103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2134
AN ACT
To 
improve 
the 
conservation 
and 
management 
of
interjurisdictional fisheries along the Atlantic coast by
providing for greater cooperation among the States in
implementing conservation and management programs,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Atlantic Coastal Fish-
eries Cooperative Management Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 
2. 
STATE-FEDERAL 
COOPERATION 
IN 
ATLANTIC
COASTAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.
(a) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR STATE COASTAL FISH-
ERIES PROGRAMS.—The Secretaries shall develop and im-
plement a program to support the fisheries management
programs of the Commission. The program shall include
elements to support and enhance State cooperation in—
(1) collection, management, and analysis of
fisheries data;
(2) law enforcement;
(3) habitat conservation;
(4) fisheries research, including biological and
socioeconomic research; and
(5) fishery management planning.
(b) FEDERAL REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO AN AT-
LANTIC OCEAN FISHERY COVERED BY AN INTERSTATE
FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, after con-
sultation with the Councils having jurisdiction over
fisheries to which an interstate fishery management
plan applies, may prescribe regulations to govern
fishing in the exclusive economic zone that are nec-
essary to support the effective implementation of the
interstate fishery management plan adopted for a
fishery for which no Federal fishery management
plan is in effect. These regulations may include
measures recommended by the Commission that are
necessary to support the provisions of the interstate
fishery management plan for that fishery.
(2) SUPERSEDING REGULATIONS.—Regulations
issued by the Secretary to implement a Federal fish-
ery management plan for a fishery shall supersede
regulations issued by the Secretary under this sec-
tion for that fishery.
(3) ENFORCEMENT.—The provisions of sections
307, 308, 309, 310, and 311 of the Magnuson Fish-
ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861) regarding pro-
hibited acts, civil penalties, criminal offenses, civil
forfeitures, and enforcement shall apply with respect
to regulations prescribed under this section.
SEC. 3. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERSTATE
FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) ADOPTION OF PLANS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pre-
pare and adopt fishery management plans or amend-
ments to fishery management plans in accordance
with this section to provide for the conservation and
management of coastal fishery resources.
(2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing a fishery
management plan or amendment, the Commission
shall consult with the appropriate Councils to deter-
mine ways Federal fishery management plans and
interstate fishery management plans may com-
plement each other.
(3) CONTENTS.—Each fishery management
plan or amendment prepared under this subsection
shall—
(A) contain information regarding the sta-
tus of the coastal fishery resources and fisheries
covered by the plan or amendment;
(B) identify each State that is required to
implement and enforce the plan or amendment;
(C) specify actions to be taken by States to
implement and comply with the plan or amend-
ment; and
(D) recommend actions for the Secretary
to take in the exclusive economic zone to con-
serve and manage the fishery resources and
fisheries covered by the plan or amendment.
(4) TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND
ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a State that is identified in
an interstate fishery management plan pursu-
ant to paragraph (3)(B) shall implement and
enforce the plan within the time established in
the plan.
(B) EXISTING PLANS.—Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Commission shall develop a schedule
for States to implement and enforce of inter-
state fishery management plans adopted by the
Commission before the date of the enactment of
this Act. The schedule shall require each State
with a declared interest in a plan to implement
and enforce that plan within 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(5) ADOPTION
OF
STANDARDS
AND
PROCE-
DURES
FOR
THE
PREPARATION
OF
INTERSTATE
FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Within 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission
shall establish standards and procedures to govern
the preparation of interstate fishery management
plans under this Act, including standards and proce-
dures to ensure that—
(A) such plans promote the conservation of
fish stocks throughout their ranges and are
based on the best scientific information avail-
able, and
(B) the Commission provides adequate op-
portunity for public participation in the plan
preparation process.’’.
