I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1888 

To provide for an equitable management of summer flounder based on 

geographic, scientific, and economic data and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. ZELDIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for an equitable management of summer flounder 

based on geographic, scientific, and economic data 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fluke Fairness Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Summer flounder is an important economic 

8 fish stock for commercial and recreational fishermen 

9 across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United 

10 States. 


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1 (2) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva2 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) 

3 was reauthorized in 2006 and instituted annual 

4 catch limits and accountability measures for impor5 tant fish stocks. 

6 (3) That reauthorization prompted fishery man7 agers to look at alternate management schemes to 

8 rebuild depleted stocks like summer flounder. 

9 (4) Summer flounder occur in both State and 

10 Federal waters and are managed through a joint 

11 fishery management plan between the Council and 

12 the Commission. 

13 (5) The Council and the Commission decided 

14 that each State’s recreational and commercial har15 vest limits for summer flounder would be based upon 

16 landings in previous years. 

17 (6) These historical landings were based on 

18 flawed data sets that no longer provide fairness or 

19 flexibility for fisheries’ managers to allocate re20 sources based on the best science. 

21 (7) This allocation mechanism resulted in an 

22 uneven split among the States along the East Coast 

23 which is problematic. 

24 (8) The Fishery Management Plan for summer 

25 flounder does not account for regional changes in 


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1 the location of the fluke stock even though the stock 

2 has moved further to the north and changes in effort 

3 by anglers along the East Coast. 

4 (9) The States have been locked in a manage5 ment system based on data that occurred over a dec6 ade ago and the summer flounder stock is not being 

7 managed using the best available science and mod8 ern fishery management techniques. 

9 (10) It is in the interest of the Federal Govern10 ment to establish a new fishery management plan 

11 for summer flounder that is based on current geo12 graphic, scientific, and economic realities. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

16 means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis17 sion. 

18 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

19 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council estab20 lished under section 302(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

21 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

22 U.S.C. 1852(a)). 

23 (3) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘Na24 tional Standards’’ means the national standards for 

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1 tion 301(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con2 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)). 

3 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Commerce. 

5 (5) SUMMER FLOUNDER.—The term ‘‘summer 

6 flounder’’ means the species Paralichthys dentatus. 

7 SEC. 4. SUMMER FLOUNDER MANAGEMENT REFORM. 

8 (a) FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN MODIFICATION.— 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act, the Council shall submit to the Secretary, and 

11 the Secretary may approve, a modified fishery manage12 ment plan for the commercial and recreational manage13 ment of summer flounder under title III of the Magnuson14 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

15 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) or an amendment to such plan that— 

16 (1) shall be based on the best scientific infor17 mation available; 

18 (2) reflects changes in the distribution, abun19 dance, and location of summer flounder in estab20 lishing distribution of the commercial and rec21 reational catch quotas; 

22 (3) considers regional, coastwide, or other man23 agement measures for summer flounder that comply 

24 with the National Standards; and 


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1 (4) prohibits the allocation of commercial or 

2 recreational catch quotas for summer flounder on a 

3 State-by-State basis using historical landings data 

4 that does not reflect the status of the summer floun5 der stock, based on the most recent scientific infor6 mation. 

7 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSION.—In 

8 preparing the modified fishery management plan or an 

9 amendment to such a plan as described in subsection (a), 

10 the Council shall consult with the Commission to ensure 

11 consistent management throughout the range of the sum12 mer flounder. 

13 (c) FAILURE TO SUBMIT PLAN.—If the Council fails 

14 to submit a modified fishery management plan or an 

15 amendment to such a plan as described in subsection (a) 

16 that may be approved by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

17 prepare and approve such a modified plan or amendment. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of the approval 

20 under section 4 of a modified fishery management plan 

21 for the commercial and recreational management of sum22 mer flounder or an amendment to such plan, the Comp23 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con24 gress a report on the implementation of such modified 

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1 er such implementation complies with the National Stand2 ards. 

Æ 


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