means that will result in wide publicity’’. 

5 (j) CARIBBEAN COUNCIL JURISDICTION.—Section 

6 302(a)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(D)) is amended by in7 serting ‘‘and of commonwealths, territories, and possessions 

8 of the United States in the Caribbean Sea’’ after ‘‘seaward 

9 of such States’’. 

10 (k) COUNCIL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.—Section 

11 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is further amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(l) COUNCIL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.—The 

14 Councils may establish a Council coordination committee 

15 to discuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including 

16 issues related to the implementation of this Act. The com17 mittee shall consist of the chairs, vice chairs, and executive 

18 directors of each of the Councils described in subsection 

19 (a)(1), or other Council members or staff.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ECOSYSTEM-BASED FISHERY MANAGEMENT. 

21 (a) POLICY.—Section 2(c) (16 U.S.C. 1851(c)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end 

23 of paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end of para24 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) to support and encourage efforts to under2 stand the interactions of species in the marine envi3 ronment and the development of ecosystem-based ap4 proaches to fisheries conservation and management 

5 that will lead to better stewardship and sustainability 

6 of the Nation’s coastal fishery resources and fishing 

7 communities.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH.—Section 404(c) 

9 (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(5) The interaction of species in the marine en12 vironment, and the development of ecosystem-based 

13 approaches to fishery conservation and management 

14 that will lead to better stewardship and sustainability 

15 of coastal fishery resources.’’. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS DEFINING TERMS.—The Secretary 

17 of Commerce shall, in conjunction with the Regional Fish18 ery Management Councils and based on the recommenda19 tions of the Ecosystems Principles Advisory Panel in the 

20 report entitled ‘‘Ecosystem-based Fishery Management’’ 

21 and dated April 1999, and after provision of notice and 

22 an opportunity for public comment, issue regulations that 

23 establish definitions of the terms ‘‘ecosystem’’ and ‘‘marine 

24 ecosystem’’ for purposes of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

25 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 


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1 (d) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.—Section 406 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.— 

5 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Within 180 days after the date of 

6 enactment of the American Fisheries Management 

7 and Marine Life Enhancement Act, the Secretary, in 

8 consultation with the Councils, shall undertake and 

9 complete a study on the state of the science for ad10 vancing the concepts and integration of ecosystem 

11 considerations in regional fishery management. The 

12 study should build upon the recommendations of the 

13 advisory panel and include— 

14 ‘‘(A) recommendations for scientific data, 

15 information and technology requirements for un16 derstanding ecosystem processes, and methods for 

17 integrating such information from a variety of 

18 Federal, State, and regional sources; 

19 ‘‘(B) recommendations for processes for in20 corporating broad stake holder participation; 

21 ‘‘(C) recommendations for processes to ac22 count for effects of environmental variation on 

23 fish stocks and fisheries; and 

24 ‘‘(D) a description of existing and devel25 oping Council efforts to implement ecosystem apVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:41 Jul 17, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 proaches, including lessons learned by the Coun2 cils. 

3 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; 

4 RESEARCH PLAN.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within one year after 

6 the date of the publication of the study under 

7 paragraph (1), the Secretary, in conjunction 

8 with the regional science centers of the National 

9 Marine Fisheries Service and the Councils, 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) identify specific marine ecosystems 

12 within each region for which a Council is 

13 established by section 302(a); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) develop and begin to implement 

15 regional research plans to address the infor16 mation deficiencies identified by the study. 

17 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH PLANS.—The research 

18 plans shall suggest reasonable timeliness and cost 

19 estimates for the collection of the required infor20 mation. 

21 ‘‘(C) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall report 

22 to the Congress annually on the progress of the 

23 regional research plans. 

24 ‘‘(3) AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVICE AND ASSIST25 ANCE, REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary is 


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1 authorized to provide necessary technical advice and 

2 assistance, including grants, to the Councils for the 

3 development and design of regional pilot programs 

4 that build upon the recommendations of the advisory 

5 panel and, when completed, the study.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAMS.—Title III 

9 (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking section 303(d); and 

11 (B) by inserting after section 303 the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 303A. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the date of enactment of the 

15 American Fisheries Management and Marine Life En16 hancement Act, a Council may submit, and the Secretary 

17 may approve, for a fishery that is managed under a limited 

18 access system, a limited access privilege program to harvest 

19 fish if the program meets the requirements of this section. 

20 ‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST.— 

21 A limited access system, limited access privilege, quota 

22 share, or other authorization established, implemented, or 

23 managed under this Act— 

24 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the pur25 poses of sections 307, 308, and 309; 


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1 ‘‘(2) may be revoked, limited, or modified at any 

2 time in accordance with this Act, including revoca3 tion for failure to comply with the terms of the plan 

4 or if the system is found to have jeopardized the sus5 tainability of the stock or the safety of fishermen; 

6 ‘‘(3) shall not confer any right of compensation 

7 to the holder of such limited access privilege, quota 

8 share, or other such limited access system authoriza9 tion if it is revoked, limited, or modified; 

10 ‘‘(4) shall not create, or be construed to create, 

11 any right, title, or interest in or to any fish before the 

12 fish is harvested by the holder; and 

13 ‘‘(5) shall be considered a grant of permission to 

14 the holder of the limited access privilege or quota 

15 share to engage in activities permitted by such lim16 ited access privilege or quota share. 

