Union Calendar No. 82

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 39

[Report No. 104–171]

A BILL

Management Act to improve fisheries management.

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

JUNE 30, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 82

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 39

[Report No. 104–171]

To amend the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to

improve fisheries management.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

JUNE 30, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 1995]

A BILL

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 and Management Amendments of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF THE MAGNUSON FISHERY CON2 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

5 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

6 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

7 other provision of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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

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

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

11 amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (2)—

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

14 ‘‘(B)’’; and

15 (B) by inserting before the period at the end

16 the following: ‘‘, and (C) losses of essential fish17 ery habitat can diminish the ability of stocks of

18 fish to survive’’;

19 (2) in paragraph (6) by inserting after ‘‘to in20 sure conservation,’’ the following: ‘‘to provide long21 term conservation of essential fishery habitat,’’; and

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

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

24 poses a long-term threat to the viability of commercial

25 and recreational fisheries of the United States. To

26 conserve and manage the fishery resources of the
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1 United States, increased attention must be given to

2 the protection of this habitat.’’.

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

4 amended—

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

6 end of paragraph (5);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (6) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

10 ‘‘(7) to promote the conservation of essential fish11 ery habitat in the review of projects that affect essen12 tial fishery habitat; and

13 ‘‘(8) to ensure that conservation and manage14 ment decisions with respect to the Nation’s fishery re15 sources are made in a fair and equitable manner.’’.

16 (c) POLICY.—Section 2(c)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1801(c)(3)) is

17 amended by inserting after ‘‘practical measures that’’ the

18 following: ‘‘minimize bycatch and’’.

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

20 (a) EXECUTION OF PRIOR AMENDMENTS TO DEFINI21 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 308 of the Act entitled

22 ‘‘An Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Garden

23 Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9,

24 1992 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 66), section 301(b)
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1 of that Act (adding a definition of the term ‘‘special areas’’)

2 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

3 (b) NEW AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802)

4 is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (4)—

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

7 heading of the list of corals and inserting

8 ‘‘CNIDARIA’’; and

9 (B) in the list appearing under the heading

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

11 Crab—Geryon quinquedens’’ and inserting

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

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

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

15 kilometers’’;

16 (3) in paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘Pacific Ma17 rine Fisheries Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Pacific

18 States Marine Fisheries Commission’’;

19 (4) by amending paragraph (21) to read as fol20 lows:

21 ‘‘(21) The term ‘optimum’, with respect to yield

22 from a fishery, means the amount of fish—

23 ‘‘(A) which will provide the greatest overall

24 benefit to the Nation, with particular reference to
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1 food production and recreational opportunities;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B)(i) which, subject to clause (ii), is pre4 scribed as such on the basis of the maximum sus5 tainable yield from such fishery, as modified by

6 any relevant economic, social, or ecological fac7 tor; or

8 ‘‘(ii) which, in the case of a fishery which

9 has been classified by the Secretary as overfished,

10 is prescribed as such on the basis of the maxi11 mum sustainable yield as reduced to allow for

12 the rebuilding of the fishery to a level consistent

13 with producing maximum sustainable yield on a

14 continuing basis.’’;

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

16 amendments made effective by subsection (a) of this

17 section) by striking ‘‘for which a fishery management

18 plan prepared under title III or a preliminary fish19 ery management plan prepared under section 201(h)

20 has been implemented’’ and inserting ‘‘regulated

21 under this Act’’; and

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

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

24 harvested by a fishing vessel, but which are not sold
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1 or kept for personal use, including economic discards

2 and regulatory discards.

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

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

5 retained by the fishing vessel which harvested them

6 because they are of an undesirable size, sex, or qual7 ity, or for other economic reasons.

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

9 caught in a fishery which fishermen are required by

10 regulation to discard whenever caught, or are re11 quired by regulation to retain but not sell.

12 ‘‘(37) The term ‘essential fishery habitat’ means

13 those waters necessary to fish for spawning, breeding,

14 or growth to maturity.

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

16 rate of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the ability

17 of a stock of fish to produce maximum sustainable

18 yield on a continuing basis.

19 ‘‘(39) The term ‘rebuilding program’ means those

20 conservation and management measures necessary to

21 restore the ability of a stock of fish to produce maxi22 mum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.

23 ‘‘(40) The term ‘total allowable catch’ means the

24 total amount of fish in a fishery that may be har25 vested in a fishing season, as established in accord-
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1 ance with a fishery management plan for the fish2 ery.’’.

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 PER11 MITS.—Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1824) is amended by

12 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 ves17 sel of the United States to engage in fishing consisting

18 solely of transporting fish products at sea from a

19 point within the boundaries of any State or the exclu20 sive economic zone to a point outside the United

21 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 Secretary

10 may approve an application for a permit under this

11 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 is20 sued 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 the

25 United States which has adequate capacity to
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1 perform the transportation for which the appli2 cation 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 the

9 Secretary does not approve any portion of an appli10 cation submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary

11 shall promptly inform the applicant and specify the

12 reasons therefor.

13 ‘‘(6) CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—The Sec14 retary shall establish and include in each permit

15 under this subsection conditions and restrictions

16 which shall be complied with by the owner and opera17 tor 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 for

22 each permit issued under this subsection, in an

23 amount adequate to recover the costs incurred by the

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

2 ATLANTIC HERRING.—

3 (1) RESTRICTION ON ALLOCATIONS.—Section

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

5 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘No al6 location may be made for a fishery that is not subject

7 to a fishery management plan prepared under section

8 303.’’.

9 (2) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION REQUIRED TO

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

11 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 mackerel

19 or Atlantic herring by one or more foreign fishing

20 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 Atlantic

4 mackerel and the New England Fishery Management

5 Council with respect to Atlantic herring.’’.

6 (c) PERIOD FOR CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF GOVERN7 ING INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.—Section 203

8 (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 die)’’;

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

14 (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection

15 (c).

16 (d) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—

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

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

19 ‘‘or special areas’’ after ‘‘the exclusive economic zone’’.

20 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by

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

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

23 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the designa24 tion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine
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1 Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992 (Public Law

2 102–251; 106 Stat. 63).

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

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

5 as follows:

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

7 year, the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary

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

9 Coast Guard is operating, shall submit to the Committee

10 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

11 and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa12 tives a list of those nations whose nationals or vessels con13 duct, and of those nations that authorize their nationals

14 to conduct, large-scale drift net fishing beyond the exclusive

15 economic zone of any nation in a manner that diminishes

16 the effectiveness of, or is inconsistent with, any inter17 national agreement governing large-scale drift net fishing

18 to which the United States is a party or otherwise sub19 scribes.’’.

