‘‘(B) the General Counsel of the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee
of the General Counsel under paragraph (10)(C)(ii))
determines under paragraph (10) that voting by the
member would violate the rules established under
paragraph (8).
‘‘(10)(A) Before any vote held by a Council on any
matter, a voting member of the Council may, at a meeting
of the Council, request the General Counsel of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee of
the General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii)) to deter-
mine whether voting on the matter by the member, or by
any other member of the Council, would violate the rules
established under paragraph (8).
‘‘(B) Upon a request under subparagraph (A) regard-
ing voting on a matter by a member—
‘‘(i) the General Counsel of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (or a designee of the
General Counsel under subparagraph (C)(ii)) shall
determine and state whether the voting would violate
the rules established under paragraph (8), at the
meeting at which the request is made; and
‘‘(ii) no vote on the matter may be held by the
Council before the determination and statement are
made.
‘‘(C) The General Counsel of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration shall—
‘‘(i) attend each meeting of a Council; or
‘‘(ii) designate an individual to attend each
meeting of a Council for purposes of this paragraph.
‘‘(11) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘an
interest that would be significantly affected’ means a per-
sonal financial interest which would be augmented by vot-
ing on the matter and which would only be shared by a
minority of other persons within the same industry sector
or gear group whose activity would be directly affected by
a Council’s action.’’.
(j) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(k)(1)(A)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(k)(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(A) is nominated by the Governor of a State for
appointment as a voting member of a Council in ac-
cordance with subsection (b)(2) or is designated by
the Governor of a State under subsection (b)(1)(A)
and is not an employee of the State; or’’.
SEC. 9. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—
(1) NEW
REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303(a) (16
U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and the
estimated processing capacity of, and the actual
processing capacity utilized by, United States
fish processors,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘the
amount and species of bycatch taken on board a
fishing vessel based on a standardized reporting
methodology established by the Council for that
fishery, and the estimated processing capacity of,
and the actual processing capacity utilized by,
United States fish processors;’’;
(B) by amending paragraph (7) to read as
follows:
‘‘(7) include a description of essential fishery
habitat for a fishery based on the guidelines estab-
lished by the Secretary under section 304(h)(1);’’;
(C) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon at the end;
(D) in paragraph (9) by striking the period
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(10) include a measurable and objective deter-
mination of what constitutes overfishing in that fish-
ery, and a rebuilding program in the case of a plan
for any fishery which the Council or the Secretary has
determined is overfished;
‘‘(11) include conservation and management
measures necessary to minimize bycatch to the maxi-
mum extent practicable;
‘‘(12) to the extent practicable, minimize mortal-
ity caused by economic discards and regulatory dis-
cards in the fishery;
‘‘(13) take into account the safety of human life
at sea; and
‘‘(14) in the case of any plan which under sub-
section (b)(8) requires that observers be carried on
board vessels—
‘‘(A) be fair and equitable to all fishing ves-
sels and fish processing vessels, that are vessels of
the United States and participate in fisheries
covered by the plan;
‘‘(B) be consistent with other applicable
laws;
‘‘(C) take into consideration the operating
requirements of the fishery and the safety of ob-
servers and fishermen; and
‘‘(D) establish a system of fees to pay the
costs of the observer program.’’.
(2) AMENDMENT OF PLANS.—Not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this Act, each
Regional Fishery Management Council established
under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man-
agement Act shall submit to the Secretary of Com-
merce an amendment to each fishery management
plan in effect under that Act to comply with the
amendments made by paragraph (1).
(3) FISH WEIGHING.—By January 1, 1997, the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall re-
quire all fish processors that process fish species under
the management of the Council to weigh those fish to
ensure an accurate measurement of the total harvest
of each species.
