SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Fishing 
Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Man-
agement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, any term used that is defined in section 
3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) shall have the same 
meaning such term has under that section. 
SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref-
erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
SEC. 4. FLEXIBILITY IN REBUILDING FISH STOCKS. 
(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) (16 
U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
‘‘possible’’ and inserting ‘‘practicable’’; 
(B) by amending subparagraph (A)(ii) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(ii) may not exceed the time the 
stock would be rebuilt without fishing oc-
curring plus one mean generation, except 
in a case in which— 
‘‘(I) the biology of the stock of 
fish, other environmental conditions, 
or management measures under an 
international agreement in which the 
United States participates dictate oth-
erwise; 
‘‘(II) the Secretary determines 
that the cause of the stock being de-
pleted is outside the jurisdiction of the 
Council or the rebuilding program 
cannot be effective only by limiting 
fishing activities; 
‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 
that one or more components of a 
mixed-stock fishery is depleted but 
cannot be rebuilt within that time- 
frame without significant economic 
harm to the fishery, or cannot be re-
built without causing another compo-
nent of the mixed-stock fishery to ap-
proach a depleted status; 
‘‘(IV) the Secretary determines 
that recruitment, distribution, or life
history of, or fishing activities for, the 
stock are affected by informal trans-
boundary agreements under which 
management activities outside the ex-
clusive economic zone by another 
country may hinder conservation and 
management efforts by United States 
fishermen; and 
‘‘(V) the Secretary determines 
that the stock has been affected by 
unusual events that make rebuilding 
within the specified time period im-
probable without significant economic 
harm to fishing communities;’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 
at the end of subparagraph (B), by redesig-
nating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subpara-
graphs (C) and (D), and by inserting after sub-
paragraph (A) the following: 
‘‘(B) take into account environmental con-
dition including predator/prey relationships;’’; 
and 
(D) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated) and in-
serting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(E) specify a schedule for reviewing the 
rebuilding targets, evaluating environmental im-
pacts on rebuilding progress, and evaluating 
progress being made toward reaching rebuilding 
targets.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) A fishery management plan, plan amend-
ment, or proposed regulations may use alternative 
rebuilding strategies, including harvest control rules 
and fishing mortality-rate targets to the extent they 
are in compliance with the requirements of this Act. 
‘‘(9) A Council may terminate the application of 
paragraph (3) to a fishery if the Council’s scientific 
and statistical committee determines and the Sec-
retary concurs that the original determination that 
the fishery was depleted was erroneous, either— 
‘‘(A) within the 2-year period beginning on 
the effective date a fishery management plan, 
plan amendment, or proposed regulation for a 
fishery under this subsection takes effect; or 
‘‘(B) within 90 days after the completion 
of the next stock assessment after such deter-
mination.’’.
(b) EMERGENCY REGULATIONS AND INTERIM MEAS-
URES.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘180 days after’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘provided’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year after the 
date of publication, and may be extended by publication 
in the Federal Register for one additional period of not 
more than 1 year, if’’. 
SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT RE-
QUIREMENT. 
Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) CONSIDERATIONS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO AN-
NUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION OF ECOSYSTEM AND ECO-
NOMIC IMPACTS.—In establishing annual catch lim-
its a Council may, consistent with section 302(h)(6), 
consider changes in an ecosystem and the economic 
needs of the fishing communities. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS
TO
ANNUAL
CATCH
LIMIT 
REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIAL FISHERIES.—Notwith-
standing subsection (h)(6), a Council is not required 
to develop an annual catch limit for— 
‘‘(A) an ecosystem component species; 
‘‘(B) a fishery for a species that has a life 
cycle of approximately 1 year, unless the Sec-
retary has determined the fishery is subject to 
overfishing; or 
‘‘(C) a stock for which— 
‘‘(i) more than half of a single-year 
class will complete their life cycle in less 
than 18 months; and 
‘‘(ii) fishing mortality will have little 
impact on the stock. 
‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO INTERNATIONAL FISH-
ERY EFFORTS.—Each annual catch limit may, con-
sistent with section 302(h)(6), take into account— 
‘‘(A) management measures under inter-
national agreements in which the United States 
participates; 
‘‘(B) informal transboundary agreements 
under which fishery management activities by 
another country outside the exclusive economic 
zone may hinder conservation efforts by United 
States fishermen for a fish species for which 
any of the recruitment, distribution, life history, 
or fishing activities are transboundary; and 
‘‘(C) in instances in which no transbound-
ary agreement exists, activities by another 
country outside the exclusive economic zone 
that may hinder conservation efforts by United
States fisherman for a fish species for which 
any of the recruitment, distribution, life history, 
or fishing activities are transboundary. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION FOR MULTISPECIES COM-
PLEXES AND MULTIYEAR ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.— 
For purposes of subsection (h)(6), a Council may es-
tablish— 
‘‘(A) an annual catch limit for a stock 
complex; or 
‘‘(B) annual catch limits for each year in 
any continuous period that is not more than 
three years in duration. 
‘‘(5) ECOSYSTEM
COMPONENT
SPECIES
DE-
FINED.—In this subsection the term ‘ecosystem com-
ponent species’ means a stock of fish that is a non-
target, incidentally harvested stock of fish in a fish-
ery, or a nontarget, incidentally harvested stock of 
fish that a Council or the Secretary has deter-
mined— 
‘‘(A) is not subject to overfishing, ap-
proaching a depleted condition or depleted; and 
‘‘(B) is not likely to become subject to 
overfishing or depleted in the absence of con-
servation and management measures.’’.
SEC. 6. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN OVERFISHED AND DE-
PLETED. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (34), by striking ‘‘The terms 
‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’ mean’’ and inserting 
‘‘The term ‘overfishing’ means’’; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(8a) The term ‘depleted’ means, with respect 
to a stock of fish or stock complex, that the stock 
or stock complex has a biomass that has declined 
below a level that jeopardizes the capacity of the 
stock or stock complex to produce maximum sustain-
able yield on a continuing basis.’’. 
(b) SUBSTITUTION OF TERM.—The Magnuson-Ste-
vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in the heading of section 304(e), by striking 
‘‘OVERFISHED’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPLETED’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘overfished’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘depleted’’. 
(c) 
CLARITY
IN
ANNUAL
REPORT.—Section 
304(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(1)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: ‘‘The report shall distinguish be-
tween fisheries that are depleted (or approaching that con-
dition) as a result of fishing and fisheries that are depleted 
(or approaching that condition) as a result of factors other 
than fishing. The report shall state, for each fishery iden-
tified as depleted or approaching that condition, whether 
the fishery is the target of directed fishing.’’. 
SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS. 
(a) ADVICE.—Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 
1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Each scientific and statistical committee shall de-
velop such advice in a transparent manner and allow for 
public involvement in the process.’’. 
(b) MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(2) (16 U.S.C. 
1852(i)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) Each Council shall make available on the 
Internet Web site of the Council— 
‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, a Webcast, 
an audio recording, or a live broadcast of each 
meeting of the Council, and of the Council Co-
ordination Committee established under sub-
section (l), that is not closed in accordance with 
paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(ii) audio, video (if the meeting was in 
person or by video conference), or a searchable 
audio or written transcript of each meeting of 
the Council and of the meetings of committees
referred to in section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Coun-
cil by not later than 30 days after the conclu-
sion of the meeting. 
‘‘(H) The Secretary shall maintain and make 
available to the public an archive of Council and sci-
entific and statistical committee meeting audios, vid-
eos, and transcripts made available under clauses (i) 
and (ii) of subparagraph (G).’’. 
(c) FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENTS.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 
1853) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking para-
graph (9) and redesignating paragraphs (10) 
through (15) as paragraphs (9) through (14), 
respectively; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) Any fishery management plan (or fishery 
management plan amendment) prepared by any 
Council or by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 
(a) or (b), or proposed regulations deemed necessary 
pursuant to subsection (c), shall include a fishery 
impact statement which shall assess, specify and 
analyze the likely effects and impact of the proposed 
action on the quality of the human environment.
