104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 39

AN ACT

Management Act to improve fisheries management.

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 39

AN ACT

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act to improve fisheries management.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF

2 AND AMENDMENTS TO THE

3 MAGNUSON FISHERY CON4 SERVATION AND MANAGE5 MENT ACT

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fishery Conservation

8 and Management Amendments of 1995’’.

9 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF THE MAGNUSON FISHERY CON10 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

11 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

12 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

13 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi14 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

15 section or other provision of the Magnuson Fishery Con16 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

17 SEC. 3. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND POLICY.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (2)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and (B)’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘(B)’’; and

23 (B) by inserting before the period at the

24 end the following: ‘‘, and (C) losses of essential
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1 fishery habitat can diminish the ability of

2 stocks of fish to survive’’;

3 (2) in paragraph (6) by inserting after ‘‘to in4 sure conservation,’’ the following: ‘‘to provide long5 term conservation of essential fishery habitat,’’; and

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

7 ‘‘(9) Continuing loss of essential fishery habitat

8 poses a long-term threat to the viability of commer9 cial and recreational fisheries of the United States.

10 To conserve and manage the fishery resources of the

11 United States, increased attention must be given to

12 the protection of this habitat.’’.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 2(b) (16 U.S.C. 1801(b)) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

16 end of paragraph (5);

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (6) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

20 ‘‘(7) to promote the conservation of essential

21 fishery habitat in the review of projects that affect

22 essential fishery habitat; and

23 ‘‘(8) to ensure that conservation and manage24 ment decisions with respect to the Nation’s fishery

25 resources are made in a fair and equitable manner.’’.
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1 (c) POLICY.—Section 2(c)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1801(c)(3))

2 is amended by inserting after ‘‘practical measures that’’

3 the following: ‘‘minimize bycatch and’’.

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

5 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS TO DEFINI6 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 308 of the Act entitled

7 ‘‘An Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Gar8 den Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March

9 9, 1992 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 66), section

10 301(b) of that Act (adding a definition of the term ‘‘spe11 cial areas’’) shall take effect on the date of the enactment

12 of this Act.

13 (b) NEW AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C.

14 1802) is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (4)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘COLENTERATA’’ from the

17 heading of the list of corals and inserting

18 ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and

19 (B) in the list appearing under the heading

20 ‘‘CRUSTACEA’’, by striking ‘‘Deep-sea Red

21 Crab—Geryon quinquedens’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘Deep-sea Red Crab—Chaceon quinquedens’’;

23 (2) in paragraph (16) by striking ‘‘of one and

24 one-half miles’’ and inserting ‘‘of two and one-half

25 kilometers’’;
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1 (3) in paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘Pacific Ma2 rine Fisheries Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Pacific

3 States Marine Fisheries Commission’’;

4 (4) by amending paragraph (21) to read as fol5 lows:

6 ‘‘(21) The term ‘optimum’, when used in ref7 erence to the yield from a fishery, means the amount

8 of fish which—

9 ‘‘(A) will provide the greatest overall bene10 fit to the Nation, particularly with respect to

11 food production and recreational opportunities,

12 taking into account the protection of marine

13 ecosystems;

14 ‘‘(B) is prescribed on the basis of the max15 imum sustainable yield from the fishery, as re16 duced by an relevant social, economic, or eco17 logical factor;

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of an overfished fishery

19 resource, provides for rebuilding of the resource

20 to a level consistent with providing the maxi21 mum sustainable yield from the resource; and

22 ‘‘(D) which provides employment opportu23 nities and economic benefits through the sus24 tained participation of local community-based
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1 fleets and the coastal communities which those

2 fleets support.’’.

3 (5) in paragraph (31) (as redesignated by the

4 amendments made effective by subsection (a) of this

5 section) by striking ‘‘for which a fishery manage6 ment plan prepared under title III or a preliminary

7 fishery management plan prepared under section

8 201(h) has been implemented’’ and inserting ‘‘regu9 lated under this Act’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(34) The term ‘bycatch’ means fish which are

12 harvested by a fishing vessel, but which are not sold

13 or kept for personal use, including economic discards

14 and regulatory discards.

15 ‘‘(35) The term ‘economic discards’ means fish

16 which are the target of a fishery, but which are not

17 retained by the fishing vessel which harvested them

18 because they are of an undesirable size, sex, or qual19 ity, or for other economic reasons.

20 ‘‘(36) The term ‘regulatory discards’ means fish

21 caught in a fishery which fishermen are required by

22 regulation to discard whenever caught, or are re23 quired by regulation to retain but not sell.
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1 ‘‘(37) The term ‘essential fishery habitat’

2 means those waters necessary to fish for spawning,

3 breeding, or growth to maturity.

4 ‘‘(38) The term ‘overfishing’ means a level or

5 rate of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the ability

6 of a stock of fish to produce maximum sustainable

7 yield on a continuing basis.

8 ‘‘(39) The term ‘rebuilding program’ means

9 those conservation and management measures nec10 essary to restore the ability of a stock of fish to

11 produce maximum sustainable yield on a continuing

12 basis.

13 ‘‘(40) The term ‘total allowable catch’ means

14 the total amount of fish in a fishery that may be

15 harvested in a fishing season, as established in ac16 cordance with a fishery management plan for the

17 fishery.

18 ‘‘(41) The term ‘efficiency’ with respect to the

19 utilization of fishery resources means fishing

20 which—

21 ‘‘(A) yields the greatest economic value of

22 the fishery with the minimum practicable

23 amount of bycatch, and

24 ‘‘(B) provides the maximum economic op25 portunity for, and participation of, local com-
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1 munity-based fleets and the coastal commu2 nities which those fleets support.’’.

3 SEC. 5. FOREIGN FISHING.

4 (a) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS.—

5 (1) AUTHORITY TO OPERATE UNDER TRANS6 SHIPMENT PERMITS.—Section 201(a)(1) (16 U.S.C.

7 1821(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(1) is authorized under subsection (b) or (c) or

9 under a permit issued under section 204(d);’’.

10 (2) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE TRANSSHIPMENT

11 PERMITS.—Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1824) is amend12 ed by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(d) TRANSSHIPMENT PERMITS.—

14 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PERMITS.—The Sec15 retary may issue a transshipment permit under this

16 subsection which authorizes a vessel other than a

17 vessel of the United States to engage in fishing con18 sisting solely of transporting fish products at sea

19 from a point within the boundaries of any State or

20 the exclusive economic zone to a point outside the

21 United States to any person who—

22 ‘‘(A) submits an application which is ap23 proved by the Secretary under paragraph (3);

24 and
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1 ‘‘(B) pays a fee imposed under paragraph

2 (7).

3 ‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL.—Upon receipt of an appli4 cation for a permit under this subsection, the Sec5 retary shall promptly transmit copies of the applica6 tion to the Secretary of the department in which the

7 Coast Guard is operating, any appropriate Council,

8 and any interested State.

9 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec10 retary may approve an application for a permit

11 under this section if the Secretary determines that—

12 ‘‘(A) the transportation of fish products to

13 be conducted under the permit, as described in

14 the application, will be in the interest of the

15 United States and will meet the applicable re16 quirements of this Act;

17 ‘‘(B) the applicant will comply with the re18 quirements described in section 201(c)(2) with

19 respect to activities authorized by any permit

20 issued pursuant to the application;

21 ‘‘(C) the applicant has established any

22 bonds or financial assurances that may be re23 quired by the Secretary; and

24 ‘‘(D) no owner or operator of a vessel of

25 the United States which has adequate capacity
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1 to perform the transportation for which the ap2 plication is submitted has indicated to the Sec3 retary an interest in performing the transpor4 tation at fair and reasonable rates.

5 ‘‘(4) WHOLE OR PARTIAL APPROVAL.—The Sec6 retary may approve all or any portion of an applica7 tion under paragraph (3).

8 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO APPROVE APPLICATION.—If

9 the Secretary does not approve any portion of an ap10 plication submitted under paragraph (1), the Sec11 retary shall promptly inform the applicant and speci12 fy the reasons therefor.

13 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—The

14 Secretary shall establish and include in each permit

15 under this subsection conditions and restrictions

16 which shall be complied with by the owner and oper17 ator of the vessel for which the permit is issued. The

18 conditions and restrictions shall include the require19 ments, regulations, and restrictions set forth in sub20 section (b)(7).

21 ‘‘(7) FEES.—The Secretary shall collect a fee

22 for each permit issued under this subsection, in an

23 amount adequate to recover the costs incurred by

24 the United States in issuing the permit.’’.
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1 (b) FOREIGN FISHING FOR ATLANTIC MACKEREL

2 AND ATLANTIC HERRING.—

3 (1) RESTRICTION ON ALLOCATIONS.—Section

4 201(e)(1)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1821(e)(1)(A)) is amended

5 by adding at the end the following new sentence:

6 ‘‘No allocation may be made for a fishery that is not

7 subject to a fishery management plan prepared

8 under section 303.’’.

9 (2) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION REQUIRED TO

10 APPROVE APPLICATION.—Section 204(b)(6) (16

11 U.S.C. 1824(b)(6)) is amended—

12 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘sub13 paragraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs

14 (B) and (C)’’; and

15 (B) by adding at the end the following new

16 subparagraph:

17 ‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary may not approve an ap18 plication which proposes harvest of Atlantic mack19 erel or Atlantic herring by one or more foreign fish20 ing vessels unless the appropriate Council has rec21 ommended that the Secretary approve the portion of

22 the application making that proposal and the Sec23 retary includes the appropriate conditions and re24 strictions recommended by the Council.
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1 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the

2 term ‘appropriate Council’ means the Mid-Atlantic

3 Fishery Management Council with respect to Atlan4 tic mackerel and the New England Fishery Manage5 ment Council with respect to Atlantic herring.’’.

6 (c) PERIOD FOR CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF GOV7 ERNING INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Sec8 tion 203 (16 U.S.C. 1823) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘60 calendar

10 days of continuous session of the Congress’’ and in11 serting ‘‘120 calendar days (excluding any days in a

12 period for which the Congress is adjourned sine

13 die)’’;

14 (2) by striking subsection (c); and

15 (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub16 section (c).

17 (d) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—

18 (1) CORRECTION.—Section 201(e)(1)(E)(iv) (16

19 U.S.C. 1821(e)(1)(E)(iv)) is amended by inserting

20 ‘‘or special areas’’ after ‘‘the exclusive economic

21 zone’’.

