I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5051 

To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for fiscal years 2007 

through 2012, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2006 

Mr. GILCHREST (for himself, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. FARR, Mr. 

EHLERS, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. LEACH, and Mr. CASTLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce 

for the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act for fiscal years 2007 through 2012, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage6 ment Amendments Act of 2006’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Amendment of Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

Sec. 3. Changes in findings and definitions. 

Sec. 4. Highly migratory species. 

Sec. 5. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE I—SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 

Subtitle A—Amendments 

Sec. 101. Cumulative impacts. 

Sec. 102. Regional Fishery Management Councils. 

Sec. 103. Fishery management plan requirements. 

Sec. 104. Fishery management plan discretionary provisions. 

Sec. 105. Limited access privilege programs. 

Sec. 106. Action by Secretary on fishery management plans and amendments 

to plans. 

Sec. 107. Environmental review process. 

Sec. 108. Emergency regulations. 

Sec. 109. Joint enforcement agreements. 

Sec. 110. Transition to sustainable fisheries. 

Sec. 111. Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery program. 

Sec. 112. Fishery finance program hurricane assistance. 

Sec. 113. Shrimp fisheries hurricane assistance program. 

Sec. 114. Bycatch reduction engineering program. 

Sec. 115. Ecosystem management. 

Sec. 116. Community-based restoration program for fishery and coastal habitats. 

Sec. 117. Prohibited acts. 

Sec. 118. Cooperative restoration projects. 

Sec. 119. Enforcement. 

Sec. 120. Fishery permitting and registration programs. 

Sec. 121. Bycatch. 

Subtitle B—Collaborative Strategic Planning 

Sec. 131. Short title. 

Sec. 132. Definitions. 

Sec. 133. Program to achieve sustainable fisheries through collaborative strategic planning processes. 

Sec. 134. National Task Force on Sustainable Fishery Capacity. 

Sec. 135. Sustainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Management Plans. 

Sec. 136. Priority implementation. 

Sec. 137. Total allowable level of foreign fishing. 

TITLE II—INFORMATION AND RESEARCH 

Sec. 201. Recreational fisheries information. 

Sec. 202. Collection of information. 

Sec. 203. Access to certain information. 

Sec. 204. Cooperative research and management program. 

Sec. 205. Restoration study. 

Sec. 206. Fisheries conservation and management fund. 

Sec. 207. Use of fishery finance program and capital construction fund for sustainable purposes. 


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Sec. 208. Deep sea coral research and technology program. 

Sec. 209. Impact of turtle excluder devices on shrimping. 

Sec. 210. Hurricane effects on shrimp and oyster fisheries and habitats. 

TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES STATUTES 

Sec. 301. Reauthorization of other fisheries Acts. 

TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL 

Sec. 401. Finding with respect to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 

Sec. 402. Action to end illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing and reduce 

bycatch of protected marine species. 

Sec. 403. Rebuilding depleted fisheries. 

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY 

2 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

7 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish8 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

9 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 3. CHANGES IN FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS. 

11 (a) ECOSYSTEMS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(6) A national program for the conservation 

16 and management of the fishery resources of the 

17 United States is necessary to prevent overfishing, to 

18 rebuild depleted stocks, to protect the ecosystems as19 sociated with those fishery resources, to insure conVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 servation, to facilitate long-term protection of essen2 tial fish habitats, and to realize the full potential of 

3 the Nation’s fishery resources.’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (8) by inserting ‘‘and associ5 ated ecosystems’’ after ‘‘fishery resources’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(11) A number of the Fishery Management 

8 Councils have demonstrated significant progress in 

9 integrating ecosystem considerations in fisheries 

10 management using the existing authorities provided 

11 under this Act.’’. 

12 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 

13 1802) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(4A) The term ‘confidential information’ 

17 means— 

18 ‘‘(A) trade secrets; or 

19 ‘‘(B) commercial or financial information 

20 the disclosure of which is likely to result in sub21 stantial harm to the competitive position of the 

22 person who submitted the information to the 

23 Secretary.’’; 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(8A) The term ‘depleted’ means a fishery the 

2 abundance of which is at or below a level that jeop3 ardizes the capacity of the fishery to produce max4 imum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.’’; 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(13A) The term ‘regional fishery association’ 

8 means an association formed for the mutual benefit 

9 of members— 

10 ‘‘(A) to meet social and economic needs in 

11 a region or subregion; and 

12 ‘‘(B) comprised of persons engaging in the 

13 harvest or processing of fishery resources in 

14 that specific region or subregion or who other15 wise own or operate businesses substantially de16 pendent upon a fishery.’’; 

17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(20A) The term ‘import’— 

20 ‘‘(A) means to land on, bring into, or in21 troduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into, 

22 or introduce into, any place subject to the juris23 diction of the United States, whether or not 

24 such landing, bringing, or introduction conVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 stitutes an importation within the meaning of 

2 the customs laws of the United States; but 

3 ‘‘(B) does not include any activity de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) with respect to fish 

5 caught in the exclusive economic zone or by a 

6 vessel of the United States.’’; 

7 (5) by inserting after paragraph (23) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(23A) The term ‘limited access privilege’— 

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

11 part of a limited access system under section 

12 303A to harvest a quantity of fish that may be 

13 received or held for exclusive use by a person; 

14 and 

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

16 but 

17 ‘‘(C) does not include community develop18 ment quotas as described in section 305(i).’’; 

19 (6) by inserting after paragraph (27) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(27A) The term ‘observer information’ means 

22 any information collected, observed, retrieved, or cre23 ated by an observer or electronic monitoring system 

24 pursuant to authorization by the Secretary, or col25 lected as part of a cooperative research initiative, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 cluding fish harvest or processing observations, fish 

2 sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, ves3 sel or processor-specific information (including any 

4 safety, location, or operating condition observations), 

5 and video, audio, photographic, or written docu6 ments.’’; and 

7 (7) in paragraph (29) by striking ‘‘terms ‘over8 fishing’ and ‘overfished’ Mean’’ and inserting ‘‘term 

9 ‘overfishing’ means’’. 

10 (c) REDESIGNATION.—Paragraphs (1) through (45) 

11 of section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by subsection 

12 (a), are redesignated as paragraphs (1) thorough (50), re13 spectively. 

14 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) The following provisions of the Act are 

16 amended by striking ‘‘an individual fishing quota’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘a limited access privilege’’: 

18 (A) Section 402(b)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 

19 1881a(b)(1)(D)). 

20 (B) Section 407(a)(1)(D) and (c)(1) (16 

21 U.S.C. 1883(a)(1)(D); (c)(1)). 

22 (2) The following provisions of the Act are 

23 amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing quota’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘limited access privilege’’: 


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1 (A) Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C. 

2 1854(c)(3)). 

3 (B) Section 304(d)(2)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 

4 1854(d)(2)(A)(i)). 

5 (C) Section 407(c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 

6 1883(c)(2)(B)). 

7 (3) Section 305(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(h)(1)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘individual fishing quotas,’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘limited access privileges,’’. 

10 SEC. 4. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES. 

11 Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

13 ‘‘The’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) TRADITIONAL PARTICIPATION.—For fisheries 

16 being managed under an international fisheries agreement 

17 to which the United States is a party, Council or Secre18 tarial action, if any, shall reflect traditional participation 

19 in the fishery, relative to other Nations, by fishermen of 

20 the United States on fishing vessels of the United States. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROMOTION OF STOCK MANAGEMENT.—If a rel22 evant international fisheries organization does not have a 

23 process for developing a formal plan to rebuild a depleted 

24 stock or a stock that is approaching a condition of being 

25 depleted, the provisions of this Act in this regard shall 


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1 be communicated to and promoted by the United States 

2 in the international or regional fisheries organization.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary to carry out the provisions of this Act— 

9 ‘‘(1) $328,004,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

10 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

11 years 2008 through 2012.’’. 

12 TITLE I—SUSTAINABLE 

13 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 

14 Subtitle A—Amendments 

15 SEC. 101. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS. 

16 (a) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Section 301(a) (16 

17 U.S.C. 1851(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘commercial 

19 and recreational’’ before ‘‘fishing industry’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘by utilizing 

21 economic and social data and assessment methods 

22 based on the best economic and social information 

23 available,’’ after ‘‘fishing communities’’. 

24 (b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Section 303(a)(9) (16 

25 U.S.C. 1853(a)(9)) is amended by striking ‘‘describe the 


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1 likely effects, if any, of the conservation and management 

2 measures on—’’ and inserting ‘‘analyze the likely effects, 

3 if any, including the cumulative economic and social im4 pacts, of the conservation and management measures on, 

5 and possible mitigation measures for—’’. 

6 SEC. 102. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS. 

7 (a) TRIBAL ALTERNATE ON PACIFIC COUNCIL.—Sec8 tion 302(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5)) is amended by add9 ing at the end thereof the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) The tribal representative appointed under sub11 paragraph (A) may designate as an alternate, during the 

12 period of the representative’s term, an individual knowl13 edgeable concerning tribal rights, tribal law, and the fish14 ery resources of the geographical area concerned.’’. 

15 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.— 

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

17 (1) by striking so much of subsection (g) as 

18 precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) COMMITTEES AND ADVISORY PANELS.— 

20 ‘‘(1)(A) Each Council shall establish, maintain, 

21 and appoint the members of a scientific and statis22 tical committee to assist it in the development, col23 lection, evaluation, and peer review of such statis24 tical, biological, economic, social, and other scientific 

25 information as is relevant to such Council’s developVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 ment and amendment of any fishery management 

2 plan. 

3 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 

4 shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for 

5 fishery management decisions, including rec6 ommendations for acceptable biological catch or 

7 maximum sustainable yield, and optimum yield, and 

8 reports on stock status and health, bycatch, seabird 

9 bycatch, habitat status, socioeconomic impacts of 

10 management measures, and sustainability of fishing 

11 practices. 

12 ‘‘(C) Members appointed by the Councils to the 

13 scientific and statistical committees— 

14 ‘‘(i) shall be Federal employees, State 

15 employees, academicians, or independent 

16 experts with strong scientific or technical 

17 credentials and experience; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) shall be individuals who have 

19 demonstrated scientific expertise in fish20 eries science or marine ecology, or dem21 onstrated expertise in economics or social 

22 science as it relates to fisheries manage23 ment, and have no direct financial interest 

24 or are not employed by any person with a 

25 direct financial interest in any fishery. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, jointly with the Councils, 

2 shall establish a peer review process for scientific in3 formation used to advise the Councils about the con4 servation and management of a fishery. The review 

5 process, which may include existing committees or 

6 panels, is deemed to satisfy the requirements of the 

7 guidelines issued pursuant to section 515 of the 

8 Treasury and General Government Appropriations 

9 Act for Fiscal year 2001 (Public Law 106–554—Ap10 pendix C; 114 Stat. 2763A–153). 

11 ‘‘(E) In addition to the provisions of subsection 

12 (f)(7), the Secretary shall pay a stipend to members 

13 of the scientific and statistical committees or advi14 sory panels who are not employed by the Federal 

15 government or a State marine fisheries agency. 

16 ‘‘(F) Each Council shall require that the mem17 bership of its scientific and statistical committee or 

18 other appropriate scientific or peer review committee 

19 be represented at all Council meetings.’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘other’’ in paragraph (2); and 

21 (3) by resetting the left margin of paragraphs 

22 (2) through (5) 2 ems from the left. 

23 (c) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.—Section 302(h) (16 

24 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘authority, and’’ in paragraph 

2 (5) and inserting ‘‘authority;’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para4 graph (7); and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(6) recommend to the Secretary annual catch 

8 limits for each of its managed fisheries, that are at 

9 or below the optimum yield, as recommended by its 

10 scientific and statistical committee; and’’. 

11 (d) VOTING MEMBERS.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1852) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(A)— 

14 (A) in the first sentence by inserting be15 fore the period the following: ‘‘, and must not 

16 have been found by the Secretary, after notice 

17 and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance 

18 with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, 

19 to have committed an act prohibited by sub20 paragraph (D), (E), (F), (H), (I), or (L) of sec21 tion 307(1) or section 307(2).’’; and 

22 (B) in the second sentence by striking 

23 ‘‘Fishery Conservation Amendments of 1990’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Fishery ConVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 servation and Management Amendments Act of 

2 2006’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(B)— 

4 (A) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘of the 

5 active’’ and inserting ‘‘among the active’’; 

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of the 

7 first sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘and 

8 representatives of the marine conservation pub9 lic interest sector and academic sector who are 

10 knowledgeable regarding the conservation and 

11 management of the fishery resources of the geo12 graphic area concerned.’’; and 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘Merchant Marine and 

14 Fisheries’’ and inserting ‘‘Resources’’; and 

15 (3) in subsection (b)(2)(C) by striking the third 

16 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘Each list shall 

17 consist of a broad slate of candidates for each va18 cancy, shall include at least two representatives from 

19 each of the commercial fishing industry sector, the 

20 recreational fishing sector, and the marine conserva21 tion public interest sector and academic sector, and 

22 shall consist solely of individuals who are knowledge23 able regarding the conservation and management of 

24 the fishery resources of the geographical area con25 cerned. The third sentence of this subparagraph 


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1 shall not apply to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Man2 agement Council.’’. 

3 (e) TRAINING.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste8 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Amend9 ments Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consultation 

10 with the Councils and the National Sea Grant Col11 lege Program, shall develop a training course for 

12 newly appointed Council members. The course may 

13 cover a variety of topics relevant to matters before 

14 the Councils, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assess16 ment methods; 

17 ‘‘(B) basic instruction in principles of ecol18 ogy; 

19 ‘‘(C) fishery management techniques, data 

20 needs, and Council procedures; 

21 ‘‘(D) social science and fishery economics; 

22 ‘‘(E) tribal treaty rights and native cus23 toms, access, and other rights related to West24 ern Pacific indigenous communities; 


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1 ‘‘(F) legal requirements of this Act, includ2 ing conflict of interest and disclosure provisions 

3 of this section and related policies; 

4 ‘‘(G) other relevant legal and regulatory 

5 requirements, including the National Environ6 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

7 seq.); 

8 ‘‘(H) public process for development of 

9 fishery management plans; and 

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

11 ‘‘(2) MEMBER TRAINING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) TRAINING COURSE.—The training 

13 course under paragraph (1) shall be available to 

14 both new and existing Council members, and 

15 may be made available to committee or advisory 

16 panel members and members of the public as 

17 resources allow. 

18 ‘‘(B) UPDATED AND ADVANCED INFORMA19 TION FOR EXISTING COUNCIL MEMBERS.—The 

20 Secretary may also provide training for existing 

21 Council members regarding updated informa22 tion on scientific and regional issues. 

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

24 Councils may establish a Council coordination committee 

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1 tors of each of the 8 Councils described in subsection 

2 (a)(1), or other Council members or staff, in order to dis3 cuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including issues 

4 related to the implementation of this Act.’’. 

