H. R. 5946—13
person that acquires a limited access privilege solely for 
the purpose of perfecting or realizing on a security interest 
in such privilege; 
‘‘(E) require that all fish harvested under a limited 
access privilege program be processed on vessels of the 
United States or on United States soil (including any terri-
tory of the United States); 
‘‘(F) specify the goals of the program; 
‘‘(G) include provisions for the regular monitoring and 
review by the Council and the Secretary of the operations 
of the program, including determining progress in meeting 
the goals of the program and this Act, and any necessary 
modification of the program to meet those goals, with a 
formal and detailed review 5 years after the implementa-
tion of the program and thereafter to coincide with sched-
uled Council review of the relevant fishery management 
plan (but no less frequently than once every 7 years); 
‘‘(H) include an effective system for enforcement, moni-
toring, and management of the program, including the 
use of observers or electronic monitoring systems; 
‘‘(I) include an appeals process for administrative 
review of the Secretary’s decisions regarding initial alloca-
tion of limited access privileges; 
‘‘(J) provide for the establishment by the Secretary, 
in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, for an 
information collection and review process to provide any 
additional information needed to determine whether any 
illegal acts of anti-competition, anti-trust, price collusion, 
or price fixing have occurred among regional fishery 
associations or persons receiving limited access privileges 
under the program; and 
‘‘(K) provide for the revocation by the Secretary of 
limited access privileges held by any person found to have 
violated the antitrust laws of the United States. 
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the requirement 
of paragraph (1)(E) if the Secretary determines that—
‘‘(A) the fishery has historically processed the fish out-
side of the United States; and 
‘‘(B) the United States has a seafood safety equivalency 
agreement with the country where processing will occur. 
‘‘(3) FISHING COMMUNITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate in 
a limited access privilege program to harvest fish, a 
fishing community shall—
‘‘(I) be located within the management area 
of the relevant Council; 
‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by the relevant 
Council, approved by the Secretary, and published 
in the Federal Register; 
‘‘(III) consist of residents who conduct commer-
cial or recreational fishing, processing, or fishery-
dependent support businesses within the Council’s 
management area; and 
‘‘(IV) develop and submit a community sustain-
ability plan to the Council and the Secretary that 
demonstrates how the plan will address the social
H. R. 5946—14
and economic development needs of coastal 
communities, including those that have not histori-
cally had the resources to participate in the 
fishery, for approval based on criteria developed 
by the Council that have been approved by the 
Secretary and published in the Federal Register. 
‘‘(ii) FAILURE
TO
COMPLY
WITH
PLAN.—The Sec-
retary shall deny or revoke limited access privileges 
granted under this section for any person who fails 
to comply with the requirements of the community 
sustainability plan. Any limited access privileges 
denied or revoked under this section may be reallocated 
to other eligible members of the fishing community. 
‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In developing participa-
tion criteria for eligible communities under this paragraph, 
a Council shall consider—
‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing practices in, 
and dependence on, the fishery; 
‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework relevant 
to the fishery; 
‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to fishery; 
‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of projected eco-
nomic and social impacts associated with implementa-
tion of limited access privilege programs on harvesters, 
captains, crew, processors, and other businesses 
substantially dependent upon the fishery in the region 
or subregion; 
‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, operational trans-
parency, and equitability of the community sustain-
ability plan; and 
‘‘(vi) the potential for improving economic condi-
tions in remote coastal communities lacking resources 
to participate in harvesting or processing activities 
in the fishery. 
‘‘(4) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate in a 
limited access privilege program to harvest fish, a regional 
fishery association shall—
‘‘(i) be located within the management area of the 
relevant Council; 
‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the relevant 
Council, approved by the Secretary, and published in 
the Federal Register; 
‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with established 
by-laws and operating procedures; 
‘‘(iv) consist of participants in the fishery who hold 
quota share that are designated for use in the specific 
region or subregion covered by the regional fishery 
association, including commercial or recreational 
fishing, 
processing, 
fishery-dependent 
support 
businesses, or fishing communities; 
‘‘(v) not be eligible to receive an initial allocation 
of a limited access privilege but may acquire such 
privileges after the initial allocation, and may hold 
the annual fishing privileges of any limited access 
privileges it holds or the annual fishing privileges that 
is members contribute; and
H. R. 5946—15
‘‘(vi) develop and submit a regional fishery associa-
tion plan to the Council and the Secretary for approval 
based on criteria developed by the Council that have 
been approved by the Secretary and published in the 
Federal Register. 