22 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by

23 paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date it would

24 take effect if it were enacted by section 301(d)(2) of

25 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the designa-
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1 tion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine

2 Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992 (Public Law

3 102–251; 106 Stat. 63).

4 SEC. 6. LARGE-SCALE DRIFT NET FISHING.

5 Section 206(e) (16 U.S.C. 1826(e)) is amended to

6 read as follows:

7 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than March 17th of each

8 year, the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary

9 of State and the Secretary of the department in which the

10 Coast Guard is operating, shall submit to the Committee

11 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

12 and the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep13 resentatives a list of those nations whose nationals or ves14 sels conduct, and of those nations that authorize their na15 tionals to conduct, large-scale drift net fishing beyond the

16 exclusive economic zone of any nation in a manner that

17 diminishes the effectiveness of, or is inconsistent with, any

18 international agreement governing large-scale drift net

19 fishing to which the United States is a party or otherwise

20 subscribes.’’.

21 SEC. 7. NATIONAL STANDARD FOR FISHERY CONSERVA22 TION AND MANAGEMENT TO MINIMIZE

23 BYCATCH.

24 Section 301(a) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)) is amended by

25 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(8) Conservation and management measures

2 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize

3 bycatch.’’.

4 SEC. 8. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

5 (a) MEMBERSHIP OF NORTH CAROLINA ON MID-AT6 LANTIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.—Section

7 302(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(2)) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and Virginia’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘Virginia, and North Carolina’’;

10 (2) by striking ‘‘19’’ and inserting ‘‘21’’; and

11 (3) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’.

12 (b) VOTING MEMBERS, GENERALLY.—Section

13 302(b) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)) is amended—

14 (1) in paragraph (2)(B) in the first sentence by

15 inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, and of

16 other individuals selected for their fisheries expertise

17 as demonstrated by their academic training, marine

18 conservation advocacy, consumer advocacy, or other

19 affiliation with nonuser groups’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new

21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall remove any member of a

23 Council required to be appointed by the Secretary in ac24 cordance with subsection (b)(2) if the member violates sec25 tion 307(1)(P).’’.
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1 (c) COMPENSATION.—

2 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 302(d) (16 U.S.C.

3 1852(d)) is amended in the first sentence—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘each Council,’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘each Council who are required to be ap6 pointed by the Secretary and’’; and

7 (B) by striking ‘‘shall, until January 1,

8 1992,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘GS–16’’

9 and inserting the following: ‘‘shall receive com10 pensation at a daily rate equivalent to the low11 est rate of pay payable for GS–15,’’.

12 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

13 by paragraph (1)(B) shall take effect on January 1,

14 1996.

15 (d) TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS.—Section 302(e)

16 (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)) is amended by adding at the end the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(5) At the request of any voting member of a

19 Council, the Council shall hold a roll call vote on any

20 matter before the Council. The official minutes re21 quired under subsection (j)(2)(E) and other appro22 priate records of any Council meeting shall identify

23 all roll call votes held, the name of each voting mem24 ber present during each roll call vote, and how each

25 member voted on each roll call vote.’’.
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1 (e) COMMUNICATIONS WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES

2 REGARDING ESSENTIAL AND OTHER FISHERY HABI3 TAT.—Section 302(i) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

5 the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (A) and

6 striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B)

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

8 (2) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(C) shall notify the Secretary regarding, and

11 may comment on and make recommendations to any

12 State or Federal agency concerning, any activity un13 dertaken, or proposed to be undertaken, by any

14 State or Federal agency that, in the view of the

15 Council, may have a detrimental effect on the essen16 tial fishery habitat of a fishery under the authority

17 of the Council.’’; and

18 (3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol19 lows:

20 ‘‘(2) Within 15 days after receiving a comment or

21 recommendation under paragraph (1) from a Council re22 garding the effects of an activity on essential fishery habi23 tat, a Federal agency shall provide to the Council a de24 tailed response in writing. The response shall include a

25 description of measures being considered by the agency
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1 for avoiding, mitigating, or offsetting the impact of the

2 activity on such habitat. In the case of a response that

3 is inconsistent with the recommendations of the Council,

4 the Federal agency shall explain its reasons for not follow5 ing the recommendations.’’.

6 (h) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—Section 302(j)(2) (16

7 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘guidelines’’ in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘shall’’;

10 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after

11 ‘‘fishery)’’ the following: ‘‘sufficiently in advance of

12 the meeting to allow meaningful public participation

13 in the meeting,’’;

14 (3) by adding at the end of subparagraph (D)

15 the following: ‘‘The written statement or oral testi16 mony shall include a brief description of the back17 ground and interests of the person on the subject of

18 the written statement or oral testimony.’’;

19 (4) by amending subparagraph (E) to read as

20 follows:

21 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of the

22 Council shall be kept and shall contain a record of

23 the persons present, a complete and accurate de24 scription of matters discussed and conclusions

25 reached, and copies of all reports received, issued, or
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1 approved by the Council. The Chairman shall certify

2 the accuracy of the minutes of each meeting and

3 submit a copy thereof to the Secretary. The minutes

4 shall be made available to any court of competent ju5 risdiction.’’; and

6 (5) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(G) A Council member may add an item to the

8 agenda of a meeting of a Council or of a committee

9 or advisory panel of a Council by presenting to the

10 Chairman of the Council, committee, or panel, at

11 least 21 days before the date of the meeting, a writ12 ten description of the item signed by 2 or more vot13 ing members of the Council.’’.

14 (i) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND

15 RECUSAL.—Section 302(k) (16 U.S.C. 1852(k)) is

16 amended—

17 (1) in the heading by inserting ‘‘AND RECUSAL’’

18 before the period;

19 (2) in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘or’’

21 after the semicolon at the end;

22 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’

23 at the end and inserting a period; and

24 (C) by striking subparagraph (C);

25 (3) in paragraph (3)(B) by striking ‘‘or (C)’’;
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1 (4) in paragraph (5)—

2 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’

3 at the end;

4 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking the

5 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

6 (C) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(C) be kept on file by the Secretary for use in

8 reviewing Council actions and made available by the

9 Secretary for public inspection at reasonable

10 hours.’’;

11 (5) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘or (C)’’;

12 (6) in paragraph (7) by striking ‘‘or (C)’’; and

13 (7) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(8) The Secretary, in consultation with the Councils,

15 and by not later than 1 year after the date of the enact16 ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

17 Amendments of 1995, shall establish rules which prohibit

18 an affected individual from voting on a matter in which

19 the individual or any other person described in paragraph

20 (2) with respect to the individual has an interest that

21 would be significantly affected. The rules may include pro22 visions which take into account the differences in fisheries.

23 ‘‘(9) A voting member of a Council shall recuse him24 self or herself from voting if—
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1 ‘‘(A) voting by the member would violate the

2 rules established under paragraph (8); or

3 ‘‘(B) the General Counsel of the National Oce4 anic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee

5 of the General Counsel under paragraph (10)(C)(ii))

6 determines under paragraph (10) that voting by the

7 member would violate the rules established under

8 paragraph (8).

9 ‘‘(10)(A) Before any vote held by a Council on any

10 matter, a voting member of the Council may, at a meeting

11 of the Council, request the General Counsel of the Na12 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or a des13 ignee of the General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii))

14 to determine whether voting on the matter by the member,

15 or by any other member of the Council, would violate the

16 rules established under paragraph (8).

17 ‘‘(B) Upon a request under subparagraph (A) regard18 ing voting on a matter by a member—

19 ‘‘(i) the General Counsel of the National Oce20 anic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee

21 of the General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii))

22 shall determine and state whether the voting would

23 violate the rules established under paragraph (8), at

24 the meeting at which the request is made; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) no vote on the matter may be held by the

2 Council before the determination and statement are

3 made.

4 ‘‘(C) The General Counsel of the National Oceanic

5 and Atmospheric Administration shall—

6 ‘‘(i) attend each meeting of a Council; or

7 ‘‘(ii) designate an individual to attend each

8 meeting of a Council for purposes of this paragraph.

9 ‘‘(11) For the purposes of this subsection, the term

10 ‘an interest that would be significantly affected’ means a

11 personal financial interest which would be augmented by

12 voting on the matter and which would only be shared by

13 a minority of other persons within the same industry sec14 tor or gear group whose activity would be directly affected

15 by a Council’s action.’’.

16 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

17 302(k)(1)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1852(k)(1)(A)) is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘(A) is nominated by the Governor of a State

20 for appointment as a voting member of a Council in

21 accordance with subsection (b)(2) or is designated

22 by the Governor of a State under subsection

23 (b)(1)(A) and is not an employee of the State; or’’.

24 SEC. 9. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

25 (a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—
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1 (1) NEW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303(a) (16

2 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—

3 (A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and the

4 estimated processing capacity of, and the actual

5 processing capacity utilized by, United States

6 fish processors,’’ and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘the amount and species of bycatch taken on

8 board a fishing vessel based on a standardized

9 reporting methodology established by the Coun10 cil for that fishery, and the estimated process11 ing capacity of, and the actual processing ca12 pacity utilized by, United States fish proc13 essors;’’;

14 (B) by amending paragraph (7) to read as

15 follows:

16 ‘‘(7) include a description of essential fishery

17 habitat for a fishery based on the guidelines estab18 lished by the Secretary under section 304(h)(1) and

19 conservation and management measures necessary to

20 minimize, to the extent practicable, adverse impacts

21 on that habitat caused by fishing;’’;

22 (C) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘and’’

23 after the semicolon at the end;

24 (D) in paragraph (9) by striking the period

25 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
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1 (E) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(10) include a measurable and objective deter3 mination of what constitutes overfishing in that fish4 ery, and a rebuilding program in the case of a plan

5 for any fishery which the Council or the Secretary

6 has determined is overfished;

7 ‘‘(11) include conservation and management

8 measures necessary to minimize bycatch to the maxi9 mum extent practicable;

10 ‘‘(12) to the extent practicable, minimize mor11 tality caused by economic discards and regulatory

12 discards in the fishery;

13 ‘‘(13) take into account the safety of human life

14 at sea;

15 ‘‘(14) in the case of any plan which under sub16 section (b)(8) requires that observers be carried on

17 board vessels—

18 ‘‘(A) be fair and equitable to all fishing

19 vessels and fish processing vessels, that are ves20 sels of the United States and participate in

21 fisheries covered by the plan;

22 ‘‘(B) be consistent with other applicable

23 laws; and
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1 ‘‘(C) take into consideration the operating

2 requirements of the fishery and the safety of

3 observers and fishermen.’’.