20 SEC. 7. NATIONAL STANDARD FOR FISHERY CONSERVA21 TION AND MANAGEMENT TO MINIMIZE

22 BYCATCH.

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

24 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 302(b)

13 (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 para21 graph:

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)(O).’’.
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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 lowest

11 rate of pay payable for GS–15,’’.

12 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

13 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 follow17 ing:

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 RE2 GARDING ESSENTIAL AND OTHER FISHERY HABITAT.—

3 Section 302(i) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended—

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

5 semicolon at the end of subparagraph (A) and strik6 ing the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and in7 serting ‘‘; 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 State

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

15 may have a detrimental effect on the essential fishery

16 habitat of a fishery under the authority of the Coun17 cil.’’; and

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

20 ‘‘(2) Within 15 days after receiving a comment or rec21 ommendation under paragraph (1) from a Council regard22 ing the effects of an activity on essential fishery habitat,

23 a Federal agency shall provide to the Council a detailed

24 response in writing. The response shall include a descrip25 tion of measures being considered by the agency for avoid-
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1 ing, mitigating, or offsetting the impact of the activity on

2 such habitat. In the case of a response that is inconsistent

3 with the recommendations of the Council, the Federal agen4 cy shall explain its reasons for not following the rec5 ommendations.’’.

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 the

23 persons present, a complete and accurate description

24 of matters discussed and conclusions reached, and

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

2 of the minutes of each meeting and submit a copy

3 thereof to the Secretary. The minutes shall be made

4 available to any court of competent jurisdiction.’’;

5 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 written

12 description of the item signed by 2 or more voting

13 members of the Council.’’.

14 (i) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND

15 RECUSAL.—Section 302(k) (16 U.S.C. 1852(k)) is amend16 ed—

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 pe5 riod 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 hours.’’;

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

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

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

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

14 and by not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment

15 of the Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments

16 of 1995, shall establish rules which prohibit an affected in17 dividual from voting on a matter in which the individual

18 or any other person described in paragraph (2) with respect

19 to the individual has an interest that would be significantly

20 affected. The rules may include provisions which take into

21 account the differences in fisheries.

22 ‘‘(9) A voting member of a Council shall recuse himself

23 or herself from voting if—

24 ‘‘(A) voting by the member would violate the

25 rules established under paragraph (8); or
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1 ‘‘(B) the General Counsel of the National Oce2 anic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee

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

4 determines under paragraph (10) that voting by the

5 member would violate the rules established under

6 paragraph (8).

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

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

9 of the Council, request the General Counsel of the National

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee of

11 the General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii)) to deter12 mine whether voting on the matter by the member, or by

13 any other member of the Council, would violate the rules

14 established under paragraph (8).

15 ‘‘(B) Upon a request under subparagraph (A) regard16 ing voting on a matter by a member—

17 ‘‘(i) the General Counsel of the National Oceanic

18 and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee of the

19 General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii)) shall

20 determine and state whether the voting would violate

21 the rules established under paragraph (8), at the

22 meeting at which the request is made; and

23 ‘‘(ii) no vote on the matter may be held by the

24 Council before the determination and statement are

25 made.
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1 ‘‘(C) The General Counsel of the National Oceanic and

2 Atmospheric Administration shall—

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

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

5 meeting of a Council for purposes of this paragraph.

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

7 interest that would be significantly affected’ means a per8 sonal financial interest which would be augmented by vot9 ing on the matter and which would only be shared by a

10 minority of other persons within the same industry sector

11 or gear group whose activity would be directly affected by

12 a Council’s action.’’.

13 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(k)(1)(A)

14 (16 U.S.C. 1852(k)(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows:

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

16 appointment as a voting member of a Council in ac17 cordance with subsection (b)(2) or is designated by

18 the Governor of a State under subsection (b)(1)(A)

19 and is not an employee of the State; or’’.

20 SEC. 9. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

21 (a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—

22 (1) NEW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303(a) (16

23 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—

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

25 estimated processing capacity of, and the actual
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1 processing capacity utilized by, United States

2 fish processors,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘the

3 amount and species of bycatch taken on board a

4 fishing vessel based on a standardized reporting

5 methodology established by the Council for that

6 fishery, and the estimated processing capacity of,

7 and the actual processing capacity utilized by,

8 United States fish processors;’’;

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

10 follows:

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

12 habitat for a fishery based on the guidelines estab13 lished by the Secretary under section 304(h)(1);’’;

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

15 after the semicolon at the end;

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

17 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

18 (E) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(10) include a measurable and objective deter20 mination of what constitutes overfishing in that fish21 ery, and a rebuilding program in the case of a plan

22 for any fishery which the Council or the Secretary has

23 determined is overfished;
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1 ‘‘(11) include conservation and management

2 measures necessary to minimize bycatch to the maxi3 mum extent practicable;

4 ‘‘(12) to the extent practicable, minimize mortal5 ity caused by economic discards and regulatory dis6 cards in the fishery;

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

8 at sea; and

9 ‘‘(14) in the case of any plan which under sub10 section (b)(8) requires that observers be carried on

11 board vessels—

12 ‘‘(A) be fair and equitable to all fishing ves13 sels and fish processing vessels, that are vessels of

14 the United States and participate in fisheries

15 covered by the plan;

16 ‘‘(B) be consistent with other applicable

17 laws;

18 ‘‘(C) take into consideration the operating

19 requirements of the fishery and the safety of ob20 servers and fishermen; and

21 ‘‘(D) establish a system of fees to pay the

22 costs of the observer program.’’.

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

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

25 Regional Fishery Management Council established
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1 under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man2 agement Act shall submit to the Secretary of Com3 merce an amendment to each fishery management

4 plan in effect under that Act to comply with the

5 amendments made by paragraph (1).

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

7 North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall re8 quire all fish processors that process fish species under

9 the management of the Council to weigh those fish to

10 ensure an accurate measurement of the total harvest

11 of each species.

12 (b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DISCRETIONARY PRO13 VISIONS, GENERALLY.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b))

14 is amended—

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

16 first semicolon, by striking ‘‘require that observers’’

17 and inserting ‘‘require that one or more observers’’;

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

19 semicolon;

20 (3) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para21 graph (15); and

22 (4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow23 ing:

24 ‘‘(10) assess and specify the effect which con25 servation and management measures of the plan will
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1 have on stocks of fish in the ecosystem of the fishery

2 which are not part of the fishery;

3 ‘‘(11) include incentives and harvest preferences

4 within fishing gear groups to promote the avoidance

5 of bycatch;

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

7 fishery and establish a process for evaluating new

8 gear technology that is proposed to be used in the fish9 ery;

10 ‘‘(13) reserve a portion of the allowable biological

11 catch of the fishery for use for scientific research pur12 poses;

13 ‘‘(14) establish conservation and management

14 measures necessary to minimize, to the extent prac15 ticable, adverse impacts on essential fishery habitat

16 described in the plan under subsection (a)(7) caused

17 by fishing; and’’.

