State of Alaska Fish and Game Comercial Operator's Annua

NOTICE OF OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET ACTION
Date 07/26/2007
Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
FOR CERTIFYING OFFICIAL: Barry West
FOR CLEARANCE OFFICER: Diana Hynek
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB has taken action on your request received
04/10/2007
ACTION REQUESTED: Extension without change of a currently approved collection
TYPE OF REVIEW REQUESTED: Regular
ICR REFERENCE NUMBER: 200703-0648-003
AGENCY ICR TRACKING NUMBER:
TITLE: Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR)
LIST OF INFORMATION COLLECTIONS: See next page
OMB ACTION: Approved with change
OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 0648-0428
The agency is required to display the OMB Control Number and inform respondents of its legal significance in
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.5(b).
EXPIRATION DATE: 07/31/2008

DISCONTINUE DATE:

BURDEN:

RESPONSES

HOURS

COSTS

Previous

87

696

0

New

99

792

116

Change due to New Statute

0

0

0

Change due to Agency Discretion

0

0

0

Change due to Agency Adjustment

12

96

116

0

0

0

Difference

Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA

TERMS OF CLEARANCE: This collection is approved for one year. The agency should reexamine barriers to
electronic submission, including the requirement for physical signatures to validate submitted information.
The agency is also reminded that it must report the number of small entities affected by the collection, not
simply assert that there is no significant effect. In addition, the agency needs to remember to report the
changes in burden accurately in ROCIS.
OMB Authorizing Official:

John F. Morrall III
Acting Deputy Administrator,
Office Of Information And Regulatory Affairs

List of ICs
IC Title
Commercial Operator's
Annual Report (COAR)

Form No.
NA

Form Name
Commercial Operator's
Annual Report Booklet

CFR Citation

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION
Please read the instructions before completing this form. For additional forms or assistance in completing this form, contact your agency's
Paperwork Clearance Officer. Send two copies of this form, the collection instrument to be reviewed, the supporting statement, and any
additional documentation to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102,
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.
1. Agency/Subagency originating request

2. OMB control number

DOC/NOAA/NMFS/Alaska Region

a.

3. Type of information collection (check one)

0648

-

b. [ ] None

0428

4. Type of review requested (check one)
a. [✔] Regular submission
b. [ ] Emergency - Approval requested by
c. [ ] Delegated

a. [ ] New Collection
b. [ ] Revision of a currently approved collection
c. [✔] Extension of a currently approved collection

/

/

5. Small entities
Will this information collection have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities? [ ] Yes
[✔] No

d. [ ] Reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved
collection for which approval has expired
e. [ ] Reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved
collection for which approval has expired

6. Requested expiration date
a. [✔] Three years from approval date b. [ ] Other Specify:

f. [ ] Existing collection in use without an OMB control number

/

For b-f, note Item A2 of Supporting Statement instructions
7. Title

Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR)

8. Agency form number(s) (if applicable)
9. Keywords

"Fisheries," "Fishing" and "Fishing Vessels"

10. Abstract

The Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR) provides information on exvessel and first wholesale values for statewide Alaska
fish and shellfish products. This information is used to analyze and measure the impact of proposed or enacted management measures.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requires owners of catcher/processors and motherships operating in the Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska to complete the State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game COAR.

12. Obligation to respond (check one)
a. [ ] Voluntary
b. [ ] Required to obtain or retain benefits
c. [ ✔] Mandatory

11. Affected public (Mark primary with "P" and all others that apply with "x")
a. x Individuals or households d.
b. P Business or other for-profit e.
c.
Not-for-profit institutions f.

Farms
Federal Government
State, Local or Tribal Government

13. Annual recordkeeping and reporting burden
a. Number of respondents
b. Total annual responses
1. Percentage of these responses
collected electronically
c. Total annual hours requested
d. Current OMB inventory
e. Difference
f. Explanation of difference
1. Program change
2. Adjustment

0
792

696

96
96

15. Purpose of information collection (Mark primary with "P" and all
others that apply with "X")
a.
Application for benefits
e. P Program planning or management
b. x Program evaluation
f.
Research
c.
General purpose statistics g. x Regulatory or compliance
d.

14. Annual reporting and recordkeeping cost burden (in thousands of
dollars)
0
a. Total annualized capital/startup costs

99
99

Audit

17. Statistical methods
Does this information collection employ statistical methods
[ ] Yes
[✔] No

%

b. Total annual costs (O&M)
c. Total annualized cost requested

0

d. Current OMB inventory
e. Difference
f. Explanation of difference
1. Program change
2. Adjustment

0
0

16. Frequency of recordkeeping or reporting (check all that apply)
a. [ ] Recordkeeping
b. [ ] Third party disclosure
c. [✔] Reporting
1. [ ] On occasion 2. [ ] Weekly
3. [ ] Monthly
4. [ ] Quarterly
5. [ ] Semi-annually
6. [✔] Annually
7. [ ] Biennially
8. [ ] Other (describe)
18. Agency Contact (person who can best answer questions regarding
the content of this submission)
Name:
Phone:

OMB 83-I

0

Patsy A. Bearden
(907) 586-7008
10/95

19. Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
On behalf of this Federal Agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with
5 CFR 1320.9
NOTE: The text of 5 CFR 1320.9, and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3), appear at the end of the
instructions. The certification is to be made with reference to those regulatory provisions as set forth in
the instructions.
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
(c) It reduces burden on small entities;
(d) It used plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology that is understandable to respondents;
(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
(f) It indicates the retention period for recordkeeping requirements;
(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected (see note in Item 19 of instructions);
(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology; and
(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of the provisions, identify the item below and explain the reason in
Item 18 of the Supporting Statement.

Signature of Senior Official or designee

OMB 83-I

Date

10/95

Agency Certification (signature of Assistant Administrator, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Line Office Chief Information Officer,
head of MB staff for L.O.s, or of the Director of a Program or StaffOffice)
Signature

Date

signed by James P. Burgess

03/01/2007

Signature of NOAA Clearance Officer
Signature

Date

signed by Sarah Brabson

03/09/2007

10/95

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
COMMERCIAL OPERATOR=S ANNUAL REPORT (COAR)
OMB CONTROL NO.: 0648-0428

INTRODUCTION
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006,
P.L. 109-479 (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council to prepare and amend fishery management plans for any fishery in waters under its
jurisdiction. Fishing for groundfish by U.S. vessels in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in
waters off the coast of Alaska is managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery
Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (FMPs).
The COAR information collection is an enhanced socioeconomic database that NMFS uses to
accurately measure economic and socioeconomic impacts and to prepare economic analyses of
proposed or existing management measures. It provides detailed (and consistent) data for fish
and shellfish products on production, prices, and product forms that are used by NMFS to
respond to requests for economic information that are frequently required by Federal and State
management agencies, the fishing industry, and the general public.
This action requests renewal of this collection-of-information. Regulations implementing this
collection are found at 50 CFR part 679.5(p).
Shoreside processors and stationary floating processors are required to annually submit the
COAR to State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), under Alaska
Administrative Code, chapter 5 AAC 39.130. The information submitted in the COAR is
protected by Alaska State confidentiality statute AS 16.05.815. Catcher/processors and
motherships operating in the EEZ off Alaska are required by NMFS to annually submit the
COAR for groundfish fisheries to ADF&G under 50 CFR part 679.5(p).
A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
Catcher/processors and motherships operating in the EEZ off the coast of Alaska represent a
significant part of the total capacity of groundfish processors in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and account for a substantial part
of the total landings each year. NMFS requires motherships and catcher/processors that are
issued a Federal fisheries permit to complete and submit the Alaska COAR on an annual basis.
Added to the information from shoreside processors and stationary floating processors (SFPs)
submitted under State of Alaska requirements, this data collection from motherships and
catcher/processors yields equivalent annual product value information for all respective
processing sectors and provides a consistent time series according to which groundfish resources
may be managed more efficiently.
1

