(C) open meetings; and 
(D) public access to documents created by 
the National Task Force. 
(d) GUIDANCE DEVELOPMENT.— 
(1) Not later than the end of the 9-month pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the National Task Force shall transmit to the 
Secretary guidance for the development of Sustain-
able Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Manage-
ment Plan under section 135. 
(2) The National Task Force shall develop such 
guidance through a multistakeholder, collaborative 
process, using independent third party neutral facili-
tation assistance provided through the United States 
Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. 
(3) If the National Task Force fails to develop 
such guidance in accordance with this section, the 
Secretary shall issue Sustainable Fishery Vision, Im-
plementation, and Management Plan guidance with-
in 45 days after the end of the period referred to in 
paragraph (1). 
(4) The Secretary, in coordination with the Na-
tional Task Force, shall periodically review and re-
vise, as appropriate, guidance issued under this sub-
section. 
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SEC. 135. SUSTAINABLE FISHERY VISION, IMPLEMENTA-
TION, AND MANAGEMENT PLANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Council, and the Secretary 
with respect to any Atlantic highly migratory species, may 
issue a Sustainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, and 
Management Plan for any fishery (or combination of fish-
eries, as appropriate) that is under its jurisdiction. 
(b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each plan issued under this 
section— 
(A) shall be issued in accordance with the 
guidance issued under section 134(d); and 
(B) shall create a long-term vision and im-
plementation plan for the sustainable operation 
of each fishery to which it applies. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing such a 
plan, the Council (or the Secretary) shall consider— 
(A) the impact of the plan on affected 
communities; 
(B) effective resource conservation; and 
(C) economic considerations. 
(c) TASK FORCES ON SUSTAINABLE FISHERY VI-
SION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MANAGEMENT.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each Council, and the 
Secretary with respect to any Atlantic highly migra-
tory species— 
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(A) may establish a Task Force on Sus-
tainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, and 
Management to develop a Sustainable Fishery 
Vision, Implementation, and Management Plan; 
and 
(B) in establishing such task force, shall 
specify a timeframe for development of such 
plan by the task force. 
(2) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 
(A) assess the level of fleet capacity for 
each fishery for which it is appointed; 
(B) identify the consequences of inaction 
in reducing overfishing in each such fishery; 
(C) identify a vision for fleet composition 
and participation in each such fishery after it is 
rebuilt, taking into account long-term resource 
conservation needs and communities; 
(D) assess and prioritize management 
measures to implement the vision; 
(E) develop a Sustainable Fishery Vision, 
Implementation, and Management Plan to 
achieve the vision and implement such meas-
ures; and 
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100 
(F) determine the economic, social, and re-
source costs and benefits for the measures in-
cluded in the plan. 
(3) COMPOSITION.—Members of the task force 
shall— 
(A) include appropriate agency leadership 
and staff, and Council members and staff; 
(B) consist of members who have authority 
to act effectively in making decisions, as mem-
bers of the task force, on behalf of the agency 
or interests they represent; 
(C) be selected to ensure balanced inclu-
sion of affected and concerned interests; and 
(D) as a condition of appointment to the 
task force, be required to confirm their willing-
ness to commit to the generally accepted prin-
ciples of engagement in collaborative problem 
solving, and to participate in good faith with an 
open mind to considering new perspectives. 
(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The task force shall select 
a Chairperson from among its members. The Chair-
person shall guide the work of the task force, work-
ing with an independent facilitator or mediator to 
facilitate development of a consensus for a Sustain-
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101 
able Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Manage-
ment Plan. 
(5) OPERATIONS.—The task force shall operate 
in accordance with the guidance issued under section 
134(d). 
(6) SUPPORT.— 
(A) SUPPORT BY SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall support the task force by providing 
relevant information requested by the task 
force. 
(B) EXPERTS
AND
CONSULTANTS.—The 
Chairperson of a task force may procure serv-
ices of independent facilitators and mediators, 
and other experts, as the Chairperson considers 
advisable to carry out the duties of the task 
force. 
(7) REPORT.—The task force shall submit a re-
port to the Council according to the timeframe speci-
fied by the Council under paragraph (1)(B), includ-
ing a Sustainable Fishery Vision, Implementation, 
and Management Plan for the fishery for which the 
task force is established. 
(d) ISSUANCE OF PLAN BY SECRETARY FOR SPECIES 
THAT IS NOT AN ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPE-
CIES.—The Secretary shall issue a Sustainable Fishery Vi-
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102 
sion, Implementation, and Management Plan under this 
section (including establishment of a task force in accord-
ance with subsection (b)) for a fishery for a species that 
is not an Atlantic highly migratory species, if— 
(1) the Council having jurisdiction over the 
fishery fails to establish a task force under sub-
section (b) within the 2-year period after the Sec-
retary determines that the fishery is subject to over-
fishing or in a depleted condition; or 
(2) the Secretary determines that the fishery, 
after implementation of a fishery management plan 
developed by the Council for a period of 2 years, is 
subject to overfishing. 
