I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5018 

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 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE: 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 oth9 erwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend10 ment or repeal is expressed as an amendment to, or repeal 


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1 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be con2 sidered to be made to a section or other provision of the 

3 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage4 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq). 

5 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO DEFINITIONS. 

6 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) CONTINENTAL SHELF FISHERY RE8 SOURCES.—Section 102(2) of the Sustainable Fish9 eries Act (Public Law 104–297; 110 Stat. 3561) is 

10 amended— 

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

12 inserting ‘‘COELENTERATA’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘CNIDARIA’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’ and in16 serting ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’. 

17 (2) UNITED STATES HARVESTED FISH.—Sec18 tion 102(11) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (Pub19 lic Law 104–297; 110 Stat. 3563) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘(42)’’ and inserting ‘‘(43)’’. 

21 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

22 take effect on the effective date of section 102 of 

23 Public Law 104–297. 

24 (b) CORRECTIONS RELATING TO SPECIAL AREAS.— 

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


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

2 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (37) through 

3 the last paragraph (relating to the definition of ‘‘wa4 ters of a foreign nation’’) in order as paragraphs 

5 (35) through (44); 

6 (3) by inserting ‘‘(a) GENERAL DEFINI7 tions.—’’ before ‘‘As used in this Act’’; and 

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

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

10 FORMER SOVIET UNION.—As used in this Act the term 

11 ‘special areas’ means the areas referred to as eastern spe12 cial areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the 

13 United States of America and the Union of Soviet Social14 ist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 

15 1990. In particular, the term refers to those areas east 

16 of the maritime boundary, as defined in that Agreement, 

17 that lie within 200 nautical miles of the baselines from 

18 which the breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is meas19 ured but beyond 200 nautical miles of the baselines from 

20 which the breadth of the territorial sea of the United 

21 States is measured.’’. 

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

23 (a) HARVEST LEVEL CAPS.— 

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

25 1853(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 


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

2 the period at the end of paragraph (14) and insert3 ing a semicolon, and by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

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

6 total allowable catch or another annual catch limit 

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

8 each fishery for which an annual catch limit can be 

9 established, that— 

10 ‘‘(A) is based on the best scientific infor11 mation available; and 

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

13 Council, does not exceed the acceptable biologi14 cal catch level recommended by the scientific 

15 and statistical committee of the Council;’’. 

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

17 (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

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

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

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

21 following: 

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

23 annual harvest effort control limit for each of the 

24 fisheries for which such a limit can be established, 

25 after considering the recommendation of the sciVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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1 entific and statistical committee of the Council hav2 ing jurisdiction over the fishery, which shall not ex3 ceed the recommendation for the acceptable biologi4 cal catch as recommended by such scientific and sta5 tistical committee; and’’. 

6 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 304(b)(11) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(11)) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘allowable biological catch’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘acceptable biological catch’’. 

10 (b) BEST SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE.— 

11 Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following: 

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

14 The Secretary shall develop guidelines for the Councils to 

15 use in determining what is the best scientific information 

16 available. The Secretary shall base these guidelines on the 

17 recommendations for guidelines developed by the Ocean 

18 Studies Board of the National Research Council in its re19 port titled ‘Improving the Use of the Best Scientific Infor20 mation Available, Standard in Fisheries Management’.’’. 

21 (c) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.— 

22 Amend section 302(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)) is 

23 amended by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Each Council’’, and 

24 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical com2 mittee shall provide its Council ongoing sci3 entific advice for fishery management decisions, 

4 including recommendations for acceptable bio5 logical catch for each fishery under the jurisdic6 tion of the Council, and reports on stock status 

7 and health, bycatch, habitat status, socio-eco8 nomic impacts of management measures, and 

9 sustainability of fishing practices. 

10 ‘‘(C) Members appointed to the scientific 

11 and statistical committees shall be Federal em12 ployees, State employees, academicians, or inde13 pendent experts with strong scientific or tech14 nical credentials and experience. 

15 ‘‘(D) In addition to payments authorized 

16 by subsection (f)(7), the Secretary may pay a 

17 stipend to members of the scientific and statis18 tical committees who are not employed by the 

19 Federal Government or a State government 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(E) A science and statistical committee 

22 shall hold its meetings in conjunction with with 

23 the meetings of the Council, to the extent prac24 ticable.’’. 


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1 (d) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 

2 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is further amended amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

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

5 and statistical committee, multi-year research prior6 ities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats, 

7 and other areas of research that are necessary for 

8 management purposes, that shall— 

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

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

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

12 regional science centers of the National Marine 

13 Fisheries Service for their consideration in de14 veloping research priorities and budgets for the 

15 region of the Council.’’. 

16 (e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AUTHORITY.— 

17 (1) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS IN FISHERY

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

19 1853(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

20 semicolon at the end of paragraph (11), by striking 

21 the period at the end of paragraph (12) and insert22 ing a semicolon, and by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

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

25 research component including the use of commercial 


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1 fishing, charter fishing, or recreational fishing ves2 sels for the gathering of data on stock abundance, 

3 composition, distribution, or other relevant informa4 tion important for the implementation of the plan;’’. 

5 (2) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.— 

6 Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

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

9 research program under subsection (a) may include coop10 erative research using commercial fishing, charter fishing, 

11 or recreational fishing vessels for the gathering of data 

12 on stock abundance, composition, distribution, or other 

13 relevant information.’’. 

14 (3) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—Sec15 tion 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is further amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—The Sec18 retary shall ensure that— 

19 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels participating in research ac20 tivities conducted pursuant to section 303(b)(13) or 

21 title IV do not lose allocated fishing privileges (such 

22 as days at sea) based on the research activities, un23 less loss of such privileges is a part of the research 

24 plan under which the vessel participates; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) catch history of a vessel during such re2 search activities at any time when the vessel is sacri3 ficing fishing time in an open season shall accrue to 

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

5 research plan.’’. 

6 (f) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS.— 

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

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

9 ‘‘SEC. 408. REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

11 periodic regional assessments of stocks of fish. 

12 ‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

13 ensure that each periodic assessment under this section 

14 is independently reviewed in a manner that— 

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

16 Regional Fishery Management Councils current as17 sessments for use in managing fisheries; and 

18 ‘‘(2) is as transparent as possible, so that the 

19 regulated community can provide input during the 

20 review process.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents in the first section is further amended by add23 ing at the end of the items relating to title IV the 

24 following: 

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


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1 (3) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS AND PEER

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

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) PEER REVIEW PROCESS.— 

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

6 establish a peer review process for scientific in7 formation used to advise the Secretary or the 

8 Council, respectively, about the conservation 

9 and management of fisheries. 

