“A bill to support healthy fisheries in dynamic ocean conditions, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section requires the Secretary of Commerce to encourage the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to include ecosystem change data (i.e., shifts in fish abundance, distribution, food webs, and habitats) in coastal fishery management plans or amendments under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act and, when establishing or revising quota allocations among states, federal waters, or other units, to account for such ecological impacts using the best scientific information available. (The Act directs the Commission to develop interstate management plans for coastal fish species to promote conservation throughout their ranges.)
This section revises procedures under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (i.e., 16 U.S.C. 1854(f)) for the Secretary of Commerce to determine when a substantial portion of a fishery extends across multiple regional fishery management councils' jurisdictions and to assign responsibility for preparing a fishery management plan or amendment. (As background, the Act assigns U.S. fisheries management to eight regional councils, each developing binding plans for fisheries in their geographic areas; cross-jurisdictional fisheries previously required ad hoc coordination.) Specifically, the section (1) directs the Secretary, if necessary or at a council's request using best scientific information and established procedures, to review indicators of shifts—including stock distribution, recreational fishing effort, landings revenue, or other fishery-specific factors—after consulting councils to exclude non-ecological causes (e.g., regulations, markets); (2) if a substantial portion spans councils, requires the Secretary to notify affected councils within 6 months, after which councils must within 1 year (by majority vote) designate one lead council or agree to prepare jointly, with the Secretary deciding if they fail; (3) requires the designated council or councils to prepare the plan or amendment within 2 years (or as otherwise required); (4) establishes a parallel process to reassign a plan to a single predominant council if the fishery no longer spans jurisdictions, with implementation repealing any prior plan; (5) mandates Secretary rulemaking to define "substantial portion" criteria; (6) requires majority approval by each involved council for joint plans; (7) exempts fisheries under section 302(a)(3); and (8) preserves other Act provisions.
This section revises the fishery and fishing gear listing process under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (i.e., requires the Secretary of Commerce to publish a Federal Register list of fisheries under each regional fishery management council's authority and applicable gear) as follows: (1) authorizes the Secretary to add a new fishery or gear only after an appropriate council conducts analysis, per forthcoming agency guidance, showing minimal adverse effects (as defined in 50 C.F.R. 600.810(a), or successor regulations) on essential fish habitat, existing fisheries, fishing communities, and the marine ecosystem; (2) requires each council to review its listed fisheries and gear not later than 18 months after enactment and at least every five years thereafter, submitting any proposed changes (including additions or removals, with geographic specificity and impact analysis) to the Secretary; (3) directs the Secretary, for proposed additions, to assess consistency with the new criteria and other law, publish for public comment a proposed revised list with the council's analysis, and issue a final list if approved; (4) permits limited interim unlisted fishing activity via experimental fishing permits (under section 318(d)) if designed to generate needed data for fishery management plan development, with annual public data reporting, council evaluation, and inclusion in any resulting plan; (5) prohibits any unlisted fishing gear or fishery without prior written notice to the council, which must either prohibit the activity or recommend addition to the list; (6) requires the council to develop a fishery management plan or amendment (as appropriate under section 303) promptly after a final revised list adds a fishery; and (7) requires agency guidance for addition determinations while preserving authorities for experimental permits, cooperative research, bycatch reduction, and other data collection. (Thus, the revision replaces the prior 90-day advance notice requirement for unlisted gear or fisheries—which allowed emergency prohibitions—with a council-driven approval process emphasizing environmental and community protections prior to authorization.)
This section directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress, not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act and not less frequently than every 5 years thereafter, a report on the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this Act, including metrics on resolved transboundary fisheries and ecological data integration.