17 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVI18 LEGES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to complying 

20 with the other requirements of this Act, any limited 

21 access privilege program to harvest fish submitted by 

22 a Council or approved by the Secretary under this 

23 section shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) if established in a fishery that is over2 fished or subject to a rebuilding plan, assist in 

3 its rebuilding; 

4 ‘‘(B) if established in a fishery that is deter5 mined by the Secretary or the Council to have 

6 over-capacity, contribute to reducing capacity; 

7 ‘‘(C) promote— 

8 ‘‘(i) the safety of human life at sea; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the conservation and management 

11 of the fishery; 

12 ‘‘(D) prohibit any person other than a 

13 United States citizen, a corporation, partner14 ship, or other entity established under the laws 

15 of the United States or any State, or a perma16 nent resident alien, that meets the eligibility and 

17 participation requirements established in the 

18 program from acquiring a privilege to harvest 

19 fish; 

20 ‘‘(E) specify the goals of the program; 

21 ‘‘(F) include provisions for the regular mon22 itoring and review by the Council and the Sec23 retary of the operations of the program, includ24 ing determining progress in meeting the goals of 

25 the program and this Act, and any necessary 


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1 modification of the program to meet those goals, 

2 with a formal and detailed review 5 years after 

3 the establishment of the program and every 5 

4 years thereafter; 

5 ‘‘(G) include an effective system for enforce6 ment, monitoring, and management of the pro7 gram, including the use of observers; 

8 ‘‘(H) include an appeals process for admin9 istrative review of determinations with respect to 

10 the Secretary’s decisions regarding administra11 tion of the limited access privilege program; and 

12 ‘‘(I) provide for the revocation by the Sec13 retary of limited access privileges held by any 

14 person found to have violated the antitrust laws 

15 of the United States. 

16 ‘‘(2) FISHING COMMUNITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to 

19 participate in a limited access privilege 

20 program to harvest fish, a fishing commu21 nity shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) be located within the man23 agement area of the relevant Council; 

24 ‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by 

25 the relevant Council, approved by the 


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1 Secretary, and published in the Fed2 eral Register; 

3 ‘‘(III) consist of residents of the 

4 management area of the relevant Coun5 cil who conduct commercial or rec6 reational fishing, fish processing, or 

7 fishery-dependent support businesses 

8 within such area; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) develop and submit a com10 munity sustainability plan to the 

11 Council and the Secretary that dem12 onstrates how the plan will address the 

13 social and economic development needs 

14 of fishing communities, including those 

15 that have not historically had the re16 sources to participate in the fishery, 

17 for approval by the Council based on 

18 criteria developed by the Council that 

19 have been approved by the Secretary 

20 and published in the Federal Register. 

21 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

22 PLAN.—The Secretary shall deny or revoke 

23 limited access privileges for a person that 

24 were granted to a fishing community, if the 

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1 ments of the community sustainability plan 

2 approved by the relevant Council under 

3 clause (i)(IV). 

4 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel5 oping participation criteria for eligible commu6 nities under this paragraph, a Council shall con7 sider— 

8 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or fish proc9 essing practices in, and dependence on, the 

10 fishery; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework 

12 relevant to the fishery; 

13 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to 

14 fishery; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro16 jected economic and social impacts associ17 ated with implementation of limited access 

18 privilege programs on harvesters, fishing 

19 vessel captains and crews, fish processors, 

20 and other businesses substantially dependent 

21 upon the fishery in the region or subregion; 

22 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper23 ational transparency, and equitability of 

24 the community sustainability plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the potential for improving eco2 nomic conditions in remote coastal commu3 nities lacking resources to participate in 

4 harvesting or fish processing activities in 

5 the fishery. 

6 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to par8 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to 

9 harvest fish, a regional fishery association 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) be located within the management 

12 area of the relevant Council; 

13 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the rel14 evant Council, approved by the Secretary, 

15 and published in the Federal Register; 

16 ‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with 

17 established by-laws and operating proce18 dures consisting of participants in the fish19 ery, including commercial or recreational 

20 fishing, fish processing, fishery-dependent 

21 support businesses, or fishing communities; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) develop and submit a regional 

24 fishery association plan to the Council and 

25 the Secretary for approval by the Council 


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1 based on criteria developed by the Council 

2 that have been approved by the Secretary 

3 and published in the Federal Register. 

4 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PLAN.— 

5 The Secretary shall deny or revoke limited access 

6 privileges for a person that were granted to a 

7 fishery association, if the person fails to comply 

8 with the requirements of the regional fishery as9 sociation plan approved by the relevant Council 

10 under subparagraph (A)(iv). 

11 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel12 oping participation criteria for eligible regional 

13 fishery associations under this paragraph, a 

14 Council shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or fish proc16 essing practices in, and dependence on, the 

17 fishery; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework 

19 relevant to the fishery; 

20 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to 

21 fishery; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro23 jected economic and social impacts associ24 ated with implementation of limited access 

25 privilege programs on harvesters, captains, 


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1 crew, fish processors, and other businesses 

2 substantially dependent upon the fishery in 

3 the region or subregion, upon the adminis4 trative and fiduciary soundness of the asso5 ciation and its by-laws; and 

6 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper7 ational transparency, and equitability of 

8 the fishery association plan. 

9 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited ac10 cess privilege program to harvest fish a Council or the 

11 Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair and 

13 equitable initial allocations, including consider14 ation of— 

15 ‘‘(i) current and historical harvests; 

16 ‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting 

17 and fish processing sectors; 

18 ‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence 

19 upon, the fishery; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) the current and historical par21 ticipation of fishing communities; 

22 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, consider the 

23 basic cultural and social framework of the fish24 ery, especially through the development of poli25 cies to promote the sustained participation of 


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1 small owner-operated fishing vessels and fishing 

2 communities that depend on the fisheries, includ3 ing regional or port-specific landing or delivery 

4 requirements; 

5 ‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when nec6 essary and appropriate, entry-level and small 

7 vessel operators, captains, crew, and fishing com8 munities through set-asides of harvesting alloca9 tions, including providing privileges and, where 

10 appropriate, recommending the provision of eco11 nomic assistance in the purchase of limited ac12 cess privileges to harvest fish; 

13 ‘‘(D) for the purpose of preventing signifi14 cant adverse economic or social impact on any 

15 fishing community or other person, ensure that 

16 limited access privilege holders do not acquire an 

17 excessive share of the total limited access privi18 leges in the program by— 

19 ‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share, ex20 pressed as a percentage of the total limited 

