IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 200 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 12, 2018 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
Sec. 4. References. 
TITLE I—MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS 
AMENDMENTS AND REAUTHORIZATION 
Sec. 101. Amendments to findings. 
Sec. 102. Amendments to definitions. 
Sec. 103. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—FISHERIES MANAGEMENT FLEXIBILITY AND 
MODERNIZATION 
Sec. 201. Definitions. 
Sec. 202. Process for allocation review for South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 
mixed-use fisheries. 
Sec. 203. Alternative fishery management measures. 
Sec. 204. Modifications to the annual catch limit requirement. 
Sec. 205. Limitation on future catch share programs. 
Sec. 206. Study of limited access privilege programs for mixed-use fisheries. 
Sec. 207. Cooperative data collection. 
Sec. 208. Recreational fishing data. 
Sec. 209. Miscellaneous amendments relating to fishery management councils. 
Sec. 210. Northeast regional pilot research trawl survey and study. 
TITLE III—HEALTHY FISHERIES THROUGH BETTER SCIENCE 
Sec. 301. Healthy fisheries through better science. 
Sec. 302. Transparency and public process. 
Sec. 303. Flexibility in rebuilding fish stocks. 
Sec. 304. Exempted fishing permits. 
Sec. 305. Cooperative research and management program. 
Sec. 306. Federal Gulf of Mexico red snapper management. 
TITLE IV— STRENGTHENING FISHING COMMUNITIES 
Sec. 401. Estimation of cost of recovery from fishery resource disaster. 
Sec. 402. Deadline for action on request by Governor for determination regard-
ing fishery resource disaster. 
Sec. 403. North Pacific Fishery management clarification. 
Sec. 404. Limitation on harvest in North Pacific directed pollock fishery. 
Sec. 405. Arctic community development quota. 
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Sec. 406. Reallocation of certain unused harvest allocation. 
Sec. 407. Community Development Quota Program panel voting procedures. 
Sec. 408. Prohibition on shark feeding off coast of Florida. 
Sec. 409. Restoration of historically freshwater environment. 
TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 501. Mitigation for impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation. 
Sec. 502. Report on limited access privilege programs and conflicts of interest 
with respect to Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Ocean red 
snapper. 
Sec. 503. plan for electronic monitoring and reporting procedures for the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery. 
Sec. 504. Study of fees charged to lobster fishing industry. 
Sec. 505. Limitation on application of prohibition on Atlantic striped bass fish-
ing in Block Island Sound transit zone. 
Sec. 506. Funding for monitoring implementation of Northeast Multispecies 
Fishery Management Plan. 
TITLE VI—REEF ASSASSIN ACT 
Sec. 601. Short title. 
Sec. 602. Encouraging elimination of lionfish. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, any term used that is defined in section 
3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) shall have the same 
meaning such term has under that section. 
SEC. 4. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref-
erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
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TITLE 
I—MAGNUSON-STEVENS 
ACT FINDINGS AND DEFINI-
TIONS AMENDMENTS AND RE-
AUTHORIZATION 
SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO FINDINGS. 
Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘cultural 
well-being,’’ after ‘‘economy,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (10), by inserting ‘‘and tradi-
tional ways of life’’ after ‘‘economic growth’’. 
SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘management 
program’’; 
(2) in paragraph (34), by striking ‘‘The terms 
‘overfishing’ and ‘overfished’ mean’’ and inserting 
‘‘The term ‘overfishing’ means’’; and 
(3) 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 
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stock or stock complex to produce maximum sustain-
able yield on a continuing basis.’’; and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (43) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(43a)(A) The term ‘subsistence fishing’ means 
fishing in which the fish harvested are intended for 
customary and traditional uses, including for direct 
personal or family consumption as food or clothing; 
for the making or selling of handicraft articles out 
of nonedible byproducts taken for personal or family 
consumption, for barter, or sharing for personal or 
family consumption; and for customary exchange or 
trade. 
‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘family’ means all persons re-
lated by blood, marriage, or adoption, or any 
person living within the household on a perma-
nent basis; and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘barter’ means the exchange 
of a fish or fish part— 
‘‘(I) for another fish or fish part; or 
‘‘(II) for other food or for nonedible 
items other than money if the exchange is 
of a limited and noncommercial nature.’’. 
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(b) SUBSTITUTION OF TERM.—The Magnuson-Ste-
vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in the heading of section 304(e), by striking 
‘‘OVERFISHED’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPLETED’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘overfished’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘depleted’’. 
(c) 
CLARITY
IN
ANNUAL
REPORT.—Section 
304(e)(1) (16 U.S.C. (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 result of fishing and fisheries that are depleted (or 
approaching that condition) as a result of factors other 
than fishing. The report shall state, for each fishery iden-
tified as depleted or approaching that condition, whether 
the fishery is the target of directed fishing.’’. 
SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2013’’ and inserting 
‘‘each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’. 
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TITLE II—FISHERIES MANAGE-
MENT FLEXIBILITY AND MOD-
ERNIZATION 
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of implementing this title: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives. 
(2) LIMITED
ACCESS
PRIVILEGE
PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘‘limited access privilege program’’ means 
a program that meets the requirements of section 
303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-
tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a). 
(3) MIXED-USE FISHERY.—The term ‘‘mixed- 
use fishery’’ means a Federal fishery in which two 
or more of the following occur: 
(A) Recreational fishing. 
(B) Charter fishing. 
(C) Commercial fishing. 
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SEC. 202. PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW FOR SOUTH 
ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO MIXED-USE 
FISHERIES. 
(a) STUDY OF ALLOCATIONS IN MIXED-USE FISH-
ERIES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall seek 
to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy 
of Sciences to conduct a study of South Atlantic and Gulf 
of Mexico mixed-use fisheries— 
(1) to provide guidance to each applicable 
Council on criteria that could be used for allocating 
fishing privileges, including consideration of the con-
servation and socioeconomic benefits of the commer-
cial, recreational, and charter components of a fish-
ery, in the preparation of a fishery management 
plan; 
(2) to identify sources of information that could 
reasonably support the use of such criteria in alloca-
tion decisions; 
(3) to develop procedures for allocation reviews 
and potential adjustments in allocations; and 
(4) that shall consider the ecological, economic 
and social factors relevant to each component of the 
mixed-use fishery including but not limited to: fair-
ness and equitability of all current allocations; per-
cent utilization of available allocations by each com-
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ponent; consumer and public access to the resource; 
and the application of economic models for fully esti-
mating the direct and indirect value-added contribu-
tions of the various commercial and recreational 
fishing industry market sectors throughout chain of 
custody. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
an arrangement is entered into under subsection (a), the 
National Academy of Sciences shall submit to the appro-
priate committees of Congress a report on the study con-
ducted under that subsection. 
(c) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW AND ESTAB-
LISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 
thereafter, an applicable Council shall perform a re-
view of the allocations to the commercial fishing sec-
tor and the recreational fishing sector of all applica-
ble fisheries in its jurisdiction. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a review 
under paragraph (1), an applicable Council shall 
consider, in each allocation decision, the conserva-
tion and socioeconomic benefits of— 
(A) the commercial fishing sector; and 
(B) the recreational fishing sector. 
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(d) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE COUNCIL.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘applicable Council’’ means— 
(1) the South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council; or 
(2) the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council. 
SEC. 203. ALTERNATIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT MEAS-
URES. 
Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para-
graph (9); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(8) have the authority to use alternative fish-
ery management measures in a recreational fishery 
(or the recreational component of a mixed-use fish-
ery), including extraction rates, fishing mortality 
targets, and harvest control rules, in developing a 
fishery management plan, plan amendment, or pro-
posed regulations; and’’. 
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SEC. 204. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT 
REQUIREMENT. 
(a) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.— 
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) ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENT FOR 
CERTAIN
DATA-POOR
FISHERIES.—Notwithstanding 
subsection (h)(6), in the case of a stock of fish for 
which the total annual catch limit is 25 percent or 
more below the overfishing limit, a peer-reviewed 
stock survey and stock assessment have not been 
performed during the preceding 5 fishing years, and 
the stock is not subject to overfishing, a Council 
may, after notifying the Secretary, maintain the cur-
rent annual catch limit for the stock until a peer-re-
viewed stock survey and stock assessment are con-
ducted and the results are considered by the Council 
and its scientific and statistical committee. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION OF ECOSYSTEM AND ECO-
NOMIC IMPACTS.—In establishing annual catch lim-
its a Council may, consistent with subsection (h)(6), 
consider changes in an ecosystem and the economic 
needs of the fishing communities. 
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‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS
TO
ANNUAL
CATCH
LIMIT 
REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIAL FISHERIES.—Notwith-
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. 
‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO INTERNATIONAL FISH-
ERY EFFORTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each annual catch 
limit, consistent with subsection (h)(6)— 
‘‘(i) may take into account manage-
ment measures under international agree-
ments in which the United States partici-
pates; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an annual catch 
limit developed by a Council for a species, 
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shall take into account fishing for the spe-
cies outside the exclusive economic zone 
and the life-history characteristics of the 
species that are not subject to the jurisdic-
tion of the Council. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION TO ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT 
REQUIREMENT.—If fishery management activi-
ties by another country with respect to fishing 
outside the exclusive economic zone may hinder 
conservation efforts by United States fishermen 
for a fish species for which any of the recruit-
ment, distribution, life history, or fishing activi-
ties are transboundary, and for which there is 
no informal transboundary agreement with that 
country in effect, then— 
‘‘(i) 
notwithstanding 
subsection 
(h)(6), no annual catch limit is required to 
be developed for the species by a Council; 
and 
‘‘(ii) if an annual catch limit is devel-
oped by a Council for the species, the catch 
limit shall take into account fishing for the 
species outside the exclusive economic zone 
that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the 
Council. 
