I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1826 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2015 

Mr. SABLAN (for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fishing Economy Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

9 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref10 erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 


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1 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage2 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

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

5 (1) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(1a) The term ‘artisanal fishing’ means sub8 sistence or small scale traditional fishing involving 

9 fishing households (as opposed to commercial com10 panies)— 

11 ‘‘(A) using a relatively small amount of 

12 capital and energy and relatively small fishing 

13 vessels (if any); 

14 ‘‘(B) making short fishing trips, close to 

15 shore; and 

16 ‘‘(C) mainly for local consumption.’’; 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (27) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(27a) The term ‘marine aquaculture’ means 

20 the propagation and rearing of aquatic species in 

21 controlled or selected environments in the exclusive 

22 economic zone.’’; and 

23 (3) in paragraph (16), by adding at the end the 

24 following: ‘‘Such term does not include marine aqua25 culture.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO HIGHLY MIGRATORY 

2 SPECIES. 

3 (a) PARTICIPATION FOR UNITED STATES TERRI4 TORIES.—Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) UNITED STATES TERRITORIES.—The Secretary 

7 shall ensure participation for, and consider the interests 

8 of, United States territories and their fishing communities 

9 in managing highly migratory species that frequent the 

10 exclusive economic zone adjoining such territories.’’. 

11 (b) APPOINTMENTS TO COMMISSION FOR THE CON12 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGHLY MIGRATORY

13 FISH STOCKS IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC

14 OCEAN.—Section 503 of the Western and Central Pacific 

15 Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 6902) is amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall be 

20 represented on the Commission by 5 United States 

21 Commissioners. The President shall appoint individ22 uals to serve on the Commission at the pleasure of 

23 the President. In making the appointments, the 

24 President shall select Commissioners from among in25 dividuals who are knowledgeable or experienced conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:23 Apr 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1826.IH H1826

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1 cerning highly migratory fish stocks in the Western 

2 and Central Pacific Ocean. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED APPOINTMENTS.—Of the Com4 missioners appointed under paragraph (1)— 

5 ‘‘(A) one shall be an officer or employee of 

6 the Department of Commerce; 

7 ‘‘(B) one shall be the chairman or another 

8 member of the Western Pacific Fishery Man9 agement Council; 

10 ‘‘(C) one shall be the chairman or another 

11 member of the Pacific Fishery Management 

12 Council; and 

13 ‘‘(D) one shall be a resident of American 

14 Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the 

15 Northern Mariana Islands who is not a member 

16 of the Western Pacific Fishery Management 

17 Council. 

18 ‘‘(3) TERMS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term of a Com20 missioner shall be 3 years. 

21 ‘‘(B) COUNCIL APPOINTEES.—A Commis22 sioner who is appointed as a member of the Pa23 cific Fishery Management Council or Western 

24 Pacific Fishery Management Council and whose 

25 term on that Council ends during his or her 


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1 term as Commissioner may complete the cur2 rent term as Commissioner but shall not be eli3 gible for reappointment. 

4 ‘‘(C) LIMIT ON CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—An 

5 individual appointed under paragraph (1) shall 

6 not be eligible to serve more than 2 consecutive 

7 terms as a Commissioner. 

8 ‘‘(D) ROTATION OF TERRITORIAL AP9 POINTMENTS.—Appointments under paragraph 

10 (2)(D) shall be rotated among residents of 

11 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

12 Mariana Islands to ensure equal representation 

13 of such territories. 

14 ‘‘(4) CHAIRMAN.—The United States Commis15 sioners may adopt such rules of procedure as they 

16 find necessary and to select a chairman from among 

17 such Commissioners who are officers or employees of 

18 the United States Government.’’. 