(b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DISCRETIONARY PRO-
VISIONS, GENERALLY.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b))
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (8) in the matter preceding the
first semicolon, by striking ‘‘require that observers’’
and inserting ‘‘require that one or more observers’’;
(2) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the
semicolon;
(3) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para-
graph (15); and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(10) assess and specify the effect which con-
servation and management measures of the plan will
have on stocks of fish in the ecosystem of the fishery
which are not part of the fishery;
‘‘(11) include incentives and harvest preferences
within fishing gear groups to promote the avoidance
of bycatch;
‘‘(12) specify gear types allowed to be used in the
fishery and establish a process for evaluating new
gear technology that is proposed to be used in the fish-
ery;
‘‘(13) reserve a portion of the allowable biological
catch of the fishery for use for scientific research pur-
poses;
‘‘(14) establish conservation and management
measures necessary to minimize, to the extent prac-
ticable, adverse impacts on essential fishery habitat
described in the plan under subsection (a)(7) caused
by fishing; and’’.
(c) REQUIREMENT
TO
SUBMIT
FISHERY
IMPACT
STATEMENTS
TO
AFFECTED
STATES
AND
THE
CON-
GRESS.—Section 303 of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva-
tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853), as amended
by section 16(b), is further amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF FISHERY IMPACT STATEMENTS
TO INTERESTED STATES AND THE CONGRESS.—Not later
than the date a fishery management plan prepared by a
Council or the Secretary takes effect under section 304, the
Council or the Secretary, respectively, shall submit the fish-
ery impact statement required in the plan under subsection
(a)(9) to—
‘‘(1) the Governor of each State that might be af-
fected by the plan, who may use information in the
statement to assist persons in applying for loans and
grants for economic relief; and
‘‘(2) the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.’’.
SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MISCELLANEOUS DU-
TIES OF SECRETARY.
(a) SAFETY AT SEA.—Section 304(a)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C.
1854(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘to fishery access’’
and all that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘with
respect to the provisions of sections 303(a)(6) and (13).’’.
(b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.—Section 304(f) (16
U.S.C. 1854(f)) is amended—
(1) by striking the subsection heading and in-
serting the following: ‘‘FISHERIES UNDER AUTHORITY
OF MORE THAN ONE COUNCIL.—’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii) by inserting before
the semicolon the following: ‘‘and the plan develop-
ment team established under paragraph (4)’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)(E), strike ‘‘allocation or
quota’’ each place it appears and insert ‘‘allocation,
quota, or fishing mortality level’’;
(4) in paragraph (3)(F)(ii) by inserting ‘‘and
the plan development team established under para-
graph (4)’’ before the semicolon;
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall establish a plan de-
velopment team for each highly migratory species
fishery over which the Secretary has authority under
paragraph (3)(A), to advise the Secretary on and
participate in the development of each fishery man-
agement plan or amendment to a plan for the fishery
under this subsection.
‘‘(B) The plan development team shall—
‘‘(i) consist of not less than 7 individuals
who are knowledgeable about the fishery for
which the plan or amendment is developed, se-
lected from members of advisory committees and
species working groups appointed under Acts im-
plementing relevant international fishery agree-
ments pertaining to highly migratory species
and from other interested persons;
‘‘(ii) be balanced in its representation of
commercial, recreational, and other interests;
and
‘‘(iii) participate in all aspects of the devel-
opment of the plan or amendment.
‘‘(C) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any plan develop-
ment team established under this paragraph.’’; and
(6) in paragraph (3)(D) by striking clauses (ii)
and (iii) and inserting the following:
‘‘(ii) be fair and equitable in allocating fishing
privileges among United States fishermen and not
have economic allocation as the sole purpose;
‘‘(iii) promote international conservation;
‘‘(iv) minimize the establishment of regulations
that require the discarding of Atlantic highly migra-
tory species which cannot be returned to the sea alive;
and
‘‘(v) promote the implementation of scientific re-
search programs that include to the extent prac-
ticable, the tag, and release of Atlantic highly migra-
tory species.’’.
(c) LIMITED ACCESS.—Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C.
1854(c)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or advisory committee
appointed under laws implementing relevant international
fishery agreements to which the United States is a party’’
before the period at the end.
