1.This Act may be cited as the
Bottom Trawl and Deep Sea Coral
Habitat Act
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Ocean resources are a vital component of
the United States economy, as noted by the United States Commission on Ocean
Policy.
(2)A proper balance of use and protection of
ocean resources is necessary to ensure the sustainability of such
resources.
(3)Deep ocean habitats provide fishery
resources and sites for deep sea corals and deep sea sponges.
(4)Many fishermen of the United States derive
their livelihoods from fishing in deep ocean areas.
(5)It is important that fishermen continue to
be permitted to use areas that have traditionally been fished, as long as
conservation considerations allow.
(6)According to the National Research Council,
approximately 10 percent of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, an area
of a total of 3,400,000 square nautical miles, is used each year by fishermen
who employ bottom trawls and, in the area that is 50 miles or less from shore,
this percentage is higher than 75 percent in some regions.
(7)Vessel monitoring systems are increasingly
used in the fishing industry. For example, coverage of such systems for bottom
trawl vessels in the Pacific and North Pacific is 100 percent.
(8)Deep sea corals and deep sea sponges host
biological diversity that, according to the United States Commission on Ocean
Policy, may rival that of coral communities in warmer, shallower
waters
. For example, more than 1,300 species live among Lophelia coral
reefs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
(9)Complex seafloor habitats created by
structure-forming organisms, such as deep sea corals and deep sea sponges,
provide spawning habitat, food, and shelter to numerous fishes and other
associated species, including commercially and recreationally targeted
species.
(10)Deep sea corals and deep sea sponges
typically exhibit slow growth, extreme longevity, and highly patchy
distribution, predominately along continental margins, seamounts, undersea
canyons, and ridges.
(11)Deep sea corals and deep sea sponges have
not been fully studied for their benefit to society or for their ecological
importance to other associated species.
(12)Deep sea corals, deep sea sponges, and
their associated invertebrates are a potential source of compounds with
biomedical properties, some of which are currently in clinical trials to study
their anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties.
(13)The United States Commission on Ocean
Policy found that deep sea corals, along with their shallow-water counterparts,
are declining at a disturbing pace,
and that certain types of
fishing gear damage deep sea coral ecosystems.
(14)The National Research Council, in a 2002
report to Congress on the effects of trawling and dredging on seafloor
habitats, found that deep sea corals warrant protection, based on evidence of
the destruction of structured habitats caused by bottom trawls and
dredges.
(15)The President’s Ocean Action Plan of 2004
encourages all regional fishery management councils to take action,
where appropriate, to protect deep-sea corals when developing and implementing
regional fishery management plans
and includes provisions to
research, survey, and protect deep-sea coral communities
.
(16)In 2005, the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council proposed measures that will be adopted pending approval by
the Secretary of Commerce to confine use of bottom trawls in the Aleutian
Islands exclusive economic zone to specified historically productive fishing
areas, to disallow use of bottom trawls in historically unfished areas of
Aleutian Islands waters where deep sea corals have been undisturbed, to
designate as no-trawling zones those areas where coral ecosystems are known to
exist, and to develop a comprehensive plan for research and monitoring.
3.
(a)The purposes of this
Act are—
(1)to permit fishermen to use bottom trawls in
areas that, traditionally, have been fished using bottom trawls and that do not
contain deep sea coral and sponge ecosystems;
(2)to provide long-term protection for deep
sea coral and sponge ecosystems, particularly in areas that have not
traditionally been fished with bottom trawls; and
(3)to identify, map, and assess deep sea coral
and sponge ecosystems to create a balanced policy for maintenance of fishing
and protection of deep sea ecosystems.
(b)The Secretary shall use a process that
achieves an outcome similar to the outcome achieved by the North Pacific
Regional Fishery Management Council—
(1)to protect the habitat of deep sea corals
or deep sea sponges to carry out the purposes of this Act; and
(2)to identify areas that are open to the use
of bottom trawls and areas closed to such use where deep sea coral and sponge
ecosystems are present and protected.