18 (c) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT FISHERY IMPACT

19 STATEMENTS TO AFFECTED STATES AND THE CON20 GRESS.—Section 303 of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva21 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853), as amended

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

23 the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENTS

25 TO INTERESTED STATES AND THE CONGRESS.—Not later
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1 than the date a fishery management plan prepared by a

2 Council or the Secretary takes effect under section 304, the

3 Council or the Secretary, respectively, shall submit the fish4 ery impact statement required in the plan under subsection

5 (a)(9) to—

6 ‘‘(1) the Governor of each State that might be af7 fected by the plan, who may use information in the

8 statement to assist persons in applying for loans and

9 grants for economic relief; and

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

11 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

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

13 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MISCELLANEOUS DU14 TIES OF SECRETARY.

15 (a) SAFETY AT SEA.—Section 304(a)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C.

16 1854(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘to fishery access’’

17 and all that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘with

18 respect to the provisions of sections 303(a)(6) and (13).’’.

19 (b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 304(f) (16

20 U.S.C. 1854(f)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in22 serting the following: ‘‘FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY

23 OF MORE THAN ONE COUNCIL.—’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii) by inserting before

2 the semicolon the following: ‘‘and the plan develop3 ment team established under paragraph (4)’’;

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

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

6 quota, or fishing mortality level’’;

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

8 the plan development team established under para9 graph (4)’’ before the semicolon;

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

11 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall establish a plan de12 velopment team for each highly migratory species

13 fishery over which the Secretary has authority under

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

15 participate in the development of each fishery man16 agement plan or amendment to a plan for the fishery

17 under this subsection.

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

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

20 who are knowledgeable about the fishery for

21 which the plan or amendment is developed, se22 lected from members of advisory committees and

23 species working groups appointed under Acts im24 plementing relevant international fishery agree-
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1 ments pertaining to highly migratory species

2 and from other interested persons;

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

4 commercial, recreational, and other interests;

5 and

6 ‘‘(iii) participate in all aspects of the devel7 opment of the plan or amendment.

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

9 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any plan develop10 ment team established under this paragraph.’’; and

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

12 and (iii) and inserting the following:

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

14 privileges among United States fishermen and not

15 have economic allocation as the sole purpose;

16 ‘‘(iii) promote international conservation;

17 ‘‘(iv) minimize the establishment of regulations

18 that require the discarding of Atlantic highly migra19 tory species which cannot be returned to the sea alive;

20 and

21 ‘‘(v) promote the implementation of scientific re22 search programs that include to the extent prac23 ticable, the tag, and release of Atlantic highly migra24 tory species.’’.
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1 (c) LIMITED ACCESS.—Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C.

2 1854(c)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or advisory committee

3 appointed under laws implementing relevant international

4 fishery agreements to which the United States is a party’’

5 before the period at the end.

6 (d) INCIDENTAL HARVEST RESEARCH.—Section

7 304(g) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)) is amended—

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

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

10 following:

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

12 the Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments of

13 1995, the Secretary shall, in cooperation with affected inter14 ests and based upon the best scientific information avail15 able, complete a program to—

16 ‘‘(A) develop technological devices and other

17 changes in fishing operations to minimize the inci18 dental mortality of nontargeted fishery resources in

19 the course of shrimp trawl activity to the extent prac20 ticable from the level of mortality at the date of enact21 ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

22 Amendments of 1990;

23 ‘‘(B) evaluate the ecological impacts and the ben24 efits and costs of such devices and changes in fishing

25 operations; and
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1 ‘‘(C) assess whether it is practicable to utilize

2 those nontargeted fishery resources which are not

3 avoidable.’’;

4 (3) in paragraph (6)(B) by striking ‘‘April 1,

5 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘the submission under para6 graph (5) of the detailed report on the program de7 scribed in paragraph (4)’’; and

8 (4) by adding at the end the following new para9 graph:

10 ‘‘(7) Any measure implemented under this Act to re11 duce the incidental mortality of nontargeted fishery re12 sources in the course of shrimp trawl fishing shall apply

13 to such fishing throughout the range of the nontargeted fish14 ery resource concerned.’’.

15 (e) ESSENTIAL FISHERY HABITAT; OVERFISHING.—

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

17 at the end the following:

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

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

20 enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

21 Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(A) establish guidelines to assist the Councils in

23 the description of essential fishery habitat in fishery

24 management plans; and
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1 ‘‘(B) establish a schedule for the amendment of

2 fishery management plans to describe essential fish

3 habitats.

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

5 of the Interior, shall identify the essential fishery habitat

6 for each fishery for which a fishery management plan is

7 in effect. The identification shall be based on the description

8 of essential fishery habitat contained in the plan.

9 ‘‘(3) Each Federal agency shall consult with the Sec10 retary with respect to any action proposed to be authorized,

11 funded, or carried out by such agency that the head of the

12 agency has reason to believe, or the Secretary believes, may

13 result in the destruction or adverse modification of any es14 sential fishery habitat identified by the Secretary under

15 paragraph (2). If the Secretary finds that the proposed ac16 tion would result in destruction or adverse modifications

17 of such essential fishery habitat, the Secretary shall com18 ment on and make recommendations to the agency concern19 ing that action.

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

21 from the Secretary under paragraph (3) with respect to a

22 proposed action, the head of a Federal agency shall provide

23 a detailed, written response to the Secretary which describes

24 the measures proposed by the agency to avoid, mitigate, or

25 offset the adverse impact of the proposed action on the essen-
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1 tial fishery habitat. In the case of a response that is incon2 sistent with the recommendation of the Secretary, the agen3 cy shall explain its reasons for not following the rec4 ommendations.

5 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall review programs adminis6 tered by the Department of Commerce to ensure that any

7 relevant programs further the conservation and enhance8 ment of essential fishery habitat identified by the Secretary

9 under paragraph (2). The Secretary shall coordinate with

10 and provide information to other Federal agencies to fur11 ther the conservation and enhancement of essential fishery

12 habitat identified by the Secretary under paragraph (2).