The COAR database is used in the annual NMFS Stock Assessment and Fishery valuation
documents for the groundfish fisheries of the BSAI and GOA, annual Federal publications on the
value of U.S. commercial fisheries, and in periodic reports that describe the fisheries and that
serve as reference documents to management agencies, the industry, and others.
The COAR data are also used by NMFS to comply with legislative mandates as follows:
(1) E.O. 12866 and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
(2) American Fisheries Act to monitor and report to Congress on the effects and efficacy
of the new groundfish management programs.
(3) Regulatory Flexibility Act, to the extent that any of the entities reporting under the
COAR program are classified as "small" (using Small Business Administration definitions),
access to these data is key to our fulfilling the impact assessments required of the agency as
pertaining to Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (IRFAs).
(4) The National Standards 4, 5, and 7 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standards
for fishery Conservation and Management.
(5) The National Standards 8 mandate increases the agency’s need for these economic
performance data cross sections in a compatible and consistent format.
Use of the information generated by the COAR is coordinated between NMFS and the ADF&G.
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
The COAR information is required annually on paper application forms from all
catcher/processors and motherships issued a Federal Fisheries permit. ADF&G provides the
COAR to each mothership and catcher/processor to record information from the previous year.
Each mothership or catcher/processor is required to complete and submit one or more pages of
the COAR to ADF&G for computer data entry, whether the processor operated or not. A
certification page is available to indicate no receipt or production took place for that year; in this
case, no other COAR pages are required.
The motherships and catcher/processors submit by mail the COAR the following April to
ADF&G, Division of Commercial Fisheries, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, Alaska 99802-5526.
Information from motherships and catcher/processors is verified using the NMFS weekly
production report (WPR) data base. Information from processors that operate in State of Alaska
waters, shoreside processors, and SFPs are verified using the ADF&G fish ticket data base.

2

COAR
A separate form must be completed for each ADF&G processor code.
Certification page.
Enter processor code
Check YES or NO to indicate:
That you operated using the above processor code this reporting year
Whether fish tickets were written using the above processor code this reporting year
Whether you operated only in EEZ this reporting year
Company name and address, including street, city, state and zip code
Physical location of land-based plant
Vessel name
Contact name, title, email address, telephone number, and company fax number
Alternate contact name, title, email address, telephone number, and company fax number
Signature and date signed
Buying (exvessel) forms A(1-3), C(1-2), E, G, I(1-2), K, and M.
Species name and code.
Area purchased.
Gear code.
Delivery code (form G only).
Total pounds (to the nearest lb) purchased from fishermen.
Total amount paid to fishermen, including all post season adjustments and/or bonuses and
any credit received by fishermen for gas expenses, ice, delivery premiums, and other
miscellaneous expenses.
Price per pound. If additional adjustments may be made after this report has been filed,
check the A$ not final@ box, and submit form M when those adjustments are paid.
Do not include fish purchased from another processor.
Wholesale production forms B(1-6), D, F, H, J(1-2), and K).
Production-except-canned.
Area of processing. List production of Canadian harvested fish separately.
Processed product
Process prefix code
Process suffix code
Product code
Total net weight. Enter total weight of the finished product.
Total value($). Enter the total wholesale value of the finished product
Price per pound.
Canned production. Complete an entry for each can size produced.
Area of processing Process 51 or 52, Enter conventional canned code (51) or smoked, conventional canned
code (52).
Total value ($). Enter the total wholesale value of the finished product
Price per pound
Can size in ounces, to the hundredth of an ounce
Number of cans per case
Number of cases
Custom production forms L(1-2).
Custom-process for another processor L(1). If a mothership custom-processed fish or shellfish for
another processor, the owner must list the processor name, State processor code (if known), and location of
company or vessel name. Do not include any of that production in this report.

3

Custom-process by another processor L(2). If another processor custom-processed fish or shellfish
for a mothership or catcher/processor, the owner must use a separate page to list each processor.
Name of company, Processor code, and location or vessel name performing custom production
Custom fresh/frozen miscellaneous production (wholesale/retail market and which are not frozen for canning
later)
Species name and code
Area of processing
Process code
Product code
Total net weight (lb)
Total value ($)
Custom canned production (Complete an entry for each can size produced:
Species name and code
Area of processing
Process 51 or 52
Can size in ounces, to the hundredth of an ounce.
Number of cans per case
Number of cases
Total wholesale value($)
Fish buying retro payments/post-season adjustments, form M(1-2).
Company name, Processor code, and location
Year
Species name and code
Area purchased
Gear code
Delivery code
Total pounds purchased from fisherman
Total amount paid to fishermen (base + adjustment)

The time to complete a COAR is estimated to range from 0.5 (for completion of a certification
page only) to 16 hr; an average of 8 hr per year. Each COAR must be submitted to ADF&G by
mail. Postage costs are within a range of $0.39 to $1.17; estimated postage cost is $1.17.

COAR, Respondent
99
99

Estimated number of responses
Total annual responses
Frequency of response, annual
Total annual time burden hours
Estimated response time = 8 hr
Total personnel cost
Cost per hour = $25
Total miscellaneous cost
Postage 99 x $1.17 = 115.83

792 hr
$19,800
$116

COAR, Federal Government
Total annual responses
Total annual time burden
Total personnel cost
Total miscellaneous cost

0
0
0
0

4

It is anticipated that the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to
support publicly disseminated information. As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the
information gathered has utility. NMFS will retain control over the information and safeguard it
from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic
information. See response #10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on
confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all
applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be
subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of
Public Law 106-554.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
NMFS currently does not have the capability to collect COAR information by means of
electronic submission, although the form is available on the Internet to review or print. The
applicant provides a completed COAR in printed form to ADF&G. Also, because of the
requirement for an original signature on the COAR, converting to electronic submission is not an
option at this time.
4. Describe your efforts to identify duplication.
Although many of the questions on the COAR appear to duplicate requests for information that
appear on the WPR, the COAR requests one annual amount for each species by product and
area, compared with the many weekly amounts by species that are recorded and reported by the
industry on daily cumulative production logbooks (DCPLs) and WPRs. It is deemed a preferred
method to request this summary along with associated value information, since each mothership
or catcher/processor has a year-end summary by species and product in their own bookkeeping
system. These requests are not duplications because applicants are either verifying information
already on file (similar to persons verifying their income to the IRS although information has
already been provided through W-2 forms) or providing information that is not on file. In
addition, for economic data purposes, areas of buying and areas of processing are requested
instead of reporting area of the harvested fish.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
This collection-of-information does not impose a significant impact on small entities.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
A Federal requirement for processors to submit the COAR is a method to obtain complete and
equivalent annual product value information for all respective processing sectors. The COAR