21 access privileges, that a limited access privi22 lege holder is permitted to hold, acquired, or 

23 use; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations 

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1 table concentration of limited access privi2 leges; 

3 ‘‘(E) establish procedures to address geo4 graphic or other consolidation in both the har5 vesting and fish processing sectors of the fishery; 

6 ‘‘(F) authorize limited access privileges to 

7 harvest fish to be held, acquired, or used by or 

8 issued under the system to persons who substan9 tially participate in the fishery, as specified by 

10 the Council, including, as appropriate, fishing 

11 vessel owners, vessel captains, vessel crew mem12 bers, fishing communities, and regional fishery 

13 associations; and 

14 ‘‘(G) ensure that no person otherwise quali15 fied to receive an initial allocation of a limited 

16 access privilege to harvest fish is required to join 

17 any entity or association that limits in any way 

18 the person’s ability to sell their catch as a condi19 tion of that person receiving an initial or an20 nual allocation. 

21 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM INITIATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (D), a Council may initiate a 

24 fishery management plan or amendment to es25 tablish a limited access privilege program to 


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1 harvest fish on its own initiative or if the Sec2 retary has certified an appropriate petition. 

3 ‘‘(B) PETITION.—A group of fishermen con4 stituting more than 50 percent of the permit 

5 holders in the fishery for which a limited access 

6 privilege program to harvest fish is sought, may 

7 submit a petition to the Secretary requesting 

8 that the relevant Council or Councils with au9 thority over the fishery be authorized to initiate 

10 the development of the program. Any such peti11 tion shall clearly state the fishery to which the 

12 limited access privilege program would apply. 

13 For multispecies permits in the Gulf, only those 

14 participants who have substantially fished the 

15 species proposed to be included in the limited ac16 cess program shall be eligible to sign a petition 

17 for such a program and shall serve as the basis 

18 for determining the percentage described in the 

19 first sentence of this subparagraph. 

20 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.— 

21 Upon the receipt of any such petition, the Sec22 retary shall review all of the signatures on the 

23 petition and, if the Secretary determines that the 

24 signatures on the petition represent more than 

25 50 percent of the permit holders in the fishery, 


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1 as described by subparagraph (B), the Secretary 

2 shall certify the petition to the appropriate 

3 Council or Councils. 

4 ‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND REFERENDUM.— 

5 ‘‘(i) The New England Council may 

6 not submit, and the Secretary may not ap7 prove or implement, a fishery management 

8 plan or amendment that creates an indi9 vidual fishing quota program, including a 

10 Secretarial plan, unless such a system, as 

11 ultimately developed, has been approved by 

more than 2 12 ⁄3 of those voting in a ref13 erendum among eligible permit holders with 

14 respect to the New England Council. If an 

15 individual fishing quota program fails to be 

16 approved by the requisite number of those 

17 voting, it may be revised and submitted for 

18 approval in a subsequent referendum. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a ref20 erendum under this subparagraph, includ21 ing notifying all persons eligible to partici22 pate in the referendum and making avail23 able to them information concerning the 

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1 ments for the referendum process and the 

2 proposed individual fishing quota program. 

3 ‘‘(iii) The New England Fishery Man4 agement Council may determine that vessel 

5 captains or crew members who have sub6 stantial participation in the fishery con7 cerned shall be eligible to vote in a ref8 erendum under this subparagraph. The New 

9 England Fishery Management Council shall 

10 establish the criteria for determining what 

11 constitutes ‘substantial participation’ for 

12 purposes of this clause. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Within 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of the American Fisheries Man15 agement and Marine Life Enhancement 

16 Act, the Secretary shall publish guidelines 

17 and procedures to determine procedures and 

18 voting eligibility requirements (subject to 

19 clause (iii)) for referenda and to conduct 

20 such referenda in a fair and equitable man21 ner. 

22 ‘‘(E) OTHER LAW.—Chapter 35 of title 44, 

23 United States Code, (commonly known as the 

24 Paperwork Reduction Act) does not apply to the 

25 referenda conducted under this subparagraph. 


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1 ‘‘(6) TRANSFERABILITY.—In establishing a lim2 ited access privilege program, a Council shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) establish a policy on the transfer4 ability of limited access privilege shares (through 

5 sale or lease), including a policy on any condi6 tions that apply to the transferability of limited 

7 access privilege shares that is consistent with the 

8 policies adopted by the Council for the fishery 

9 under paragraph (2); and 

10 ‘‘(B) establish criteria for the approval and 

11 monitoring of transfers (including sales and 

12 leases) of limited access privilege shares. 

13 ‘‘(7) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

14 SECRETARIAL PLANS.—This subsection also applies to 

15 a plan prepared and implemented by the Secretary 

16 under section 304(g). 

17 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

18 OFFICIALS.—A Federal agency or official may not 

19 hold, administer, or reallocate an individual quota 

20 issued under a fishery management plan under this 

21 section, other than the Secretary and the Council hav22 ing authority over the fishery for which the indi23 vidual quota is issued. 

24 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In estab25 lishing a limited access privilege program, a Council may 


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1 consider, and provide for, if appropriate, an auction system 

2 or other program to collect royalties for the initial, or any 

3 subsequent, distribution of allocations in a limited access 

4 privilege program if— 

5 ‘‘(1) the system or program is administered in 

6 such a way that the resulting distribution of limited 

7 access privilege shares meets the program require8 ments of subsection (c)(2)(A); and 

9 ‘‘(2) revenues generated through such a royalty 

10 program are deposited in the Limited Access System 

11 Administration Fund established by section 

12 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject to annual appro13 priations. 

