I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4634 

To limit the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to implement certain 

fishery closures unless the Secretary certifies that closure is the only 

option available for maintaining a fishery at a sustainable level, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Mr. BROWN of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina, Mr. MICA, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. JONES, 

and Ms. KOSMAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To limit the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to 

implement certain fishery closures unless the Secretary 

certifies that closure is the only option available for 

maintaining a fishery at a sustainable level, 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 ‘‘Transparency in Job 

5 Loss from Fishery Closures Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

3 may not implement a closure of a directed fishery pursu4 ant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

5 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) that would have 

6 a direct or indirect affect of at least $50,000 on each of 

7 more than 25 small businesses that do business related 

8 to the recreational, charter, or commercial fishing indus9 tries involved in the fishery being closed, unless the Sec10 retary has certified that— 

11 (1) the fishery closure is the only option avail12 able for maintaining the fishery at a sustainable 

13 level; 

14 (2) the stock assessment for the fishery has 

15 been updated and peer reviewed within the preceding 

16 3-year period; and 

17 (3) the stock assessment was developed using at 

18 least 2 models that were subjected to outside peer 

19 review prior to such use. 

20 (b) APPLICATION TO EXISTING CLOSURES.—The 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (1) review any fishery closure for which notice 

23 was published in the Federal Register within the 12- 

24 month period preceding the date of enactment of 

25 this Act, and— 


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1 (A) within the 60-day period beginning on 

2 such date of enactment, make the certification 

3 described in subsection (a)(1) with respect to 

4 such closure; or 

5 (B) within the 90-day period beginning on 

6 such date of enactment, review and implement 

7 options other than closure for maintaining the 

8 fishery at a sustainable level; 

9 (2) review the effects of each such closure on 

10 coastal communities, including— 

11 (A) the direct and indirect impact of the 

12 closure on all affected small businesses in such 

13 communities; 

14 (B) the job losses as a result of the closure 

15 that have already occurred in such commu16 nities; and 

17 (C) the job losses as a result of the closure 

18 that are expected to occur in such communities 

19 within the 1-year period beginning on the date 

20 the review is initiated; and 

21 (3) report to Congress on the actions taken 

22 under this subsection for each such closure. 

23 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

24 The Secretary shall report to Congress by not later 

25 than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act on— 


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1 (1) the number of fishery closures that were es2 tablished within the 5-year period preceding such 

3 date of enactment; 

4 (2) the reason for each such closure; 

5 (3) the duration of each such closure; 

6 (4) the impact of each such closure on coastal 

7 communities; and 

8 (5) the expected duration of each such closure. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) FISHERY.—The term ‘‘fishery’’ has the 

12 meaning that term has in the Magnuson-Stevens 

13 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

14 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

15 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na17 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 (3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi19 ness’’ means any business that has had gross reve20 nues of less than $500,000 per year for a minimum 

21 of three years. 

Æ 


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