(d) 
INCIDENTAL
HARVEST
RESEARCH.—Section
304(g) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘3-year’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(4) No later than 12 months after the enactment of
the Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments of
1995, the Secretary shall, in cooperation with affected inter-
ests and based upon the best scientific information avail-
able, complete a program to—
‘‘(A) develop technological devices and other
changes in fishing operations to minimize the inci-
dental mortality of nontargeted fishery resources in
the course of shrimp trawl activity to the extent prac-
ticable from the level of mortality at the date of enact-
ment of the Fishery Conservation and Management
Amendments of 1990;
‘‘(B) evaluate the ecological impacts and the ben-
efits and costs of such devices and changes in fishing
operations; and
‘‘(C) assess whether it is practicable to utilize
those nontargeted fishery resources which are not
avoidable.’’;
(3) in paragraph (6)(B) by striking ‘‘April 1,
1994’’ and inserting ‘‘the submission under para-
graph (5) of the detailed report on the program de-
scribed in paragraph (4)’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(7) Any measure implemented under this Act to re-
duce the incidental mortality of nontargeted fishery re-
sources in the course of shrimp trawl fishing shall apply
to such fishing throughout the range of the nontargeted fish-
ery resource concerned.’’.
(e) ESSENTIAL FISHERY HABITAT; OVERFISHING.—
Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(h) ACTIONS
BY
THE SECRETARY
ON ESSENTIAL
FISHERY HABITAT.—(1) Within one year after the date of
enactment of the Fishery Conservation and Management
Amendments of 1995, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish guidelines to assist the Councils in
the description of essential fishery habitat in fishery
management plans; and
‘‘(B) establish a schedule for the amendment of
fishery management plans to describe essential fish
habitats.
‘‘(2) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary
of the Interior, shall identify the essential fishery habitat
for each fishery for which a fishery management plan is
in effect. The identification shall be based on the description
of essential fishery habitat contained in the plan.
‘‘(3) Each Federal agency shall consult with the Sec-
retary with respect to any action proposed to be authorized,
funded, or carried out by such agency that the head of the
agency has reason to believe, or the Secretary believes, may
result in the destruction or adverse modification of any es-
sential fishery habitat identified by the Secretary under
paragraph (2). If the Secretary finds that the proposed ac-
tion would result in destruction or adverse modifications
of such essential fishery habitat, the Secretary shall com-
ment on and make recommendations to the agency concern-
ing that action.
‘‘(4) Within 15 days after receiving recommendations
from the Secretary under paragraph (3) with respect to a
proposed action, the head of a Federal agency shall provide
a detailed, written response to the Secretary which describes
the measures proposed by the agency to avoid, mitigate, or
offset the adverse impact of the proposed action on the essen-
‘‘(2) If the Council does not submit to the Secretary
before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date
of notification under paragraph (1) a fishery management
plan, or an amendment to the appropriate existing fishery
management plan, which is intended to address overfishing
in the fishery and to establish any necessary rebuilding pro-
gram, then the Secretary shall within 9 months after the
end of that period prepare under subsection (c) a fishery
management plan, or an amendment to an existing man-
agement plan, to end overfishing in the fishery and to estab-
lish any necessary rebuilding program.
‘‘(3) If the Secretary finds that overfishing is occurring
in any fishery for which a fishery management plan pre-
pared by the Secretary is in effect, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) within 1 year act under subsection (c) to
amend the plan to end overfishing in the fishery and
to establish any necessary rebuilding program; and
‘‘(B) in the case of a highly migratory species
fishery, pursue international rebuilding programs.
‘‘(4) Any rebuilding program under this subsection
shall specify the time period within which the fishery is
expected to be rebuilt. The time period shall be as short as
possible, taking into account the biology and natural varia-
bility of the stock of fish, other environmental factors or
conditions which would affect the rebuilding program, and
the needs of the fishing industry. The time period may not
exceed 10 years, except in cases where the biology of the
stock of fish or other environmental factors dictates other-
wise.
‘‘(5) If the Secretary finds that the action of any Fed-
eral agency has caused or contributed to the decline of a
fishery below maximum sustainable yield, the Secretary
shall notify the agency of the Secretary’s finding and rec-
ommend steps that can be taken by the agency to reverse
that decline.
‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary shall review the progress of any
rebuilding program required under this subsection begin-
ning in the third year in which the plan is in effect, and
annually thereafter.