‘‘(2) The fishery impact statement shall de-
scribe— 
‘‘(A) a purpose of the proposed action; 
‘‘(B) the environmental impact of the pro-
posed action; 
‘‘(C) any adverse environmental effects 
which cannot be avoided should the proposed 
action be implemented; 
‘‘(D) a reasonable range of alternatives to 
the proposed action; 
‘‘(E) the relationship between short-term 
use of fishery resources and the enhancement of 
long-term productivity; 
‘‘(F) the cumulative conservation and man-
agement effects; and 
‘‘(G) economic, and social impacts of the 
proposed action on— 
‘‘(i) participants in the fisheries and 
fishing communities affected by the pro-
posed action; 
‘‘(ii) participants in the fisheries con-
ducted in adjacent areas under the author-
ity of another Council, after consultation 
with such Council and representatives of 
those participants; and
‘‘(iii) the safety of human life at sea, 
including whether and to what extent such 
measures may affect the safety of partici-
pants in the fishery. 
‘‘(3) A substantially complete fishery impact 
statement, which may be in draft form, shall be 
available not less than 14 days before the beginning 
of the meeting at which a Council makes its final de-
cision on the proposal (for plans, plan amendments, 
or proposed regulations prepared by a Council pur-
suant to subsection (a) or (c)). Availability of this 
fishery impact statement will be announced by the 
methods used by the council to disseminate public 
information and the public and relevant government 
agencies will be invited to comment on the fishery 
impact statement. 
‘‘(4) The completed fishery impact statement 
shall accompany the transmittal of a fishery man-
agement plan or plan amendment as specified in sec-
tion 304(a), as well as the transmittal of proposed 
regulations as specified in section 304(b). 
‘‘(5) The Councils shall, subject to approval by 
the Secretary, establish criteria to determine actions 
or classes of action of minor significance regarding 
subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), (E), and (F) of para-
graph (2), for which preparation of a fishery impact 
statement is unnecessary and categorically excluded 
from the requirements of this section, and the docu-
mentation required to establish the exclusion. 
‘‘(6) The Councils shall, subject to approval by 
the Secretary, prepare procedures for compliance 
with this section that provide for timely, clear, and 
concise analysis that is useful to decisionmakers and 
the public, reduce extraneous paperwork and effec-
tively involve the public, including— 
‘‘(A) using Council meetings to determine 
the scope of issues to be addressed and identi-
fying significant issues related to the proposed 
action; 
‘‘(B) integration of the fishery impact 
statement development process with preliminary 
and final Council decisionmaking in a manner 
that provides opportunity for comment from the 
public and relevant government agencies prior 
to these decision points; and 
‘‘(C) providing scientific, technical, and 
legal advice at an early stage of the develop-
ment of the fishery impact statement to ensure 
timely transmittal and Secretarial review of the
proposed 
fishery 
management 
plan, 
plan 
amendment, or regulations to the Secretary. 
‘‘(7) Actions taken in accordance with this sec-
tion are deemed to fulfill the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and all related implementing 
regulations.’’. 
(2) 
EVALUATION
OF
ADEQUACY.—Section 
304(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(a)(2)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of sub-
paragraph (B), striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) evaluate the adequacy of the accom-
panying fishery impact statement as basis for 
fully considering the environmental impacts of 
implementing the fishery management plan or 
plan amendment.’’. 
(3) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—Section 304(b) 
(16 U.S.C. 1854(b)) is amended by striking so much 
as precedes subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the 
Secretary of proposed regulations prepared under
section 303(c), the Secretary shall immediately ini-
tiate an evaluation of the proposed regulations to de-
termine whether they are consistent with the fishery 
management plan, plan amendment, this Act and 
other applicable law. The Secretary shall also imme-
diately initiate an evaluation of the accompanying 
fishery impact statement as a basis for fully consid-
ering the environmental impacts of implementing the 
proposed regulations. Within 15 days of initiating 
such evaluation the Secretary shall make a deter-
mination and—’’. 