4 ‘‘(15) take into account the historic participa5 tion of local community-based fleets and the coastal

6 communities which those fleets support, and provide

7 for the sustained participation of those fleets and

8 communities.’’.

9 (2) AMENDMENT OF PLANS.—Not later than 18

10 months after the date of enactment of this Act, each

11 Regional Fishery Management Council established

12 under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man13 agement Act shall submit to the Secretary of Com14 merce an amendment to each fishery management

15 plan in effect under that Act to comply with the

16 amendments made by paragraph (1).

17 (3) FISH WEIGHING.—By January 1, 1997, the

18 North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall re19 quire all fish processors and fish processing vessels

20 (as that term is defined in chapter 21 of title 46,

21 United States Code) that process fish species under

22 the management of the Council to weigh those fish

23 to ensure an accurate measurement of the total har24 vest of each species.
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1 (b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DISCRETIONARY

2 PROVISIONS, GENERALLY.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C.

3 1853(b)) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (8) in the matter preceding

5 the first semicolon, by striking ‘‘require that observ6 ers’’ and inserting ‘‘require that one or more observ7 ers’’;

8 (2) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and’’ after

9 the semicolon;

10 (3) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para11 graph (14); and

12 (4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow13 ing:

14 ‘‘(10) assess and specify the effect which con15 servation and management measures of the plan will

16 have on stocks of fish in the ecosystem of the fishery

17 which are not part of the fishery;

18 ‘‘(11) include incentives and harvest preferences

19 within fishing gear groups to promote the avoidance

20 of bycatch;

21 ‘‘(12) specify gear types allowed to be used in

22 the fishery and establish a process for evaluating

23 new gear technology that is proposed to be used in

24 the fishery;
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(13) reserve a portion of the allowable biologi2 cal catch of the fishery for use for scientific research

3 purposes; and

4 ‘‘(14) in the case of any plan which under sub5 section (b)(8) requires that observers be carried on

6 board vessels, establish a system of fees, not to ex7 ceed the actual costs of the observer program, to pay

8 the costs of the program; and’’.

9 (c) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT FISHERY IMPACT

10 STATEMENTS TO AFFECTED STATES AND THE CON11 GRESS.—Section 303 of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva12 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853), as amended

13 by section 16(b), is further amended by adding at the end

14 the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENTS

16 TO INTERESTED STATES AND THE CONGRESS.—Not later

17 than the date a fishery management plan prepared by a

18 Council or the Secretary takes effect under section 304,

19 the Council or the Secretary, respectively, shall submit the

20 fishery impact statement required in the plan under sub21 section (a)(9) to—

22 ‘‘(1) the Governor of each State that might be

23 affected by the plan, who may use information in the

24 statement to assist persons in applying for loans and

25 grants for economic relief; and
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Resources of the House

2 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

3 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.’’.

4 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MISCELLANEOUS DU5 TIES OF SECRETARY.

6 (a) SAFETY AT SEA.—Section 304(a)(2)(C) (16

7 U.S.C. 1854(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘to fishery

8 access’’ and all that follows through the period and insert9 ing ‘‘with respect to the provisions of sections 303(a)(6)

10 and (13).’’.

11 (b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 304(f)

12 (16 U.S.C. 1854(f)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in14 serting the following: ‘‘FISHERIES UNDER AUTHOR15 ITY OF MORE THAN ONE COUNCIL.—’’;

16 (2) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii) by inserting before

17 the semicolon the following: ‘‘and the plan develop18 ment team established under paragraph (4)’’;

19 (3) in paragraph (3)(E), strike ‘‘allocation or

20 quota’’ each place it appears and insert ‘‘allocation,

21 quota, or fishing mortality level’’;

22 (4) in paragraph (3)(F)(ii) by inserting ‘‘and

23 the plan development team established under para24 graph (4)’’ before the semicolon;

25 (5) by adding at the end the following:
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall establish a plan de2 velopment team for each highly migratory species

3 fishery over which the Secretary has authority under

4 paragraph (3)(A), to advise the Secretary on and

5 participate in the development of each fishery man6 agement plan or amendment to a plan for the fish7 ery under this subsection.

8 ‘‘(B) The plan development team shall—

9 ‘‘(i) consist of not less than 7 individuals

10 who are knowledgeable about the fishery for

11 which the plan or amendment is developed, se12 lected from members of advisory committees

13 and species working groups appointed under

14 Acts implementing relevant international fishery

15 agreements pertaining to highly migratory spe16 cies and from other interested persons;

17 ‘‘(ii) be balanced in its representation of

18 commercial, recreational, and other interests;

19 and

20 ‘‘(iii) participate in all aspects of the devel21 opment of the plan or amendment.

22 ‘‘(C) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

23 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any plan develop24 ment team established under this paragraph.’’; and
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•HR 39 EH

1 (6) in paragraph (3)(D) by striking clauses (ii)

2 and (iii) and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(ii) be fair and equitable in allocating fishing

4 privileges among United States fishermen and not

5 have economic allocation as the sole purpose;

6 ‘‘(iii) promote international conservation;

7 ‘‘(iv) minimize the establishment of regulations

8 that require the discarding of Atlantic highly migra9 tory species which cannot be returned to the sea

10 alive; and

11 ‘‘(v) promote the implementation of scientific

12 research programs that include to the extent prac13 ticable, the tag, and release of Atlantic highly migra14 tory species.’’.

15 (c) LIMITED ACCESS.—Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C.

16 1854(c)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or advisory commit17 tee appointed under laws implementing relevant inter18 national fishery agreements to which the United States

19 is a party’’ before the period at the end.

20 (d) INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.—Section

21 304(g) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘3-year’’;

23 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the

24 following:
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(4) No later than 12 months after the enactment

2 of the Fishery Conservation and Management Amend3 ments of 1995, the Secretary shall, in cooperation with

4 affected interests and based upon the best scientific infor5 mation available, complete a program to—

6 ‘‘(A) develop technological devices and other

7 changes in fishing operations to minimize the inci8 dental mortality of nontargeted fishery resources in

9 the course of shrimp trawl activity to the extent

10 practicable from the level of mortality at the date of

11 enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Manage12 ment Amendments of 1990;

13 ‘‘(B) evaluate the ecological impacts and the

14 benefits and costs of such devices and changes in

15 fishing operations; and

16 ‘‘(C) assess whether it is practicable to utilize

17 those nontargeted fishery resources which are not

18 avoidable.’’; and

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

20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(7) Any measure implemented under this Act to re22 duce the incidental mortality of nontargeted fishery re23 sources in the course of shrimp trawl fishing shall apply

24 to such fishing throughout the range of the nontargeted

25 fishery resource concerned.’’.
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•HR 39 EH

1 (e) ESSENTIAL FISHERY HABITAT; OVERFISHING.—

2 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by add3 ing at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(h) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY ON ESSENTIAL

5 FISHERY HABITAT.—(1) Within one year after the date

6 of enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Manage7 ment Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall—

8 ‘‘(A) establish guidelines to assist the Councils

9 in the description of essential fishery habitat in fish10 ery management plans; and

11 ‘‘(B) establish a schedule for the amendment of

12 fishery management plans to describe essential fish

13 habitats.

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary

15 of the Interior, shall identify the essential fishery habitat

16 for each fishery for which a fishery management plan is

17 in effect. The identification shall be based on the descrip18 tion of essential fishery habitat contained in the plan.

19 ‘‘(3) Each Federal agency shall consult with the Sec20 retary with respect to any action proposed to be author21 ized, funded, or carried out by such agency that the head

22 of the agency has reason to believe, or the Secretary be23 lieves, may result in the destruction or adverse modifica24 tion of any essential fishery habitat identified by the Sec25 retary under paragraph (2). If the Secretary finds that
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•HR 39 EH

1 the proposed action would result in destruction or adverse

2 modifications of such essential fishery habitat, the Sec3 retary shall comment on and make recommendations to

4 the agency concerning that action.

5 ‘‘(4) Within 15 days after receiving recommendations

6 from the Secretary under paragraph (3) with respect to

7 a proposed action, the head of a Federal agency shall pro8 vide a detailed, written response to the Secretary which

9 describes the measures proposed by the agency to avoid,

10 mitigate, or offset the adverse impact of the proposed ac11 tion on the essential fishery habitat. In the case of a re12 sponse that is inconsistent with the recommendation of the

13 Secretary, the agency shall explain its reasons for not fol14 lowing the recommendations.

15 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall review programs adminis16 tered by the Department of Commerce to ensure that any

17 relevant programs further the conservation and enhance18 ment of essential fishery habitat identified by the Sec19 retary under paragraph (2). The Secretary shall coordi20 nate with and provide information to other Federal agen21 cies to further the conservation and enhancement of essen22 tial fishery habitat identified by the Secretary under para23 graph (2).

24 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall have the effect

25 of amending or repealing any other law or regulation or
33

•HR 39 EH

1 modifying any other responsibility of a Federal agency

2 with respect to fisheries habitat.

3 ‘‘(i) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY ON

4 OVERFISHING.—(1) In addition to the authority granted

5 to the Secretary under subsection (c), if the Secretary

6 finds at any time that overfishing is occurring or has oc7 curred in any fishery, the Secretary shall immediately no8 tify the appropriate Council and request that action be

9 taken to end overfishing in the fishery and to establish

10 a rebuilding program for the fishery. The Secretary shall

11 publish each notice under this paragraph in the Federal

12 Register.

13 ‘‘(2) If the Council does not submit to the Secretary

14 before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date

15 of notification under paragraph (1) a fishery management

16 plan, or an amendment to the appropriate existing fishery

17 management plan, which is intended to address

18 overfishing in the fishery and to establish any necessary

19 rebuilding program, then the Secretary shall within 9

20 months after the end of that period prepare under sub21 section (c) a fishery management plan, or an amendment

22 to an existing management plan, to end overfishing in the

23 fishery and to establish any necessary rebuilding program.