19 (c) USE OF WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISH20 ERIES FUND.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(e)(7) (16 

22 U.S.C. 1824(e)(7)) is amended— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘ex24 cept as provided in subparagraph (D),’’ after 

25 ‘‘(A)’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (D),’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi5 colon at the end; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (D),’’ after ‘‘(C)’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

10 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) in the case of funds that are attrib13 utable to a particular U.S. Participating Terri14 tory under section 113 of division B of Public 

15 Law 112–55 (125 Stat. 603) and any regula16 tion approving or otherwise giving effect to such 

17 agreement, or any subsequent agreement, the 

18 Treasury of the U.S. Participating Territory to 

19 which those funds are attributed under this 

20 Act.’’. 

21 (2) CATCH LIMIT ARRANGEMENT FUNDING.— 

22 Section 113(b) of division B of Public Law 112–55 

23 (125 Stat. 603) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Western Pacific Regional 

2 Fisheries Management Council’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Secretary’’; 

4 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

5 at the end of paragraph (1); 

6 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘use’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘transfer’’; 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘only’’; and 

10 (iii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘or for such other purposes as the govern12 ment of the U.S. Participating Territory 

13 determines.’’; and 

14 (D) by striking paragraph (3). 

15 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO REGIONAL FISHERY 

16 MANAGEMENT COUNCILS. 

17 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is 

18 amended as follows: 

19 (1) In subsection (a)(1)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘18’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘19’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

24 the end the following: ‘‘and one appointed 

25 by the Secretary who is a member of the 


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1 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

2 nominated by the members of such Council 

3 to represent the interests of participants in 

4 fisheries under the jurisdiction of such 

5 Council’’; and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘21’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘22’’; and 

9 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

10 the end the following: ‘‘and one appointed 

11 by the Secretary who is a member of the 

12 New England Fishery Management Coun13 cil nominated by the members of such 

14 Council to represent the interests of par15 ticipants in fisheries under the jurisdiction 

16 of such Council’’. 

17 (2) In subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end 

18 the following: ‘‘Each Council shall reflect the inter19 ests of any Indian tribes, Alaskan Natives, Pacific 

20 Insular Areas, and other individuals engaged in 

21 artisanal fishing within the Council’s jurisdiction.’’. 

22 (3) In subsection (b)(2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or 

24 recreational’’ and inserting ‘‘, recreational, or 

25 artisanal fishing’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C), in the second 

2 sentence, by inserting ‘‘, and in the case of the 

3 Governor of Alaska with the artisanal fishing 

4 interests of the State,’’ after ‘‘interests of the 

5 State’’. 

6 (4) In subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

7 recreational’’ and inserting ‘‘, recreational, and 

8 artisanal’’. 

9 (5) In subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(6) To the extent possible, each Council shall 

12 minimize the amount and cost of member and staff 

13 travel by use of electronic means for remote partici14 pation during meetings, including for voting.’’. 

15 (b) REPORT ON WESTERN PACIFIC FISHERY MAN16 AGEMENT COUNCIL.—The Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall within 180 days after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act investigate and report to the Con19 gress on the operations of the Western Pacific Fishery 

20 Management Council. Such investigation and report shall 

21 include— 

22 (1) a full accounting of all grant money re23 ceived and distributed by the Council for the 10 

24 years preceding the enactment of this Act, including 


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1 an analysis of the deliverables and results of all 

2 grant-funded projects; and 

3 (2) the involvement of Council staff in the prep4 aration and submission of the 2012 petition to re5 move protections for the green sea turtle under the 

6 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

7 seq.). 

8 SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS. 

9 (a) ADVICE.—Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 

10 1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: ‘‘Each scientific and statistical committee shall de12 velop such advice in a transparent manner and allow for 

13 public involvement in the process.’’. 

14 (b) MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(2) (16 U.S.C. 

15 1852(i)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(G) Each Council shall make available on 

17 the Internet website of the Council— 

18 ‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, a Web 

19 cast or a live audio or video broadcast of 

20 each meeting of the Council, and of the 

21 Council Coordination Committee estab22 lished under subsection (l), that is not 

23 closed in accordance with paragraph (3); 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an audio or video recording (if 

2 the meeting was in person or by video con3 ference), or a searchable audio recording 

4 or written transcript, of each meeting of 

5 the Council and of the meetings of commit6 tees referred to in section 302(g)(1)(B) of 

7 the Council, by not later than 30 days 

8 after the conclusion of the meeting. 

