103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134

AN ACT

To improve the conservation and management of

management programs, and for other purposes.the States in implementing conservation andcoast by providing for greater cooperation amonginterjurisdictional fisheries along the Atlantic
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134

AN ACT

To improve the conservation and management of

interjurisdictional fisheries along the Atlantic coast by

providing for greater cooperation among the States in

implementing conservation and management programs,

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 ‘‘Atlantic Coastal Fish5 eries Cooperative Management Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATION IN ATLANTIC

2 COASTAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.

3 (a) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR STATE COASTAL FISH4 ERIES PROGRAMS.—The Secretaries shall develop and im5 plement a program to support the fisheries management

6 programs of the Commission. The program shall include

7 elements to support and enhance State cooperation in—

8 (1) collection, management, and analysis of

9 fisheries data;

10 (2) law enforcement;

11 (3) habitat conservation;

12 (4) fisheries research, including biological and

13 socioeconomic research; and

14 (5) fishery management planning.

15 (b) FEDERAL REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO AN AT16 LANTIC OCEAN FISHERY COVERED BY AN INTERSTATE

17 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after con19 sultation with the Councils having jurisdiction over

20 fisheries to which an interstate fishery management

21 plan applies, may prescribe regulations to govern

22 fishing in the exclusive economic zone that are nec23 essary to support the effective implementation of the

24 interstate fishery management plan adopted for a

25 fishery for which no Federal fishery management

26 plan is in effect. These regulations may include
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1 measures recommended by the Commission that are

2 necessary to support the provisions of the interstate

3 fishery management plan for that fishery.

4 (2) SUPERSEDING REGULATIONS.—Regulations

5 issued by the Secretary to implement a Federal fish6 ery management plan for a fishery shall supersede

7 regulations issued by the Secretary under this sec8 tion for that fishery.

9 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The provisions of sections

10 307, 308, 309, 310, and 311 of the Magnuson Fish11 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

12 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861) regarding pro13 hibited acts, civil penalties, criminal offenses, civil

14 forfeitures, and enforcement shall apply with respect

15 to regulations prescribed under this section.

16 SEC. 3. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERSTATE

17 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

18 (a) ADOPTION OF PLANS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pre20 pare and adopt fishery management plans or amend21 ments to fishery management plans in accordance

22 with this section to provide for the conservation and

23 management of coastal fishery resources.

24 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing a fishery

25 management plan or amendment, the Commission
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1 shall consult with the appropriate Councils to deter2 mine ways Federal fishery management plans and

3 interstate fishery management plans may com4 plement each other.

5 (3) CONTENTS.—Each fishery management

6 plan or amendment prepared under this subsection

7 shall—

8 (A) contain information regarding the sta9 tus of the coastal fishery resources and fisheries

10 covered by the plan or amendment;

11 (B) identify each State that is required to

12 implement and enforce the plan or amendment;

13 (C) specify actions to be taken by States to

14 implement and comply with the plan or amend15 ment; and

16 (D) recommend actions for the Secretary

17 to take in the exclusive economic zone to con18 serve and manage the fishery resources and

19 fisheries covered by the plan or amendment.

20 (4) TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND

21 ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

23 subparagraph (B), a State that is identified in

24 an interstate fishery management plan pursu25 ant to paragraph (3)(B) shall implement and
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1 enforce the plan within the time established in

2 the plan.

3 (B) EXISTING PLANS.—Not later than 90

4 days after the date of the enactment of this

5 Act, the Commission shall develop a schedule

6 for States to implement and enforce of inter7 state fishery management plans adopted by the

8 Commission before the date of the enactment of

9 this Act. The schedule shall require each State

10 with a declared interest in a plan to implement

11 and enforce that plan within 1 year after the

12 date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (5) ADOPTION OF STANDARDS AND PROCE14 DURES FOR THE PREPARATION OF INTERSTATE

15 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Within 1 year after

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission

17 shall establish standards and procedures to govern

18 the preparation of interstate fishery management

19 plans under this Act, including standards and proce20 dures to ensure that—

21 (A) such plans promote the conservation of

22 fish stocks throughout their ranges and are

23 based on the best scientific information avail24 able, and
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1 (B) the Commission provides adequate op2 portunity for public participation in the plan

3 preparation process.’’.

4 (b) COMMISSION MONITORING OF STATE IMPLEMEN5 TATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—Within 1 year after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act and at least annually

7 thereafter, the Commission shall—

8 (1) review each interstate fishery management

9 plan and determine whether each State which has

10 declared an interest in the plan, or that is required

11 under the plan to implement and enforce the plan,

12 has implemented and enforced the plan; and

13 (2) submit a report on the results of that re14 view to the Secretaries.

