[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 40 (Friday, March 26, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3214-S3215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself and Mr. Breaux):
  S. 2244. A bill to protect the public's ability to fish for sport, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Freedom 
to Fish Act. This legislation, cosponsored by Senator Breaux, addresses 
an unsettling situation arising over access to our Nation's public 
coastal resources. There is a growing movement to limit the use and 
enjoyment of America's coastal and ocean waters. This restriction of 
public access is occurring under the guise of the establishment of 
marine protected areas. The bill I am introducing today aims to correct 
a system that would unfairly penalize our Nation's marine recreational 
anglers. I support the goal of healthy marine fisheries, but I disagree 
strongly with any method that unnecessarily limits our citizens' access 
to public waters.
  I believe that my record clearly indicates my dedication to defending 
and improving the health of our oceans and coasts. Recreational anglers 
are among America's most proactive conservationists and their 
contributions need to be recognized.
  The Act would establish guidelines and safeguards by which the 
public's right to use and enjoy these resources are preserved in all 
but the most serious cases. It provides assurances that the public who 
enjoy recreational fishing will have a place at the table when 
decisions are made regarding their use of the resource. Secondly, the 
Freedom to Fish Act will ensure that measurable scientific criteria is 
used to determine the cause and impact of damage to fishery resources.
  Restricting public access to our coastal waters should not be our 
first course of action, but rather our last resort. Open access to 
fishing is the single most important element of recreational fishing. 
We must defend public access against those that would try to restrict 
it under the cloak of marine resource protection.
  I am proud to offer this legislation to bring attention to this 
important issue and I urge my colleagues to support the Freedom to Fish 
Act. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2244

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This bill may be cited as the ``Freedom to Fish Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Recreational fishing is traditionally the most popular 
     outdoor sport with more than 50,000,000 participants of all 
     ages, in all regions of the country.
       (2) Recreational anglers makes a substantial contribution 
     to local, State, and national economies and infuse 
     $116,000,000,000 annually into the national economy.
       (3) In the United States, more than 1,200,000 jobs are 
     related to recreational fishing, a number that is 
     approximately 1 percent of the entire civilian workforce in 
     the

[[Page S3215]]

     United States. In communities that rely on seasonal tourism, 
     the expenditures of recreational anglers result in 
     substantial benefits to the local economies and small 
     businesses in those communities.
       (4) Recreational anglers have long demonstrated a 
     conservation ethic. In addition to payment of Federal excise 
     taxes on fishing equipment, motorboats and fuel, as well as 
     license fees, recreational anglers contribute more than 
     $500,000,000 annually to State fisheries conservation 
     management programs and projects.
       (5) It is a long standing policy of the Federal Government 
     to allow public access to public lands and waters for 
     recreational purposes in a manner that is consistent with 
     principals of sound conservation. This policy is reflected in 
     the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the Wilderness 
     Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the National Parks 
     and Recreation Act of 1978.
       (6) In most instances, recreational fishery resources can 
     be maintained without restricting public access to fishing 
     areas through a variety of management measures including take 
     limits, minimum size requirements, catch and release 
     requirements, gear adaptations, and closed seasons.
       (7) A clear policy is required to demonstrate to 
     recreational anglers that recreational fishing can be managed 
     without unnecessarily prohibiting such fishing.
       (8) A comprehensive policy on the implementation, use, and 
     monitoring of marine protected areas is required to maintain 
     the optimum balance between recreational fishing and 
     sustaining recreational fishery resources.

     SEC. 3. POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States to promote sound 
     conservation of fishery resources by ensuring that--
       (1) Federal regulations promote access to fishing areas by 
     recreational anglers to the maximum extent practicable;
       (2) recreational anglers are actively involved in the 
     formulation of any regulatory procedure that contemplates 
     imposing restrictions on access to a fishing area; and
       (3) limitations on access to fishing areas by recreational 
     anglers are not imposed unless such limitations are 
     scientifically necessary to provide for the conservation of a 
     fishery resource.

     SEC. 4. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 
                   ACT AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Limitation on Closures.--Section 303(a) of the 
     Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
     U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(15) not establish geographic areas where recreational 
     fishing is prohibited unless--
       ``(A) clear indication exists that recreational fishing in 
     such area is the cause of a specific conservation problem in 
     the fishery;
       ``(B) no alternative conservation measures related to 
     recreational fishing, such as gear restrictions, quotas, or 
     closed seasons will adequately provide for conservation and 
     management of the fishery;
       ``(C) the management plan--
       ``(i) provides for specific measurable criteria to assess 
     whether the prohibition provides conservation benefits to the 
     fishery; and
       ``(ii) requires a periodic review to assess the continued 
     need for the prohibition not less than once every 3 years;
       ``(D) the best available scientific information supports 
     the need to close the area to recreational fishing; and
       ``(E) the prohibition is terminated as soon as the 
     condition in subparagraph (A) that was the basis of the 
     prohibition no longer exists.''.
       (b) Technical Amendments.--Such section is further 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon; and
       (2) in paragraph (14), by striking ``fishery.'' and 
     inserting ``fishery; and''.

     SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES ACT AMENDMENT.

       Section 304(a)(5) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 1434(a)(5)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(5) Fishing regulations.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide the 
     appropriate Regional Fishery Management Council with the 
     opportunity to prepare, and to revise from time to time, 
     draft regulations for fishing within the exclusive economic 
     zone as the Council may deem necessary to implement the 
     proposed designation.
       ``(B) Relationship to magnuson.--Draft regulations prepared 
     by the Council under subparagraph (A) shall be made in 
     accordance with the standards and procedures of the Magnuson 
     Act.
       ``(C) Regulation within a state.--Such regulations may 
     regulate a fishery within the boundaries of a State (other 
     than the State's internal waters) if--
       ``(i) the Governor of the State approves such regulation; 
     or
       ``(ii) the Secretary determines, after notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing in accordance with section 554 of 
     title 5, United States Code, that the State has taken any 
     action, or omitted to take any action, the results of which 
     will substantially and adversely affect the fulfillment of 
     the purposes and policies of this Act and the goals and 
     objectives of the proposed designation.
       ``(D) Notification and hearing.--If the Secretary makes a 
     determination under subparagraph (C)(ii) to regulate a 
     fishery within the boundaries of such State (other than 
     State's internal waters)--
       ``(i) the Secretary shall promptly notify the State and the 
     appropriate Council of such determination;
       ``(ii) the State may request that a hearing be held 
     pursuant to section 554 of title 5, United States Code; and
       ``(iii) the Secretary shall conduct a hearing requested 
     under clause (ii) prior to taking any action to regulate a 
     fishery within the boundaries of such State (other than the 
     State's internal waters) under subparagraph (C)(ii).
       ``(E) Termination of regulation within a state.--If the 
     Secretary, pursuant to a determination under subparagraph 
     (C)(ii), assumes responsibility for the regulation of any 
     fishery, the State involved may at any time thereafter apply 
     to the Secretary for reinstatement of its authority over such 
     fishery. If the Secretary finds that the reasons for which 
     the Secretary assumed such regulation no longer prevail, the 
     Secretary shall promptly terminate such regulation.''.
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