(b) COMMISSION MONITORING OF STATE IMPLEMEN-
TATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—Within 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act and at least annually
thereafter, the Commission shall—
(1) review each interstate fishery management
plan and determine whether each State which has
declared an interest in the plan, or that is required
under the plan to implement and enforce the plan,
has implemented and enforced the plan; and
(2) submit a report on the results of that re-
view to the Secretaries.
SEC. 4. STATE NONCOMPLIANCE WITH INTERSTATE FISH-
ERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) DETERMINATION.—The Commission shall deter-
mine that a State is not in compliance with an interstate
fishery management plan if it finds that the State has not
implemented and enforced the plan within the period es-
tablished under section 3(a)(4).
(b) NOTIFICATION.—If the Commission determines
under subsection (a) that a State is not in compliance with
an interstate fishery management plan, the Commission
shall notify the Secretaries of that determination within
(2) the measures which the State has failed to
implement and enforce are necessary to conserve and
manage the fishery in question; and
(3) in the case of an interstate fishery manage-
ment plan adopted after January 1, 1995, the plan
in question was prepared under the standards and
procedures required to be established by the Com-
mission under section 3(a)(5).
(b) COMMENTS.—In making a determination under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
(1) give careful consideration to the comments
of the State that the Commission has determined
under section 4(a) is not in compliance with an
interstate fishery management plan, and provide
that State, upon request, the opportunity to meet
with and present its comments directly to the Sec-
retary; and
(2) solicit, review, and consider the comments
of the Commission and the appropriate councils.
(c) DECLARATION OF MORATORIUM.—On determin-
ing under subsection (a) that a State has failed to imple-
ment and enforce an interstate fishery management plan,
the Secretary shall declare a moratorium on fishing for
the species covered by the plan within the waters of that
State. The Secretary shall establish the effective date of
the moratorium to commence at any time within 6 months
following the declaration.
(d) SUSPENSION OF MORATORIUM.—On notification
by the Commission under section 4(c) that a State is in
compliance with an interstate fishery management plan,
the Secretary shall terminate the moratorium declared
under subsection (c) affecting fish species covered by that
plan.
(e) REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe regulations necessary to implement this Act.
(2) CONTENT.—These regulations—
(A) may provide for the possession and use
of fish which have been produced in an aqua-
culture operation, subject to applicable State
regulations; and
(B) shall allow for the retention of fish
that are subject to a moratorium declared
under subsection (c) and unavoidably taken as
incidental catch in fisheries directed toward
menhaden, if—
(i) discarding the retained fish is im-
practicable;
(ii) the retained fish do not constitute
a significant portion of the catch of the
vessel; and
(iii) the retention of the fish will not,
in the judgment of the Secretary, adversely
affect the conservation of the species of
fish retained.
(f) PROHIBITED ACTS DURING MORATORIUM.—Dur-
ing a moratorium a person may not—
(1) engage in fishing for a species of fish sub-
ject to a moratorium within waters of the State sub-
ject to the moratorium;
(2) land, attempt to land, or possess fish that
are caught, taken, or harvested in violation of the
moratorium, this Act, or any regulation promulgated
under this Act;
(3) fail to return to the water immediately, with
a minimum of injury, any fish subject to a morato-
rium taken in waters of a State under a moratorium
incidental to fishing for species other than those to
which the moratorium applies, except as provided by
regulations prescribed under subsection (e);
(4) land, within a State that is subject to a
moratorium, any fish subject to a moratorium, re-
gardless of where it was caught;
(5) refuse to permit an authorized officer to
board a fishing vessel to conduct a search or inspec-
tion in connection with the enforcement of this Act;
(6) forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, in-
timidate, or interfere with an authorized officer at-
tempting to conduct a search or inspection under
this Act;
(7) resist a lawful arrest for an act prohibited
by this section;
(8) ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase,
import, or have custody, control, or possession of,
fish taken or possessed in violation of this Act; or
(9) interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any
means, the apprehension or arrest of a person,
knowing that person has committed any act prohib-
ited by this section.