5

data are fundamental to the agency=s mandated obligations under E.O. 12866 and the MagnusonStevens Act, American Fisheries Act, Regulatory Flexibility Act, National Standards 4, 5, 7,
and 8. The COAR database is used in the annual NMFS Stock Assessment and Fishery
Evaluation documents for the groundfish fisheries of the BSAI and GOA, annual Federal
publications on the value of U.S. commercial fisheries, and in periodic reports that describe the
fisheries and that serve as reference documents to management agencies, the industry, and
others. Without the COAR data base, NMFS would be deficient in these very important data
sectors.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The COAR is a State of Alaska form that is available on the Internet to download or print a copy
for completion. However, it is not “fillable and printable”.
8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register notice that solicited public comments on the
information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received
in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those
comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their
views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and
recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be
recorded, disclosed, or reported.
A Federal Register notice (71 FR 67546, November 22, 2006) was published. No comments
were received.
Eric Reiter, Seafood Industry Coordinator, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of
Commercial Fisheries (Ph: 907-465-6131; Fax: 907-465-2604), provided current information
regarding the COAR. In response to discussions with Eric, the data elements of the COAR as
well as the number of participants responding to the COAR were updated.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payment or gift is provided under this program.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The information collected is confidential under Title II, Section 203(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-479). It is also
confidential under NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, which sets forth procedures to protect
confidentiality of fishery statistics. The information submitted in the COAR also is protected by
Alaska State confidentiality statute AS 16.05.815.

6

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
This information collection does not involve information of a sensitive nature.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
Total estimated respondents: 99, an increase from 87. Total estimated responses: 99, an
increase from 87. Total estimated burden: 792, up from 696 hr. Total estimated personnel
costs: $19,800, up from $17,400.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in #12
above).
Total estimated miscellaneous costs: $116, up from $97.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
There will be no appreciable costs to NMFS. The COAR is submitted by respondents to
ADF&G and data from the COAR are analyzed by ADF&G.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or
14 of the OMB 83-I.
The number of respondents is adjusted to the latest reported information, 2005, from ADF&G.
This causes the number of respondents, responses, burden, and personnel cost to increase. In
addition, the cost for postage is increased to reflect current rates.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
Individual data from the COAR is confidential. Fishermen, researchers, economists, etc. request
and receive ad hoc reports (non-confidential data) from COAR data for various reasons. NMFS
economists use data from COAR as a source for a variety of tables that appear in an economic
appendix to the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports and also in regulatory
analyses for groundfish fisheries such as Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements and
Regulatory Impact Reviews.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

7

As this is an Alaska State form, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number and
expiration date will not be displayed on the COAR.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the
OMB 83-I.
The COAR is a State of Alaska form and is distributed by the State; as such, the certification
statement will not be displayed on the form.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

8

American Fisheries Act

1566
1565
SEC. 213. DURATION.

(a)

GENERAL. —Except as otherwise provided in this title, the provisions of

this title shall take effect upon the date of the enactment of this Act. Sections 206,
208, and 210 shall remain in effect until December 31, 2004, and shall be repealed
on such date, except that the North Pacific Council may recommend and the
Secretary may approve conservation and management measures as part of a fishery
management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to give effect to the measures in
such sections thereafter.
(b)

EXISTING AUTHORITY. —Except for the measures required by this subtitle,

nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to limit the authority of the North Pacific
Council or the Secretary under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
(c)

CHANGES TO FISHERY COOPERATIVE LIMITATIONS AND POLLOCK CDQ

ALLOCATION.—The North Pacific Council may recommend and the Secretary may
approve conservation and management measures in accordance with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act—
(1) that supersede the provisions of this title, except for sections 206 and
208, for conservation purposes or to mitigate adverse effects in fisheries or on
owners of fewer than three vessels in the directed pollock fishery caused by
this title or fishery cooperatives in the directed pollock fishery, provided such
measures take into account all factors affecting the fisheries and are imposed
fairly and equitably to the extent practicable among and within the sectors in
the directed pollock fishery;
(2)

that supersede the allocation in section 206(a) for any of the years

2002, 2003, and 2004, upon the finding by such Council that the western
Alaska community development quota program for pollock has been adversely
affected by the amendments in this title; or

American Fisheries Act

1567
(3)

that supersede the criteria required in paragraph (1) of section 210

(b) to be used by the Secretary to set the percentage allowed to be harvested
by catcher vessels pursuant to a fishery cooperative under such paragraph.
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS .—Not later than October 1, 2000, the North Pacific
Council shall submit a report to the Secretary and to Congress on the
implementation and effects of this Act, including the effects on fishery conservation
and management, on bycatch levels, on fishing communities, on business and
employment practices of participants in any fishery cooperatives, on the western
Alaska community development quota program, on any fisheries outside of the
authority of the North Pacific Council, and such other matters as the North Pacific

Council deems appropriate.
(e) REPORT ON FILLET PRODUCTION. —Not later than June 1, 2000, the
General Accounting Office shall submit a report to the North Pacific Council,
the Secretary, and the Congress on the whether this Act has negatively
affected the market for fillets and fillet blocks, including through the reduction in
the supply of such fillets and fillet blocks. If the report determines that such
market has been negatively affected, the North Pacific Council shall
recommend measures for the Secretary’s approval to mitigate any negative
effects.
(f) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this title, an amendment made by this
title, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this title, the
amendments made by this title, and the application of the provisions of such to any
person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
(g) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. —In the event that any provision of
section 12102 (c) or section 31322 (a) of title 46, United States Code, as
amended by this Act, is determined to be inconsistent with an existing
international agreement relating to foreign investment to which the United

American Fisheries Act

1568
States is a party with respect to the owner or mortgagee on October 1, 2001
of a vessel with a fishery endorsement, such provision shall not apply to
that owner or mortgagee with respect to such vessel to the extent of any
such inconsistency. The provisions of section 12102 (c) and section
31322(a) of title 46, United States Code, as amended by this Act, shall
apply to all subsequent owners and mortgagees of such vessel, and
shall apply, notwithstanding the preceding sentence, to the owner on
October 1, 2001 of such vessel if any ownership interest in that owner is
transferred to or otherwise acquired by a foreign individual or entity aft
er such date.
TITLE I I I — D E N A L I COMMISSION
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Denali Commission Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 302. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this title are as follows:
(1) To deliver the services of the Federal Government in the most costeffective manner practicable by reducing administrative and overhead costs.
(2) To provide job training and other economic development services in
rural communities particularly distressed communities (many of which have a
rate of unemployment that exceeds 50 percent).

