(2) AMENDMENT OF PLANS.—Not later than
one year after the date of enactment of this Act,
each Regional Fishing Management Council estab-
lished under the Magnuson Fishing Conservation
and Management Act shall submit to the Secretary
of Commerce an amendment to each fishery man-
agement plan in effect under that Act to comply
with the amendments made by paragraph (1).
(b) AMENDMENTS RELATING
TO DISCRETIONARY
PROVISIONS, GENERALLY.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C.
1853(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (8) in the matter preceding
the first semicolon, by striking ‘‘require that observ-
ers’’ and inserting ‘‘require that one or more observ-
ers’’;
(2) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(3) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para-
graph (11); and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(10) assess and specify the effect which con-
servation and management measures of the plan will
have on stocks of fish in the ecosystem of the fishery
which are not part of the fishery;
‘‘(11) contain conservation and management
measures reserving a portion of the total allowable
catch for the use of fishery dependent communities;
and’’.
SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MISCELLANEOUS DU-
TIES OF SECRETARY.
(a) SAFETY
AT SEA.—Section 304(a)(2)(C) (16
U.S.C. 1854(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘to fishery
access’’ and all that follows through the period and insert-
ing ‘‘with respect to the provisions of sections 303(a)(6)
and (13).’’.
(b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 304(f)
(16 U.S.C. 1854(f)) is amended—
(1) by striking the subsection heading and in-
serting the following: ‘‘FISHERIES UNDER AUTHOR-
ITY OF MORE THAN ONE COUNCIL.—’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii) by inserting before
the semicolon the following: ‘‘and the plan develop-
ment team established under paragraph (4)’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)(E), strike ‘‘allocation or
quota’’ each place it appears and insert ‘‘allocation,
quota, or fishing mortality level’’;
(4) in paragraph (3)(F)(ii) by inserting ‘‘and
the plan development team established under para-
graph (4)’’ before the semicolon; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall establish a plan de-
velopment team for each highly migratory species
fishery to advise the Secretary on and participate in
the development of each fishery management plan or
amendment to a plan for the fishery under this sub-
section.
‘‘(B) The plan development team shall—
‘‘(i) consist of not less than 7 individuals
who are members of an advisory committee or
a species working group established under sec-
tion 4 or 4A, respectively, of the Atlantic Tunas
Convention Act of 1975 and who are knowl-
edgeable about the fishery for which the plan is
being developed; and
‘‘(ii) participate in all aspects of the devel-
opment of the plan or amendment developed by
the Secretary under this subsection.
‘‘(C) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any plan develop-
ment team established under this paragraph.’’.
(c) INCIDENTAL
HARVEST
RESEARCH.—Section
304(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)) is amended by striking
‘‘3-year’’.
(d) ESSENTIAL FISHERY HABITAT; OVERFISHING.—
Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(h) ACTIONS OF THE SECRETARY ON ESSENTIAL
FISHERY HABITAT.—(1) The Secretary, in cooperation
with the Secretary of the Interior, shall identify the essen-
tial fishery habitat for each fishery for which a fishery
management plan is in effect. The identification shall be
based on the description of essential fishery habitat con-
tained in the plan. The identification shall be provided to
the appropriate Council and made available to the public.
‘‘(2) If the Secretary receives information from a
Council or determines from other sources that an action
authorized, funded, carried out, or proposed to be carried
out by any Federal agency may result in the destruction
or adverse modification of any essential fishery habitat
identified under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall com-
ment on and make recommendations to the Federal agen-
cy concerning that action.
‘‘(3) Within 15 days after receiving a comment or
recommendation from the Secretary under paragraph (2),
the Federal agency shall provide a detailed response, in
writing, to the Secretary which includes a description of
measures being considered by the agency for avoiding,
mitigating, or offsetting the adverse impact of the activity
of the agency on essential fishery habitat. In the case of
a response that is inconsistent with a recommendation
from the Secretary, the Federal agency shall explain the
reasons for not following the recommendations.
‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall have the effect
of amending or repealing any other law or regulation or
modifying any other responsibility of a Federal agency
with respect to fisheries habitat.
‘‘(i) 
ACTION
BY
THE
SECRETARY
ON
OVERFISHING.—(1) In addition to the authority granted
to the Secretary under subsection (c), if the Secretary
finds at any time that overfishing is occurring or has oc-
curred in any fishery, the Secretary shall immediately no-
tify the appropriate Council and request that action be
taken to halt overfishing in the fishery and to establish
a program to rebuild the fishery within a reasonable time.
The Secretary shall publish each notification under this
paragraph in the Federal Register.
‘‘(2) If the Council does not submit to the Secretary
a fishery management plan, or an amendment to the ap-
propriate existing fishery management plan, which is in-
tended to address overfishing in the fishery and to estab-
lish any necessary rebuilding program before the end of
the 1-year period beginning on the date of notification
under paragraph (1), then the Secretary shall prepare
under subsection (c) a fishery management plan, or an
amendment to an existing management plan, to halt
overfishing in the fishery and to establish any necessary
rebuilding program.
‘‘(3) If the Secretary finds that overfishing is occur-
ring in any fishery for which a fishery management plan
prepared by the Secretary is in effect, the Secretary shall
act under subsection (c) to amend the plan to halt
overfishing in the fishery and to establish any necessary
rebuilding program.
‘‘(4) If the Secretary finds that the action of any Fed-
eral agency has caused or contributed to the decline of
a stock of fish below maximum sustainable yield, the Sec-
retary shall notify the agency of the Secretary’s finding
and recommend steps that can be taken by the agency to
reverse that decline.
‘‘(j) ACTION ON COVERED IMPLEMENTING REGULA-
TIONS PROPOSED BY A COUNCIL.—(1) After the receipt
date of a covered implementing regulation submitted by
a Council, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of the
covered implementing regulation to determine wheth-
er it is consistent with the fishery management plan
it would implement, the national standards, the
other provisions of this Act, and any other applicable
law; and
‘‘(B) immediately publish the covered imple-
menting regulation in the Federal Register and pro-
vide a 30-day period for the submission of comments
by the public.
‘‘(2) Not later than 60 days after the receipt date
of a covered implementing regulation submitted by a
Council, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) publish a final regulation on the subject
matter of the covered implementing regulation; or
‘‘(B) decline to publish a final regulation.
‘‘The Secretary shall provide to the Council in writing an
explanation of the reasons for the Secretary’s action.
‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term—
‘‘(A) ‘receipt date’ means the 5th day after the
day on which a Council submits to the Secretary a
covered implementing regulation that the Council
characterizes as a final covered implementing regula-
tion; and
‘‘(B) ‘covered implementing regulation’—
‘‘(i) means a proposed amendment to exist-
ing regulations implementing a fishery manage-
ment plan in effect under this Act, which does
not have the effect of amending the plan; and
‘‘(ii) does not include any proposed regula-
tion submitted with a plan or amendment to a
plan under section 303(c).’’.
SEC. 11. EMERGENCY ACTIONS.
Section 305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (3)(B) to read as
follows:
‘‘(B) shall remain in effect for not more than
180 days after the date of such publication, except
that any such regulation may, by agreement of the
Secretary and the Council and after notice and an
opportunity for submission of comments by the pub-
lic, be effective for 1 additional period of not more
than 180 days; and’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) The Secretary may promulgate emergency regu-
lations under this subsection to protect the public health.
Notwithstanding paragraph (3), regulations promulgated
under this paragraph shall remain in effect until with-
drawn by the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly
withdraw regulations under this paragraph when the cir-
cumstances requiring the regulations no longer exist. The
Secretary shall provide an opportunity for submission of
comments by the public after regulations are promulgated
under this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 12. STATE JURISDICTION.