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‘‘(5) 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 
complex; or 
‘‘(B) annual catch limits for each year in 
any continuous period that is not more than 3 
years in duration. 
‘‘(6) ECOSYSTEM-COMPONENT
SPECIES
DE-
FINED.—In this subsection the term ‘ecosystem-com-
ponent species’ means a stock of fish that is a non-
target, incidentally harvested stock of fish in a fish-
ery, or a nontarget, incidentally harvested stock of 
fish that a Council or the Secretary has deter-
mined— 
‘‘(A) is not subject to overfishing, ap-
proaching a depleted condition or depleted; and 
‘‘(B) is not likely to become subject to 
overfishing or depleted in the absence of con-
servation and management measures. 
‘‘(7) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed as providing an 
exemption from the requirements of section 301(a) 
of this Act.’’. 
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(b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 304 (16 
U.S.C. 1854) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(i) INTERNATIONAL OVER-
FISHING.—’’ and inserting ‘‘(j) INTERNATIONAL 
OVERFISHING.—’’; 
(2) in subsection (j)(1), as redesignated, by in-
serting ‘‘shall’’ before ‘‘immediately’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) STOCK SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.—Not later 
than 2 years after the date that the Secretary receives no-
tice from a Council under section 302(m), the Secretary 
shall complete a peer-reviewed stock survey and stock as-
sessment of the applicable stock of fish and transmit the 
results of the survey and assessment to the Council.’’. 
SEC. 205. 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 commer-
cial sector, or regional fishery association established 
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in accordance with section 303A(c)(4), or other enti-
ty.’’. 
(b) CATCH
SHARE
REFERENDUM
PILOT
PRO-
GRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303A(c)(6)(D) (16 
U.S.C. 1853a(c)(6)(D)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(D) CATCH SHARE REFERENDUM PILOT 
PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(i) The New England, Mid-Atlantic, 
South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Coun-
cils may not submit a fishery management 
plan or amendment that creates a catch 
share program for a fishery, and the Sec-
retary may not approve or implement such 
a plan or amendment submitted by such a 
Council or a Secretarial plan or amend-
ment under section 304(c) that creates 
such a program, unless the final program 
has been approved, in a referendum in ac-
cordance with this subparagraph, by a ma-
jority of the permit holders eligible to par-
ticipate in the fishery. For multispecies 
permits in the Gulf of Mexico, any permit 
holder with landings from within the sector 
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of the fishery being considered for the 
catch share program within the 5-year pe-
riod 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 program is 
not approved by the requisite number of 
permit holders, it may be revised and sub-
mitted for approval in a subsequent ref-
erendum. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a 
referendum under this subparagraph, in-
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 par-
ticipants; 
‘‘(III) an estimate of the amount 
of fish or percentage of quota each 
permit holder would be allocated; and 
‘‘(IV) information concerning the 
schedule, procedures, and eligibility 
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requirements for the referendum proc-
ess. 
‘‘(iii) For the purposes of this sub-
paragraph, 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 sick-
ness, injury, or other unavoidable hardship 
prevented the permit holder from engaging 
in such fishing. 
‘‘(iv) The Secretary may not imple-
ment any catch share program for any 
fishery managed exclusively by the Sec-
retary unless first petitioned by a majority 
of those permit holders eligible to partici-
pate 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 pro-
posed by, the Secretary of Commerce before the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(3) REGULATIONS.—Before conducting a ref-
erendum under the amendment made by paragraph 
(1), the Secretary of Commerce shall issue regula-
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tions implementing such amendment after providing 
an opportunity for submission by the public of com-
ments on the regulations. 
SEC. 206. STUDY OF LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO-
GRAMS FOR MIXED-USE FISHERIES. 
(a) STUDY ON LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO-
GRAMS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall seek 
to enter into an arrangement under which the Ocean Stud-
ies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engi-
neering, and Medicine shall— 
(1) study the use of limited access privilege pro-
grams in mixed-use fisheries, including— 
(A) identifying any inequities caused by a 
limited access privilege program; 
(B) recommending policies to address the 
inequities identified in subparagraph (A); and 
(C) identifying and recommending the dif-
ferent factors and information a mixed-use fish-
ery should consider when designing, estab-
lishing, or maintaining a limited access privilege 
program to mitigate any inequities identified in 
subparagraph (A); and 
(2) submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report on the study under paragraph (1), 
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including the recommendations under subparagraphs 
(B) and (C) of paragraph (1). 
