[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5126 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5126

   To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain 
              descending devices, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2019

  Mr. Graves of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Huffman, and Mr. Palazzo) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain 
              descending devices, 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 ``Direct Enhancement of Snapper 
Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices Act of 2019'' or the 
``DESCEND Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRED USE OF DESCENDING DEVICES.

    (a) Required Gear in the Gulf Reef Fish Fishery.--Title III of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 321. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DEVICES.

    ``(a) Require Gear in the Gulf Reef Fish Fishery.--It shall be 
unlawful for a person on board a commercial or recreational vessel to 
fish for Gulf reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico Exclusive Economic Zone 
without possessing on board the vessel a venting tool or a descending 
device that is rigged and ready for use while fishing is occurring.
    ``(b) Savings Clause.--No provision of this section shall be 
interpreted to affect any program or activity carried out by the Gulf 
Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council established by the Resources and 
Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies 
of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (33 U.S.C. 1321 note), or any 
project contained in an approved Restoration Plan developed by any 
Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustee Implementation Group to 
reduce post-release mortality from barotrauma in Gulf of Mexico Reef 
Fish Recreational Fisheries.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Descending device.--The term `descending device' 
        means an instrument that--
                    ``(A) will release fish at a depth sufficient for 
                the fish to be able to recover from the effects of 
                barotrauma;
                    ``(B) is a weighted hook, lip clamp, or box that 
                will hold the fish while it is lowered to depth, or 
                another device determined to be appropriate by the 
                Secretary; and
                    ``(C) is capable of--
                            ``(i) releasing the fish automatically;
                            ``(ii) releasing the fish by actions of the 
                        operator of the device; or
                            ``(iii) allowing the fish to escape on its 
                        own.
            ``(2) Venting tool.--The term `venting tool' has the 
        meaning given to it by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
        Council.
            ``(3) Gulf reef fish.--The term `Gulf reef fish' means any 
        fish chosen by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 
        that is in the reef Fishery Management Plan for the purposes of 
        this Act.'';
    (b) Civil Penalties.--Section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended 
by inserting ``or section 321'' after ``section 307''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Sunset.--Five years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is 
amended--
            (1) in section 308(a), by striking ``or section 321''; and
            (2) by striking title 321.

SEC. 3. IMPROVING DISCARD MORTALITY DATA.

    (a) Agreement.--Within 60 days of the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National 
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study and produce a report on discard 
mortality in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries. Such study shall 
include--
            (1) assessment of gaps and biases in reporting of discards 
        and associated discard mortality;
            (2) assessment of uncertainty and likely impacts of such 
        uncertainty in discard mortality;
            (3) assessment of the effectiveness and usage rates of 
        barotrauma-reducing devices;
            (4) recommendations for future research priorities; and
            (5) recommendations for standardized reporting and 
        quantification of discards for fisheries under the Gulf of 
        Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan.
    (b) Deadline.--The National Academy of Sciences shall complete the 
study described in subsection (a) and transmit the final report to the 
Secretary within 2 years of the date of enactment of this Act. The 
Secretary shall, within 3 months of receiving such study and report, 
submit such study and report in (a) to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives.
    (c) Plan.--Within 1 year of receiving the study and report in 
described in subsection (a), the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council and the Secretary shall--
            (1) develop guidance for minimum standards for quantifying 
        and reporting discards and associated mortality in the Gulf of 
        Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan; and
            (2) develop a plan to assess and monitor the effectiveness 
        and usage of barotrauma-reducing devices and the impact on 
        discard mortality rates in Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries.
    (d) Follow-Up Report.--Within 3 years of developing minimum 
standards and developing the assessment and monitoring plan in 
subsection (c), the Secretary shall provide a detailed report on 
implementation to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives.
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