24 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary finds that overfishing is occur25 ring in any fishery for which a fishery management plan
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•HR 39 EH

1 prepared by the Secretary is in effect, the Secretary

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(A) within 1 year act under subsection (c) to

4 amend the plan to end overfishing in the fishery and

5 to establish any necessary rebuilding program; and

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of a highly migratory species

7 fishery, pursue international rebuilding programs.

8 ‘‘(4) Any rebuilding program under this subsection

9 shall specify the time period within which the fishery is

10 expected to be rebuilt. The time period shall be as short

11 as possible, taking into account the biology and natural

12 variability of the stock of fish, other environmental factors

13 or conditions which would affect the rebuilding program,

14 and the needs of the fishing industry. The time period may

15 not exceed 10 years, except in cases where the biology of

16 the stock of fish or other environmental conditions or fac17 tors beyond the control of the rebuilding program dictates

18 otherwise.

19 ‘‘(5) If the Secretary finds that the action of any Fed20 eral agency has caused or contributed to the decline of

21 a fishery below maximum sustainable yield, the Secretary

22 shall notify the agency of the Secretary’s finding and rec23 ommend steps that can be taken by the agency to reverse

24 that decline.
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary shall review the progress of

2 any rebuilding program required under this subsection be3 ginning in the third year in which the plan is in effect,

4 and annually thereafter.

5 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary finds as a result of the review

6 that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified

7 goals due to reasons related to the reproductive capacity,

8 productivity, life span, or natural variability of the fish

9 species concerned or other environmental conditions or

10 factors beyond the control of the rebuilding program, the

11 Secretary shall—

12 ‘‘(i) reassess the goals of the program;

13 ‘‘(ii) determine, based on the best available sci14 entific information, whether revision to the program

15 is needed; and

16 ‘‘(iii) if the Secretary determines under clause

17 (ii) that such revisions are needed, direct the Council

18 that established the program to make revisions to

19 the program, or in the case of a program established

20 by the Secretary, make such revisions.

21 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary finds as a result of the review

22 that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified

23 goals for reasons other than those described in subpara24 graph (B), the Secretary shall direct the Council that es25 tablished the program to make revisions to the program,
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•HR 39 EH

1 or in the case of a program established by the Secretary,

2 make such revisions.

3 ‘‘(7)(A) The Secretary shall report annually to the

4 Congress and the Councils on the status of fisheries within

5 each Council’s geographic area of authority and identify

6 those fisheries that are approaching a condition of being

7 overfished.

8 ‘‘(B) For each fishery that is subject to a fishery

9 management plan, the status of the fishery shall be deter10 mined for purposes of subparagraph (A) in accordance

11 with the determination of what constitutes overfishing in

12 the fishery included in the plan under section 303(a)(10).

13 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall identify a fishery under sub14 paragraph (A) as approaching a condition of being

15 overfished if, based on trends in fishing effort, fishery re16 source size, and other appropriate factors, the Secretary

17 determines that the fishery is likely to become overfished

18 within 2 years.

19 ‘‘(D) For any fishery that the Secretary identifies

20 under subparagraph (A) as approaching the condition of

21 being overfished, the report shall—

22 ‘‘(i) estimate the time frame within which the

23 fishery will reach that condition; and

24 ‘‘(ii) make specific recommendations to the ap25 propriate Council regarding actions that should be
37

•HR 39 EH

1 taken to prevent that condition from being

2 reached.’’.

3 (f) ACTION ON CERTAIN IMPLEMENTING REGULA4 TIONS PROPOSED BY COUNCILS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C.

5 1854) is further amended by adding at the end the follow6 ing:

7 ‘‘(j) ACTION ON COVERED IMPLEMENTING REGULA8 TIONS PROPOSED BY A COUNCIL.—(1) After the receipt

9 date of a covered implementing regulation submitted by

10 a Council, the Secretary shall—

11 ‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of the

12 covered implementing regulation to determine wheth13 er it is consistent with the fishery management plan

14 it would implement, the national standards, the

15 other provisions of this Act, and any other applicable

16 law; and

17 ‘‘(B) immediately publish the covered imple18 menting regulation in the Federal Register and pro19 vide a period of not less than 15 days and not more

20 than 45 days for the submission of comments by the

21 public.

22 ‘‘(2) Not later than 75 days after the receipt date

23 of a covered implementing regulation submitted by a

24 Council, the Secretary shall—
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(A) publish a final regulation on the subject

2 matter of the covered implementing regulation; or

3 ‘‘(B) decline to publish a final regulation.

4 The Secretary shall provide to the Council in writing an

5 explanation of the reasons for the Secretary’s action.

6 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term—

7 ‘‘(A) ‘receipt date’ means the 5th day after the

8 day on which a Council submits to the Secretary a

9 covered implementing regulation that the Council

10 characterizes as a final covered implementing regula11 tion; and

12 ‘‘(B) ‘covered implementing regulation’—

13 ‘‘(i) means a proposed amendment to exist14 ing regulations implementing a fishery manage15 ment plan in effect under this Act, which does

16 not have the effect of amending the plan; and

17 ‘‘(ii) does not include any proposed regula18 tion submitted with a plan or amendment to a

19 plan under section 303(c).’’.

20 (g) PACIFIC REGION STOCK ASSESSMENT.—Section

21 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at

22 the end the following:

23 ‘‘(k) PACIFIC REGION STOCK ASSESSMENT.—(1) Not

24 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the

25 Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments of
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•HR 39 EH

1 1995, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Pacific

2 Fishery Management Council and the States of California,

3 Oregon, and Washington, establish a Pacific Region Sci4 entific Review Group (in this subsection referred to as the

5 ‘Group’) consisting of representatives of the National Ma6 rine Fisheries Service, each of the States of California,

7 Oregon, and Washington, universities located in those

8 States, commercial and recreational fishermen and United

9 States fish processors located in those States, and environ10 mental organizations. Individuals appointed to serve on

11 the Group shall be selected from among individuals who

12 are knowledgeable or experienced in the harvesting, proc13 essing, biology, or ecology of the fish stocks of fish that

14 are managed under the Pacific Fisheries Management

15 Council Pacific Coast Groundfish Plan (in this subsection

16 referred to as the ‘covered Pacific stocks’).

17 ‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of estab18 lishment of the Group, the Group shall transmit to the

19 Secretary a research plan of at least 3 years duration to

20 assess the status of the covered Pacific stocks, including

21 the abundance, location, and species, age, and gender com22 position of those stocks. The plan shall provide for the

23 use of private vessels to conduct stock surveys.

24 ‘‘(3) Immediately upon receiving the plan transmitted

25 under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall take action nec-
40

•HR 39 EH

1 essary to carry out the plan and report such actions to

2 the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa3 tives. The Secretary shall implement the plan, subject to

4 the availability of appropriations, by chartering private

5 vessels, arranging for the deployment of scientists on those

6 vessels (including the payment of increased insurance

7 costs to vessel owners), and obtaining the assistance of

8 United States fish processors.

9 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may offset the cost of carrying

10 out the plan by entering into agreements with vessel own11 ers or United States fish processors to provide vessel own12 ers or United States fish processors with a portion of the

13 allowable biological catch reserved for research purposes

14 under section 303(b).

15 (h) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C.

16 1854) is further amended by adding after subsection (m)

17 (as added by section 22(b) of this Act) the following new

18 subsection:

19 ‘‘(n) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—In performing any eco20 nomic analysis of a plan, amendment, or regulation pro21 posed under this Act, the Secretary or a Council, as appro22 priate, shall consider the costs and benefits which accrue

23 to local community-based fleets and the coastal commu24 nities they support.’’.
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•HR 39 EH

1 SEC. 11. EMERGENCY ACTIONS.

2 Section 305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)) is amended—

3 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘under

4 section 302(b)(1)(A) and (C)’’ after ‘‘voting mem5 bers’’;

6 (2) by amending paragraph (3)(B) to read as

7 follows:

8 ‘‘(B) shall remain in effect for not more than

9 180 days after the date of such publication, except

10 that any such regulation may, by agreement of the

11 Secretary and the Council and after notice and an

12 opportunity for submission of comments by the pub13 lic, be effective for 1 additional period of not more

14 than 180 days; and’’; and

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

16 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may promulgate emergency regu17 lations under this subsection to protect the public health.

18 Notwithstanding paragraph (3), regulations promulgated

19 under this paragraph shall remain in effect until with20 drawn by the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly

21 withdraw regulations under this paragraph when the cir22 cumstances requiring the regulations no longer exist. The

23 Secretary shall provide an opportunity for submission of

24 comments by the public after regulations are promulgated

25 under this paragraph.
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(5) An emergency regulation promulgated under

2 this subsection that closes an area to fishing shall not re3 main in effect for an additional period under paragraph

4 (3)(B) unless before the beginning of the additional period

5 the Council having jurisdiction over the area, in conjunc6 tion with the Secretary, publishes a report on the status

7 of the fishery in the area that includes an analysis of the

8 costs and benefits of the closure.’’.

9 SEC. 12. STATE JURISDICTION.

10 (a) REPORTS.—Section 306(c)(1) (16 U.S.C.

11 1856(c)(1)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara13 graph (A);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub15 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

17 ‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the vessel sub18 mits to the appropriate Council and the Secretary,

19 in a manner prescribed by the Secretary, periodic re20 ports on the tonnage of fish received from vessels of

21 the United States and the locations from which such

22 fish were harvested.’’.

23 (b) STATE AUTHORITY.—Section 306(b) (16 U.S.C.

24 1856(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(3) For any fishery occurring off the coasts of Alas2 ka for which there is no Federal fishery management plan

3 approved and implemented pursuant to this Act, or pursu4 ant to delegation to a State in a fishery management plan,

5 a State may enforce its laws or regulations pertaining to

6 the taking of fish in the exclusive economic zone off that

7 State or the landing of fish caught in the exclusive eco8 nomic zone providing there is a legitimate State interest

9 in the conservation and management of that fishery, until

10 a Federal fishery management plan is implemented. Fish11 eries currently managed pursuant to a Federal fishery

12 management plan shall not be removed from Federal man13 agement and placed under State authority without the

14 unanimous consent (except for the Regional Director of

15 the National Marine Fisheries Service) of the Council

16 which developed the fishery management plan.’’.