15 SEC. 4. STATE NONCOMPLIANCE WITH INTERSTATE FISH16 ERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

17 (a) DETERMINATION.—The Commission shall deter18 mine that a State is not in compliance with an interstate

19 fishery management plan if it finds that the State has not

20 implemented and enforced the plan within the period es21 tablished under section 3(a)(4).

22 (b) NOTIFICATION.—If the Commission determines

23 under subsection (a) that a State is not in compliance with

24 an interstate fishery management plan, the Commission

25 shall notify the Secretaries of that determination within
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1 10 working days. The notification shall include the reasons

2 for making the determination and specify an explicit list

3 of actions that the affected State must take to comply with

4 the interstate fishery management plan. The Commission

5 shall provide a copy of the notification to the State.

6 (c) MONITORING; WITHDRAWAL OF DETERMINA7 TION.—After making a determination under subsection

8 (a) regarding a State, the Commission shall continue to

9 monitor implementation and enforcement of the plan by

10 the State. On finding that a State has taken all actions

11 specified in the notification issued under subsection (b),

12 the Commission shall promptly notify the Secretaries that

13 the State is in compliance.

14 SEC. 5. SECRETARIAL ACTION.

15 (a) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF COMMISSION DETER16 MINATION OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—Within 30 days after

17 receiving a notification regarding a State from the Com18 mission under section 4(b), the Secretary, in consultation

19 with the Secretary of the Interior, shall review the Com20 mission’s determination of noncompliance and determine

21 whether—

22 (1) the State has failed to implement and en23 force the interstate fishery management plan in

24 question;
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1 (2) the measures which the State has failed to

2 implement and enforce are necessary to conserve and

3 manage the fishery in question; and

4 (3) in the case of an interstate fishery manage5 ment plan adopted after January 1, 1995, the plan

6 in question was prepared under the standards and

7 procedures required to be established by the Com8 mission under section 3(a)(5).

9 (b) COMMENTS.—In making a determination under

10 subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

11 (1) give careful consideration to the comments

12 of the State that the Commission has determined

13 under section 4(a) is not in compliance with an

14 interstate fishery management plan, and provide

15 that State, upon request, the opportunity to meet

16 with and present its comments directly to the Sec17 retary; and

18 (2) solicit, review, and consider the comments

19 of the Commission and the appropriate councils.

20 (c) DECLARATION OF MORATORIUM.—On determin21 ing under subsection (a) that a State has failed to imple22 ment and enforce an interstate fishery management plan,

23 the Secretary shall declare a moratorium on fishing for

24 the species covered by the plan within the waters of that

25 State. The Secretary shall establish the effective date of
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1 the moratorium to commence at any time within 6 months

2 following the declaration.

3 (d) SUSPENSION OF MORATORIUM.—On notification

4 by the Commission under section 4(c) that a State is in

5 compliance with an interstate fishery management plan,

6 the Secretary shall terminate the moratorium declared

7 under subsection (c) affecting fish species covered by that

8 plan.

9 (e) REGULATIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre11 scribe regulations necessary to implement this Act.

12 (2) CONTENT.—These regulations—

13 (A) may provide for the possession and use

14 of fish which have been produced in an aqua15 culture operation, subject to applicable State

16 regulations; and

17 (B) shall allow for the retention of fish

18 that are subject to a moratorium declared

19 under subsection (c) and unavoidably taken as

20 incidental catch in fisheries directed toward

21 menhaden, if—

22 (i) discarding the retained fish is im23 practicable;
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1 (ii) the retained fish do not constitute

2 a significant portion of the catch of the

3 vessel; and

4 (iii) the retention of the fish will not,

5 in the judgment of the Secretary, adversely

6 affect the conservation of the species of

7 fish retained.

8 (f) PROHIBITED ACTS DURING MORATORIUM.—Dur9 ing a moratorium a person may not—

10 (1) engage in fishing for a species of fish sub11 ject to a moratorium within waters of the State sub12 ject to the moratorium;

13 (2) land, attempt to land, or possess fish that

14 are caught, taken, or harvested in violation of the

15 moratorium, this Act, or any regulation promulgated

16 under this Act;

17 (3) fail to return to the water immediately, with

18 a minimum of injury, any fish subject to a morato19 rium taken in waters of a State under a moratorium

20 incidental to fishing for species other than those to

21 which the moratorium applies, except as provided by

22 regulations prescribed under subsection (e);

23 (4) land, within a State that is subject to a

24 moratorium, any fish subject to a moratorium, re25 gardless of where it was caught;
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1 (5) refuse to permit an authorized officer to

2 board a fishing vessel to conduct a search or inspec3 tion in connection with the enforcement of this Act;

4 (6) forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, in5 timidate, or interfere with an authorized officer at6 tempting to conduct a search or inspection under

7 this Act;

8 (7) resist a lawful arrest for an act prohibited

9 by this section;

10 (8) ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase,

11 import, or have custody, control, or possession of,

12 fish taken or possessed in violation of this Act; or

13 (9) interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any

14 means, the apprehension or arrest of a person,

15 knowing that person has committed any act prohib16 ited by this section.

