I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4706 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to provide for stewardship of fishery resources for the American public, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. FARR, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. LEE, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 

WEXLER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. CASE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. HONDA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. SCHIFF) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act to provide for stewardship of fishery 

resources for the American public, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fisheries Management 

5 Reform Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to such 

6 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish7 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

8 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST ON 

10 REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUN11 CILS. 

12 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS BY ADMINIS13 TRATOR.— 

14 (1) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—Section 302 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed by the Sec17 retary’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘ap18 pointed by the Administrator of the National 

19 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’’; 

20 (B) in paragraphs (2) and (6) of sub21 section (b) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ each 

22 place it appears and inserting ‘‘The Adminis23 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

24 Administration’’; 

25 (C) in paragraph (5)(A) of subsection (b) 

26 by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ the first and sec-
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1 ond places it appears and inserting ‘‘The Ad2 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration’’; 

4 (D) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘the Sec5 retary’’ each place it appears, other than in 

6 paragraph (6)(B), and inserting ‘‘the Adminis7 trator’’; and 

8 (E) in subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii) by striking 

9 ‘‘the Secretary’s’’ and inserting ‘‘the Adminis10 trator’s’’. 

11 (2) APPLICATION WITH RESPECT TO CURRENT

12 MEMBERS OF COUNCILS.— 

13 (A) APPOINTMENT NOT AFFECTED.—The 

14 amendment made by paragraph (1)(A) shall not 

15 affect any appointment by the Secretary of 

16 Commerce made before the date of the enact17 ment of this Act. 

18 (B) REMOVAL.—In applying section 

19 302(b)(6) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

20 Conservation and Management Act, as amended 

21 by this subsection, to a member of a Regional 

22 Fishery Management Council appointed before 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, ‘‘by the 

24 Secretary’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘by the Ad25 ministrator’’. 
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1 (b) REPRESENTATION BY STATE OFFICIALS.—Sec2 tion 302(b)(1)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)(A)) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such official shall 

4 represent the interests of the general public.’’. 

5 (c) ALLOCATION OF APPOINTMENTS.—Section 

6 302(b)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(B)) is amended in 

7 the first sentence— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘of the active participants’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘among the active participants’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting before the period the following: 

11 ‘‘and representatives of the public interest in marine 

12 fish conservation, including individuals who do not 

13 derive any of their annual income from commercial 

14 or recreational fishing and who are knowledgeable 

15 regarding the conservation and management of the 

16 fishery resources of the geographic area concerned’’. 

17 (d) CONSULTATION BY STATES IN SUBMITTING

18 NOMINEES.—Section 302(b)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C. 

19 1852(b)(2)(C)) is amended— 

20 (1) in the second sentence by inserting ‘‘and 

21 representatives of conservation organizations’’ after 

22 ‘‘commercial and recreational fishing interests’’; and 

23 (2) by striking the third sentence and inserting 

24 the following: ‘‘Each list shall consist of a broad 

25 slate of candidates for each vacancy, shall include at 
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1 least two representatives from each of the commer2 cial fishing industry sector, the recreational fishing 

3 sector, and the marine fish conservation public inter4 est sector who do not derive any of their annual in5 come from commercial or recreational fishing, and 

6 shall consist solely of individuals who are knowledge7 able regarding the conservation and management of 

8 the fishery resources of the geographic area con9 cerned.’’. 

10 (e) TRAINING OF APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 

11 (1) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—Section 302(b) 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(7) TRAINING OF APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 

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

16 provide to each member of a Council appointed 

17 by the Secretary under this subsection, by not 

18 later than 6 months after the date of the mem19 ber’s appointment, training in matters relating 

20 to the functions of the Council, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) fishery science and basic fish 

22 stock assessment; 

23 ‘‘(ii) social science and fishery eco24 nomics; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) the requirements of this Act, the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 

3 1969, chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

4 Code (popularly known as the Administra5 tive Procedures Act), and other relevant 

6 statutes or regulations; 

7 ‘‘(iv) conflict of interest policies that 

8 apply to Council members; and 

9 ‘‘(v) the public process for developing 

10 fishery management plans. 

11 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON VOTING.—A mem12 ber of a Council to whom the Secretary is re13 quired to provide training under this paragraph 

14 may not vote on any decision of the Council be15 fore the date the member completes such train16 ing.’’. 

17 (2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—The amend18 ment made by paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

19 member of a Regional Fishery Management Council 

20 appointed before the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act. 

22 (f) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 302(b)(2)(B) 

23 (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(B)) is amended in the second sen24 tence by striking ‘‘Merchant Marine and Fisheries’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘Resources’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. QUALIFICATION OF VOTING COUNCIL MEMBERS; 

2 DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND 

3 RECUSAL. 

4 (a) QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTING COUNCIL MEM5 BERS.—Section 302(b)(2)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(A)) 

6 is amended by— 

7 (1) inserting after ‘‘geographical area con8 cerned’’ the following: ‘‘, and must not have been 

9 found by the Secretary, after notice and an oppor10 tunity for a hearing in accordance with section 554 

11 of title 5, United States Code, to have committed an 

12 act prohibited by section 307(1)(D), (E), (F), (H), 

13 (I), or (L) or section 307(2)’’; and 

14 (2) striking ‘‘of the Fishery Conservation 

15 Amendments of 1990’’ and replacing with ‘‘of the 

16 Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004’’. 

17 (b) DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND

18 RECUSAL.— 

19 (1) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DISCLOSURE

20 AND RECUSAL.—Section 302(j) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) 

21 is amended as follows: 

22 (A) By striking the heading and inserting 

23 ‘‘DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND

24 RECUSAL.—’’. 
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1 (B) By striking paragraph (6), and redes2 ignating paragraphs (7) and (8) in order as 

3 paragraphs (6) and (7). 