‘‘(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PLAN.—The Secretary 
shall deny or revoke limited access privileges granted under 
this section to any person participating in a regional fishery 
association who fails to comply with the requirements of 
the regional fishery association plan. 
‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In developing participa-
tion criteria for eligible regional fishery associations under 
this paragraph, a Council shall consider—
‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing practices in, 
and dependence on, the fishery; 
‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework relevant 
to the fishery; 
‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to fishery; 
‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of projected eco-
nomic and social impacts associated with implementa-
tion of limited access privilege programs on harvesters, 
captains, crew, processors, and other businesses 
substantially dependent upon the fishery in the region 
or subregion; 
‘‘(v) the administrative and fiduciary soundness 
of the association; and 
‘‘(vi) the expected effectiveness, operational trans-
parency, and equitability of the fishery association 
plan. 
‘‘(5) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited access privilege 
program to harvest fish a Council or the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair and equitable 
initial allocations, including consideration of—
‘‘(i) current and historical harvests; 
‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting and processing 
sectors; 
‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence upon, the 
fishery; and 
‘‘(iv) the current and historical participation of 
fishing communities; 
‘‘(B) consider the basic cultural and social framework 
of the fishery, especially through—
‘‘(i) the development of policies to promote the 
sustained participation of small owner-operated fishing 
vessels and fishing communities that depend on the 
fisheries, including regional or port-specific landing or 
delivery requirements; and 
‘‘(ii) procedures to address concerns over excessive 
geographic or other consolidation in the harvesting 
or processing sectors of the fishery; 
‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when necessary and 
appropriate, entry-level and small vessel owner-operators, 
captains, crew, and fishing communities through set-asides 
of harvesting allocations, including providing privileges, 
which may include set-asides or allocations of harvesting 
privileges, or economic assistance in the purchase of limited 
access privileges;
H. R. 5946—16
‘‘(D) ensure that limited access privilege holders do 
not acquire an excessive share of the total limited access 
privileges in the program by—
‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share, expressed as 
a percentage of the total limited access privileges, that 
a limited access privilege holder is permitted to hold, 
acquire, or use; and 
‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations or measures 
necessary to prevent an inequitable concentration of 
limited access privileges; and 
‘‘(E) authorize limited access privileges to harvest fish 
to be held, acquired, used by, or issued under the system 
to persons who substantially participate in the fishery, 
including in a specific sector of such fishery, as specified 
by the Council. 
‘‘(6) PROGRAM INITIATION.— 
‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
(D), a Council may initiate a fishery management plan 
or amendment to establish a limited access privilege pro-
gram to harvest fish on its own initiative or if the Secretary 
has certified an appropriate petition. 
‘‘(B) PETITION.—A group of fishermen constituting more 
than 50 percent of the permit holders, or holding more 
than 50 percent of the allocation, in the fishery for which 
a limited access privilege program to harvest fish is sought, 
may submit a petition to the Secretary requesting that 
the relevant Council or Councils with authority over the 
fishery be authorized to initiate the development of the 
program. Any such petition shall clearly state the fishery 
to which the limited access privilege program would apply. 
For multispecies permits in the Gulf of Mexico, only those 
participants who have substantially fished the species pro-
posed to be included in the limited access program shall 
be eligible to sign a petition for such a program and shall 
serve as the basis for determining the percentage described 
in the first sentence of this subparagraph. 
‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—Upon the receipt 
of any such petition, the Secretary shall review all of the 
signatures on the petition and, if the Secretary determines 
that the signatures on the petition represent more than 
50 percent of the permit holders, or holders of more than 
50 percent of the allocation in the fishery, as described 
by subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall certify the petition 
to the appropriate Council or Councils. 
‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND AND GULF REFERENDUM.—
‘‘(i) Except as provided in clause (iii) for the Gulf 
of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery, the New 
England and Gulf Councils may not submit, and the 
Secretary may not approve or implement, a fishery 
management plan or amendment that creates an indi-
vidual fishing quota program, including a Secretarial 
plan, unless such a system, as ultimately developed, 
has been approved by more than 2⁄3 of those voting 
in a referendum among eligible permit holders, or other 
persons described in clause (v), with respect to the 
New England Council, and by a majority of those voting 
in the referendum among eligible permit holders with