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

14 amending or repealing any other law or regulation or modi15 fying any other responsibility of a Federal agency with re16 spect to fisheries habitat.

17 ‘‘(i) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY ON OVERFISHING.—

18 (1) In addition to the authority granted to the Secretary

19 under subsection (c), if the Secretary finds at any time that

20 overfishing is occurring or has occurred in any fishery, the

21 Secretary shall immediately notify the appropriate Council

22 and request that action be taken to end overfishing in the

23 fishery and to establish a rebuilding program for the fish24 ery. The Secretary shall publish each notice under this

25 paragraph in the Federal Register.
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1 ‘‘(2) If the Council does not submit to the Secretary

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

3 of notification under paragraph (1) a fishery management

4 plan, or an amendment to the appropriate existing fishery

5 management plan, which is intended to address overfishing

6 in the fishery and to establish any necessary rebuilding pro7 gram, then the Secretary shall within 9 months after the

8 end of that period prepare under subsection (c) a fishery

9 management plan, or an amendment to an existing man10 agement plan, to end overfishing in the fishery and to estab11 lish any necessary rebuilding program.

12 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary finds that overfishing is occurring

13 in any fishery for which a fishery management plan pre14 pared by the Secretary is in effect, the Secretary shall—

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

16 amend the plan to end overfishing in the fishery and

17 to establish any necessary rebuilding program; and

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

19 fishery, pursue international rebuilding programs.

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

21 shall specify the time period within which the fishery is

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

23 possible, taking into account the biology and natural varia24 bility of the stock of fish, other environmental factors or

25 conditions which would affect the rebuilding program, and
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1 the needs of the fishing industry. The time period may not

2 exceed 10 years, except in cases where the biology of the

3 stock of fish or other environmental factors dictates other4 wise.

5 ‘‘(5) If the Secretary finds that the action of any Fed6 eral agency has caused or contributed to the decline of a

7 fishery below maximum sustainable yield, the Secretary

8 shall notify the agency of the Secretary’s finding and rec9 ommend steps that can be taken by the agency to reverse

10 that decline.

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

12 rebuilding program required under this subsection begin13 ning in the third year in which the plan is in effect, and

14 annually thereafter.

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

16 that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified

17 goals due to reasons related to the reproductive capacity,

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

19 species concerned or other environmental conditions or fac20 tors beyond the control of the rebuilding program, the Sec21 retary shall—

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

23 ‘‘(ii) determine, based on the best available sci24 entific information, whether revision to the program

25 is needed; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) if the Secretary determines under clause

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

3 that established the program to make revisions to the

4 program, or in the case of a program established by

5 the Secretary, make such revisions.

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

7 that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified

8 goals for reasons other than those described in subparagraph

9 (B), the Secretary shall direct the Council that established

10 the program to make revisions to the program, or in the

11 case of a program established by the Secretary, make such

12 revisions.

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

14 Congress and the Councils on the status of fisheries within

15 each Council’s geographic area of authority and identify

16 those fisheries that are approaching a condition of being

17 overfished.

18 ‘‘(B) For each fishery that is subject to a fishery man19 agement plan, the status of the fishery shall be determined

20 for purposes of subparagraph (A) in accordance with the

21 determination of what constitutes overfishing in the fishery

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

23 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall identify a fishery under sub24 paragraph (A) as approaching a condition of being

25 overfished if, based on trends in fishing effort, fishery re-
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1 source size, and other appropriate factors, the Secretary de2 termines that the fishery is likely to become overfished with3 in 2 years.

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

5 under subparagraph (A) as approaching the condition of

6 being overfished, the report shall—

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

8 fishery will reach that condition; and

9 ‘‘(ii) make specific recommendations to the ap10 propriate Council regarding actions that should be

11 taken to prevent that condition from being reached.’’.

12 (f) ACTION ON CERTAIN IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS

13 PROPOSED BY COUNCILS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854)

14 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(j) ACTION ON COVERED IMPLEMENTING REGULA16 TIONS PROPOSED BY A COUNCIL.—(1) After the receipt date

17 of a covered implementing regulation submitted by a Coun18 cil, the Secretary shall—

19 ‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of the cov20 ered implementing regulation to determine whether it

21 is consistent with the fishery management plan it

22 would implement, the national standards, the other

23 provisions of this Act, and any other applicable law;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(B) immediately publish the covered imple2 menting regulation in the Federal Register and pro3 vide a period of not less than 15 days and not more

4 than 45 days for the submission of comments by the

5 public.

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

7 a covered implementing regulation submitted by a Council,

8 the Secretary shall—

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

10 matter of the covered implementing regulation; or

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

12 The Secretary shall provide to the Council in writing an

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

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

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

16 day on which a Council submits to the Secretary a

17 covered implementing regulation that the Council

18 characterizes as a final covered implementing regula19 tion; and

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

21 ‘‘(i) means a proposed amendment to exist22 ing regulations implementing a fishery manage23 ment plan in effect under this Act, which does

24 not have the effect of amending the plan; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) does not include any proposed regula2 tion submitted with a plan or amendment to a

3 plan under section 303(c).’’.

4 (g) PACIFIC REGION STOCK ASSESSMENT.—Section

5 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

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

8 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Fish9 ery Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995,

10 the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Pacific Fishery

11 Management Council and the States of California, Oregon,

12 and Washington, establish a Pacific Region Scientific Re13 view Group (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Group’)

14 consisting of representatives of the National Marine Fish15 eries Service, each of the States of California, Oregon, and

16 Washington, universities located in those States, commer17 cial and recreational fishermen and shore-based processors

18 located in those States, and environmental organizations.

19 Individuals appointed to serve on the Group shall be se20 lected from among individuals who are knowledgeable or

21 experienced in the harvesting, processing, biology, or ecology

22 of the fish stocks of fish that are managed under the Pacific

23 Fisheries Management Council Pacific Coast Groundfish

24 Plan (in this subsection referred to as the ‘covered Pacific

25 stocks’).
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1 ‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of establish2 ment of the Group, the Group shall transmit to the Sec3 retary a research plan of at least 3 years duration to assess

4 the status of the covered Pacific stocks, including the abun5 dance, location, and species, age, and gender composition

6 of those stocks. The plan shall provide for the use of private

7 vessels to conduct stock surveys.

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

9 under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall take action nec10 essary to carry out the plan, including, subject to the avail11 ability of appropriations, chartering private vessels, ar12 ranging for the deployment of scientists on those vessels (in13 cluding the payment of increased insurance costs to vessel

14 owners), and obtaining the assistance of shore-based fish

15 processors.

