Union Calendar No. 113

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134

[Report No. 103–202]

A BILL

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

AUGUST 2, 1993

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. 113

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2134

[Report No. 103–202]

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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 17, 1993

Mr. STUDDS (for himself, Mr. MANTON, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mrs. BENTLEY)

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

Merchant Marine and Fisheries

AUGUST 2, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. CASTLE, and Mr.

CARDIN

AUGUST 2, 1993

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 May 17, 1993]

A BILL

To improve the conservation and management of

interjurisdictional fisheries along the Atlantic coast by

providing for greater cooperation among the States in
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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’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATION IN ATLANTIC

7 COASTAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.

8 (a) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR STATE COASTAL FISH9 ERIES PROGRAMS.—The Secretaries shall develop and im10 plement a program to support the fisheries management

11 programs of the Commission. The program shall include ele12 ments to support and enhance State cooperation in—

13 (1) collection, management, and analysis of fish14 eries data;

15 (2) law enforcement;

16 (3) habitat conservation;

17 (4) fisheries research, including biological and

18 socioeconomic research; and

19 (5) fishery management planning.

20 (b) FEDERAL REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO AN AT21 LANTIC OCEAN FISHERY COVERED BY AN INTERSTATE

22 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after consulta24 tion with the Councils having jurisdiction over fish-
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1 eries to which an interstate fishery management plan

2 applies, may prescribe regulations to govern fishing

3 in the exclusive economic zone that are necessary to

4 support the effective implementation of the interstate

5 fishery management plan adopted for a fishery for

6 which no Federal fishery management plan is in ef7 fect. These regulations may include measures rec8 ommended by the Commission that are necessary to

9 support the provisions of the interstate fishery man10 agement plan for that fishery.

11 (2) SUPERSEDING REGULATIONS.—Regulations

12 issued by the Secretary to implement a Federal fish13 ery management plan for a fishery shall supersede

14 regulations issued by the Secretary under this section

15 for that fishery.

16 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The provisions of sections

17 307, 308, 309, 310, and 311 of the Magnuson Fishery

18 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857,

19 1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861) regarding prohibited

20 acts, civil penalties, criminal offenses, civil forfeitures,

21 and enforcement shall apply with respect to regula22 tions prescribed under this section.

23 SEC. 3. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERSTATE

24 FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

25 (a) ADOPTION OF PLANS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall prepare

2 and adopt fishery management plans or amendments

3 to fishery management plans in accordance with this

4 section to provide for the conservation and manage5 ment of coastal fishery resources.

6 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing a fishery

7 management plan or amendment, the Commission

8 shall consult with the appropriate Councils to deter9 mine ways Federal fishery management plans and

10 interstate fishery management plans may complement

11 each other.

12 (3) CONTENTS.—Each fishery management plan

13 or amendment prepared under this subsection shall—

14 (A) contain information regarding the sta15 tus of the coastal fishery resources and fisheries

16 covered by the plan or amendment;

17 (B) identify each State that is required to

18 implement and enforce the plan or amendment;

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

20 implement and comply with the plan or amend21 ment; and

22 (D) recommend actions for the Secretary to

23 take in the exclusive economic zone to conserve

24 and manage the fishery resources and fisheries

25 covered by the plan or amendment.
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1 (4) TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EN2 FORCEMENT BY STATES.—

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

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

5 an interstate fishery management plan pursuant

6 to paragraph (3)(B) shall implement and enforce

7 the plan within the time established in the plan.

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

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

10 the Commission shall develop a schedule for

11 States to implement and enforce of interstate

12 fishery management plans adopted by the Com13 mission before the date of the enactment of this

14 Act. The schedule shall require each State with

15 a declared interest in a plan to implement and

16 enforce that plan within 1 year after the date of

17 the enactment of this Act.

18 (5) ADOPTION OF STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES

19 FOR THE PREPARATION OF INTERSTATE FISHERY

20 MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Within 1 year after the date of

21 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish

22 standards and procedures to govern the preparation

23 of interstate fishery management plans under this

24 Act, including standards and procedures to ensure

25 that—
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1 (A) such plans promote the conservation of

2 fish stocks throughout their ranges and are based

3 on the best scientific information available, and

4 (B) the Commission provides adequate op5 portunity for public participation in the plan

6 preparation process.’’.

7 (b) COMMISSION MONITORING OF STATE IMPLEMENTA8 TION AND ENFORCEMENT.—Within 1 year after the date of

9 the enactment of this Act and at least annually thereafter,

10 the Commission shall—

11 (1) review each interstate fishery management

12 plan and determine whether each State which has de13 clared an interest in the plan, or that is required

14 under the plan to implement and enforce the plan,

15 has implemented and enforced the plan; and

16 (2) submit a report on the results of that review

17 to the Secretaries.