17 SEC. 13. PROHIBITED ACTS.

18 (a) PROHIBITION ON REMOVING, DAMAGING, TAM19 PERING WITH, OR MOVING FISHING GEAR AND FISH.—

20 (1) PROHIBITION.—Section 307(1) of the Mag21 nuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

22 (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—

23 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (L),

24 (M), and (N) in order as subparagraphs (M),

25 (N), and (O); and
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•HR 39 EH

1 (B) by striking subparagraph (K) and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(K) to steal or to knowingly and without

4 authorization to remove, damage, or tamper

5 with—

6 ‘‘(i) fishing gear owned by another

7 person, which is located in the exclusive

8 economic zone or special areas; or

9 ‘‘(ii) fish contained in such fishing

10 gear;

11 ‘‘(L) to negligently damage, remove, or

12 move, or to attempt to do any of the foregoing

13 with respect to—

14 ‘‘(i) fishing gear that is owned by an15 other person and located in the exclusive

16 economic zone; or

17 ‘‘(ii) fish contained in such fishing

18 gear;’’.

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

20 309(a) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

21 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1859) is amended—

22 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘or (L)’’

23 and inserting ‘‘(K), or (M)’’; and

24 (B) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘section

25 307(1)(L)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 307(1)(M)’’.
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•HR 39 EH

1 (b) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE FINANCIAL INFORMA2 TION.—Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

4 (N) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(1)(A) of this

5 section);

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub7 paragraph (O) (as redesignated by subsection

8 (a)(1)(A) of this section) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(P) to knowingly and willfully fail to dis11 close or falsely disclose any financial interest as

12 required under section 302(k) or to knowingly

13 violate any rule established under section

14 302(k)(8).’’.

15 (c) PROHIBITED FISHING.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 307(2)(B) (16

17 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(B) in fishing, except recreational fishing

19 permitted under section 201(j), within the ex20 clusive economic zone or within the special

21 areas, or for any anadromous species or Con22 tinental Shelf fishery resources beyond such

23 zone or areas, or in fishing consisting of trans24 porting fish products from a point within the

25 boundaries of any State or the exclusive eco-
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•HR 39 EH

1 nomic zone or the special areas, unless such

2 fishing is authorized under, and conducted in

3 accordance with, a valid and applicable permit

4 issued under section 204, except that this sub5 paragraph shall not apply to fishing within the

6 special areas before the date on which the

7 Agreement between the United States and the

8 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Mar9 itime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990, enters

10 into force for the United States; or’’.

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

12 301(h)(2)(A) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide

13 for the designation of the Flower Garden Banks Na14 tional Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992

15 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 64), is repealed.

16 (d) RESTRICTION ON SALE OF LOBSTERS.—Section

17 307(1)(J)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1557(1)(J)(i)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘plan,’’ and inserting ‘‘plan’’;

19 and

20 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the follow21 ing: ‘‘, or in the absence of both such plans is small22 er than the minimum possession size in effect at the

23 time under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

24 Commission’s American Lobster Fishery Manage25 ment Plan’’.
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•HR 39 EH

1 SEC. 14. HAROLD SPARCK BERING SEA COMMUNITY DEVEL2 OPMENT QUOTA PROGRAM.

3 Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(f) BERING SEA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

6 QUOTA PROGRAM.—(1) The North Pacific Fishery Man7 agement Council and the Secretary shall establish a west8 ern Alaska community development quota program under

9 which a percentage of the total allowable catch of any Ber10 ing Sea fishery is allocated to western Alaska communities

11 that participate in the program.

12 ‘‘(2) To be eligible to participate in the western Alas13 ka community development quota program under para14 graph (1), a community must—

15 ‘‘(A) be located within 50 nautical miles from

16 the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial

17 sea is measured along the Bering Sea coast from the

18 Bering Strait to the western most of the Aleutian Is19 lands, or on an island within the Bering Sea;

20 ‘‘(B) not be located on the Gulf of Alaska coast

21 of the north Pacific Ocean;

22 ‘‘(C) meet criteria developed by the Governor of

23 Alaska, approved by the Secretary, and published in

24 the Federal Register;
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(D) be certified by the Secretary of the Inte2 rior pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle3 ment Act to be a Native village;

4 ‘‘(E) consist of residents who conduct more

5 than one-half of their current commercial or subsist6 ence fishing effort in the waters of the Bering Sea

7 and Aleutian Islands management area; and

8 ‘‘(F) not have previously developed harvesting

9 or processing capability sufficient to support sub10 stantial participation in the groundfish fisheries in

11 the Bering Sea, unless the community can show that

12 the benefits from an approved Community Develop13 ment Plan would be the only way for the community

14 to realize a return from previous investments.’’.

15 SEC. 15. OBSERVERS.

16 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 315. RIGHTS OF OBSERVERS.

19 ‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTION.—An observer on a vessel (or the

20 observer’s personal representative) under the requirements

21 of this Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972

22 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) that is ill, disabled, injured, or

23 killed from service as an observer on that vessel may not

24 bring a civil action under any law of the United States

25 for that illness, disability for that illness, disability, injury,
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•HR 39 EH

1 or death against the vessel or vessel owner, except that

2 a civil action may be brought against the vessel owner for

3 the owner’s willful misconduct.

4 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not apply if

5 the observer is engaged by the owner, master, or individual

6 in charge of a vessel to perform any duties in service to

7 the vessel.’’.

8 SEC. 16. INDIVIDUAL QUOTA LIMITED ACCESS PROGRAMS.

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH INDIVIDUAL QUOTA

10 SYSTEMS.—Section 303(b)(6) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)(6)) is

11 amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(6) establish a limited access system for the

13 fishery in order to achieve optimum yields, if—

14 ‘‘(A) in developing such system, the Coun15 cils and the Secretary take into account—

16 ‘‘(i) the need to promote conservation;

17 ‘‘(ii) present participation in the fish18 ery,

19 ‘‘(iii) historical fishing practices in,

20 and dependence on, the fishery,

21 ‘‘(iv) the economics of the fishery,

22 ‘‘(v) the capability of fishing vessels

23 used in the fishery to engage in other fish24 eries,
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(vi) the cultural and social frame2 work relevant to the fishery and local

3 coastal communities, and

4 ‘‘(vii) any other relevant consider5 ations; and

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of such a system that pro7 vides for the allocation and issuance of individ8 ual quotas (as that term is defined in sub9 section (g)), the plan complies with subsection

10 (g).’’.

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303 is further amend12 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:

13 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL QUOTA

14 SYSTEMS.—(1) A fishery management plan which estab15 lishes an individual quota system for a fishery—

16 ‘‘(A) shall provide for administration of the sys17 tem by the Secretary in accordance with the terms

18 of the plan;

19 ‘‘(B) shall not create, or be construed to create,

20 any right, title, or interest in or to any fish before

21 the fish is harvested;

22 ‘‘(C) shall include provisions which establish

23 procedures and requirements for each Council hav24 ing authority over the fishery, for—
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(i) reviewing and revising the terms of

2 the plan that establish the system; and

3 ‘‘(ii) renewing, reallocating, and reissuing

4 individual quotas if determined appropriate by

5 each Council;

6 ‘‘(D) shall include provisions to—

7 ‘‘(i) provide for fair and equitable alloca8 tion of individual quotas under the system;

9 ‘‘(ii) minimize negative social and economic

10 impacts of the system on local coastal commu11 nities; and

12 ‘‘(iii) ensure adequate enforcement of the

13 system, including the use of observers where

14 appropriate at a level of coverage that should

15 yield statistically significant results, except that

16 on a fish processing vessel at sea observers shall

17 be required as necessary to ensure monitoring

18 of fishing activities 24 hours each day; and

19 ‘‘(E) include provisions that prevent any person

20 from acquiring an excessive share of individual

21 quotas issued for a fishery.

22 ‘‘(2) An individual quota issued under an individual

23 quota system established by a fishery management plan—
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(A) shall be considered a grant, to the holder

2 of the individual quota, of permission to engage in

3 activities permitted by the individual quota;

4 ‘‘(B) may be revoked or limited at any time, in

5 accordance with the terms of the plan and regula6 tions issued by the Secretary or the Council having

7 authority over the fishery for which it is issued, if

8 necessary for the conservation and management of

9 the fishery (including as a result of a violation of

10 this Act or any regulation prescribed under this

11 Act);

12 ‘‘(C) if revoked or limited by the Secretary or

13 a Council, shall not confer any right of compensation

14 to the holder of the individual quota;

15 ‘‘(D) may be received and held in accordance

16 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary under

17 this Act;

18 ‘‘(E) shall, except in the case of an individual

19 quota allocated under an individual quota system es20 tablished before the date of enactment of the Fish21 ery Conservation and Management Amendments of

22 1995, expire not later than 7 years after the date it

23 is issued, in accordance with the terms of the fishery

24 management plan; and
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(F) upon expiration under subparagraph (E),

2 may be renewed, reallocated, or reissued if deter3 mined appropriate by each Council having authority

4 over the fishery.

5 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B)

6 and (C), any fishery management plan that establishes an

7 individual quota system for a fishery may authorize indi8 vidual quotas to be held by or issued under the system

9 to fishing vessel owners, fishermen, crew members, and

10 United States fish processors.

11 ‘‘(B) An individual who is not a citizen of the United

12 States may not hold an individual quota issued under a

13 fishery management plan.

14 ‘‘(C) A Federal agency or official may not hold, ad15 minister, or reallocate an individual quota issued under

16 a fishery management plan, other than the Secretary and

17 the Council having authority over the fishery for which

18 the individual quota is issued.

19 ‘‘(4) Any fishery management plan that establishes

20 an individual quota system for a fishery may include provi21 sions that—

22 ‘‘(A) allocate individual quotas under the sys23 tem among categories of vessels; and

24 ‘‘(B) provide a portion of the annual harvest in

25 the fishery for entry-level fishermen, small vessel
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•HR 39 EH

1 owners, or crewmembers who do not hold or qualify

2 for individual quotas.

3 ‘‘(5)(A) An individual quota system established for

4 a fishery may be limited or terminated at any time if nec5 essary for the conservation and management of the fish6 ery, by—

7 ‘‘(i) the Council which has authority over the

8 fishery for which the system is established, through

9 a fishery management plan or amendment; or

10 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary, in the case of any individual

11 quota system established by a fishery management

12 plan developed by the Secretary.

