‘‘(C) The mean generation time of the 
stock. 
‘‘(9) In this subsection the term ‘on a positive 
rebuilding trend’ means that the biomass of the 
stock of fish has shown a substantial increase in 
abundance since the implementation of the rebuild-
ing plan.’’. 
SEC. 4. DEADLINE FOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS. 
Section 312(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a) is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 
(C), respectively, as clauses (i) through (iii); and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) When acting on the request of the Governor of 
an affected State or a fishing community, the Secretary 
shall make the determination not later than 60 days after 
the date on which the Secretary receives the request.’’. 
SEC. 5. APPROVAL OF LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) INITIATION BY ELIGIBLE FISHERMEN.—Section 
303A(c)(6)(D) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)(6)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(D) 
NEW
ENGLAND, 
MID-ATLANTIC, 
SOUTH ATLANTIC, AND GULF INITIATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 
fishery under the authority of the New 
England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, or 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Coun-
cil, a fishery management plan or an 
amendment to a fishery management plan 
that would establish a limited access privi-
lege program to harvest fish may not take 
effect unless— 
‘‘(I) a petition requesting devel-
opment of such a program is sub-
mitted in accordance with clause (ii) 
and certified under clause (iii); and 
‘‘(II) 
the 
proposed 
plan 
or 
amendment has been approved by a 
vote of two-thirds of eligible fishermen 
in the fishery for which the program 
would be established. 
‘‘(ii) PETITION.—A group of fisher-
men constituting more than 50 percent of 
eligible fishermen in a fishery may submit 
a petition to the Secretary requesting the 
development of a limited access privilege 
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program for the fishery. Any such petition 
shall clearly state the fishery to which the 
limited access privilege program would 
apply. 
‘‘(iii) 
CERTIFICATION
BY
SEC-
RETARY.—Upon the receipt of any such 
petition, the Secretary shall review all of 
the signatures on the petition and, if the 
Secretary determines that the signatures 
on the petition are those of more than 50 
percent of eligible fishermen in the fishery 
for which the program would be estab-
lished, the Secretary shall certify the peti-
tion. 
‘‘(iv) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE FISH-
ERMEN.—For purposes of this subpara-
graph, the term ‘eligible fishermen’ means 
holders of permits issued under a fishery 
management plan.’’. 
(b) TERMINATION AFTER FIVE YEARS.—Section 
303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) TERMINATION.—A limited access privilege pro-
gram for a fishery under the authority of the New Eng-
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land, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, or Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council shall terminate at the end 
of the five-year period beginning on the date that the pro-
gram is established unless at least two-thirds of eligible 
fishermen (as defined in subsection (c)(6)) in the fishery 
to which the program applies approve the continuation of 
the program.’’. 
SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR FISHERY CLOSURE. 
(a) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) CERTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—Section 
303 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR FISHERY CLO-
SURE.—(1) The Secretary may not implement a closure 
of a fishery that would have a direct or indirect affect of 
at least $50,000 on each of more than 25 small businesses 
that do business related to the recreational, charter, or 
commercial fishing industries involved in the fishery being 
closed, unless the Secretary certifies that— 
‘‘(A) the closure is the only option avail-
able for maintaining the fishery at a sustainable 
level; 
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‘‘(B) the stock assessment for the fishery 
has been updated and peer reviewed within the 
preceding 3-year period; and 
‘‘(C) the stock assessment was developed 
using at least 2 models that were subjected to 
outside peer review by non-governmental enti-
ties prior to such use. 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘small business’ 
means any business that has had gross revenues of less 
than $500,000 per year for a minimum of three years.’’. 
(2) APPLICATION
TO
EXISTING
CLOSURES.— 
The Secretary shall— 
(A) review any fishery closure for which 
notice was published in the Federal Register 
within the 2-year period preceding the date of 
enactment of this Act, and— 
(i) within the 60-day period beginning 
on such date of enactment, make the cer-
tification described in the amendment 
made by subsection (a)(1) with respect to 
such closure; or 
(ii) within the 90-day period begin-
ning on such date of enactment, review 
and implement options other than closure 
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for maintaining the fishery at a sustainable 
level; 
(B) review the effects of each such closure 
on coastal communities, including— 
(i) the direct and indirect impact of 
the closure on all affected small businesses 
in such communities; 
(ii) the job losses as a result of the 
closure that have already occurred in such 
communities; and 
(iii) the job losses as a result of the 
closure that are expected to occur in such 
communities within the 1-year period be-
ginning on the date the review is initiated; 
and 
(C) report to Congress on the actions 
taken under the amendment made by sub-
section (a)(1) or this paragraph for each such 
closure. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall re-
port to Congress by not later than 120 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act on— 
(1) the number of fishery closures that were es-
tablished within the 5-year period preceding such 
date of enactment; 
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(2) the reason for each such closure; 
(3) the duration of each such closure; 
(4) the impact of each such closure on coastal 
communities; and 
(5) the expected duration of each such closure. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) FISHERY.—The term ‘‘fishery’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 3 of the Magnu-
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1802). 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi-
ness’’ means any business that has had gross reve-
nues of less than $500,000 per year for a minimum 
of three years. 
Æ 
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