(4) EFFECT ON TIME REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
305(e) (16 U.S.C. 1855(e)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),’’ after ‘‘the Regulatory Flexi-
bility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),’’. 
SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON FUTURE CATCH SHARE PROGRAMS. 
(a) CATCH SHARE DEFINED.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 
1802) is amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2a) The term ‘catch share’ means any fishery 
management program that allocates a specific per-
centage of the total allowable catch for a fishery, or 
a specific fishing area, to an individual, cooperative, 
community, processor, representative of a commer-
cial sector, or regional fishery association established 
in accordance with section 303A(c)(4), or other enti-
ty.’’. 
(b) CATCH
SHARE
REFERENDUM
PILOT
PRO-
GRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303A(c)(6)(D) (16 
U.S.C. 1853a(c)(6)(D)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(D) CATCH SHARE REFERENDUM PILOT 
PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(i) The New England, Mid-Atlantic, 
South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Coun-
cils may not submit a fishery management 
plan or amendment that creates a catch 
share program for a fishery, and the Sec-
retary may not approve or implement such 
a plan or amendment submitted by such a 
Council or a secretarial plan or amendment 
under section 304(c) that creates such a 
program, unless the final program has 
been approved, in a referendum in accord-
ance with this subparagraph, by a majority 
of the permit holders eligible to participate 
in the fishery. For multispecies permits in 
the Gulf of Mexico, any permit holder with
landings from within the sector of the fish-
ery being considered for the catch share 
program within the 5-year period pre-
ceding the date of the referendum and still 
active in fishing in the fishery shall be eli-
gible to participate in such a referendum. 
If a catch share program is not approved 
by the requisite number of permit holders, 
it may be revised and submitted for ap-
proval in a subsequent referendum. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may, at the re-
quest of the New England Fishery Man-
agement Council, allow participation in 
such a referendum for a fishery under the 
Council’s authority, by fishing vessel crew-
members who derive a significant portion 
of their livelihood from such fishing. 
‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall conduct a 
referendum under this subparagraph, in-
cluding notifying all permit holders eligible 
to participate in the referendum and mak-
ing available to them— 
‘‘(I) a copy of the proposed pro-
gram;
‘‘(II) an estimate of the costs of 
the program, including costs to par-
ticipants; 
‘‘(III) an estimate of the amount 
of fish or percentage of quota each 
permit holder would be allocated; and 
‘‘(IV) information concerning the 
schedule, procedures, and eligibility 
requirements for the referendum proc-
ess. 
‘‘(iv) For the purposes of this sub-
paragraph, the term ‘permit holder eligible 
to participate’ only includes the holder of 
a permit for a fishery under which fishing 
has occurred in 3 of the 5 years preceding 
a referendum for the fishery, unless sick-
ness, injury, or other unavoidable hardship 
prevented the permit holder from engaging 
in such fishing. 
‘‘(v) The Secretary may not imple-
ment any catch share program for any 
fishery managed exclusively by the Sec-
retary unless first petitioned by a majority 
of those permit holders eligible to partici-
pate in the fishery.’’.
sultation with the Councils, the Secretary shall publish a 
plan for implementing and conducting the program estab-
lished in paragraph (1). Such plan shall identify and de-
scribe critical regional fishery management and research 
needs, possible projects that may address those needs, and 
estimated costs for such projects. The plan shall be revised 
and updated every 5 years, and updated plans shall in-
clude a brief description of projects that were funded in 
the prior 5-year period and the research and management 
needs that were addressed by those projects.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FUNDING’’ 
and inserting ‘‘PRIORITIES’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking all after 
‘‘including’’ and inserting an em dash, followed 
on the next line by the following: 
‘‘(A) the use of fishing vessels or acoustic 
or other marine technology; 
‘‘(B) expanding the use of electronic catch 
reporting programs and technology; and 
‘‘(C) improving monitoring and observer 
coverage through the expanded use of electronic 
monitoring devices.’’.