[House Report 112-656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-656

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                   BILLFISH CONSERVATION ACT OF 2012

                                _______
                                

 September 10, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2706]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2706) to prohibit the sale of billfish, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Billfish Conservation Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

  Congress finds the following:
          (1) The United States carefully regulates its domestic 
        fisheries for billfish and participates in international 
        fishery management bodies in the Atlantic and Pacific.
          (2) Global billfish populations have declined significantly, 
        however, because of overfishing primarily through retention of 
        bycatch by non-United States commercial fishing fleets.
          (3) Ending the importation of foreign-caught billfish for 
        sale in the United States aligns with U.S. management measures 
        of billfish and protects the significant economic benefits to 
        the U.S. economy of recreational fishing and marine commerce 
        and the traditional cultural fisheries.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

  The Congress enacts this Act pursuant to clause 3 of section 8 of 
article I of the Constitution.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF BILLFISH.

  (a) Prohibition.--No person shall offer for sale, sell, or have 
custody, control, or possession of for purposes of offering for sale or 
selling billfish or products containing billfish.
  (b) Penalty.--For purposes of section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a 
violation of this section shall be treated as an act prohibited by 
section 307 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).
  (c) Exemptions for Traditional Fisheries and Markets.--
          (1) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish caught by U.S. 
        vessels and landed in the State of Hawaii or Pacific Insular 
        Areas as defined in section 3(35) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
        Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(35)).
          (2) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish landed by 
        foreign vessels in the Pacific Insular Areas when the foreign 
        caught billfish is exported to non-U.S. markets or retained 
        within the Pacific Insular Areas for local consumption.
  (d) Billfish Defined.--In this section the term ``billfish''--
          (1) means any fish of the species--
                  (A) Makaira nigricans (blue marlin);
                  (B) Kajikia audax (striped marlin);
                  (C) Istiompax indica (black marlin);
                  (D) Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish);
                  (E) Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill spearfish);
                  (F) Kajikia albida (white marlin);
                  (G) Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spearfish);
                  (H) Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean spearfish); and
                  (I) Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spearfish); and
          (2) does not include the species Xiphias gladius (swordfish).

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2706, as ordered reported, is to 
prohibit the sale of billfish.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 2706 would prohibit the sale of billfish or billfish 
products or possession of billfish or products containing 
billfish for the purposes of sale. The prohibition would not 
apply to the State of Hawaii and Pacific Insular areas as long 
as the billfish were only sold in Hawaii or a Pacific Insular 
area. The bill would make these prohibitions subject to 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
penalties.
    The bill defines billfish to mean: blue marlin, striped 
marlin, black marlin, sailfish, shortbill spearfish, white 
marlin, roundscale spearfish, Mediterranean spearfish, and 
longbill spearfish. The definition of billfish for the purposes 
of this bill does not include swordfish.
    Highly migratory species like tunas, swordfish, spearfish, 
and marlins are managed by a number of international treaties 
that the United States has signed, ratified and implemented. 
Domestic management of these fish on the Atlantic Coast are 
managed through a fishery management plan developed by the 
Secretary of Commerce that prohibits the possession or sale of 
billfish other than swordfish.On the Pacific Coast, management 
is through two fishery management plans promulgated under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: the 
U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species Fishery 
Management Plan developed by the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council and the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region 
Fishery Management Plan developed by the Western Pacific 
Fishery Management Council. The fishery management plan in the 
Western Pacific allows for the retention and sale of billfish.
    A hearing on the legislation was held on June 19, 2012. 
Testimony was given that indicated that billfish populations 
have declined due to overfishing by non-U.S. commercial fishing 
fleets and that the U.S. is the largest importer of billfish.
    While the legislation would prohibit the possession or sale 
of billfish or billfish products, concern was also heard that 
this blanket prohibition might unnecessarily harm U.S. 
fishermen. At the full Committee markup of H.R. 2706, an 
amendment was offered to address this concern.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2706 was introduced on July 29, 2011, by Congressman 
Jeff Miller (R-FL). The bill was referred to the House 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular 
Affairs. On June 19, 2012, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, 
Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs held a hearing on the 
bill. On August 1, 2012, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, 
Oceans, and Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous 
consent. Congressman John Fleming (R-LA) offered an en bloc 
amendment designated .001 to the bill; the amendment was 
adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was then 
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 2706--Billfish Conservation Act of 2011

    H.R. 2706 would prohibit individuals from selling or 
possessing billfish (marlin and other species) or billfish 
products in nearly all states and some territories of the 
United States. Based on information provided by the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would have no significant impact on 
the federal budget. Enacting the legislation could increase 
revenues (from civil and criminal penalties) and associated 
direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
However, CBO estimates that such increases would be negligible 
and would offset each other in most years.
    CBO expects that the bill would have a minimal impact on 
NOAA's fishery management activities. Under current law, any 
billfish caught in the Atlantic Ocean must be released. In 
addition, billfish are rarely found in the Pacific Ocean off 
the west coast of the continental United States. Hawaii and the 
Pacific Insular Area would be exempt from complying with the 
bill as long as billfish and billfish products from those areas 
are sold there.
    H.R. 2706 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
    H.R. 2706 contains a private-sector mandate, as defined in 
UMRA, by prohibiting the sale or possession of billfish or 
products containing billfish. The cost of the mandate would be 
the net income forgone as a result of the prohibition. Based on 
information from industry experts, CBO estimates that the loss 
of income may amount to tens of millions of dollars annually. 
Consequently, the cost of the mandate would fall below the 
annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector 
mandates ($146 million in 2012, adjusted annually for 
inflation).
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeff LaFave 
(for federal costs) and Amy Petz (for the private-sector 
impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. Based on 
information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), CBO estimates that implementing the bill 
would have no significant impact on the federal budget. 
Enacting the legislation could increase revenues (from civil 
and criminal penalties) and associated direct spending; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO 
estimates that such increases would be negligible and would 
offset each other in most years.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to prohibit the 
sale of billfish.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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