‘‘(B) If the Secretary finds as a result of the review
that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified
goals due to reasons related to the reproductive capacity,
productivity, life span, or natural variability of the fish
species concerned or other environmental conditions or fac-
tors beyond the control of the rebuilding program, the Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(i) reassess the goals of the program;
‘‘(ii) determine, based on the best available sci-
entific information, whether revision to the program
is needed; and
‘‘(iii) if the Secretary determines under clause
(ii) that such revisions are needed, direct the Council
that established the program to make revisions to the
program, or in the case of a program established by
the Secretary, make such revisions.
‘‘(C) If the Secretary finds as a result of the review
that the rebuilding program is not meeting its specified
goals for reasons other than those described in subparagraph
(B), the Secretary shall direct the Council that established
the program to make revisions to the program, or in the
case of a program established by the Secretary, make such
revisions.
‘‘(7)(A) The Secretary shall report annually to the
Congress and the Councils on the status of fisheries within
each Council’s geographic area of authority and identify
those fisheries that are approaching a condition of being
overfished.
‘‘(B) For each fishery that is subject to a fishery man-
agement plan, the status of the fishery shall be determined
for purposes of subparagraph (A) in accordance with the
determination of what constitutes overfishing in the fishery
included in the plan under section 303(a)(10).
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall identify a fishery under sub-
paragraph (A) as approaching a condition of being
overfished if, based on trends in fishing effort, fishery re-
source size, and other appropriate factors, the Secretary de-
termines that the fishery is likely to become overfished with-
in 2 years.
‘‘(D) For any fishery that the Secretary identifies
under subparagraph (A) as approaching the condition of
being overfished, the report shall—
‘‘(i) estimate the time frame within which the
fishery will reach that condition; and
‘‘(ii) make specific recommendations to the ap-
propriate Council regarding actions that should be
taken to prevent that condition from being reached.’’.
(f) ACTION ON CERTAIN IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS
PROPOSED BY COUNCILS.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854)
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(j) ACTION ON COVERED IMPLEMENTING REGULA-
TIONS PROPOSED BY A COUNCIL.—(1) After the receipt date
of a covered implementing regulation submitted by a Coun-
cil, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) immediately commence a review of the cov-
ered implementing regulation to determine whether it
is consistent with the fishery management plan it
would implement, the national standards, the other
provisions of this Act, and any other applicable law;
and
‘‘(B) immediately publish the covered imple-
menting regulation in the Federal Register and pro-
vide a period of not less than 15 days and not more
than 45 days for the submission of comments by the
public.
‘‘(2) Not later than 75 days after the receipt date of
a covered implementing regulation submitted by a Council,
the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) publish a final regulation on the subject
matter of the covered implementing regulation; or
‘‘(B) decline to publish a final regulation.
The Secretary shall provide to the Council in writing an
explanation of the reasons for the Secretary’s action.
‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term—
‘‘(A) ‘receipt date’ means the 5th day after the
day on which a Council submits to the Secretary a
covered implementing regulation that the Council
characterizes as a final covered implementing regula-
tion; and
‘‘(B) ‘covered implementing regulation’—
‘‘(i) means a proposed amendment to exist-
ing regulations implementing a fishery manage-
ment plan in effect under this Act, which does
not have the effect of amending the plan; and
‘‘(ii) does not include any proposed regula-
tion submitted with a plan or amendment to a
plan under section 303(c).’’.
(g) PACIFIC REGION STOCK ASSESSMENT.—Section
304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(k) PACIFIC REGION STOCK ASSESSMENT.—(1) Not
later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Fish-
ery Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995,
the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Pacific Fishery
Management Council and the States of California, Oregon,
and Washington, establish a Pacific Region Scientific Re-
view Group (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Group’)
consisting of representatives of the National Marine Fish-
eries Service, each of the States of California, Oregon, and
Washington, universities located in those States, commer-
cial and recreational fishermen and shore-based processors
located in those States, and environmental organizations.
Individuals appointed to serve on the Group shall be se-
lected from among individuals who are knowledgeable or
experienced in the harvesting, processing, biology, or ecology
of the fish stocks of fish that are managed under the Pacific
Fisheries Management Council Pacific Coast Groundfish
Plan (in this subsection referred to as the ‘covered Pacific
stocks’).