Regulatory Flexibility Act
UNITED STATES CODE
{TITLE 5. GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
~ PART

I--THE AGENCIES GENERALLY
~ CHAPTER

6--THE ANALYSIS OF REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

§ 601. Definitions
For purposes of this chapter-(1) the term "agency" means an agency as defined in section 551(1) of this title;
(2) the term "rule" means any rule for which the agency publishes a general notice of
proposed rulemaking pursuant to section 553(b) of this title, or any other law, including
any rule of general applicability governing Federal grants to State and local governments
for which the agency provides an opportunity for notice and public comment, except that
the term "rule" does not include a rule of particular applicability relating to rates, wages,
corporate or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances,
services, or allowances therefore or to valuations, costs or accounting, or practices
relating to such rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services, or allowances;
(3) the term "small business" has the same meaning as the term "small business
concern" under section 3 of the Small Business Act, unless an agency, after consultation
with the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and after opportunity
for public comment, establishes one or more definitions of such term which are
appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal
Register;
(4) the term "small organization" means any not-for-profit enterprise which is
independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field, unless an agency
establishes, after opportunity for public comment, one or more definitions of such term
which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in
the Federal Register;
(5) the term "small governmental jurisdiction" means governments of cities, counties,
towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special districts, with a population of less
than fifty thousand, unless an agency establishes, after opportunity for public comment,
one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency
and which are based on such factors as location in rural or sparsely populated areas or
limited revenues due to the population of such jurisdiction, and publishes such
definition(s) in the Federal Register; and
(6) the term "small entity" shall have the same meaning as the terms "small business",
"small organization" and "small governmental jurisdiction" defined in paragraphs (3), (4)
and (5) of this section.
(7) the term "collection of information"-(A) means the obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the
disclosure to third parties or the public, of facts or opinions by or for an
agency, regardless of form or format, calling for either-(i) answers to identical questions posed to, or identical reporting or
1

recordkeeping requirements imposed on, 10 or more persons, other
than agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the United States;
or
(ii) answers to questions posed to agencies, instrumentalities, or
employees of the United States which are to be used for general statistical
purposes; and
(B) shall not include a collection of information described under section
______________________________ 3518(c)(1) of title 44, United States
Code.
(8) Recordkeeping requirement.--The term "recordkeeping requirement" means a
requirement imposed by an agency on persons to maintain specified records.

2

Executive Order 12866 Regulatory
Planning and Review
[Federal Register: September 30, 1993 (Volume 58)] [Presidential
Documents]
[Page 51735]
Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993--Regulatory Planning and Review
The American people deserve a regulatory system that works for them, not against them: a regulatory system
that protects and improves their health, safety, environment, and well-being and improves the performance of
the economy without imposing unacceptable or unreasonable costs on society; regulatory policies that
recognize that the private sector and private markets are the best engine for economic growth; regulatory
approaches that respect the role of State, local, and tribal governments; and regulations that are effective,
consistent, sensible, and understandable. We do not have such a regulatory system today.
With this Executive order, the Federal Government begins a program to reform and make more efficient the
regulatory process. The objectives of this Executive order are to enhance planning and coordination with
respect to both new and existing regulations; to reaffirm the primacy of Federal agencies in the regulatory
decision-making process; to restore the integrity and legitimacy of regulatory review and oversight; and to
make the process more accessible and open to the public. In pursuing these objectives, the regulatory
process shall be conducted so as to meet applicable statutory requirements and with due regard to the
discretion that has been entrusted to the Federal agencies.
Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Statement of Regulatory Philosophy and Principles. (a) The Regulatory Philosophy. Federal
agencies should promulgate only such regulations as are required by law, are necessary to interpret the law,
or are made necessary by compelling public need, such as material failures of private markets to protect or
improve the health and safety of the public, the environment, or the well-being of the American p eople. In
deciding whether and how to regulate, agencies should assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives, including the alternative of not regulating. Costs and benefits shall be understood to include
both quantifiable measures (to the fullest extent that these can be usefully estimated) and qualitative
measures of costs and benefits that are difficult to quantify, but nevertheless essential to consider. Further, in
choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, agencies should select those approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other advantages;
distributive impacts; and equity), unless a statute requires another regulatory approach.
(b) The Principles of Regulation. To ensure that the agencies' regulatory programs are consistent with the
philosophy set forth above, agencies should adhere to the following principles, to the extent permitted by law
and where applicable:
(1) Each agency shall identify the problem that it intends to address (including, where applicable, the failures of
private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action) as well as assess the significance of that
problem.
(2) Each agency shall examine whether existing regulations (or other law) have created, or contributed to, the
problem that a new regulation is intended to correct and whether those regulations (or other law) should be
modified to achieve the intended goal of regulation more effectively.
1

(3) Each agency shall identify and assess available alternatives to direct regulation, including providing economic
incentives to encourage the desired behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits, or providing information
upon which choices can be made by the public.
(4) In setting regulatory priorities, each agency shall consider, to the extent reasonable, the degree and
nature of the risks posed by various substances or activities within its jurisdiction.
(5) When an agency determines that a regulation is the best available method of achieving the regulatory
objective, it shall design its regulations in the most cost-effective manner to achieve the regulatory objective. In
doing so, each agency shall consider incentives for innovation, consistency, predictability, the costs of
enforcement and compliance (to the government, regulated entities, and the public), flexibility, distributive
impacts, and equity.
(6) Each agency shall assess both the costs and the benefits of the intended regulation and, recognizing that
some costs and benefits are difficult to quantify, propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned
determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs.
(7) Each agency shall base its decisions on the best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, economic, and
other information concerning the need for, and consequences of, the intended regulation.
(8) Each agency shall identify and assess alternative forms of regulation and shall, to the extent feasible, specify
performance objectives, rather than specifying the behavior or manner of compliance that regulated entities
must adopt.
(9) Wherever feasible, agencies shall seek views of appropriate State, local, and tribal officials before imposing
regulatory requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect those governmental entities. Each agency shall
assess the effects of Federal regulations on State, local, and tribal governments, including specifically the
availability of resources to carry out those mandates, and seek to minimize those burdens that uniquely or
significantly affect such governmental entities, consistent with achieving regulatory objectives. In addition, as
appropriate, agencies shall seek to harmonize Federal regulatory actions with related State, local, and tribal
regulatory and other governmental functions.
(10) Each agency shall avoid regulations that are inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with its other
regulations or those of other Federal agencies.
(11) Each agency shall tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society, including individuals,
businesses of differing sizes, and other entities (including small communities and governmental entities),
consistent with obtaining the regulatory objectives, taking into account, among other things, and to the extent
practicable, the costs of cumulative regulations.
(12) Each agency shall draft its regulations to be simple and easy to understand, with the goal of minimizing the
potential for uncertainty and litigation arising from such uncertainty.
Sec. 2. Organization. An efficient regulatory planning and review process is vital to ensure that the Federal
Government's regulatory system best serves the American people.
(a) The Agencies. Because Federal agencies are the repositories of significant substantive expertise and
experience, they are responsible for developing regulations and assuring that the regulations are consistent with
applicable law, the President's priorities, and the principles set forth in this Executive order.
2

(b) The Office of Management and Budget. Coordinated review of agency rulemaking is necessary to ensure that
regulations are consistent with applicable law, the President's priorities, and the principles set forth in this
Executive order, and that decisions made by one agency do not conflict with the policies or actions taken or
planned by another agency. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall carry out that review function.
Within OMB, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is the repository of expertise concerning
regulatory issues, including methodologies and procedures that affect more than one agency, this Executive order,
and the President's regulatory policies. To the extent permitted by law, OMB shall provide guidance to agencies
and assist the President, the Vice President, and other regulatory policy advisors to the President in regulatory
planning and shall be the entity that reviews individual regulations, as provided by this Executive order.
(c) The Vice President. The Vice President is the principal advisor to the President on, and shall coordinate the
development and presentation of recommendations concerning, regulatory policy, planning, and review, as set
forth in this Executive order. In fulfilling their responsibilities under this Executive order, the President and the
Vice President shall be assisted by the regulatory policy advisors within the Executive Office of the President and
by such agency officials and personnel as the President and the Vice President may, from time to time, consult.
Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this Executive order:
(a) "Advisors" refers to such regulatory policy advisors to the President as the President and Vice President
may from time to time consult, including, among others:
(1) the Director of OMB;
(2) the Chair (or another member) of the Council of Economic Advisers;
(3) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;
(4) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(5) the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;
(6) the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology;
(7) the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs;
(8) the Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary;
(9) the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President;
(10)

the Assistant to the President and Counsel to the President;