5 (f) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—Section 302(i) (16 

6 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘to the Coun8 cils or to the scientific and statistical committees or 

9 advisory panels established under subsection (g).’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘to the Councils, the Council coordina11 tion committee established under subsection (l), or 

12 to the scientific and statistical committees or other 

13 committees or advisory panels established under sub14 section (g).’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘of a Council, 

16 and of the scientific and statistical committee and 

17 advisory panels established under subsection (g):’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘of a Council, of the Council coordina19 tion committee established under subsection (l), and 

20 of the scientific and statistical committees or other 

21 committees or advisory panels established under sub22 section (g):’’; and 

23 (3) in paragraph (3)(A) by inserting ‘‘the Coun24 cil Coordination Committee established under sub25 section (1),’’ after ‘‘Council,’’; and 


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1 (4) in paragraph (3)(A) by inserting ‘‘other 

2 Council committee,’’ after ‘‘committee,’’. 

3 (g) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 302(j) (16 

4 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘lobbying, advocacy,’’ after 

6 ‘‘processing,’’ in paragraph (2); 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘jurisdiction.’’ in paragraph (2) 

8 and inserting ‘‘jurisdiction, or with respect to any 

9 other individual or organization with a financial in10 terest in such activity.’’; 

11 (3) by striking subparagraph (B) of paragraph 

12 (5) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) be kept on file by the Council and made 

14 available on the Internet and for public inspection at 

15 the Council offices during reasonable times; and’’; 

16 and 

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

18 ‘‘(9) On January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, 

19 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Senate Com20 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

21 House of Representatives Committee on Resources on ac22 tion taken by the Secretary and the Councils to implement 

23 the disclosure of financial interest and recusal require24 ments of this subsection.’’. 


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1 (h) GULF OF MEXICO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

2 COUNCIL.—Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub5 paragraph (E); and 

6 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary shall appoint to the Gulf of 

9 Mexico Fisheries Management Council— 

10 ‘‘(I) 5 representatives of the commercial fishing 

11 sector; 

12 ‘‘(II) 5 representatives of the recreational fish13 ing and charter fishing sectors; and 

14 ‘‘(III) 1 other individual who is knowledgeable 

15 regarding the conservation and management of fish16 eries resources in the jurisdiction of the Council. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The Governor of a State submitting a list of 

18 names of individuals for appointment by the Secretary of 

19 Commerce to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management 

20 Council under subparagraph (C) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(I) at least 1 nominee each from the commer22 cial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors; and 

23 ‘‘(II) at least 1 other individual who is knowl24 edgeable regarding the conservation and manageVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 ment of fisheries resources in the jurisdiction of the 

2 Council. 

3 ‘‘(iii) If the Secretary determines that the list of 

4 names submitted by the Governor does not meet the re5 quirements of clause (ii), the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) publish a notice in the Federal Register 

7 asking the residents of that State to submit the 

8 names and pertinent biographical data of individuals 

9 who would meet the requirement not met for ap10 pointment to the Council; and 

11 ‘‘(II) add the name of any qualified individual 

12 submitted by the public who meets the unmet re13 quirement to the list of names submitted by the 

14 Governor. 

15 ‘‘(iv) For purposes of clause (ii), an individual who 

16 owns or operates a fish farm outside of the United States 

17 shall not be considered to be a representative of the com18 mercial fishing sector.’’. 

19 (i) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON GULF

20 COUNCIL AMENDMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before August 2011, the 

22 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the 

23 Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, shall 

24 analyze the impact of the amendment made by sub25 section (h) and determine whether section 


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1 302(b)(2)(D) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con2 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 1852(b)(2)(D)) has resulted in a fair and balanced 

4 apportionment of the active participants in the com5 mercial and recreational fisheries under the jurisdic6 tion of the Council. 

7 (2) REPORT.—By no later than August 2011, 

8 the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Senate 

9 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation and the House of Representatives Committee 

11 on Resources setting forth the Secretary’s findings 

12 and determination, including any recommendations 

13 for legislative or other changes that may be nec14 essary to achieve such a fair and balanced appor15 tionment, including whether to renew the authority. 

16 SEC. 103. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 

18 1853(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) striking ‘‘and charter fishing’’ in paragraph 

20 (5) and inserting ‘‘charter fishing, and fish proc21 essing’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘economic information nec23 essary to meet the requirements of this Act,’’ in 

24 paragraph (5) after ‘‘number of hauls,’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ the first place it ap2 pears in paragraph (13) and inserting ‘‘fishery, in3 cluding their economic impact,’’; 

4 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

5 paragraph (13); 

6 (5) by striking ‘‘allocate’’ in paragraph (14) 

7 and inserting ‘‘allocate, taking into consideration the 

8 economic impact of the harvest restrictions or recov9 ery benefits on the fishery participants in each sec10 tor,’’; 

11 (6) by striking ‘‘fishery.’’ in paragraph (14) 

12 and inserting ‘‘fishery; and’’; and 

13 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(15)(A) specify, in the plan or implementing 

15 regulations, annual catch limits that are rec16 ommended by the Council or established by the Sec17 retary based on the best scientific information avail18 able at a level that does not exceed optimum yield; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) require that the amount of any harvest ex21 ceeding the specified annual catch limit shall be de22 ducted from the following year’s annual catch 

23 limit.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a)(5) shall take effect 2 years after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) ENDING OVERFISHING.— 

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

6 amended— 

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

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

9 3 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by 

10 this Act) and inserting ‘‘depleted’’; and 

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

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

13 and inserting ‘‘DEPLETED’’. 

14 (2) REQUIRED PROVISIONS OF FISHERY MAN15 AGEMENT PLANS.—Section 303(a)(10) (16 U.S.C. 

16 1853(a)(10)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(10) specify objective and measurable criteria 

18 for identifying when the fishery to which the plan 

19 applies is depleted or being subjected to overfishing 

20 (with an analysis of how the criteria were deter21 mined and the relationship of the criteria to the re22 productive potential of stocks of fish in that fish23 ery);’’. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 (3) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Section 

2 304(e)(4)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(4)(A)(i)) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(i) be as short as possible, not to ex5 ceed one year unless otherwise provided for 

6 under an international agreement in which 

7 the United States participates, taking into 

8 account the status and biology of any de9 pleted stocks of fish, the needs of fishing 

10 communities, recommendations by inter11 national organizations in which the United 

12 States participates, and the interaction of 

13 the depleted stock of fish within the ma14 rine ecosystem; and’’. 

15 (d) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Section 303(c) (16 

16 U.S.C. 1853(c)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

18 (1); 

19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and 

20 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(3) implementing conservation and manage23 ment measures under a fishery ecosystem plan under 

24 subsection (e)(3) may be submitted at any time after 

25 the Council adopts the fishery ecosystem plan.’’. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 SEC. 104. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN DISCRETIONARY 

2 PROVISIONS. 

3 Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’ in paragraph 

5 (2); 

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at 

7 the end of paragraph (2)(A) (as designated by sub8 paragraph (A) of this paragraph); 

9 (3) by inserting at the end of paragraph (2) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(B) designate such zones in areas where deep 

12 sea corals are identified under section 408, to pro13 tect deep sea corals from physical damage from fish14 ing gear or to prevent loss or damage to such fishing 

15 gear from interactions with deep sea corals, after 

16 considering long-term sustainable uses of fishery re17 sources in such areas;’’; 

18 (4) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(6) establish a limited access system for the 

21 fishery in order to achieve optimum yield if, in devel22 oping such system, the Council and the Secretary 

23 take into account— 

24 ‘‘(A) the conservation requirements of this 

25 Act with respect to the fishery; 

26 ‘‘(B) present participation in the fishery; 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) historical fishing practices in, and de2 pendence on, the fishery; 

3 ‘‘(D) the economics of the fishery; 

4 ‘‘(E) the capability of fishing vessels used 

5 in the fishery to engage in other fisheries; 

6 ‘‘(F) the cultural and social framework rel7 evant to the fishery and any affected fishing 

8 communities; 

9 ‘‘(G) the fair and equitable distribution of 

10 access privileges to a public resource; and 

11 ‘‘(H) any other relevant considerations;’’; 

12 (5) by striking ‘‘(other than economic data)’’ in 

13 paragraph (7); 

14 (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

15 paragraph (11); and 

16 (7) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para17 graph (14) and inserting after paragraph (11) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(12) establish a process for complying with the 

20 National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 

21 et seq.) pursuant to section 304(h) of this Act; 

22 ‘‘(13) include management measures in the 

23 plan to conserve target and non-target species and 

24 habitats, considering the variety of ecological factors 

25 affecting fishery populations; and’’. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 SEC. 105. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS. 

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

3 is amended— 

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

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

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

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

8 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage9 ment Amendments Act of 2006, a Council may submit, 

10 and the Secretary may approve, for a fishery that is man11 aged under a limited access system, a limited access privi12 lege program to harvest fish if the program meets the re13 quirements of this section. 

14 ‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTER15 EST.—A limited access system, limited access privilege, 

16 quota share, or other authorization established, imple17 mented, or managed under this Act— 

18 ‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the pur19 poses of sections 307, 308, and 309; 

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

21 any time in accordance with this Act, including rev22 ocation for failure to comply with the terms of the 

23 plan or if the system is found to have jeopardized 

24 the sustainability of the stock or the safety of fisher25 men; 


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•HR 5051 IH 

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

2 to the holder of such limited access privilege, quota 

3 share, or other such limited access system authoriza4 tion if it is revoked, limited, or modified; 

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

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

7 the fish is harvested by the holder; and 

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

9 to the holder of the limited access privilege or quota 

10 share to engage in activities permitted by such lim11 ited access privilege or quota share. 

12 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVI13 LEGES.— 

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

15 with the other requirements of this Act, any limited 

16 access privilege program to harvest fish submitted 

17 by a Council or approved by the Secretary under 

18 this section shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) if established in a fishery that is de20 pleted or subject to a rebuilding plan, assist in 

21 its rebuilding; and 

22 ‘‘(B) if established in a fishery that is de23 termined by the Secretary or the Council to 

24 have over-capacity, contribute to reducing ca25 pacity; 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) promote— 

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

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the conservation and manage5 ment of the fishery; 

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

7 United States citizen, a corporation, partner8 ship, or other entity established under the laws 

9 of the United States or any State, or a perma10 nent resident alien, that meets the eligibility 

11 and participation requirements established in 

12 the program from acquiring a privilege to har13 vest fish; 

14 ‘‘(E) require that all fish harvested under 

15 a limited access privilege program be processed 

16 by vessels of the United States, in United 

17 States waters, or on United States soil (includ18 ing any territory of the United States). 

19 ‘‘(F) specify the goals of the program; 

20 ‘‘(G) include provisions for the regular 

21 monitoring and review by the Council and the 

22 Secretary of the operations of the program, in23 cluding determining progress in meeting the 

24 goals of the program and this Act, and any nec25 essary modification of the program to meet 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 those goals, with a formal and detailed review 

2 5 years after the establishment of the program 

3 and every 5 years thereafter; 

4 ‘‘(H) include an effective system for en5 forcement, monitoring, and management of the 

6 program, including the use of observers; 

7 ‘‘(I) include an appeals process for admin8 istrative review of determinations with respect 

9 to the Secretary’s decisions regarding adminis10 tration of the limited access privilege program; 

11 ‘‘(J) provide for the establishment by the 

12 Secretary, in consultation with the Department 

13 of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, 

14 for an information collection and review process 

15 to provide any additional information needed by 

16 the Department of Justice and the Federal 

17 Trade Commission to determine whether any il18 legal acts of anti-competition, anti-trust, price 

19 collusion, or price fixing have occurred among 

20 regional fishery associations or persons receiv21 ing limited access privileges under the program; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(K) provide for the revocation by the Sec24 retary of limited access privileges held by any 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 person found to have violated the antitrust laws 

2 of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

4 requirement of paragraph (1)(E) if the Secretary de5 termines that— 

6 ‘‘(A) the fishery has historically processed 

7 the fish outside of the United States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the United States has a seafood safe9 ty equivalency agreement with the country 

10 where processing will occur (or other assurance 

11 that seafood safety procedures to be used in 

12 such processing are equivalent or superior to 

13 the applicable United States seafood safety 

14 standards). 

15 ‘‘(3) FISHING COMMUNITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

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

18 participate in a limited access privilege 

19 program to harvest fish, a fishing commu20 nity shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) be located within the man22 agement area of the relevant Council; 

23 ‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by 

24 the relevant Council, approved by the 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 Secretary, and published in the Fed2 eral Register; 

3 ‘‘(III) consist of residents who 

4 conduct commercial or recreational 

5 fishing, processing, or fishery-depend6 ent support businesses within the 

7 Council’s management area; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) develop and submit a com9 munity sustainability plan to the 

10 Council and the Secretary that dem11 onstrates how the plan will address 

12 the social and economic development 

13 needs of fishing communities, includ14 ing those that have not historically 

15 had the resources to participate in the 

16 fishery, for approval based on criteria 

17 developed by the Council that have 

18 been approved by the Secretary and 

19 published in the Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

21 PLAN.—The Secretary shall deny limited 

22 access privileges granted under this section 

23 for any person who fails to comply with the 

24 requirements of the plan. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In devel2 oping participation criteria for eligible commu3 nities under this paragraph, a Council shall 

4 consider— 

5 ‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing 

6 practices in, and dependence on, the fish7 ery; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the cultural and social frame9 work relevant to the fishery; 

10 ‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to 

11 fishery; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of pro13 jected economic and social impacts associ14 ated with implementation of limited access 

15 privilege programs on harvesters, captains, 

16 crew, processors, and other businesses sub17 stantially dependent upon the fishery in 

18 the region or subregion; 

19 ‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, oper20 ational transparency, and equitability of 

21 the community sustainability plan; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) the potential for improving eco23 nomic conditions in remote coastal commu24 nities lacking resources to participate in 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 harvesting or processing activities in the 

2 fishery. 

3 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to par5 ticipate in a limited access privilege program to 

6 harvest fish, a regional fishery association 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) be located within the management 

9 area of the relevant Council; 

10 ‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the 

11 relevant Council, approved by the Sec12 retary, and published in the Federal Reg13 ister; 

14 ‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with 

15 established by-laws and operating proce16 dures consisting of participants in the fish17 ery, including commercial or recreational 

18 fishing, processing, fishery-dependent sup19 port businesses, or fishing communities; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iv) develop and submit a regional 

22 fishery association plan to the Council and 

23 the Secretary for approval based on cri24 teria developed by the Council that have 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 been approved by the Secretary and pub2 lished in the Federal Register. 

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

4 The Secretary shall deny limited access privi5 leges granted under this section for any person 

6 who fails to comply with the requirements of 

7 the plan. 

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 processing 

13 practices in, and dependence on, the fish14 ery; 

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, processors, and other businesses sub24 stantially dependent upon the fishery in 

25 the region or subregion, upon the adminisVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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•HR 5051 IH 

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 ‘‘(5) 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 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 5051 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; 

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1 vesting and processing sectors of the fishery; 

2 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 ‘‘(6) 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 

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•HR 5051 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 AND GULF REF23 ERENDUM.— 

24 ‘‘(i) Except as provided in clause (iii) 

25 for the Gulf of Mexico commercial red 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 snapper fishery, the New England and 

2 Gulf Councils may not submit, and the 

3 Secretary may not approve or implement, a 

4 fishery management plan or amendment 

5 that creates an individual fishing quota 

6 program, including a Secretarial plan, un7 less such a system, as ultimately developed, 

has been approved by more than 2 8 ⁄3 of 

9 those voting in a referendum among eligi10 ble permit holders with respect to the New 

11 England Council, and by a majority of 

12 those voting in the referendum among eli13 gible permit holders with respect to the 

14 Gulf Council. For multispecies permits in 

15 the Gulf, only those participants who have 

16 substantially fished the species proposed to 

17 be included in the individual fishing quota 

18 program shall be eligible to vote in such a 

19 referendum. If an individual fishing quota 

20 program fails to be approved by the req21 uisite number of those voting, it may be 

22 revised and submitted for approval in a 

23 subsequent referendum. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a 

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•HR 5051 IH 

1 cluding notifying all persons eligible to 

2 participate in the referendum and making 

3 available to them information concerning 

4 the schedule, procedures, and eligibility re5 quirements for the referendum process and 

6 the proposed individual fishing quota pro7 gram. Within 1 year after the date of en8 actment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

9 Conservation and Management Amend10 ments Act of 2006, the Secretary shall 

11 publish guidelines and procedures to deter12 mine procedures and voting eligibility re13 quirements for referenda and to conduct 

14 such referenda in a fair and equitable 

15 manner. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The provisions of section 407(c) 

17 of this Act shall apply in lieu of this sub18 paragraph for an individual fishing quota 

19 program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial 

20 red snapper fishery. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Chapter 35 of title 44, United 

22 States Code, (commonly known as the Pa23 perwork Reduction Act) does not apply to 

24 the referenda conducted under this sub25 paragraph. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(7) 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 

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

6 any conditions that apply to the transferability 

7 of limited access privilege shares that is con8 sistent with the policies adopted by the Council 

9 for the fishery under paragraph (3); and 

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

11 monitoring of transfers (including sales and 

12 leases) of limited access privilege shares. 