14 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited ac15 cess privilege program, a Council shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) develop a methodology and the means to 

17 identify and assess the management, data collection 

18 and analysis, and enforcement programs that are di19 rectly related to and in support of the program; and 

20 ‘‘(2) provide, under section 304(d)(2), for a pro21 gram of fees paid by limited access privilege holders 

22 that will cover the costs of management, data collec23 tion and analysis, and enforcement activities. 

24 ‘‘(f) LIMITED DURATION.—In establishing a limited 

25 access privilege program after the date of enactment of the 


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1 American Fisheries Management and Marine Life En2 hancement Act, a Council may establish— 

3 ‘‘(1) a period of time after which any initial or 

4 subsequent allocation of a limited access privilege 

5 shall expire, or various periods for such expiration 

6 within a fishery if the Council determines that vari7 ation of the periods will further achievement of man8 agement goals; and 

9 ‘‘(2) a mechanism under which participants in 

10 and entrants to the program may acquire or reac11 quire allocations. 

12 ‘‘(g) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PUR13 CHASE PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Council may submit, and 

15 the Secretary may approve and implement, a pro16 gram that reserves up to 25 percent of any fees col17 lected from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to be 

18 used to issue obligations that aid in financing— 

19 ‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privi20 leges in that fishery by fishermen who fish from 

21 small vessels; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited ac23 cess privileges in that fishery by entry level fish24 ermen. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council making 

2 a submission under paragraph (1) shall recommend 

3 criteria, consistent with the provisions of this Act, 

4 that a fisherman must meet to qualify for guarantees 

5 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 

6 and the portion of funds to be allocated for guarantees 

7 under each subparagraph. 

8 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON CERTAIN EXISTING SHARES AND

9 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made 

10 by the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life 

11 Enhancement Act, shall be construed to require a realloca12 tion of individual quota shares, fish processor quota shares, 

13 cooperative programs, or other quota programs, including 

14 sector allocation, for which a Council has already provided 

15 a substantial opportunity for public comment and begun 

16 considering alternatives, or submitted by a Council or ap17 proved by the Secretary or by congressional action before 

18 the date of enactment of such Act.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents in the first section is amended by adding after 

21 the item relating to section 303 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 303A. Limited access privilege programs.’’. 

22 (b) FEES.—Section 304(d)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) 

25 as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (F), as so redesignated, by 

2 striking ‘‘Such fee’’ and inserting ‘‘A fee under this 

3 paragraph’’; and 

4 (3) by striking ‘‘(2)(A)’’ and all that follows 

5 through the end of subparagraph (A) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec8 retary shall collect from a person that holds or trans9 fers an individual quota issued under a limited access 

10 system established under section 303(b)(6) fees estab11 lished by the Secretary in accordance with this sec12 tion and section 9701(b) of title 31, United States 

13 Code. 

14 ‘‘(B) The fees required to be established and col15 lected by the Secretary under this paragraph are the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(i) With respect to any initial allocation 

18 under a limited access system established after 

19 the date of the enactment of the American Fish20 eries Management and Marine Life Enhance21 ment Act, an initial allocation fee in an amount, 

22 determined by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent 

23 of the ex-vessel value of fish authorized in one 

24 year under an individual quota, that shall be 


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1 collected from the person to whom the individual 

2 quota is first issued. 

3 ‘‘(ii) An annual fee in an amount, deter4 mined by the Secretary, not to exceed 3 percent 

5 of the ex-vessel value of fish authorized each year 

6 under an individual quota share, that shall be 

7 collected from the holder of the individual quota 

8 share. 

9 ‘‘(iii) A transfer fee in an amount, deter10 mined by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent of the 

11 ex-vessel value of fish authorized each year under 

12 an individual quota share, that shall be collected 

13 from a person who permanently transfers the in14 dividual quota share to another person. 

15 ‘‘(C) In determining the amount of a fee under 

16 this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that the 

17 amount is commensurate with the cost of managing 

18 the fishery with respect to which the fee is collected, 

19 including reasonable costs for salaries, data analysis, 

20 and other costs directly related to fishery management 

21 and enforcement. 

22 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

23 Councils, shall promulgate regulations prescribing the 

24 method of determining under this paragraph the ex25 vessel value of fish authorized under an individual 


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1 quota share, the amount of fees, and the method of 

2 collecting fees. 

3 ‘‘(E) Fees collected under this paragraph from 

4 holders of individual quotas in a fishery shall be an 

5 offsetting collection and shall be available to the Sec6 retary only for the purposes of administering and im7 plementing this Act with respect to that fishery.’’. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 304(d)(2)(G)(i), as redesignated by subsection (b)(1) of this 

10 section, is amended by striking ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B)’’ and 

11 all that follows and inserting ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B).’’. 

12 (d) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE DEFINED.—Sub13 section (a) of section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further amended 

14 by inserting after paragraph (23) the following: 

15 ‘‘(23A) The term ‘limited access privilege’— 

16 ‘‘(A) means a Federal permit, issued as 

17 part of a limited access system under section 

18 303A to harvest a quantity of fish that may be 

19 received or held for exclusive use by a person; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) includes an individual fishing quota; 

22 but 

23 ‘‘(C) does not include community develop24 ment quotas as described in section 305(i).’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. JOINT FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 

2 Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in sub4 section (b)(1)(A)(iv); 

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

6 subsection (b)(1)(A)(v); 

7 (3) by inserting after clause (v) of subsection 

8 (b)(1)(A) the following: 

9 ‘‘(vi) access, directly or indirectly, for en10 forcement purposes any data or information re11 quired to be provided under this title or regula12 tions under this title, including data from vessel 

13 monitoring systems, or any similar system, sub14 ject to the confidentiality provisions of section 

15 402;’’; 

16 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

17 (j); and 

18 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(h) JOINT FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT AGREE21 MENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of an eligible 

23 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a 

24 joint fisheries enforcement agreement with the Sec25 retary that will authorize the deputization and fund26 ing of State officers with marine fisheries responsibilVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:39 Jul 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 ities to perform duties of the Secretary relating to 

2 fisheries enforcement provisions under this title or 

3 any other marine resource law enforced by the Sec4 retary. Upon receiving an application meeting the re5 quirements of this subsection, the Secretary may enter 

6 into a joint fisheries enforcement agreement with the 

7 requesting State. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible to 

9 participate in the cooperative agreements under this 

10 section if it is in, or bordering on, the Atlantic Ocean 

11 (including the Caribbean Sea), the Pacific Ocean, the 

12 Arctic Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico. 

13 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint fisheries enforce14 ment agreements executed under paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall be consistent with the purposes 

16 and intent of this section to the extent applicable 

17 to the regulated activities; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall provide for confidentiality of 

19 data and information submitted to the State 

20 under section 402. 