18 SEC. 4. STATE NONCOMPLIANCE WITH INTERSTATE FISH19 ERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.

20 (a) DETERMINATION.—The Commission shall deter21 mine that a State is not in compliance with an interstate

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

23 implemented and enforced the plan within the period estab24 lished under section 3(a)(4).
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1 (b) NOTIFICATION.—If the Commission determines

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

3 an interstate fishery management plan, the Commission

4 shall notify the Secretaries of that determination within 10

5 working days. The notification shall include the reasons for

6 making the determination and specify an explicit list of

7 actions that the affected State must take to comply with

8 the interstate fishery management plan. The Commission

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

10 (c) MONITORING; WITHDRAWAL OF DETERMINA11 TION.—After making a determination under subsection (a)

12 regarding a State, the Commission shall continue to mon13 itor implementation and enforcement of the plan by the

14 State. On finding that a State has taken all actions speci15 fied in the notification issued under subsection (b), the

16 Commission shall promptly notify the Secretaries that the

17 State is in compliance.

18 SEC. 5. SECRETARIAL ACTION.

19 (a) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF COMMISSION DETER20 MINATION OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—Within 30 days after re21 ceiving a notification regarding a State from the Commis22 sion under section 4(b), the Secretary, in consultation with

23 the Secretary of the Interior, shall review the Commission’s

24 determination of noncompliance and determine whether—
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1 (1) the State has failed to implement and enforce

2 the interstate fishery management plan in question;

3 (2) the measures which the State has failed to

4 implement and enforce are necessary to conserve and

5 manage the fishery in question; and

6 (3) in the case of an interstate fishery manage7 ment plan adopted after January 1, 1995, the plan

8 in question was prepared under the standards and

9 procedures required to be established by the Commis10 sion under section 3(a)(5).

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

12 subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

13 (1) give careful consideration to the comments of

14 the State that the Commission has determined under

15 section 4(a) is not in compliance with an interstate

16 fishery management plan, and provide that State,

17 upon request, the opportunity to meet with and

18 present its comments directly to the Secretary; and

19 (2) solicit, review, and consider the comments of

20 the Commission and the appropriate councils.

21 (c) DECLARATION OF MORATORIUM.—On determining

22 under subsection (a) that a State has failed to implement

23 and enforce an interstate fishery management plan, the Sec24 retary shall declare a moratorium on fishing for the species

25 covered by the plan within the waters of that State. The
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1 Secretary shall establish the effective date of the moratorium

2 to commence at any time within 6 months following the

3 declaration.

4 (d) SUSPENSION OF MORATORIUM.—On notification

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

6 compliance with an interstate fishery management plan,

7 the Secretary shall terminate the moratorium declared

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

9 plan.

10 (e) REGULATIONS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prescribe

12 regulations necessary to implement this Act.

13 (2) CONTENT.—These regulations—

14 (A) may provide for the possession and use

15 of fish which have been produced in an aqua16 culture operation, subject to applicable State reg17 ulations; and

18 (B) shall allow for the retention of fish that

19 are subject to a moratorium declared under sub20 section (c) and unavoidably taken as incidental

21 catch in fisheries directed toward 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 ves3 sel; 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 fish

7 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 subject

11 to a moratorium within waters of the State subject to

12 the moratorium;

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

14 caught, taken, or harvested in violation of the morato15 rium, this Act, or any regulation promulgated under

16 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 mor24 atorium, any fish subject to a moratorium, regardless

25 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 this

7 Act;

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

9 this section;

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

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

12 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, know15 ing that person has committed any act prohibited by

16 this section.

17 (g) PENALTIES.—

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

20 States for a civil penalty as provided by section 308

21 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage22 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1858). Subsections (b) through

23 (e) of section 308 of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva24 tion and Management Act apply to persons assessed

25 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 offense

3 punishable under subsections (a)(1) and (b) of section

4 309 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man5 agement 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 in

9 connection with an act unlawful under subsection (f),

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

11 or retained, in any manner, in connection with, or

12 the result of, the commission of an act prohibited

13 under subsection (f), shall be subject to forfeiture to

14 the United States as provided in section 310 of the

15 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

16 (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 of

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

20 a manner provided by regulation prescribed by the

21 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 is

25 operating, as provided in section 311 of the Magnuson Fish-
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1 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861 et

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

3 basis or otherwise, use the personnel, services, equipment

4 (including aircraft and vessels), and facilities of any other

5 Federal department or agency and of any agency of a State

6 in carrying out that enforcement.

7 SEC. 6. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

8 The Secretaries may provide financial assistance to the

9 Commission and to the States to carry out their respective

10 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 species

19 of fish that move among, or are broadly distributed

20 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 waters

25 of the exclusive economic zone;
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1 (2) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Atlantic States Ma2 rine 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 Man7 agement Councils established under section 302 of the

8 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

9 (16 U.S.C. 1852) with jurisdiction over fisheries in

10 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 Conserva18 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.);

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

20 and all other forms of marine animal life other than

21 marine mammals and birds;

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

23 section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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

2 section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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

4 (9) ‘‘implement and enforce’’ means the enact5 ment or adoption of 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, regu10 lations, 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 the

20 enactment of this Act;

21 (11) ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Secretary of Com22 merce 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, New

3 York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary4 land, 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, 1995,

11 and 1996.