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

11 ensure that the peer review process established 

12 under this paragraph— 

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

14 delay the process of providing to the Coun15 cil or the Secretary, respectively, current 

16 information for use in managing fisheries; 

17 and 

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

19 that the regulated community can provide 

20 input during the review process.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 

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

23 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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

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

3 Monitoring System or other similar electronic monitoring 

4 technology for a fishery or specific sectors of a fishery 

5 under the jurisdiction of the Council. To the extent that 

6 the technology is required for enforcement or data collec7 tion purposes for a dedicated access privilege management 

8 system, the cost of such a system shall be included in the 

9 costs that are considered in determining the amount of 

10 any fee required under this Act to be paid to participate 

11 in the fishery. Any information collected under this sub12 section shall be treated as confidential and exempt from 

13 disclosure under section 402(b).’’. 

14 (b) SHARING OF RECREATIONAL CATCH DATA.— 

15 Section 402 (16 U.S.C. 1881a) is amended by adding at 

16 the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) RECREATIONAL CATCH DATA.— 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) seek to obtain from States informa20 tion gathered under State recreational fishing 

21 license programs; 

22 ‘‘(B) work with those States that do not 

23 require a recreational saltwater fishing license 

24 to determine whether other recreational data 


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1 sources can provide adequate information about 

2 recreational fishing; and 

3 ‘‘(C) develop and implement a program for 

4 the use of recreational catch data for all feder5 ally managed fisheries. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall conduct the program 

7 under paragraph (1)(C) in consultation with the 

8 principal State officials having marine fishery man9 agement responsibility and expertise. 

10 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may provide financial as11 sistance to States for which no recreational saltwater 

12 license is in place to develop such a license. There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 

14 provide such assistance $5,000,000, which shall re15 main available until expended. 

16 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall report to the Congress 

17 within three years after the effective date of this 

18 subsection, on— 

19 ‘‘(A) the progress made in developing a 

20 program under paragraph (1)(C); and 

21 ‘‘(B) whether the program has resulted in 

22 significantly better data for management of rec23 reational fishing.’’. 

24 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 


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

2 1881a(b)) is amended— 

3 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

4 paragraph (4) and resetting it 2 ems from the 

5 left margin; 

6 (B) by striking all preceding paragraph 

7 (4), as so redesignated, and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Sec11 retary, a State fishery management agency, or a 

12 Marine Fisheries Commission by any person in com13 pliance with the requirements of this Act, including 

14 confidential information, shall be exempt from dis15 closure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United 

16 States Code, except— 

17 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em18 ployees who are responsible for fishery manage19 ment plan development, monitoring, or enforce20 ment; 

21 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis22 sion employees as necessary for achievement of 

23 the purposes of this Act, subject to a confiden24 tiality agreement between the State or commis25 sion, as appropriate, and the Secretary that 


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1 prohibits public disclosure of confidential infor2 mation relating to any person; 

3 ‘‘(C) to any State employee who is respon4 sible for fishery management plan enforcement, 

5 if the State employing that employee has en6 tered into a fishery enforcement agreement with 

7 the Secretary and the agreement is in effect; 

8 ‘‘(D) if such information is used by State, 

9 Council, or Marine Fisheries Commission em10 ployees to verify catch under a limited access 

11 program, but only to the extent that such use 

12 is consistent with subparagraph (B); 

13 ‘‘(E) if the Secretary has obtained written 

14 authorization from the person submitting such 

15 information to release such information to per16 sons for reasons not otherwise provided for in 

17 this subsection, and such release does not vio18 late any other requirement of this Act; or 

19 ‘‘(F) if such information is required to be 

20 submitted to the Secretary for any determina21 tion under a limited access program. 

22 ‘‘(2) Any observer information, Vessel Moni23 toring System, or other technology used on-board for 

24 enforcement or data collection purposes, shall be 

25 confidential and shall not be disclosed, except— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in accordance with the requirements 

2 of subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph 

3 (1); 

4 ‘‘(B) as authorized by a fishery manage5 ment plan or regulations under the authority of 

6 the North Pacific Council to allow disclosure to 

7 the public of weekly summary bycatch informa8 tion identified by vessel or for haul-specific by9 catch information without vessel identification; 

10 ‘‘(C) when such information is necessary in 

11 proceedings to adjudicate observer certifi12 cations; or 

13 ‘‘(D) as authorized by any regulations 

14 issued under paragraph (4) allowing the collec15 tion of observer information, pursuant to a con16 fidentiality agreement between the observers, 

17 observer employers, and the Secretary prohib18 iting disclosure of the information by the ob19 servers or observer employers, in order— 

20 ‘‘(i) to allow the sharing of observer 

21 information among observers and between 

22 observers and observer employers as nec23 essary to train and prepare observers for 

24 deployments on specific vessels; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to validate the accuracy of the 

2 observer information collected. 

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may enter into a memo4 randum of understanding with the heads of other 

5 Federal agencies for the sharing of confidential in6 formation for purposes of this Act, such as Vessel 

7 Monitoring System or other electronic monitoring 

8 systems, if the Secretary determines there is a com9 pelling need to do so and if the heads of the other 

10 Federal agencies agree to maintain the confiden11 tiality of the information in accordance with the re12 quirements that apply to the Secretary under this 

13 section.’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 

15 by striking ‘‘(1)(E).’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(B).’’. 

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) 

20 is further amended in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

22 following: 

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 

5 Secretary.’’; 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 ob17 servations), and video, audio, photographic, or writ18 ten documents.’’. 

19 (d) SOCIOECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION ACTIVI20 TIES.—Section 402 (16 U.S.C. 1881a) is further amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(g) 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 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH 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 au4 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, in addi5 tion to other amounts authorized, $2,000,000 for 

6 each fiscal 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 

16 of 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 

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

21 the names of individuals from academia, or other public 

22 interest areas including conservation organizations and 

23 the seafood consuming public, if the Governor has deter24 mined that each such individual is qualified under the re25 quirements 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 

5 after the date of the enactment of the American 

6 Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhance7 ment Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 Councils and the National Sea Grant College Pro9 gram, shall develop a training course for newly ap10 pointed Council members. The course may cover a 

11 variety of topics relevant to matters before the 

12 Councils, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assess14 ment methods; 

15 ‘‘(B) fishery management techniques, data 

16 needs, and Council procedures; 

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

18 ‘‘(D) tribal treaty rights and native cus19 toms, access, and other rights related to West20 ern Pacific indigenous communities; 

21 ‘‘(E) legal requirements of this Act, includ22 ing conflict of interest and disclosure provisions 

23 of this section and related policies; 


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1 ‘‘(F) other relevant legal and regulatory 

2 requirements, including the National Environ3 mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(G) public process for development of 

5 fishery management plans; 

6 ‘‘(H) recreational and commercial fishing 

7 information including fish harvesting tech8 niques, gear types, fishing vessel types, and eco9 nomics, for the fisheries within each Council’s 

10 jurisdiction; and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) MEMBER TRAINING.—The training 

13 course— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall be available to both new and ex15 isting Council members, staff from the regional 

16 offices and regional science centers of the Na17 tional Marine Fisheries Service; and 

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

19 or advisory panel members as resources allow. 

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

21 appointed after the date of the enactment of the 

22 American Fisheries Management and Marine Life 

23 Enhancement Act must complete the training course 

24 developed under this subsection.’’. 