21 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

22 shall include in each joint fisheries enforcement agree23 ment an allocation of funds to assist in management 

24 of the agreement. The allocation shall be fairly dis25 tributed among all eligible States participating in coVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:39 Jul 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 operative agreements under this subsection, based 

2 upon consideration of Federal marine fisheries needs, 

3 the specific marine fisheries conservation needs of 

4 each participating eligible State, and the capacity of 

5 the State to undertake the mission and assist with 

6 Federal needs. The agreement may provide for 

7 amounts to be withheld by the Secretary for the cost 

8 of any technical or other assistance provided to the 

9 State by the Secretary under the agreement. 

10 ‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of this Act, as soon as practicable but no 

13 later than 21 months after the date of enactment of 

14 the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life 

15 Enhancement Act, the Secretary shall implement 

16 data-sharing measures to make any data required to 

17 be provided by this Act from vessel monitoring sys18 tems, or similar systems— 

19 ‘‘(A) directly accessible by State officers au20 thorized under subsection (a) of this section; and 

21 ‘‘(B) available to a State management agen22 cy involved in, or affected by, management of a 

23 fishery if the State has entered into an agree24 ment with the Secretary under section 

25 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

2 shall promptly enter into an agreement with a State 

3 under section 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the State provides a written opinion 

5 or certification that State law allows the State 

6 to maintain the confidentiality of information 

7 required by Federal law to be kept confidential; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other reason10 able assurance that the State can and will pro11 tect the identity or business of any person to 

12 which such information relates.’’. 

13 SEC. 9. FUNDING FOR FISHERY OBSERVER PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES RESEARCH PLANS.— 

15 Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

18 by striking ‘‘all’’ and inserting ‘‘any’’; and 

19 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(2) establishes a system, or systems, of fees, 

22 which may vary by fishery, management area, and 

23 observer coverage level, to pay for the costs of imple24 menting the plan.’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘, or 

2 electronic monitoring systems,’’ after ‘‘stationing 

3 observers’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (E) by inserting 

5 ‘‘fixed amount reflecting actual observer costs as 

6 described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of sub7 paragraph (A), or’’ after ‘‘be expressed as’’; 

8 (C) in subparagraph (F)— 

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘some or’’ after ‘‘as10 sessed against’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, or electronic moni12 toring systems,’’ after ‘‘carry an observer’’; 

13 and 

14 (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at 

15 the end of subparagraph (H), by striking the pe16 riod at the end of subparagraph (I) and insert17 ing ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(J) provide that fees collected under the system 

20 shall be credited against any fee for stationing observ21 ers, or electronic monitoring systems, onboard fishing 

22 vessels and United States fish processors and the ac23 tual cost of inputting collected data to which a fishing 

24 vessel or fish processor is subject under section 

25 304(d).’’. 


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1 (b) OBSERVER PROGRAM FUNDING.—Section 403 (16 

2 U.S.C. 1881(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(d) OBSERVER PROGRAM FUNDING MECHANISM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish 

6 a funding mechanism to cover the cost of an observer 

7 program to monitor any fishery managed under this 

8 Act or any other Act administered by the Secretary, 

9 including the Northern Pacific halibut fishery. 

10 ‘‘(2) FORM OF MECHANISM.— 

11 ‘‘(A) The Secretary may exercise broad dis12 cretion in developing a funding mechanism 

13 under this subsection, which may include a sys14 tem of fees, payments collected from limited ac15 cess privilege programs, or any other cost recov16 ery mechanism to pay for— 

17 ‘‘(i) the cost of stationing observers on 

18 board fishing vessels and United States fish 

19 processors, and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the actual cost of inputting data 

21 and managing observer databases. 

22 ‘‘(B) The moneys collected under a funding 

23 mechanism established under this subsection for 

24 an observer program shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(i) deposited into the Fishery Ob2 server Fund established under subsection 

3 (e); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) used only for the observer pro5 gram covering fisheries from which the 

6 moneys were collected. 

7 ‘‘(e) FISHERY OBSERVER FUND.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab9 lished on the books of the Treasury of the United 

10 States, a fund that shall be known as the Fishery Ob11 server Fund (in this subsection referred to as the 

12 ‘Fund’). The Fund shall be administered by the Sec13 retary of Commerce. The Fund shall be available, sub14 ject to the availability of appropriations, only to the 

15 Secretary for purposes of carrying out subsection (d). 

16 The Fund shall consist of all moneys deposited into 

17 in it accordance with this section, plus interest on 

18 those moneys. 

19 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of 

21 the Treasury to invest, at the direction of the 

22 Secretary of Commerce, such portion of the Fund 

23 that is not currently needed for the purposes of 

24 each observer program covering fisheries from 


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1 which moneys were collected under subsection 

2 (d). 

3 ‘‘(B) Such investments shall be in public 

4 debt obligations with maturities suitable to the 

5 needs of the Fund, as determined by the Sec6 retary of Commerce. Investments in public debt 

7 obligations shall bear interest at rates deter8 mined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking 

9 into consideration the current market yield on 

10 outstanding marketable obligations of the United 

11 States of comparable maturity. 

12 ‘‘(3) SALE OF OBLIGATION.—Any obligation ac13 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

14 the Treasury at the direction of the Secretary of Com15 merce at market prices. 

