HR 59 IH
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUANCE OF TAG.—The 
regulations shall require— 
‘‘(1) the submission of 100 lionfish for each tag 
issued; 
‘‘(2) that lionfish taken in State waters must be 
taken by an individual holding a valid license to en-
gage in such fishing issued under the laws of such 
State; and 
‘‘(3) that each lionfish shall be submitted by re-
moving the tail, placing it in a resealable plastic bag, 
and submitting such bag to a participating State be-
fore the tail has significantly deteriorated. 
‘‘(c) NO LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF TAGS.—The 
regulations shall not limit the number of tags that may 
be issued to an individual. 
‘‘(d) USE OF TAGS.—The regulations shall provide 
that a tag issued under the regulations— 
‘‘(1) shall be valid for the 5-year period begin-
ning on the date it is issued; 
‘‘(2) shall authorize only the recreational or 
commercial taking of a fish that complies with any 
size limit that otherwise applies to fishing for such 
fish in the waters in which it is taken; 
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‘‘(3) shall authorize such taking without regard 
to any seasonal limitation that otherwise applies to 
the species of fish taken; 
‘‘(4) shall authorize— 
‘‘(A) the transfer of tags to any other per-
son; and 
‘‘(B) use of transferred tags in the same 
manner as such tags may be used by the person 
to whom the tags were issued; 
‘‘(5) shall require that any fish taken under 
such tag outside any seasonal limitation that other-
wise applies to such fish must have the tag fastened 
between the mouth and gill before being placed in 
any cooler; and 
‘‘(6) shall only be utilized for species caught in 
the same water adjacent a State where the lionfish 
were originally caught. 
‘‘(e) APPROVAL OF STATE TO PARTICIPATE.— 
‘‘(1) CONDITIONS.—The regulations shall re-
quire that as a condition of approving a State to 
issue tags under this section the Secretary shall re-
quire the State to designate a repository for lionfish 
submitted for such tags. 
‘‘(2) PROVISION OF FREEZER.—The Secretary 
shall provide to each participating State freezers in 
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which to store submitted lionfish, at a cost of not 
more than $500 for each freezer. 
‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) encourage participating States to use ex-
isting infrastructure and staff or volunteers to con-
duct the State’s program under this section; 
‘‘(2) include on the webpage of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service information about the pro-
gram under this section; and 
‘‘(3) encourage State and local governments to 
work with retailers and distributors to advance the 
purchasing and consumption of lionfish. 
‘‘(g) OTHER PROVISIONS NOT AFFECTED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section— 
‘‘(A) is intended to protect species of fish 
that are native to waters of the United States 
or the exclusive economic zone; and 
‘‘(B) shall not be construed to constrain 
any fishery, fishing quota, or fishing allocation. 
‘‘(2) 
LIMITATION
ON
CONSIDERATION
OF 
TAGS.—This section and tags issued or authorized to 
be issued under this section shall not be considered 
in any determination of fishing levels, quotas, or al-
locations. 
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‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘covered fish’— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), 
means 
red 
snapper, 
gag 
grouper, 
triggerfish, amberjack; and 
‘‘(B) does not include any species included 
in a list of endangered species or threatened 
species under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘participating State’ means a 
State that has applied and been approved by the 
Secretary to issue tags under regulations under this 
section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in the first section of such Act is amended by adding at 
the end of the items relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Sec. 301. Encouraging elimination of lionfish.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 
Commerce shall issue regulations under the amendment 
made by subsection (a) by not later than 60 days after 
the approval of an exempted fishing permit submitted by 
a participating State. 
(d) RESTRICTION.—Nothing in section 321 of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage-
ment Act, as amended by this Act, shall be construed as 
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to allow for the transfer of fisheries allocation or catch 
among the various States. 
Æ 
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