9 ‘‘(H) The Secretary shall maintain and 

10 make available to the public an archive of 

11 Council and scientific and statistical committee 

12 meeting audios, videos, and transcripts made 

13 available under clauses (i) and (ii) subpara14 graph (G).’’. 

15 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO FISHERY MANAGE16 MENT PLANS. 

17 (a) INCLUSION OF ARTISANAL FISHING SECTORS.— 

18 Section 303(a)(13) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(13)) is amended 

19 by inserting ‘‘artisanal,’’ after ‘‘include a description of 

20 the commercial, recreational,’’. 

21 (b) STATE DUNGENESS CRAB MANAGEMENT AU22 THORITY.—Section 203 of Public Law 105–384 (16 

23 U.S.C. 1856 note) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking subsection (i); and 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub2 section (i). 

3 SEC. 8. IMPROVING FISHERIES DATA COLLECTION. 

4 (a) ELECTRONIC MONITORING.— 

5 (1) ISSUANCE OF GUIDANCE.— 

6 (A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of 

7 Commerce shall issue guidance regarding the 

8 use of electronic monitoring for the purposes of 

9 monitoring fisheries that are subject to the 

10 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

11 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

12 (B) CONTENT.—The guidance shall— 

13 (i) distinguish between monitoring for 

14 data collection and research purposes and 

15 monitoring for compliance and enforcement 

16 purposes; and 

17 (ii) include minimum criteria, objec18 tives, or performance standards for elec19 tronic monitoring. 

20 (C) PROCESS.—In issuing the guidance the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (i) consult with the Regional Fishery 

23 Management Councils and interstate fish24 ery management commissions; 


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1 (ii) publish the proposed guidance; 

2 and 

3 (iii) provide an opportunity for the 

4 submission by the public of comments on 

5 the proposed guidance. 

6 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF MONITORING.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), and after the issuance of the final 

9 guidance, a Council, or the Secretary for fish10 eries referred to in section 302(a)(3) of the 

11 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

12 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(3)), may, 

13 in accordance with the guidance, on a fishery14 by-fishery basis and consistent with the existing 

15 objectives and management goals of a fishery 

16 management plan and the Act for a fishery 

17 issued by the Council or the Secretary, respec18 tively, amend such plan— 

19 (i) to incorporate electronic moni20 toring as an alternative tool for data col21 lection and monitoring purposes or for 

22 compliance and enforcement purposes (or 

23 both); and 


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1 (ii) to allow for the replacement of a 

2 percentage of on-board observers with elec3 tronic monitoring. 

4 (B) COMPARABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 

5 shall apply to a fishery only if the Council or 

6 Secretary, respectively, determines that such 

7 monitoring will yield comparable data collection 

8 and compliance results. 

9 (3) PILOT PROJECTS.—Before the issuance of 

10 final guidance, a Council, or the Secretary for fish11 eries referred to in section 302(a)(3) of the Magnu12 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

13 Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(3)), may, subject to the re14 quirements of such Act, on a fishery-by-fishery 

15 basis, and consistent with the existing objectives and 

16 management goals of a fishery management plan for 

17 a fishery issued by the Council or the Secretary, re18 spectively, conduct a pilot project for the use of elec19 tronic monitoring for the fishery. 

20 (4) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue final 

21 guidance under this subsection by not later than 12 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) VIDEO AND ACOUSTIC SURVEY TECH24 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall work with the Regional 

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1 ties to develop and implement the use pursuant to the 

2 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage3 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) of video survey tech4 nologies and expanded use of acoustic survey technologies. 