16 ‘‘(f) CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of carrying out 

17 subsections (d) and (e), the Secretary may accept, solicit, 

18 receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devices, contribu19 tions, and bequests. Amounts received under this subsection 

20 shall be deposited in the Fishery Observer Fund established 

21 under subsection (c).’’. 

22 SEC. 10. COMPETING STATUTES. 

23 (a) REQUIRED INFORMATION IN MANAGEMENT

24 PLANS.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853A)) is further 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(17) contain information on the Council’s ef2 forts to study, develop, and describe appropriate alter3 natives to recommend courses of action.’’. 

4 (b) REQUIRED ANALYSIS IN MANAGEMENT PLANS.— 

5 Section 303(a)(9) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(9)) is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘describe the likely effects, if any, of the conserva7 tion and management measures on—’’ and inserting ‘‘ana8 lyze the likely effects, if any, including the cumulative con9 servation, economic, and social impacts of, the conservation 

10 and management measures on, and possible mitigation 

11 measures for—’’. 

12 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

13 POLICY ACT OF 1969.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et 

15 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 315. COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

17 POLICY ACT OF 1969. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may consider the 

19 requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environ20 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) to have 

21 been satisfied with respect to any fishery management plan, 

22 amendment to such a plan, or regulation implementing 

23 such a plan that the Secretary determines has been pre24 pared in accordance with applicable provisions of sections 

25 303 and 304 of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION OF APPLICATION.—This section shall 

2 not apply unless the Secretary has published a determina3 tion that sections 304 and 305 are substantially equivalent 

4 to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

5 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents in the first section is amended by adding at the 

8 end of the items relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Sec. 315. Compliance with National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.’’. 

9 (3) EFFECT ON TIME REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

10 305(e) (16 U.S.C. 1855(E)) is amended by inserting 

11 ‘‘the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),’’ after ‘‘the Regulatory Flexi13 bility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),’’. 

14 SEC. 11. DIMINISHED FISHERIES. 

15 (a) SUBSTITUTION OF ‘‘DIMINISHED’’ FOR ‘‘OVER16 FISHED’’.— 

17 (1) SUBSTITUTION OF TERM.—The Act is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘overfished’’ each place it 

20 appears (other than in subsection (a) of section 

21 3 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by 

22 this Act) and inserting ‘‘diminished’’; and 

23 (B) in the heading for section 304(e) (16 

24 U.S.C. 1854(e)) by striking ‘‘OVERFISHED’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘DIMINISHED’’. 


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1 (2) DIMINISHED DEFINED.—Subsection (a) of 

2 section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further amended— 

3 (A) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(8A) The term ‘diminished’ means a fishery 

6 whose abundance is at or below a level that jeopard7 izes the capacity of the fishery to produce maximum 

8 sustainable yield on a continuing basis.’’; and 

9 (B) by amending paragraph (29) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(29) The term ‘overfishing’ means a rate or 

12 level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capacity 

13 of a fishery to produce the maximum sustainable 

14 yield on a continuing basis.’’. 

15 (3) DISTINGUISHING IN REPORTS.—Section 

16 304(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(1)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: ‘‘The report shall distin18 guish between fisheries that are diminished (or ap19 proaching that condition) as a result of fishing and 

20 fisheries that are diminished (or approaching that 

21 condition) as a result of factors other than fishing. 

22 The report shall state, for each fishery identified as 

23 diminished or approaching that condition, whether 

24 the fishery is the target of directed fishing.’’. 


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1 (b) DURATION OF MEASURES TO REBUILD DIMIN2 ISHED FISHERIES.—Section 304(e)(4)(A)(ii) of the Magnu3 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1854(e)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(ii) not exceed 10 years, except in 

6 cases where— 

7 ‘‘(I) the biology of the stock of 

8 fish, other environmental conditions, or 

9 management measures under an inter10 national agreement in which the 

11 United States participates dictate oth12 erwise; 

13 ‘‘(II) the Secretary determines 

14 that such 10-year period should be ex15 tended because the cause of the fishery 

16 decline is outside the jurisdiction of the 

17 Council or the rebuilding program can18 not be effective only by limiting fishing 

19 activities; 

20 ‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 

21 that such 10-year period should be ex22 tended for one or more diminished 

23 components of a multi-species fishery; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the Secretary makes sub2 stantial changes to the rebuilding tar3 gets after the rebuilding plan has been 

4 put in place.’’. 

5 SEC. 12. NEW PROHIBITED ACTS. 

6 (a) PROHIBITION ON SALE OR PURCHASE OF REC7 REATIONAL CATCH.—Section 307 (16 U.S.C. 1857) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end 

9 of paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) to sell or purchase any fish caught in rec13 reational fishing.’’. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF RETIRED VESSEL.—Sec15 tion 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub17 paragraph (O); 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘carcass.’’ in subparagraph (P) 

19 and inserting ‘‘carcass; or’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) and be21 fore the last sentence the following: 

22 ‘‘(Q) to use any fishing vessel to engage in 

23 fishing in Federal or State waters, or on the high 

24 seas or the waters of another country, after the 


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1 Secretary has made a payment to the owner of 

2 that fishing vessel under section 312(b)(2).’’. 

3 SEC. 13. FISHERY FAILURES. 

4 Section 312(a) (16 U.S.C. 1361a) is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘commercial fishery’’ each place it appears and insert6 ing ‘‘fishery’’. 

7 SEC. 14. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PE9 RIOD.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘180 days,’’ and inserting ‘‘186 

11 days,’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 305(c)(3)(D) 

13 (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or in14 terim measures’’ after ‘‘emergency regulations’’. 