13 ‘‘(8) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

14 SECRETARIAL PLANS.—This subsection also applies 

15 to a plan prepared and implemented by the Sec16 retary under section 304(g). 

17 ‘‘(9) ANTITRUST SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in 

18 this Act shall be construed to modify, impair, or su19 persede the operation of any of the antitrust laws. 

20 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 

21 ‘antitrust laws’ has the meaning given such term in 

22 subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act, 

23 except that such term includes section 5 of the Fed24 eral Trade Commission Act to the extent that such 

25 section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In estab2 lishing a limited access privilege program, a Council may 

3 consider, and provide for, if appropriate, an auction sys4 tem or other program to collect royalties for the initial, 

5 or any subsequent, distribution of allocations in a limited 

6 access privilege program if— 

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

8 such a way that the resulting distribution of limited 

9 access privilege shares meets the program require10 ments of subsection (c)(3)(A); and 

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

12 program are deposited in the Limited Access System 

13 Administration Fund established by section 

14 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject to annual appro15 priations. 

16 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited ac17 cess privilege program, a Council shall— 

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

19 identify and assess the management, data collection 

20 and analysis, and enforcement programs that are di21 rectly related to and in support of the program; and 

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

23 program of fees paid by limited access privilege hold24 ers that will cover the costs of management, data 

25 collection and analysis, and enforcement activities. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

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

2 access privilege program after the date of enactment of 

3 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage4 ment Amendments Act of 2006, a Council may establish— 

5 ‘‘(1) a set term after which any initial or subse6 quent allocation of a limited access privilege shall ex7 pire; 

8 ‘‘(2) different set terms within a fishery if the 

9 Council determines that variation of terms will fur10 ther management goals; and 

11 ‘‘(3) a mechanism under which participants in 

12 and entrants to the program may acquire or reac13 quire allocations. 

14 ‘‘(g) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PUR15 CHASE PROGRAM.— 

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

17 the Secretary may approve and implement, a pro18 gram which reserves up to 25 percent of any fees 

19 collected from a fishery under section 304(d)(2) to 

20 be used, pursuant to section 1104A(a)(7) of the 

21 Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 

22 1274(a)(7)), to issue obligations that aid in financ23 ing— 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privi2 leges in that fishery by fishermen who fish from 

3 small vessels; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited ac5 cess privileges in that fishery by entry level 

6 fishermen. 

7 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council mak8 ing a submission under paragraph (1) shall rec9 ommend criteria, consistent with the provisions of 

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

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

12 paragraph (1) and the portion of funds to be allo13 cated for guarantees under each subparagraph. 

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

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

16 made by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

17 Management Amendments Act of 2006, shall be construed 

18 to require a reallocation of individual quota shares, proc19 essor quota shares, cooperative programs, or other quota 

20 programs, including sector allocation, under development 

21 or submitted by a Council or approved by the Secretary 

22 or by Congressional action before the date of enactment 

23 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man24 agement Amendments Act of 2006.’’. 


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•HR 5051 IH 

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

2 1854(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘management and 

3 enforcement’’ and inserting ‘‘management, data collection, 

4 and enforcement’’. 

5 (c) INVESTMENT IN UNITED STATES SEAFOOD

6 PROCESSING FACILITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce 

7 shall work with the Small Business Administration and 

8 other Federal agencies to develop financial and other 

9 mechanisms to encourage United States investment in sea10 food processing facilities in the United States for fisheries 

11 that lack capacity needed to process fish harvested by 

12 United States vessels in compliance with the Magnuson— 

13 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 304(d)(2)(C)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(C)(i)) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B)’’ and all that follows 

18 and inserting ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B).’’. 

19 (e) APPLICATION WITH AMERICAN FISHERIES

20 ACT.—Nothing in section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens 

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

22 1801 et seq.), as added by subsection (a), shall be con23 strued to modify or supersede any provision of the Amer24 ican Fisheries Act (46 U.S.C. 12102 note; 16 U.S.C. 1851 

25 note; et seq.). 


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•HR 5051 IH 

1 SEC. 106. ACTION BY SECRETARY ON FISHERY MANAGE2 MENT PLANS AND AMENDMENTS TO PLANS. 

3 (a) REVIEW OF PLANS AND INITIAL REGULA4 TIONS.—Section 304(a) (16 U.S.C. 1854(a)) is amended 

5 to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(a) REVIEW OF PLANS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PRELIMINARY EVALUATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) Upon transmittal by the Council to 

9 the Secretary of a fishery management plan or 

10 plan amendment and any proposed imple11 menting regulations prepared under section 

12 303(c)(1), the Secretary shall make a prelimi13 nary evaluation of the management plan or 

14 amendment as to whether it is sufficient in 

15 scope and substance to warrant review under 

16 this subsection and consistent with the national 

17 standards, the other provisions of this Act, and 

18 other applicable laws. 

19 ‘‘(B) If the preliminary evaluation is nega20 tive, the Secretary shall disapprove the plan or 

21 amendment and notify the Council, in writing, 

22 of the reasons for the disapproval. 

23 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF PROPOSED PLANS, AMEND24 MENTS, AND RULES.—By the 15th day following an 

25 affirmative preliminary evaluation under (1)(A), the 

26 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a notice stating that the plan or 

2 amendment is available and that written data, 

3 views, or comments of interested persons on the 

4 plan or amendment may be submitted to the 

5 Secretary during the 50-day period beginning 

6 on the date the notice is published; and 

7 ‘‘(B) any proposed implementing regula8 tions that the Secretary preliminarily deter9 mines to be consistent with the fishery manage10 ment plan or amendment, this Act, and any 

11 other applicable law, subject to the Secretary’s 

12 authority to include such changes to the Coun13 cil’s proposed regulations as the Secretary be14 lieves necessary, together with an explanation of 

15 those changes for a 50-day comment period. 

16 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL DECISION ON PLAN OR

17 AMENDMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall approve, dis19 approve, or partially approve a plan or amend20 ment within 30 days after the end of the com21 mend period under paragraph (2) by written 

22 notice to the Council. 

23 ‘‘(B) In making this determination, the 

24 Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) take into account the information, 

2 views, and comments received from inter3 ested persons; 

4 ‘‘(ii) consult with the Secretary of 

5 State with respect to foreign fishing; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) consult with the Secretary of the 

7 department in which the Coast Guard is 

8 operating with respect to enforcement at 

9 sea and to fishery access adjustments re10 ferred to in section 303(a)(5). 

11 ‘‘(C) A notice of disapproval or partial ap12 proval shall specify— 

13 ‘‘(i) the applicable law with which the 

14 plan or amendment is inconsistent; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the nature of such inconsist16 encies; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) recommendations concerning the 

18 actions that could be taken by the Council 

19 to conform such plan or amendment to the 

20 requirements of applicable law. 

21 ‘‘(4) DISAPPROVAL OR PARTIAL APPROVAL.—If 

22 the Secretary disapproves or partially approves a 

23 plan or amendment, the Council may submit a re24 vised plan or amendment to the Secretary for review 

25 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ACCOMPANYING REGULATIONS.—If the 

2 Secretary published proposed implementing regula3 tions pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary 

4 shall either— 

5 ‘‘(A) publish final regulations within 45 

6 days after the end of the comment period under 

7 paragraph (2)(B); or 

8 ‘‘(B) notify the Council in writing of incon9 sistencies with the plan, the amendment, this 

10 Act, or other applicable law and provide rec11 ommendations on revisions to cure the incon12 sistencies. 

13 Upon receiving such a notification from the Sec14 retary, the Council may revise the regulations and 

15 resubmit them to the Secretary for reevaluation 

16 under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Fishery 

18 management plans, fishery management plan 

19 amendments, and fishery ecosystem plans are not 

20 rules subject to section 553 of title 5, United States 

21 Code, and need not be codified in the Code of Fed22 eral Regulations in accordance with chapter 15 of 

23 title 44, United States Code.’’. 


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1 (b) REVIEW OF OTHER REGULATIONS.—Section 

2 304(b) (16 U.S.C. 1854(b)) is amended by striking para3 graph (1) and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) Upon transmittal by the Council to 

6 the Secretary of regulations proposed under 

7 section 303(c)(2) or (3), the Secretary shall ini8 tiate an evaluation of the proposed regulations 

9 to determine whether they are consistent with 

10 the fishery management plan, this Act, and 

11 other applicable law. 

12 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines that the 

13 regulations are consistent, the Secretary shall, 

14 within 15 days after transmittal by the Council, 

15 publish such regulations in the Federal Reg16 ister, with such changes as may be necessary 

17 and an explanation of those changes, for a pub18 lic comment period of at least 15 days and not 

19 more than 60 days. 

20 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines that the 

21 regulations are not consistent, the Secretary 

22 shall, within 15 days after transmittal by the 

23 Council, notify the Council in writing of the in24 consistencies and provide recommendations on 

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1 tions consistent with the fishery management 

2 plan, this Act, and other applicable law.’’. 

3 (c) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURAL MECHANISMS.—Sec4 tion 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURAL MECHANISMS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(A) In a fishery management plan or 

9 amendment, the Council or Secretary, as appro10 priate, may develop alternative procedural 

11 mechanisms to be used in lieu of plan amend12 ments for implementing conservation and man13 agement measures. 

14 ‘‘(B) Such mechanisms may allow for ab15 breviated processes for the implementation of 

16 regulations or other actions as appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(C) Alternative procedural mechanisms 

18 shall only be approved or adopted for use in sit19 uations where— 

20 ‘‘(i) the conservation and management 

21 measure is within the scope of conservation 

22 and management measures established in 

23 an existing plan; 

24 ‘‘(ii) otherwise applicable regulatory 

25 processes are not sufficient to allow timely 


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1 and efficient implementation of the con2 servation and management measure in re3 sponse to new information; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) notice of the conservation and 

5 management measure is provided appro6 priate to the significance of the expected 

7 impacts on affected fishery resources and 

8 on the participants in the fishery. 

9 ‘‘(D) Any final agency action taken pursu10 ant to the alternative procedural mechanism 

11 must be promptly published in the Federal Reg12 ister. 

13 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—If the al14 ternative procedural mechanism is approved by the 

15 Secretary pursuant to section 304(a), or adopted by 

16 the Secretary pursuant to section 304(c) or (g) and 

17 implemented through regulations, any regulation 

18 issued or other action taken pursuant to the alter19 native procedural mechanism need not comply with 

20 the rulemaking provisions of section 304(b), (c), or 

21 (g), or subsections (b) through (d) of section 553 of 

22 title 5, United States Code.’’. 

23 (d) EMERGENCY REGULATIONS.—Section 305(c)(3) 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

2 by inserting ‘‘Subsections (b) through (d) of section 

3 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply 

4 to emergency regulations issued pursuant to this 

5 provision.’’ after ‘‘the period in which such regula6 tion is in effect.’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘180 days’’ 

8 the second time it appears and inserting ‘‘186 

9 days’’; and 

10 (3) in subparagraph (D) by inserting ‘‘or in11 terim measures’’ after ‘‘emergency regulations’’. 

12 (e) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Section 

13 305(d) (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)) is amended by striking sub14 section (d) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall have 

17 general responsibility to carry out any fishery man18 agement plan or amendment approved or prepared 

19 by the Secretary, in accordance with this Act. 

20 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—In addition to the other 

21 rulemaking provisions of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall promulgate such regulations, in accordance 

23 with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as 

24 may be necessary to discharge such responsibilities 

25 or to carry out any other provision of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary may issue 

2 guidance to interpret and facilitate implementation 

3 of this Act.’’. 

4 SEC. 107. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS. 

5 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, in 

9 consultation with the Councils and the Council on 

10 Environmental Quality, revise and update agency 

11 procedures for compliance with the National Envi12 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). The 

13 procedures shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) conform to the time lines for review 

15 and approval of fishery management plans and 

16 plan amendments under this section; and 

17 ‘‘(B) integrate applicable environmental 

18 analytical procedures, including the time frames 

19 for public input, with the procedure for the 

20 preparation and dissemination of fishery man21 agement plans, plan amendments, and other ac22 tions taken or approved pursuant to this Act in 

23 order to provide for timely, clear and concise 

24 analysis that is useful to decision makers and 


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1 the public, reduce extraneous paperwork, and 

2 effectively involve the public. 

3 ‘‘(2) USAGE.—The updated agency procedures 

4 promulgated in accordance with this section used by 

5 the Councils or the Secretary shall be the sole envi6 ronmental impact assessment procedure for fishery 

7 management plans, amendments, regulations, or 

8 other actions taken or approved pursuant to this 

9 Act. 

10 ‘‘(3) SCHEDULE FOR PROMULGATION OF FINAL

11 PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) propose revised procedures within 12 

13 months after the date of enactment of the Mag14 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man15 agement Amendments Act of 2006; 

16 ‘‘(B) provide 90 days for public review and 

17 comments; and 

18 ‘‘(C) promulgate final procedures no later 

19 than 18 months after the date of enactment of 

20 that Act. 

21 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary is 

22 authorized and directed, in cooperation with the 

23 Council on Environmental Quality and the Councils, 

24 to involve the affected public in the development of 


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1 revised procedures, including workshops or other ap2 propriate means of public involvement.’’. 

3 SEC. 108. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS. 

4 (a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PE5 RIOD.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) 

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

7 days,’’. 

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

9 (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

10 interim measures’’ after ‘‘emergency regulations’’. 

11 SEC. 109. JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is 

13 amended— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21 enforcement purposes any data or informa22 tion required to be provided under this 

23 title or regulations under this title, includ24 ing data from Global Maritime Distress 

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1 tems, or any similar system, subject to the 

2 confidentiality provisions of section 402;’’; 

3 (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub4 section (j); and 

5 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(h) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

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

9 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a 

10 joint enforcement agreement with the Secretary that 

11 will authorize the deputization and funding of State 

12 law enforcement officers with marine law enforce13 ment responsibilities to perform duties of the Sec14 retary relating to law enforcement provisions under 

15 this title or any other marine resource law enforced 

16 by the Secretary. Upon receiving an application 

17 meeting the requirements of this subsection, the Sec18 retary may enter into a joint enforcement agreement 

19 with the requesting State. 

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

21 participate in the cooperative enforcement agree22 ments under this section if it is in, or bordering on, 

23 the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea), 

24 the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of 


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1 Mexico, Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the 

2 Great Lakes. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint enforcement 

4 agreements executed under paragraph (1)— 

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

6 and intent of this section to the extent applica7 ble to the regulated activities; 

8 ‘‘(B) may include specifications for joint 

9 management responsibilities as provided by the 

10 first section of Public Law 91–412 (15 U.S.C. 

11 1525); and 

12 ‘‘(C) shall provide for confidentiality of 

13 data and information submitted to the State 

14 under section 402. 

