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Union Calendar No. 474 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2706 

[Report No. 112–656] 

To prohibit the sale of billfish. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2011 

Mr. MILLER of Florida (for himself, Mr. ROSS of Arkansas, Mr. SHULER, Mr. 

LATTA, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. BOREN, Mr. 

MICHAUD, and Mr. BONNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. COBLE, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. ROONEY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 

HEINRICH, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. FLORES, Mr. YOUNG of 

Alaska, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, Mr. LANDRY, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. RIVERA, 

and Mr. KISSELL

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 

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 July 29, 2011] 


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•HR 2706 RH

A BILL 

To prohibit the sale of billfish. 


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•HR 2706 RH

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 ‘‘Billfish Conservation 

5 Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States carefully regulates its do9 mestic fisheries for billfish and participates in inter10 national fishery management bodies in the Atlantic 

11 and Pacific. 

12 (2) Global billfish populations have declined sig13 nificantly, however, because of overfishing primarily 

14 through retention of bycatch by non-United States 

15 commercial fishing fleets. 

16 (3) Ending the importation of foreign-caught 

17 billfish for sale in the United States aligns with U.S. 

18 management measures of billfish and protects the sig19 nificant economic benefits to the U.S. economy of rec20 reational fishing and marine commerce and the tradi21 tional cultural fisheries. 

22 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

23 The Congress enacts this Act pursuant to clause 3 of 

24 section 8 of article I of the Constitution. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF BILLFISH. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall offer for sale, sell, 

3 or have custody, control, or possession of for purposes of 

4 offering for sale or selling billfish or products containing 

5 billfish. 

6 (b) PENALTY.—For purposes of section 308(a) of the 

7 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

8 Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a violation of this section shall 

9 be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of that Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1857). 

11 (c) EXEMPTIONS FOR TRADITIONAL FISHERIES AND

12 MARKETS.— 

13 (1) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish 

14 caught by U.S. vessels and landed in the State of Ha15 waii or Pacific Insular Areas as defined in section 

16 3(35) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

17 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(35)). 

18 (2) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish 

19 landed by foreign vessels in the Pacific Insular Areas 

20 when the foreign caught billfish is exported to non21 U.S. markets or retained within the Pacific Insular 

22 Areas for local consumption. 

23 (d) BILLFISH DEFINED.—In this section the term 

24 ‘‘billfish’’— 

25 (1) means any fish of the species— 

26 (A) Makaira nigricans (blue marlin); 


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1 (B) Kajikia audax (striped marlin); 

2 (C) Istiompax indica (black marlin); 

3 (D) Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish); 

4 (E) Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill 

5 spearfish); 

6 (F) Kajikia albida (white marlin); 

7 (G) Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spear8 fish); 

9 (H) Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean 

10 spearfish); and 

11 (I) Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spear12 fish); and 

13 (2) does not include the species Xiphias gladius 

14 (swordfish). 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 474 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2706 

[Report No. 112–656] 

A BILL 

To prohibit the sale of billfish. 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS