IB 
Union Calendar No. 542 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4742 
[Report No. 113–711] 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
to provide flexibility for fishery managers and stability for fishermen, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2014 
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources 
DECEMBER 22, 2014 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 23, 2014] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act to provide flexibility for fishery man-
agers and stability for fishermen, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Strengthening Fishing 
Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Man-
agement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is the following: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY 
CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT 
Sec. 101. Definitions. 
Sec. 102. References. 
Sec. 103. Flexibility in rebuilding fish stocks. 
Sec. 104. Modifications to the annual catch limit requirement. 
Sec. 105. Distinguishing between overfished and depleted. 
Sec. 106. Transparency and public process. 
Sec. 107. Limitation on future catch share programs. 
Sec. 108. Report on fee. 
Sec. 109. Data collection and data confidentiality. 
Sec. 110. Cooperative research and management program. 
Sec. 111. Council jurisdiction for overlapping fisheries. 
Sec. 112. Gulf of Mexico fisheries cooperative research and red snapper manage-
ment. 
Sec. 113. North Pacific fishery management clarification. 
Sec. 114. Ensuring consistent management for fisheries throughout their range. 
Sec. 115. Limitation on harvest in North Pacific directed pollock fishery. 
Sec. 116. Recreational fishing data. 
Sec. 117. Stock assessments used for fisheries managed under Gulf of Mexico 
Council’s Reef Fish Management Plan. 
Sec. 118. Estimation of cost of recovery from fishery resource disaster. 
Sec. 119. Deadline for action on request by Governor for determination regarding 
fishery resource disaster. 
Sec. 120. Prohibition on considering red snapper killed during removal of oil 
rigs. 
Sec. 121. Prohibition on considering fish seized from foreign fishing. 
Sec. 122. Subsistence fishing. 
Sec. 123. Inter-sector trading of commercial catch share allocations in the Gulf 
of Mexico. 
Sec. 124. Authorization of appropriations. 
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TITLE II—REVITALIZING THE ECONOMY OF FISHERIES IN THE 
PACIFIC 
Sec. 201. Short title. 
Sec. 202. Findings; purpose. 
Sec. 203. Refinancing of Pacific Coast groundfish fishing capacity reduction 
loan. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
MAGNUSON-STEVENS 
FISH-
ERY 
CONSERVATION 
AND 
MANAGEMENT ACT 
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 
Any term used in this title that is defined in section 
3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man-
agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) shall have the same meaning 
such term has under that section. 
SEC. 102. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 
an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the reference 
shall be considered to be made to a provision of the Magnu-
son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
SEC. 103. FLEXIBILITY IN REBUILDING FISH STOCKS. 
(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 304(e) (16 
U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
‘‘possible’’ and inserting ‘‘practicable’’; 
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(B) by amending subparagraph (A)(ii) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(ii) may not exceed the time the stock 
would be rebuilt without fishing occurring 
plus one mean generation, except in a case 
in which— 
‘‘(I) the biology of the stock of 
fish, other environmental conditions, or 
management measures under an inter-
national 
agreement 
in 
which 
the 
United States participates dictate oth-
erwise; 
‘‘(II) the Secretary determines 
that the cause of the stock being de-
pleted is outside the jurisdiction of the 
Council or the rebuilding program can-
not be effective only by limiting fishing 
activities; 
‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 
that one or more components of a 
mixed-stock fishery is depleted but can-
not be rebuilt within that time- frame 
without significant economic harm to 
the fishery, or cannot be rebuilt with-
out causing another component of the 
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mixed-stock fishery to approach a de-
pleted status; 
‘‘(IV) the Secretary determines 
that recruitment, distribution, or life 
history of, or fishing activities for, the 
stock are affected by informal trans-
boundary 
agreements 
under 
which 
management activities outside the ex-
clusive economic zone by another coun-
try may hinder conservation and man-
agement efforts by United States fish-
ermen; and 
‘‘(V) the Secretary determines that 
the stock has been affected by unusual 
events that make rebuilding within the 
specified time period improbable with-
out significant economic harm to fish-
ing communities;’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at 
the end of subparagraph (B), by redesignating 
subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs 
(C) and (D), and by inserting after subpara-
graph (A) the following: 
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‘‘(B) take into account environmental con-
dition including predator/prey relationships;’’; 
and 
(D) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (D) (as so redesignated) and insert-
ing ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(E) specify a schedule for reviewing the re-
building targets, evaluating environmental im-
pacts on rebuilding progress, and evaluating 
progress being made toward reaching rebuilding 
targets.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) A fishery management plan, plan amend-
ment, or proposed regulations may use alternative re-
building strategies, including harvest control rules 
and fishing mortality-rate targets to the extent they 
are in compliance with the requirements of this Act. 
‘‘(9) A Council may terminate the application of 
paragraph (3) to a fishery if the Council’s scientific 
and statistical committee determines and the Sec-
retary concurs that the original determination that 
the fishery was depleted was erroneous, either— 
‘‘(A) within the 2-year period beginning on 
the effective date a fishery management plan, 
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plan amendment, or proposed regulation for a 
fishery under this subsection takes effect; or 
‘‘(B) within 90 days after the completion of 
the next stock assessment after such determina-
tion.’’. 
(b) EMERGENCY REGULATIONS AND INTERIM MEAS-
URES.—Section 305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘180 days after’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘provided’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year after the date of 
publication, and may be extended by publication in the 
Federal Register for one additional period of not more than 
1 year, if’’. 
SEC. 104. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT 
REQUIREMENT. 
Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) CONSIDERATIONS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO AN-
NUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION OF ECOSYSTEM AND ECO-
NOMIC IMPACTS.—In establishing annual catch limits 
a Council may, consistent with section 302(h)(6), con-
sider changes in an ecosystem and the economic needs 
of the fishing communities. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS TO ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT RE-
QUIREMENT
FOR
SPECIAL
FISHERIES.—Notwith-
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standing subsection (h)(6), a Council is not required 
to develop an annual catch limit for— 
‘‘(A) an ecosystem component species; 
‘‘(B) a fishery for a species that has a life 
cycle of approximately 1 year, unless the Sec-
retary has determined the fishery is subject to 
overfishing; or 
‘‘(C) a stock for which— 
‘‘(i) more than half of a single-year 
class will complete their life cycle in less 
than 18 months; and 
‘‘(ii) fishing mortality will have little 
impact on the stock. 
‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO INTERNATIONAL FISHERY 
EFFORTS.—Each annual catch limit may, consistent 
with section 302(h)(6), take into account— 
‘‘(A) management measures under inter-
national agreements in which the United States 
participates; 
‘‘(B) informal transboundary agreements 
under which fishery management activities by 
another country outside the exclusive economic 
zone may hinder conservation efforts by United 
States fishermen for a fish species for which any 
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of the recruitment, distribution, life history, or 
fishing activities are transboundary; and 
‘‘(C) in instances in which no transbound-
ary agreement exists, activities by another coun-
try outside the exclusive economic zone that may 
hinder conservation efforts by United States fish-
erman for a fish species for which any of the re-
cruitment, distribution, life history, or fishing 
activities are transboundary. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION FOR MULTISPECIES COM-
PLEXES AND MULTIYEAR ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.— 
For purposes of subsection (h)(6), a Council may es-
tablish— 
‘‘(A) an annual catch limit for a stock com-
plex; or 
‘‘(B) annual catch limits for each year in 
any continuous period that is not more than 
three years in duration. 
‘‘(5) ECOSYSTEM
COMPONENT
SPECIES
DE-
FINED.—In this subsection the term ‘ecosystem com-
ponent species’ means a stock of fish that is a nontar-
get, incidentally harvested stock of fish in a fishery, 
or a nontarget, incidentally harvested stock of fish 
that a Council or the Secretary has determined— 
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‘‘(A) is not subject to overfishing, approach-
ing a depleted condition or depleted; and 
‘‘(B) is not likely to become subject to over-
fishing or depleted in the absence of conservation 
and management measures.’’. 
SEC. 105. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN OVERFISHED AND DE-
PLETED. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (34), by striking ‘‘The terms 
‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’ mean’’ and inserting 
‘‘The term ‘overfishing’ means’’; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(8a) The term ‘depleted’ means, with respect to 
a stock of fish or stock complex, that the stock or stock 
complex has a biomass that has declined below a level 
that jeopardizes the capacity of the stock or stock com-
plex to produce maximum sustainable yield on a con-
tinuing basis.’’. 
(b) SUBSTITUTION OF TERM.—The Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘overfished’’ each place 
it appears and inserting ‘‘depleted’’. 
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(c) CLARITY IN ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 304(e)(1) 
(16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘The report shall distinguish between fisheries 
that are depleted (or approaching that condition) as a re-
sult of fishing and fisheries that are depleted (or approach-
ing that condition) as a result of factors other than fishing. 
The report shall state, for each fishery identified as depleted 
or approaching that condition, whether the fishery is the 
target of directed fishing.’’. 
SEC. 106. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS. 
(a) 
ADVICE.—Section 
302(g)(1)(B) 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Each scientific and statistical committee shall de-
velop such advice in a transparent manner and allow for 
public involvement in the process.’’. 
(b) 
MEETINGS.—Section 
302(i)(2) 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1852(i)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) Each Council shall make available on the 
Internet Web site of the Council— 
‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, a Webcast, an 
audio recording, or a live broadcast of each meet-
ing of the Council, and of the Council Coordina-
tion Committee established under subsection (l), 
that is not closed in accordance with paragraph 
(3); and 
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‘‘(ii) audio, video (if the meeting was in 
person or by video conference), or a searchable 
audio or written transcript of each meeting of 
the Council and of the meetings of committees re-
ferred to in section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Council 
by not later than 30 days after the conclusion of 
the meeting. 
‘‘(H) The Secretary shall maintain and make 
available to the public an archive of Council and sci-
entific and statistical committee meeting audios, vid-
eos, and transcripts made available under clauses (i) 
and (ii) subparagraph (G).’’. 
(c) FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENTS.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 
1853) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph 
(9) and redesignating paragraphs (10) through 
(15) as paragraphs (9) through (14), respec-
tively; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) Any fishery management plan (or fishery 
management plan amendment) prepared by any 
Council or by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 
(a) or (b), or proposed regulations deemed necessary 
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pursuant to subsection (c), shall include a fishery im-
pact statement which shall assess, specify and analyze 
the likely effects and impact of the proposed action on 
the quality of the human environment. 
‘‘(2) The fishery impact statement shall de-
scribe— 
‘‘(A) a purpose of the proposed action; 
‘‘(B) the environmental impact of the pro-
posed action; 
‘‘(C) any adverse environmental effects 
which cannot be avoided should the proposed ac-
tion be implemented; 
‘‘(D) a reasonable range of alternatives to 
the proposed action; 
‘‘(E) the relationship between short-term use 
of fishery resources and the enhancement of long- 
term productivity; 
‘‘(F) the cumulative conservation and man-
agement effects; and 
‘‘(G) economic, and social impacts of the 
proposed action on— 
‘‘(i) participants in the fisheries and 
fishing communities affected by the pro-
posed action; 
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‘‘(ii) participants in the fisheries con-
ducted in adjacent areas under the author-
ity of another Council, after consultation 
with such Council and representatives of 
those participants; and 
‘‘(iii) the safety of human life at sea, 
including whether and to what extent such 
measures may affect the safety of partici-
pants in the fishery. 
‘‘(3) A substantially complete fishery impact 
statement, which may be in draft form, shall be avail-
able not less than 14 days before the beginning of the 
meeting at which a Council makes its final decision 
on the proposal (for plans, plan amendments, or pro-
posed regulations prepared by a Council pursuant to 
subsection (a) or (c)). Availability of this fishery im-
pact statement will be announced by the methods used 
by the council to disseminate public information and 
the public and relevant government agencies will be 
invited to comment on the fishery impact statement. 
‘‘(4) The completed fishery impact statement 
shall accompany the transmittal of a fishery manage-
ment plan or plan amendment as specified in section 
304(a), as well as the transmittal of proposed regula-
tions as specified in section 304(b). 
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‘‘(5) The Councils shall, subject to approval by 
the Secretary, establish criteria to determine actions 
or classes of action of minor significance regarding 
subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), (E), and (F) of para-
graph (2), for which preparation of a fishery impact 
statement is unnecessary and categorically excluded 
from the requirements of this section, and the docu-
mentation required to establish the exclusion. 