(11)
and

the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office on Environmental Policy;

(12) the Administrator of OIRA, who also shall coordinate communications relating to this Executive order
among the agencies, OMB, the other Advisors, and the Office of the Vice President.
(b) "Agency," unless otherwise indicated, means any authority of the United States that is an "agency" under 44
U.S.C. 3502(1), other than those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C.
3502(10).
3

(c) "Director" means the Director of OMB.
(d) "Regulation" or "rule" means an agency statement of general applicability and future effect, which the
agency intends to have the force and effect of law, that is designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or
policy or to describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. It does not, however, include:
(1) Regulations or rules issued in accordance with the formal rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 556, 557;
(2) Regulations or rules that pertain to a military or foreign affairs function of the United States, other than
procurement regulations and regulations involving the import or export of non-defense articles and services;
(3) Regulations or rules that are limited to agency organization, management, or personnel matters; or
(4) Any other category of regulations exempted by the Administrator of OIRA.
(e) "Regulatory action" means any substantive action by an agency (normally published in the Federal
Register) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including
notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking.
(f) "Significant regulatory action" means any regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that may:
(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the
economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or
State, local, or tribal governments or communities;
(2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and
obligations of recipients thereof; or
(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles
set forth in this Executive order.
Sec. 4. Planning Mechanism. In order to have an effective regulatory program, to provide for coordination of
regulations, to maximize consultation and the resolution of potential conflicts at an early stage, to involve the
public and its State, local, and tribal officials in regulatory planning, and to ensure that new or revised regulations
promote the President's priorities and the principles set forth in this Executive order, these procedures shall be
followed, to the extent permitted by law: (a) Agencies' Policy Meeting. Early in each year's planning cycle, the
Vice President shall convene a meeting of the Advisors and the heads of agencies to seek a common
understanding of priorities and to coordinate regulatory efforts to be accomplished in the upcoming year.
(b) Unified Regulatory Agenda. For purposes of this subsection, the term "agency" or "agencies" shall also
include those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(10). Each agency
shall prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review, at a time and in a manner specified by the
Administrator of OIRA. The description of each regulatory action shall contain, at a minimum, a regulation
identifier number, a brief summary of the action, the legal authority for the action, any legal deadline for the
action, and the name and telephone number of a knowledgeable agency official. Agencies may incorporate the
information required under 5 U.S.C. 602 and 41 U.S.C. 402 into these agendas.
(c) The Regulatory Plan. For purposes of this subsection, the term "agency" or "agencies" shall also include those
considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(10). (1) As part of the Unified
4

Regulatory Agenda, beginning in 1994, each agency shall prepare a Regulatory Plan (Plan) of the most important
significant regulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in proposed or final form in that fiscal
year or thereafter. The Plan shall be approved personally by the agency head and shall contain at a minimum:
(A) A statement of the agency's regulatory objectives and priorities and how they relate to the President's
priorities;
(B) A summary of each planned significant regulatory action including, to the extent possible, alternatives
to be considered and preliminary estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits;
(C) A summary of the legal basis for each such action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by
statute or court order;
(D) A statement of the need for each such action and, if applicable, how the action will reduce risks to public
health, safety, or the environment, as well as how the magnitude of the risk addressed by the action relates to
other risks within the jurisdiction of the agency;
(E) The agency's schedule for action, including a statement of any applicable statutory or judicial
deadlines; and
(F) The name, address, and telephone number of a person the public may contact for additional information
about the planned regulatory action.
(2) Each agency shall forward its Plan to OIRA by June 1 st of each year.
(3) Within 10 calendar days after OIRA has received an agency's Plan, OIRA shall circulate it to other affected
agencies, the Advisors, and the Vice President.
(4) An agency head who believes that a planned regulatory action of another agency may conflict with its own
policy or action taken or planned shall promptly notify, in writing, the Administrator of OIRA, who shall forward
that communication to the issuing agency, the Advisors, and the Vice President.
(5) If the Administrator of OIRA believes that a planned regulatory action of an agency may be inconsistent
with the President's priorities or the principles set forth in this Executive order or may be in conflict with any
policy or action taken or planned by another agency, the Administrator of OIRA shall promptly notify, in
writing, the affected agencies, the Advisors, and the Vice President.
(6) The Vice President, with the Advisors' assistance, may consult with the heads of agencies with respect to their
Plans and, in appropriate instances, request further consideration or inter-agency coordination.
(7) The Plans developed by the issuing agency shall be published annually in the October publication of the
Unified Regulatory Agenda. This publication shall be made available to the Congress; State, local, and tribal
governments; and the public. Any views on any aspect of any agency Plan, including whether any planned
regulatory action might conflict with any other planned or existing regulation, impose any unintended
consequences on the public, or confer any unclaimed benefits on the public, should be directed to the issuing
agency, with a copy to OIRA.
(d) Regulatory Working Group. Within 30 days of the date of this Executive order, the Administrator of OIRA
shall convene a Regulatory Working Group ("Working Group"), which shall consist of representatives of the
heads of each agency that the Administrator determines to have significant domestic regulatory responsibility, the
Advisors, and the Vice President. The Administrator of OIRA shall chair the
5

Working Group and shall periodically advise the Vice President on the activities of the Working Group. The
Working Group shall serve as a forum to assist agencies in identifying and analyzing important regulatory issues
(including, among others (1) the development of innovative regulatory techniques, (2) the methods, efficacy, and
utility of comparative risk assessment in regulatory decision-making, and (3) the development of short forms and
other streamlined regulatory approaches for small businesses and other entities). The Working Group shall meet
at least quarterly and may meet as a whole or in subgroups of agencies with an interest in particular issues or
subject areas. To inform its discussions, the Working Group may commission analytical studies and reports by
OIRA, the Administrative Conference of the United States, or any other agency.
(e) Conferences. The Administrator of OIRA shall meet quarterly with representatives of State, local, and tribal
governments to identify both existing and proposed regulations that may uniquely or significantly affect those
governmental entities. The Administrator of OIRA shall also convene, from time to time, conferences with
representatives of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and the public to discuss regulatory issues of
common concern.
Sec. 5. Existing Regulations. In order to reduce the regulatory burden on the American people, their families,
their communities, their State, local, and tribal governments, and their industries; to determine whether
regulations promulgated by the executive branch of the Federal Government have become unjustified or
unnecessary as a result of changed circumstances; to confirm that regulations are both compatible with each other
and not duplicative or inappropriately burdensome in the aggregate; to ensure that all regulations are consistent
with the President's priorities and the principles set forth in this Executive order, within applicable law; and to
otherwise improve the effectiveness of existing regulations: (a) Within 90 days of the date of this Executive
order, each agency shall submit to OIRA a program, consistent with its resources and regulatory priorities, under
which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any such
regulations should be modified or eliminated so as to make the agency's regulatory program more effective in
achieving the regulatory objectives, less burdensome, or in greater alignment with the President's priorities and
the principles set forth in this Executive order. Any significant regulations selected for review shall be included in
the agency's annual Plan. The agency shall also identify any legislative mandates that require the agency to
promulgate or continue to impose regulations that the agency believes are unnecessary or outdated by reason of
changed circumstances.
(b) The Administrator of OIRA shall work with the Regulatory Working Group and other interested entities to
pursue the objectives of this section. State, local, and tribal governments are specifically encouraged to assist in
the identification of regulations that impose significant or unique burdens on those governmental entities and that
appear to have outlived their justification or be otherwise inconsistent with the public interest.
(c) The Vice President, in consultation with the Advisors, may identify for review by the appropriate agency or
agencies other existing regulations of an agency or groups of regulations of more than one agency that affect a
particular group, industry, or sector of the economy, or may identify legislative mandates that may be appropriate
for reconsideration by the Congress.
Sec. 6. Centralized Review of Regulations. The guidelines set forth below shall apply to all regulatory actions,
for both new and existing regulations, by agencies other than those agencies specifically exempted by the
Administrator of OIRA:
(a) Agency Responsibilities.
(1) Each agency shall (consistent with its own rules, regulations, or procedures) provide the public with
meaningful participation in the regulatory process. In particular, before issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking,
each agency should, where appropriate, seek the involvement of those who are intended to benefit from and those
expected to be burdened by any regulation (including, specifically, State, local, and tribal officials). In addition,
6