5 SEC. 9. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT PRO6 GRAM. 

7 (a) PLAN.—Section 318 (16 U.S.C. 1867) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before 

10 the first sentence, and by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(2) Within one year after the date of enactment of 

13 the Fishing Economy Improvement Act, and after con14 sultation with the Councils, the Secretary shall publish a 

15 plan for implementing and conducting the program estab16 lished in paragraph (1). Such plan shall identify and de17 scribe critical regional fishery management and research 

18 needs, including for data-poor stocks for which limited sci19 entific or commercial information is available, possible 

20 projects that may address those needs, and estimated 

21 costs for such projects. The plan shall be revised and up22 dated every 5 years, and updated plans shall include a 

23 brief description of projects that were funded in the prior 

24 5-year period and the research and management needs 

25 that were addressed by those projects.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘in consulta2 tion with the Secretary.’’ and inserting ‘‘. Each 

3 Council shall provide a list of such needs to the Sec4 retary on an annual basis, identifying and 

5 prioritizing such needs.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FUNDING’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘PRIORITIES’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking all after 

10 ‘‘including’’ and inserting an em dash, followed 

11 on the next line by the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) the use of fishing vessels or acoustic 

13 or other marine technology; 

14 ‘‘(B) expanding the use of electronic catch 

15 reporting programs and technology; and 

16 ‘‘(C) improving monitoring and observer 

17 coverage through the expanded use of electronic 

18 monitoring devices and satellite tracking sys19 tems such as vessel monitoring systems (VMS) 

20 on small vessels.’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(g) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDING.—The Secretary 

23 may, using the authority established under section 208 of 

24 Public Law 109–479 (16 U.S.C. 1891b), accept and use 

25 funding from other Federal agencies, academic instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:23 Apr 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1826.IH H1826

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1 tions, persons, including fishery participants, and non2 governmental organizations to expand cooperative fish3 eries research and management efforts, including efforts 

4 to improve data collection in recreational fisheries, for the 

5 purposes of improving management certainty and out6 comes.’’. 

7 (b) ALLOCATION EXCEPTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of the Magnu9 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

10 Reauthorization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 1891b) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in the section heading, by inserting 

13 ‘‘ZEKE GRADER’’ before ‘‘FISHERIES CON14 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT FUND’’; 

15 (B) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘Zeke 

16 Grader’’ before ‘‘Fisheries Conservation and 

17 Management Fund’’; 

18 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘ Fishery 

19 Conservation and Management Fund’’ each 

20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Zeke Grader 

21 Fisheries Conservation and Management 

22 Fund’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

25 subsection (d), the Secretary may apportion monies from 


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1 the Fund to a specific project or region if such monies 

2 were identified by the Council that designated them for 

3 inclusion in the Fund under subsection (c)(1), or by the 

4 appropriation Act, State, public source, or nonprofit or or5 ganization from which received under subsection (c)(2), as 

6 being deposited for that specific project or region.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents is amended by striking the item relating to sec9 tion 208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 208. Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund.’’. 

10 (3) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, 

11 map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 

12 the United States to the ‘‘Fisheries Conservation 

13 and Management Fund’’ is deemed to be a reference 

14 to the ‘‘Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and 

15 Management Fund’’. 

16 SEC. 10. GULF OF MEXICO FISHERIES COOPERATIVE RE17 SEARCH AND RED SNAPPER MANAGEMENT. 

18 (a) REPORTING AND DATA COLLECTION PRO19 GRAM.—The Secretary of Commerce shall— 

20 (1) in conjunction with the States, the Gulf of 

21 Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the rec22 reational fishing sectors, develop and implement a 

23 real-time reporting and data collection program for 

24 the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery using avail25 able technology; and 


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1 (2) make implementation of this subsection a 

2 priority for funds received by the Secretary and allo3 cated to the Gulf of Mexico region under section 2 

4 of the Act of August 11, 1939 (commonly known as 

5 the ‘‘Saltonstall-Kennedy Act’’) (15 U.S.C. 713c–3). 

6 (b) STOCK SURVEYS AND STOCK ASSESSMENTS.— 

7 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National 

8 Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator of the 

9 Southeast Regional Office, shall for purposes of the Mag10 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

11 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)— 

12 (1) develop a schedule of stock surveys and 

13 stock assessments for the Gulf of Mexico Region and 

14 the South Atlantic Region for the 5-year period be15 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

16 for every 5-year period thereafter; 

17 (2) direct the Southeast Science Center Direc18 tor to implement such schedule; and 

19 (3) in such development and implementation— 

20 (A) give priority to those stocks that are 

21 commercially or recreationally important; and 

22 (B) ensure that each such important stock 

23 is surveyed at least every 5 years. 