17 (g) PENALTIES.—

18 (1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person violating sub19 section (f) of this section shall be liable to the

20 United States for a civil penalty as provided by sec21 tion 308 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

22 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858). Subsections (b)

23 through (e) of section 308 of the Magnuson Fishery

24 Conservation and Management Act apply to persons

25 assessed a penalty under this paragraph.
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1 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person violating

2 subsection (f)(5), (6), (7), or (9) is guilty of an of3 fense punishable under subsections (a)(1) and (b) of

4 section 309 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

5 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1859).

6 (h) CIVIL FORFEITURES.—

7 (1) FORFEITURE.—A vessel (including its gear,

8 equipment, appurtenances, stores, and cargo) used

9 in connection with an act unlawful under subsection

10 (f), and any fish (or the fair market value thereof)

11 taken or retained, in any manner, in connection

12 with, or the result of, the commission of an act pro13 hibited under subsection (f), shall be subject to for14 feiture to the United States as provided in section

15 310 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

16 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).

17 (2) DISPOSAL OF FISH.—Any fish seized pursu18 ant to this Act may be disposed of under an order

19 of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if perishable,

20 in a manner provided by regulation prescribed by

21 the Secretary.

22 (i) ENFORCEMENT.—A moratorium declared under

23 subsection (c) shall be enforced by the Secretaries and the

24 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard

25 is operating, as provided in section 311 of the Magnuson
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1 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.

2 1861 et seq.). The Secretaries may, by agreement, on a

3 reimbursable basis or otherwise, use the personnel, serv4 ices, equipment (including aircraft and vessels), and facili5 ties of any other Federal department or agency and of

6 any agency of a State in carrying out that enforcement.

7 SEC. 6. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

8 The Secretaries may provide financial assistance to

9 the Commission and to the States to carry out their re10 spective responsibilities under this Act, including—

11 (1) the preparation, implementation, and en12 forcement of interstate fishery management plans;

13 and

14 (2) State activities that are specifically required

15 in interstate fishery management plans.

16 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

17 For the purposes of this Act, the term—

18 (1) ‘‘coastal fishery resource’’ means any spe19 cies of fish that move among, or are broadly distrib20 uted across—

21 (A) waters under the jurisdiction of 2 or

22 more States that border the Atlantic Ocean; or

23 (B) waters under the jurisdiction of any

24 State that borders the Atlantic Ocean and wa25 ters of the exclusive economic zone;
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1 (2) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Atlantic States

2 Marine Fisheries Commission constituted under the

3 interstate compact consented to and approved by the

4 Congress in the Acts of May 4, 1942 (56 Stat. 267),

5 and August 19, 1950 (64 Stat. 467);

6 (3) ‘‘Councils’’ means the Regional Fishery

7 Management Councils established under section 302

8 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage9 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852) with jurisdiction over

10 fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean;

11 (4) ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means that por12 tion in the Atlantic Ocean of the exclusive economic

13 zone established by Presidential Proclamation Num14 ber 5030, dated March 10, 1983;

15 (5) ‘‘Federal Fishery management plan’’ means

16 a fishery management plan prepared by a Council or

17 the Secretary under the Magnuson Fishery Con18 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

19 seq.);

20 (6) ‘‘fish’’ means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans,

21 and all other forms of marine animal life other than

22 marine mammals and birds;

23 (7) ‘‘fishery’’ has the meaning given that term

24 in section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

25 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802);
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1 (8) ‘‘fishing’’ has the meaning given that term

2 in section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation

3 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802);

4 (9) ‘‘implement and enforce’’ means the enact5 ment or adoption laws, regulations, or rules as re6 quired to—

7 (A) comply with the provisions of an inter8 state fishery management plan; and

9 (B) assure compliance with such laws, reg10 ulations, or rules by persons participating in a

11 fishery that is subject to such plans;

12 (10) ‘‘interstate fishery management plan’’

13 means—

14 (A) a fishery management plan or amend15 ment adopted by the Commission under section

16 3; or

17 (B) a fishery management plan or amend18 ment for managing a coastal fishery resource

19 adopted by the Commission before the date of

20 the enactment of this Act;

21 (11) ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Secretary of

22 Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior;

23 (12) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com24 merce; and
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1 (13) ‘‘State’’ means each of Maine, New Hamp2 shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,

3 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,

4 Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,

5 Georgia, Florida, the District of Columbia, and the

6 Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retaries for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of

10 this Act $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994,

11 1995, and 1996.

Passed the House of Representatives August 2,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.

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