each agency should afford the public a meaningful opportunity to comment on any proposed regulation, which in
most cases should include a comment period of not less than 60 days. Each agency also is directed to explore and,
where appropriate, use consensual mechanisms for developing regulations, including negotiated rulemaking.
(2) Within 60 days of the date of this Executive order, each agency head shall designate a Regulatory Policy
Officer who shall report to the agency head. The Regulatory Policy Officer shall be involved at each stage of the
regulatory process to foster the development of effective, innovative, and least burdensome regulations and to
further the principles set forth in this Executive order.
(3) In addition to adhering to its own rules and procedures and to the requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and other applicable law, each
agency shall develop its regulatory actions in a timely fashion and adhere to the following procedures with
respect to a regulatory action:
(A) Each agency shall provide OIRA, at such times and in the manner specified by the Administrator of OIRA,
with a list of its planned regulatory actions, indicating those which the agency believes are significant regulatory
actions within the meaning of this Executive order. Absent a material change in the development of the planned
regulatory action, those not designated as significant will not be subject to review under this section unless,
within 10 working days of receipt of the list, the Administrator of OIRA notifies the agency that OIRA has
determined that a planned regulation is a significant regulatory action within the meaning of this Executive order.
The Administrator of OIRA may waive review of any planned regulatory action designated by the agency as
significant, in which case the agency need not further comply with subsection (a)(3)(B) or subsection (a)(3)(C) of
this section.
(B) For each matter identified as, or determined by the Administrator of OIRA to be, a significant regulatory
action, the issuing agency shall provide to OIRA:
(i) The text of the draft regulatory action, together with a reasonably detailed description of the need for the
regulatory action and an explanation of how the regulatory action will meet that need; and
(ii) An assessment of the potential costs and benefits of the regulatory action, including an explanation of the
manner in which the regulatory action is consistent with a statutory mandate and, to the extent permitted by law,
promotes the President's priorities and avoids undue interference with State, local, and tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
(C) For those matters identified as, or determined by the Administrator of OIRA to be, a significant regulatory
action within the scope of section 3(f)(1), the agency shall also provide to OIRA the following additional
information developed as part of the agency's decision-making process (unless prohibited by law):
(i) An assessment, including the underlying analysis, of benefits anticipated from the regulatory action (such as,
but not limited to, the promotion of the efficient functioning of the economy and private markets, the enhancement
of health and safety, the protection of the natural environment, and the elimination or reduction of discrimination
or bias) together with, to the extent feasible, a quantification of those benefits;
(ii) An assessment, including the underlying analysis, of costs anticipated from the regulatory action (such as, but
not limited to, the direct cost both to the government in administering the regulation and to businesses and others
in complying with the regulation, and any adverse effects on the efficient functioning of the economy, private
markets (including productivity, employment, and competitiveness), health, safety, and the natural environment),
together with, to the extent feasible, a quantification of those costs; and
(iii) An assessment, including the underlying analysis, of costs and benefits of potentially effective and
7

reasonably feasible alternatives to the planned regulation, identified by the agencies or the public (including
improving the current regulation and reasonably viable nonregulatory actions), and an explanation why the
planned regulatory action is preferable to the identified potential alternatives.
(D) In emergency situations or when an agency is obligated by law to act more quickly than normal review
procedures allow, the agency shall notify OIRA as soon as possible and, to the extent practicable, comply with
subsections (a)(3)(B) and (C) of this section. For those regulatory actions that are governed by a statutory or
court-imposed deadline, the agency shall, to the extent practicable, schedule rulemaking proceedings so as to
permit sufficient time for OIRA to conduct its review, as set forth below in subsection (b)(2) through (4) of this
section.
(E) After the regulatory action has been published in the Federal Register or otherwise issued to the
public, the agency shall:
(i) Make available to the public the information set forth in subsections (a)(3)(B) and (C);
(ii) Identify for the public, in a complete, clear, and simple manner, the substantive changes between the draft
submitted to OIRA for review and the action subsequently announced; and
(iii) Identify for the public those changes in the regulatory action that were made at the suggestion or
recommendation of OIRA.
(F) All information provided to the public by the agency shall be in plain, understandable language.
(b) OIRA Responsibilities. The Administrator of OIRA shall provide meaningful guidance and oversight so that
each agency's regulatory actions are consistent with applicable law, the President's priorities, and the principles
set forth in this Executive order and do not conflict with the policies or actions of another agency. OIRA shall, to
the extent permitted by law, adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) OIRA may review only actions identified by the agency or by OIRA as significant regulatory actions
under subsection (a)(3)(A) of this section.
(2) OIRA shall waive review or notify the agency in writing of the results of its review within the following
time periods:
(A) For any notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rulemaking, or other preliminary regulatory actions
prior to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, within 10 working days after the date of submission of the draft action
to OIRA;
(B) For all other regulatory actions, within 90 calendar days after the date of submission of the information set
forth in subsections (a)(3)(B) and (C) of this section, unless OIRA has previously reviewed this information and,
since that review, there has been no material change in the facts and circumstances upon which the regulatory
action is based, in which case, OIRA shall complete its review within 45 days; and
(C) The review process may be extended (1) once by no more than 30 calendar days upon the written approval of
the Director and (2) at the request of the agency head.
(3) For each regulatory action that the Administrator of OIRA returns to an agency for further consideration of
some or all of its provisions, the Administrator of OIRA shall provide the issuing agency a written explanation for
such return, setting forth the pertinent provision of this Executive order on which OIRA is relying. If the agency
head disagrees with some or all of the bases for the return, the agency head shall so inform the Administrator of
8

