I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1219 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
to provide that each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama, and Florida have exclusive fishery management authority over 
reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, are 20 
fathoms or less in depth, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2013 
Mr. BONNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act to provide that each of the States of 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida 
have exclusive fishery management authority over reef 
fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, 
are 20 fathoms or less in depth, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Gulf Fisheries Fair-
ness Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATE EXCLUSIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT AU-
THORITY OVER REEF FISH IN THE GULF OF 
MEXICO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act is amended— 
(1) in section 101 (16 U.S.C. 1811)— 
(A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and 
subsection (c) of this section’’ after ‘‘section 
102’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) STATE EXCLUSIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT AU-
THORITY OVER REEF FISH IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each of the States of 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida 
shall have exclusive fishery management authority 
over all Gulf reef fish in all waters that are— 
‘‘(A) within the exclusive economic zone in 
the Gulf of Mexico; 
‘‘(B) not further from shore than the line 
described under paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(C) between the projected lines deter-
mined for that State under section 4(a)(2)(A) 
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A)). 
‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF LINE.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
publish a description of, and map showing, a 
continuous line in waters of the exclusive eco-
nomic zone in the Gulf of Mexico along the 
coasts of the States referred to in paragraph 
(1), that is comprised of points that are, on av-
erage, 20 fathoms in depth. 
‘‘(B) MINIMUM DISTANCE.—No point on 
such line shall be less than 9 nautical miles 
from the baseline from which the territorial sea 
of the United States is measured. 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON LIMITING AUTHORITY TO 
FISH UNDER FEDERAL LAW.—The Secretary may 
not suspend, revoke, terminate, or otherwise limit 
the authority of any person under Federal law to en-
gage in fishing, based on fishing by the person for 
Gulf reef fish in waters that are subject to the exclu-
sive fishery management authority of a State under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(4) GULF REEF FISH DEFINED.—In this sub-
section the term ‘Gulf reef fish’ means all fish listed 
in table 3 of appendix A to part 622 of title 50, 
Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 
date of enactment of this subsection).’’; and 
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(2) 
in 
section 
302(a)(1)(E) 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1852(a)(1)(E)), by inserting ‘‘of this subsection and 
section 101(c)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 
(b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 
publish the 20-fathom line description and map required 
under the amendment made by subsection (a)(1) by not 
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(c) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF MORE RE-
STRICTIVE
FEDERAL
REGULATIONS.—Sections 
622.4(a)(1)(iv) and 622.4(a)(2)(v) of title 50, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act, and any substantially similar regulation, shall 
not apply with respect to waters described in section 
101(c)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act, as amended by this section. 
Æ 
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