I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5447 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a regional economic 

transition program to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to 

the fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish processors, 

and owners of related fishery infrastructure affected by a catastrophic 

regional fishery disaster, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2006 

Mr. JINDAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce 

to establish a regional economic transition program to 

provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure affected by a catastrophic regional fishery disaster, and 

for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 

2 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Magnuson-Stevens 

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

5 1851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

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

8 TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re10 gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the re11 quest of, and in consultation with, the Governors of af12 fected States, establish a regional economic transition pro13 gram to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the 

14 fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish 

15 processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af16 fected by the disaster. 

17 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

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

19 of appropriations, the program shall provide funds 

20 or other economic assistance to affected entities, or 

21 to governmental entities for disbursement to affected 

22 entities, for— 

23 ‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside 

24 fishery infrastructure needs, including proc25 essing facilities, cold storage facilities, ice 

26 houses, docks, including temporary docks and 


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1 storage facilities, and other related shoreside 

2 fishery support facilities and infrastructure; 

3 ‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training 

4 assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in 

5 a fishery in the region that may be temporarily 

6 closed as a result of environmental or other ef7 fects associated with the disaster; 

8 ‘‘(C) vessel repair and refloating; 

9 ‘‘(D) debris removal and cleaning; 

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

11 and other fisheries rehabilitation; and 

12 ‘‘(F) any other activities authorized under 

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

14 the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 

15 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). 

16 ‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who de17 cides to scrap a fishing vessel under the program 

18 shall be eligible for job training assistance. 

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

20 may waive the matching requirements of section 312 

21 of this Act, section 308 of the Interjurisdictional 

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

23 other provision of law under which the Federal share 

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

25 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 ‘‘(4) 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 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 in the first section of that Act is amended by inserting 

13 after the item relating to section 314 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 315. Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery program’’. 

Æ 


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