I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4895
To establish within the National Marine Fisheries Service a pelagic longline
highly migratory species bycatch and mortality reduction research pro-
gram, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 6, 2002
Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To establish within the National Marine Fisheries Service
a pelagic longline highly migratory species bycatch and
mortality reduction research program, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION. 1. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES BYCATCH MOR-
TALITY REDUCTION RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROGRAM.—(1) There is
established within the National Marine Fisheries Service
a pelagic longline highly migratory species bycatch and
mortality reduction research program. The Program shall
be developed by a design team established by the Secretary
of Commerce. The Program design shall be submitted to
the Secretary no later than 120 days after the first meet-
ing of the design team and shall include a statistically sig-
nificant recommendation for the level of observer coverage
on pelagic longline fishing vessels that is necessary to
monitor the fishery effectively and participate in the re-
search program. The design team shall be available as a
resource to the Secretary throughout the research and the
development of the recommendations.
(2) The program shall identify and test a variety of
pelagic longline fishing gear configurations and uses and
determine which of those configurations and uses are the
most effective in reducing highly migratory species mor-
tality. The program shall place an emphasis on deter-
mining the gear configurations and uses that are the most
effective in reducing blue and white marlin mortality in
the exclusive economic zone of the United States in the
Atlantic Ocean. The program shall also include a provision
for observers to be placed on pelagic longline fishing ves-
sels for the purposes of monitoring the fishery and partici-
pating in the research program.
(3) The highly migratory species program shall con-
duct research to determine the impact of existing time and
area closures designed to reduce the bycatch of longline
vessels. The program shall focus on whether existing clo-
sures should be modified to decrease bycatch by longline
vessels and shall determine what adjustments to the exist-
ing boundaries and temporal constraints should be made
as a result of any research. Any vessel participating in
the program shall be provided an observer by the National
Marine Fisheries Service. The full cost of the observer and
any incidental costs to the vessel as a result of being in-
cluded in the research program shall be paid for by the
National Marine Fisheries Service. The National Marine
Fisheries Service may authorize, without notice and com-
ment, scientific research permits authorizing a vessel to
enter and fish in any closed area in the Atlantic Ocean
so long as there is 100 percent observer coverage and the
activities of the vessel are in furtherance of the research
program. Access to any closed area may be granted only
after consideration of the scientific need for access and
the National Marine Fisheries Service s obligation to en-
sure that United States fishermen be allowed to catch any
allocation established by International Convention on the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
(b) DESIGN TEAM.—(1) Knowledgeable members of
the pelagic longline fishing sector, the recreational billfish
and tuna sector, and the conservation community, along
with scientists associated with each such entity, shall be
appointed by the Secretary to the program design team.
Each of the sectors shall to the extent practicable be fairly
represented on the design team. The design team shall not
exceed nine members only one of which may be an em-
ployee of the Federal Government. The design team shall
select a chairman and establish its own rules of operation.
Each member of the design team who is not employed by
the Federal Government shall be compensated in the man-
ner provided for members of a Fishery Management Coun-
cil under section 302(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(d)).
(2) The design team shall not be considered to be
an advisory committee for the purposes of the Federal Ad-
visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), but shall hold its
deliberations in meetings for which prior noticed is pub-
lished in the Federal Register and that are open to the
public.
(c) MID-ATLANTIC CONSERVATION ZONE FOR HIGH-
LY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 304(g) of the Magnu-
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1854(g)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(3) MID-ATLANTIC CONSERVATION ZONE FOR
HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—
‘‘(A) No person shall engage in pelagic
longline fishing in the lower mid-Atlantic Con-
servation Zone or the upper mid-Atlantic Con-
servation Zone in the period beginning July 15
and ending October 1 each year.
‘‘(B) In this paragraph the term ‘lower
mid-Atlantic Conservation Zone’ means the
area that is enclosed by a series of geodesics
connecting in succession the points at the fol-
lowing coordinates:
‘‘(i) 36 degrees 30 minutes north lati-
tude, 75 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(ii) 37 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 75 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(iii) 38 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 74 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(iv) 38 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 73 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(v) 37 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 74 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(vi) 36 degrees 30 minutes north
latitude, 75 degrees 0 minutes west lon-
gitude.
‘‘(C) In this paragraph the term ‘upper
mid-Atlantic Conservation Zone’ means the
area that is enclosed by a series of geodesics
connecting in succession the points at the fol-
lowing coordinates:
‘‘(i) 38 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 74 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(ii) 40 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 72 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(iii) 39 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 72 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(iv) 38 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 73 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(v) 38 degrees 0 minutes north lati-
tude, 74 degrees 0 minutes west longitude.
‘‘(D) This paragraph shall not apply after
the end of the 4-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this paragraph.’’.
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Com-
merce shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate—
(1) an interim report of the findings of the re-
search conducted under this section within two years
after the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) a final report with the necessary regulatory
documents to initiate implementation of any adjust-
ments to time and area closures, gear configura-
tions, or fishing techniques warranted as a result of
the research.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For re-
search under this section there is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary of Commerce $5,000,000 for fis-
cal years 2003 through 2007.
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