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

16 shall include in each joint enforcement agreement an 

17 allocation of funds to assist in management of the 

18 agreement. The allocation shall be fairly distributed 

19 among all eligible States participating in cooperative 

20 enforcement agreements under this subsection, based 

21 upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement 

22 needs, the specific marine conservation enforcement 

23 needs of each participating eligible State, and the 

24 capacity of the State to undertake the marine en25 forcement mission and assist with enforcement 


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1 needs. The agreement may provide for amounts to 

2 be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any 

3 technical or other assistance provided to the State 

4 by the Secretary under the agreement. 

5 ‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.— 

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

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

8 later than 21 months after the date of enactment of 

9 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

10 Management Amendments Act of 2006, the Sec11 retary shall implement data-sharing measures to 

12 make any data required to be provided by this Act 

13 from Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems, 

14 vessel monitoring systems, or similar systems— 

15 ‘‘(A) directly accessible by State enforce16 ment officers authorized under subsection (a) of 

17 this section; and 

18 ‘‘(B) available to a State management 

19 agency involved in, or affected by, management 

20 of a fishery if the State has entered into an 

21 agreement with the Secretary under section 

22 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act. 

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

24 shall promptly enter into an agreement with a State 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General or highest rank2 ing legal officer of the State provides a written 

3 opinion or certification that State law allows 

4 the State to maintain the confidentiality of in5 formation required by Federal law to be kept 

6 confidential; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other rea8 sonable assurance that the State can and will 

9 protect the identity or business of any person to 

10 which such information relates.’’. 

11 (b) REPORT ON USING GMDSS FOR FISHERY PUR12 POSES.—Within 15 months after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the 

14 Coast Guard shall transmit a joint report to the Senate 

15 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

16 and the House of Representatives Committee on Re17 sources containing— 

18 (1) a cost-to-benefit analysis of the feasibility, 

19 value, and cost of using the Global Maritime Dis20 tress and Safety Systems, vessel monitoring systems, 

21 or similar systems for fishery management, con22 servation, enforcement, and safety purposes with the 

23 Federal Government bearing the capital costs of any 

24 such system; 


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1 (2) an examination of the cumulative impact of 

2 existing requirements for commercial vessels; 

3 (3) an examination of whether the Global Mari4 time Distress and Safety Systems or similar require5 ments would overlap existing requirements or render 

6 them redundant; 

7 (4) an examination of how data integration 

8 from such systems could be addressed; 

9 (5) an examination of how to maximize the 

10 data-sharing opportunities between relevant State 

11 and Federal agencies and provide specific informa12 tion on how to develop these opportunities, including 

13 the provision of direct access to the Global Maritime 

14 Distress and Safety Systems or similar system data 

15 to State enforcement officers, while considering the 

16 need to maintain or provide an appropriate level of 

17 individual vessel confidentiality where practicable; 

18 and 

19 (6) an assessment of how the Global Maritime 

20 Distress and Safety Systems or similar systems 

21 could be developed, purchased, and distributed to 

22 regulated vessels. 

23 SEC. 110. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 (16 U.S.C. 1861a) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘meas2 ures;’’ and inserting ‘‘measures, including regulatory 

3 restrictions imposed to protect human health or the 

4 marine environment and judicially imposed harvest 

5 restrictions;’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (a)(4) by striking ‘‘1996, 

7 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’ and inserting ‘‘2007 

8 through 2012.’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘or the Gov10 ernor of a State for fisheries under State authority, 

11 may conduct a fishing’’ and inserting ‘‘the Governor 

12 of a State for fisheries under State authority, or a 

13 majority of permit holders in the fishery, may con14 duct a voluntary fishing’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i) by inserting 

16 ‘‘practicable’’ after ‘‘entrants,’’; 

17 (5) in subsection (b)(1)(C) by striking ‘‘cost-ef18 fective and’’ and inserting ‘‘cost-effective and, in the 

19 instance of a program involving an industry fee sys20 tem, prospectively, and’’; 

21 (6) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

22 the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (B), by 

23 striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 

24 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) if implemented under paragraph 

2 (2)(B), includes measures that will prevent an 

3 increase in fishing capacity or effort in other 

4 fisheries, including a moratorium on new en5 trants, practicable restrictions on vessel up6 grades, and other effort control measures.’’; 

7 (7) in subsection (b)(2) by striking subpara8 graph (A) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) the owner of a fishing vessel, if the permit 

10 authorizing the participation of the vessel in the 

11 fishery is surrendered for permanent revocation and 

12 the vessel owner and permit holder relinquish any 

13 claim associated with the vessel or permit that could 

14 qualify such owner or holder for any present or fu15 ture limited access system permit in the fishery for 

16 which the program is established and such vessel is 

17 (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the de18 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

19 subjected to title restrictions (including loss of the 

20 vessel’s fisheries endorsement) that permanently 

21 prohibit and effectively prevent its use in fishing in 

22 federal or state waters, or fishing on the high seas 

23 or in the waters of a foreign nation; or’’; 

24 (8) in subsection (b)(4) by striking ‘‘The Sec25 retary shall consult, as appropriate, with Councils,’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘The harvester proponents of each 

2 program and the Secretary shall consult, as appro3 priate and practicable, with Councils,’’; 

4 (9) in subsection (d)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘Sec5 retary, at the request of the appropriate Council,’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

7 (10) in subsection (d)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘Sec8 retary, in consultation with the Council,’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Secretary’’; 

10 (11) in subsection (d)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘a two11 thirds majority of the participants voting.’’ and in12 serting ‘‘at least a majority of the permit holders in 

13 the fishery, or 50 percent of the permitted allocation 

14 of the fishery, who participated in the fishery.’’; 

15 (12) in subsection (d)(2)(C) by striking ‘‘estab16 lish;’’ and inserting ‘‘establish, unless the Secretary 

17 determines that such fees should be collected from 

18 the seller;’’ and 

19 (13) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FRAMEWORK REGULATIONS.—The Sec23 retary shall propose and adopt framework regula24 tions applicable to the implementation of all pro25 grams under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REGULATIONS.—The Secretary 

2 shall implement each program under this section by 

3 promulgating regulations that, together with the 

4 framework regulations, establish each program and 

5 control its implementation. 

6 ‘‘(3) HARVESTER PROPONENTS’ IMPLEMENTA7 TION PLAN.—The Secretary may not propose imple8 mentation regulations for a program to be paid for 

9 by an industry fee system until the harvester pro10 ponents of the program provide to the Secretary a 

11 proposed implementation plan that, among other 

12 matters— 

13 ‘‘(A) proposes the types and numbers of 

14 vessels or permits that are eligible to participate 

15 in the program and the manner in which the 

16 program shall proceed, taking into account— 

17 ‘‘(i) the requirements of this section; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of the frame19 work regulations; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the characteristics of the fishery; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the requirements of the applica22 ble fishery management plan and any 

23 amendment that such plan may require to 

24 support the proposed program; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the general needs and desires of 

2 harvesters in the fishery; 

3 ‘‘(vi) the need to minimize program 

4 costs; and 

5 ‘‘(vii) other matters, including the 

6 manner in which such proponents propose 

7 to fund the program to ensure its cost ef8 fectiveness, as well as any relevant factors 

9 demonstrating the potential for, or nec10 essary to obtain, the support and general 

11 cooperation of a substantial number of af12 fected harvesters in the fishery (or portion 

13 of the fishery) for which the program is in14 tended; and 

15 ‘‘(B) proposes procedures for program par16 ticipation (such as submission of owner bids 

17 under an auction system or fair market-value 

18 assessment), including any terms and condi19 tions for participation, that the harvester pro20 ponents deem to be reasonably necessary to 

21 meet the program’s proposed objectives. 

22 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION CONTRACTS.—The Sec23 retary shall contract with each person participating 

24 in a program, and each such contract shall, in addi25 tion to including such other matters as the Secretary 


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1 deems necessary and appropriate to effectively im2 plement each program (including penalties for con3 tract non-performance) be consistent with the frame4 work and implementing regulations and all other ap5 plicable law. 

6 ‘‘(5) REDUCTION AUCTIONS.—Each program 

7 not involving fair market assessment shall involve a 

8 reduction auction that scores the reduction price of 

9 each bid offer by the data relevant to each bidder 

10 under an appropriate fisheries productivity factor. If 

11 the Secretary accepts bids, the Secretary shall ac12 cept responsive bids in the rank order of their bid 

13 scores, starting with the bid whose reduction price is 

14 the lowest percentage of the productivity factor, and 

15 successively accepting each additional responsive bid 

16 in rank order until either there are no more respon17 sive bids or acceptance of the next bid would cause 

18 the total value of bids accepted to exceed the amount 

19 of funds available for the program. 

20 ‘‘(6) BID INVITATIONS.—Each program shall 

21 proceed by the Secretary issuing invitations to bid 

22 setting out the terms and conditions for participa23 tion consistent with the framework and imple24 menting regulations. Each bid that the Secretary reVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 ceives in response to the invitation to bid shall con2 stitute an irrevocable offer from the bidder.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 116, 203, 

4 204, 205, and 206 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act are 

5 deemed to have added sections 312, 402, 403, 404, and 

6 405, respectively to the Act as of the date of enactment 

7 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act. 

8 (c) REPORT ON OVER CAPITALIZATION.— 

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

10 12 months after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act, submit to the Congress a report— 

12 (A) identifying and describing the 20 fish13 eries in United States waters with the most se14 vere examples of excess harvesting capacity in 

15 the fisheries, based on value of each fishery and 

16 the amount of excess harvesting capacity as de17 termined by the Secretary; 

18 (B) recommending measures for reducing 

19 such excess harvesting capacity, including the 

20 retirement of any latent fishing permits that 

21 could contribute to further excess harvesting ca22 pacity in those fisheries; 

23 (C) a description of where retired fishing 

24 boats are transferred after retirement; 


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1 (D) recommendation of a possible format 

2 of a fishing vessel buyout program; and 

3 (E) potential sources of funding for such 

4 measures. 

5 (2) BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec6 retary shall base the recommendations made with re7 spect to a fishery on— 

8 (A) the most cost effective means of 

9 achieving voluntary reduction in capacity for 

10 the fishery using the potential for industry fi11 nancing; and 

12 (B) including measures to prevent the ca13 pacity that is being removed from the fishery 

14 from moving to other fisheries in the United 

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

16 the high seas. 

17 SEC. 111. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 

18 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

19 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 315. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 

22 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re24 gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the re25 quest of, and in consultation with, the Governors of afVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 fected States, establish a regional economic transition pro2 gram to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the 

3 fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish 

4 processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af5 fected by the disaster. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

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

8 of appropriations, the program shall provide funds 

9 or other economic assistance to affected entities, or 

10 to governmental entities for disbursement to affected 

11 entities, for— 

12 ‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside 

13 fishery infrastructure needs, including proc14 essing facilities, cold storage facilities, ice 

15 houses, docks, including temporary docks and 

16 storage facilities, and other related shoreside 

17 fishery support facilities and infrastructure; 

18 ‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training 

19 assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in 

20 a fishery in the region that may be temporarily 

21 closed as a result of environmental or other ef22 fects associated with the disaster; 

23 ‘‘(C) funding, pursuant to the require24 ments of section 312(b), to fishermen who are 

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1 nently surrender permits for fisheries named on 

2 that vessel; and 

3 ‘‘(D) any other activities authorized under 

4 section 312(a) of this Act or section 308(d) of 

5 the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 

6 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). 

7 ‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who de8 cides to scrap a fishing vessel under the program 

9 shall be eligible for job training assistance. 

10 ‘‘(3) STATE PARTICIPATION OBLIGATION.—The 

11 participation by a State in the program shall be con12 ditioned upon a commitment by the appropriate 

13 State entity to ensure that the relevant State fishery 

14 meets the requirements of section 312(b) of this Act 

15 to ensure excess capacity does not re-enter the fish16 ery. 

17 ‘‘(4) NO MATCHING REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

18 may waive the matching requirements of section 312 

19 of this Act, section 308 of the Interjurisdictional 

20 Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107), and any 

21 other provision of law under which the Federal share 

22 of the cost of any activity is limited to less than 100 

23 percent if the Secretary determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) no reasonable means are available 

2 through which applicants can meet the match3 ing requirement; and 

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

5 Federal financing outweighs the public interest 

6 in imposition of the matching requirement. 

7 ‘‘(5) NET REVENUE LIMIT INAPPLICABLE.— 

8 Section 308(d)(3) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries 

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3)) shall not apply to assist10 ance under this section. 

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

12 months after a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the 

13 Secretary shall provide the Governor of each State partici14 pating in the program a comprehensive economic and 

15 socio-economic evaluation of the affected region’s fisheries 

16 to assist the Governor in assessing the current and future 

17 economic viability of affected fisheries, including the eco18 nomic impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indi19 rect, or environmental impact of the disaster on the fish20 ery and coastal communities. 

21 ‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER

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

23 fishery disaster’ means a natural disaster, including a hur24 ricane or tsunami, or a judicial or regulatory closure to 

25 protect human health or the marine environment, that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) results in economic losses to coastal or 

2 fishing communities; 

3 ‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fish4 ery managed by a Council or interstate fishery com5 mission; and 

6 ‘‘(3) is determined by the Secretary to be a 

7 commercial fishery failure under section 312(a) of 

8 this Act or a fishery resource disaster or section 

9 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 

10 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’. 

11 SEC. 112. FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM HURRICANE ASSIST12 ANCE. 

13 (a) LOAN ASSISTANCE.—Subject to availability of ap14 propriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall provide as15 sistance to eligible holders of fishery finance program 

16 loans and allocate such assistance among eligible holders 

17 based upon their outstanding principal balances as of De18 cember 2, 2005, for any of the following purposes: 

19 (1) To defer principal payments on the debt for 

20 1 year and re-amortize the debt over the remaining 

21 term of the loan. 

22 (2) To allow for an extension of the term of the 

23 loan for up to 1 year beyond the remaining term of 

24 the loan, or September 30, 2013, whichever is later. 


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1 (3) To pay the interest costs for such loans over 

2 fiscal years 2007 through 2012, not to exceed 

3 amounts authorized under subsection (d). 

4 (4) To provide opportunities for loan forgive5 ness, as specified in subsection (c). 

6 (b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application made by 

8 an eligible holder of a fishery finance program loan, 

9 made at such time, in such manner, and containing 

10 such information as the Secretary may require, the 

11 Secretary, on a calendar year basis beginning in 

12 2005, may— 

13 (A) offset against the outstanding balance 

14 on the loan an amount equal to the sum of the 

15 amounts expended by the holder during the cal16 endar year to repair or replace covered vessels 

17 or facilities, or to invest in new fisheries infra18 structure within or for use within the declared 

19 fisheries disaster area; or 

20 (B) cancel the amount of debt equal to 

21 100 hundred percent of actual expenditures on 

22 eligible repairs, reinvestment, expansion, or new 

23 investment in fisheries infrastructure in the dis24 aster region, or repairs to, or replacement of, 

25 eligible fishing vessels. 


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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) DECLARED FISHERIES DISASTER AREA.— 

3 The term ‘‘declared fisheries disaster area’’ means 

4 fisheries located in the major disaster area des5 ignated by the President under the Robert T. Staf6 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricane 

8 Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE HOLDER.—The term ‘‘eligible 

10 holder’’ means the holder of a fishery finance pro11 gram loan if— 

12 (A) that loan is used to guarantee or fi13 nance any fishing vessel or fish processing facil14 ity home-ported or located within the declared 

15 fisheries disaster area; and 

16 (B) the holder makes expenditures to re17 pair or replace such covered vessels or facilities, 

18 or invests in new fisheries infrastructure within 

19 or for use within the declared fisheries disaster 

20 area, to restore such facilities following the dis21 aster. 