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

17 the plan by entering into agreements with vessel owners or

18 shore-based fish processors to provide vessel owners or shore19 based fish processors with a portion of the total allowable

20 catch reserved for research purposes under section 303(b).’’.

21 SEC. 11. EMERGENCY ACTIONS.

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

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

24 section 302(b)(1)(A) and (C)’’ after ‘‘voting mem25 bers’’;
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1 (2) by amending paragraph (3)(B) to read as

2 follows:

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

4 180 days after the date of such publication, except

5 that any such regulation may, by agreement of the

6 Secretary and the Council and after notice and an

7 opportunity for submission of comments by the pub8 lic, be effective for 1 additional period of not more

9 than 180 days; and’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may promulgate emergency regula12 tions under this subsection to protect the public health. Not13 withstanding paragraph (3), regulations promulgated

14 under this paragraph shall remain in effect until with15 drawn by the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly with16 draw regulations under this paragraph when the cir17 cumstances requiring the regulations no longer exist. The

18 Secretary shall provide an opportunity for submission of

19 comments by the public after regulations are promulgated

20 under this paragraph.

21 ‘‘(5) An emergency regulation promulgated under this

22 subsection that closes an area to fishing shall not remain

23 in effect for an additional period under paragraph (3)(B)

24 unless before the beginning of the additional period the

25 Council having jurisdiction over the area, in conjunction
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1 with the Secretary, publishes a report on the status of the

2 fishery in the area that includes an analysis of the costs

3 and benefits of the closure.’’.

4 SEC. 12. STATE JURISDICTION.

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

6 1856(c)(1)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara8 graph (A);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara10 graph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the vessel submits

13 to the appropriate Council and the Secretary, in a

14 manner prescribed by the Secretary, periodic reports

15 on the tonnage of fish received from vessels of the

16 United States and the locations from which such fish

17 were harvested.’’.

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

19 1856(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(3) For any fishery occurring off the coasts of Alaska

21 for which there is no Federal fishery management plan ap22 proved and implemented pursuant to this Act, or pursuant

23 to delegation to a State in a fishery management plan, a

24 State may enforce its laws or regulations pertaining to the

25 taking of fish in the exclusive economic zone off that State
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1 or the landing of fish caught in the exclusive economic zone

2 providing there is a legitimate State interest in the con3 servation and management of that fishery, until a Federal

4 fishery management plan is implemented. Fisheries cur5 rently managed pursuant to a Federal fishery management

6 plan shall not be removed from Federal management and

7 placed under State authority without the unanimous con8 sent (except for the Regional Director of the National Ma9 rine Fisheries Service) of the Council which developed the

10 fishery management plan.’’.

11 SEC. 13. PROHIBITED ACTS.

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON DAMAGING GEAR.—Section

13 307(1)(K) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(K)) is amended by striking

14 ‘‘to knowingly steal, or without authorization, to’’ and in15 serting ‘‘to steal, or to negligently’’.

16 (b) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE FINANCIAL INFORMA17 TION.—Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—

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

19 (M);

20 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara21 graph (N) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(O) to knowingly and willfully fail to dis24 close or falsely disclose any financial interest as

25 required under section 302(k) or to knowingly
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1 violate any rule established under section

2 302(k)(8).’’.

3 (c) PROHIBITED FISHING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C.

5 1857(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

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

7 permitted under section 201(j), within the exclu8 sive economic zone or within the special areas, or

9 for any anadromous species or Continental Shelf

10 fishery resources beyond such zone or areas, or in

11 fishing consisting of transporting fish products

12 from a point within the boundaries of any State

13 or the exclusive economic zone or the special

14 areas, unless such fishing is authorized under,

15 and conducted in accordance with, a valid and

16 applicable permit issued under section 204, ex17 cept that this subparagraph shall not apply to

18 fishing within the special areas before the date

19 on which the Agreement between the United

20 States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Repub21 lics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1,

22 1990, enters into force for the United States; or’’.

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

24 301(h)(2)(A) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide

25 for the designation of the Flower Garden Banks Na-
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1 tional Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992

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

3 SEC. 14. HAROLD SPARCK BERING SEA COMMUNITY DEVEL4 OPMENT QUOTA PROGRAM.

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

6 at the end the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(f) BERING SEA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA

8 PROGRAM.—(1) The North Pacific Fishery Management

9 Council and the Secretary shall establish a western Alaska

10 community development quota program under which a per11 centage of the total allowable catch of any Bering Sea fish12 ery is allocated to western Alaska communities that partici13 pate in the program.

14 ‘‘(2) To be eligible to participate in the western Alaska

15 community development quota program under paragraph

16 (1), a community must—

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

18 the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial

19 sea is measured along the Bering Sea coast from the

20 Bering Strait to the western most of the Aleutian Is21 lands, or on an island within the Bering Sea;

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

23 of the north Pacific Ocean;
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1 ‘‘(C) meet criteria developed by the Governor of

2 Alaska, approved by the Secretary, and published in

3 the Federal Register;

4 ‘‘(D) be certified by the Secretary of the Interior

5 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

6 to be a Native village;

7 ‘‘(E) consist of residents who conduct more than

8 one-half of their current commercial or subsistence

9 fishing effort in the waters of the Bering Sea and

10 Aleutian Islands management area; and

11 ‘‘(F) not have previously developed harvesting or

12 processing capability sufficient to support substantial

13 participation in the groundfish fisheries in the Bering

14 Sea, unless the community can show that the benefits

15 from an approved Community Development Plan

16 would be the only way for the community to realize

17 a return from previous investments.’’.

18 SEC. 15. OBSERVERS.

19 Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 315. RIGHTS OF OBSERVERS.

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

23 observer’s personal representative) under the requirements

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

25 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) that is ill, disabled, injured, or
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1 killed from service as an observer on that vessel may not

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

3 for that illness, disability for that illness, disability, injury,

4 or death against the vessel or vessel owner, except that a

5 civil action may be brought against the vessel owner for

6 the owner’s willful misconduct.

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

8 observer is engaged by the owner, master, or individual in

9 charge of a vessel to perform any duties in service to the

10 vessel.’’.