OIRA in writing.
(4) Except as otherwise provided by law or required by a Court, in order to ensure greater openness, accessibility,
and accountability in the regulatory review process, OIRA shall be governed by the following disclosure
requirements:
(A) Only the Administrator of OIRA (or a particular designee) shall receive oral communications initiated by
persons not employed by the executive branch of the Federal Government regarding the substance of a
regulatory action under OIRA review;
(B) All substantive communications between OIRA personnel and persons not employed by the executive branch
of the Federal Government regarding a regulatory action under review shall be governed by the following
guidelines: (i) A representative from the issuing agency shall be invited to any meeting between OIRA personnel
and such person(s);
(ii) OIRA shall forward to the issuing agency, within 10 working days of receipt of the communication(s), all
written communications, regardless of format, between OIRA personnel and any person who is not employed by
the executive branch of the Federal Government, and the dates and names of individuals involved in all
substantive oral communications (including meetings to which an agency representative was invited, but did not
attend, and telephone conversations between OIRA personnel and any such persons); and
(iii) OIRA shall publicly disclose relevant information about such communication(s), as set forth below in
subsection (b)(4)(C) of this section.
(C) OIRA shall maintain a publicly available log that shall contain, at a minimum, the following information
pertinent to regulatory actions under review:
(i) The status of all regulatory actions, including if (and if so, when and by whom) Vice Presidential and
Presidential consideration was requested;
(ii) A notation of all written communications forwarded to an issuing agency under subsection (b)(4)(B)(ii) of
this section; and
(iii) The dates and names of individuals involved in all substantive oral communications, including meetings and
telephone conversations, between OIRA personnel and any person not employed by the executive branch of the
Federal Government, and the subject matter discussed during such communications.
(D) After the regulatory action has been published in the Federal Register or otherwise issued to the public, or
after the agency has announced its decision not to publish or issue the regulatory action, OIRA shall make
available to the public all documents exchanged between OIRA and the agency during the review by OIRA under
this section.
(5) All information provided to the public by OIRA shall be in plain, understandable language.
Sec. 7. Resolution of Conflicts. To the extent permitted by law, disagreements or conflicts between or among
agency heads or between OMB and any agency that cannot be resolved by the Administrator of OIRA shall be
resolved by the President, or by the Vice President acting at the request of the President, with the relevant
agency head (and, as appropriate, other interested government officials). Vice Presidential and Presidential
consideration of such disagreements may be initiated only by the Director, by the head of the issuing agency, or
by the head of an agency that has a significant interest in the regulatory action at issue. Such review will not be
undertaken at the request of other persons, entities, or their agents.
9

Resolution of such conflicts shall be informed by recommendations developed by the Vice President, after
consultation with the Advisors (and other executive branch officials or personnel whose responsibilities to the
President include the subject matter at issue). The development of these recommendations shall be concluded
within 60 days after review has been requested.
During the Vice Presidential and Presidential review period, communications with any person not employed by
the Federal Government relating to the substance of the regulatory action under review and directed to the
Advisors or their staffs or to the staff of the Vice President shall be in writing and shall be forwarded by the
recipient to the affected agency(ies) for inclusion in the public docket(s). When the communication is not in
writing, such Advisors or staff members shall inform the outside party that the matter is under review and that
any comments should be submitted in writing.
At the end of this review process, the President, or the Vice President acting at the request of the President, shall
notify the affected agency and the Administrator of OIRA of the President's decision with respect to the matter.
Sec. 8. Publication. Except to the extent required by law, an agency shall not publish in the Federal Register or
otherwise issue to the public any regulatory action that is subject to review under section 6 of this Executive
order until (1) the Administrator of OIRA notifies the agency that OIRA has waived its review of the action or
has completed its review without any requests for further consideration, or (2) the applicable time period in
section 6(b)(2) expires without OIRA having notified the agency that it is returning the regulatory action for
further consideration under section 6(b)(3), whichever occurs first. If the terms of the preceding sentence have
not been satisfied and an agency wants to publish or otherwise issue a regulatory action, the head of that agency
may request Presidential consideration through the Vice President, as provided under section 7 of this order.
Upon receipt of this request, the Vice President shall notify OIRA and the Advisors. The guidelines and time
period set forth in section 7 shall apply to the publication of regulatory actions for which Presidential
consideration has been sought.
Sec. 9. Agency Authority. Nothing in this order shall be construed as displacing the agencies' authority or
responsibilities, as authorized by law.
Sec. 10. Judicial Review. Nothing in this Executive order shall affect any otherwise available judicial review of
agency action. This Executive order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal
Government and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a
party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
Sec. 11. Revocations. Executive Orders Nos. 12291 and 12498; all amendments to those Executive orders; all
guidelines issued under those orders; and any exemptions from those orders heretofore granted for any category
of rule are revoked.
WILLIAM CLINTON THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 30, 1993.
Editorial Note: For the President's remarks on signing this Executive order, see issue 39 of the Weekly
Compilation of Presidential Documents.
Exec. Order No. 12866, 58 FR 51735, 1993 WL 388305 (Pres.)

10

Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Public Law 94-265
As amended through October 11, 1996
AN ACT
To provide for the conservation and management of the fisheries,
and for other purposes.

J.Feder version (12/19/96)
TITLE III -- NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Part 1
Part 2
SEC. 301. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FISHERY
16 U.S.C. 1851 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
(a) IN GENERAL.--Any fishery management plan prepared, and any regulation
promulgated to implement any such plan, pursuant to this title shall be consistent with the
following national standards for fishery conservation and management:
98-623
(1) Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving,
on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the United States fishing
industry.
(2) Conservation and management measures shall be based upon the best scientific information
available.
(3) To the extent practicable, an individual stock of fish shall be managed as a unit throughout
its range, and interrelated stocks of fish shall be managed as a unit or in close coordination.
(4) Conservation and management measures shall not discriminate between residents of
different States. If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various
United States fishermen, such allocation shall be (A) fair and equitable to all such fishermen; (B)
reasonably calculated to promote conservation; and (C) carried out in such manner that no
particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privileges.
104-297
(5) Conservation and management measures shall, where practicable, consider efficiency
1

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

in the utilization of fishery resources; except that no such measure shall have economic
allocation as its sole purpose.
(6) Conservation and management measures shall take into account and allow for variations
among, and contingencies in, fisheries, fishery resources, and catches.
(7) Conservation and management measures shall, where practicable, minimize costs and
avoid unnecessary duplication. 104-297
(8) Conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the conservation
requirements of this Act (including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of overfished
stocks), take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to
(A) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (B) to the extent
practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.
104-297
(9) Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, (A) minimize
bycatch and (B) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such
bycatch.
104-297
(10) Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, promote the
safety of human life at sea. 97-453
(b) GUIDELINES.-- The Secretary shall establish advisory guidelines (which shall not have the
force and effect of law), based on the national standards, to assist in the development of fishery
management plans.
SEC. 302. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT
COUNCILS 16 U.S.C. 1852 97-453, 101-627, 104-297
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.--(1) There shall be established, within 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, as follows:
(A) NEW ENGLAND COUNCIL.--The New England Fishery Management Council shall
consist of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut
and shall have authority over the fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean seaward of such States (except
as provided in paragraph (3)). The New England Council shall have 17 voting members,
including 11 appointed by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of
whom shall be appointed from each such State).
(B) MID-ATLANTIC COUNCIL.--The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council shall
consist of the States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
and North Carolina and shall have authority over the fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean seaward
of such States (except North Carolina, and as provided in paragraph (3)). The Mid-Atlantic
Council shall have 21 voting members, including 13 appointed by the Secretary in accordance
with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of whom shall be appointed from each such State).
2

