[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6350 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6350

 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
  to provide additional flexibility for fishery managers, additional 
    transparency for fishermen, a referendum for catch shares, and 
 additional sources for fishery survey funding, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2012

Mr. Runyan (for himself, Mr. Southerland, Mr. Rivera, Mr. LoBiondo, Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Guinta) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
  to provide additional flexibility for fishery managers, additional 
    transparency for fishermen, a referendum for catch shares, and 
 additional sources for fishery survey funding, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Transparent and 
Science-Based Fishery Management Act of 2012''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Annual catch limits.
Sec. 5. Catch share referendum requirement.
Sec. 6. Extension of time period for rebuilding certain overfished 
                            fisheries.
Sec. 7. Authority to suspend annual catch limits.
Sec. 8. Use of fishery enforcement penalties for fishery independent 
                            data collection.
Sec. 9. Response on disaster assistance requests.
Sec. 10. SSC and Council transparency.
Sec. 11. State management.
Sec. 12. Report to Congress on closures.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

    Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(51) The term `catch share' means any fishery management 
        program that allocates a specific percentage of the total 
        allowable catch for a fishery, or a specific fishing area, to 
        an individual, cooperative, community, sector, processor, 
        regional fishery organization established in accordance with 
        section 303A(c)(4), or other entity.
            ``(52) The term `ecosystem component species' means a stock 
        of fish that is a nontarget, incidentally harvested stock of 
        fish in a fishery, or a nontarget, incidentally harvested stock 
        of fish, that a Council or the Secretary has determined--
                    ``(A) is not subject to overfishing, approaching an 
                overfished condition, or overfished; and
                    ``(B) is not be likely to become subject to 
                overfishing or overfished in the absence of 
                conservation and management measures.''.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.

    (a) Implementation of Annual Catch Limit Requirement.--Section 302 
(16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Implementation of Annual Catch Limit Requirement.--
            ``(1) Limitation on annual catch limit requirement.--
        Notwithstanding subsection (h)(6), a Council is not required to 
        develop an annual catch limit for--
                    ``(A) an ecosystem component species, or
                    ``(B) a species, fishery, or stock, for which a 
                survey and stock assessment have not been performed 
                within the preceding 5-year period.
            ``(2) Relationship to international efforts.--Each annual 
        catch limit shall take into account--
                    ``(A) management measures under international 
                agreements in which the United States participates; and
                    ``(B) informal transboundary agreements under which 
                management activities outside the exclusive economic 
                zone by another country may hinder conservation efforts 
                by United States fishermen for a species for which any 
                of the recruitment, distribution, life history, or 
                fishing activities are transboundary.''.
    (b) Stock Surveys or Peer-Reviewed Stock Assessments.--Section 304 
(16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (as added by 
        section 406(a) of Public Law 109-479) as subsection (j); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Stock Surveys or Peer-Reviewed Stock Assessments.--The 
Secretary shall, on an annual basis and for each region under section 
302(a)--
            ``(1) determine which fisheries and stocks of fish have not 
        been the subject of a stock survey or peer-reviewed stock 
        assessment within the previous 5 years;
            ``(2) create--
                    ``(A) a priority list, based on input from the 
                Councils, for determining which fisheries or stocks of 
                fish of the fisheries identified under paragraph (1) 
                shall be surveyed in that year; and
                    ``(B) a proposed budget for such surveys; and
            ``(3) identify opportunities for the use of State or 
        private vessels for conducting such surveys.''.