(e) REVIEW OF PLANS.—A Council, and the Sec-
retary with respect to any Atlantic highly migratory spe-
cies, shall regularly review each Sustainable Fishery Vi-
sion, Implementation, and Management Plan issued under 
this section to determine the effectiveness of the plan and 
whether changes are necessary to enhance success of the 
goals of the plan. 
SEC. 136. PRIORITY IMPLEMENTATION. 
In implementing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act, the Secretary shall give 
priority to supporting measures designed to implement 
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103 
Fishery Vision, Implementation, and Management Plans 
issued under this subtitle. 
SEC. 137. TOTAL ALLOWABLE LEVEL OF FOREIGN FISHING. 
Section 201(d) (16 U.S.C. 1821(d)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘shall be’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘which will not’’ and inserting 
‘‘that can not, or will not,’’; and 
(3) by inserting after ‘‘Act’’ the following: ‘‘, 
except that the total allowable level shall be zero for 
any fishery that is determined by the Secretary to 
have adequate or excess harvest capacity. Allocations 
of the total allowable level of foreign fishing are dis-
cretionary.’’. 
TITLE II—INFORMATION AND 
RESEARCH 
SEC. 201. RECREATIONAL FISHERIES INFORMATION. 
Section 401 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended by striking 
subsection (g) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.— 
‘‘(1) FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 
establish and implement a regionally based registry 
program for recreational fishermen in each of the 8 
fishery management regions. The program shall pro-
vide for— 
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‘‘(A) the registration (including identifica-
tion and contact information) of individuals 
who engage in recreational fishing— 
‘‘(i) in the Exclusive Economic Zone; 
‘‘(ii) for anadromous species; or 
‘‘(iii) for Continental Shelf fishery re-
sources beyond the Exclusive Economic 
Zone; and 
‘‘(B) if appropriate, the registration (in-
cluding the ownership, operator, and identifica-
tion of the vessel) of vessels used in such fish-
ing. 
‘‘(2) STATE
PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall 
exempt from registration under the program rec-
reational fishermen and charter fishing vessels li-
censed, permitted, or registered under the laws of a 
State if the Secretary determines that information 
from the State program is suitable for the Sec-
retary’s use or is used to assist in completing marine 
recreational fisheries statistical surveys, or evalu-
ating the effects of proposed conservation and man-
agement measures for marine recreational fisheries. 
‘‘(3) DATA
COLLECTION.—Within 24 months 
after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Ste-
vens Fishery Conservation and Management Amend-
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105 
ments Act of 2006, the Secretary shall establish a 
program to improve the quality and accuracy of in-
formation generated by the Marine Recreational 
Fishery Statistics Survey, with a goal of achieving 
acceptable accuracy and utility for each individual 
fishery. Unless the Secretary determines that alter-
nate methods will achieve this goal more efficiently 
and effectively, the program shall, to the extent pos-
sible, include— 
‘‘(A) an adequate number of dockside 
interviews to accurately estimate recreational 
catch and effort; 
‘‘(B) use of surveys that target anglers 
registered or licensed at the State or Federal 
level to collect participation and effort data; 
‘‘(C) collection and analysis of vessel trip 
report data from charter fishing vessels; and 
‘‘(D) development of a weather corrective 
factor that can be applied to recreational catch 
and effort estimates. 
‘‘(4) REPORT.—Within 24 months after estab-
lishment of the program, the Secretary shall submit 
a report to Congress that describes the progress 
made toward achieving the goals and objectives of 
the program.’’. 
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106 
SEC. 202. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. 
Section 402(a) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ in 
the subsection heading and inserting ‘‘(a) COLLEC-
TION PROGRAMS.—’’; 
(2) by resetting the text following ‘‘(a) COLLEC-
TION PROGRAMS.—’’ as a new paragraph 2 ems 
from the left margin; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘(1) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ 
before ‘‘If a Council’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ in the last sentence 
and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 
(5) by striking ‘‘(other than information that 
would disclose proprietary or confidential commercial 
or financial information regarding fishing operations 
or fish processing operations)’’ each place it appears; 
and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL
INITIATION.—If the Sec-
retary determines that additional information is nec-
essary for developing, implementing, revising, or 
monitoring a fishery management plan, or for deter-
mining whether a fishery is in need of management, 
the Secretary may, by regulation, implement an in-
formation collection or observer program requiring 
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107 
submission of such additional information for the 
fishery.’’. 
SEC. 203. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section 402(b) (16 U.S.C. 
1881a(b)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3) and resetting it 2 ems from the left mar-
gin; 
(2) by striking all preceding paragraph (3), as 
redesignated, and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Sec-
retary, a state fishery management agency, or a ma-
rine fisheries commission by any person in compli-
ance with the requirements of this Act that contains 
confidential information shall be confidential and 
shall be exempt from disclosure under section 
552(h)(3) of title 5, United States Code, except— 
‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council em-
ployees who are responsible for fishery manage-
ment plan development, monitoring, or enforce-
ment; 
‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commis-
sion employees as necessary to further the De-
partment’s mission, subject to a confidentiality 
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