(g) PENALTIES.—
(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person violating sub-
section (f) of this section shall be liable to the
United States for a civil penalty as provided by sec-
tion 308 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858). Subsections (b)
through (e) of section 308 of the Magnuson Fishery
Conservation and Management Act apply to persons
assessed a penalty under this paragraph.
(2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person violating
subsection (f)(5), (6), (7), or (9) is guilty of an of-
fense punishable under subsections (a)(1) and (b) of
section 309 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1859).
(h) CIVIL FORFEITURES.—
(1) FORFEITURE.—A vessel (including its gear,
equipment, appurtenances, stores, and cargo) used
in connection with an act unlawful under subsection
(f), and any fish (or the fair market value thereof)
taken or retained, in any manner, in connection
with, or the result of, the commission of an act pro-
hibited under subsection (f), shall be subject to for-
feiture to the United States as provided in section
310 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).
(2) DISPOSAL OF FISH.—Any fish seized pursu-
ant to this Act may be disposed of under an order
of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if perishable,
in a manner provided by regulation prescribed by
the Secretary.
(i) ENFORCEMENT.—A moratorium declared under
subsection (c) shall be enforced by the Secretaries and the
Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard
is operating, as provided in section 311 of the Magnuson
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1861 et seq.). The Secretaries may, by agreement, on a
reimbursable basis or otherwise, use the personnel, serv-
ices, equipment (including aircraft and vessels), and facili-
ties of any other Federal department or agency and of
any agency of a State in carrying out that enforcement.
SEC. 6. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
The Secretaries may provide financial assistance to
the Commission and to the States to carry out their re-
spective responsibilities under this Act, including—
(1) the preparation, implementation, and en-
forcement of interstate fishery management plans;
and
(2) State activities that are specifically required
in interstate fishery management plans.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the term—
(1) ‘‘coastal fishery resource’’ means any spe-
cies of fish that move among, or are broadly distrib-
uted across—
(A) waters under the jurisdiction of 2 or
more States that border the Atlantic Ocean; or
(B) waters under the jurisdiction of any
State that borders the Atlantic Ocean and wa-
ters of the exclusive economic zone;
(2) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission constituted under the
interstate compact consented to and approved by the
Congress in the Acts of May 4, 1942 (56 Stat. 267),
and August 19, 1950 (64 Stat. 467);
(3) ‘‘Councils’’ means the Regional Fishery
Management Councils established under section 302
of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852) with jurisdiction over
fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean;
(4) ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means that por-
tion in the Atlantic Ocean of the exclusive economic
zone established by Presidential Proclamation Num-
ber 5030, dated March 10, 1983;
(5) ‘‘Federal Fishery management plan’’ means
a fishery management plan prepared by a Council or
the Secretary under the Magnuson Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.);
(6) ‘‘fish’’ means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans,
and all other forms of marine animal life other than
marine mammals and birds;
(7) ‘‘fishery’’ has the meaning given that term
in section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802);
(8) ‘‘fishing’’ has the meaning given that term
in section 3 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802);
(9) ‘‘implement and enforce’’ means the enact-
ment or adoption laws, regulations, or rules as re-
quired to—
(A) comply with the provisions of an inter-
state fishery management plan; and
(B) assure compliance with such laws, reg-
ulations, or rules by persons participating in a
fishery that is subject to such plans;
(10) ‘‘interstate fishery management plan’’
means—
(A) a fishery management plan or amend-
ment adopted by the Commission under section
3; or
(B) a fishery management plan or amend-
ment for managing a coastal fishery resource
adopted by the Commission before the date of
the enactment of this Act;
(11) ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Secretary of
Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior;
(12) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com-
merce; and
(13) ‘‘State’’ means each of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, the District of Columbia, and the
Potomac River Fisheries Commission.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retaries for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of
this Act $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994,
1995, and 1996.
Passed the House of Representatives August 2,
1993.
Attest:
Clerk.
HR 2134 EH——2