11 SEC. 16. INDIVIDUAL QUOTA LIMITED ACCESS PROGRAMS.

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH INDIVIDUAL QUOTA

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

14 amended to read as follows:

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

16 fishery in order to achieve optimum yields, if—

17 ‘‘(A) in developing such system, the Coun18 cils and the Secretary take into account—

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

20 ‘‘(ii) present participation in the fish21 ery,

22 ‘‘(iii) historical fishing practices in,

23 and dependence on, the fishery,

24 ‘‘(iv) the economics of the fishery,
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1 ‘‘(v) the capability of fishing vessels

2 used in the fishery to engage in other fish3 eries,

4 ‘‘(vi) the cultural and social framework

5 relevant to the fishery and local coastal

6 communities, and

7 ‘‘(vii) any other relevant consider8 ations; and

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of such a system that pro10 vides for the allocation and issuance of individ11 ual quotas (as that term is defined in subsection

12 (g)), the plan complies with subsection (g).’’.

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303 is further amended

14 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL QUOTA

16 SYSTEMS.—(1) A fishery management plan which estab17 lishes an individual quota system for a fishery—

18 ‘‘(A) shall provide for administration of the sys19 tem by the Secretary in accordance with the terms of

20 the plan;

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

22 any right, title, or interest in or to any fish before the

23 fish is harvested;
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1 ‘‘(C) shall include provisions which establish

2 procedures and requirements for each Council having

3 authority over the fishery, for—

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

5 plan that establish the system; and

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

7 individual quotas if determined appropriate by

8 each Council;

9 ‘‘(D) shall include provisions to—

10 ‘‘(i) provide for fair and equitable alloca11 tion of individual quotas under the system, and

12 minimize negative social and economic impacts

13 of the system on local coastal communities;

14 ‘‘(ii) ensure adequate enforcement of the sys15 tem, including the use of observers where appro16 priate; and

17 ‘‘(iii) provide for monitoring the temporary

18 or permanent transfer of individual quotas

19 under the system; and

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

21 from acquiring an excessive share of individual

22 quotas issued for a fishery.

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

24 quota system established by a fishery management plan—
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1 ‘‘(A) shall be considered a grant, to the holder of

2 the individual quota, of permission to engage in ac3 tivities permitted by the individual quota;

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

5 the Secretary or the Council having authority over the

6 fishery for which it is issued, if necessary for the con7 servation and management of the fishery (including

8 as a result of a violation of this Act or any regulation

9 prescribed under this Act);

10 ‘‘(C) if revoked or limited by the Secretary or a

11 Council, shall not confer any right of compensation to

12 the holder of the individual quota;

13 ‘‘(D) may be received, held, or transferred in ac14 cordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary

15 under this Act;

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

17 quota allocated under an individual quota system es18 tablished before the date of enactment of the Fishery

19 Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995,

20 expire not later than 7 years after the date it is is21 sued, in accordance with the terms of the fishery man22 agement plan; and

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

24 may be renewed, reallocated, or reissued if determined
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1 appropriate by each Council having authority over

2 the fishery.

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

4 (C), any fishery management plan that establishes an indi5 vidual quota system for a fishery may authorize individual

6 quotas to be held by or issued under the system to fishing

7 vessel owners, fishermen, crew members, other persons as

8 specified by the Council, and United States fish processors.

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

10 States may not hold an individual quota issued under a

11 fishery management plan.

12 ‘‘(C) A Federal agency or official may not hold, ad13 minister, or reallocate an individual quota issued under a

14 fishery management plan, other than the Secretary and the

15 Council having authority over the fishery for which the in16 dividual quota is issued.

17 ‘‘(4) Any fishery management plan that establishes an

18 individual quota system for a fishery may include provi19 sions that—

20 ‘‘(A) allocate individual quotas under the system

21 among categories of vessels; and

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

23 the fishery for entry-level fishermen, small vessel own24 ers, or crewmembers who do not hold or qualify for

25 individual quotas.
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1 ‘‘(5) An individual quota system established for a fish2 ery may be limited or terminated at any time by the Sec3 retary or through a fishery management plan or amend4 ment developed by the Council having authority over the

5 fishery for which it is established, if necessary for the con6 servation and management of the fishery.

7 ‘‘(6) As used in this subsection:

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

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

10 achieve optimum yields, through the allocation and

11 issuance of individual quotas.

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

13 of permission to harvest or process a quantity of fish

14 in a fishery, during each fishing season for which the

15 permission is granted, equal to a stated percentage of

16 the total allowable catch for the fishery.’’.

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

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

19 shall’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new para21 graph:

22 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary

23 shall collect from a person that holds or transfers an indi24 vidual quota issued under a limited access system estab25 lished under section 303(b)(6) fees established by the Sec-
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1 retary in accordance with this section and section 9701(b)

2 of title 31, United States Code.

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

4 by the Secretary under this paragraph are the following:

5 ‘‘(i) An initial allocation fee in an amount, de6 termined by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent of the

7 value of fish authorized to be harvested in one year

8 under an individual quota, which shall be collected

9 from the person to whom the individual quota is first

10 issued.

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

12 by the Secretary, not to exceed 4 percent of the value

13 of fish authorized to be harvested each year under an

14 individual quota share, which shall be collected from

15 the holder of the individual quota share.

16 ‘‘(iii) A transfer fee in an amount, determined

17 by the Secretary, equal to 1 percent of the value of

18 fish authorized to be harvested each year under an in19 dividual quota share, which shall be collected from a

20 person who permanently transfers the individual

21 quota share to another person.

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

23 paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that the amount is

24 commensurate with the cost of managing the fishery with

25 respect to which the fee is collected, including reasonable
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1 costs for salaries, data analysis, and other costs directly re2 lated to fishery management and enforcement.

3 ‘‘(D) The Secretary, in consultation with the Councils,

4 shall promulgate regulations prescribing the method of de5 termining under this paragraph the value of fish authorized

6 to be taken under an individual quota share, the amount

7 of fees, and the method of collecting fees.

8 ‘‘(E) Fees collected under this paragraph from holders

9 of individual quotas in a fishery shall be an offsetting col10 lection and shall be available to the Secretary only for the

11 purposes of administering and implementing this Act with

12 respect to that fishery.

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

14 under this paragraph with respect to an individual quota

15 system established before the date of enactment of the Fish16 ery Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995,

17 during the 5-year period beginning on that date of enact18 ment.’’.

19 (d) APPROVAL OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS ES20 TABLISHING INDIVIDUAL QUOTA SYSTEMS.—Section 304

21 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding after sub22 section (k) (as added by section 10 of this Act) the following

23 new subsection:

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

25 addition to the other requirements of this Act, the Secretary
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1 may not approve a fishery management plan that estab2 lishes a limited access system that provides for the alloca3 tion of individual quotas (in this subsection referred to as

4 an ‘individual quota system’) unless the plan complies with

5 section 303(g).

