[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2369 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2369

   To provide for the development of the fishery resource within the 
exclusive economic zone of the insular areas of the United States, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 1995

    Mr. Underwood (for himself and Mr. Faleomavaega) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the development of the fishery resource within the 
exclusive economic zone of the insular areas of the United States, and 
                          for other purposes.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Pacific Insular 
Areas Fisheries Empowerment Act of 1995''.
    (b) Reference.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be 
considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES AND POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) The Pacific Insular Areas of the United States 
        contain a unique historical, cultural, legal, political, and 
        geographic circumstance, including the importance of fisheries 
        resources to their economic growth.''.
    (b) Policy.--Section 2(c) (16 U.S.C. 1801) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) to assure that the fishery resources adjacent to 
        Pacific Insular Areas, including those within the exclusive 
        economic zone of such areas and any Continental Shelf fishery 
        resources of such areas, be explored, exploited, conserved, and 
        managed for the benefit of the people of each such areas.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(34) The term `Pacific Insular Area' means American 
        Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands.''.

SEC. 4. FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Authority for Foreign Fishing Under a Pacific Insular Area 
Agreement.--Section 201(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1821(a)(1)) is amended to read 
as follows:
            ``(1) is authorized under subsection (b) or (c) or under a 
        permit issued under section 204(d);''.
    (b) Authority To Enter Into a Pacific Insular Areas Agreement.--
Section 202(c)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1822(c)(2)) is amended by inserting before 
the period at the end the following: ``or section 204(e)''.
    (c) Pacific Insular Area Agreements.--Section 204 (26 U.S.C. 1824) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Pacific Insular Areas.--(1) Upon the request of the Governor 
of a Pacific Insular Area, the Secretary of State in concurrence with 
the Secretary (the appropriate Council, and the Governor of such 
Pacific Insular Area) may negotiate and agree to a Pacific Insular Area 
Fishery Agreement (in this subsection referred to as a ``PIAFA'') to 
authorize foreign fishing within the exclusive economic zone adjacent 
to such Insular Area or for Continental Shelf fishery resources beyond 
such zone.
    ``(2) It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State 
should not negotiate a PIAFA to authorize foreign fishing within the 
exclusive economic zone adjacent to an Insular Area, or Continental 
Shelf fishery resources beyond such zone, without the concurrence of 
and consultation with the Governor of such Insular Area.
    ``(3)(A) Fees pursuant to a PIAFA shall be paid to the Treasury of 
the Pacific Insular area concerned by the owner or operator of any 
foreign fishing vessel for which a permit has been issued pursuant to 
this section. The Governor, with the concurrence of the Secretary and 
the Secretary of State, shall establish a schedule of reasonable fees 
that shall apply nondiscriminatorily to each foreign nation. The 
prescription of such fees is not subject to section 9701 of title 31, 
United States Code.
    ``(B) Amounts received by the United States as fees under this 
paragraph shall be deposited in the general fund of the treasury of the 
Insular Area, and shall be used for fishery conservation and management 
purposes.
    ``(4) Foreign fishing under a PIAFA shall not be subject to 
subsections (d) through (g) of section 201 or subsection (i) of section 
201.
    ``(5) A PIAFA shall become effective according to the procedures of 
section 203.
    ``(6) The Secretary of State may not negotiate a PIAFA with a 
country that is in violation of a governing international fishery 
agreement in effect under this Act.
    ``(7) This subsection shall not be considered to supersede and 
governing international fishery agreement in effect under this Act.''.

SEC. 5. DOMESTIC FEES.

    Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(h) Pacific Insular Area Fees.--
            ``(1) The Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement 
        with the Governor of a Pacific Insular Area, under which the 
        Pacific Insular Area may administer a permit system and collect 
        fees authorized under a fishery management plan for fisheries 
        in the exclusive economic zone off the Pacific Insular Area 
        pursuant to section 303(b)(1). A cooperative agreement under 
        this paragraph may provide that all or part of the fees 
        collected under the Pacific Insular Area permit system shall be 
        deposited into the treasury of the affected Pacific Insular 
        Area and used for fishery conservation and management purposes.
            ``(2) The Secretary, in concurrence with the Governor of 
        the Pacific Insular Area, may establish by regulation the level 
        of any fees which are authorized to be charged. The amount of 
        any fees collected under this subsection shall be reasonable, 
        fair, and equitable to all participants in the fisheries. The 
        prescription of such fees is not subject to section 9701(b) of 
        title 31, United States Code.''.

SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(f) Enforcement in the Insular Areas.--The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Governors of the Pacific Insular Areas shall, to 
the greatest extent practicable, support cooperative enforcement 
agreements between Federal and Pacific Insular Area authorities.''.

SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    (a) Section 307(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1857(2)(B)) is amended by striking 
``204(b) or (c)'' and inserting ``204(b), (c), or (e)''.
    (b) Section 311(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861(g)(1)) is amended by 
inserting after the citation ``201(b) or (c)'' the words ``or section 
204(d)''.
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