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(D) the actions taken by the Secretary to address the 
calendar year 2003 National Research Council rec-
ommendations regarding monitoring and research on 
Klamath River Basin salmon stocks. 
(c) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA SALMON FISHERY.—Federally rec-
ognized Indian tribes and small businesses, including fishermen, 
fish processors, and related businesses serving the fishing industry, 
adversely affected by Federal closures and fishing restrictions in 
the Oregon and California 2006 fall Chinook salmon fishery are 
eligible to receive direct assistance under section 312(a) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1861a(a)) and section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fish-
eries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). The Secretary may use no 
more than 4 percent of any monetary assistance to pay for adminis-
trative costs. 
SEC. 114. FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM HURRICANE ASSISTANCE. 
(a) LOAN ASSISTANCE.—Subject to availability of appropriations, 
the Secretary of Commerce shall provide assistance to eligible 
holders of fishery finance program loans and allocate such assist-
ance among eligible holders based upon their outstanding principal 
balances as of December 2, 2005, for any of the following purposes: 
(1) To defer principal payments on the debt for 1 year 
and re-amortize the debt over the remaining term of the loan. 
(2) To allow for an extension of the term of the loan 
for up to 1 year beyond the remaining term of the loan, or 
September 30, 2013, whichever is later. 
(3) To pay the interest costs for such loans over fiscal 
years 2007 through 2013, not to exceed amounts authorized 
under subsection (d). 
(4) To provide opportunities for loan forgiveness, as speci-
fied in subsection (c). 
(b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—Upon application made by an eligible 
holder of a fishery finance program loan, made at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, the Secretary, on a calendar year basis beginning 
in 2005, may, with respect to uninsured losses—
(1) offset against the outstanding balance on the loan an 
amount equal to the sum of the amounts expended by the 
holder during the calendar year to repair or replace covered 
vessels or facilities, or to invest in new fisheries infrastructure 
within or for use within the declared fisheries disaster area; 
or 
(2) cancel the amount of debt equal to 100 hundred percent 
of actual expenditures on eligible repairs, reinvestment, expan-
sion, or new investment in fisheries infrastructure in the dis-
aster region, or repairs to, or replacement of, eligible fishing 
vessels. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) DECLARED
FISHERIES
DISASTER
AREA.—The term 
‘‘declared fisheries disaster area’’ means fisheries located in 
the major disaster area designated by the President under 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricane 
Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 
(2) ELIGIBLE HOLDER.—The term ‘‘eligible holder’’ means 
the holder of a fishery finance program loan if—
H. R. 5946—30
(A) that loan is used to guarantee or finance any fishing 
vessel or fish processing facility home-ported or located 
within the declared fisheries disaster area; and 
(B) the holder makes expenditures to repair or replace 
such covered vessels or facilities, or invests in new fisheries 
infrastructure within or for use within the declared fish-
eries disaster area, to restore such facilities following the 
disaster. 
(3) FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM LOAN.—The term ‘‘fishery 
finance program loan’’ means a loan made or guaranteed under 
the fishery finance program under chapter 537 of title 46, 
United States Code. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for the purposes 
of this section not more than $15,000,000 for each eligible holder 
for the period beginning with fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year 
2013. 
SEC. 115. FISHERIES HURRICANE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish 
an assistance program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial and rec-
reational fishing industry. 
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Under the program, the Secretary 
shall allocate funds appropriated to carry out the program among 
the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas 
in proportion to the percentage of the fishery (including crawfish) 
catch landed by each State before August 29, 2005, except that 
the amount allocated to Florida shall be based exclusively on the 
proportion of such catch landed by the Florida Gulf Coast fishery. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made available to each 
State under the program—
(1) 2 percent shall be retained by the State to be used 
for the distribution of additional payments to fishermen with 
a demonstrated record of compliance with turtle excluder and 
bycatch reduction device regulations; and 
(2) the remainder of the amounts shall be used for—
(A) personal assistance, with priority given to food, 
energy needs, housing assistance, transportation fuel, and 
other urgent needs; 
(B) assistance for small businesses, including fisher-
men, fish processors, and related businesses serving the 
fishing industry; 
(C) domestic product marketing and seafood promotion; 
(D) State seafood testing programs; 
(E) the development of limited entry programs for the 
fishery; 
(F) funding or other incentives to ensure widespread 
and proper use of turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduc-
tion devices in the fishery; and 
(G) voluntary capacity reduction programs for shrimp 
fisheries under limited access programs. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $17,500,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012 to carry out this section.