‘‘(6) The Councils shall, subject to approval by 
the Secretary, prepare procedures for compliance with 
this section that provide for timely, clear, and concise 
analysis that is useful to decisionmakers and the pub-
lic, reduce extraneous paperwork and effectively in-
volve the public, including— 
‘‘(A) using Council meetings to determine 
the scope of issues to be addressed and identi-
fying significant issues related to the proposed 
action; 
‘‘(B) integration of the fishery impact state-
ment development process with preliminary and 
final Council decisionmaking in a manner that 
provides opportunity for comment from the pub-
lic and relevant government agencies prior to 
these decision points; and 
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‘‘(C) providing scientific, technical, and 
legal advice at an early stage of the development 
of the fishery impact statement to ensure timely 
transmittal and Secretarial review of the pro-
posed fishery management plan, plan amend-
ment, or regulations to the Secretary. 
‘‘(7) Actions taken in accordance with the proce-
dures of this section shall constitute fulfillment of the 
requirements the National Environmental Policy Im-
provement Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and 
all related implementing regulations.’’. 
(2) 
EVALUATION
OF
ADEQUACY.—Section 
304(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(a)(2)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of subpara-
graph (B), striking the period at the end of subpara-
graph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(D) evaluate the adequacy of the accom-
panying fishery impact statement as basis for 
fully considering the environmental impacts of 
implementing the fishery management plan or 
plan amendment.’’. 
(3) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—Section 304(b) 
(16 U.S.C. 1854(b)) is amended by striking so much 
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as precedes subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) Upon transmittal by the Council to the Sec-
retary of proposed regulations prepared under section 
303(c), the Secretary shall immediately initiate an 
evaluation of the proposed regulations to determine 
whether they are consistent with the fishery manage-
ment plan, plan amendment, this Act and other ap-
plicable law. The Secretary shall also immediately 
initiate an evaluation of the accompanying fishery 
impact statement as a basis for fully considering the 
environmental impacts of implementing the proposed 
regulations. Within 15 days of initiating such evalua-
tion the Secretary shall make a determination 
and—’’. 
(4) EFFECT ON TIME REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
305(e) (16 U.S.C. 1855(e)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),’’ after ‘‘the Regulatory Flexi-
bility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)’’. 
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SEC. 107. LIMITATION ON FUTURE CATCH SHARE PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) CATCH SHARE DEFINED.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 
1802) is amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2a) The term ‘catch share’ means any fishery 
management program that allocates a specific per-
centage of the total allowable catch for a fishery, or 
a specific fishing area, to an individual, cooperative, 
community, processor, representative of a commercial 
sector, or regional fishery association established in 
accordance with section 303A(c)(4), or other entity.’’. 
(b) CATCH SHARE REFERENDUM PILOT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 303A(c)(6)(D) (16 
U.S.C. 1853a(c)(6)(D)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(D) CATCH
SHARE
REFERENDUM
PILOT 
PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(i) The New England, Mid-Atlantic, 
South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Councils 
may not submit a fishery management plan 
or amendment that creates a catch share 
program for a fishery, and the Secretary 
may not approve or implement such a plan 
or amendment submitted by such a Council 
or a secretarial plan or amendment under 
section 304(c) that creates such a program, 
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unless the final program has been approved, 
in a referendum in accordance with this 
subparagraph, by a majority of the permit 
holders eligible to participate in the fishery. 
For multispecies permits in the Gulf of 
Mexico, any permit holder with landings 
from within the sector of the fishery being 
considered for the catch share program 
within the 5-year period preceding the date 
of the referendum and still active in fishing 
in the fishery shall be eligible to participate 
in such a referendum. If a catch share pro-
gram is not approved by the requisite num-
ber of permit holders, it may be revised and 
submitted for approval in a subsequent ref-
erendum. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may, at the request 
of the New England Fishery Management 
Council, allow participation in such a ref-
erendum for a fishery under the Council’s 
authority, by fishing vessel crewmembers 
who derive a significant portion of their 
livelihood from such fishing. 
‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall conduct a 
referendum under this subparagraph, in-
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cluding notifying all permit holders eligible 
to participate in the referendum and mak-
ing available to them— 
‘‘(I) a copy of the proposed pro-
gram; 
‘‘(II) an estimate of the costs of 
the program, including costs to partici-
pants; 
‘‘(III) an estimate of the amount 
of fish or percentage of quota each per-
mit holder would be allocated; and 
‘‘(IV) information concerning the 
schedule, procedures, and eligibility re-
quirements for the referendum process. 
‘‘(iv) For the purposes of this subpara-
graph, the term ‘permit holder eligible to 
participate’ only includes the holder of a 
permit for a fishery under which fishing 
has occurred in 3 of the 5 years preceding 
a referendum for the fishery, unless sickness, 
injury, or other unavoidable hardship pre-
vented the permit holder from engaging in 
such fishing. 
‘‘(v) The Secretary may not implement 
any catch share program for any fishery 
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managed exclusively by the Secretary unless 
first petitioned by a majority of those per-
mit holders eligible to participate in the 
fishery.’’. 
(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—The amend-
ment made by paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
catch share program that is submitted to, or proposed 
by, the Secretary of Commerce before the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(3) REGULATIONS.—Before conducting a ref-
erendum under the amendment made by paragraph 
(1), the Secretary of Commerce shall issue regulations 
implementing such amendment after providing an op-
portunity for submission by the public of comments 
on the regulations. 
SEC. 108. REPORT ON FEE. 
Section 304(d)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) The Secretary shall report annually on the 
amount collected under this paragraph from each 
fishery and detail how the funds were spent in the 
prior year on a fishery-by-fishery basis, to— 
‘‘(i) Congress; and 
‘‘(ii) each Council from whose fisheries the 
fee under this paragraph were collected.’’. 
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SEC. 109. DATA COLLECTION AND DATA CONFIDENTIALITY. 
(a) ELECTRONIC MONITORING.— 
(1) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.— 
(A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 
issue regulations governing the use of electronic 
monitoring for the purposes of monitoring fish-
eries that are subject to the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
(B) CONTENT.—The regulations shall— 
(i) distinguish between monitoring for 
data collection and research purposes and 
monitoring for compliance and enforcement 
purposes; and 
(ii) include minimum criteria, objec-
tives, or performance standards for elec-
tronic monitoring. 
(C) PROCESS.—In issuing the regulations 
the Secretary shall— 
(i) consult with the Councils and fish-
ery management commissions; 
(ii) publish the proposed regulations; 
and 
(iii) provide an opportunity for the 
submission by the public of comments on 
the proposed regulations. 
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practices for implementation of State programs 
established pursuant to paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de-
velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 
that details best practices for administering 
State programs pursuant to paragraph (2), and 
provide such guidance to the States. 
‘‘(C) BIENNIAL
REPORT.—The Secretary 
shall submit to the Congress and publish bien-
nial reports that include— 
‘‘(i) the estimated accuracy of the reg-
istry program established under paragraph 
(1) and of State programs that are exempt-
ed under paragraph (2); 
‘‘(ii) priorities for improving rec-
reational fishing data collection; and 
‘‘(iii) an explanation of any use of in-
formation collected by such State programs 
and by the Secretary, including a descrip-
tion of any consideration given to the infor-
mation by the Secretary. 
‘‘(D) STATES GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec-
retary shall make grants to States to improve 
implementation of State programs consistent 
with 
this 
subsection. 
The 
Secretary 
shall 
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section in accordance with subsections (b) through (e) of sec-
tion 312 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a) and sections 53702 
and 53735 of title 46, United States Code. 
(c) LOAN TERM.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
section 
53735(c)(4) of title 46, United States Code, a loan 
under this section shall have a maturity that expires 
at the end of the 45-year period beginning on the date 
of issuance of the loan. 
(2) EXTENSION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 
(1) and if there is an outstanding balance on the loan 
after the period described in paragraph (1), a loan 
under this section shall have a maturity of 45 years 
or until the loan is repaid in full. 
(d) LIMITATION ON FEE AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding 
section 312(d)(2)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(d)(2)(B)), 
the fee established by the Secretary with respect to a loan 
under this section shall not exceed 3 percent of the ex-vessel 
value of the harvest from each fishery for where the loan 
is issued. 
(e) INTEREST RATE.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
section 
53702(b)(2) of title 46, United States Code, the an-
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