22 (3) FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM LOAN.—The 

23 term ‘‘fishery finance program loan’’ means a loan 

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1 gram under title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 

2 1936, (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.). 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com5 merce for the purposes of this section not more than 

6 $15,000,000 for each eligible holder for the period begin7 ning with fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year 2012. 

8 SEC. 113. SHRIMP FISHERIES HURRICANE ASSISTANCE 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

11 establish an assistance program for the Gulf of Mexico 

12 shrimp fishing industry. 

13 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Under the program, 

14 the Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to carry 

15 out the program among the States of Alabama, Louisiana, 

16 Florida, Mississippi, and Texas in proportion to the per17 centage of the shrimp catch landed by each State, except 

18 that the amount allocated to Florida shall be based exclu19 sively on the proportion of such catch landed by the Flor20 ida Gulf Coast fishery. 

21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made available 

22 to each State under the program— 

23 (1) 2 percent shall be retained by the State to 

24 be used for the distribution of additional payments 

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1 ance with turtle excluder and bycatch reduction de2 vice regulations; and 

3 (2) the remainder of the amounts shall be used 

4 for— 

5 (A) personal assistance, with priority given 

6 to food, energy needs, housing assistance, 

7 transportation fuel, and other urgent needs; 

8 (B) assistance for small businesses, includ9 ing fishermen, fish processors, and related busi10 nesses serving the fishing industry; 

11 (C) domestic product marketing and sea12 food promotion; 

13 (D) State seafood testing programs; 

14 (E) the development of limited entry pro15 grams for the fishery; 

16 (F) funding or other incentives to ensure 

17 widespread and proper use of turtle excluder 

18 devices and bycatch reduction devices in the 

19 fishery; and 

20 (G) voluntary capacity reduction programs 

21 for shrimp fisheries under limited access pro22 grams. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

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1 merce $17,500,000 for fiscal years 2007 through 2012 to 

2 carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 114. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM. 

4 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by 

5 section 114 of this Act, is further amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 316. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PRO9 GRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man11 agement Amendments Act of 2006, the Secretary, in co12 operation with the Councils and other affected interests, 

13 and based upon the best scientific information available, 

14 shall establish a bycatch reduction program to develop 

15 technological devices and other conservation engineering 

16 changes designed to minimize bycatch, seabird bycatch, 

17 bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in federally 

18 managed fisheries. The program shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) be regionally based; 

20 ‘‘(2) be coordinated with projects conducted 

21 under the cooperative research and management 

22 program established under this Act; 

23 ‘‘(3) provide information and outreach to fish24 ery participants that will encourage adoption and 


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1 use of technologies developed under the program; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(4) provide for routine consultation with the 

4 Councils in order to maximize opportunities to incor5 porate results of the program in Council actions and 

6 provide incentives for adoption of methods developed 

7 under the program in fishery management plans de8 veloped by the Councils. 

9 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVES.—Any fishery management plan 

10 prepared by a Council or by the Secretary may establish 

11 a system of incentives to reduce total bycatch and seabird 

12 bycatch amounts, bycatch rates, and post-release mortality 

13 in fisheries under the Council’s or Secretary’s jurisdiction, 

14 including— 

15 ‘‘(1) measures to incorporate bycatch into 

16 quotas, including the establishment of collective or 

17 individual bycatch quotas; 

18 ‘‘(2) measures to promote the use of gear with 

19 verifiable and monitored low bycatch and seabird by20 catch rates; and 

21 ‘‘(3) measures that, based on the best scientific 

22 information available, will reduce bycatch and 

23 seabird bycatch, bycatch mortality, post-release mor24 tality, or regulatory discards in the fishery.’’. 


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1 SEC. 115. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT. 

2 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by 

3 section 204, is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 318. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT. 

6 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con8 sultation with the Councils and within 24 months 

9 after the date of the enactment of the Magnuson10 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

11 Amendments Act of 2006, publish draft guidelines 

12 (which shall not have the force and effect of law) for 

13 the Councils concerning ecosystem considerations in 

14 fishery conservation and management. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The guidelines shall include 

16 definitions of the term ‘ecosystem’ for purposes of 

17 this Act. 

18 ‘‘(b) FISHERY ECOSYSTEM PLANS.—Each Council, 

19 or the Secretary as appropriate, may prepare a fishery 

20 ecosystem plan in order to assist in implementing an eco21 system approach to managing fisheries within its area of 

22 authority. In preparing a fishery ecosystem plan, a Coun23 cil shall coordinate with Federal and State agencies re24 sponsible for scientific understanding and management of 

25 other marine resources and sector activities. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF FISHERY ECOSYSTEM PLANS.— 

2 Fishery ecosystem plans shall be consistent with the advi3 sory guidelines established in subsection (a) and shall con4 tain conservation and management measures applicable to 

5 fishery resources throughout the fishery ecosystem, includ6 ing measures that the Council or the Secretary may con7 sider appropriate to— 

8 ‘‘(1) avoid or minimize adverse effects of fishing 

9 on fish habitat, as well as other components of the 

10 ecosystem; 

11 ‘‘(2) establish marine managed areas in the ex12 clusive economic zone or the high seas; 

13 ‘‘(3) manage fishing capacity; and 

14 ‘‘(4) coordinate fishery science and manage15 ment actions with Federal and State agencies re16 sponsible for scientific understanding and manage17 ment of other marine resources and sector activities, 

18 such as pollution prevention and habitat modifica19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(d) JOINT PLANS.—If a fishery ecosystem encom21 passes waters under the authority of more than one Coun22 cil, or a Council or Councils and the Secretary, for fish23 eries under section 302(a)(3), the Councils, or the Council 

24 or Councils and the Secretary, as appropriate, may col25 laborate to jointly prepare a fishery ecosystem plan for 


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1 that ecosystem. In preparing a joint fishery ecosystem 

2 plan, a Council or Councils, or the Council or Councils 

3 and the Secretary, as appropriate, shall coordinate with 

4 Federal and State agencies managing other marine re5 sources and sector activities.’’. 

6 SEC. 116. COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION PROGRAM 

7 FOR FISHERY AND COASTAL HABITATS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

9 establish a community-based fishery and coastal habitat 

10 restoration program to implement and support the res11 toration of fishery and coastal habitats. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 

13 program, the Secretary may— 

14 (1) provide funding and technical expertise to 

15 fishery and coastal communities to assist them in re16 storing fishery and coastal habitat; 

17 (2) advance the science and monitoring of 

18 coastal habitat restoration; 

19 (3) transfer restoration technologies to the pri20 vate sector, the public, and other governmental 

21 agencies; 

22 (4) develop public-private partnerships to ac23 complish sound coastal restoration projects; 


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1 (5) promote significant community support and 

2 volunteer participation in fishery and coastal habitat 

3 restoration; 

4 (6) promote stewardship of fishery and coastal 

5 habitats; and 

6 (7) leverage resources through national, re7 gional, and local public-private partnerships. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

9 out this section there are authorized to be appropriated 

10 to the Secretary— 

11 (1) for the first full fiscal year beginning after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, $12,000,000; 

13 and 

14 (2) for each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal 

15 year 2012, the sum of the amount authorized under 

16 this subsection for the preceding fiscal year, plus 

17 $2,000,000. 

18 SEC. 117. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

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

20 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub21 paragraph (O); 

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

23 and inserting ‘‘carcass;’’; and 

24 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) and be25 fore the last sentence the following: 


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1 ‘‘(Q) to import, export, transport, sell, re2 ceive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or for3 eign commerce any fish taken, possessed, trans4 ported, or sold in violation of any foreign law 

5 or regulation; or 

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

7 fishing in Federal or State waters, or on the 

8 high seas or the waters of another country, 

9 after the Secretary has made a payment to the 

10 owner of that fishing vessel under section 

11 312(b)(2).’’. 

12 SEC. 118. COOPERATIVE RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

13 Section 305(b) (16 U.S.C. 1855(b)) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(5)(A) In furtherance of the purposes of this 

16 Act, the Secretary or a Council may enter into a co17 operative agreement with any Federal agency, State 

18 or local government, university, non-governmental 

19 organization, or other qualified entity to undertake 

20 activities to provide for the conservation, restoration, 

21 protection, or enhancement of essential fish habitat. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may provide financial as23 sistance to any entity with whom the Secretary or a 

24 Council has entered into a cooperative agreement 


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1 under subparagraph (A) to carry out activities enu2 merated in such agreement. 

3 ‘‘(C) Such cooperative agreements shall provide 

4 for— 

5 ‘‘(i) the actions to be taken by the parties 

6 to the agreement; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the benefits to be derived in connec8 tion with the conservation, protection, restora9 tion or enhancement of essential fish habitat; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the estimated cost of these actions; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the share of such cost to be borne by 

13 each party to the agreement; except that the 

14 Federal share of such program costs shall not 

15 exceed 75 percent of the estimated program 

16 cost stated in the agreement. 

17 ‘‘(D) For the purposes of this paragraph, the 

18 non-Federal share may, at the discretion of the Sec19 retary, be in the form of money or in-kind contribu20 tion, the value of which shall be determined by the 

21 Secretary.’’. 

22 SEC. 119. ENFORCEMENT. 

23 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—Section 308 (16 U.S.C. 

24 1858) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ in subsection (a) 

2 and inserting ‘‘$240,000’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘this section,’’ in subsection (f) 

4 and inserting ‘‘this Act (or any other marine re5 source law enforced by the Secretary),’’; 

6 (3) by inserting ‘‘a permit, or any interest in a 

7 permit,’’ in subsection (g)(3) after ‘‘vessel,’’ each 

8 place it appears; 

9 (4) by striking ‘‘the vessel’’ in subsection (g)(3) 

10 and inserting ‘‘the vessel, permit, or interest’’; 

11 (5) by inserting ‘‘or any amount in settlement 

12 of a civil forfeiture,’’ after ‘‘criminal fine,’’ in sub13 section (g)(4); and 

14 (6) by striking ‘‘penalty or fine’’ in subsection 

15 (g)(4) and inserting ‘‘penalty, fine, or settlement 

16 amount’’. 

17 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 309 (16 U.S.C. 

18 1859) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 309. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) FINES AND IMPRISONMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person (other than a 

22 foreign government or entity thereof) who knowingly 

23 violates subparagraph (D), (E), (F), (H), (I), or (L) 

24 of paragraph (1) of section 307, or paragraph (2) of 


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1 section 307, shall be imprisoned for not more than 

2 5 years and fined— 

3 ‘‘(A) not more than $500,000 if such per4 son is an individual; or 

5 ‘‘(B) not more than $1,000,000 if such 

6 person is a corporation or other legal entity 

7 other than an individual. 

8 ‘‘(2) AGGRAVATED OFFENSES.—Notwith9 standing paragraph (1), the maximum term of im10 prisonment shall be for not more than 10 years if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the violator is an individual; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the commission of a violation de13 scribed in paragraph (1), that individual— 

14 ‘‘(A) used a dangerous weapon; 

15 ‘‘(B) engaged in conduct that caused bod16 ily injury to any observer described in section 

17 307, any officer authorized to enforce the provi18 sions of this Act under section 311, or any 

19 Council member or staff; or 

20 ‘‘(C) placed any such observer, officer, 

21 Council member, or staff in fear of imminent 

22 bodily injury. 

23 ‘‘(b) OTHER VIOLATIONS.—Any person (other than 

24 a foreign government or entity thereof) who knowingly vio25 lates any other provision of section 307 shall be fined 


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1 under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not 

2 more than 5 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(c) JURISDICTION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The district courts of the 

5 United States shall have jurisdiction over any action 

6 arising under this Act. 

7 ‘‘(2) VENUE.—For purposes of this Act— 

8 ‘‘(A) each violation of this Act shall con9 stitute a separate offense and the offense shall 

10 be deemed to have been committed not only in 

11 the district where it first occurred, but also in 

12 any other district as authorized by law; 

13 ‘‘(B) any offense not committed within a 

14 judicial district of the United States is subject 

15 to the venue provisions of section 3238 of title 

16 18, United States Code; and 

17 ‘‘(C) American Samoa shall be included 

18 within the judicial district of the United States 

19 District Court for the District of Hawaii.’’. 

20 (c) CIVIL FORFEITURES.—Section 310(a) (16 U.S.C. 

21 1860(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(other than any act for which 

23 the issuance of a citation under section 311(a) is 

24 sufficient sanction)’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘States.’’ and inserting ‘‘States, 

2 except that no fishing vessel shall be subject to for3 feiture under this section as the result of any act for 

4 which the issuance of a citation under section 311(a) 

5 is sufficient sanction.’’. 

6 (d) ENFORCEMENT RESPONSIBILITY.—Section 

7 311(a) (16 U.S.C. 1861(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Act, and 

9 the provisions of any marine resource law adminis10 tered by the Secretary,’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘State agency,’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘agency of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or 

13 Tribe,’’. 

14 (e) POWERS OF AUTHORIZED OFFICERS.—Section 

15 311(b) (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Fed16 eral or State’’. 

17 (f) PAYMENT OF STORAGE, CARE, AND OTHER

18 COSTS.—Section 311(e)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)(B)) 

19 is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(B) a reward to any person who furnishes in21 formation which leads to an arrest, conviction, civil 

22 penalty assessment, or forfeiture of property for any 

23 violation of any provision of this Act or any other 

24 marine resource law enforced by the Secretary of up 

25 to the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 20 percent of the penalty or fine col2 lected; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) $20,000;’’. 

4 SEC. 120. FISHERY PERMITTING AND REGISTRATION PRO5 GRAMS. 

6 (a) CONSISTENCY OF PLANS WITH NATIONAL PRO7 GRAM.—Section 303(b)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(1)) is 

8 amended by inserting after ‘‘(1)’’ the following: ‘‘con9 sistent with the national program established under sec10 tion 401,’’. 

11 (b) UNIFORM NATIONAL PROGRAMS.—Section 401 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 401. FISHERY PERMITTING AND REGISTRATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) COMMERCIAL FISHERIES.—The Secretary shall 

15 establish and implement a uniform national program for 

16 permitting in commercial fisheries. The program shall 

17 standardize the requirements for vessel registration and 

18 permitting required by this Act, the Marine Mammal Pro19 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), any other 

20 marine resource law implemented by the Secretary, and, 

21 with the permission of a State, any marine resource law 

22 implemented by such State. 

23 ‘‘(b) DEPOSIT OF FEES.—Any fees collected under 

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1 tem Administration Fund established by section 

2 305(h)(5)(B).’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 in the first section is amended by striking the item relating 

5 to section 401 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 401. Fishery permitting and registration.’’. 

6 SEC. 121. BYCATCH. 

7 (a) REPORTING METHODOLOGY.—Section 

8 303(a)(11) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(11)) is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘establish a standardized’’ and inserting ‘‘within one 

10 year after the date of the enactment of the Magnuson11 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Amend12 ments Act of 2006, establish and begin implementing a 

13 standardized’’. 

14 (b) CHARITABLE DONATION OF BYCATCH.—Section 

15 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is further amended by strik16 ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of paragraph 

17 (13), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (14) 

18 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(15) allow the retention and donation for char21 itable purposes of all dead bycatch that cannot oth22 erwise be avoided under terms that ensure, through 

23 the use of onboard fishery observers or other means, 

24 that such retention and donation do not allow the 

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1 els, or other conservation and management meas2 ures.’’. 

