[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1255 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1255

 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
    to extend the authorized time period for rebuilding of certain 
             overfished fisheries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 11, 2009

  Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
    to extend the authorized time period for rebuilding of certain 
             overfished fisheries, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Flexibility in Rebuilding American 
Fisheries Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD FOR REBUILDING CERTAIN OVERFISHED 
              FISHERIES.

    Section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (i) by striking ``possible'' and 
                inserting ``practicable''; and
                    (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
                            ``(ii) not exceed 10 years, except in cases 
                        in which--
                                    ``(I) the biology of the stock of 
                                fish, other environmental conditions, 
                                or management measures under an 
                                international agreement in which the 
                                United States participates dictate 
                                otherwise;
                                    ``(II) the Secretary determines 
                                that such 10-year period should be 
                                extended because the cause of the 
                                fishery decline is outside the 
                                jurisdiction of the Council or the 
                                rebuilding program cannot be effective 
                                only by limiting fishing activities;
                                    ``(III) the Secretary determines 
                                that such 10-year period should be 
                                extended to provide for the sustained 
                                participation of fishing communities or 
                                to minimize the economic impacts on 
                                such communities, provided that there 
                                is evidence that the stock of fish is 
                                on a positive rebuilding trend;
                                    ``(IV) the Secretary determines 
                                that such 10-year period should be 
                                extended for one or more stocks of fish 
                                of a multi-species fishery, provided 
                                that there is evidence that those 
                                stocks are on a positive rebuilding 
                                trend;
                                    ``(V) the Secretary determines that 
                                such 10-year period should be extended 
                                because of a substantial change to the 
                                biomass rebuilding target for the stock 
                                of fish concerned after the rebuilding 
                                plan has taken effect; or
                                    ``(VI) the Secretary determines 
                                that such 10-year period should be 
                                extended because the biomass rebuilding 
                                target exceeds the highest abundance of 
                                the stock of fish during the 25-year 
                                period preceding the date the 
                                rebuilding plan has taken effect and 
                                there is evidence that the stock is on 
                                a positive rebuilding trend;'';
            (2) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by inserting after the first sentence the following: ``In 
        evaluating progress to end overfishing and to rebuild 
        overfished stocks of fish, the Secretary shall review factors, 
        other than commercial fishing and recreational fishing, that 
        may contribute to the overfished status of a stock of fish, 
        such as commercial, residential, and industrial development of, 
        or agricultural activity in, coastal areas and the impact of 
        such development or activity on the marine environment, 
        predator and prey relationships of target and related species, 
        and other environmental and ecological changes to the marine 
        conditions.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) If the Secretary determines that extended rebuilding 
        time is warranted under subclause (III), (IV), (V), or (VI) of 
        paragraph (4)(A)(ii), the maximum time allowed for rebuilding 
        the stock of fish concerned may not exceed the sum of the 
        following time periods:
                    ``(A) The initial 10-year rebuilding period.
                    ``(B) The expected time to rebuild such stock 
                absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing 
                environmental conditions.
                    ``(C) The mean generation time of such stock.
            ``(9) In this subsection, the term `on a positive 
        rebuilding trend' means, with respect to a stock of fish, that 
        the biomass of the stock of fish has shown a substantial 
        increase in abundance since the implementation of the 
        rebuilding plan.''.
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