4.In this Act:
(1)The term bottom
trawl means any trawl or dredge fishing gear that contacts the seafloor
while in use, including pelagic trawls that contact the seafloor while in use,
otter trawls, and scallop dredges.
(2)The term Bottom
Trawl Zone means any area designated under section 7 or section 10 as a
Bottom Trawl Zone.
(3)Coral habitat
conservation zoneThe term
Coral Habitat Conservation Zone means any area designated under
section 8 or section 11 as a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone.
(4)The term Council means any
Regional Fishery Management Council established by section 302 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1852).
(5)Deep sea coral
and sponge ecosystemThe term
deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem means an ecosystem that meets
the criteria established by the Secretary pursuant to section 5(d) of this Act
composed of living deep sea corals or deep sea sponges, the benthic and
demersal species associated with them, and the biological, physical, chemical,
and geologic components that constitute habitat for corals or sponges.
(6)The term deep
sea corals means the species that—
(A)occur at a depth of greater than 50
meters;
(B)do not contain symbiotic algae; and
(C)are in the phylum Cnidaria, in the
order—
(i)Antipatharia (black corals);
(ii)Scleractinia (stony corals);
(iii)Gorgonacea (horny corals);
(iv)Alcyonacea (soft corals);
(v)Pennatulacea (sea pens), in the class
Anthozoa; or
(vi)Hydrocorallina (hydrocorals), in the class
Hydrozoa.
(7)The term deep
sea sponges means species of the phylum Porifera that occur at a depth
of greater than 50 meters.
(8)The term
exclusive economic zone has the meaning given that term in section
3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1802).
(9)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary's designee.
(10)The term
Vessel Monitoring System means a type of mobile transceiver unit
that—
(A)is approved by the Office of Law
Enforcement of the National Marine Fisheries Service; and
(B)automatically determines the vessel's
position and transmits that information to a communications service provider
that is approved by such Office for transmission and relay to such
Office.
5.
(a)Requirement for
mapping and researchThe
Secretary shall direct the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to prepare
and carry out a comprehensive program to explore, identify, research, and map
the locations of deep sea corals and deep sea sponges.
(b)Description of
mapping and researchThe
program described in subsection (a) shall include—
(1)creating maps of the locations of deep sea
coral and sponge ecosystems; and
(2)conducting research related to deep sea
corals and deep sea sponges, including research related to—
(A)the natural history of such species;
(B)the taxonomic classification of such
species;
(C)the ecological roles of such
species;
(D)the growth rates of such species;
(E)the anthropogenic, ecological, and other
benefits of such species and the habitats of such species; and
(F)the correlation of deep sea corals and deep
sea sponges with various types of geologic formations, physical features, and
other predictors of presence.
(c)Cooperative
research programThe
Secretary, in consultation with the Councils, shall develop a cooperative
research program to identify—
(1)the ideal areas for the use of bottom
trawls; and
(2)the locations of deep sea corals and deep
sea sponges.
(d)Thresholds of
deep sea coral and sponge presence
(1)The Secretary, in
consultation with the Councils and expert scientists, shall determine the
thresholds above which the abundances of various deep sea corals or deep sea
sponges shall be considered to constitute an ecosystem. In determining such
thresholds, the Secretary shall consider the life histories and growth rates of
deep sea corals and deep sea sponges and the criteria set out in paragraph
(2).
(2)In determining the thresholds under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following criteria:
(A)Bycatch per unit effort of deep sea corals
or deep sea sponges in fishery trawls.
(B)Presence of deep sea corals or deep sea
sponges in research surveys.
(C)Predictions of the presence of deep sea
corals or deep sea sponges based on correlations with geologic or physical
features.
(D)Other methods indicating ecologically
meaningful presence of these species in an area.
6.Use of best available
data
(a)The Secretary shall use the best available
data to determine if an area shall be designated as a Bottom Trawl Zone or as a
Coral Habitat Conservation Zone.