24 (c) USE OF FISHERIES INFORMATION IN STOCK AS25 SESSMENTS.—The Southeast Science Center Director 


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1 shall ensure that fisheries information made available 

2 through fisheries programs funded under Public Law 

3 112–141 is incorporated as soon as possible into any fish4 eries stock assessments conducted after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 11. RECREATIONAL FISHING DATA. 

7 (a) RECREATIONAL DATA COLLECTION.—Section 

8 401(g) (16 U.S.C. 1881(g)) is amended by redesignating 

9 paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by inserting after 

10 paragraph (3) the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

13 shall establish partnerships with States to de14 velop best practices for implementation of State 

15 programs that are exempted under paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de18 velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 

19 that details best practices for administering 

20 State programs that are exempted under para21 graph (2), and provide such guidance to the 

22 States. 

23 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Secretary 

24 shall submit to the Congress and publish bien25 nial reports that include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the estimated accuracy of the reg2 istry program established under paragraph 

3 (1) and of State programs that are ex4 empted under paragraph (2); 

5 ‘‘(ii) priorities for improving rec6 reational fishing data collection; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of any use of in8 formation collected by such State programs 

9 and by the Secretary, including a descrip10 tion of any consideration given to the in11 formation by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(D) STATE GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec13 retary shall make grants to States to improve 

14 implementation of State programs consistent 

15 with this subsection. The Secretary shall 

16 prioritize such grants based on the ability of the 

17 grant to improve the quality and accuracy of 

18 such programs.’’. 

19 (b) STUDY OF RECREATIONAL FISHERIES DATA.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 of Commerce shall enter into an agreement with the 

23 National Research Council of the National Academy 

24 of Sciences to study the implementation of the pro25 grams described in section 401 of the MagnusonVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:23 Apr 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1826.IH H1826

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1 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1881). The study shall— 

3 (A) provide an updated assessment of rec4 reational survey methods established or im5 proved since the publication of the Council’s re6 port entitled ‘‘Review of Recreational Fisheries 

7 Survey Methods (2006)’’; 

8 (B) evaluate the extent to which the rec9 ommendations made in that report were imple10 mented pursuant to subsection (g)(3)(B) of 

11 that section; and 

12 (C) examine any limitations of the Marine 

13 Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey and the 

14 marine recreational information program estab15 lished under subsection (g)(3)(A) of that sec16 tion. 

17 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after en18 tering into an agreement under paragraph (1) the 

19 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the 

20 results of the study under paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 12. MARINE AQUACULTURE. 

22 (a) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.—Within 1 year after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

24 Commerce, in consultation with the Secretaries of the 

25 Army, the Interior, and Health and Human Services, and 


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1 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

2 Agency, shall submit a report to Congress detailing a com3 prehensive framework for permitting and regulating ma4 rine aquaculture operations. 

5 (b) FUNDING.—The report under subsection (a) shall 

6 include recommendations for making any regulatory pro7 gram self-sustaining without additional appropriations. 

8 (c) LIMITATION ON ADVERSE EFFECTS.—The report 

9 shall include detailed recommendations for how to ensure 

10 that marine aquaculture operations do not have any ad11 verse effect on fisheries or fisheries ecosystems, including 

12 on water quality, habitat, forage, genetic diversity, and re13 siliency. 

