retary, in exercise of the authority provided to the Sec-
retary under any provision of law. 
SEC. 13. USE OF VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEMS. 
Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, a vessel that uses a bottom trawl in waters 
deeper than 50 meters shall use a Vessel Monitoring Sys-
tem capable of accurately detecting and reporting the posi-
tion of the vessel whenever the vessel leaves port with a 
bottom trawl on board. 
SEC. 14. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any person who is found by 
the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hear-
ing in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States 
Code, to have violated the prohibition set out in section 
7(d) is liable to the United States for a civil penalty under 
section 308 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-
tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858) as if such 
person had committed an act prohibited by section 307 
of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 
(b) CRIMINAL OFFENSES.— 
(1) OFFENSES.—A person is guilty of an of-
fense if the person commits an act prohibited by 
subparagraph (D), (E), (F), (H), (I), or (L) of sec-
tion 307(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1))
in an area designated as a Coral Habitat Conserva-
tion Zone. 
(2) PUNISHMENT.—An offense referred to in 
paragraph (1) is punishable by the punishments set 
out in section 309(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish-
ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1859(b)). 
(c) CIVIL FORFEITURES.—Any fishing vessel (includ-
ing its fishing gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores, and 
cargo) used, and fish (or the fair market value thereof) 
taken or retained, in any manner, in connection with or 
as a result of the commission of a violation of the prohibi-
tion set out in section 7(d) (other than such a violation 
for which the issuance of a citation is sufficient sanction) 
shall be subject to the civil forfeiture provisions set out 
in section 310 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-
tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860). 
(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The provisions of this Act shall 
be enforced by the officers responsible for the enforcement 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man-
agement Act as provided for in subsection (a) of section 
311 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1861). Such officers shall have 
the powers and authorities to enforce this Act as are pro-
vided in such section.
SEC. 15. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR DEEP SEA 
CORALS AND DEEP SEA SPONGES. 
The President is authorized to permit the Secretary, 
in consultation with the Secretary of State, to work with 
appropriate international organizations and foreign na-
tions to develop the data necessary to identify areas lo-
cated in international waters that contain deep sea corals 
or deep sea sponges and to protect such deep sea corals 
or deep sea sponges. 
SEC. 16. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there-
after, the Secretary shall publish and submit to Congress 
a report on the activities undertaken to carry out the pro-
visions of this Act. 
(b) CONTENT.—Each report required by subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) a description of the activities carried out to 
protect and define areas in which the use of bottom 
trawls has traditionally been permitted; 
(2) a description of the activities carried out to 
protect and monitor deep sea corals or deep sea 
sponges; 
(3) a description of any area designated either 
as a Bottom Trawl Zone or a Coral Habitat Con-
servation Zone;
(4) a summary of the research strategy created 
pursuant to section 5; 
(5) a summary of any bycatch or other data 
that indicates the presence of a deep sea coral and 
sponge ecosystem in an area; and 
(6) a summary of geologic structures that indi-
cate the presence of deep sea coral and sponge eco-
systems in an area, as determined by research activi-
ties described in section 5. 
(c) PUBLICATION.—Notice of the availability of each 
report required by this section shall be published in the 
Federal Register. 
SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 
to carry out this Act. 
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