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1 (c) AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP ECOSYSTEM-BASED

2 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 303(b) (16 

3 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is further amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(14) contain research, conservation, and man6 agement measures that encompass more than one 

7 fishery and are for the purpose of managing the 

8 fishery resources concerned under an ecosystem9 based management system;’’. 

10 (d) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VESSEL MONITORING

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

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

14 other similar electronic monitoring technology for 

15 the purposes of enforcing, monitoring, or collecting 

16 data from a fishery or fishery sector;’’. 

17 (e) OBSERVER FUNDING CLARIFICATION.—Section 

18 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is further amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) OBSERVER PROVISIONS.— 

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

22 is primarily for the enforcement of a fishery man23 agement plan or for data collection necessary for the 

24 monitoring of a fishery— 


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

2 and 

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

4 be considered as a cost to be recovered under 

5 the authority of section 303A(e)(2). 

6 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY FOR SANCTIONS.—A fishing 

7 vessel that is required to have an observer onboard 

8 pursuant to section 303(b)(8), the owner or operator 

9 of such a fishing vessel, and the United States shall 

10 not be liable for any sanction imposed on the ob11 server for actions of the observer in the course of 

12 performance of duties as an observer.’’. 

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

14 1853(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

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

17 total bycatch and seabird interaction, bycatch rates, 

18 and post-release mortality in fisheries under the 

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

20 ‘‘(A) measures to incorporate bycatch into 

21 quotas, including the establishment of collective 

22 or individual bycatch quotas; 

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

24 with verifiable and monitored low bycatch and 

25 seabird interaction rates; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) measures that, based on the best sci2 entific information available, will reduce bycatch 

3 and seabird interaction, bycatch mortality, post4 release mortality, or regulatory discards in the 

5 fishery;’’. 

6 (g) HABITAT AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.— 

7 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 303(b) (16 

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

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(17) identify habitat areas of particular con11 cern;’’. 

12 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) 

13 is further amended in subsection (a) by inserting 

14 after paragraph (18) the following: 

15 ‘‘(18A) The term ‘habitat area of particular 

16 concern’ means a discrete habitat area that is essen17 tial fish habitat and that— 

18 ‘‘(A) provides important ecological func19 tions; 

20 ‘‘(B) is sensitive to human-induced envi21 ronmental degradation; or 

22 ‘‘(C) is a rare habitat type.’’. 

23 (h) MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—Section 

2 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is further amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

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

5 time/area closures, gear restrictions, or other meth6 ods for limiting impacts on habitat, limit bycatch 

7 impacts of gear, or limit fishing impact on spawning 

8 congregations in specific geographic areas;’’. 

9 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303(a) (16 

10 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is further amended by adding at 

11 the end the 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 infor16 mation available; 

17 ‘‘(B) includes criteria to assess the con18 servation benefit of the closed area; 

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

20 the closed area’s performance that is consistent 

21 with the purposes of the closed area; and 

22 ‘‘(D) is based on an assessment of the ben23 efits and impacts of the closure, including its 

24 size, in relation to other management measures 

25 (either alone or in combination with such measVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH 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 conserva7 tion;’’. 

8 (i) FRAMEWORK AUTHORITY.—Section 304 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(i) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURAL MECHANISMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) In a fishery management plan or amend13 ment, the Council or Secretary, as appropriate, may 

14 develop alternative procedural mechanisms to be 

15 used in lieu of plan amendments for implementing 

16 conservation and management measures. 

17 ‘‘(2) Such mechanisms may allow for abbre18 viated processes for the implementation of regula19 tions or other actions as appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(3) Alternative procedural mechanisms shall 

21 only be approved or adopted for use in situations in 

22 which— 

23 ‘‘(A) the conservation and management 

24 measures are within the scope of conservation 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 and management measures established in an ex2 isting fishery management plan; 

3 ‘‘(B) otherwise applicable regulatory proc4 esses are not sufficient to allow timely and effi5 cient implementation of conservation and man6 agement measures in response to new informa7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(C) notice of the conservation and man9 agement measures is provided appropriate to 

10 the significance of the expected impacts on af11 fected fishery resources and on the participants 

12 in the fishery. 

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

14 the alternative procedural mechanism must be 

15 promptly published in the Federal Register. 

16 ‘‘(5) If the alternative procedural mechanism is 

17 approved by the Secretary pursuant to section 

18 304(a), or adopted by the Secretary pursuant to sec19 tion 304(c) or (g) and implemented through regula20 tions, any regulation issued or other action taken 

21 pursuant to the alternative procedural mechanism 

22 need not comply with the rulemaking provisions of 

23 section 304(b), (c), or (g) of this Act, or section 

24 553(b) through (d) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

25 (j) COUNCIL MEETING NOTICE.— 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 (1) REGULAR AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS.— 

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

3 1852(i)(2)(C)) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘published in local news5 papers’’ and inserting ‘‘provided by any means 

6 that will result in wide publicity (except that e7 mail notification and Web site postings alone 

8 are not sufficient)’’; and 

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

10 may be given by such other means as will result 

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

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

13 (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘notify local newspapers’’ and inserting ‘‘provide no15 tice by any means that will result in wide publicity’’. 

16 (k) CARIBBEAN COUNCIL JURISDICTION.—Section 

17 302(a)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(D)) is amended by 

18 inserting ‘‘and of commonwealths, territories, and posses19 sions of the United States in the Caribbean Sea’’ after 

20 ‘‘seaward of such States’’. 

21 (l) COUNCIL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.—Section 

22 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is further amended by adding at 

23 the end the following: 

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

25 Councils may establish a Council coordination committee 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 to discuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including 

2 issues related to the implementation of this Act. The com3 mittee shall consist of the chairs, vice chairs, and executive 

4 directors of each of the Councils described in subsection 

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

6 SEC. 6. ECOSYSTEM-BASED FISHERY MANAGEMENT. 

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

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

9 of paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(8) to support and encourage efforts to under13 stand the interactions of species in the marine envi14 ronment and the development of ecosystem-based 

15 approaches to fisheries conservation and manage16 ment that will lead to better stewardship and sus17 tainability of the Nation’s coastal fishery resources 

18 and fishing communities.’’. 

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

20 (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(5) The interaction of species in the marine 

23 environment, and the development of ecosystem24 based approaches to fishery conservation and manVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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•HR 5018 IH 

1 agement that will lead to better stewardship and 

2 sustainability of coastal fishery resources.’’. 

