SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Direct Enhancement 
of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel 
Devices Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘DESCEND Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that commercial and rec-
reational fishermen (which, for the purpose of this Act 
shall include charter fishing) for Gulf reef fish are ex-
pected to use a venting tool or a descending device re-
quired for possession under section 3 when releasing fish 
that are exhibiting signs of barotrauma. The Secretary of 
Commerce (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), 
in coordination with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manage-
ment Council, should develop and disseminate to fisher-
men education and outreach materials related to proper 
use of venting tools and descending devices, and strongly 
encourage their use by commercial and recreational fisher-
men when releasing fish that are exhibiting signs of 
barotrauma. 
SEC. 3. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DEVICES. 
(a) REQUIRED GEAR IN THE GULF REEF FISH FISH-
ERY.—Title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DE-
VICES. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRE GEAR IN THE GULF REEF FISH FISH-
ERY.—It shall be unlawful for a person on board a com-
mercial or recreational vessel to fish for Gulf reef fish in 
the Gulf of Mexico Exclusive Economic Zone without pos-
sessing on board the vessel a venting tool or a descending 
device that is rigged and ready for use while fishing is 
occurring. 
‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—No provision of this section 
shall be interpreted to affect any program or activity car-
ried out by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council 
established by the Resources and Ecosystems Sustain-
ability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of 
the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (33 U.S.C. 1321 note), 
or any project contained in an approved Restoration Plan 
developed by any Natural Resources Damage Assessment 
Trustee Implementation Group to reduce post-release 
mortality from barotrauma in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish 
Recreational Fisheries. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DESCENDING
DEVICE.—The term ‘de-
scending device’ means an instrument that— 
‘‘(A) will release fish at a depth sufficient 
for the fish to be able to recover from the ef-
fects of barotrauma;
‘‘(B) is a weighted hook, lip clamp, or box 
that will hold the fish while it is lowered to 
depth, or another device determined to be ap-
propriate by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) is capable of— 
‘‘(i) releasing the fish automatically; 
‘‘(ii) releasing the fish by actions of 
the operator of the device; or 
‘‘(iii) allowing the fish to escape on its 
own. 
‘‘(2) VENTING TOOL.—The term ‘venting tool’ 
has the meaning given to it by the Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council. 
‘‘(3) GULF REEF FISH.—The term ‘Gulf reef 
fish’ means any fish chosen by the Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council that is in the reef 
Fishery Management Plan for the purposes of this 
Act.’’. 
(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 308(a) of the Mag-
nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or section 
321’’ after ‘‘section 307’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Title III of the 
table of contents of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) 
is amended by striking the item relating to section 305 
and all that follows through the end of the items relating 
to such title and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 305. Other requirements and authority. 
‘‘Sec. 306. State jurisdiction. 
‘‘Sec. 307. Prohibited acts. 
‘‘Sec. 308. Civil penalties and permit sanctions. 
‘‘Sec. 309. Criminal offenses. 
‘‘Sec. 310. Civil forfeitures. 
‘‘Sec. 311. Enforcement. 
‘‘Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries. 
‘‘Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation. 
‘‘Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program. 
‘‘Sec. 315. Regional Coastal Disaster Assistance, Transition, and Recovery Pro-
gram. 
‘‘Sec. 316. Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. 
‘‘Sec. 317. Shark Feeding. 
‘‘Sec. 318. Cooperative Research and Management Program. 
‘‘Sec. 319. Herring Study. 
‘‘Sec. 320. Restoration Study. 
‘‘Sec. 321. Required possession of descending devices.’’. 
(e) SUNSET.—Five years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) in the table of contents, by striking the item 
relating to section 321; 
(2) in section 308(a), by striking ‘‘or section 
321’’; and 
(3) by striking section 321.
SEC. 4. IMPROVING DISCARD MORTALITY DATA. 
(a) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter 
into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 
to conduct a study and produce a report on discard mor-
tality in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries. The study 
shall include— 
(1) assessment of gaps and biases in reporting 
of discards and associated discard mortality; 
(2) assessment of uncertainty and likely im-
pacts of such uncertainty in discard mortality; 
(3) assessment of the effectiveness and usage 
rates of barotrauma-reducing devices; 
(4) recommendations for future research prior-
ities; and 
(5) recommendations for standardized reporting 
and quantification of discards in the same metric as 
landings for fisheries under the Gulf of Mexico Reef 
Fish Fishery Management Plan. 
(b) DEADLINES.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the National Academy 
of Sciences shall complete the study required under sub-
section (a) and transmit the final report to the Secretary. 
Not later than 3 months after receiving the study and re-
port in accordance with this subsection, the Secretary 
shall submit the study and report to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(c) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the Secretary 
receives the study and report required under subsection 
(a), Secretary and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manage-
ment Council shall develop— 
(1) guidance for minimum standards for quan-
tifying and reporting discards and associated mor-
tality in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Man-
agement Plan; and 
(2) a plan to assess and monitor the effective-
ness and usage of barotrauma-reducing devices and 
the impact on discard mortality rates in Gulf of 
Mexico reef fish fisheries. 
(d) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after developing minimum standards and developing the 
assessment and monitoring plan under subsection (c), the 
Secretary shall provide a detailed report on implementa-
tion to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-
portation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010,
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5126 
AN ACT 
To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to 
use certain descending devices, and for other 
purposes.