15 SEC. 15. BYCATCH AND SEABIRD INTERACTIONS. 

16 (a) GEAR GRANT PROGRAM.—Title IV (1 U.S.C. 1881 

17 et seq.) is further amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 409. GEAR GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF FISHERIES WITH MOST UR21 GENT PROBLEMS.—The Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) identify those fisheries included in a list 

23 under subsection (a) that have the most urgent by24 catch problems or seabird interaction problems, based 

25 on comments received regarding the list; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) work in conjunction with the Councils and 

2 fishing industry participants to develop new fishing 

3 gear, or modifications to existing fishing gear, that 

4 will help minimize bycatch and seabird interactions 

5 to the extent practicable. 

6 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall, subject 

7 to the availability of appropriations, make grants for the 

8 development of fishing gear and modifications to existing 

9 fishing gear that will help— 

10 ‘‘(1) minimize bycatch and seabird interactions; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(2) minimize adverse fishing gear impacts on 

13 habitat areas of particular concern. 

14 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the Con15 gress annually on— 

16 ‘‘(1) the amount expended to implement this sec17 tion in the preceding year; 

18 ‘‘(2) developments in gear technology achieved 

19 under this section; 

20 ‘‘(3) the reductions in bycatch associated with 

21 implementation of this section; and 

22 ‘‘(4) any other relevant information. 

23 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

24 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 


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1 the Secretary $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 

2 through 2011.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

4 the first section is amended by adding at the end of the 

5 items relating to title IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 409. Gear grant program.’’. 

6 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Commerce shall report 

7 to the Congress within one year after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act on— 

9 (1) the extent of the problem of seabird inter10 action with fisheries of the United States; 

11 (2) efforts by the fishing industry and Regional 

12 Fishery Management Councils to address that prob13 lem; and 

14 (3) the extent of the problem of seabird inter15 action with fisheries other than the fisheries of the 

16 United States. 

17 (d) INTERNATIONAL ACTION.—The Secretary of Com18 merce shall take appropriate action at appropriate inter19 national fisheries management bodies to reduce seabird 

20 interactions in fisheries. 

21 SEC. 16. OVER CAPITALIZATION. 

22 (a) DISCRETION OF SECRETARY TO CONDUCT FISHING

23 CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAM.—Section 312(b) (16 

24 U.S.C. 1861a(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘, at the request 

2 of the appropriate Council for fisheries under the au3 thority of such Council, or the Governor of a State for 

4 fisheries under State authority,’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘that is man6 aged under a limited access system authorized by sec7 tion 303(b)(6),’’ after ‘‘in a fishery’’; and 

8 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para9 graph (5), and by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(4) The Council, or the Governor of a State, having 

12 authority over a fishery may request the Secretary to con13 duct a fishing capacity reduction program in the fishery 

14 under this subsection.’’. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENT TO SURRENDER ALL PERMITS.— 

16 Section 312(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861a(b)(2)) is amended to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) The objective of the program shall be to obtain 

19 the maximum sustained reduction in fishing capacity at 

20 the least cost and in a minimum period of time. 

21 ‘‘(B) To achieve that objective, the Secretary is author22 ized to pay an amount to the owner of a fishing vessel, if— 

23 ‘‘(i) such vessel is scrapped, or through the Sec24 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

25 is operating, subjected to title restrictions that permaVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:39 Jul 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5018.RH H5018

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1 nently prohibit and effectively prevent its use in fish2 ing; 

3 ‘‘(ii) all permits authorizing the participation of 

4 the vessel in any fishery under the jurisdiction of the 

5 United States are surrendered for permanent revoca6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the owner of the vessel and such permits 

8 relinquishes any claim associated with the vessel and 

9 such permits that could qualify such owner for any 

10 present or future limited access system permit in the 

11 fishery for which the program is established.’’. 

12 (c) ENSURING VESSELS DO NOT ENTER FOREIGN OR

13 HIGH SEAS FISHERIES.—Section 312(b) (16 U.S.C. 

14 1861a(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(6) The Secretary may not make a payment under 

17 paragraph (2) with respect to a vessel that will not be 

18 scrapped, unless the Secretary certifies that the vessel will 

19 not be used for any fishing, including fishing in the waters 

20 of a foreign nation and fishing on the high seas.’’. 

21 (d) REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, within 

23 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

24 submit to the Congress a report— 


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1 (A) identifying and describing the 20 fish2 eries in United States waters with the most se3 vere examples of excess harvesting capacity in 

4 the fisheries, based on value of each fishery and 

5 the amount of excess harvesting capacity as de6 termined by the Secretary; 

7 (B) recommending measures for reducing 

8 such excess harvesting capacity, including the re9 tirement of any latent fishing permits that could 

10 contribute to further excess harvesting capacity 

11 in those fisheries; and 

12 (C) potential sources of funding for such 

13 measures. 

14 (2) BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec15 retary shall base the recommendations made with re16 spect to a fishery on— 

17 (A) the most cost effective means of achiev18 ing voluntary reduction in capacity for the fish19 ery using the potential for industry financing; 

20 and 

21 (B) including measures to prevent the ca22 pacity that is being removed from the fishery 

23 from moving to other fisheries in the United 

24 States, in the waters of a foreign nation, or in 

25 the high seas. 


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1 SEC. 17. AMENDMENT REGARDING DEFINITIONS OF FISH2 ING COMMUNITY AND RECREATIONAL FISH3 ING INDUSTRY. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF FISHING COMMUNITY.—Section 3 

5 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further amended in paragraph (16) of 

6 subsection (a)— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘harvest’’ and inserting ‘‘catch, 

8 harvest,’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘, recreational participants, ma10 rina owners and operators, for-hire vessel owners and 

11 operators, bait and tackle shop owners and opera12 tors,’’ after ‘‘crew’’. 

13 (b) RECREATIONAL FISHING INDUSTRY.—Section 3 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further amended by adding at the end 

15 of subsection (a) the following: 

16 ‘‘(45) The term ‘recreational fishing industry’ 

17 means individual anglers, boat builders, fishing tackle 

18 manufacturers, for-hire vessel owners and operators, 

19 bait and tackle shop owners and operators, and rec20 reational marina owners and operators.’’. 