Section 306(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1856(c)(1)) is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(C) the owner or operator of the vessel
submits to the appropriate Council, in a man-
ner prescribed by the Secretary, periodic re-
ports on the tonnage of fish received from ves-
sels of the United States and the locations from
which such fish were harvested.’’.
SEC. 13. PROHIBITED ACTS.
(a) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE FINANCIAL INFORMA-
TION.—Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph
(M);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (N) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(O) to knowingly and willfully fail to dis-
close or falsely disclose any financial interest as
required under section 302(k) or to knowingly
violate any rule established under section
302(k)(8).’’.
(b) PROHIBITED FISHING.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 307(2)(B) (16
U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(B) in fishing, except recreational fishing
permitted under section 201(j), within the ex-
clusive economic zone or within the special
areas, or for any anadromous species or Con-
tinental Shelf fishery resources beyond such
zone or areas, or in fishing consisting of trans-
porting fish products from a point within the
boundaries of any State or the exclusive eco-
nomic zone or the special areas, unless such
fishing is authorized under, and conducted in
accordance with, a valid and applicable permit
issued under section 204, except that this sub-
paragraph shall not apply to fishing within the
special areas (as that term is defined in the
amendment set forth in section 301(b)(2) of the
Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the designa-
tion of the Flower Garden Banks National Ma-
rine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992
(Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 62)) before
the date on which the Agreement between the
United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed
June 1, 1990, enters into force for the United
States; or’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
301(h)(2)(A) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide
for the designation of the Flower Garden Banks Na-
tional Marine Sanctuary’’, approved March 9, 1992
(Public Law 102–251; 106 Stat. 64), is repealed.
SEC. 14. NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES CONSERVATION.
Section 313(16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘RESEARCH PLAN’’ in the
section heading and inserting ‘‘CONSERVA-
TION’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF WASTE.—
‘‘(1) No later than July 1, 1996, the North Pa-
cific Fishery Management Council shall recommend
for each fishery management plan under its jurisdic-
tion conservation and management measures, includ-
ing incentives, to reduce bycatch in each fishery.
Any such system of incentives shall be fair and equi-
table to all fishermen and United States fish proc-
essors, and shall not have economic allocation as its
sole purpose.
‘‘(2) Not later than July 1, 1997, the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council shall rec-
ommend conservation and management measures to
ensure total catch measurement in each fishery
under the Council’s jurisdiction. Such conservation
and management measures shall ensure the accurate
enumeration of target species, economic discards,
and regulatory discards.
‘‘(3) The conservation and management meas-
ures recommended by the Council under paragraph
(1) may include a harvest preference to fishing and
processing practices within each gear group that re-
sult in the lowest levels of economic discards, proc-
essing waste, regulatory discards, and other bycatch.
In determining which practices shall be given prior-
ity, the reduction of economic discards shall be given
the greatest weight, followed by processing waste
(where applicable), regulatory discards and other
bycatch, in that order.
‘‘(4) In determining the level of target species
catch, economic discard, regulatory discards, other
bycatch, and processing waste, the Council and Sec-
retary shall base such determinations on observer
data or the best available information.
‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section
the term ‘processing waste’ means that portion of a fish
which is processed and which could be used for human
consumption or other commercial sue, but which is not
so used.’’.
SEC. 15. OBSERVERS.
Title III of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 315. RIGHTS OF OBSERVERS.
‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTION.—An observer on a vessel (or the
observer’s personal representative) under the requirements
of this Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) that is ill, disabled, injured, or
killed from service as an observer on that vessel may not
bring a civil action under any law of the United States
for that illness, disability for that illness, disability, injury,
or death against the vessel or vessel owner, except that
a civil action may be brought against the vessel owner for
the owner’s willful misconduct.
‘’(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not apply if
the observer is engaged by the owner, master, or individual
in charge of a vessel to perform any duties in service to
the vessel.’’.