(b)In delineating the boundary and determining
the size of an area to be designated as a Bottom Trawl Zone or a Coral Habitat
Conservation Zone, the relevant council and the Secretary shall
consider—
(1)the precision and accuracy of the available
trawl location data considered in making such determination;
(2)the precision and accuracy of deep sea
coral and deep sea sponge presence data considered in making such
determination;
(3)the economic cost of such designation to
industry and the ecological costs and benefits of such designation to deep sea
corals and deep sea sponges in the area; and
(4)the ease of enforcement of such
designation.
(c)Coral Habitat
Conservation ZonesNotwithstanding the considerations in
subsection (b), in delineating the boundary and determining the size of an area
to be designated as a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone, the relevant Council and
the Secretary—
(1)shall ensure that each area that is
determined to contain a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem is designated as a
Coral Habitat Conservation Zone; and
(2)may include a buffer area around deep sea
corals or deep sea sponges present in such Zone to ensure the complete
protection of potential deep sea corals or deep sea sponges in the area or to
facilitate the enforcement of any appropriate prohibitions, rules, or
regulations within such Zone.
7.Initial designation of
bottom trawl zones
(a)Recommendation
by a councilNot later than
24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, each Council, after notice
and an opportunity for public comment, shall submit to the Secretary and the
Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register—
(1)a list of all areas for which the Council
has responsibilities that were fished using bottom trawls during the 7-year
period ending on December 31, 2004; and
(2)recommendations on which portions of the
areas identified in paragraph (1) should be designated as Bottom Trawl
Zones.
(b)Standards for
initial designationAn area
may not be designated as a Bottom Trawl Zone if there is evidence that a deep
sea coral and sponge ecosystem is present in such area.
(c)
(1)Not later than 9 months
after the date of the publication of a Council’s recommendations in the Federal
Register pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register a proposed rule to designate each area or the portion of such
area that does not contain a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem as a Bottom
Trawl Zone.
(2)If a Council fails
to submit recommendations to the Secretary under subsection (a), not later than
33 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish
in the Federal Register a list of areas located in the area for which such
Council has responsibility that the Secretary proposes to designate as Bottom
Trawl Zones.
(3)The Secretary shall
accept comments on a proposal published under paragraph (1) or (2) for 60 days
after the date of such publication.
(4)
(A)Not later than 30
days after the date of the end of the comment period described in paragraph
(3), the Secretary shall designate an area included in a proposal published
under paragraph (1) or (2) as a Bottom Trawl Zone if such area meets the
standards for such designation set out in subsection (b).
(B)The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register each designation made under subparagraph (A).
(d)Activities
within Bottom Trawl ZonesAfter the date that is 30 days after the
date of the end of the comment period described in subsection (c)(3), bottom
trawls may not be used in an area that is not designated as a Bottom Trawl
Zone.
8.Initial designation of
coral habitat conservation zones
(a)Designation by
the Secretary
(1)Not later than 60
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall designate as
a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone each area—
(A)that a Council, prior to the date of
enactment of this Act, has designated as an area in which the use of bottom
trawls is prohibited for the protection of seafloor habitat; or
(B)for which a map of the presence of deep sea
corals or deep sea sponges has been developed and for which the best available
data confirm the presence of deep sea corals or deep sea sponges.
(2)Publication and
effective dateNot later than
60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in
the Federal Register each area designated as a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone
under paragraph (1) and such designation shall become effective on the date of
such publication.
(b)Recommendation
by a council
(1)Submission to
the secretaryNot later than
24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, each Council, after notice
and an opportunity for public comment, shall submit to the Secretary a list of
all areas known to contain deep sea corals or deep sea sponges.
(2)A list submitted by a
Council under paragraph (1) shall include each area that was considered for
designation as a Bottom Trawl Zone under section 7(a) if such area that was
determined by the Council or the Secretary to contain a deep sea coral and
sponge ecosystem.
(3)The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register a list submitted by a Council under paragraph (1).
(c)
(1)Not later than 9 months
after the date of the publication of a Council’s recommendations pursuant to
subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a
proposed rule to designate each area identified in such publication as a Coral
Habitat Conservation Zone.
