H. R. 5946—21
SEC. 109. WESTERN PACIFIC AND NORTH PACIFIC COMMUNITY 
DEVELOPMENT. 
Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the 
end thereof the following: 
‘‘(j) WESTERN
PACIFIC
AND
NORTHERN
PACIFIC
REGIONAL 
MARINE EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a pilot 
program for regionally-based marine education and training 
programs in the Western Pacific and the Northern Pacific to 
foster understanding, practical use of knowledge (including 
native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, and other Pacific Islander-
based knowledge), and technical expertise relevant to steward-
ship of living marine resources. The Secretary shall, in coopera-
tion with the Western Pacific and the North Pacific Regional 
Fishery Management Councils, regional educational institu-
tions, and local Western Pacific and Northern Pacific commu-
nity training entities, establish programs or projects that will 
improve communication, education, and training on marine 
resource issues throughout the region and increase scientific 
education for marine-related professions among coastal commu-
nity residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Native 
Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and other underrepresented 
groups in the region. 
‘‘(2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program shall—
‘‘(A) include marine science and technology education 
and training programs focused on preparing community 
residents for employment in marine related professions, 
including marine resource conservation and management, 
marine science, marine technology, and maritime oper-
ations; 
‘‘(B) include fisheries and seafood-related training pro-
grams, including programs for fishery observers, seafood 
safety and seafood marketing, focused on increasing the 
involvement of coastal community residents in fishing, 
fishery management, and seafood-related operations; 
‘‘(C) include outreach programs and materials to edu-
cate and inform consumers about the quality and sustain-
ability of wild fish or fish products farmed through respon-
sible aquaculture, particularly in Hawaii, Alaska, the 
Western Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Central 
Pacific; 
‘‘(D) include programs to identify, with the fishing 
industry, methods and technologies that will improve the 
data collection, quality, and reporting and increase the 
sustainability of fishing practices, and to transfer such 
methods and technologies among fisheries sectors and to 
other nations in the Western, Northern, and Central 
Pacific; 
‘‘(E) develop means by which local and traditional 
knowledge (including Pacific islander, Native Hawaiian, 
and Alaskan Native knowledge) can enhance science-based 
management of fishery resources of the region; and 
‘‘(F) develop partnerships with other Western Pacific 
Island and Alaskan agencies, academic institutions, and 
other entities to meet the purposes of this section.’’.
H. R. 5946—22
SEC. 110. SECRETARIAL ACTION ON STATE GROUNDFISH FISHING. 
Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855), as amended by section 109 of 
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following: 
‘‘(k) MULTISPECIES GROUNDFISH.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the date of enact-
ment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary of 
Commerce shall determine whether fishing in State waters—
‘‘(A) without a New England multispecies groundfish 
fishery permit on regulated species within the multispecies 
complex is not consistent with the applicable Federal 
fishery management plan; or 
‘‘(B) without a Federal bottomfish and seamount 
groundfish permit in the Hawaiian archipelago on regu-
lated species within the complex is not consistent with 
the applicable Federal fishery management plan or State 
data are not sufficient to make such a determination. 
‘‘(2) CURE.—If the Secretary makes a determination that 
such actions are not consistent with the plan, the Secretary 
shall, in consultation with the Council, and after notifying 
the affected State, develop and implement measures to cure 
the inconsistency pursuant to section 306(b).’’. 
SEC. 111. JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subsection 
(b)(1)(A)(iv); 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subsection 
(b)(1)(A)(v); 
(3) by inserting after clause (v) of subsection (b)(1)(A) the 
following: 
‘‘(vi) access, directly or indirectly, for enforcement 
purposes any data or information required to be pro-
vided under this title or regulations under this title, 
including data from vessel monitoring systems, sat-
ellite-based maritime distress and safety systems, or 
any similar system, subject to the confidentiality provi-
sions of section 402;’’; 
(4) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (j); and 
(5) by inserting after subsection (g) the following: 
‘‘(h) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of an eligible State may 
apply to the Secretary for execution of a joint enforcement 
agreement with the Secretary that will authorize the deputiza-
tion and funding of State law enforcement officers with marine 
law enforcement responsibilities to perform duties of the Sec-
retary relating to law enforcement provisions under this title 
or any other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary. 
Upon receiving an application meeting the requirements of 
this subsection, the Secretary may enter into a joint enforce-
ment agreement with the requesting State. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible to participate in 
the cooperative enforcement agreements under this section if 
it is in, or bordering on, the Atlantic Ocean (including the 
Caribbean Sea), the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf
H. R. 5946—23
of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the Great 
Lakes. 
