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SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Commerce $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2007 through 2012 to carry out this title and to 
pay the United States’ contribution to the Commission 
under section 5 of part III of the WCPFC Convention. 
TITLE III—PACIFIC WHITING 
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Whiting Act 
of 2006’’. 
SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) ADVISORY
PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory 
panel’’ means the Advisory Panel on Pacific Hake/ 
Whiting established by the Agreement. 
(2) 
AGREEMENT.—The 
term 
‘‘Agreement’’ 
means the Agreement between the Government of 
the United States and the Government of Canada on 
Pacific Hake/Whiting, signed at Seattle, Wash-
ington, on November 21, 2003. 
(3) CATCH.—The term ‘‘catch’’ means all fish-
ery removals from the offshore whiting resource, in-
cluding landings, discards, and bycatch in other fish-
eries. 
(4) JOINT
MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE.—The 
term ‘‘joint management committee’’ means the 
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joint management committee established by the 
Agreement. 
(5) JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.—The term 
‘‘joint technical committee’’ means the joint tech-
nical committee established by the Agreement. 
(6) OFFSHORE WHITING RESOURCE.—The term 
‘‘offshore 
whiting 
resource’’ 
means 
the 
transboundary stock of Merluccius productus that is 
located in the offshore waters of the United States 
and Canada except in Puget Sound and the Strait 
of Georgia. 
(7) SCIENTIFIC
REVIEW
GROUP.—The term 
‘‘scientific review group’’ means the scientific review 
group established by the Agreement. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
(9) UNITED
STATES
SECTION.—The term 
‘‘United States Section’’ means the United States 
representatives on the joint management committee. 
SEC. 303. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT 
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. 
(a) REPRESENTATIVES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint 4 in-
dividuals to represent the United States as the 
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United States Section on the joint management com-
mittee. In making the appointments, the Secretary 
shall select representatives from among individuals 
who are knowledgeable or experienced concerning 
the offshore whiting resource. Of these— 
(A) 1 shall be an official of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
(B) 1 shall be a member of the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, appointed with 
consideration given to any recommendation pro-
vided by that Council; 
(C) 1 shall be appointed from a list sub-
mitted by the treaty Indian tribes with treaty 
fishing rights to the offshore whiting resource; 
and 
(D) 1 shall be appointed from the commer-
cial sector of the whiting fishing industry con-
cerned with the offshore whiting resource. 
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each representative ap-
pointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for 
a term not to exceed 4 years, except that, of the ini-
tial appointments, 2 representatives shall be ap-
pointed for terms of 2 years. Any individual ap-
pointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expi-
ration of the term of office of that individual’s pred-
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ecessor shall be appointed for the remainder of that 
term. A representative may be appointed for a term 
of less than 4 years if such term is necessary to en-
sure that the term of office of not more than 2 rep-
resentatives will expire in any single year. An indi-
vidual appointed to serve as a representative is eligi-
ble for reappointment. 
(3) CHAIR.—Unless otherwise agreed by all of 
the 4 representatives, the chair shall rotate annually 
among the 4 members, with the order of rotation de-
termined by lot at the first meeting. 
(b) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate 
alternate representatives of the United States to serve on 
the joint management committee. An alternative rep-
resentative may exercise, at any meeting of the committee, 
all the powers and duties of a representative in the ab-
sence of a duly designated representative for whatever rea-
son. 
SEC. 304. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON THE SCI-
ENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, shall appoint no more than 
2 scientific experts to serve on the scientific review group. 
An individual shall not be eligible to serve on the scientific 
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review group while serving on the joint technical com-
mittee. 
(b) TERM.—An individual appointed under sub-
section (a) shall be appointed for a term of not to exceed 
4 years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. An indi-
vidual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the 
expiration of a term of office of that individual’s prede-
cessor shall be appointed to serve for the remainder of that 
term. 
(c) JOINT APPOINTMENTS.—In addition to individ-
uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly 
with the Government of Canada, may appoint to the sci-
entific review group, from a list of names provided by the 
advisory panel — 
(1) up to 2 independent members of the sci-
entific review group; and 
(2) 2 public advisors. 
SEC. 305. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE. 
(a) SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of State, shall appoint at 
least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve as 
scientific experts on the joint technical committee, at 
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least 1 of whom shall be an official of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed 
under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term 
of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re-
appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va-
cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 
of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap-
pointed for the remainder of that term. 
(b) INDEPENDENT MEMBER.—In addition to individ-
uals appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly 
with the Government of Canada, shall appoint 1 inde-
pendent member to the joint technical committee selected 
from a list of names provided by the advisory panel. 
SEC. 306. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON ADVISORY 
PANEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint 
at least 6 but not more than 12 individuals to serve 
as members of the advisory panel, selected from 
among individuals who are— 
(A) knowledgeable or experienced in the 
harvesting, processing, marketing, management, 
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conservation, or research of the offshore whiting 
resource; and 
(B) not employees of the United States. 
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed 
under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term 
of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be eligible for re-
appointment. An individual appointed to fill a va-
cancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term 
of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be ap-
pointed for the remainder of that term. 