H. R. 5946—31
SEC. 116. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended 
by section 113 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 316. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 
2006, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Councils and other 
affected interests, and based upon the best scientific information 
available, shall establish a bycatch reduction program, including 
grants, to develop technological devices and other conservation 
engineering changes designed to minimize bycatch, seabird inter-
actions, bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in Federally 
managed fisheries. The program shall—
‘‘(1) be regionally based; 
‘‘(2) be coordinated with projects conducted under the 
cooperative research and management program established 
under this Act; 
‘‘(3) provide information and outreach to fishery partici-
pants that will encourage adoption and use of technologies 
developed under the program; and 
‘‘(4) provide for routine consultation with the Councils in 
order to maximize opportunities to incorporate results of the 
program in Council actions and provide incentives for adoption 
of methods developed under the program in fishery manage-
ment plans developed by the Councils. 
‘‘(b) INCENTIVES.—Any fishery management plan prepared by 
a Council or by the Secretary may establish a system of incentives 
to reduce total bycatch and seabird interactions, amounts, bycatch 
rates, and post-release mortality in fisheries under the Council’s 
or Secretary’s jurisdiction, including—
‘‘(1) measures to incorporate bycatch into quotas, including 
the establishment of collective or individual bycatch quotas; 
‘‘(2) measures to promote the use of gear with verifiable 
and monitored low bycatch and seabird interactions, rates; 
and 
‘‘(3) measures that, based on the best scientific information 
available, will reduce bycatch and seabird interactions, bycatch 
mortality, post-release mortality, or regulatory discards in the 
fishery. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION ON SEABIRD INTERACTIONS.—The Secretary, 
in coordination with the Secretary of Interior, is authorized to 
undertake projects in cooperation with industry to improve informa-
tion and technology to reduce seabird bycatch, including—
‘‘(1) outreach to industry on new technologies and methods; 
‘‘(2) projects to mitigate for seabird mortality; and 
‘‘(3) actions at appropriate international fishery organiza-
tions to reduce seabird interactions in fisheries. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall transmit an annual report 
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
and the House of Representatives Committee on Resources that—
‘‘(1) describes funding provided to implement this section; 
‘‘(2) describes developments in gear technology achieved 
under this section; and
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‘‘(3) describes improvements and reduction in bycatch and 
seabird interactions associated with implementing this section, 
as well as proposals to address remaining bycatch or seabird 
interaction problems.’’. 
(b) CDQ BYCATCH LIMITATIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 305(i) (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)) is 
amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘directed fishing allocation’’ and all 
that follows in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(I), and inserting ‘‘total 
allocation (directed and nontarget combined) of 10.7 percent 
effective January 1, 2008; and’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘directed fishing allocation of 10 per-
cent.’’ in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(II) and inserting ‘‘total alloca-
tion (directed and nontarget combined) of 10.7 percent.’’; 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1)(B)(ii) the following: 
‘‘The total allocation (directed and nontarget combined) 
for a fishery to which subclause (I) or (II) applies 
may not be exceeded.’’; and 
(D) by inserting ‘‘Voluntary transfers by and among 
eligible entities shall be allowed, whether before or after 
harvesting. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this 
subparagraph, seven-tenths of one percent of the total 
allowable catch, guideline harvest level, or other annual 
catch limit, within the amount allocated to the program 
by subclause (I) or subclause (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii), 
shall be allocated among the eligible entities by the panel 
established in subparagraph (G), or allocated by the Sec-
retary based on the nontarget needs of eligible entities 
in the absence of a panel decision.’’ after ‘‘2006.’’ in para-
graph (1)(C). 
(2) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—The allocation percentage in sub-
clause (I) of section 305(i)(1)(B)(ii) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1855(i)(1)(B)(ii)), as amended by paragraph (1) of this sub-
section, shall be in effect in 2007 with respect to any sector 
of a fishery to which such subclause applies and in which 
a fishing cooperative is established in 2007, and such sector’s 
2007 allocation shall be reduced by a pro rata amount to 
accomplish such increased allocation to the program. For pur-
poses of section 305(i)(1) of that Act and of this subsection, 
the term ‘‘fishing cooperative’’ means a fishing cooperative 
whether or not authorized by a fishery management council 
or Federal agency, if a majority of the participants in the 
sector are participants in the fishing cooperative. 
SEC. 117. COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION PROGRAM FOR FISHERY 
AND COASTAL HABITATS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish 
a community-based fishery and coastal habitat restoration program 
to implement and support the restoration of fishery and coastal 
habitats. 
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the program, the 
Secretary may—
(1) provide funding and technical expertise to fishery and 
coastal communities to assist them in restoring fishery and 
coastal habitat;