[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2079 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2079

 To preserve United States fishing heritage through a national program 
 dedicated to training and assisting the next generation of commercial 
                               fishermen.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2017

   Mr. Young of Alaska (for himself and Mr. Moulton) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To preserve United States fishing heritage through a national program 
 dedicated to training and assisting the next generation of commercial 
                               fishermen.

    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 ``Young Fishermen's Development Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the average age of commercial fishermen continues to 
        increase due to fewer new entrants replacing retiring 
        fishermen;
            (2) there are fewer young or beginning fishermen entering 
        the commercial fisheries for many reasons, including the lack 
        of training, fewer entry level opportunities, lack of capital, 
        and other barriers to entry;
            (3) without well-trained young or beginning fishermen to 
        replace those retiring, fishing businesses and vessels will be 
        lost and fishing communities will suffer;
            (4) for food security and economic reasons, it is in the 
        United States national interest to sustainably harvest United 
        States fishery resources;
            (5) United States farmers and ranchers faced similar 
        difficulties and Congress responded by enacting the Beginning 
        Farmers and Ranchers Development Program administered by the 
        Department of Agriculture;
            (6) the Young Fishermen's Development Grant Program 
        established by this Act is modeled after the successful 
        Department of Agriculture program; and
            (7) the training, education, and outreach provided for in 
        the Young Fishermen's Development Grant Program established by 
        this Act will ensure there is a next generation of commercial 
        fishermen and businesses to harvest the United States rich 
        fishery resources and support our coastal communities.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to establish a national grant program to support the 
        training and education of the United States next generation of 
        commercial fishermen; and
            (2) to engage partnerships and collaborations led by or 
        including nongovernmental, community-based fishing 
        organizations, and school-based fisheries, including Sea Grant 
        Institutions, or marine educational organizations with 
        expertise in new fisheries training and outreach, to provide 
        the education and training.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``young fishermen'' means an individual who--
                    (A)(i) desires to participate in the commercial 
                fisheries of the United States, including the Great 
                Lakes fisheries;
                    (ii) has worked as a captain, crew member, 
                deckhand, or other at-sea position on a commercial 
                fishing vessel for not more than 10 years of cumulative 
                service;
                    (iii) is a beginning commercial fisherman; or
                    (iv) meets such other criteria as the Secretary of 
                Commerce may establish; and
                    (B) is less than 35 years of age; and
            (2) the term ``Sea Grant Institution'' means a sea grant 
        college or sea grant institute, as those terms are defined in 
        section 203 of the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 
        U.S.C. 1122).

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Sea Grant 
Office, shall establish a Young Fishermen's Development Grant Program 
to provide training, education, outreach, and technical assistance 
initiatives for young fishermen.

SEC. 5. GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall make 
competitive grants to support new and established local and regional 
training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for 
young fishermen, including programs, workshops, and services relating 
to--
            (1) seamanship, navigation, electronics, and safety;
            (2) vessel and engine care, maintenance, and repair;
            (3) innovative conservation fishing gear engineering and 
        technology;
            (4) sustainable fishing practices;
            (5) entrepreneurship and good business practices;
            (6) direct marketing, supply chain, and traceability;
            (7) financial and risk management, including vessel, 
        permit, and quota purchasing;
            (8) State and Federal legal requirements for specific 
        fisheries, including reporting, monitoring, licenses, and 
        regulations;
            (9) State and Federal fisheries policy and management;
            (10) mentoring, apprenticeships, or internships; and
            (11) any other activities, opportunities, or programs as 
        determined appropriate by the Secretary.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) Applicants.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this Act, the recipient must be a collaborative State, Tribal, 
        local, or regionally based network or partnership of public or 
        private entities, which may include--
                    (A) a Sea Grant Institution;
                    (B) a Federal, State, or Tribal agency;
                    (C) a community-based or nongovernmental 
                organization;
                    (D) fishermen's cooperatives or associations, 
                including permit banks and trusts;
                    (E) Alaska Native corporations;
                    (F) a college or university (including an 
                institution awarding an associate's degree), or a 
                foundation maintained by a college or university; or
                    (G) any other appropriate entity as determined by 
                the Secretary.
            (2) Participants.--All young fishermen seeking to 
        participate in the commercial fisheries of the United States 
        and the Great Lakes are eligible to participate in the 
        activities funded through grants provided for in this section, 
        except that participants in such activities shall be selected 
        by each grant recipient.
    (c) Maximum Term and Amount of Grant.--
            (1) In general.--A grant under this section shall--
                    (A) have a term of no more than 3 fiscal years; and
                    (B) be in an amount that is not more than $200,000 
                for each fiscal year.
            (2) Consecutive grants.--An eligible recipient may receive 
        consecutive grants under this section.
    (d) Matching Requirement.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a recipient shall provide a match in the form of cash or 
in-kind contributions in the amount equal to or greater than 25 percent 
of the funds provided by the grant.
    (e) Regional Balance.--In making grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure geographic 
diversity.
    (f) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to partnerships and collaborations that are led by 
or include nongovernmental fishing community-based organizations and 
school-based fisheries educational organizations with expertise in 
fisheries and sustainable fishing training and outreach.
    (g) Cooperation and Evaluation Criteria.--In carrying out this 
section and especially in developing criteria for evaluating grant 
applications, the Secretary shall cooperate, to the maximum extent 
practicable, with--
            (1) Sea Grant Institutions and extension agents of such 
        institutions;
            (2) community-based and nongovernmental fishing 
        organizations;
            (3) Federal and State agencies, including Regional Fishery 
        Management Councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens 
        Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et 
        seq.);
            (4) colleges and universities with fisheries expertise and 
        programs; and
            (5) other appropriate partners as determined by the 
        Secretary.
    (h) Prohibition.--A grant under this section may not be used to 
purchase any fishing license, permit, quota, or other harvesting right.

SEC. 6. FUNDING.

    (a) In General.--Of the amount made available to the Secretary of 
Commerce under section 311(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)) for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2022, the Secretary shall use $2,000,000 to carry 
out section 5 of this Act.
    (b) Proportional Allocation.--The amount obligated under this 
section each fiscal year for activities in each fishery management 
region shall be in the same proportion as the portion of the total 
amount obligated under this section for that fiscal year that was 
collected in that region.
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