SEC. 307. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is responsible for 
carrying out the Agreement and this title, including the 
authority, to be exercised in consultation with the Sec-
retary of State, to accept or reject, on behalf of the United 
States, recommendations made by the joint management 
committee. 
(b) REGULATIONS; COOPERATION WITH CANADIAN 
OFFICIALS.—In exercising responsibilities under this title, 
the Secretary— 
(1) may promulgate such regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of 
the Agreement and this title; and 
(2) with the concurrence of the Secretary of 
State, may cooperate with officials of the Canadian 
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Government duly authorized to carry out the Agree-
ment. 
SEC. 308. RULEMAKING. 
(a) APPLICATION WITH MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.— 
The Secretary shall establish the United States catch level 
for Pacific whiting according to the standards and proce-
dures of the Agreement and this title rather than under 
the standards and procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.), except to the extent necessary to address 
the rebuilding needs of other species. Except for estab-
lishing the catch level, all other aspects of Pacific whiting 
management shall be— 
(1) subject to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act; and 
(2) consistent with this title. 
(b) 
JOINT
MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—For any year in which both parties to 
the Agreement approve recommendations made by the 
joint management committee with respect to the catch 
level, the Secretary shall implement the approved rec-
ommendations. Any regulation promulgated by the Sec-
retary to implement any such recommendation shall apply, 
as necessary, to all persons and all vessels subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States wherever located. 
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(c) YEARS
WITH
NO
APPROVED
CATCH
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—If the parties to the Agreement do not 
approve the joint management committee’s recommenda-
tion with respect to the catch level for any year, the Sec-
retary shall establish the total allowable catch for Pacific 
whiting for the United States catch. In establishing the 
total allowable catch under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) take into account any recommendations 
from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the 
joint management committee, the joint technical 
committee, the scientific review group, and the advi-
sory panel; 
(2) base the total allowable catch on the best 
scientific information available; 
(3) use the default harvest rate set out in para-
graph 1 of Article III of the Agreement unless the 
Secretary determines that the scientific evidence 
demonstrates that a different rate is necessary to 
sustain the offshore whiting resource; and 
(4) establish the United State’s share of the 
total allowable catch based on paragraph 2 of Article 
III of the Agreement and make any adjustments 
necessary under section 5 of Article II of the Agree-
ment. 
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SEC. 309. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. 
(a) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals serving as 
such Commissioners, other than officers or employees of 
the United States Government, shall be considered to be 
Federal employees while performing such service, only for 
purposes of— 
(1) injury compensation under chapter 81 of 
title 5, United States Code; 
(2) tort claims liability as provided under chap-
ter 171 of title 28 United States Code; 
(3) requirements concerning ethics, conflicts of 
interest, and corruption as provided under title 18, 
United States Code; and 
(4) any other criminal or civil statute or regula-
tion governing the conduct of Federal employees. 
(b) COMPENSATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), an individual appointed under this title 
shall receive no compensation for the individual’s 
service as a representative, alternate representative, 
scientific expert, or advisory panel member under 
this title. 
(2) SCIENTIFIC
REVIEW
GROUP.—Notwith-
standing paragraph (1), the Secretary may employ 
and fix the compensation of an individual appointed 
under section 304(a) to serve as a scientific expert 
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on the scientific review group who is not employed 
by the United States government, a State govern-
ment, or an Indian tribal government in accordance 
with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 
(c) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Except as provided in sub-
section (d), the Secretary shall pay the necessary travel 
expenses of individuals appointed under this title in ac-
cordance with the Federal Travel Regulations and sections 
5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(d) JOINT APPOINTEES.—With respect to the 2 inde-
pendent members of the scientific review group and the 
2 public advisors to the scientific review group jointly ap-
pointed under section 304(c), and the 1 independent mem-
ber to the joint technical committee jointly appointed 
under section 305(b), the Secretary may pay up to 50 per-
cent of— 
(1) any compensation paid to such individuals; 
and 
(2) the necessary travel expenses of such indi-
viduals. 
SEC. 310. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 
(1) administer and enforce this title and any 
regulations issued under this title; 
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(2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non- 
reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, 
equipment, and facilities of other Federal depart-
ments and agencies in the administration and en-
forcement of this title; and 
(3) collect, utilize, and disclose such informa-
tion as may be necessary to implement the Agree-
ment and this title, subject to sections 552 and 552a 
of title 5, United States Code. 
(b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any per-
son to violate any provision of this title or the regulations 
promulgated under this title. 
(c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 
shall prevent any person from violating this title in the 
same manner, by the same means, and with the same ju-
risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable 
terms and provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) were 
incorporated into and made a part of this title. Any person 
that violates any provision of this title is subject to the 
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 
provided in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act in the same manner, by the same 
means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties 
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as though all applicable terms and provisions of that Act 
were incorporated into and made a part of this title. 
(d) PENALTIES.—This title shall be enforced by the 
Secretary as if a violation of this title or of any regulation 
promulgated by the Secretary under this title were a viola-
tion of section 307 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 
SEC. 311. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 
through 2012 to carry out the obligations of the United 
States under the Agreement and this title. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 27, 
2006. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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