HR 1335 RFS 
improved since the publication of the 
Council’s report ‘Review of Recreational 
Fisheries Survey Methods (2006)’; 
‘‘(ii) evaluate the extent to which the 
recommendations made in that report were 
implemented 
pursuant 
to 
paragraph 
(3)(B); and 
‘‘(iii) examine any limitations of the 
Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics 
Survey and the Marine Recreational Infor-
mation Program established under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 
after entering into an agreement under sub-
paragraph (A), the Secretary shall submit a re-
port to Congress on the results of the study 
under subparagraph (A).’’. 
SEC. 18. STOCK ASSESSMENTS USED FOR FISHERIES MAN-
AGED UNDER GULF OF MEXICO COUNCIL’S 
REEF FISH MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 409. STOCK ASSESSMENTS USED FOR FISHERIES 
MANAGED UNDER GULF OF MEXICO COUN-
CIL’S REEF FISH MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Gulf States Marine Fish-
eries Commission shall conduct all fishery stock assess-
ments used for management purposes by the Gulf of Mex-
ico Fishery Management Council for the fisheries man-
aged under the Council’s Reef Fish Management Plan. 
‘‘(b) USE OF OTHER INFORMATION AND ASSETS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Such fishery assessments 
shall— 
‘‘(A) incorporate fisheries survey informa-
tion collected by university researchers; and 
‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, use State, 
university, and private assets to conduct fish-
eries surveys. 
‘‘(2) SURVEYS
AT
ARTIFICIAL
REEFS.—Any 
such fishery stock assessment conducted after the 
date of the enactment of the Strengthening Fishing 
Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries 
Management Act shall incorporate fishery surveys 
conducted, and other relevant fisheries information 
collected, on and around natural and artificial reefs. 
‘‘(c) CONSTITUENT AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPA-
TION.—Each such fishery assessment shall— 
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‘‘(1) emphasize constituent and stakeholder 
participation in the development of the assessment; 
‘‘(2) contain all of the raw data used in the as-
sessment and a description of the methods used to 
collect that data; and 
‘‘(3) employ an assessment process that is 
transparent and includes— 
‘‘(A) includes a rigorous and independent 
scientific review of the completed fishery stock 
assessment; and 
‘‘(B) a panel of independent experts to re-
view the data and assessment and make rec-
ommendations on the most appropriate values 
of critical population and management quan-
tities.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in the first section is amended by adding at the end of 
the items relating to title IV the following: 
‘‘Sec. 408. Deep sea coral research and technology program. 
‘‘Sec. 409. Stock assessments used for fisheries managed under Gulf of Mexico 
Council’s Reef Fish Management Plan.’’. 
SEC. 19. ESTIMATION OF COST OF RECOVERY FROM FISH-
ERY RESOURCE DISASTER. 
Section 312(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861a(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; 
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(2) by redesignating existing subparagraphs (A) 
through (C) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, 
of subparagraph (A) (as designated by the amend-
ment made by paragraph (1)); and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall publish the estimated cost 
of recovery from a fishery resource disaster no later than 
30 days after the Secretary makes the determination 
under subparagraph (A) with respect to such disaster.’’. 
SEC. 20. DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON REQUEST BY GOV-
ERNOR FOR DETERMINATION REGARDING 
FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER. 
Section 312(a) (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) is amended by 
redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as paragraphs 
(3) through (5), and by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall make a decision regarding 
a request from a Governor under paragraph (1) within 90 
days after receiving an estimate of the economic impact 
of the fishery resource disaster from the entity requesting 
the relief.’’. 
SEC. 21. PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING RED SNAPPER 
KILLED DURING REMOVAL OF OIL RIGS. 
Any red snapper that are killed during the removal 
of any offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico shall not be 
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considered in determining under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) whether the total allowable catch for red 
snapper has been reached. 
SEC. 22. PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING FISH SEIZED 
FROM FOREIGN FISHING. 
Any fish that are seized from a foreign vessel engaged 
in illegal fishing activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone 
shall not be considered in determining under the Magnu-
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) the total allowable catch for that 
fishery. 
SEC. 23. SUBSISTENCE FISHING. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 
amended by inserting after paragraph (43) the following: 
‘‘(43a)(A) The term ‘subsistence fishing’ means 
fishing in which the fish harvested are intended for 
customary and traditional uses, including for direct 
personal or family consumption as food or clothing; 
for the making or selling of handicraft articles out 
of nonedible byproducts taken for personal or family 
consumption, for barter, or sharing for personal or 
family consumption; and for customary trade. 
‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 
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‘‘(i) the term ‘family’ means all persons re-
lated by blood, marriage, or adoption, or any 
person living within the household on a perma-
nent basis; and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘barter’ means the exchange 
of a fish or fish part— 
‘‘(I) for another fish or fish part; or 
‘‘(II) for other food or for nonedible 
items other than money if the exchange is 
of a limited and noncommercial nature.’’. 