13 ‘‘(B) This paragraph does not diminish the authority

14 of the Secretary under any other provision of this Act.

15 ‘‘(6) Any individual quota system established for a

16 fishery after the date of enactment of the Fishery Con17 servation and Management Amendments of 1995—

18 ‘‘(A) shall not allow individual quotas shares

19 under the system to be sold, transferred, or leased;

20 ‘‘(B) shall prohibit a person from holding an in21 dividual quota share under the system unless the

22 person participates in the fishery for which the indi23 vidual quota share is issued; and

24 ‘‘(C) shall require that if any person that holds

25 an individual quota share under the system does not
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•HR 39 EH

1 engage in fishing under the individual quota share

2 for 3 or more years in any period of 5 consecutive

3 years, the individual quota share shall revert to the

4 Secretary and shall be reallocated under the system

5 to qualified participants in the fishery in a fair and

6 equitable manner and in accordance with the follow7 ing priorities:

8 ‘‘(i) As the first priority, to persons who

9 have participated in the fishery but have not re10 ceived any individual quota shares under the

11 system, or have received individual quota shares

12 under the system in an amount insufficient to

13 allow participation in the fishery.

14 ‘‘(ii) As the second priority, to persons who

15 desire to enter the fishery.

16 ‘‘(iii) As the third priority, to persons who

17 participate in the fishery and hold individual

18 quota shares sufficient to permit that participa19 tion.

20 ‘‘(7) In reallocating individual quota shares under

21 paragraph (6)(C)(iii), the Secretary may utilize a royalty

22 auction or other comparable bidding process.

23 ‘‘(8) The Secretary may suspend the applicability of

24 paragraph (6) for individuals on a case-by-case basis due
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•HR 39 EH

1 to death, disablement, undue hardship, or in any case in

2 which fishing is prohibited by the Secretary or the Council.

3 ‘‘(9) This subsection does not require a Council or

4 the Secretary to amend a fishery management plan in

5 order to comply with paragraph (1)(D)(i) or (ii) with re6 spect to an individual quota system, if the plan (or an

7 amendment to the plan) established the individual quota

8 system before the date of enactment of the Fishery Con9 servation and Management Amendments of 1995.

10 ‘‘(10) As used in this subsection:

11 ‘‘(A) The term ‘individual quota system’ means

12 a system that limits access to a fishery in order to

13 achieve optimum yield, through the allocation and is14 suance of individual quotas.

15 ‘‘(B) The term ‘individual quota’ means a grant

16 of permission to harvest or process a quantity of fish

17 in a fishery, during each fishing season for which

18 the permission is granted, equal to a stated percent19 age of the total allowable catch for the fishery.’’.

20 (c) FEES.—Section 304(d) is amended—

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary

22 shall’’; and

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new

24 paragraph:
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec2 retary shall collect from a person that holds an individual

3 quota issued under a limited access system established

4 under section 303(b)(6) fees established by the Secretary

5 in accordance with this section and section 9701(b) of title

6 31, United States Code.

7 ‘‘(B) The fees required to be established and collected

8 by the Secretary under this paragraph are the following:

9 ‘‘(i) An initial allocation fee in an amount, de10 termined by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent of the

11 value of fish authorized to be harvested in one year

12 under an individual quota, which shall be collected

13 from the person to whom the individual quota is

14 first issued.

15 ‘‘(ii) An annual fee in an amount, determined

16 by the Secretary, not to exceed 4 percent of the

17 value of fish authorized to be harvested each year

18 under an individual quota share, which shall be col19 lected from the holder of the individual quota share.

20 ‘‘(C) In determining the amount of a fee under this

21 paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that the amount is

22 commensurate with the cost of managing the fishery with

23 respect to which the fee is collected, including reasonable

24 costs for salaries, data analysis, and other costs directly

25 related to fishery management and enforcement.
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, in consultation with the Coun2 cils, shall promulgate regulations prescribing the method

3 of determining under this paragraph the value of fish au4 thorized to be taken under an individual quota share, the

5 amount of fees, and the method of collecting fees.

6 ‘‘(E) Fees collected under this paragraph from hold7 ers of individual quotas in a fishery shall be an offsetting

8 collection and shall be available to the Secretary only for

9 the purposes of administering and implementing this Act

10 with respect to that fishery.

11 ‘‘(F) The Secretary may not assess or collect any fee

12 under this paragraph with respect to an individual quota

13 system established before the date of enactment of the

14 Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments of

15 1995, during the 5-year period beginning on that date of

16 enactment.’’.

17 (d) APPROVAL OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS

18 ESTABLISHING INDIVIDUAL QUOTA SYSTEMS.—Section

19 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding after

20 subsection (k) (as added by section 10 of this Act) the

21 following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(l) ACTION ON LIMITED ACCESS SYSTEMS.—(1) In

23 addition to the other requirements of this Act, the Sec24 retary may not approve a fishery management plan that

25 establishes a limited access system that provides for the
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•HR 39 EH

1 allocation of individual quotas (in this subsection referred

2 to as an ‘individual quota system’) unless the plan com3 plies with section 303(g).

4 ‘‘(2) Within 1 year after receipt of recommendations

5 from the review panel established under paragraph (3),

6 the Secretary shall issue regulations which establish re7 quirements for establishing an individual quota system.

8 The regulations shall be developed in accordance with the

9 recommendations. The regulations shall—

10 ‘‘(A) specify factors that shall be considered by

11 a Council in determining whether a fishery should be

12 managed under an individual quota system;

13 ‘‘(B) ensure that any individual quota system is

14 consistent with the requirements of sections 303(b)

15 and 303(g), and require the collection of fees in ac16 cordance with subsection (d)(2);

17 ‘‘(C) provide for appropriate penalties for viola18 tions of individual quotas systems, including the rev19 ocation of individual quotas for such violations;

20 ‘‘(D) include recommendations for potential

21 management options related to individual quotas, in22 cluding the authorization of individual quotas that

23 may not be transferred by the holder, and the use

24 of leases or auctions by the Federal Government in
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•HR 39 EH

1 the establishment or allocation of individual quotas;

2 and

3 ‘‘(E) establish a central lien registry system for

4 the identification, perfection, and determination of

5 lien priorities, and nonjudicial foreclosure of encum6 brances, on individual quotas.

7 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date of

8 the enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Manage9 ment Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall establish

10 a review panel to evaluate fishery management plans in

11 effect under this Act that establish a system for limiting

12 access to a fishery, including individual quota systems,

13 and other limited access systems, with particular attention

14 to—

15 ‘‘(i) the success of the systems in conserving

16 and managing fisheries;

17 ‘‘(ii) the costs of implementing and enforcing

18 the systems;

19 ‘‘(iii) the economic effects of the systems on

20 local communities; and

21 ‘‘(iv) the use of leases or auctions in the estab22 lishment or allocation of individual quota shares.

23 ‘‘(B) The review panel shall consist of—

24 ‘‘(i) the Secretary or a designee of the Sec25 retary;
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(ii) a representative of each Council, selected

2 by the Council;

3 ‘‘(iii) 3 representatives of the commercial fish4 ing and processing industry; and

5 ‘‘(iv) one at large representative who is selected

6 by reason of occupational or other experience, sci7 entific expertise, or training, and who is knowledge8 able regarding the conservation and management or

9 the commercial or recreational harvest of fishery re10 sources.

11 ‘‘(C) Based on the evaluation required under sub12 paragraph (A), the review panel shall, by September 30,

13 1997—

14 ‘‘(i) submit comments to the Councils and the

15 Secretary with respect to the revision of individual

16 quota systems that were established under this Act

17 prior to June 1, 1995; and

18 ‘‘(ii) submit recommendations to the Secretary

19 for the development of the regulations required

20 under paragraph (2).’’.

21 (e) RESTRICTION ON NEW INDIVIDUAL QUOTA SYS22 TEMS PENDING REGULATIONS.—

23 (1) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary of Commerce

24 may not approve any covered quota system plan, and

25 no covered quota system plan shall take effect,
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•HR 39 EH

1 under title III of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva2 tion and Management Act before the effective date

3 of regulations issued by the Secretary under section

4 304(l) of that Act, as added by subsection (d).

5 (2) COVERED QUOTA SYSTEM PLAN DE6 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘covered quota

7 system plan’’ means a fishery management plan or

8 amendment to a fishery management plan, that—

9 (A) proposes establishment of an individual

10 quota system (as that term is used in section

11 303 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

12 Management Act, as amended by subsection (a)

13 of this section); and

14 (B) is submitted to the Secretary after

15 May 1, 1995.

16 SEC. 17. FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAMS.

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

18 is further amended by adding after section 315 (as added

19 by section 15 of this Act) the following new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 316. FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAMS.

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PROGRAM.—The Sec22 retary, with the concurrence of the Council having author23 ity over a fishery, may conduct a voluntary fishing capac24 ity reduction program for a fishery in accordance with this

25 section, if—
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary—

2 ‘‘(A) determines that the program is nec3 essary for rebuilding, preventing overfishing, or

4 generally improving conservation and manage5 ment of the fishery; or

6 ‘‘(B) is requested to do so by the Council

7 with authority over the fishery; and

8 ‘‘(2) there is in effect under section 304 a fish9 ery management plan that—

10 ‘‘(A) limits access to the fishery through a

11 Federal fishing permit required by a limited ac12 cess system established under section 303(b)(6);

13 and

14 ‘‘(B) prevents the replacement of fishing

15 capacity eliminated by the program through—

16 ‘‘(i) a moratorium on the issuance of

17 new Federal fishing permits for the dura18 tion of the repayment period; and

19 ‘‘(ii) restrictions on fishing vessel ca20 pacity upgrading.

