I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5638 
To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2018 
Mr. TED LIEU of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To improve the management of driftnet fishing. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driftnet Modernization 
and Bycatch Reduction Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 
Section 3(25) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(25)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘, or with a mesh size of 14 inches 
or greater,’’ after ‘‘more’’. 
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SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Section 206(b) of the Magnuson-Ste-
vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1826(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) within the exclusive economic zone, large- 
scale driftnet fishing that deploys nets with large 
mesh sizes causes significant entanglement and mor-
tality of living marine resources, including myriad 
protected species, despite limitations on the lengths 
of such nets.’’. 
(b) POLICY.—Section 206(c) of the Magnuson-Ste-
vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1826(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following— 
‘‘(4) prioritize the phase out of large-scale 
driftnet fishing in the exclusive economic zone and 
promote the development and adoption of alternative 
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fishing methods and gear types that reduce the inci-
dental catch of living marine resources to the max-
imum extent possible.’’. 
SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROGRAM. 
Section 206 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1826) is 
amended by adding at the end the following— 
‘‘(i) FISHING GEAR TRANSITION PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con-
duct a transition program to facilitate the phase-out 
of large-scale driftnet fishing and adoption of alter-
native fishing practices that minimize the incidental 
catch of living marine resources. 
‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to provide funding to fishery partici-
pants for one or more of the following: 
‘‘(i) Any fee originally associated with 
a permit authorizing participation in a 
large-scale driftnet fishery, if such permit 
is surrendered for permanent revocation, 
and such permit holder relinquishes any 
claim associated with the permit. 
‘‘(ii) A forfeiture of fishing gear asso-
ciated with a permit described in clause (i). 
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‘‘(iii) The purchase of alternative gear 
with minimal incidental catch of living ma-
rine resources, if the fishery participant is 
authorized to continue fishing using such 
alternative gears. 
‘‘(B) PAYMENT
CONDITION.—The Sec-
retary may not make a payment to a fishery 
participant under subparagraph (A) unless the 
Secretary certifies that the permit authorizing 
participation has been permanently revoked and 
that no new permits will be issued to authorize 
such fishing. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes 
of carrying out this subsection, $450,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2018 through 2020.’’. 
SEC. 5. EXCEPTION. 
Section 307(1)(M) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation 
and 
Management 
Act 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1857(1)(M)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon 
the following: ‘‘, unless such large-scale driftnet fishing— 
‘‘(i) deploys, within the exclusive eco-
nomic zone, a net with a total length of 
less than 21⁄2 kilometers and a mesh size 
of 14 inches or greater; and 
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‘‘(ii) is conducted prior to January 1, 
2020.’’. 
Æ 
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