(b) COUNCIL SEAT.—Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 
1852(b)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or rec-
reational’’ and inserting ‘‘, recreational, or subsist-
ence fishing’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C), in the second sen-
tence, by inserting ‘‘, and in the case of the Gov-
ernor of Alaska with the subsistence fishing interests 
of the State,’’ after ‘‘interests of the State’’. 
(c) 
PURPOSE.—Section 
2(b)(3) 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1801(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘and recreational’’ 
and inserting ‘‘, recreational, and subsistence’’. 
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SEC. 24. INTER-SECTOR TRADING OF COMMERCIAL CATCH 
SHARE ALLOCATIONS IN THE GULF OF MEX-
ICO. 
Section 301 (16 U.S.C. 1851) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) INTER-SECTOR
TRADING
OF
COMMERCIAL 
CATCH SHARE ALLOCATIONS IN THE GULF OF MEX-
ICO.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
any commercial fishing catch share allocation in a fishery 
in the Gulf of Mexico may only be traded by sale or lease 
within the same commercial fishing sector.’’. 
SEC. 25. ARCTIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA. 
Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) ARCTIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA.— 
If the North Pacific Fishery Management Council issues 
a fishery management plan for the exclusive economic zone 
in the Arctic Ocean, or an amendment to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Fish Resources of the Arctic Man-
agement Area issued by such Council, that makes avail-
able to commercial fishing, and establishes a sustainable 
harvest level, for any part of such zone, the Council shall 
set aside not less than 10 percent of the total allowable 
catch therein as a community development quota for 
coastal villages located north and east of the Bering 
Strait.’’. 
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SEC. 26. PREFERENCE FOR STUDENTS STUDYING WATER 
RESOURCE ISSUES. 
Section 402(e) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(e)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 
when hiring individuals to collect information regarding 
marine recreational fishing under this subsection, give 
preference to students studying fisheries conservation and 
management, water resource issues, or other relevant sub-
jects at an institution of higher education in the United 
States.’’. 
SEC. 27. PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW FOR SOUTH 
ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO MIXED-USE 
FISHERIES. 
(a) STUDY OF ALLOCATIONS IN MIXED-USE FISH-
ERIES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter 
into an arrangement with the National Academy of 
Sciences to conduct a study of the South Atlantic and Gulf 
of Mexico mixed-use fisheries— 
(1) to provide guidance to the South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council and Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council on criteria that could 
be used for allocating fishing privileges, including 
consideration of the conservation and socioeconomic 
benefits of the commercial, recreational, and charter 
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components of a fishery, in the preparation of a fish-
ery management plan under that Act; 
(2) to identify sources of information that could 
reasonably support the use of such criteria in alloca-
tion decisions; and 
(3) to develop procedures for allocation reviews 
and potential adjustments in allocations based on 
the guidelines and requirements established by this 
section. 
(b) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW AND ESTAB-
LISHMENT.—The South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council shall— 
(1) within 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, review the allocations of all mixed- 
use fisheries in the Councils’ respective jurisdictions; 
(2) every 3 years thereafter, perform subse-
quent reviews of such allocations; and 
(3) consider the conservation and socioeconomic 
benefits of each sector in any allocation decisions for 
such fisheries. 
SEC. 28. REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVI-
LEGES. 
Section 3303A(c)(1)(G) (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)(1)(G)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(G) include provisions for a formal and 
detailed review 5 years after the implementation 
of the program, and thereafter the regular mon-
itoring and review by the Council and the Sec-
retary of the operations and impacts of the pro-
gram, to coincide with scheduled Council review 
of the relevant fishery management plan (but 
no less frequently than once every 7 years) in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) determining progress in meeting 
the goals of the program and this Act; 
‘‘(ii) delineating the positive and nega-
tive economic effects of the program on 
fishermen and processors who are part of 
the program and the coastal communities 
in which they reside; and 
‘‘(iii) any necessary modification of 
the program to meet those goals, including 
a formal schedule for action to be taken 
within 2 years;’’. 
SEC. 29. HEALTHY FISHERIES THROUGH BETTER SCIENCE. 
(a) DEFINITION OF STOCK ASSESSMENT.—Section 3 
(16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by section 23(a) of this 
Act, is further amended by redesignating the paragraphs 
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after paragraph (42) in order as paragraphs (44) through 
(53), and by inserting after paragraph (42) the following: 
‘‘(43) The term ‘stock assessment’ means an 
evaluation of the past, present, and future status of 
a stock of fish, that includes— 
‘‘(A) a range of life history characteristics 
for such stock, including— 
‘‘(i) the geographical boundaries of 
such stock; and 
‘‘(ii) information on age, growth, nat-
ural mortality, sexual maturity and repro-
duction, feeding habits, and habitat pref-
erences of such stock; and 
‘‘(B) fishing for the stock.’’. 
(b) STOCK ASSESSMENT PLAN.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 
1881c), as amended by section 10(d) of this Act, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) STOCK ASSESSMENT PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 
and publish in the Federal Register, on the same 
schedule as required for the strategic plan required 
under subsection (b) of this section, a plan to con-
duct stock assessments for all stocks of fish for 
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