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

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

8 Secretary shall issue regulations which establish require9 ments for establishing an individual quota system. The reg10 ulations shall be developed in accordance with the rec11 ommendations. The regulations shall—

12 ‘‘(A) specify factors that shall be considered by a

13 Council in determining whether a fishery should be

14 managed under an individual quota system;

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

16 consistent with the requirements of sections 303(b)

17 and 303(g), and require the collection of fees in ac18 cordance with subsection (d)(2);

19 ‘‘(C) provide for appropriate penalties for viola20 tions of individual quotas systems, including the rev21 ocation of individual quotas for such violations;

22 ‘‘(D) include recommendations for potential

23 management options related to individual quotas, in24 cluding the authorization of individual quotas that

25 may not be transferred by the holder, and the use of
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1 leases or auctions by the Federal Government in the

2 establishment or allocation of individual quotas; 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 the

8 enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Management

9 Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall establish a review

10 panel to evaluate fishery management plans in effect under

11 this Act that establish a system for limiting access to a fish12 ery, including individual quota systems, and other limited

13 access systems, with particular attention to—

14 ‘‘(i) the success of the systems in conserving and

15 managing fisheries;

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

17 systems;

18 ‘‘(iii) the economic effects of the systems on local

19 communities; and

20 ‘‘(iv) the use of limited access systems under

21 which individual quotas may not be transferred by

22 the holder, and the use of leases or auctions in the es23 tablishment or allocation of individual quota shares.

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

25 ‘‘(i) the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary;
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1 ‘‘(ii) a representative of each Council, selected by

2 the Council;

3 ‘‘(iii) 3 representatives of the commercial fishing

4 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 subpara12 graph (A), the review panel shall, by September 30, 1997,

13 submit recommendations—

14 ‘‘(i) to the Councils and the Secretary with re15 spect to the revision of individual quota systems that

16 were established under this Act prior to June 1, 1995;

17 and

18 ‘‘(ii) to the Secretary for the development of the

19 regulations required under paragraph (2).’’.

20 (e) RESTRICTION ON NEW INDIVIDUAL QUOTA SYS21 TEMS PENDING REGULATIONS.—

22 (1) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary of Commerce

23 may not approve any covered quota system plan, and

24 no covered quota system plan shall take effect, under

25 title III of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
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1 Management Act before the effective date of regula2 tions issued by the Secretary under section 304(l) of

3 that Act, as added by subsection (d).

4 (2) COVERED QUOTA SYSTEM PLAN DEFINED.—

5 In this subsection, the term ‘‘covered quota system

6 plan’’ means a fishery management plan or amend7 ment to a fishery management plan, that—

8 (A) proposes establishment of an individual

9 quota system (as that term is used in section 303

10 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man11 agement Act, as amended by subsection (a) of

12 this section); and

13 (B) is submitted to the Secretary after May

14 1, 1995.

15 SEC. 17. FISHING CAPACITY REDUCTION PROGRAMS.

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

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

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

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

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PROGRAM.—The Sec21 retary, with the concurrence of the Council having author22 ity over a fishery, may conduct a voluntary fishing capac23 ity reduction program for a fishery in accordance with this

24 section, if—

25 ‘‘(1) the Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(A) determines that the program is nec2 essary for rebuilding, preventing overfishing, or

3 generally improving conservation and manage4 ment of the fishery; or

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

6 with authority over the fishery; and

7 ‘‘(2) there is in effect under section 304 a fishery

8 management plan that—

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

10 Federal fishing permit required by a limited ac11 cess system established under section 303(b)(6);

12 and

13 ‘‘(B) prevents the replacement of fishing ca14 pacity eliminated by the program through—

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

16 new Federal fishing permits for the dura17 tion of the repayment period; and

18 ‘‘(ii) restrictions on fishing vessel ca19 pacity upgrading.

20 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Under a fishing ca21 pacity reduction program conducted under this section for

22 a fishery, the Secretary shall—

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

24 effective fishing capacity at the least cost and in the
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1 shortest period of time through the removal of vessels

2 and permits from the fishery;

3 ‘‘(2) make payments to—

4 ‘‘(A) scrap or otherwise render permanently

5 unusable for fishing in the United States, vessels

6 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 paragraph (1); and
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1 ‘‘(6) identify sources of funding for the program

2 in addition to the amounts referred to in subsection

3 (f)(2)(A), (B), (C), and (D).

4 ‘‘(c) PAYMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of a fishing capacity

6 reduction program under this section, and subject to

7 paragraph (2) the Secretary shall make payments

8 under subsection (b)(2).

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

10 Secretary may not make any payment under para11 graph (1) for a fishery unless there is in effect for the

12 fishery a fee under subsection (d).

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY14 MENTS FOR FISHERY.—The total amount of payments

15 under paragraph (1) for a fishery may not exceed the

16 total amount the Secretary projects will be deposited

17 into the Fund from fees that apply to the fishery

18 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 hav23 ing authority over a fishery for which a fishing ca24 pacity reduction program is conducted under this sec25 tion, may establish an annual fee on holders of Fed-
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1 eral fishing permits authorizing participation in the

2 fishery.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The amount of a fee es4 tablished under this subsection for a fishery described

5 in paragraph (1)—

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

7 total amount collected in the form of the fee will

8 not be less than the amount the Secretary deter9 mines is necessary for payments under sub10 section (b)(2) to reduce fishing capacity in the

11 fishery to a level that will ensure the long-term

12 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 fishery;

18 and

19 ‘‘(iv) the direct costs of implementing a

20 fishing capacity reduction program under

21 this section for the fishery; and

22 ‘‘(C) may not exceed, for any permit holder,

23 5 percent of the value of fish harvested under the

24 permit each year.
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1 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A fee under this sub2 section may not be in effect for more than 15 years.

3 ‘‘(4) USE OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—Amounts re4 ceived by the United States as fees under this sub5 section—

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

7 ‘‘(B) may not be used to pay any adminis8 trative overhead or other costs not directly in9 curred in implementing this section with respect

10 to the fishery.

11 ‘‘(e) ADVISORY PANELS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish

13 for each fishery for which a fishing capacity reduc14 tion program is conducted under this section an advi15 sory panel to advise the Secretary regarding that pro16 gram.

17 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each advisory panel under

18 this subsection shall consist of individuals appointed

19 by the Secretary and shall include representatives

20 of—

21 ‘‘(A) the Department of Commerce,

22 ‘‘(B) Councils having authority over fish23 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 account

10 which shall be known as the Fisheries Conservation

11 and Restoration Fund (in this section referred to as

12 the ‘Fund’).