4 (C) In paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 

5 by striking so much as precedes subparagraph 

6 (B) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPATION.—(A)(i) 

8 An affected individual shall not vote on a Council 

9 decision that would have an effect on a financial in10 terest that the individual is required to disclose 

11 under paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(ii) An affected individual who is prohibited 

13 from voting on a Council decision may not partici14 pate in any Council deliberations relating to the de15 cision.’’. 

16 (D) In paragraph (6)(B), as so redesig17 nated— 

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘or a member of the 

19 public’’ after ‘‘an affected individual’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘would have a signifi21 cant and predictable effect on a financial 

22 interest’’ and inserting ‘‘would have an ef23 fect on the financial interest of an affected 

24 individual’’. 
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1 (E) In paragraph (6)(C), as so redesig2 nated, by inserting ‘‘, or member of the public,’’ 

3 after ‘‘Any Council member’’. 

4 (F) In paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 

5 by striking subparagraph (D) and redesignating 

6 subparagraphs (E) and (F) in order as sub7 paragraphs (D) and (E). 

8 (G) In paragraph (6)(D), as so redesig9 nated— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘may not’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘shall’’; and 

12 (ii) by inserting before the period the 

13 following: ‘‘, if the Secretary determines 

14 that the Council decision had an effect on 

15 the financial interest of an affected indi16 vidual and the affected individual’s vote 

17 decided the Council action’’. 

18 (H) By amending paragraph (6)(E), as so 

19 redesignated, to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(E) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

21 Councils and by not later than one year after the 

22 date of enactment of the Fisheries Management Re23 form Act of 2004, shall promulgate regulations that 

24 allow for the making of determinations under sub25 paragraphs (B) and (C).’’. 
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

2 307(1)(O) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(O)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘302(j)(7)(A)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘307(j)(6)(A)’’. 

5 SEC. 5. REGIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL TEAMS. 

6 Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para8 graph (6), and by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL

11 TEAMS.—(A) The Secretary shall establish regional 

12 science and technical teams to provide the Secretary 

13 with recommendations to carry out section 303(e). 

14 ‘‘(B) Each science and technical team estab15 lished under this paragraph shall consist of Federal, 

16 State, and academic qualified independent scientists. 

17 ‘‘(C) Each science and technical team estab18 lished under this paragraph shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) based on the best scientific informa20 tion available, recommend to the Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(I) acceptable biological catch and 

22 bycatch limits, including annual limits, 

23 that are consistent with the national stand24 ard set forth in section 301(a)(1) and that 
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1 consider predator-prey relationships and 

2 other ecological factors; 

3 ‘‘(II) specific habitat and area protec4 tions necessary to protect essential fish 

5 habitats; and 

6 ‘‘(III) specific requirements necessary 

7 to protect species listed as threatened spe8 cies or endangered species under section 4 

9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

10 U.S.C. 1533); 

11 ‘‘(ii) allow an opportunity for public input, 

12 including with respect to catch and bycatch lim13 its and habitat protection measures rec14 ommended by the team, consider such input in 

15 developing its recommendations, and create a 

16 public record of such input and the team’s re17 sponse to such input; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) publish its recommendations in the 

19 Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘(D) Recommendations of a regional science 

21 and technical team submitted to the Secretary under 

22 this paragraph must be subjected to peer review by 

23 qualified independent scientists.’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(7) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

2 ‘qualified independent scientists’ means individuals who— 

3 ‘‘(A) through publication of peer-reviewed sci4 entific literature and academic training, have dem5 onstrated scientific expertise in fisheries science or 

6 marine ecology; and 

7 ‘‘(B) have no direct financial interest, and are 

8 not employed by any person with a direct financial 

9 interest, in any fishery.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

11 (a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS REGARDING PROTEC12 TION, RESTORATION, AND PROMOTION OF ECO13 SYSTEMS.—Section 303(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting before the 

16 semicolon the following: ‘‘and the associated eco17 system’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

19 end of subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 

20 the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, 

21 and by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(D) consistent with the conservation and 

23 management measures developed by the Sec24 retary pursuant to subsection (e), except a 

25 Council may modify any conservation and man-
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1 agement measure to provide greater conserva2 tion in order to achieve plan objectives, includ3 ing to protect and maintain the ecological role 

4 of forage fish.’’; and 

5 (3) by amending paragraph (14) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(14) allocate any quotas or other conservation 

8 and management measures established by the Sec9 retary under subsection (e) fairly and equitably 

10 among the commercial, recreational, and charter 

11 fishing sectors in the fishery, and allow individual 

12 sectors of the fishery to develop allocation plans sub13 ject to the approval of the Council.’’. 

14 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION AND MAN15 AGEMENT MEASURES BY SECRETARY.—Section 303 (16 

16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(e) DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION AND MAN19 AGEMENT MEASURES BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

20 shall, based on recommendations of the regional science 

21 and technical teams established under section 302(g)(5), 

22 provide Councils conservation and management measures 

23 for incorporation into fishery management plans, plan 

24 amendments, or annual specifications, that establish— 
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1 ‘‘(1) catch and bycatch limits that do not ex2 ceed acceptable biological catch limits, including an3 nual limits, that are consistent with the national 

4 standard set forth in section 301(a)(1) and that con5 sider predator-prey relationships and other ecological 

6 factors; 

7 ‘‘(2) specific habitat and area protections nec8 essary to protect essential fish habitats; and 

9 ‘‘(3) specific requirements necessary to protect 

10 species listed as endangered species or threatened 

11 species under section 4 of the Endangered Species 

12 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).’’. 

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