I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 788 
To amend and enhance the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium 
Protection Act to improve the conservation of sharks. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2019 
Mr. WEBSTER of Florida (for himself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. 
YOUNG, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. JONES, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. TONKO, 
Mr. YOHO, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. POSEY, and Mr. HIGGINS of New York) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend and enhance the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Mor-
atorium Protection Act to improve the conservation of 
sharks. 
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 ‘‘Sustainable Shark 
Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish a certification 
process to ensure that foreign nations engaging in shark 
trade into or through the United States conserve and man-
age populations of sharks in a manner that is comparable 
to regulatory programs in the United States and that ef-
fectively prohibits the practice of removing shark fins and 
discarding the carcass at sea. 
SEC. 3. SHARK CONSERVATION AND TRADE FAIRNESS CER-
TIFICATION. 
Section 610 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Mora-
torium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826k) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) a nation if— 
‘‘(A) that nation or any individual or entity 
of that nation has imported shark products into 
the United States or seeks to import shark 
products into the United States; and 
‘‘(B) the nation has not sought and ob-
tained, by not later than the effective date of 
subsection (g)(1), a certification from the Sec-
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retary under that subsection that the nation 
has in effect a regulatory program to provide 
for the conservation of sharks, including meas-
ures to prohibit removal of any of the fins of 
a shark (including the tail) and discarding the 
carcass of the shark at sea, that is comparable 
to that of the United States.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), in paragraphs (2) and 
(3), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN COUNTRIES.— 
This subsection does not apply to a nation identified 
under subsection (a)(3).’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or 
(g)’’after ‘‘under subsection (c)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or (g)’’ 
after ‘‘under subsection (c)’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(g) SHARK CONSERVATION AND TRADE FAIRNESS 
CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), shark products shall not be 
imported into the United States unless the 
shark products are of a species of shark that 
were landed in a nation to which the Secretary 
has granted a certification or partial certifi-
cation for such species under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
shall not apply to shark products that are— 
‘‘(i) traded, owned, held, or otherwise 
possessed by an employee or agent of a 
governmental agency for law enforcement 
purposes; 
‘‘(ii) used for noncommercial subsist-
ence purposes in accordance with Federal, 
State, Tribal, or territorial law; 
‘‘(iii) used solely for display, edu-
cation, conservation, or research purposes, 
by an accredited zoo, aquarium, museum, 
college, or university; or 
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‘‘(iv) used by any other person under 
a State or Federal permit to conduct non- 
commercial scientific research. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS.—Pursuant to the regu-
lations promulgated under paragraphs (3) and (5), 
the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall grant a certification to any na-
tion that has adopted and effectively enforces 
regulatory programs to provide for the con-
servation and management of sharks, and 
measures to prohibit shark finning, that are 
comparable to those of the United States; and 
‘‘(B) may grant a partial certification for 
one or more specific species of shark to a na-
tion if the Secretary determines that such na-
tion— 
‘‘(i) has adopted and effectively en-
forces regulatory programs that are com-
parable to the regulatory programs of the 
United States to provide for the conserva-
tion and management of such species im-
ported into the United States or used to 
produce the shark products imported into 
the United States; and 
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erning the submission, evaluation, revocation, 
and renewal of applications for certifications 
and partial certifications under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) CONTENT
OF
REGULATIONS.—Such 
regulations shall— 
‘‘(i) prescribe the content and format 
of applications and standards for informa-
tion to be provided in such applications; 
and 
‘‘(ii) establish a process for petitioning 
the Secretary for revocation of the certifi-
cation or partial certification of any nation, 
including standards for the information re-
quired to be provided to demonstrate that 
the nation no longer meets the criteria es-
tablished under this paragraph for the cer-
tification. 
‘‘(C) CRITERIA
FOR
CERTIFICATION
OR 
PARTIAL CERTIFICATION.—The regulations pro-
mulgated under subparagraph (A) shall estab-
lish criteria for determining whether a nation 
has and effectively enforces regulatory pro-
grams for the conservation and management of 
sharks, and measures to prohibit shark finning, 
that are comparable to those of the United 
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States, including, at a minimum, a requirement 
that such programs— 
‘‘(i) be consistent with the national 
standards for fishery conservation and 
management set forth in section 301(a) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)); 
‘‘(ii) provide for regularly updated 
management plans, scientifically estab-
lished catch limits, and bycatch assess-
ments and minimization; 
‘‘(iii) include a program to prevent 
overfishing 
and 
to 
rebuild 
overfished 
stocks; 
‘‘(iv) require reporting and data col-
lection; 
‘‘(v) be consistent with the Inter-
national Plan of Action for Conservation 
and Management of Sharks of the United 
Nations Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion; and 
‘‘(vi) include a mechanism to ensure 
that, if the nation allows landings of 
sharks by foreign vessels that are not sub-
ject to such programs of such nation, only 
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shark products that comply with such pro-
grams are exported to the United States. 
‘‘(6) PUBLICATION; PUBLIC
COMMENT.—The 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register notice 
of applications, petitions, and decisions with re-
spect to certifications, renewal of certifications, 
or revocation of certifications under this sub-
section; and 
‘‘(B) provide an opportunity for public 
comment with respect to such applications, peti-
tions, and decisions. 
‘‘(7) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—A decision of the 
Secretary with respect to the issuance, renewal, or 
revocation of a certification or partial certification 
under this subsection, and a failure to make a deter-
mination required under paragraph (4), shall be con-
sidered a final agency action for the purposes of 
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(8) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 
take effect on the earlier of— 
‘‘(A) the date on which regulations are 
issued under paragraph (5); or 
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‘‘(B) the date that is 3 years after the date 
of the date of the enactment of the Sustainable 
Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019. 
‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) SHARK.—The term ‘shark’ means 
any species of the subclass Elasmobranchii. 
‘‘(B) SHARK PRODUCT.—The term ‘shark 
product’ means a live shark; a whole shark; the 
meat, skin, oil, fin (including a wing or tail), 
gill raker, cartilage, jaw, tooth, or liver of a 
shark; or any product containing meat, skin, 
oil, a fin (including a wing or tail), gill raker, 
cartilage, jaw, tooth, or liver derived from a 
shark. 
‘‘(C) SHARK FINNING.—The term ‘shark 
finning’ means the removal of a shark’s fins, in-
cluding the tail, and discarding the remaining 
carcass of the shark at sea.’’. 
SEC. 4. ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL FISH-
ERY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 
Section 608(a) of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing 
Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826i(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph 
(F), and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(F) to adopt shark conservation and man-
agement measures and measures to prevent 
shark finning, which are consistent with the 
International Plan of Action for Conservation 
and Management of Sharks of the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Na-
tions;’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (3), and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(3) seeking to enter into international agree-
ment that require measures for the conservation and 
management of sharks and measures to prevent 
shark finning, which are consistent with the Inter-
national Plan of Action for Conservation and Man-
agement of Sharks of the Food and Agriculture Or-
ganization of the United Nations; and’’. 
SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF RAYS AND SKATES IN SEAFOOD 
TRACEABILITY PROGRAM. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall revise 
section 300.324 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, 
to include rays and skates in the species and species 
groups specified in subsection (a)(2) of that section. 
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SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 
Federal or State law establishing additional or more strin-
gent requirements than the requirements of subsection (g) 
of section 610 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Morato-
rium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826k), as added by sec-
tion 3. 
Æ 
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