3 (c) REGULATIONS DEFINING TERMS.—The Secretary 

4 of Commerce shall, in conjunction with the Regional Fish5 ery Management Councils and based on the recommenda6 tions of the Ecosystems Principles Advisory Panel in the 

7 report entitled ‘‘Ecosystem-based Fishery Management. A 

8 report to Congress by the Ecosystem Principles Advisory 

9 Panel’’ and dated April 1999, and after provision of notice 

10 and an opportunity for public comment, issue regulations 

11 that establish definitions of the terms ‘‘ecosystem’’ and 

12 ‘‘marine ecosystem’’ for purposes of the Magnuson-Ste13 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

15 (d) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.—Section 406 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.— 

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

20 of enactment of the , the Secretary, in consultation 

21 with the Councils, shall undertake and complete a 

22 study on the state of the science for advancing the 

23 concepts and integration of ecosystem considerations 

24 in regional fishery management. The study should 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 build upon the recommendations of the advisory 

2 panel and include— 

3 ‘‘(A) recommendations for scientific data, 

4 information and technology requirements for 

5 understanding ecosystem processes, and meth6 ods for integrating such information from a va7 riety of Federal, State, and regional sources; 

8 ‘‘(B) recommendations for processes for in9 corporating broad stake holder participation; 

10 ‘‘(C) recommendations for processes to ac11 count for effects of environmental variation on 

12 fish stocks and fisheries; and 

13 ‘‘(D) a description of existing and devel14 oping Council efforts to implement ecosystem 

15 approaches, including lessons learned by the 

16 Councils. 

17 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; 

18 RESEARCH PLAN.— 

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

20 the date of the publication of the study under 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary, in conjunction 

22 with the regional science centers of the National 

23 Marine Fisheries Service and the Councils, 

24 shall— 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) identify specific marine eco2 systems within each region for which a 

3 Council is established by section 302(a); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop and begin to implement 

6 regional research plans to address the in7 formation deficiencies identified by the 

8 study. 

9 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH PLANS.—The research 

10 plans shall suggest reasonable timeliness and 

11 cost estimates for the collection of the required 

12 information. 

13 ‘‘(C) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall re14 port to the Congress annually on the progress 

15 of the regional research plans. 

16 ‘‘(3) AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVICE AND ASSIST17 ANCE, REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

18 is authorized to provide necessary technical advice 

19 and assistance, including grants, to the Councils for 

20 the development and design of regional pilot pro21 grams that build upon the recommendations of the 

22 advisory panel and, when completed, the study.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

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

25 is amended— 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 (1) by striking section 303(d); and 

2 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following: 

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

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

5 the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life En6 hancement Act, a Council may submit, and the Secretary 

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

8 access system, a limited access privilege program to har9 vest fish if the program meets the requirements of this 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTER12 EST.—A limited access system, limited access privilege, 

13 quota share, or other authorization established, imple14 mented, or managed under this Act— 

15 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the pur16 poses of sections 307, 308, and 309; 

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

18 any time in accordance with this Act, including rev19 ocation for failure to comply with the terms of the 

20 plan or if the system is found to have jeopardized 

21 the sustainability of the stock or the safety of fisher22 men; 

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

24 to the holder of such limited access privilege, quota 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 share, or other such limited access system authoriza2 tion if it is revoked, limited, or modified; 

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

4 any right, title, or interest in or to any fish before 

5 the fish is harvested by the holder; and 

6 ‘‘(5) shall be considered a grant of permission 

7 to the holder of the limited access privilege or quota 

8 share to engage in activities permitted by such lim9 ited access privilege or quota share. 

10 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVI11 LEGES.— 

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

13 with the other requirements of this Act, any limited 

14 access privilege program to harvest fish submitted 

15 by a Council or approved by the Secretary under 

16 this section shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) if established in a fishery that is over18 fished or subject to a rebuilding plan, assist in 

19 its rebuilding; 

20 ‘‘(B) if established in a fishery that is de21 termined by the Secretary or the Council to 

22 have over-capacity, contribute to reducing ca23 pacity; 

24 ‘‘(C) promote— 


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•HR 5018 IH 

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

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the conservation and manage4 ment of the fishery; 

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

6 United States citizen, a corporation, partner7 ship, or other entity established under the laws 

8 of the United States or any State, or a perma9 nent resident alien, that meets the eligibility 

10 and participation requirements established in 

11 the program from acquiring a privilege to har12 vest fish; 

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

14 ‘‘(F) include provisions for the regular 

15 monitoring and review by the Council and the 

16 Secretary of the operations of the program, in17 cluding determining progress in meeting the 

18 goals of the program and this Act, and any nec19 essary modification of the program to meet 

20 those goals, with a formal and detailed review 

21 5 years after the establishment of the program 

22 and every 5 years thereafter; 

23 ‘‘(G) include an effective system for en24 forcement, monitoring, and management of the 

25 program, including the use of observers; 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 ‘‘(H) include an appeals process for admin2 istrative review of determinations with respect 

3 to the Secretary’s decisions regarding adminis4 tration of the limited access privilege program; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(I) provide for the revocation by the Sec7 retary of limited access privileges held by any 

8 person found to have violated the antitrust laws 

9 of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(2) FISHING COMMUNITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

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

13 participate in a limited access privilege 

14 program to harvest fish, a fishing commu15 nity shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) be located within the man17 agement area of the relevant Council; 

18 ‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by 

19 the relevant Council, approved by the 

20 Secretary, and published in the Fed21 eral Register; 

22 ‘‘(III) consist of residents of the 

23 management area of the relevant 

24 Council who conduct commercial or 

25 recreational fishing, fish processing, 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 or fishery-dependent support busi2 nesses within such area; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) develop and submit a com4 munity sustainability plan to the 

5 Council and the Secretary that dem6 onstrates how the plan will address 

7 the social and economic development 

8 needs of fishing communities, includ9 ing those that have not historically 

10 had the resources to participate in the 

11 fishery, for approval by the Council 

12 based on criteria developed by the 

13 Council that have been approved by 

14 the Secretary and published in the 

15 Federal Register. 

16 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

17 PLAN.—The Secretary shall deny or revoke 

18 limited access privileges for a person that 

19 were granted to a fishing community, if 

20 the person fails to comply with the require21 ments of the community sustainability plan 

22 approved by the relevant Council under 

23 clause (i)(IV). 

24 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel25 oping participation criteria for eligible commuVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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•HR 5018 IH 

1 nities under this paragraph, a Council shall 

2 consider— 

3 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or fish proc4 essing practices in, and dependence on, the 

5 fishery; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social frame7 work relevant to the fishery; 

8 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to 

9 fishery; 

10 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro11 jected economic and social impacts associ12 ated with implementation of limited access 

13 privilege programs on harvesters, fishing 

14 vessel captains and crews, fish processors, 

15 and other businesses substantially depend16 ent upon the fishery in the region or sub17 region; 

18 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper19 ational transparency, and equitability of 

20 the community sustainability plan; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) the potential for improving eco22 nomic conditions in remote coastal commu23 nities lacking resources to participate in 

24 harvesting or fish processing activities in 

25 the fishery. 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to par3 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to 

4 harvest fish, a regional fishery association 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) be located within the management 

7 area of the relevant Council; 

8 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the 

9 relevant Council, approved by the Sec10 retary, and published in the Federal Reg11 ister; 

12 ‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with 

13 established by-laws and operating proce14 dures consisting of participants in the fish15 ery, including commercial or recreational 

16 fishing, fish processing, fishery-dependent 

17 support businesses, or fishing communities; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iv) develop and submit a regional 

20 fishery association plan to the Council and 

21 the Secretary for approval by the Council 

22 based on criteria developed by the Council 

23 that have been approved by the Secretary 

24 and published in the Federal Register. 