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

14 deposited into the Fund—

15 ‘‘(A) amounts appropriated under clause

16 (iv) of section 2(b)(1)(A) of the Act of August 11,

17 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)(1)(A)), popularly

18 known as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act;

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

20 Government as fees established under subsection

21 (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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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 guaranteed

12 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 Act

20 of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(b)(1)), popularly

21 known as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, is amended in sub22 paragraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

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

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

25 following new clause:
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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 into

5 the Fisheries Conservation and Restoration Fund

6 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 in

5 the first section of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

6 Management Act is amended by striking the items relating

7 to title IV (including the items relating to the sections in

8 that title) and inserting the following:

‘‘TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

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

9 SEC. 20. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

10 (a) CORRECTION.—Section 304 of the Act entitled ‘‘An

11 Act to provide for the designation of the Flower Garden

12 Banks National Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9,

13 1992 (Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 65), is repealed.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(15) of the

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

16 1362(15)) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(15) The term ‘waters under the jurisdiction of

18 the United States’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) the territorial sea of the United States;

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

21 contiguous to the territorial sea of the United

22 States, of which the inner boundary is a line co23 terminous with the seaward boundary of each

24 coastal State, and the outer boundary is a line
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1 drawn in such a manner that each point on it

2 is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from

3 which the territorial sea is measured; and

4 ‘‘(C) the areas referred to as eastern special

5 areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between

6 the United States of America and the Union of

7 Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime

8 Boundary, signed June 1, 1990; in particular,

9 those areas east of the maritime boundary, as de10 fined in that Agreement, that lie within 200

11 nautical miles of the baselines from which the

12 breadth of the territorial sea of Russia is meas13 ured but beyond 200 nautical miles of the base14 lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea

15 of the United States is measured, except that this

16 subparagraph shall not apply before the date on

17 which the Agreement between the United States

18 and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on

19 the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990,

20 enters into force for the United States.’’.

21 SEC. 21. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

22 The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘Com24 mittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries’’ each place it

25 appears and inserting ‘‘Committee on Resources’’.
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1 SEC. 22. PROVISIONS RELATING TO GULF OF MEXICO.

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

3 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall develop and implement a sys6 tematic program for the assessment and annual reporting

7 to the public of the status of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico

8 subject to management under this Act. Such program

9 shall—

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

11 consisting of independent and external experts;

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

13 they represent entities that may have an interest or

14 potential interest in the outcome, if that interest is

15 fully disclosed to the Secretary;

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

17 peer-review panel at a minimum by soliciting nomi18 nations through the Federal Register; and

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

20 such peer-review panels are made available to the

21 public.’’.

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

23 1854) is further amended by adding at the end the following

24 new subsection:

25 ‘‘(m) FISHERY MONITORING.—(1) The Secretary shall

26 develop a plan for the Gulf of Mexico region to collect, as-
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1 sess, and report statistics concerning the fisheries in each

2 such region.

3 ‘‘(2) The plan under this subsection shall—

4 ‘‘(A) provide fishery managers and the public

5 with timely and accurate information concerning

6 harvests and fishing effort;

7 ‘‘(B) minimize paperwork and regulatory bur8 dens on fishermen and fish buyers;

9 ‘‘(C) minimize costs to Federal and State agen10 cies;

11 ‘‘(D) avoid duplication and inconsistencies in

12 the collection, assessment, and reporting of fishery

13 statistics; and

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

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

16 buyers, and other individuals potentially impacted by the

17 plan required under this subsection are actively involved

18 in all stages of the development of such plan and that ap19 propriate fishery management agencies are consulted.

20 ‘‘(4) No later than 9 months after the date of enact21 ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management Amend22 ments of 1995, the Secretary shall publish notice of a pro23 posed plan required under this subsection and provide the

24 public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on such
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1 proposed plan. The Secretary shall consider such comments

2 before submitting the plan under paragraph (5).

3 ‘‘(5) No later than one year after the date of enactment

4 of the Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments

5 of 1995, the Secretary shall submit a final plan under this

6 subsection to the Committee on Resources of the House of

7 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,

8 and Transportation of the Senate.’’.

9 (c) GULF OF MEXICO RED SNAPPER STOCK MANAGE10 MENT STUDY.—

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

12 shall have an independent analysis conducted that

13 will evaluate—

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

15 assess the status of Gulf of Mexico red snapper

16 stock assessments;

17 (B) the effectiveness of the fishery manage18 ment plan in effect under the Magnuson Fishery

19 Conservation and Management Act that applies

20 to Gulf of Mexico red snapper, in terms of the

21 appropriateness of the management goal and

22 time frame given the available biological data;

23 and

24 (C) regulations in effect under that Act that

25 apply to Gulf of Mexico red snapper, in the
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1 terms of the effectiveness of fairly controlling

2 fishing mortality.

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

4 (A) assess all alternatives that could provide

5 a more balanced and practical approach to man6 aging the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mex7 ico;

8 (B) involve commercial and recreational

9 fishermen from the Gulf of Mexico in the collec10 tion of data and information and in the develop11 ment of an accurate assessment plan; and

12 (C) be completed and reported to the Con13 gress and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manage14 ment Council within 1 year after the date of the

15 enactment of this Act.

16 (3) USE OF REPORT.—It is expected for the re17 port on the study under this subsection to be used as

18 the foundation for any future management of red

19 snapper in the Gulf of Mexico by the Gulf of Mexico

20 Fishery Management Council or the National Marine

21 Fisheries Service (or both). It is also expected that the

22 Council will suspend the implementation of any indi23 vidual fishing quota plan for red snapper in the Gulf

24 of Mexico until the study is completed and until the
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1 Secretary of Commerce has completed standards or

2 guidelines.

3 (4) LIMITED IMMUNITY.—Individuals providing

4 credible information to receive the most accurate as5 sessments shall not be subject to any catch reporting

6 violations.

7 SEC. 23. STUDY OF CONTRIBUTION OF BYCATCH TO CHARI8 TABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

9 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall conduct

10 a study of the contribution of bycatch to charitable organi11 zations by commercial fishermen. The study shall include

12 determination of—

13 (1) the amount of bycatch that is contributed

14 each year to charitable organizations by commercial

15 fishermen;

16 (2) the economic benefits to commercial fisher17 men from those contributions; and

18 (3) the impact on fisheries of the availability of

19 those benefits.

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

21 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall

22 submit to the Congress a report containing determinations

23 made in the study under subsection (a).

24 (c) BYCATCH DEFINED.—In this section the term

25 ‘‘bycatch’’ has the meaning given that term in section 3(34)
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1 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management

2 Act, as amended by section 4 of this Act.

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