(2)If a Council fails
to submit recommendations to the Secretary under subsection (b)(1), not later
than 33 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a list of areas located in the area for which
such Council has responsibility that the Secretary proposes to designate as
Coral Habitat Conservation Zones.
(3)The Secretary shall
accept comments on any proposed rule published under paragraph (1) or (2) for
60 days after the date of such publication.
(4)
(A)Not later than 30
days after the date of the end of the comment period described in paragraph
(3), the Secretary shall—
(i)designate each area, or portion of such
area, included in a proposed rule published under paragraph (1) as a Coral
Habitat Conservation Zone, if there is rational basis for such designation;
or
(ii)if the Secretary fails to make a
designation under clause (i) for an area, provide a justification for such
failure.
(B)The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register each designation made under subparagraph (A)(i) or justification
required under subparagraph (A)(ii).
(C)If the Secretary does not publish the
designation of an area under subparagraph (A)(i) or the justification required
under subparagraph (A)(ii) for such area within 30 days of the date of the end
of the comment period described in paragraph (3), such area shall be deemed to
be a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone as if so designated by the
Secretary.
9.An area not initially
designated as a Bottom Trawl Zone under section 7 or as a Coral Habitat
Conservation Zone under section 8 shall be available for subsequent designation
as a Bottom Trawl Zone under section 10 or as a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone
under section 11.
10.Subsequent
designation of bottom trawl zones
(a)Standards for
subsequent designationAfter
the initial designations of Bottom Trawl Zones made under section 7, the
Secretary, in consultation with the relevant Council, shall designate an area
as a Bottom Trawl Zone if—
(1)the area has been surveyed for the presence
of deep sea corals and deep sea sponges; and
(2)there is no deep sea coral and sponge
ecosystem present in the area.
(b)Recommendation
by a councilUpon the
recommendation of the appropriate Council, the Secretary may consider any
previously undesignated area for designation as a Bottom Trawl Zone. The
Secretary may designate such area as a Bottom Trawl Zone under this section
only if such area meets the designation standards set out in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subsection (a).
(c)
(1)The Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule to designate an area that is
not a Bottom Trawl Zone or a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone and that meets the
standards set out in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) as a Bottom Trawl
Zone whether identified by the Secretary or by a Council pursuant to subsection
(b).
(2)The Secretary shall
accept comments on any proposed rule published under paragraph (1) for 60 days
after the date of the publication of such proposed rule.
(3)
(A)Not later than 30
days after the date of the end of the comment period described in paragraph
(2), the Secretary shall designate as a Bottom Trawl Area each area, or part of
such area, included in a proposed rule published under paragraph (1) if the
area meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a).
(B)The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register each designation made under subparagraph (A).
11.Subsequent
designation of Coral habitat conservation zones
(a)Standards for
subsequent designationThe
Secretary, in consultation with the Councils, shall designate an area as a
Coral Habitat Conservation Zone if the best available data indicate the
presence of a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem in such area.
(b)Subsequent
designation through bycatch records, research, or mapping
(1)The Secretary shall
continually collect and review, for the purpose of making a determination on
the presence of deep sea coral and sponge ecosystems in an area, the following
data:
(A)Bycatch records.
(B)Data and analysis that results from the
mapping and research conducted pursuant to section 5.
(C)Any other research, mapping, or survey data
that the Secretary determines is appropriate.
(2)Designations
based on the review of dataIf the Secretary, in consultation with the
relevant Council, determines that data reviewed under paragraph (1) indicates
the presence of a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Council, shall designate the area as a Coral Habitat
Conservation Zone and, if appropriate, terminate the designation of the area as
a Bottom Trawl Zone.
(c)Recommendation
by a councilUpon the
recommendation of the appropriate Council, the Secretary may consider any area
for designation as a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone.
(d)
(1)The Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule to designate an area identified
by the Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate Councils, under
subsection (a) or (b) or by a Council under subsection (c) as a Coral Habitat
Conservation Zone if data indicate the presence of a deep sea coral and sponge
ecosystem in such area.
(2)The Secretary shall
accept comments on any proposed rule published under paragraph (1) for 60 days
after the date of the publication of such proposed rule.
