Title: Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019
This bill revises provisions regarding shark conservation and fishery management.
The bill requires any country that seeks to import shark products into the United States to obtain a certification from the Department of Commerce that the country has a regulatory program in effect to provide for the conservation and management of sharks, including measures to prohibit the removal of any of the fins of a shark (including the tail).
Commerce must revise its regulations to include rays and skates as species that are subject to the Seafood Traceability Program. (The Seafood Traceability Program has data reporting and recordkeeping requirements at the time of entry for imported fish or fish products entered into U.S. commerce.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 788 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Illinois, Mr. 
 King of New York, Mr. Jones, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Yoho, Mr. 
Gaetz, Mr. Posey, and Mr. Higgins of New York) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 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 Moratorium 
         Protection Act to improve the conservation of sharks.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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''.

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 manage populations of sharks in a manner 
that is comparable to regulatory programs in the United States and that 
effectively prohibits the practice of removing shark fins and 
discarding the carcass at sea.

SEC. 3. SHARK CONSERVATION AND TRADE FAIRNESS CERTIFICATION.

    Section 610 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium 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 period 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 obtained, by 
                not later than the effective date of subsection (g)(1), 
                a certification from the Secretary under that 
                subsection that the nation has in effect a regulatory 
                program to provide for the conservation of sharks, 
                including measures 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 appears and inserting 
        ``subsection (a)(1)'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection 
                (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:
    ``(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 certification 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 subsistence 
                        purposes in accordance with Federal, State, 
                        Tribal, or territorial law;
                            ``(iii) used solely for display, education, 
                        conservation, or research purposes, by an 
                        accredited zoo, aquarium, museum, college, or 
                        university; or
                            ``(iv) used by any other person under a 
                        State or Federal permit to conduct non-
                        commercial scientific research.
            ``(2) Certifications.--Pursuant to the regulations 
        promulgated under paragraphs (3) and (5), the Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall grant a certification to any nation 
                that has adopted and effectively enforces regulatory 
                programs to provide for the conservation 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 nation if the 
                Secretary determines that such nation--
                            ``(i) has adopted and effectively enforces 
                        regulatory programs that are comparable to the 
                        regulatory programs of the United States to 
                        provide for the conservation and management of 
                        such species imported into the United States or 
                        used to produce the shark products imported 
                        into the United States; and
                            ``(ii) has in effect an effective ban on 
                        shark finning, that is comparable to that of 
                        the United States.
            ``(3) Expiration; renewal.--A certification or partial 
        certification issued under this subsection--
                    ``(A) shall be effective for no more than three 
                years after the date of issuance; and
                    ``(B) may be renewed in accordance with the 
                provisions of this subsection relating to the initial 
                issuance of the certification.
            ``(4) Certain determinations.--The Secretary shall make a 
        determination with respect to whether to renew under paragraph 
        (3) or revoke pursuant to paragraph (5)(A)(ii) a certification 
        or partial certification issued under this subsection, by not 
        later than 180 days after the submission of the application for 
        renewal or the petition for revocation, respectively.
            ``(5) Regulations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of the Sustainable Shark 
                Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019, the Secretary shall 
                prescribe regulations under chapter 5 of title 5, 
                United States Code, governing 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 information to 
                        be provided in such applications; and
                            ``(ii) establish a process for petitioning 
                        the Secretary for revocation of the 
                        certification or partial certification of any 
                        nation, including standards for the information 
                        required to be provided to demonstrate that the 
                        nation no longer meets the criteria established 
                        under this paragraph for the certification.
                    ``(C) Criteria for certification or partial 
                certification.--The regulations promulgated under 
                subparagraph (A) shall establish criteria for 
                determining whether a nation has and effectively 
                enforces regulatory programs for the conservation and 
                management of sharks, and measures to prohibit shark 
                finning, that are comparable to those of the United 
                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 established 
                        catch limits, and bycatch assessments and 
                        minimization;
                            ``(iii) include a program to prevent 
                        overfishing and to rebuild overfished stocks;
                            ``(iv) require reporting and data 
                        collection;
                            ``(v) be consistent with the International 
                        Plan of Action for Conservation and Management 
                        of Sharks of the United Nations Food and 
                        Agriculture Organization; and
                            ``(vi) include a mechanism to ensure that, 
                        if the nation allows landings of sharks by 
                        foreign vessels that are not subject to such 
                        programs of such nation, only shark products 
                        that comply with such programs 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 respect to 
                certifications, renewal of certifications, or 
                revocation of certifications under this subsection; and
                    ``(B) provide an opportunity for public comment 
                with respect to such applications, petitions, 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 determination required under paragraph 
        (4), shall be considered 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
                    ``(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, including the 
                tail, and discarding the remaining carcass of the shark 
                at sea.''.

SEC. 4. ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL FISHERY 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:
                    ``(F) to adopt shark conservation and management 
                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 Nations;''; 
                and
            (2) by striking paragraph (3), and inserting the following:
            ``(3) seeking to enter into international agreement that 
        require measures for the conservation and management of sharks 
        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 Nations; and''.

SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF RAYS AND SKATES IN SEAFOOD TRACEABILITY PROGRAM.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 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.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any Federal or 
State law establishing additional or more stringent requirements than 
the requirements of subsection (g) of section 610 of the High Seas 
Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826k), as added 
by section 3.
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