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Under a fishing

22 capacity reduction program conducted under this section

23 for a fishery, the Secretary shall—

24 ‘‘(1) seek to permanently reduce the maximum

25 effective fishing capacity at the least cost and in the
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•HR 39 EH

1 shortest period of time through the removal of ves2 sels and permits from the fishery;

3 ‘‘(2) make payments to—

4 ‘‘(A) scrap or otherwise render perma5 nently unusable for fishing in the United

6 States, vessels that operate in the fishery; and

7 ‘‘(B) acquire the Federal fishing permits

8 that authorize participation in the fishery;

9 ‘‘(3) provide for the funding of those payments

10 by persons that participate in the fishery, by estab11 lishing and imposing fees on holders of Federal fish12 ing permits under this Act that authorize that par13 ticipation;

14 ‘‘(4) establish criteria for determining the types

15 of vessels and permits which are eligible to partici16 pate in the program, that—

17 ‘‘(A) assess vessel impact on the fishery;

18 ‘‘(B) minimize program costs; and

19 ‘‘(C) take into consideration—

20 ‘‘(i) previous fishing capacity reduc21 tion programs; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the characteristics of the fishery;

23 ‘‘(5) establish procedures for determining the

24 amount of payments under subsection (c); and
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(6) identify sources of funding for the pro2 gram in addition to the amounts referred to in sub3 section (f)(2)(A), (B), (C), and (D).

4 ‘‘(c) PAYMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of a fishing capac6 ity reduction program under this section, and sub7 ject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall make pay8 ments under subsection (b)(2).

9 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEE REQUIRED.—

10 The Secretary may not make any payment under

11 paragraph (1) for a fishery unless there is in effect

12 for the fishery a fee under subsection (d).

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY14 MENTS FOR FISHERY.—The total amount of pay15 ments under paragraph (1) for a fishery may not ex16 ceed the total amount the Secretary projects will be

17 deposited into the Fund from fees that apply to the

18 fishery under subsection (d).

19 ‘‘(d) FEES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

21 provision of law, the Secretary, with the concurrence

22 of a majority of the voting members of a Council

23 having authority over a fishery for which a fishing

24 capacity reduction program is conducted under this

25 section, may establish an annual fee on holders of
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1 Federal fishing permits authorizing participation in

2 the fishery.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The amount of a fee

4 established under this subsection for a fishery de5 scribed in paragraph (1)—

6 ‘‘(A) shall be adequate to ensure that the

7 total amount collected in the form of the fee

8 will not be less than the amount the Secretary

9 determines is necessary for payments under

10 subsection (b)(2) to reduce fishing capacity in

11 the fishery to a level that will ensure the long12 term health of the fishery;

13 ‘‘(B) shall be based on—

14 ‘‘(i) the value of the fishery;

15 ‘‘(ii) the projected number of partici16 pants in the fishery;

17 ‘‘(iii) the projected catch in the fish18 ery; and

19 ‘‘(iv) the direct costs of implementing

20 a fishing capacity reduction program under

21 this section for the fishery; and

22 ‘‘(C) may not exceed, for any permit hold23 er, 5 percent of the value of fish harvested

24 under the permit each year.
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A fee under this

2 subsection may not be in effect for more than 15

3 years.

4 ‘‘(4) USE OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—Amounts

5 received by the United States as fees under this sub6 section—

7 ‘‘(A) shall be deposited into the Fund; and

8 ‘‘(B) may not be used to pay any adminis9 trative overhead or other costs not directly in10 curred in implementing this section with respect

11 to the fishery.

12 ‘‘(e) ADVISORY PANELS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish for each fishery for which a fishing capacity re15 duction program is conducted under this section an

16 advisory panel to advise the Secretary regarding that

17 program.

18 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each advisory panel

19 under this subsection shall consist of individuals ap20 pointed by the Secretary and shall include represent21 atives of—

22 ‘‘(A) the Department of Commerce,

23 ‘‘(B) Councils having authority over fish24 eries for which the panel is established,
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1 ‘‘(C) appropriate sectors of the fishing in2 dustry affected by fishing capacity reduction

3 programs under this sections, and

4 ‘‘(D) appropriate States affected by such

5 programs.

6 ‘‘(f) FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION

7 FUND.—

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

9 the Treasury of the United States a separate ac10 count which shall be known as the Fisheries Con11 servation and Restoration Fund (in this section re12 ferred to as the ‘Fund’).

13 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—There shall

14 be deposited into the Fund—

15 ‘‘(A) amounts appropriated under clause

16 (iv) of section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August

17 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)(1)(A)), popu18 larly known as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act;

19 ‘‘(B) amounts paid to the United States

20 Government as fees established under sub21 section (d);

22 ‘‘(C) any other amounts appropriated for

23 fisheries disaster that the Secretary determines

24 should be used for fishing capacity reduction

25 programs under this section; and
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(D) any other amounts appropriated for

2 making payments under subsection (b)(2).

3 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund

5 shall be available to the Secretary without fiscal

6 year limitation for making payments under sub7 section (b)(2).

8 ‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT OF UNNEEDED BAL9 ANCE.—Amounts in the Fund that are not cur10 rently needed for the purposes of this section

11 shall be invested in obligations of, or guaran12 teed by, the United States.

13 ‘‘(g) EXPIRATION OF ACQUIRED PERMITS.—Permits

14 acquired by the Secretary under subsection (b)(2)(B)—

15 ‘‘(1) shall not be effective after the date of that

16 acquisition; and

17 ‘‘(2) may not be reissued or replaced.’’.

18 (b) USE OF AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED UNDER

19 SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY ACT.—Section 2(b)(1) of the

20 Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)(1)), popu21 larly known as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, is amended

22 in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon

23 at the end of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end

24 of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the

25 end the following new clause:
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•HR 39 EH

1 ‘‘(iv) to fund fishing capacity reduction

2 programs under section 316 of the Magnuson

3 Fishery Conservation and Management Act, by

4 depositing a portion of amounts transferred

5 into the Fisheries Conservation and Restoration

6 Fund established by that section; and’’.

7 SEC. 18. CONSIDERATION OF ABILITY TO PAY PENALTIES.

8 Section 308(a) (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended—

9 (1) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘ability to

10 pay,’’; and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen12 tence: ‘‘In assessing such penalty, the Secretary may

13 also consider facts relating to the ability of the viola14 tor to pay that are established by the violator in a

15 timely manner.’’.

16 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV (90 Stat. 359–361) is

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

20 PROVISIONS

21 ‘‘Sec. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec23 retary, for carrying out this Act, the following:

24 ‘‘(1) $114,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.

25 ‘‘(2) $118,000,000 for fiscal year 1997.
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1 ‘‘(3) $122,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

2 ‘‘(4) $126,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.

3 ‘‘(5) $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.

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

5 in the first section of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

6 and Management Act is amended by striking the items

7 relating to title IV (including the items relating to the sec8 tions in that title) and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

10 PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations.’’.

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NOAA

12 MARINE FISHERY PROGRAMS.—The National Oceanic

13 and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Pro14 gram Authorization Act (Public Law 98–210; 97 Stat.

15 1409) is amended—

16 (1) in section 2(a)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘1992’’ and

18 inserting a comma; and

19 (B) by inserting before the period at the

20 end the following: ‘‘, $47,000,000 for fiscal year

21 1996, $48,645,000 for fiscal year 1997,

22 $50,347,575 for fiscal year 1998, $52,109,740

23 for fiscal year 1999, and $53,933,580 for fiscal

24 year 2000’’;
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1 (2) in section 3(a)—

2 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘1992’’ and

3 inserting a comma; and

4 (B) by inserting before the period at the

5 end the following: ‘‘, $27,400,000 for fiscal year

6 1996, $28,359,000 for fiscal year 1997,

7 $29,351,565 for fiscal year 1998, $30,378,869

8 for fiscal year 1999, and $31,442,129 for fiscal

9 year 2000’’;

10 (3) in section 4(a)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘1992’’ and

12 inserting a comma; and

13 (B) by inserting before the period at the

14 end the following: ‘‘, $17,300,000 for fiscal year

15 1996, $17,905,500 for fiscal year 1997,

16 $18,532,192 for fiscal year 1998, $19,180,818

17 for fiscal year 1999, and $19,852,146 for fiscal

18 year 2000’’; and

19 (4) in section 2(e)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘1992 and 1993’’ and in21 serting ‘‘1996 and 1997’’;

22 (B) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘operate’’;

24 (C) by striking ‘‘306’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘307’’; and
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1 (D) by striking ‘‘1991’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘1992’’.

3 SEC. 20. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

4 (a) CORRECTION.—Section 304 of the Act entitled

5 ‘‘An Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Gar6 den Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March

7 9, 1992 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 65), is repealed.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(15) of

9 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

10 1362(15)) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(15) The term ‘waters under the jurisdiction

12 of the United States’ means—

13 ‘‘(A) the territorial sea of the United

14 States;

15 ‘‘(B) the waters included within a zone,

16 contiguous to the territorial sea of the United

17 States, of which the inner boundary is a line co18 terminous with the seaward boundary of each

19 coastal State, and the outer boundary is a line

20 drawn in such a manner that each point on it

21 is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from

22 which the territorial sea is measured; and

23 ‘‘(C) the areas referred to as eastern spe24 cial areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement be25 tween the United States of America and the
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1 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Mar2 itime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in par3 ticular, those areas east of the maritime bound4 ary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie with5 in 200 nautical miles of the baselines from

6 which the breadth of the territorial sea of Rus7 sia is measured but beyond 200 nautical miles

8 of the baselines from which the breadth of the

9 territorial sea of the United States is measured,

10 except that this subparagraph shall not apply

11 before the date on which the Agreement be12 tween the United States and the Union of So13 viet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Bound14 ary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for

15 the United States.’’.

16 SEC. 21. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

17 The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage18 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries’’ each

20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Committee on Resources’’.

21 SEC. 22. PROVISIONS RELATING TO GULF OF MEXICO.

22 (a) FISHERY ASSESSMENTS.—Section 304(e) (16

23 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall develop and implement a

2 systematic program for the assessment and annual report3 ing to the public of the status of fisheries in the Gulf of

4 Mexico subject to management under this Act. Such pro5 gram shall—

6 ‘‘(A) provide for the use of peer-review panels

7 consisting of independent and external experts;

8 ‘‘(B) not exclude peer-reviewers merely because

9 they represent entities that may have an interest or

10 potential interest in the outcome, if that interest is

11 fully disclosed to the Secretary;

12 ‘‘(C) provide opportunity to become part of a

13 peer-review panel at a minimum by soliciting nomi14 nations through the Federal Register; and

15 ‘‘(D) ensure that all comment and opinions of

16 such peer-review panels are made available to the

17 public.’’.

18 (b) FISHERY MONITORING.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C.