21 SEC. 18. CONSIDERATION OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS. 

22 Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (5) by inserting ‘‘economic in24 formation necessary to meet the requirements of this 

25 Act,’’ after ‘‘number of hauls,’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (13) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ the 

2 first place it appears and inserting ‘‘fishery, includ3 ing their economic impact,’’; and 

4 (3) in paragraph (14) by striking ‘‘allocate’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘allocate, taking into consideration the eco6 nomic impact of harvest restrictions or recovery bene7 fits on the fishery participants in each sector,’’. 

8 SEC. 19. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, TRAN9 SITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) 

11 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 316. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 

13 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re15 gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the request 

16 of, and in consultation with, the Governors of affected 

17 States, establish a regional economic transition program to 

18 provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the fisher19 men, charter fishing operators, United States fish proc20 essors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure affected 

21 by the disaster. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

24 appropriations, the program shall provide funds or 

25 other economic assistance to affected entities, or to 


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1 governmental entities for disbursement to affected en2 tities, for— 

3 ‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside 

4 fishery infrastructure needs, including processing 

5 facilities, cold storage facilities, ice houses, docks, 

6 including temporary docks and storage facilities, 

7 and other related shoreside fishery support facili8 ties and infrastructure; 

9 ‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training 

10 assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in 

11 a fishery in the region that may be temporarily 

12 closed as a result of environmental or other ef13 fects associated with the disaster; 

14 ‘‘(C) vessel repair and refloating; 

15 ‘‘(D) debris removal and cleaning; 

16 ‘‘(E) public and private oyster bed, shrimp, 

17 and other fisheries rehabilitation; and 

18 ‘‘(F) any other activities authorized under 

19 section 312(a) of this Act or section 308(d) of the 

20 Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 

21 U.S.C. 4107(d)). 

22 ‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who decides 

23 to scrap a fishing vessel under the program shall be 

24 eligible for job training assistance. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NO MATCHING REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

2 may waive the matching requirements of section 312 

3 of this Act, section 308 of the Interjurisdictional Fish4 eries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107), and any other 

5 provision of law under which the Federal share of the 

6 cost of any activity is limited to less than 100 percent 

7 if the Secretary determines that— 

8 ‘‘(A) no reasonable means are available 

9 through which applicants can meet the matching 

10 requirement; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the probable benefit of 100 percent 

12 Federal financing outweighs the public interest 

13 in imposition of the matching requirement. 

14 ‘‘(4) NET REVENUE LIMIT INAPPLICABLE.—Sec15 tion 308(d)(3) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act 

16 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3)) shall not apply to assistance 

17 under this section. 

18 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL IMPACT EVALUATION.—Within 2 

19 months after a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the 

20 Secretary shall provide the Governor of each State partici21 pating in the program a comprehensive economic and socio22 economic evaluation of the affected region’s fisheries to as23 sist the Governor in assessing the current and future eco24 nomic viability of affected fisheries, including the economic 

25 impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indirect, or 


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1 environmental impact of the disaster on the fishery and 

2 coastal communities. 

3 ‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER

4 DEFINED.—In this section the term ‘catastrophic regional 

5 fishery disaster’ means a natural disaster, including a hur6 ricane or tsunami, or a judicial or regulatory closure to 

7 protect human health or the marine environment, that— 

8 ‘‘(1) results in economic losses to coastal or fish9 ing communities; 

10 ‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fishery 

11 managed by a Council or interstate fishery commis12 sion; and 

13 ‘‘(3) is determined by the Secretary to be a com14 mercial fishery failure under section 312(a) of this 

15 Act or a fishery resource disaster or section 308(d) of 

16 the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 

17 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

19 the first section of that Act is further amended by inserting 

20 after the item relating to section 315 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 316. Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery program.’’. 

21 SEC. 20. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is 

23 amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) $338,970,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

2 ‘‘(2) $366,087,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

3 ‘‘(3) $395,374,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

4 ‘‘(4) $427,604,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

5 ‘‘(5) $461,812,000 for fiscal year 2011.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

7 the first section is amended by inserting after the item relat8 ing to section 3 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

9 SEC. 21. REVIEW AND REPORT REGARDING VIOLATIONS OF 

10 DISCLOSURE, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AND 

11 RECUSAL PROVISIONS. 

12 The Secretary of Commerce shall, within 6 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, review the votes of 

14 all Fishery Management Councils that have occurred since 

15 the date of the enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act 

16 (Public Law 104–297) and report to the Committee on Re17 sources of the House of Representatives on whether there 

18 were any meaningful violations of the disclosure, conflict 

19 of interest, and recusal provisions of section 302(j) of the 

20 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)). The Secretary shall include in the 

22 report recommendations for legislative or regulatory 

23 changes to section 302(j) of such Act as the Secretary con24 siders appropriate to address situations with respect to 

25 which violations were identified in the review. 


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1 SEC. 22. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF HURRICANES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

5 report to the Congress on the effects of Hurricanes Katrina, 

6 Rita, and Wilma on the fisheries and fish habitat of the 

7 United States. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include a description 

9 of the effects of such hurricanes on— 

10 (1) commercial and recreational fisheries; 

11 (2) owners and operators of shrimp fishing ves12 sels; and 

13 (3) the oyster industry. 

14 SEC. 23. STUDY OF THE ACIDIFICATION OF THE OCEANS 

15 AND EFFECT ON FISHERIES. 

16 The Secretary of Commerce shall request the National 

17 Research Council to conduct a study of the acidification 

18 of the oceans and how this process effects United States fish19 eries. 


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Union Calendar No. 323 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5018 

[Report No. 109

–567] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conpurposes. servation and Management Act, and for other 

JULY 17, 2006 

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


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