3 Subtitle B—Collaborative Strategic 

4 Planning 

5 SEC. 131. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Fishing 

7 Fleet Vision, Implementation, and Management Act’’. 

8 SEC. 132. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this subtitle: 

10 (1) ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.— 

11 The term ‘‘Atlantic highly migratory species’’ means 

12 a species in any highly migratory species fishery that 

13 is within the geographical area of authority of more 

14 than one of the following Councils: New England 

15 Council, Mid-Atlantic Council, South Atlantic Coun16 cil, Gulf Council, and Caribbean Council. 

17 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means a 

18 Regional Fishery Management Council established 

19 under the Magnuson Act. 

20 (3) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—The term 

21 ‘‘highly migratory species’’ has the meaning given 

22 such term in section 3 of the Magnuson Act (16 

23 U.S.C. 1802). 

24 (4) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

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1 flict Resolution established pursuant to Public Law 

2 105–156. 

3 (5) MAGNUSON ACT.—The term ‘‘Magnuson 

4 Act’’ means the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conserva5 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

6 (6) NATIONAL TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Na7 tional Task Force’’ means the National Task Force 

8 on Sustainable Fleet Capacity established under sec9 tion 134. 

10 (7) OVERFISHING AND DEPLETED.—Each of 

11 the terms ‘‘overfishing’’ and ‘‘depleted’’ have the 

12 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Magnu13 son Act (16 U.S.C. 1802). 

14 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na16 tional Marine Fisheries Service. 

17 SEC. 133. PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES 

18 THROUGH COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC 

19 PLANNING PROCESSES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

21 with the United States Institute for Environmental Con22 flict Resolution, shall establish and implement a program 

23 to enable Regional Fishery Management Councils to de24 velop broadly supported plans designed to achieve sustainVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 able fisheries through collaborative strategic planning 

2 processes. 

3 (b) GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE.—Under the pro4 gram under this section, the Secretary shall provide guid5 ance and assistance to Councils in utilizing— 

6 (1) collaborative process assessment, design, 

7 and implementation; and 

8 (2) options to address regional differences and 

9 circumstances. 

10 SEC. 134. NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON SUSTAINABLE FISH11 ERY CAPACITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

13 National Task Force on Sustainable Fishery Capacity to 

14 develop— 

15 (1) guidance for the development of Sustainable 

16 Fishery Standards for Sustainable Fishery Vision, 

17 Implementation, and Management Plans under sec18 tion 135, including appropriate criteria, standards, 

19 performance measures, and guidelines for such 

20 plans; and 

21 (2) criteria to prioritize fisheries for which such 

22 plans will be most useful. 

23 (b) MEMBERS.—The National Task Force shall— 

24 (1) consist of members appointed by the Sec25 retary; 


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1 (2) have balanced representation of affected 

2 and concerned stakeholders; and 

3 (3) include one member designated by the Sec4 retary to serve as the chairperson of the National 

5 Task Force, who shall be appointed by the Sec6 retary— 

7 (A) in consultation with the Regional Fish8 ery Management Council Coordinating Com9 mittee; and 

10 (B) based on recommendations of an inde11 pendent stakeholder assessment conducted by 

12 the Institute. 

13 (c) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com15 mittee Act (5 App. U.S.C.) shall not apply to the 

16 National Task Force. 

17 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

18 (1), the National Task Force shall be appointed and 

19 operate in a manner consistent with all provisions of 

20 the Federal Advisory Committee Act with respect 

21 to— 

22 (A) the balance of membership of the Na23 tional Task Force; 

24 (B) provision of public notice regarding ac25 tivities of the National Task Force; 


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1 (C) open meetings; and 

2 (D) public access to documents created by 

3 the National Task Force. 

4 (d) GUIDANCE DEVELOPMENT.— 

5 (1) Not later than the end of the 9-month pe6 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the National Task Force shall transmit to the 

8 Secretary guidance for the development of Sustain9 able Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Manage10 ment Plan under section 135. 

11 (2) The National Task Force shall develop such 

12 guidance through a multistakeholder, collaborative 

13 process, using independent third party neutral facili14 tation assistance provided through the United States 

15 Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. 

16 (3) If the National Task Force fails to develop 

17 such guidance in accordance with this section, the 

18 Secretary shall issue Sustainable Fishery Vision, Im19 plementation, and Management Plan guidance with20 in 45 days after the end of the period referred to in 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 (4) The Secretary, in coordination with the Na23 tional Task Force, shall periodically review and re24 vise, as appropriate, guidance issued under this sub25 section. 


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1 SEC. 135. SUSTAINABLE FISHERY VISION, IMPLEMENTA2 TION, AND MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Council, and the Secretary 

4 with respect to any Atlantic highly migratory species, may 

5 issue a Sustainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, and 

6 Management Plan for any fishery (or combination of fish7 eries, as appropriate) that is under its jurisdiction. 

8 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each plan issued under this 

10 section— 

11 (A) shall be issued in accordance with the 

12 guidance issued under section 134(d); and 

13 (B) shall create a long-term vision and im14 plementation plan for the sustainable operation 

15 of each fishery to which it applies. 

16 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing such a 

17 plan, the Council (or the Secretary) shall consider— 

18 (A) the impact of the plan on affected 

19 communities; 

20 (B) effective resource conservation; and 

21 (C) economic considerations. 

22 (c) TASK FORCES ON SUSTAINABLE FISHERY VI23 SION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MANAGEMENT.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each Council, and the 

25 Secretary with respect to any Atlantic highly migra26 tory species— 


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1 (A) may establish a Task Force on Sus2 tainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, and 

3 Management to develop a Sustainable Fishery 

4 Vision, Implementation, and Management Plan; 

5 and 

6 (B) in establishing such task force, shall 

7 specify a timeframe for development of such 

8 plan by the task force. 

9 (2) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 

10 (A) assess the level of fleet capacity for 

11 each fishery for which it is appointed; 

12 (B) identify the consequences of inaction 

13 in reducing overfishing in each such fishery; 

14 (C) identify a vision for fleet composition 

15 and participation in each such fishery after it is 

16 rebuilt, taking into account long-term resource 

17 conservation needs and communities; 

18 (D) assess and prioritize management 

19 measures to implement the vision; 

20 (E) develop a Sustainable Fishery Vision, 

21 Implementation, and Management Plan to 

22 achieve the vision and implement such meas23 ures; and 


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1 (F) determine the economic, social, and re2 source costs and benefits for the measures in3 cluded in the plan. 

4 (3) COMPOSITION.—Members of the task force 

5 shall— 

6 (A) include appropriate agency leadership 

7 and staff, and Council members and staff; 

8 (B) consist of members who have authority 

9 to act effectively in making decisions, as mem10 bers of the task force, on behalf of the agency 

11 or interests they represent; 

12 (C) be selected to ensure balanced inclu13 sion of affected and concerned interests; and 

14 (D) as a condition of appointment to the 

15 task force, be required to confirm their willing16 ness to commit to the generally accepted prin17 ciples of engagement in collaborative problem 

18 solving, and to participate in good faith with an 

19 open mind to considering new perspectives. 

20 (4) CHAIRPERSON.—The task force shall select 

21 a Chairperson from among its members. The Chair22 person shall guide the work of the task force, work23 ing with an independent facilitator or mediator to 

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1 able Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Manage2 ment Plan. 

3 (5) OPERATIONS.—The task force shall operate 

4 in accordance with the guidance issued under section 

5 134(d). 

6 (6) SUPPORT.— 

7 (A) SUPPORT BY SECRETARY.—The Sec8 retary shall support the task force by providing 

9 relevant information requested by the task 

10 force. 

11 (B) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The 

12 Chairperson of a task force may procure serv13 ices of independent facilitators and mediators, 

14 and other experts, as the Chairperson considers 

15 advisable to carry out the duties of the task 

16 force. 

17 (7) REPORT.—The task force shall submit a re18 port to the Council according to the timeframe speci19 fied by the Council under paragraph (1)(B), includ20 ing a Sustainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, 

21 and Management Plan for the fishery for which the 

22 task force is established. 

23 (d) ISSUANCE OF PLAN BY SECRETARY FOR SPECIES

24 THAT IS NOT AN ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPE25 CIES.—The Secretary shall issue a Sustainable Fishery ViVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 sion, Implementation, and Management Plan under this 

2 section (including establishment of a task force in accord3 ance with subsection (b)) for a fishery for a species that 

4 is not an Atlantic highly migratory species, if— 

5 (1) the Council having jurisdiction over the 

6 fishery fails to establish a task force under sub7 section (b) within the 2-year period after the Sec8 retary determines that the fishery is subject to over9 fishing or in a depleted condition; or 

10 (2) the Secretary determines that the fishery, 

11 after implementation of a fishery management plan 

12 developed by the Council for a period of 2 years, is 

13 subject to overfishing. 

14 (e) REVIEW OF PLANS.—A Council, and the Sec15 retary with respect to any Atlantic highly migratory spe16 cies, shall regularly review each Sustainable Fishery Vi17 sion, Implementation, and Management Plan issued under 

18 this section to determine the effectiveness of the plan and 

19 whether changes are necessary to enhance success of the 

20 goals of the plan. 

21 SEC. 136. PRIORITY IMPLEMENTATION. 

22 In implementing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con23 servation and Management Act, the Secretary shall give 

24 priority to supporting measures designed to implement 


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1 Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Management Plans 

2 issued under this subtitle. 

3 SEC. 137. TOTAL ALLOWABLE LEVEL OF FOREIGN FISHING. 

4 Section 201(d) (16 U.S.C. 1821(d)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘shall be’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘which will not’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘that can not, or will not,’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting after ‘‘Act’’ the following: ‘‘, 

9 except that the total allowable level shall be zero for 

10 any fishery that is determined by the Secretary to 

11 have adequate or excess harvest capacity. Allocations 

12 of the total allowable level of foreign fishing are dis13 cretionary.’’. 

14 TITLE II—INFORMATION AND 

15 RESEARCH 

16 SEC. 201. RECREATIONAL FISHERIES INFORMATION. 

17 Section 401 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended by striking 

18 subsection (g) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 

21 establish and implement a regionally based registry 

22 program for recreational fishermen in each of the 8 

23 fishery management regions. The program shall pro24 vide for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the registration (including identifica2 tion and contact information) of individuals 

3 who engage in recreational fishing— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the Exclusive Economic Zone; 

5 ‘‘(ii) for anadromous species; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) for Continental Shelf fishery re7 sources beyond the Exclusive Economic 

8 Zone; and 

9 ‘‘(B) if appropriate, the registration (in10 cluding the ownership, operator, and identifica11 tion of the vessel) of vessels used in such fish12 ing. 

13 ‘‘(2) STATE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall 

14 exempt from registration under the program rec15 reational fishermen and charter fishing vessels li16 censed, permitted, or registered under the laws of a 

17 State if the Secretary determines that information 

18 from the State program is suitable for the Sec19 retary’s use or is used to assist in completing marine 

20 recreational fisheries statistical surveys, or evalu21 ating the effects of proposed conservation and man22 agement measures for marine recreational fisheries. 

23 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—Within 24 months 

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1 ments Act of 2006, the Secretary shall establish a 

2 program to improve the quality and accuracy of in3 formation generated by the Marine Recreational 

4 Fishery Statistics Survey, with a goal of achieving 

5 acceptable accuracy and utility for each individual 

6 fishery. Unless the Secretary determines that alter7 nate methods will achieve this goal more efficiently 

8 and effectively, the program shall, to the extent pos9 sible, include— 

10 ‘‘(A) an adequate number of dockside 

11 interviews to accurately estimate recreational 

12 catch and effort; 

13 ‘‘(B) use of surveys that target anglers 

14 registered or licensed at the State or Federal 

15 level to collect participation and effort data; 

16 ‘‘(C) collection and analysis of vessel trip 

17 report data from charter fishing vessels; and 

18 ‘‘(D) development of a weather corrective 

19 factor that can be applied to recreational catch 

20 and effort estimates. 

21 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Within 24 months after estab22 lishment of the program, the Secretary shall submit 

23 a report to Congress that describes the progress 

24 made toward achieving the goals and objectives of 

25 the program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. 

2 Section 402(a) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ in 

4 the subsection heading and inserting ‘‘(a) COLLEC5 TION PROGRAMS.—’’; 

6 (2) by resetting the text following ‘‘(a) COLLEC7 TION PROGRAMS.—’’ as a new paragraph 2 ems 

8 from the left margin; 

9 (3) by inserting ‘‘(1) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ 

10 before ‘‘If a Council’’; 

11 (4) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ in the last sentence 

12 and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 

13 (5) by striking ‘‘(other than information that 

14 would disclose proprietary or confidential commercial 

15 or financial information regarding fishing operations 

16 or fish processing operations)’’ each place it appears; 

17 and 

18 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL INITIATION.—If the Sec20 retary determines that additional information is nec21 essary for developing, implementing, revising, or 

22 monitoring a fishery management plan, or for deter23 mining whether a fishery is in need of management, 

24 the Secretary may, by regulation, implement an in25 formation collection or observer program requiring 


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1 submission of such additional information for the 

2 fishery.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION. 

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

5 1881a(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para7 graph (3) and resetting it 2 ems from the left mar8 gin; 

9 (2) by striking all preceding paragraph (3), as 

10 redesignated, and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Sec13 retary, a state fishery management agency, or a ma14 rine fisheries commission by any person in compli15 ance with the requirements of this Act that contains 

16 confidential information shall be confidential and 

17 shall be exempt from disclosure under section 

18 552(h)(3) of title 5, United States Code, except— 

19 ‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em20 ployees who are responsible for fishery manage21 ment plan development, monitoring, or enforce22 ment; 

23 ‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis24 sion employees as necessary to further the De25 partment’s mission, subject to a confidentiality 


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1 agreement that prohibits public disclosure of 

2 confidential information relating to any person; 

3 ‘‘(C) to State employees who are respon4 sible for fishery management plan enforcement, 

5 if the States employing those employees have 

6 entered into a fishery enforcement agreement 

7 with the Secretary and the agreement is in ef8 fect; 

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

10 State, Council, or Marine Fisheries Commission 

11 employees to verify catch under a limited access 

12 program, but only to the extent that such use 

13 is consistent with subparagraph (B); 

14 ‘‘(E) when the Secretary has obtained 

15 written authorization from the person submit16 ting such information to release such informa17 tion to persons for reasons not otherwise pro18 vided for in this subsection, and such release 

19 does not violate other requirements of this Act; 

20 ‘‘(F) when such information is required to 

21 be submitted to the Secretary for any deter22 mination under a limited access program; or 

23 ‘‘(G) in support of homeland and national 

24 security activities, including the Coast Guard’s 

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1 tion 888(a)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

2 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468(a)(2)). 

3 ‘‘(2) Any observer information shall be con4 fidential and shall not be disclosed, except in accord5 ance with the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

6 through (G) of paragraph (1), or— 

7 ‘‘(A) as authorized by a fishery manage8 ment plan or regulations under the authority of 

9 the North Pacific Council to allow disclosure to 

10 the public of weekly summary bycatch informa11 tion identified by vessel or for haul-specific by12 catch information without vessel identification; 

13 ‘‘(B) when such information is necessary 

14 in proceedings to adjudicate observer certifi15 cations; or 

16 ‘‘(C) as authorized by any regulations 

17 issued under paragraph (3) allowing the collec18 tion of observer information, pursuant to a con19 fidentiality agreement between the observers, 

20 observer employers, and the Secretary prohib21 iting disclosure of the information by the ob22 servers or observer employers, in order— 

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

24 information among observers and between 

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1 essary to train and prepare observers for 

2 deployments on specific vessels; or 

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

4 observer information collected.’’; and 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘(1)(E).’’ in paragraph (3), as 

6 redesignated, and inserting ‘‘(2)(A).’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 404(c)(4) 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1881c(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘under 

9 section 401’’. 