19 1854) is further amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing new subsection:

21 ‘‘(m) FISHERY MONITORING.—(1) The Secretary

22 shall develop a plan for the Gulf of Mexico region to col23 lect, assess, and report statistics concerning the fisheries

24 in each such region.

25 ‘‘(2) The plan under this subsection shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) provide fishery managers and the public

2 with timely and accurate information concerning

3 harvests and fishing effort;

4 ‘‘(B) minimize paperwork and regulatory bur5 dens on fishermen and fish buyers;

6 ‘‘(C) minimize costs to Federal and State agen7 cies;

8 ‘‘(D) avoid duplication and inconsistencies in

9 the collection, assessment, and reporting of fishery

10 statistics; and

11 ‘‘(E) ensure the confidentiality of information.

12 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that fishermen, fish

13 buyers, and other individuals potentially impacted by the

14 plan required under this subsection are actively involved

15 in all stages of the development of such plan and that ap16 propriate fishery management agencies are consulted.

17 ‘‘(4) No later than 9 months after the date of enact18 ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

19 Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall publish notice

20 of a proposed plan required under this subsection and pro21 vide the public with a reasonable opportunity to comment

22 on such proposed plan. The Secretary shall consider such

23 comments before submitting the plan under paragraph

24 (5).
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1 ‘‘(5) No later than one year after the date of enact2 ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

3 Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall submit a final

4 plan under this subsection to the Committee on Resources

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.’’.

7 (c) RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Section 304 (16

8 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at the end

9 the following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(n) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS.—(1) Notwithstand11 ing any other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall,

12 wherever practicable, subject to the availability of appro13 priations, and when the arrangement will yield statistically

14 reliable results, rely on the private sector to provide ves15 sels, equipment, and services necessary to survey the fish16 ery resources of the United States. The Secretary shall

17 determine whether this arrangement will yield statistically

18 reliable results.

19 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in consultation with the appro20 priate Council and the fishing industry—

21 ‘‘(A) may structure competitive solicitations

22 under paragraph (1) so as to compensate a contrac23 tor for a fishery resources survey by allowing the

24 contractor to retain for sale fish harvested during

25 the survey voyage; and
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a survey during which the

2 quantity or quality of fish harvested is not expected

3 to be adequately compensatory, may structure those

4 solicitations so as to provide that compensation by

5 permitting the contractor to harvest on a subsequent

6 voyage and retain for sale a portion of the allowable

7 biological catch of the surveyed fishery that is re8 served for research purposes under section 303(b).

9 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall undertake efforts to expand

10 annual fishery resource assessments in all regions of the

11 Nation through the use of the authority provided in this

12 subsection.’’

13 (d) GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER STOCK MAN14 AGEMENT STUDY.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce

16 shall have an independent analysis conducted that

17 will evaluate—

18 (A) the methods, data, and models used to

19 assess the status of Gulf of Mexico red snapper

20 stock assessments;

21 (B) the effectiveness of the fishery man22 agement plan in effect under the Magnuson

23 Fishery Conservation and Management Act that

24 applies to Gulf of Mexico red snapper, in terms

25 of the appropriateness of the management goal
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1 and time frame given the available biological

2 data; and

3 (C) regulations in effect under that Act

4 that apply to Gulf of Mexico red snapper, in the

5 terms of the effectiveness of fairly controlling

6 fishing mortality.

7 (2) STUDY REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall—

8 (A) assess all alternatives that could pro9 vide a more balanced and practical approach to

10 managing the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of

11 Mexico;

12 (B) involve commercial and recreational

13 fishermen from the Gulf of Mexico in the collec14 tion of data and information and in the devel15 opment of an accurate assessment plan; and

16 (C) be completed and reported to the Con17 gress and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manage18 ment Council within 1 year after the date of the

19 enactment of this Act.

20 (3) USE OF REPORT.—It is expected for the re21 port on the study under this subsection to be used

22 as the foundation for any future management of red

23 snapper in the Gulf of Mexico by the Gulf of Mexico

24 Fishery Management Council or the National Ma25 rine Fisheries Service (or both). It is also expected
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1 that the Council will suspend the implementation of

2 any individual fishing quota plan for red snapper in

3 the Gulf of Mexico until the study is completed and

4 until the Secretary of Commerce has completed

5 standards or guidelines.

6 (4) LIMITED IMMUNITY.—Individuals providing

7 credible information to receive the most accurate as8 sessments shall not be subject to any catch reporting

9 violations.

10 SEC. 23. STUDY OF CONTRIBUTION OF BYCATCH TO CHARI11 TABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

12 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall con13 duct a study of the contribution of bycatch to charitable

14 organizations by commercial fishermen. The study shall

15 include determination of—

16 (1) the amount of bycatch that is contributed

17 each year to charitable organizations by commercial

18 fishermen;

19 (2) the economic benefits to commercial fisher20 men from those contributions; and

21 (3) the impact on fisheries of the availability of

22 those benefits.

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
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1 shall submit to the Congress a report containing deter2 minations made in the study under subsection (a).

3 (c) BYCATCH DEFINED.—In this section the term

4 ‘‘bycatch’’ has the meaning given that term in section

5 3(34) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage6 ment Act, as amended by section 4 of this Act.

7 SEC. 24. PROHIBITION.

8 No fish may be introduced into interstate commerce

9 of the United States unless the Secretary of Commerce

10 certifies that the country of origin of the fish has imple11 mented and is enforcing laws or regulations requiring fish

12 excluder devices on that country’s fishing industry in the

13 manner in which these laws are enforced in the United

14 States.

15 SEC. 25. SENSE OF CONGRESS; REQUIREMENT REGARDING

16 NOTICE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV, as amended by section

18 19, is further amended by adding at the end the following

19 new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 402. SENSE OF CONGRESS; NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS

21 OF ASSISTANCE.

22 ‘‘(a) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT

23 AND PRODUCTS.—It is the sense of the Congress that, to

24 the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products
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1 purchased with funds made available under this Act

2 should be American-made.

3 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In

4 providing financial assistance under this Act, the Sec5 retary, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide to

6 each recipient of the assistance a notice describing the

7 statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress.’’.

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

9 in the first section, as amended by section 19, is further

10 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 402. Sense of Congress; notice to recipients of assistance.’’.

11 TITLE II—INSULAR AREAS

12 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Insular Areas

14 Fisheries Empowerment Act of 1995’’.

15 SEC. 202. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is

17 further amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(10) The Pacific Insular Areas of the United

19 States contain a unique historical, cultural, legal, po20 litical, and geographic circumstance, including the

21 importance of fisheries resources to their economic

22 growth.’’.

23 (b) POLICY.—Section 2(c) (16 U.S.C. 1801) is

24 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (5);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(7) to assure that the fishery resources adja8 cent to Pacific Insular Areas, including those within

9 the exclusive economic zone of such areas and any

10 Continental Shelf fishery resources of such areas, be

11 explored, exploited, conserved, and managed for the

12 benefit of the people of each such areas.’’.

13 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

14 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by section

15 4 of this Act, is further amended by redesignating para16 graphs (39) and (40) as paragraphs (40) and (41), respec17 tively, and by inserting after paragraph (38) the following

18 new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(39) The term ‘Pacific Insular Area’ means

20 American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana

21 Islands.’’.

22 SEC. 204. FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY

23 AGREEMENTS.

24 (a) AUTHORITY FOR FOREIGN FISHING UNDER A

25 PACIFIC INSULAR AREA AGREEMENT.—Section 201(a)(1)
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1 (16 U.S.C. 1821(a)(1)), as amended by title I of this Act,

2 is further amended by inserting ‘‘or (e)’’ after ‘‘section

3 204(d)’’.

4 (b) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO A PACIFIC INSULAR

5 AREAS AGREEMENT.—Section 202(c)(2) (16 U.S.C.

6 1822(c)(2)) is amended by inserting before the period at

7 the end the following: ‘‘or section 204(e)’’.

8 (c) PACIFIC INSULAR AREA AGREEMENTS.—Section

9 204 (26 U.S.C. 1824), as amended by section 5 of this

10 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(e) PACIFIC INSULAR AREAS.—(1) After consulta13 tion with or at the request of the Governor of a Pacific

14 Insular Area, the Secretary of State, in concurrence with

15 the Secretary and the appropriate Council, may negotiate

16 and enter into a Pacific Insular Area Fishery Agreement

17 (in this subsection referred to as a ‘PIAFA’) to authorize

18 foreign fishing within the exclusive economic zone adjacent

19 to such Pacific Insular Area or for Continental Shelf fish20 ery resources beyond such zone.

21 ‘‘(2)(A) Fees pursuant to a PIAFA shall be paid to

22 the Secretary by the owner or operator of any foreign fish23 ing vessel for which a permit has been issued pursuant

24 to this section.
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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation

2 with the Governor of the Pacific Island Insular Area, may

3 establish, by regulation, the level of fees which may be

4 charged pursuant to a PIAFA. The amount of fees may

5 exceed administrative costs and shall be reasonable, fair,

6 and equitable to all participants in the fisheries.

7 ‘‘(C) Amounts received by the United States as fees

8 under this paragraph shall be deposited in the general

9 fund of the Treasury and shall be used, as provided in

10 appropriations Acts, for fishery conservation and manage11 ment purposes in waters adjacent to the Pacific Insular

12 Area with respect to which the fees are paid.

13 ‘‘(3) A PIAFA shall become effective according to the

14 procedures of section 203.

15 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of State may not negotiate a

16 PIAFA with a country that is in violation of a governing

17 international fishery agreement in effect under this Act.

18 ‘‘(5) This subsection shall not be considered to super19 sede any governing international fishery agreement in ef20 fect under this Act.’’.

21 SEC. 205. ENFORCEMENT.

22 Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by adding

23 at the end the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT IN THE INSULAR AREAS.—The

25 Secretary, in consultation with the Governors of the Pa-
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1 cific Insular Areas shall, to the greatest extent practicable,

2 support cooperative enforcement agreements between Fed3 eral and Pacific Insular Area authorities.’’.

4 SEC. 206. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

5 (a) Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘204(b) or (c)’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘204(b), (c), or (e)’’.

8 (b) Section 311(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861(g)(1)) is

9 amended by inserting after the citation ‘‘201(b) or (c)’’

10 the words ‘‘or section 204(d)’’.

Passed the House of Representatives October 18,

1995.

Attest:

Clerk.