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

2 The Secretary shall deny or revoke limited ac3 cess privileges for a person that were granted to 

4 a fishery association, if the person fails to com5 ply with the requirements of the regional fish6 ery association plan approved by the relevant 

7 Council under subparagraph (A)(iv). 

8 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel9 oping participation criteria for eligible regional 

10 fishery associations under this paragraph, a 

11 Council shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or fish proc13 essing practices in, and dependence on, the 

14 fishery; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social frame16 work relevant to the fishery; 

17 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to 

18 fishery; 

19 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro20 jected economic and social impacts associ21 ated with implementation of limited access 

22 privilege programs on harvesters, captains, 

23 crew, fish processors, and other businesses 

24 substantially dependent upon the fishery in 

25 the region or subregion, upon the adminisVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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1 trative and fiduciary soundness of the as2 sociation and its by-laws; and 

3 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper4 ational transparency, and equitability of 

5 the fishery association plan. 

6 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited ac7 cess privilege program to harvest fish a Council or 

8 the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair 

10 and equitable initial allocations, including con11 sideration of— 

12 ‘‘(i) current and historical harvests; 

13 ‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting 

14 and fish processing sectors; 

15 ‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence 

16 upon, the fishery; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) the current and historical par18 ticipation of fishing communities; 

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

20 basic cultural and social framework of the fish21 ery, especially through the development of poli22 cies to promote the sustained participation of 

23 small owner-operated fishing vessels and fishing 

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•HR 5018 IH 

1 cluding regional or port-specific landing or de2 livery requirements; 

3 ‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when nec4 essary and appropriate, entry-level and small 

5 vessel operators, captains, crew, and fishing 

6 communities through set-asides of harvesting 

7 allocations, including providing privileges and, 

8 where appropriate, recommending the provision 

9 of economic assistance in the purchase of lim10 ited access privileges to harvest fish; 

11 ‘‘(D) ensure that limited access privilege 

12 holders do not acquire an excessive share of the 

13 total limited access privileges in the program 

14 by— 

15 ‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share, 

16 expressed as a percentage of the total lim17 ited access privileges, that a limited access 

18 privilege holder is permitted to hold, ac19 quired, or use; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations 

21 or measures necessary to prevent an in22 equitable concentration of limited access 

23 privileges; 

24 ‘‘(E) establish procedures to address geo25 graphic or other consolidation in both the harVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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•HR 5018 IH 

1 vesting and fish processing sectors of the fish2 ery; and 

3 ‘‘(F) authorize limited access privileges to 

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

5 issued under the system to persons who sub6 stantially participate in the fishery, as specified 

7 by the Council, including, as appropriate, fish8 ing vessel owners, vessel captains, vessel crew 

9 members, fishing communities, and regional 

10 fishery associations. 

11 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM INITIATION.— 

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

13 subparagraph (D), a Council may initiate a 

14 fishery management plan or amendment to es15 tablish a limited access privilege program to 

16 harvest fish on its own initiative or if the Sec17 retary has certified an appropriate petition. 

18 ‘‘(B) PETITION.—A group of fishermen 

19 constituting more than 50 percent of the permit 

20 holders, or holding more than 50 percent of the 

21 allocation, in the fishery for which a limited ac22 cess privilege program to harvest fish is sought, 

23 may submit a petition to the Secretary request24 ing that the relevant Council or Councils with 

25 authority over the fishery be authorized to iniVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:23 Mar 29, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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•HR 5018 IH 

1 tiate the development of the program. Any such 

2 petition shall clearly state the fishery to which 

3 the limited access privilege program would 

4 apply. For multispecies permits in the Gulf, 

5 only those participants who have substantially 

6 fished the species proposed to be included in the 

7 limited access program shall be eligible to sign 

8 a petition for such a program and shall serve 

9 as the basis for determining the percentage de10 scribed in the first sentence of this subpara11 graph. 

12 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.— 

13 Upon the receipt of any such petition, the Sec14 retary shall review all of the signatures on the 

15 petition and, if the Secretary determines that 

16 the signatures on the petition represent more 

17 than 50 percent of the permit holders, or hold18 ers of more than 50 percent of the allocation in 

19 the fishery, as described by subparagraph (B), 

20 the Secretary shall certify the petition to the 

21 appropriate Council or Councils. 

22 ‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND REFERENDUM.— 

23 ‘‘(i) The New England Council may 

24 not submit, and the Secretary may not ap25 prove or implement, a fishery management 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 plan or amendment that creates an indi2 vidual fishing quota program, including a 

3 Secretarial plan, unless such a system, as 

4 ultimately developed, has been approved by 

more than 2 5 ⁄3 of those voting in a ref6 erendum among eligible permit holders 

7 with respect to the New England Council. 

8 If an individual fishing quota program fails 

9 to be approved by the requisite number of 

10 those voting, it may be revised and sub11 mitted for approval in a subsequent ref12 erendum. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a 

14 referendum under this subparagraph, in15 cluding notifying all persons eligible to 

16 participate in the referendum and making 

17 available to them information concerning 

18 the schedule, procedures, and eligibility re19 quirements for the referendum process and 

20 the proposed individual fishing quota pro21 gram. Within 1 year after the date of en22 actment of the American Fisheries Man23 agement and Marine Life Enhancement 

24 Act, the Secretary shall publish guidelines 

25 and procedures to determine procedures 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 and voting eligibility requirements for 

2 referenda and to conduct such referenda in 

3 a fair and equitable manner. 

4 ‘‘(E) GULF OF MEXICO.—The provisions of 

5 section 407(c) of this Act shall apply in lieu of 

6 this paragraph for an individual fishing quota 

7 program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial red 

8 snapper fishery. 

9 ‘‘(F) OTHER LAW.—Chapter 35 of title 44, 

10 United States Code, (commonly known as the 

11 Paperwork Reduction Act) does not apply to 

12 the referenda conducted under this subpara13 graph. 

14 ‘‘(6) TRANSFERABILITY.—In establishing a lim15 ited access privilege program, a Council shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) establish a policy on the transfer17 ability of limited access privilege shares 

18 (through sale or lease), including a policy on 

19 any conditions that apply to the transferability 

20 of limited access privilege shares that is con21 sistent with the policies adopted by the Council 

22 for the fishery under paragraph (2); and 

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

24 monitoring of transfers (including sales and 

25 leases) of limited access privilege shares. 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 ‘‘(7) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

2 SECRETARIAL PLANS.—This subsection also applies 

3 to a plan prepared and implemented by the Sec4 retary under section 304(g). 

5 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

6 OFFICIALS.—A Federal agency or official may not 

7 hold, administer, or reallocate an individual quota 

8 issued under a fishery management plan under this 

9 section, other than the Secretary and the Council 

10 having authority over the fishery for which the indi11 vidual quota is issued. 

