I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1219 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to provide that each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

Alabama, and Florida have exclusive fishery management authority over 

reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, are 20 

fathoms or less in depth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2013 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act to provide that each of the States of 

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida 

have exclusive fishery management authority over reef 

fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, 

are 20 fathoms or less in depth, 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 ‘‘Gulf Fisheries Fair5 ness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATE EXCLUSIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT AU2 THORITY OVER REEF FISH IN THE GULF OF 

3 MEXICO. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

5 Conservation and Management Act is amended— 

6 (1) in section 101 (16 U.S.C. 1811)— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and 

8 subsection (c) of this section’’ after ‘‘section 

9 102’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) STATE EXCLUSIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT AU12 THORITY OVER REEF FISH IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each of the States of 

14 Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida 

15 shall have exclusive fishery management authority 

16 over all Gulf reef fish in all waters that are— 

17 ‘‘(A) within the exclusive economic zone in 

18 the Gulf of Mexico; 

19 ‘‘(B) not further from shore than the line 

20 described under paragraph (2); and 

21 ‘‘(C) between the projected lines deter22 mined for that State under section 4(a)(2)(A) 

23 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

24 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A)). 

25 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF LINE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 publish a description of, and map showing, a 

3 continuous line in waters of the exclusive eco4 nomic zone in the Gulf of Mexico along the 

5 coasts of the States referred to in paragraph 

6 (1), that is comprised of points that are, on av7 erage, 20 fathoms in depth. 

8 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM DISTANCE.—No point on 

9 such line shall be less than 9 nautical miles 

10 from the baseline from which the territorial sea 

11 of the United States is measured. 

12 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON LIMITING AUTHORITY TO

13 FISH UNDER FEDERAL LAW.—The Secretary may 

14 not suspend, revoke, terminate, or otherwise limit 

15 the authority of any person under Federal law to en16 gage in fishing, based on fishing by the person for 

17 Gulf reef fish in waters that are subject to the exclu18 sive fishery management authority of a State under 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(4) GULF REEF FISH DEFINED.—In this sub21 section the term ‘Gulf reef fish’ means all fish listed 

22 in table 3 of appendix A to part 622 of title 50, 

23 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

24 date of enactment of this subsection).’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 302(a)(1)(E) (16 U.S.C. 

2 1852(a)(1)(E)), by inserting ‘‘of this subsection and 

3 section 101(c)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 

4 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

5 publish the 20-fathom line description and map required 

6 under the amendment made by subsection (a)(1) by not 

7 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (c) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF MORE RE10 STRICTIVE FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—Sections 

11 622.4(a)(1)(iv) and 622.4(a)(2)(v) of title 50, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, and any substantially similar regulation, shall 

14 not apply with respect to waters described in section 

15 101(c)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

16 and Management Act, as amended by this section. 

Æ 


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