14 SEC. 13. SHORESIDE COMMERCIAL FISHING SUPPORT 

15 GRANTS. 

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

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 321. SHORESIDE COMMERCIAL FISHING SUPPORT 

19 GRANTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make com21 petitive grants to persons eligible under subsection (b) to 

22 support, pursuant to the national standard set forth in 

23 section 301(8), programs that address needs of fishing 

24 communities by— 


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1 ‘‘(1) providing health promotion and disease 

2 prevention services, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) preventive health services and assess4 ments; 

5 ‘‘(B) mental health services and assess6 ments; 

7 ‘‘(C) substance abuse prevention, treat8 ment, rehabilitation, and education; or 

9 ‘‘(D) immunization services; 

10 ‘‘(2) providing financial planning education and 

11 other services to improve the financial stability of 

12 families and small businesses, including regarding 

13 budgeting, forecasting, retirement planning, college 

14 financing, or estate planning; 

15 ‘‘(3) supporting positive community response to 

16 tragedies at sea; or 

17 ‘‘(4) workforce development training, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(A) community health worker training for 

20 fishing community members; 

21 ‘‘(B) apprentice programs to train inexpe22 rienced fishermen participating in sustainable 

23 fisheries; and 

24 ‘‘(C) volunteer oil handling classes taught 

25 by an experienced commercial vessel operator. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—Any municipality, port 

2 authority, other appropriate public entity, not-for-profit 

3 organization, or other qualified person, that provides 

4 shoreside commercial fishing support shall be eligible for 

5 a grant under this section. 

6 ‘‘(c) SURVEY OF NEEDS.—The Secretary shall con7 duct demographic surveys of commercial fishermen and 

8 their family members to identify needs of fishing commu9 nities that can be addressed by grants authorized by this 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

12 grants under this section there is authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary $8,000,000 for each of fiscal 

14 years 2016 through 2025.’’. 

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

16 in the first section is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

‘‘Sec. 321. Shoreside commercial fishing support grants.’’.’’. 

18 SEC. 14. SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY ACT REFORM. 

19 Section 2(b) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (com20 monly known as the ‘‘Saltonstall-Kennedy Act’’) (15 

21 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)), is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(1)’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘and ending on June 30, 

24 1957,’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘moneys’’ the first place it ap2 pears and inserting ‘‘monies’’; and 

3 (4) by striking ‘‘shall be maintained in a sepa4 rate fund only for’’ and all that follows and inserting 

5 ‘‘and shall only be used for the purposes described 

6 under subsection (c).’’. 

7 SEC. 15. FISHERIES DISASTER DECLARATIONS. 

8 (a) TREATMENT OF CALIFORNIA PROCLAMATION

9 AND EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The Proclamation of State 

10 Emergency and associated Executive Order issued by Gov11 ernor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. on January 17, 2014, shall 

12 be considered a request by the Governor for the Secretary 

13 of Commerce to use the Secretary’s authorities under sec14 tion 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva15 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) to deter16 mine that a fishery resource disaster exists for fisheries 

17 that originate within the Central Valley Project service 

18 area. 

19 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 312(a) (16 U.S.C. 

21 1861a(a)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs 

22 (2) through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), and 

23 by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall make a determination 

25 regarding a request from a Governor under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:23 Apr 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1826.IH H1826

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1 graph (1) within 90 days after receiving the re2 quest.’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION WITH RESPECT TO CALI4 FORNIA PROCLAMATION AND EXECUTIVE ORDER .— 

5 Paragraph (2) of such section, as inserted by the 

6 amendment made by paragraph (1) of this sub7 section, shall be applied with respect to the procla8 mation and Executive Order referred to in para9 graph (1) by substituting the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act for ‘‘receiving the request’’. 

11 SEC. 16. FISHERIES DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE 

12 MODERNIZATION. 

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

14 seek to enter into an agreement with the United States 

15 Digital Service within 90 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, under which the Service shall make rec17 ommendations to modernize and streamline the fishery 

18 data collection, processing, analysis, and storage systems 

19 of the National Marine Fisheries Service. 

20 (b) ACCESS TO DATA SYSTEMS.—Under the agree21 ment, the Secretary shall provide the United States Dig22 ital Service with access to all data collection, processing, 

23 analysis, and storage systems of the National Marine 

24 Fisheries Service and any other information necessary to 


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1 enable the development of recommendations that will en2 sure the optimization and modernization of such systems. 

3 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

4 Secretary shall implement any recommendations made by 

5 the United States Digital Service. 

6 SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and all that follows 

9 through ‘‘(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2013’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021’’. 

Æ 


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