12 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In estab13 lishing a limited access privilege program, a Council may 

14 consider, and provide for, if appropriate, an auction sys15 tem or other program to collect royalties for the initial, 

16 or any subsequent, distribution of allocations in a limited 

17 access privilege program if— 

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

19 such a way that the resulting distribution of limited 

20 access privilege shares meets the program require21 ments of subsection (c)(2)(A); and 

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

23 program are deposited in the Limited Access System 

24 Administration Fund established by section 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject to annual appro2 priations. 

3 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited ac4 cess privilege program, a Council shall— 

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

6 identify and assess the management, data collection 

7 and analysis, and enforcement programs that are di8 rectly related to and in support of the program; and 

9 ‘‘(2) provide, under section 304(d)(2), for a 

10 program of fees paid by limited access privilege hold11 ers that will cover the costs of management, data 

12 collection and analysis, and enforcement activities. 

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

14 access privilege program after the date of enactment of 

15 the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life En16 hancement Act, a Council may establish— 

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

18 subsequent allocation of a limited access privilege 

19 shall expire, or various periods for such expiration 

20 within a fishery if the Council determines that vari21 ation of the periods will further achievement of man22 agement goals; and 

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

24 and entrants to the program may acquire or reac25 quire allocations. 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 ‘‘(g) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PUR2 CHASE PROGRAM.— 

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

4 the Secretary may approve and implement, a pro5 gram that reserves up to 25 percent of any fees col6 lected from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to be 

7 used to issue obligations that aid in financing— 

8 ‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privi9 leges in that fishery by fishermen who fish from 

10 small vessels; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited ac12 cess privileges in that fishery by entry level 

13 fishermen. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council mak15 ing a submission under paragraph (1) shall rec16 ommend criteria, consistent with the provisions of 

17 this Act, that a fisherman must meet to qualify for 

18 guarantees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

19 paragraph (1) and the portion of funds to be allo20 cated for guarantees under each subparagraph. 

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

22 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this Act, or the amendments 

23 made by the American Fisheries Management and Marine 

24 Life Enhancement Act, shall be construed to require a re25 allocation of individual quota shares, fish processor quota 


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•HR 5018 IH 

1 shares, cooperative programs, or other quota programs, 

2 including sector allocation, under development or sub3 mitted by a Council or approved by the Secretary or by 

4 Congressional action before the date of enactment of 

5 the.’’. 

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

7 1854(d)(2)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

9 (C) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; 

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

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

12 paragraph’’; and 

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

14 through the end of subparagraph (A) and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

17 Secretary shall collect from a person that holds or 

18 transfers an individual quota issued under a limited 

19 access system established under section 303(b)(6) 

20 fees established by the Secretary in accordance with 

21 this section and section 9701(b) of title 31, United 

22 States Code. 

23 ‘‘(B) The fees required to be established and 

24 collected by the Secretary under this paragraph are 

25 the following: 


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

2 under a limited access system established after 

3 the date of the enactment of the American 

4 Fisheries Management and Marine Life En5 hancement Act, an initial allocation fee in an 

6 amount, determined by the Secretary, equal to 

7 1 percent of the ex-vessel value of fish author8 ized in one year under an individual quota, that 

9 shall be collected from the person to whom the 

10 individual quota is first issued. 

11 ‘‘(ii) An annual fee in an amount, deter12 mined by the Secretary, not to exceed 3 percent 

13 of the ex-vessel value of fish authorized each 

14 year under an individual quota share, that shall 

15 be collected from the holder of the individual 

16 quota share. 

17 ‘‘(iii) A transfer fee in an amount, deter18 mined by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent of 

19 the ex-vessel value of fish authorized each year 

20 under an individual quota share, that shall be 

21 collected from a person who permanently trans22 fers the individual quota share to another per23 son. 

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

25 this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that the 


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1 amount is commensurate with the cost of managing 

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

3 including reasonable costs for salaries, data analysis, 

4 and other costs directly related to fishery manage5 ment and enforcement. 

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

7 Councils, shall promulgate regulations prescribing 

8 the method of determining under this paragraph the 

9 ex-vessel value of fish authorized under an individual 

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

11 collecting fees. 

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

13 holders of individual quotas in a fishery shall be an 

14 offsetting collection and shall be available to the Sec15 retary only for the purposes of administering and 

16 implementing this Act with respect to that fishery.’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 304(d)(2)(F)(i), as redesignated by subsection (b)(1) of 

19 this section, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

20 305(h)(5)(B)’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘section 

21 305(h)(5)(B).’’. 

22 (d) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE DEFINED.—Sub23 section (a) of section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further 

24 amended by inserting after paragraph (23) the following: 

25 ‘‘(23A) The term ‘limited access privilege’— 


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

2 part of a limited access system under section 

3 303A to harvest a quantity of fish that may be 

4 received or held for exclusive use by a person; 

5 and 

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

7 but 

8 ‘‘(C) does not include community develop9 ment quotas as described in section 305(i).’’. 

10 SEC. 8. JOINT FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 

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

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

13 subsection (b)(1)(A)(iv); 

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

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

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

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

18 ‘‘(vi) access, directly or indirectly, for 

19 enforcement purposes any data or informa20 tion required to be provided under this 

21 title or regulations under this title, includ22 ing data from vessel monitoring systems, 

23 or any similar system, subject to the con24 fidentiality provisions of section 402;’’; 


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1 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (j); and 

3 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(h) JOINT FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT AGREE6 MENTS.— 

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

8 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a 

9 joint fisheries enforcement agreement with the Sec10 retary that will authorize the deputization and fund11 ing of State officers with marine fisheries respon12 sibilities to perform duties of the Secretary relating 

13 to fisheries enforcement provisions under this title or 

14 any other marine resource law enforced by the Sec15 retary. Upon receiving an application meeting the 

16 requirements of this subsection, the Secretary may 

17 enter into a joint fisheries enforcement agreement 

18 with the requesting State. 

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

20 participate in the cooperative agreements under this 

21 section if it is in, or bordering on, the Atlantic 

22 Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea), the Pacific 

23 Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico. 

24 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint fisheries enforce25 ment agreements executed under paragraph (1)— 


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

2 and intent of this section to the extent applica3 ble to the regulated activities; and 

4 ‘‘(B) shall provide for confidentiality of 

5 data and information submitted to the State 

6 under section 402. 

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

8 shall include in each joint fisheries enforcement 

9 agreement an allocation of funds to assist in man10 agement of the agreement. The allocation shall be 

11 fairly distributed among all eligible States partici12 pating in cooperative agreements under this sub13 section, based upon consideration of Federal marine 

14 fisheries needs, the specific marine fisheries con15 servation needs of each participating eligible State, 

16 and the capacity of the State to undertake the mis17 sion and assist with Federal needs. The agreement 

18 may provide for amounts to be withheld by the Sec19 retary for the cost of any technical or other assist20 ance provided to the State by the Secretary under 

21 the agreement. 