SEC. 5. CATCH SHARE REFERENDUM REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 303A(c)(6)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)(6)(D)) 
is amended by redesignating clauses (iii) through (vi) as clauses (v) 
through (viii), and by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the 
following:
                            ``(i) Except as provided in clause (v) for 
                        the Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper 
                        fishery, the New England, Mid-Atlantic, South 
                        Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Councils may not 
                        submit a fishery management plan or amendment 
                        that creates a catch share program for a 
                        fishery, and the Secretary may not approve or 
                        implement such a plan or amendment submitted by 
                        such a Council or a Secretarial plan or 
                        amendment under section 304(c) that creates 
                        such a program, unless the final program has 
                        been approved, in a referendum in accordance 
                        with this subparagraph, by a majority of the 
                        permit holders eligible to participate in the 
                        fishery. For multi-species permits in the Gulf 
                        of Mexico, any permit holder with landings from 
                        the fishery being considered for the catch 
                        share program within the 5-year period 
                        preceding the date of the referendum and still 
                        active in fishing in the fishery shall be 
                        eligible to participate in such a referendum. 
                        If a catch share program is not approved by the 
                        requisite number of permit holders, it may be 
                        revised and submitted for approval in a 
                        subsequent referendum.
                            ``(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a 
                        referendum under this subparagraph, including 
                        notifying all permit holders eligible to 
                        participate in the referendum and making 
                        available to them--
                                    ``(I) a copy of the proposed 
                                program;
                                    ``(II) an estimate of the costs of 
                                the program, including costs to 
                                participants;
                                    ``(III) an estimate of the amount 
                                of fish or percentage of quota each 
                                permit holder would be allocated; and
                                    ``(IV) information concerning the 
                                schedule, procedures, and eligibility 
                                requirements for the referendum 
                                process.
                            ``(iii) For the purposes of this 
                        subparagraph, the term `permit holder eligible 
                        to participate' does not include the holder of 
                        a permit for a fishery under which fishing has 
                        not occurred in 3 of the 5 years preceding a 
                        referendum for the fishery unless sickness, 
                        injury, or other unavoidable hardship prevented 
                        the permit holder from engaging in such 
                        fishing.
                            ``(iv) The Secretary may not implement any 
                        catch share program for any fishery managed 
                        exclusively by the Secretary unless first 
                        petitioned by a majority of those eligible to 
                        participate in the fishery.''.
    (b) Limitation on Application.--The amendment made by subsection 
(a) shall not apply to a catch share program that is submitted to, or 
proposed by, the Secretary of Commerce before the date of enactment of 
this Act.
    (c) Regulations.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall issue 
regulations implementing this section.

SEC. 6. 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)(4)) 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 
                        where--
                                    ``(I) another time period is 
                                appropriate because of the biology of 
                                the stock of fish, other environmental 
                                conditions, management measures under 
                                an international agreement in which the 
                                United States participates, or an 
                                informal transboundary agreement under 
                                which management activities outside the 
                                exclusive economic zone by another 
                                country may hinder conservation efforts 
                                by United States fishermen for a 
                                species for which any of the 
                                recruitment, distribution, life 
                                history, or fishing activities are 
                                transboundary;
                                    ``(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, if 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 in the 25-year period 
                                preceding and there is evidence that 
                                the stock is on a positive rebuilding 
                                trend;''; or
            (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 a stock's overfished status, such as 
        commercial, residential, and industrial development of, or 
        agricultural activity in, coastal areas and their impact on the 
        marine environment, predator-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 the stock absent 
                any fishing mortality and under prevailing 
                environmental conditions.
                    ``(C) The mean generation time of the stock.
            ``(9) In this subsection the term `on a positive rebuilding 
        trend' means that the biomass of the stock of fish has shown a 
        substantial increase in abundance since the implementation of 
        the rebuilding plan.''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.

    Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is further amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(l) Authority To Suspend Annual Catch Limits.--The Secretary may 
suspend the application of annual catch limits to a fishery for any 
period for which the Secretary determines that--
            ``(1) the fishery is not overfished or approaching a 
        condition of being overfished;
            ``(2) any stock of fish in the fishery previously affected 
        by overfishing is rebuilt; and
            ``(3) the scientific advice relating to such annual catch 
        limits provided by the scientific and statistical committee of 
        the Council with jurisdiction over the fishery is based on a 
        level of uncertainty that is insufficient to ensure that the 
        fishery management plan for the fishery is consistent with the 
        national standard set forth in section 301(a)(8).''.

SEC. 8. USE OF FISHERY ENFORCEMENT PENALTIES FOR FISHERY INDEPENDENT 
              DATA COLLECTION.

    Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Use of the Asset Forfeiture Fund for Fishery Independent Data 
Collection.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, subject to 
        appropriations, may obligate for data collection purposes in 
        accordance with prioritizations under paragraph (3) a portion 
        of amounts received by the United States as fisheries 
        enforcement penalties.
            ``(2) Included purposes.--The purposes referred to in 
        paragraph (1) include--
                    ``(A) the use of State personnel and resources, 
                including fishery survey vessels owned and maintained 
                by States to survey or assess data-poor fisheries for 
                which fishery management plans are in effect under this 
                Act; and
                    ``(B) cooperative research activities to improve or 
                enhance the fishery independent data used in fishery 
                stock assessments.
            ``(3) Data-poor fisheries priority lists.--Each Council 
        shall--
                    ``(A) identify those fisheries in its region 
                considered to be data-poor fisheries;
                    ``(B) prioritize those fisheries based on the need 
                of each fishery for up-to-date information; and
                    ``(C) provide those priorities to the Secretary.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Data-poor fisheries.--The term `data-poor 
                fishery' means a fishery--
                            ``(i) that has not been surveyed in the 
                        preceding 5-year period;
                            ``(ii) for which a fishery stock assessment 
                        has not been performed within the preceding 5-
                        year period; or
                            ``(iii) for which limited information on 
                        the status of the fishery is available for 
                        management purposes.
                    ``(B) Fisheries enforcement penalties.--The term 
                `fisheries enforcement penalties' means any fine or 
                penalty imposed, or proceeds of any property seized, 
                for a violation of this Act or of any other marine 
                resource law enforced by the Secretary, including the 
                Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.).
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary for each fiscal year to 
        carry out this subsection up to 80 percent of the fisheries 
        enforcement penalties collected during the preceding fiscal 
        year.''.

SEC. 9. RESPONSE ON DISASTER ASSISTANCE REQUESTS.

    Section 312(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1861a(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1)'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (C) as 
        clauses (i) through (iii), respectively; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) When acting under this paragraph at the request of the 
Governor of an affected State or a fishing community, the Secretary 
shall make the determination not later than 60 days after the date on 
which the Secretary receives the request.''.

SEC. 10. SSC AND COUNCIL TRANSPARENCY.

    Section 302(i)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)(2)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
                    ``(G) Each Council shall make available, to the 
                extent practicable, on the Internet website of the 
                Council--
                            ``(i) a live broadcast of each meeting of 
                        the Council, and of the Council Coordination 
                        Committee established under subsection (l), 
                        that is not closed in accordance with paragraph 
                        (3); and
                            ``(ii) audio, video (if the meeting was in 
                        person or by video conference), and a complete 
                        transcript of each meeting of the Council and 
                        the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the 
                        Council--
                                    ``(I) by not later than 30 days 
                                after the conclusion of the meeting; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) for 3 years after the 
                                conclusion of the meeting.''.

SEC. 11. STATE MANAGEMENT.

    Section 306(a)(3)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1856(C)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                    ``(C) The fishing vessel is not registered under 
                the law of the State of Alaska and is operating in a 
                fishery in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska for 
                which there is no fishery management plan in place, and 
                the Secretary and the North Pacific Council find that 
                there is a legitimate interest of the State of Alaska 
                in the conservation and management of such fishery. The 
                authority provided under this subparagraph shall 
                terminate when a fishery management plan under this Act 
                is approved and implemented for such fishery.''.

SEC. 12. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON CLOSURES.

    The Secretary of Commerce shall--
            (1) review each fishery closure under Federal law for which 
        notice was published in the Federal Register that was not a 
        normal and expected occurrence under the fishery management 
        plan for the fishery concerned and was therefore considered 
        disruptive to sport, charter, or commercial fishing operations, 
        and that was in effect for more than 120 days within the 5-year 
        period preceding the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) report to Congress regarding each such closure, 
        including the reason for the closure, the duration of the 
        closure, the estimated loss of income by those directly 
        affected by the closure, the impact of the closure on coastal 
        communities, and when the most recent fishery survey and stock 
        assessment for each stock of fish to which the closure applied 
        were completed.
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