(3)
(A)Not later than 30
days after the date of the end of the comment period described in paragraph
(2), the Secretary shall—
(i)designate as a Coral Habitat Conservation
Zone each area, or part of such area, included in a proposed rule published
under paragraph (1) if data indicate the presence of a deep sea coral and
sponge ecosystem in such area; or
(ii)if the Secretary fails to make a
designation under clause (i) for an area, provide a justification that explains
the reasons that the best available data do not indicate the presence of a deep
sea coral and sponge ecosystem in such area.
(B)The Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register each designation made under subparagraph (A)(i) or justification
required under subparagraph (A)(ii).
(C)If the Secretary does not publish the
designation of an area under subparagraph (A)(i) or the justification required
under subparagraph (A)(ii) for such area within 30 days of the date of the end
of the comment period described in paragraph (2), such area shall be deemed to
be a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone as if so designated by the
Secretary.
12.Stricter regulation
permitted and savings clause
(a)Nothing in this Act
shall restrict the authority provided to the Secretary by any other provision
of law to promulgate, with or without the advice of the appropriate Council,
fishery or habitat protection measures for any purpose that are more
restrictive than the measures set out in this Act.
(b)All rules and
regulations issued by the Secretary under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) pertaining to the
conservation, management, or protection of deep sea corals or deep sea sponges
shall continue in full force and effect after the date of enactment of this Act
until modified or rescinded by the Secretary, in exercise of the authority
provided to the Secretary under any provision of law.
13.Use of vessel
monitoring systemsNot later
than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a vessel that uses a
bottom trawl in waters deeper than 50 meters shall use a Vessel Monitoring
System capable of accurately detecting and reporting the position of the vessel
whenever the vessel leaves port with a bottom trawl on board.
14.Penalties and
enforcement
(a)Any person who is
found by the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing in
accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, to have violated
the prohibition set out in section 7(d) is liable to the United States for a
civil penalty under section 308 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858) as if such person had committed an act
prohibited by section 307 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).
(b)
(1)A person is guilty of an offense if the
person commits an act prohibited by subparagraph (D), (E), (F), (H), (I), or
(L) of section 307(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) in an area designated as a Coral Habitat
Conservation Zone.
(2)An offense referred to in paragraph (1) is
punishable by the punishments set out in section 309(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1859(b)).
(c)Any fishing
vessel (including its fishing gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores, and
cargo) used, and fish (or the fair market value thereof) taken or retained, in
any manner, in connection with or as a result of the commission of a violation
of the prohibition set out in section 7(d) (other than such a violation for
which the issuance of a citation is sufficient sanction) shall be subject to
the civil forfeiture provisions set out in section 310 of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).
(d)The provisions of this Act shall be
enforced by the officers responsible for the enforcement of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as provided for in
subsection (a) of section 311 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1861). Such officers shall
have the powers and authorities to enforce this Act as are provided in such
section.
15.International
protections for deep sea corals and deep sea spongesThe President is authorized to permit the
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to work with
appropriate international organizations and foreign nations to develop the data
necessary to identify areas located in international waters that contain deep
sea corals or deep sea sponges and to protect such deep sea corals or deep sea
sponges.
16.
(a)Not more than 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Secretary shall publish and submit to Congress a report on the activities
undertaken to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(b)Each report required by subsection (a)
shall include—
(1)a description of the activities carried out
to protect and define areas in which the use of bottom trawls has traditionally
been permitted;
(2)a description of the activities carried out
to protect and monitor deep sea corals or deep sea sponges;
(3)a description of any area designated either
as a Bottom Trawl Zone or a Coral Habitat Conservation Zone;
(4)a summary of the research strategy created
pursuant to section 5;
(5)a summary of any bycatch or other data that
indicates the presence of a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem in an area;
and
(6)a summary of geologic structures that
indicate the presence of deep sea coral and sponge ecosystems in an area, as
determined by research activities described in section 5.
(c)Notice of the availability of each report
required by this section shall be published in the Federal Register.
17.Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry out this Act.