22 ‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.— 

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

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

25 later than 21 months after the date of enactment of 


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1 the American Fisheries Management and Marine 

2 Life Enhancement Act, the Secretary shall imple3 ment data-sharing measures to make any data re4 quired to be provided by this Act from vessel moni5 toring systems, or similar systems— 

6 ‘‘(A) directly accessible by State officers 

7 authorized under subsection (a) of this section; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) available to a State management 

10 agency involved in, or affected by, management 

11 of a fishery if the State has entered into an 

12 agreement with the Secretary under section 

13 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act. 

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

15 shall promptly enter into an agreement with a State 

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

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

18 or certification that State law allows the State 

19 to maintain the confidentiality of information 

20 required by Federal law to be kept confidential; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other rea23 sonable assurance that the State can and will 

24 protect the identity or business of any person to 

25 which such information relates.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. FUNDING FOR FISHERY OBSERVER PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) NORTH PACIFIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 313 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d); 

5 (2) by redesignating existing subsections (e), 

6 (f), (g), (h), and (i) as subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), 

7 and (e), respectively; and 

8 (3) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘North 

10 Pacific Fishery Observer Fund’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Fishery Observer Fund established under sec12 tion 403(e)’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking 

14 ‘‘303(b)(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘303(b)(8)’’. 

15 (b) OBSERVER PROGRAM FUNDING.—Section 403 

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

17 following: 

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

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may estab20 lish a funding mechanism to cover the cost of an ob21 server program to monitor any fishery managed 

22 under this Act or any other Act administered by the 

23 Secretary, including the Northern Pacific halibut 

24 fishery. 

25 ‘‘(2) FORM OF MECHANISM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) The Secretary may exercise broad 

2 discretion in developing a funding mechanism 

3 under this subsection, which may include a sys4 tem of fees, payments collected from limited ac5 cess privilege programs, or any other cost recov6 ery mechanism to pay for— 

7 ‘‘(i) the cost of stationing observers 

8 on board fishing vessels and United States 

9 fish processors, and 

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

11 and managing observer databases. 

12 ‘‘(B) The moneys collected under a fund13 ing mechanism established under this sub14 section for an observer program shall be— 

15 ‘‘(i) deposited into the Fishery Ob16 server Fund established under subsection 

17 (e); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) used only for the observer pro19 gram covering fisheries from which the 

20 moneys were collected. 

21 ‘‘(e) FISHERY OBSERVER FUND.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is es23 tablished on the books of the Treasury of the United 

24 States, a fund that shall be known as the Fishery 

25 Observer Fund (in this subsection referred to as the 


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1 ‘Fund’). The Fund shall be administered by the Sec2 retary of Commerce. The Fund shall be available, 

3 subject to the availability of appropriations, only to 

4 the Secretary for purposes of carrying out subsection 

5 (d). The Fund shall consist of all moneys deposited 

6 into in it accordance with this section, plus interest 

7 on those moneys. 

8 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNT.— 

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

10 of the Treasury to invest, at the direction of the 

11 Secretary of Commerce, such portion of the 

12 Fund that is not currently needed for the pur13 poses of each observer program covering fish14 eries from which moneys were collected under 

15 subsection (d). 

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

17 debt obligations with maturities suitable to the 

18 needs of the Fund, as determined by the Sec19 retary of Commerce. Investments in public debt 

20 obligations shall bear interest at rates deter21 mined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking 

22 into consideration the current market yield on 

23 outstanding marketable obligations of the 

24 United States of comparable maturity. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SALE OF OBLIGATION.—Any obligation ac2 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

3 the Treasury at the direction of the Secretary of 

4 Commerce at market prices. 

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

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

7 receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devices, contribu8 tions, and bequests. Amounts received under this sub9 section shall be deposited in the Fishery Observer Fund 

10 established under subsection (c).’’. 

11 SEC. 10. COMPETING STATUTES. 

12 (a) REQUIRED INFORMATION IN MANAGEMENT

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

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(17) contain information on the Council’s ef16 forts to study, develop, and describe appropriate al17 ternatives to recommend courses of action;’’. 

18 (b) REQUIRED ANALYSIS IN MANAGEMENT PLANS.— 

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

20 striking ‘‘describe the likely effects, if any, of the conserva21 tion and management measures on—’’ and inserting ‘‘ana22 lyze the likely effects, if any, including the cumulative con23 servation, economic, and social impacts of, the conserva24 tion and management measures on, and possible mitiga25 tion measures for—’’. 


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1 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

2 POLICY ACT OF 1969.— 

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

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

5 ‘‘SEC. 315. COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

6 POLICY ACT OF 1969. 

7 ‘‘Any fishery management plan, amendment to such 

8 a plan, or regulation implementing such a plan that is pre9 pared in accordance with applicable provisions of sections 

10 303 and 304 of this Act may be deemed to have been pre11 pared in compliance with the requirements of section 

12 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) by the Secretary.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con15 tents in the first section is amended by adding at 

16 the end of the items relating to title III the fol17 lowing: 

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

18 (3) EFFECT ON TIME REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

19 305(e) (16 U.S.C. 1855(E)) is amended by inserting 

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

21 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),’’ after ‘‘the Regulatory Flexi22 bility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),’’. 

23 (d) REVIEW OF FISHERY REGULATIONS IN NA24 TIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 

25 1854) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(j) REVIEW OF FISHERY PROPOSED REGULATIONS

2 IN NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall review any regulation 

4 proposed under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act 

5 (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) for the conservation or 

6 management of fish (whether or not such fish are 

7 managed under a fishery management plan), or for 

8 the conservation or management of essential fish 

9 habitat identified under section 303. 

10 ‘‘(2) A proposed regulation referred to in para11 graph (1) shall not take effect unless the Secretary 

12 certifies that the proposed regulation— 

13 ‘‘(A) meets the national standards under 

14 section 301(a); 

15 ‘‘(B) is consistent with the other provisions 

16 of this Act; and 

17 ‘‘(C) is consistent with any ecosystem18 based fishery management plan that includes 

19 the provisions authorized under section 

20 303(b)(14).’’. 

21 SEC. 11. DIMINISHED FISHERIES. 

22 (a) SUBSTITUTION OF ‘‘DIMINISHED’’ FOR ‘‘OVER23 FISHED’’.— 

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

25 amended— 


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

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

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

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

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

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

7 and inserting ‘‘DIMINISHED’’. 

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

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

10 (A) by inserting after paragraph (8) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(8A) The term ‘diminished’ means, with re13 spect to a stock of fish, that the stock is of a size 

14 that is below the natural range of fluctuation associ15 ated with the production of maximum sustainable 

16 yield.’’; and 

17 (B) by amending paragraph (29) to read 

18 as follows: 

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

20 level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capac21 ity of a fishery to produce the maximum sustainable 

22 yield on a continuing basis.’’. 

23 (3) DISTINGUISHING IN REPORTS.—Section 

24 304(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(1)) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The report shall 


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1 distinguish between fisheries that are diminished (or 

2 approaching that condition) as a result of fishing 

3 and fisheries that are diminished (or approaching 

4 that condition) as a result of factors other than fish5 ing. The report shall state, for each fishery identi6 fied as diminished or approaching that condition, 

7 whether the fishery is the target of directed fish8 ing.’’. 