10 SEC. 204. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by 

13 section 115, is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 317. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in 

18 consultation with the Councils, shall establish a coopera19 tive research and management program to address needs 

20 identified under this Act and under any other marine re21 source laws enforced by the Secretary. The program shall 

22 be implemented on a regional basis and shall be developed 

23 and conducted through partnerships among Federal, 

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1 state fishery commissions), commercial and recreational 

2 fishing industry participants, and educational institutions. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall 

4 make funds available under the program for the support 

5 of projects to address critical needs identified by the Coun6 cils in consultation with the Secretary. The program shall 

7 promote and encourage efforts to utilize sources of data 

8 maintained by other Federal agencies, State agencies, or 

9 academia for use in such projects. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—In making funds available the Sec11 retary shall award funding on a competitive basis and 

12 based on regional fishery management needs, select pro13 grams that form part of a coherent program of research 

14 focused on solving priority issues identified by the Coun15 cils, and shall give priority to the following projects: 

16 ‘‘(1) Projects to collect data to improve, supple17 ment, or enhance stock assessments, including the 

18 use of fishing vessels or acoustic or other marine 

19 technology. 

20 ‘‘(2) Projects to assess the amount and type of 

21 bycatch, or seabird bycatch, or post-release mortality 

22 occurring in a fishery. 

23 ‘‘(3) Conservation engineering projects designed 

24 to reduce bycatch, or seabird bycatch, including 

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1 catch in high seas fisheries, and transfer of such 

2 fishing technologies to other nations. 

3 ‘‘(4) Projects for the identification of habitat 

4 areas of particular concern and for habitat conserva5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(5) Projects designed to collect and compile 

7 economic and social data. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXPERIMENTAL PERMITTING PROCESS.—Not 

9 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

10 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage11 ment Amendments Act of 2006, the Secretary, in con12 sultation with the Councils, shall promulgate regulations 

13 that create an expedited, uniform, and regionally-based 

14 process to promote issuance, where practicable, of experi15 mental fishing permits. 

16 ‘‘(e) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary, in consultation 

17 with the Councils, shall establish guidelines to ensure that 

18 participation in a research project funded under this sec19 tion does not result in loss of a participant’s catch history 

20 or unexpended days-at-sea as part of a limited entry sys21 tem. 

22 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTED PROJECTS.—The procedures of this 

23 section shall not apply to research funded by quota set24 asides in a fishery.’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. RESTORATION STUDY. 

2 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by 

3 section 205, is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 319. RESTORATION STUDY. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a 

7 study to update scientific information and protocols need8 ed to improve restoration techniques for a variety of coast 

9 habitat types and synthesize the results in a format easily 

10 understandable by restoration practitioners and local com11 munities. 

12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for fiscal year 

14 2007 to conduct this study.’’. 

15 SEC. 206. FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 

16 FUND. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

18 maintain a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Fisheries Conserva19 tion and Management Fund’’, which shall consist of 

20 amounts retained and deposited into the Fund under sub21 section (c). 

22 (b) PURPOSES.—Subject to the allocation of funds 

23 described in subsection (d), amounts in the Fund shall be 

24 available to the Secretary of Commerce, without appro25 priation or fiscal year limitation, to disburse as described 

26 in subsection (e) for— 


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1 (1) efforts to improve fishery harvest data col2 lection including— 

3 (A) expanding the use of electronic catch 

4 reporting programs and technology; and 

5 (B) improvement of monitoring and ob6 server coverage through the expanded use of 

7 electronic monitoring devices and satellite track8 ing systems such as VMS on small vessels; 

9 (2) cooperative fishery research and analysis, in 

10 collaboration with fishery participants, academic in11 stitutions, community residents, and other interested 

12 parties; 

13 (3) development of methods or new technologies 

14 to improve the quality, health safety, and value of 

15 fish landed; 

16 (4) conducting analysis of fish and seafood for 

17 health benefits and risks, including levels of con18 taminants and, where feasible, the source of such 

19 contaminants; 

20 (5) marketing of sustainable United States fish21 ery products, including consumer education regard22 ing the health or other benefits of wild fishery prod23 ucts harvested by vessels of the United States; and 

24 (6) providing financial assistance to fishermen 

25 to offset the costs of modifying fishing practices and 


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1 gear to meet the requirements of this Act, the Mag2 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage3 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and other Fed4 eral laws in pari materia. 

5 (c) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.— 

6 (1) QUOTA SET-ASIDES.—Any amount gen7 erated through quota set-asides established by a 

8 Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con9 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

10 seq.) and designated by the Council for inclusion in 

11 the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund, 

12 may be deposited in the Fund. 

13 (2) OTHER FUNDS.—In addition to amounts re14 ceived under sections 311(e)(1)(G) of the Magnuson15 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)(G), and amounts received 

17 pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 

18 Fishery Conservation and Management Fund may 

19 also receive funds from— 

20 (A) appropriations for the purposes of this 

21 section; and 

22 (B) States or other public sources or pri23 vate or non-profit organizations for purposes of 

24 this section. 


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1 (d) REGIONAL ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall, 

2 every 2 years, apportion monies from the Fund among the 

3 eight Council regions according to consensus recommenda4 tions of the Councils, based on regional priorities identi5 fied through the Council process, except that no region 

6 shall receive less than 5 percent of the Fund in each allo7 cation period. 

8 (e) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF THE FUND.—No 

9 amount made available from the Fund may be used to de10 fray the costs of carrying out other requirements of this 

11 Act or the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

12 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

13 SEC. 207. USE OF FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM AND CAP14 ITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND FOR SUSTAIN15 ABLE PURPOSES. 

16 (a) PURPOSE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 

17 1104A(a)(7) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 

18 U.S.C. App. 1274(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(7) financing or refinancing including, 

20 ‘‘(A) the reimbursement of obligors for ex21 penditures previously made, for the purchase of 

22 individual fishing quotas in accordance with 

23 section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

24 Fishery Conservation and Management Act; 


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1 ‘‘(B) activities that assist in the transition 

2 to reduced fishing capacity; or 

3 ‘‘(C) technologies or upgrades designed to 

4 improve collection and reporting of fishery-de5 pendent data, to reduce bycatch and seabird by6 catch, to improve selectivity or reduce adverse 

7 impacts of fishing gear, or to improve safety.’’. 

8 (b) EXPANSION OF PURPOSES FOR QUALIFIED

9 WITHDRAWALS.—Section 607(f)(1) of the Merchant Ma10 rine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1177(f)(1)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘for:’’ and inserting ‘‘for—’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘vessel,’’ in subparagraph (A) 

13 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘vessel, or’’ in subparagraph 

15 (B) and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; 

16 (D) by striking ‘‘vessel.’’ in subparagraph (C) 

17 and inserting ‘‘vessel;’’; and 

18 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(D) in the case of any person for whose 

21 benefit the fund was established and who par22 ticipates in the fishing capacity reduction pro23 gram under section 312 of the Magnuson-Ste24 vens Fishery Conservation and Management 

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) if such person remains in the 

2 fishery, the satisfaction of any debt obliga3 tion undertaken pursuant to such program; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) if such person withdraws 1 or 

6 more vessels from the fishery, the substi7 tution of amounts the person would other8 wise receive under such program for such 

9 person’s vessel or permit to engage in the 

10 fishery; 

11 ‘‘(E) the repair, maintenance, or upgrade 

12 of an eligible vessel or its equipment for the 

13 purpose of— 

14 ‘‘(i) making conservation engineering 

15 changes to reduce bycatch, improve selec16 tivity of fishing gear, or reduce adverse im17 pacts of fishing gear; 

18 ‘‘(ii) improving vessel safety; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) acquiring, installing, or upgrad20 ing equipment to improve collection, re21 porting, or accuracy of fishery data; or 

22 ‘‘(F) the acquisition, construction, recon23 struction, upgrading, or investment in shoreside 

24 fishery-related facilities or infrastructure in the 

25 United States for the purpose of promoting 


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1 United States ownership of fishery-related fa2 cilities in the United States without contrib3 uting to overcapacity in the sector.’’. 

4 SEC. 208. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

5 PROGRAM. 

6 Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 408. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

11 with appropriate regional fishery management councils 

12 and in coordination with other Federal agencies and edu13 cational institutions, shall establish a program— 

14 ‘‘(1) to identify existing research on, and known 

15 locations of, deep sea corals and submit such infor16 mation to the appropriate Councils; 

17 ‘‘(2) to locate and map locations of deep sea 

18 corals and submit such information to the Councils; 

19 ‘‘(3) to monitor activity in locations where deep 

20 sea corals are known or likely to occur, based on 

21 best scientific information available, including 

22 through underwater or remote sensing technologies 

23 and submit such information to the appropriate 

24 Councils; 


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1 ‘‘(4) to conduct research, including cooperative 

2 research with fishing industry participants, on deep 

3 sea corals and related species, and on survey meth4 ods; 

5 ‘‘(5) to develop technologies or methods de6 signed to assist fishing industry participants in re7 ducing interactions between fishing gear and deep 

8 sea corals; and 

9 ‘‘(6) to prioritize program activities in areas 

10 where deep sea corals are known to occur, and in 

11 areas where scientific modeling or other methods 

12 predict deep sea corals are likely to be present. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Beginning 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva15 tion and Management Amendments Act of 2006, the Sec16 retary, in consultation with the Councils, shall submit bi17 ennial reports to Congress and the public on steps taken 

18 by the Secretary to identify and monitor, and the Councils 

19 to protect, deep sea coral areas, including summaries of 

20 the results of mapping, research, and data collection per21 formed under the program.’’. 

22 SEC. 209. IMPACT OF TURTLE EXCLUDER DEVICES ON 

23 SHRIMPING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of Com25 merce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall execute an agreeVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 ment with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, 

2 jointly, a multi-year, comprehensive in-water study de3 signed— 

4 (1) to measure accurately the efforts and ef5 fects of shrimp fishery efforts to utilize turtle ex6 cluder devices; 

7 (2) to analyze the impact of those efforts on sea 

8 turtle mortality, including interaction between tur9 tles and shrimp trawlers in the inshore, nearshore, 

10 and offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico and simi11 lar geographical locations in the waters of the 

12 Southeastern United States; and 

13 (3) to evaluate innovative technologies to in14 crease shrimp retention in turtle excluder devices 

15 while ensuring the protection of endangered and 

16 threatened sea turtles. 

17 (b) OBSERVERS.—In conducting the study, the 

18 Under Secretary shall ensure that observers are placed on19 board commercial shrimp fishing vessels where appro20 priate or necessary. 

21 (c) INTERIM REPORTS.—During the course of the 

22 study and until a final report is submitted to the Senate 

23 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

24 and the House of Representatives Committee on Re25 sources, the National Academy of Sciences shall transmit 


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1 interim reports to the Committees biannually containing 

2 a summary of preliminary findings and conclusions from 

3 the study. 

4 SEC. 210. HURRICANE EFFECTS ON SHRIMP AND OYSTER 

5 FISHERIES AND HABITATS. 

6 (a) FISHERIES REPORT.—Within 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

8 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep10 resentatives Committee on Resources on the impact of 

11 Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma 

12 on— 

13 (1) commercial and recreational fisheries in the 

14 States of Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, 

15 and Texas, including the extent of recovery of such 

16 fisheries from such impacts; 

17 (2) shrimp fishing vessels in those States; and 

18 (3) the oyster industry in those States. 

19 (b) HABITAT REPORT.—Within 180 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

21 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep23 resentatives Committee on Resources on the impact of 

24 Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma 


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1 on habitat, including the habitat of shrimp and oysters 

2 in those States. 

3 (c) HABITAT RESTORATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 carry out activities to restore fishery habitats, including 

5 the shrimp and oyster habitats in Louisiana and Mis6 sissippi. 

7 TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES 

8 STATUTES 

9 SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION OF OTHER FISHERIES ACTS. 

10 (a) ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION ACT.— 

11 Section 7(a) of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act 

12 (16 U.S.C. 5156(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—For each of fiscal years 

14 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, there are authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out this Act— 

16 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 to the Secretary of Commerce; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) $250,000 to the Secretary of the Inte19 rior.’’. 

20 (b) YUKON RIVER SALMON ACT OF 2000.—Section 

21 208 of the Yukon River Salmon Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

22 5727) is amended by striking ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fis23 cal years 2004 through 2008,’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000 

24 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010,’’. 


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1 (c) SHARK FINNING PROHIBITION ACT.—Section 10 

2 of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (16 U.S.C. 1822 

3 note) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2001 through 

4 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2007 through 2010’’. 

5 (d) PACIFIC SALMON TREATY ACT.— 

6 (1) TRANSFER OF SECTION TO ACT.—The text 

7 of section 623 of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat. 

8 1501A–56), as introduced on November 17, 1999, 

9 and enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1) of the 

10 Act of November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113)— 

11 (A) is transferred to the Pacific Salmon 

12 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.) and in13 serted after section 15; and 

14 (B) amended— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘SEC. 623.’’; and 

16 (ii) inserting before ‘‘(a) NORTHERN

17 FUND AND SOUTHERN FUND.—’’ the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 16. NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FUNDS; TREATY IM20 PLEMENTATION; ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZA21 TION OF APPROPRIATIONS.’’. 

22 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—The amendment 

23 made by the Department of Commerce and Related 

24 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 under the head25 ing ‘‘PACIFIC COASTAL SALMON RECOVERY’’ (118 


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1 Stat. 2881), to section 628(2)(A) of the Depart2 ments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judici3 ary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 

4 is deemed to have been made to section 

5 623(d)(2)(A) of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat. 

6 1501A–56), as introduced on November 17, 1999, 

7 enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1) of the Act of 

8 November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113) instead 

9 of to such section 628(2)(A), as of the date of enact10 ment of the Department of Commerce and Related 

11 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005. 

12 (3) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 16(d)(2)(A) 

13 of the Pacific Salmon Treaty Act, as transferred by 

14 subsection (a), is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘sustainable salmon fish16 eries,’’ after ‘‘enhancement,’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘2007, 2008, and 2009,’’ 

18 after ‘‘2005,’’. 

19 (e) STATE AUTHORITY FOR DUNGENESS CRAB FISH20 ERY MANAGEMENT.—Section 203 of Public Law 105–384 

21 (16 U.S.C. 1856 note) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 2006.’’ in sub23 section (i) and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2016.’’; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘health’’ in subsection (j) and 

25 inserting ‘‘status’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘California.’’ in subsection (j) 

2 and inserting ‘‘California, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) stock status and trends throughout its 

4 range; 

5 ‘‘(2) a description of applicable research and 

6 scientific review processes used to determine stock 

7 status and trends; and 

8 ‘‘(3) measures implemented or planned that are 

9 designed to prevent or end overfishing in the fish10 ery.’’. 

11 TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL 

12 SEC. 401. FINDING WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNRE13 PORTED, AND UNREGULATED FISHING. 

14 Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)), as amended by sec15 tion 3 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(12) International cooperation is necessary to 

18 address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 

19 and other fishing practices which may harm the sus20 tainability of living marine resources and disadvan21 tage the United States fishing industry.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. ACTION TO END ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UN2 REGULATED FISHING AND REDUCE BYCATCH 

3 OF PROTECTED MARINE SPECIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the High Seas Driftnet 

5 Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et 

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

7 ‘‘SEC. 607. BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPLI8 ANCE. 