‘‘(3) 
REQUIREMENTS.—Joint 
enforcement 
agreements 
executed under paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) shall be consistent with the purposes and intent 
of this section to the extent applicable to the regulated 
activities; 
‘‘(B) may include specifications for joint management 
responsibilities as provided by the first section of Public 
Law 91–412 (15 U.S.C. 1525); and 
‘‘(C) shall provide for confidentiality of data and 
information submitted to the State under section 402. 
‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall include 
in each joint enforcement agreement an allocation of funds 
to assist in management of the agreement. The allocation shall 
be fairly distributed among all eligible States participating 
in cooperative enforcement agreements under this subsection, 
based upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement needs, 
the specific marine conservation enforcement needs of each 
participating eligible State, and the capacity of the State to 
undertake the marine enforcement mission and assist with 
enforcement needs. The agreement may provide for amounts 
to be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any technical 
or other assistance provided to the State by the Secretary 
under the agreement. 
‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this Act, as soon as practicable but no later than 21 months 
after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, 
the Secretary shall implement data-sharing measures to make 
any data required to be provided by this Act from satellite-
based maritime distress and safety systems, vessel monitoring 
systems, or similar systems—
‘‘(A) directly accessible by State enforcement officers 
authorized under subsection (a) of this section; and 
‘‘(B) available to a State management agency involved 
in, or affected by, management of a fishery if the State 
has entered into an agreement with the Secretary under 
section 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act. 
‘‘(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall promptly 
enter into an agreement with a State under section 402(b)(1)(B) 
of this Act if—
‘‘(A) the Attorney General or highest ranking legal 
officer of the State provides a written opinion or certifi-
cation that State law allows the State to maintain the 
confidentiality of information required by Federal law to 
be kept confidential; or 
‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other reasonable assur-
ance that the State can and will protect the identity or 
business of any person to which such information relates.’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Within 15 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the United 
States Coast Guard shall transmit a joint report to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
House of Representatives Committee on Resources containing—
H. R. 5946—24
(1) a cost-to-benefit analysis of the feasibility, value, and 
cost of using vessel monitoring systems, satellite-based mari-
time distress and safety systems, or similar systems for fishery 
management, conservation, enforcement, and safety purposes 
with the Federal government bearing the capital costs of any 
such system; 
(2) an examination of the cumulative impact of existing 
requirements for commercial vessels; 
(3) an examination of whether satellite-based maritime 
distress and safety systems, or similar requirements would 
overlap existing requirements or render them redundant; 
(4) an examination of how data integration from such sys-
tems could be addressed; 
(5) an examination of how to maximize the data-sharing 
opportunities between relevant State and Federal agencies and 
provide specific information on how to develop these opportuni-
ties, including the provision of direct access to satellite-based 
maritime distress and safety system or similar system data 
to State enforcement officers, while considering the need to 
maintain or provide an appropriate level of individual vessel 
confidentiality where practicable; and 
(6) an assessment of how the satellite-based maritime dis-
tress and safety system or similar systems could be developed, 
purchased, and distributed to regulated vessels. 
SEC. 112. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 (16 U.S.C. 1861a) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘measures;’’ in subsection (a)(1)(B) and 
inserting ‘‘measures, including regulatory restrictions (including 
those imposed as a result of judicial action) imposed to protect 
human health or the marine environment;’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’ in subsection 
(a)(4) and inserting ‘‘2007 through 2013.’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘or the Governor of a State for fisheries 
under State authority, may conduct a fishing’’ in subsection 
(b)(1) and inserting ‘‘the Governor of a State for fisheries under 
State authority, or a majority of permit holders in the fishery, 
may conduct a voluntary fishing’’; 
(4) by inserting ‘‘practicable’’ after ‘‘entrants,’’ in subsection 
(b)(1)(B)(i); 
(5) by striking ‘‘cost-effective and’’ in subsection (b)(1)(C) 
and inserting ‘‘cost-effective and, in the instance of a program 
involving an industry fee system, prospectively’’; 
(6) by striking subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(2) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) the owner of a fishing vessel, if the permit authorizing 
the participation of the vessel in the fishery is surrendered 
for permanent revocation and the vessel owner and permit 
holder relinquish any claim associated with the vessel or permit 
that could qualify such owner or holder for any present or 
future limited access system permit in the fishery for which 
the program is established or in any other fishery and such 
vessel is (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the depart-
ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, subjected to 
title restrictions (including loss of the vessel’s fisheries endorse-
ment) that permanently prohibit and effectively prevent its