I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5425 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to extend the authorized time period for rebuilding of certain overfished 

fisheries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2008 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. JONES of North 

Carolina, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BROWN of 

South Carolina, and Mr. LAMPSON) 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 extend the authorized time period 

for rebuilding of certain overfished fisheries, 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 ‘‘Flexibility in Rebuild5 ing American Fisheries Act of 2008’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD FOR REBUILDING 

2 CERTAIN OVERFISHED FISHERIES. 

3 Section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

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

5 1854(e)(4)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4)(A)— 

7 (A) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘possible’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘practicable’’; and 

9 (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(ii) not exceed 10 years, except in 

12 cases where— 

13 ‘‘(I) the biology of the stock of 

14 fish, other environmental conditions, 

15 or management measures under an 

16 international agreement in which the 

17 United States participates dictate oth18 erwise; 

19 ‘‘(II) the Secretary determines 

20 that such 10-year period should be ex21 tended because the cause of the fish22 ery decline is outside the jurisdiction 

23 of the Council or the rebuilding pro24 gram cannot be effective only by lim25 iting fishing activities; 

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1 ‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 

2 that such 10-year period should be ex3 tended to provide for the sustained 

4 participation of fishing communities 

5 or to minimize the economic impacts 

6 on such communities, provided that 

7 there is evidence that the stock of fish 

8 is on a positive rebuilding trend; 

9 ‘‘(IV) the Secretary determines 

10 that such 10-year period should be ex11 tended for one or more stocks of fish 

12 of a multi-species fishery, provided 

13 that there is evidence that those 

14 stocks are on a positive rebuilding 

15 trend; 

16 ‘‘(V) the Secretary determines 

17 that such 10-year period should be ex18 tended because of a substantial 

19 change to the biomass rebuilding tar20 get for the stock of fish concerned 

21 after the rebuilding plan has taken ef22 fect; or 

23 ‘‘(VI) the Secretary determines 

24 that such 10-year period should be ex25 tended because the biomass rebuilding 

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1 target exceeds the highest abundance 

2 of the stock of fish in the 25-year pe3 riod preceding and there is evidence 

4 that the stock is on a positive rebuild5 ing trend;’’; or 

6 (2) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding 

7 subparagraph (A), by inserting after the first sen8 tence the following: ‘‘In evaluating progress to end 

9 overfishing and to rebuild overfished stocks of fish, 

10 the Secretary shall review factors, other than com11 mercial fishing and recreational fishing, that may 

12 contribute to a stock of fish’s overfished status, such 

13 as commercial, residential, and industrial develop14 ment of, or agricultural activity in, coastal areas and 

15 their impact on the marine environment, predator/ 

16 prey relationships of target and related species, and 

17 other environmental and ecological changes to the 

18 marine conditions.’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(8) If the Secretary determines that extended 

21 rebuilding time is warranted under subclause (III), 

22 (IV), (V), or (VI) of paragraph (4)(A)(ii), the max23 imum time allowed for rebuilding the stock of fish 

24 concerned may not exceed the sum of the following 

25 time periods: 

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1 ‘‘(A) The initial 10-year rebuilding period. 

2 ‘‘(B) The expected time to rebuild the 

3 stock absent any fishing mortality and under 

4 prevailing environmental conditions. 

5 ‘‘(C) The mean generation time of the 

6 stock. 

7 ‘‘(9) In this subsection the term ‘on a positive 

8 rebuilding trend’ means that the biomass of the 

9 stock of fish has shown a substantial increase in 

10 abundance since the implementation of the rebuild11 ing plan.’’. 

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