9 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 State, shall provide to Congress, by not later than 2 years 

11 after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 

12 Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments Act 

13 of 2006, and every 2 years thereafter, a report that in14 cludes— 

15 ‘‘(1) the state of knowledge on the status of 

16 international living marine resources, including a list 

17 of all fish stocks classified as depleted, endangered, 

18 or threatened with extinction by any international or 

19 other authority charged with management or con20 servation of living marine resources; 

21 ‘‘(2) a list of nations whose vessels have been 

22 identified under sections 609(a) or 610(a), including 

23 the specific offending activities and any subsequent 

24 actions taken pursuant to section 609 or 610; 

25 ‘‘(3) a description of efforts taken by nations on 

26 those lists to comply with the provisions of sections 


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1 609 and 610, and an evaluation of the progress of 

2 those efforts, including steps taken by the United 

3 States to implement those sections and to improve 

4 international compliance; 

5 ‘‘(4) progress at the international level, pursu6 ant to section 608, to strengthen the efforts of inter7 national fishery management organizations to end il8 legal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; and 

9 ‘‘(5) a plan of action for ensuring the conclu10 sion and entry into force of international measures 

11 comparable to those of the United States to reduce 

12 impacts of fishing and other practices on protected 

13 living marine resources, if no international agree14 ment to achieve such goal exists, or if the relevant 

15 international fishery or conservation organization 

16 has failed to implement effective measures to end or 

17 reduce the adverse impacts of fishing practices on 

18 such species. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 608. ACTION TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL FISH20 ERY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

21 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

22 State, and in cooperation with relevant fishery manage23 ment councils, shall take actions to improve the effective24 ness of international fishery management organizations in 


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1 conserving and managing fish stocks under their jurisdic2 tion. These actions shall include— 

3 ‘‘(1) urging international fishery management 

4 organizations to which the United States is a mem5 ber— 

6 ‘‘(A) to incorporate multilateral sanctions 

7 against member or nonmember governments 

8 whose vessels engage in illegal, unreported, or 

9 unregulated fishing; 

10 ‘‘(B) to seek adoption of lists that identify 

11 fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or 

12 unregulated fishing, including authorized 

13 (green) and unauthorized (red) vessel lists, that 

14 can be shared among all members and other 

15 international fishery management organizations; 

16 ‘‘(C) to seek international adoption of a 

17 centralized vessel monitoring system with an 

18 independent secretariat in order to monitor and 

19 document capacity in fleets of all nations in20 volved in fishing in areas under the an inter21 national fishery management organization’s ju22 risdiction; 

23 ‘‘(D) to increase use of observers and tech24 nologies needed to monitor compliance with con25 servation and management measures estabVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 lished by the organization, including vessel 

2 monitoring systems and automatic identification 

3 systems; and 

4 ‘‘(E) to seek adoption of greater port state 

5 controls in all nations, particularly those na6 tions whose vessels engage in illegal, unre7 ported, or unregulated fishing; 

8 ‘‘(2) urging international fishery management 

9 organizations to which the United States is a mem10 ber, as well as all members of those organizations, 

11 to adopt and expand the use of market-related meas12 ures to combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated 

13 fishing, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) import prohibitions, landing restric15 tions, or other market-based measures needed 

16 to enforce compliance with international fishery 

17 management organization measures, such as 

18 quotas and catch limits; 

19 ‘‘(B) import restrictions or other market20 based measures to prevent the trade or impor21 tation of fish caught by vessels identified multi22 laterally as engaging in illegal, unreported, or 

23 unregulated fishing; and 

24 ‘‘(C) catch documentation and certification 

25 schemes to improve tracking and identification 


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1 of catch of vessels engaged in illegal, unre2 ported, or unregulated fishing, including ad3 vance transmission of catch documents to ports 

4 of entry; and 

5 ‘‘(3) urging other nations at bilateral, regional, 

6 and international levels, including the Convention on 

7 International Trade in Endangered Species of 

8 Fauna and Flora and the World Trade Organization 

9 to take all steps necessary, consistent with inter10 national law, to adopt measures and policies that 

11 will prevent fish or other living marine resources 

12 harvested by vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, 

13 or unregulated fishing from being traded or im14 ported into their nation or territories. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 609. ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED 

16 FISHING. 

17 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, 

18 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if— 

19 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged, 

20 or have been engaged during the preceding calendar 

21 year in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) the relevant international fishery manage24 ment organization has failed to implement effective 

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1 lated fishing activity by vessels of that nation or the 

2 nation is not a party to, or does not maintain co3 operating status with, such organization, or where 

4 no international fishery management organization 

5 exists. 

6 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.—An identification under sub7 section (a) or section 610(a) is deemed to be an identifica8 tion under section 101(b)(1)(A) of the High Seas Driftnet 

9 Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)(1)(A)), 

10 and the Secretary shall notify the President and that na11 tion of such identification. 

12 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—No later than 60 days after 

13 submitting a report to Congress under section 607, the 

14 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) notify nations listed in the report of the 

17 requirements of this section; 

18 ‘‘(2) initiate consultations for the purpose of 

19 encouraging such nations to take the appropriate 

20 corrective action with respect to the offending activi21 ties of their fishing vessels identified in the report; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) notify any relevant international fishery 

24 management organization of the actions taken by 

25 the United States under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) IUU CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall es3 tablish a procedure, consistent with the provisions of 

4 subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, and including notice and an opportunity for 

6 comment by the governments of any nation listed by 

7 the Secretary under subsection (a), for determining 

8 if that government has taken appropriate corrective 

9 action with respect to the offending activities of its 

10 fishing vessels identified in the report under section 

11 607. The Secretary shall determine, on the basis of 

12 the procedure, and certify to the Congress no later 

13 than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary 

14 promulgates a final rule containing the procedure, 

15 and biennially thereafter in the report under section 

16 607— 

17 ‘‘(A) whether the government of each na18 tion identified under subsection (b) has pro19 vided documentary evidence that it has taken 

20 corrective action with respect to the offending 

21 activities of its fishing vessels identified in the 

22 report; or 

23 ‘‘(B) whether the relevant international 

24 fishery management organization has imple25 mented measures that are effective in ending 


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1 the illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing 

2 activity by vessels of that nation. 

3 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec4 retary may establish a procedure for certification, on 

5 a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or other 

6 basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of a har7 vesting nation not certified under paragraph (1) if 

8 the Secretary determines that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the vessel has not engaged in illegal, 

10 unreported, or unregulated fishing under an 

11 international fishery management agreement to 

12 which the United States is a party; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the vessel is not identified by an 

14 international fishery management organization 

15 as participating in illegal, unreported, or un16 regulated fishing activities. 

17 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi18 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and 

19 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and 

20 (b)(4)) shall apply to any nation identified under 

21 subsection (a) that has not been certified by the Sec22 retary under this subsection, or for which the Sec23 retary has issued a negative certification under this 

24 subsection, but shall not apply to any nation identi25 fied under subsection (a) for which the Secretary 


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1 has issued a positive certification under this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(e) ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED

4 FISHING DEFINED.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this Act the term ‘ille6 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing’ has the 

7 meaning established under paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY TO DEFINE TERM WITHIN

9 LEGISLATIVE GUIDELINES.—Within 3 months after 

10 the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 

11 Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments 

12 Act of 2006, the Secretary shall publish a definition 

13 of the term ‘illegal, unreported, or unregulated fish14 ing’ for purposes of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall include 

16 in the definition, at a minimum— 

17 ‘‘(A) fishing activities that violate con18 servation and management measures required 

19 under an international fishery management 

20 agreement to which the United States is a 

21 party, including catch limits or quotas, capacity 

22 restrictions, and bycatch reduction require23 ments; 

24 ‘‘(B) overfishing of fish stocks shared by 

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1 cable international conservation or management 

2 measures or in areas with no applicable inter3 national fishery management organization or 

4 agreement, that has adverse impacts on such 

5 stocks; and 

6 ‘‘(C) fishing activity, including bottom 

7 trawling, that have adverse impacts on 

8 seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold water 

9 corals located beyond national jurisdiction, for 

10 which there are no applicable conservation or 

11 management measures or in areas with no ap12 plicable international fishery management orga13 nization or agreement. 

14 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis16 cal years 2007 through 2012 such sums as are necessary 

17 to carry out this section. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 610. EQUIVALENT CONSERVATION MEASURES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, 

20 and list in the report under section 607, a nation if— 

21 ‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged, 

22 or have been engaged during the preceding calendar 

23 year in fishing activities or practices beyond the ex24 clusive economic zone that result in bycatch of a 

25 protected living marine resource; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the relevant international organization for 

2 the conservation and protection of such species or 

3 the relevant international or regional fishery organi4 zation has failed to implement effective measures to 

5 end or reduce the impacts of the fishing practices of 

6 the nation’s vessels on such species, or the nation is 

7 not a party to, or does not maintain cooperating sta8 tus with, such organization; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the nation has not adopted a regulatory 

10 program governing such fishing practices and associ11 ated bycatch of protected living marine resources 

12 that are comparable to those of the United States, 

13 taking into account different conditions. 

14 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION.—The Sec15 retary, acting through the Secretary of State, shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) notify, as soon as possible, other nations 

17 whose vessels engage in fishing activities or practices 

18 described in subsection (a), about the requirements 

19 of this section and this Act; 

20 ‘‘(2) initiate discussions as soon as possible 

21 with all foreign governments which are engaged in, 

22 or which have persons or companies engaged in, 

23 fishing activities or practices described in subsection 

24 (a), for the purpose of entering into bilateral and 


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1 multilateral treaties with such countries to protect 

2 such species; 

3 ‘‘(3) seek agreements calling for international 

4 restrictions on fishing activities or practices de5 scribed in subsection (a) through the United Na6 tions, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Com7 mittee on Fisheries, and appropriate international 

8 fishery management bodies; and 

9 ‘‘(4) initiate the amendment of any existing 

10 international treaty for the protection and conserva11 tion of such species to which the United States is a 

12 party in order to make such treaty consistent with 

13 the purposes and policies of this section. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall de16 termine, on the basis of a procedure consistent with 

17 the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 

18 5, United States Code, and including notice and an 

19 opportunity for comment by the governments of any 

20 nation identified by the Secretary under subsection 

21 (a). The Secretary shall certify to the Congress by 

22 January 31, 2007, and annually thereafter whether 

23 the government of each harvesting nation— 

24 ‘‘(A) has provided documentary evidence of 

25 the adoption of a regulatory program governing 


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1 the conservation of the protected living marine 

2 resource, including measures to ensure max3 imum probability for survival after release, that 

4 is comparable to that of the United States, tak5 ing into account different conditions, and 

6 which, in the case of pelagic longline fishing, in7 cludes mandatory use of circle hooks, careful 

8 handling and release equipment, and training 

9 and observer programs; and 

10 ‘‘(B) has established a management plan 

11 containing requirements that will assist in gath12 ering species-specific data to support inter13 national stock assessments and conservation en14 forcement efforts for protected living marine re15 sources. 

16 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Sec17 retary shall establish a procedure for certification, 

18 on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or 

19 other basis of fish or fish products from a vessel of 

20 a harvesting nation not certified under paragraph 

21 (1) if the Secretary determines that such imports 

22 were harvested by practices that do not result in by23 catch of a protected marine species, or were har24 vested by practices that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) are comparable to those of the United 

2 States, taking into account different conditions, 

3 and which, in the case of pelagic longline fish4 ing, includes mandatory use of circle hooks, 

5 careful handling and release equipment, and 

6 training and observer programs; and 

7 ‘‘(B) include the gathering of species spe8 cific data that can be used to support inter9 national and regional stock assessments and 

10 conservation efforts for protected living marine 

11 resources. 

12 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provi13 sions of section 101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and 

14 (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a), (b)(3), and 

15 (b)(4)) shall apply to any nation identified under 

16 subsection (a) that has not been certified by the Sec17 retary under this subsection, or for which the Sec18 retary has issued a negative certification under this 

19 subsection, but shall not apply to any nation identi20 fied under subsection (a) for which the Secretary 

21 has issued a positive certification under this sub22 section. 

23 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSIST24 ANCE.—To the greatest extent possible consistent with exVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 isting authority and the availability of funds, the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) provide appropriate assistance to nations 

4 identified by the Secretary under subsection (a) and 

5 international organizations of which those nations 

6 are members to assist those nations in qualifying for 

7 certification under subsection (c); 

8 ‘‘(2) undertake, where appropriate, cooperative 

9 research activities on species statistics and improved 

10 harvesting techniques, with those nations or organi11 zations; 

12 ‘‘(3) encourage and facilitate the transfer of ap13 propriate technology to those nations or organiza14 tions to assist those nations in qualifying for certifi15 cation under subsection (c); and 

16 ‘‘(4) provide assistance to those nations or or17 ganizations in designing and implementing appro18 priate fish harvesting plans. 

19 ‘‘(e) PROTECTED LIVING MARINE RESOURCE DE20 FINED.—In this section the term ‘protected living marine 

21 resource’— 

22 ‘‘(1) means non-target fish, sea turtles, or ma23 rine mammals occurring in areas beyond United 

24 States jurisdiction that are protected under United 

25 States law or international agreement, including the 


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1 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endan2 gered Species Act of 1973, the Shark Finning Prohi3 bition Act, and the Convention on International 

4 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and 

5 Fauna; but 

6 ‘‘(2) does not include species, except sharks, 

7 managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act, the Atlantic Tunas 

9 Convention Act of 1973, or any international fishery 

10 management agreement. 

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fis13 cal years 2007 through 2012 such sums as are necessary 

14 to carry out this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DENIAL OF PORT PRIVILEGES.—Section 

17 101(b) of the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforce18 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)) is amended by in19 serting ‘‘or illegal, unreported, or unregulated 

20 fishing‘‘ after ‘‘fishing‘‘ in paragraph (1)(A)(i), 

21 paragraph (1)(B), paragraph (2), and paragraph 

22 (4)(A)(i). 

23 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF DENIAL.—Section 102 of 

24 the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act 

25 (16 U.S.C. 1826b) is amended by inserting ‘or illeVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Apr 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

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1 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing’ after ‘fish2 ing’.’’ 

3 SEC. 403. REBUILDING DEPLETED FISHERIES. 

4 (a) REBUILDING DEPLETED FISHERIES.—Section 

5 304(e) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended by adding at the 

6 end thereof the following: 

7 ‘‘(8) The provisions of this paragraph shall 

8 apply in lieu of paragraphs (2) through (7) of this 

9 subsection to a fishery that the Secretary determines 

10 is depleted or approaching a condition of being de11 pleted due to excessive international fishing pres12 sure, and for which there are no management meas13 ures to end overfishing under an international agree14 ment to which the United States is a party. For 

15 such fisheries— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

17 Secretary of State, immediately take appro18 priate action at the international level to end 

19 the overfishing; and 

20 ‘‘(B) within 1 year after the Secretary’s 

21 determination, the appropriate Council, or Sec22 retary, for fisheries under section 302(a)(3) 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) develop recommendations for do25 mestic regulations to address the relative 


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1 impact of fishing vessels of the United 

2 States on the stock and, if developed by a 

3 Council, the Council shall submit such rec4 ommendations to the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop and submit recommenda6 tions to the Secretary of State, and to the 

7 Congress, for international actions that 

8 will end overfishing in the fishery and re9 build the affected stocks, taking into ac10 count the relative impact of vessels of 

11 other nations and vessels of the United 

12 States on the relevant stock.’’. 

13 (b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES TAGGING RE14 SEARCH.—Section 304(g)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(2)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d), or highly migratory species harvested 

17 in a commercial fishery managed by a Council under this 

18 Act or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Conven19 tion Implementation Act,’’. 

Æ 


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