9 (b) DURATION OF MEASURES TO REBUILD DIMIN10 ISHED FISHERIES.—Section 304(e)(4)(A)(ii) of the Mag11 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended to read as fol13 lows: 

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

15 cases where— 

16 ‘‘(I) the biology of the stock of 

17 fish, other environmental conditions, 

18 or management measures under an 

19 international agreement in which the 

20 United States participates dictate oth21 erwise; 

22 ‘‘(II) the Secretary determines 

23 that such 10-year period should be ex24 tended because the cause of the fish25 ery decline is outside the jurisdiction 


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1 of the Council or the rebuilding pro2 gram cannot be effective only by lim3 iting fishing activities; 

4 ‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 

5 that such 10-year period should be ex6 tended for one or more diminished 

7 components of a multi-species fishery; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(IV) the Secretary makes sub10 stantial changes to the rebuilding tar11 gets after the rebuilding plan has 

12 been put in place.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. NEW PROHIBITED ACTS. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION ON SALE OR PURCHASE OF REC15 REATIONAL CATCH.—Section 307 (16 U.S.C. 1857) is 

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

17 of paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(6) to sell or purchase any fish caught in rec21 reational fishing.’’. 

22 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF RETIRED VESSEL.— 

23 Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub25 paragraph (O); 


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

2 and inserting ‘‘carcass; or’’; and 

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) and be4 fore the last sentence the following: 

5 ‘‘(R) to use any fishing vessel to engage in 

6 fishing in Federal or State waters, or on the 

7 high seas or the waters of another country, 

8 after the Secretary has made a payment to the 

9 owner of that fishing vessel under section 

10 312(b)(2).’’. 

11 SEC. 13. FISHERY FAILURES. 

12 Section 312(a) (16 U.S.C. 1361a) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘commercial fishery’’ each place it appears and 

14 inserting ‘‘fishery’’. 

15 SEC. 14. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS. 

16 (a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PE17 RIOD.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘180 days,’’ and inserting ‘‘186 

19 days,’’. 

20 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 305(c)(3)(D)) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by 

22 inserting ‘‘or interim measures’’ after ‘‘emergency regula23 tions’’. 


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1 SEC. 15. BYCATCH AND SEABIRD INTERACTIONS. 

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

3 1881 et seq.) is further amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 409. GEAR GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF FISHERIES WITH MOST

7 URGENT PROBLEMS.—The Secretary shall— 

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

9 under subsection (a) that have the most urgent by10 catch problems or seabird interaction problems, 

11 based on comments received regarding the list; and 

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

13 fishing industry participants to develop new fishing 

14 gear, or modifications to existing fishing gear, that 

15 will help minimize bycatch and seabird interactions 

16 to the extent practicable. 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall, sub18 ject to the availability of appropriations, make grants for 

19 the development of fishing gear and modifications to exist20 ing fishing gear that will help— 

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

22 and 

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

24 habitat areas of particular concern. 

25 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the 

26 Congress annually on— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the amount expended to implement this 

2 section in the preceding year; 

3 ‘‘(2) developments in gear technology achieved 

4 under this section; 

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

6 implementation of this section; and 

7 ‘‘(4) any other relevant information. 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

9 carry out this section there is authorized to be appro10 priated to the Secretary $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2007 through 2011.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 in the first section is amended by adding at the end of 

14 the items relating to title IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 409. Bycatch identification and gear grant program.’’. 

15 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Commerce shall re16 port to the Congress within one year after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act on— 

18 (1) the extent of the problem of seabird inter19 action with fisheries of the United States; 

20 (2) efforts by the fishing industry and Regional 

21 Fishery Management Councils to address that prob22 lem; and 

23 (3) the extent of the problem of seabird inter24 action with fisheries other than the fisheries of the 

25 United States. 


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1 (d) INTERNATIONAL ACTION.—The Secretary of 

2 Commerce shall take appropriate action at appropriate 

3 international fisheries management bodies to reduce 

4 seabird interactions in fisheries. 

5 SEC. 16. OVER CAPITALIZATION. 

6 (a) DISCRETION OF SECRETARY TO CONDUCT FISH7 ING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAM.—Section 312(b) 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1861a(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘, at the re10 quest of the appropriate Council for fisheries under 

11 the authority of such Council, or the Governor of a 

12 State for fisheries under State authority,’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘that is man14 aged under a limited access system authorized by 

15 section 303(b)(6),’’ after ‘‘in a fishery’’; and 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para17 graph (5), and by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

18 following: 

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

20 authority over a fishery may request the Secretary to con21 duct a fishing capacity reduction program in the fishery 

22 under this subsection.’’. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT TO SURRENDER ALL PERMITS.— 

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

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) The objective of the program shall be to ob2 tain the maximum sustained reduction in fishing capacity 

3 at the least cost and in a minimum period of time. 

4 ‘‘(B) To achieve that objective, the Secretary is 

5 authorized to pay an amount to the owner of a fish6 ing vessel, if— 

7 ‘‘(i) such vessel is scrapped, or through the 

8 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

9 Guard is operating, subjected to title restric10 tions that permanently prohibit and effectively 

11 prevent its use in fishing; 

12 ‘‘(ii) all permits authorizing the participa13 tion of the vessel in any fishery under the juris14 diction of the United States are surrendered for 

15 permanent revocation; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the owner of the vessel and such per17 mits relinquishes any claim associated with the 

18 vessel and such permits that could qualify such 

19 owner for any present or future limited access 

20 system permit in the fishery for which the pro21 gram is established.’’. 

22 (c) ENSURING VESSELS DO NOT ENTER FOREIGN OR

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

24 1861a(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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

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

3 scrapped, unless the Secretary certifies that the vessel will 

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

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

6 (d) REPORT.— 

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

8 12 months after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, submit to the Congress a report— 

10 (A) identifying and describing the 20 fish11 eries in United States waters with the most se12 vere examples of excess harvesting capacity in 

13 the fisheries, based on value of each fishery and 

14 the amount of excess harvesting capacity as de15 termined by the Secretary; 

16 (B) recommending measures for reducing 

17 such excess harvesting capacity, including the 

18 retirement of any latent fishing permits that 

19 could contribute to further excess harvesting ca20 pacity in those fisheries; and 

21 (C) potential sources of funding for such 

22 measures. 

23 (2) BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec24 retary shall base the recommendations made with re25 spect to a fishery on— 


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1 (A) the most cost effective means of 

2 achieving voluntary reduction in capacity for 

3 the fishery using the potential for industry fi4 nancing; and 

5 (B) including measures to prevent the ca6 pacity that is being removed from the fishery 

7 from moving to other fisheries in the United 

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

9 the high seas. 

10 SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

12 amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) $338,970,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

15 ‘‘(2) $366,087,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

16 ‘‘(3) $395,374,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

17 ‘‘(4) $427,604,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

18 ‘‘(5) $461,812,000 for fiscal year 2011.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

20 in the first section is amended by inserting after the item 

21 relating to section 3 the following: 

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

Æ 


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