‘‘(3) COSTS.—The court, in issuing any final
order in any suit brought pursuant to paragraph
(1), may award costs of litigation, including reason-
able attorney and expert witness fees, to any party
if the court determines such award is appropriate.
‘‘(4) OTHER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this section
shall restrict or expand any right which any person
(or class of persons) may have under any statute or
common law to seek enforcement of any requirement
or to seek any other relief.
‘‘(5) INTERVENTION.—In any action under this
section, any person may intervene as a matter of
right if such person has a direct interest which is or
may be adversely affected by the action and the dis-
position of the action may, as a practical matter, im-
pair or impede the person’s ability to protect that in-
terest, unless the United States or another party
shows that the person’s interest is adequately rep-
resented by existing parties in the action.’’.
(d) CITIZEN PETITIONS.—Section 305 (16 U.S.C.
1855) is further amended by adding after subsection (g),
as added by subsection (c) of this section, the following
new subsection:
‘‘(h) CITIZEN PETITIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any interested person may
petition the Secretary at any time to make any find-
ing or determination, or take any other action au-
thorized by this Act. The petition shall include such
substantial information as may be necessary to dem-
onstrate the need for the action requested by the pe-
tition.
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION
AND
RULING.—To the
maximum extent practicable, within 90 days after
receiving the petition of an interested person to
make a finding or determination, or take any other
action authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall
make a ruling as to whether the petition presents
substantial information indicating that the peti-
tioned action may be warranted. The Secretary shall
promptly publish such ruling in the Federal Register
and, if the petition is found to present such informa-
tion, the Secretary shall undertake to make a find-
ing or determination, or take any other action au-
thorized by the relevant provisions of this Act.’’.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE
ATLANTIC 
TUNAS 
CONVEN-
TION ACT
SEC. 201. REGARDING HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.
(a) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 3(a) of
the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C.
971a(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking the 2d and 3rd
sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘The Director
of the National Marine Fisheries Service or his or
her designee shall be one of the Commissioners, and
the other 2 Commissioners shall be appointed by and
serve at the pleasure of the President. A Commis-
sioner who is appointed by the President may not be
a salaried employee of a State, a political subdivision
of a State, or the Federal Government.’’;
(2) by adding at the end the following new sen-
tence: ‘‘No Commissioner shall be an individual with
a financial interest or serving as an officer, director,
trustee, partner, or employee with an organization
that has a financial interest in any catching, har-
vesting, processing, or marketing activity that is un-
dertaken within any fishery over which the Commis-
sion has jurisdiction.’’; and
(3) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating
paragraph (3) as (2).
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 6(c)(3) of the Atlan-
tic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971d(c)(3))
is amended in the matter following subparagraph (K) by
striking ‘‘or decreasing’’.
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