(b) TEMPORARY MORATORIUM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), there shall be a moratorium on the sub-
mission and approval of a limited access privilege 
program for a mixed-use fishery until the date that 
the report is submitted under subsection (a)(1)(B). 
(2) EXCEPTION.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 
Council may submit, and the Secretary of Commerce 
may approve, for a mixed-use fishery that is man-
aged under a limited access system, a limited access 
privilege program if such program was part of a 
pending fishery management plan or plan amend-
ment before the date of enactment of this Act. 
(3) MANDATORY REVIEW.—A Council that ap-
proves a limited access privilege program under 
paragraph (2) shall, upon issuance of the report re-
quired under subparagraph (a), review and, to the 
extent practicable, revise the limited access privilege 
program to be consistent with the recommendations 
of the report or any subsequent statutory or regu-
latory requirements designed to implement the rec-
ommendations of the report. 
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(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to affect a limited access 
privilege program approved by the Secretary of 
Commerce before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 207. COOPERATIVE DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 
Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(e) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION
AND ANAL-
YSIS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall develop, in consultation with the science and 
statistical committees of the Councils established 
under section 302(g) and the Marine Fisheries Com-
missions, and submit to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives a report on facilitating 
greater incorporation of data, analysis, stock assess-
ments, and surveys from State agencies and non-
governmental sources described in paragraph (2) 
into fisheries management decisions. 
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‘‘(2) 
NONGOVERNMENTAL
SOURCES.—Non-
governmental sources referred to in paragraph (1) 
include the following: 
‘‘(A) Fishermen. 
‘‘(B) Fishing communities. 
‘‘(C) Universities. 
‘‘(D) Research and philanthropic institu-
tions. 
‘‘(3) CONTENT.—In developing the report 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) identify types of data and analysis, 
especially concerning recreational fishing, that 
can be reliably used for purposes of this Act as 
the basis for establishing conservation and man-
agement measures as required by section 
303(a)(1), including setting standards for the 
collection and use of that data and analysis in 
stock assessments and surveys and for other 
purposes as determined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(B) provide specific recommendations for 
collecting data and performing analyses identi-
fied as necessary to reduce uncertainty in and 
improve the accuracy of future stock assess-
ments, including whether such data and anal-
ysis could be provided by nongovernmental 
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sources, including fishermen, fishing commu-
nities, universities, and research institutions; 
‘‘(C) consider the extent to which it is pos-
sible to establish a registry of persons collecting 
or submitting the data and performing the 
analyses identified under subparagraphs (A) 
and (B); and 
‘‘(D) consider the extent to which the ac-
ceptance and use of data and analyses identi-
fied in the report in fishery management deci-
sions is practicable.’’. 
(b) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 
make available on the Internet Website of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the report re-
quired under the amendment made by subsection (a) by 
not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
(c) NAS REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec-
retary of Commerce shall take into consideration and, to 
the extent feasible, implement the recommendations of the 
National Academy of Sciences in the report entitled ‘‘Re-
view of the Marine Recreational Information Program 
(2017)’’, including— 
(1) prioritizing the evaluation of electronic data 
collection, including smartphone applications, elec-
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tronic diaries for prospective data collection, and an 
Internet website option for panel members or for the 
public; 
(2) evaluating whether the design of the Marine 
Recreational Information Program for the purposes 
of stock assessment and the determination of stock 
management reference points is compatible with the 
needs of in-season management of annual catch lim-
its; and 
(3) if the Marine Recreational Information Pro-
gram is incompatible with the needs of in-season 
management of annual catch limits, determining an 
alternative method for in-season management. 
SEC. 208. RECREATIONAL FISHING DATA. 
Section 401(g) (16 U.S.C. 1881(g)) is amended by 
redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by in-
serting after paragraph (3) the following: 
‘‘(4) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 
‘‘(A) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary 
shall establish partnerships with States to de-
velop best practices for implementation of State 
programs established pursuant to paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de-
velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 
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that details best practices for administering 
State programs pursuant to paragraph (2), and 
provide such guidance to the State.’’. 
SEC. 209. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 
FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS. 
(a) COUNCIL
JURISDICTION
FOR
OVERLAPPING 
FISHERIES.—Section 302(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), in the second sen-
tence— 
(A) by striking ‘‘18’’ and inserting ‘‘19’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end ‘‘and a liaison who is a member of the Mid- 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council to rep-
resent the interests of fisheries under the juris-
diction of such Council’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B), in the second sen-
tence— 
(A) by striking ‘‘21’’ and inserting ‘‘22’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end ‘‘and a liaison who is a member of the New 
England Fishery Management Council to rep-
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