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

(C) SOUTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL.--The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council shall
consist of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and shall have
authority over the fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean seaward of such States (except as provided in
paragraph (3)). The South Atlantic Council shall have 13 voting members, including 8 appointed
by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of whom shall be appointed
from each such State).
(D) CARIBBEAN COUNCIL.--The Caribbean Fishery Management Council shall consist of
the Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and shall have authority over the
fisheries in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean seaward of such States (except as provided in
paragraph (3)). The Caribbean Council shall have 7 voting members, including 4 appointed by
the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of whom shall be appointed from
each such State).
(E) GULF COUNCIL.--The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council shall consist of the
States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and shall have authority over the
fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico seaward of
such States (except as provided in paragraph (3)). The Gulf Council shall have 17 voting
members, including 11 appointed by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least
one of whom shall be appointed from each such State).
(F) PACIFIC COUNCIL.--The Pacific Fishery Management Council shall consist of the States
of California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and shall have authority over the fisheries in the
Pacific Ocean seaward of such States. The Pacific Council shall have 14 voting members,
including 8 appointed by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of
whom shall be appointed from each such State), and including one appointed from an Indian
tribe with Federally recognized fishing rights from California, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho in
accordance with subsection (b)(5).
(G) NORTH PACIFIC COUNCIL.--The North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall
consist of the States of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and shall have authority over the
fisheries in the Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea, and Pacific Ocean seaward of Alaska. The North
Pacific Council shall have 11 voting members, including 7 appointed by the Secretary in
accordance with subsection (b)(2) (5 of whom shall be appointed from the State of Alaska and
2 of whom shall be appointed from the State of Washington).
(H) WESTERN PACIFIC COUNCIL.--The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
shall consist of the States of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands
and shall have authority over the fisheries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of such States and of the
Commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States in the Pacific Ocean area. The
Western Pacific Council shall have 13 voting members, including 8 appointed by the Secretary
in accordance with subsection (b)(2) (at least one of whom shall be appointed from each of the
following States: Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands).
(2) Each Council shall reflect the expertise and interest of the several constituent States in the
ocean area over which such Council is granted authority.
(3) The Secretary shall have authority over any highly migratory species fishery that is
within the geographical area of authority of more than one of the following Councils: New
England Council, Mid-Atlantic Council, South Atlantic Council, Gulf Council, and
Caribbean Council.
3

50 CFR part 679.5

(n) Groundfish CDQ fisheries—(1) CDQ delivery report—(i) Who must submit a CDQ delivery
report? The manager of each shoreside processor and stationary floating processor taking
deliveries of groundfish CDQ or PSQ species from catcher vessels must submit for each delivery
a CDQ delivery report, unless using the SPELR described at paragraph (e) of this section to
submit the required CDQ information.
(ii) Time limit and submittal. The manager as defined at paragraph (n)(1)(i) of this section must
submit to the Regional Administrator a CDQ delivery report within 24 hours of completion of
each delivery of groundfish CDQ or PSQ species to the processor.
(iii) Information required. The manager as defined at paragraph (n)(1)(i) of this section must
record whether the report is original or a revision and the following information on each CDQ
delivery report:
(A) CDQ group information. CDQ group number as defined at §679.2 and CDQ group name or
acronym.
(B) Processor information. (1) Name and federal processor permit number of the processor as
defined at paragraph (n)(1)(i) of this section taking delivery of the CDQ catch.
(2) Date delivery report submitted.
(C) Vessel and catch information. (1) Enter the name, Federal Fisheries Permit number if
applicable, and ADF&G vessel registration number of the vessel delivering CDQ catch. Write
“unnamed” if the vessel has no name;
(2) Enter the delivery date, date fishing began, harvest gear type, and Federal reporting area of
CDQ harvest. If caught with trawl gear, check appropriate box(es) to indicate if catch was made
in the CVOA or the COBLZ.
(D) Groundfish CDQ Species in this delivery. Enter weight by species codes and product codes
as defined in Tables 1 and 2 to this part, respectively, of groundfish CDQ species that were
delivered. Report the weight of each CDQ species in metric tons to at least the nearest 0.001 mt.
(E) Halibut CDQ, halibut IFQ and sablefish IFQ in this delivery. For nontrawl vessels only,
enter the product code and product weight for any halibut CDQ, halibut IFQ, and sablefish IFQ
in this catch. Submit this same information to the Regional Administrator on an IFQ landing
report (see paragraph (l)(2) of this section).
(F) PSQ information. For halibut, enter the species code and the weight to the nearest 0.001 mt.
For salmon or crab, enter the species code and the number of animals.

(1) Enter PSQ species delivered and discarded from processor by species code and weight or
numbers.
(2) Enter at-sea discards of PSQ for vessels without observers by species code and weight or
numbers.
(2) CDQ catch report—(i) Who must submit a CDQ catch report? The CDQ representative must
submit a CDQ catch report for all groundfish catch made by vessels groundfish CDQ fishing as
defined at §679.2 or for any groundfish harvested by vessels greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3
m) LOA while halibut CDQ fishing and delivered to a shoreside processor, to a stationary
floating processor, or to a mothership.
(ii) Time limit and submittal. Submit to the Regional Administrator a CDQ catch report:
(A) Within 7 days of the date CDQ catch was delivered by a catcher vessel to a shoreside
processor, stationary floating processor, or mothership.
(B) Within 7 days of the date gear used to catch CDQ was retrieved by a catcher/processor.
(iii) Information required, all CDQ catch reports. Record whether an original or revised report
and the following information on each CDQ catch report:
(A) Vessel type. Indicate one appropriate vessel/gear/delivery type.
(B) Vessel catch information— (1) Enter the name, Federal fisheries permit number if
applicable, and ADF&G vessel registration number of the vessel delivering CDQ catch. Write
“unnamed” if the vessel has no name.
(2) Reporting area. Enter reporting area in which CDQ catch occurred. If a set occurs in more
than one area, record the area code where gear retrieval was completed.
(3) Gear type. Circle gear type used to harvest CDQ catch. If caught with trawl gear, check
appropriate box(es) to indicate if catch was made in the CVOA or the COBLZ.
(4) Indicate the intended target species.
(C) CDQ group information. Enter CDQ number as defined at §679.2, CDQ group name or
acronym, and date report submitted to NMFS.
(iv) Catch and delivery Information: catcher vessels retaining all groundfish CDQ and
delivering to shoreside processors or stationary floating processors (Option 1 in the CDP).
Record the following information on each applicable CDQ catch report:
(A) Delivery information. Name and Federal processor permit number of the shoreside processor
or the stationary floating processor taking delivery of the CDQ catch; date catch delivered to

processor; and date fishing began on this trip.
(B) Catch information, groundfish CDQ species. Report the weight in metric tons to at least the
nearest 0.001 mt for each groundfish CDQ species retrieved by a catcher/processor or delivered
to a processor as defined in paragraph (n)(1)(i) of this section by product code and species code
as defined in Tables 1 and 2 to this part, respectively.
(C) Catch information, halibut CDQ, halibut IFQ and sablefish IFQ. For non-trawl vessels only,
enter the product code as defined in Table 1 to this part and product weight in metric tons to at
least the nearest 0.001 mt for any halibut CDQ, halibut IFQ, and sablefish IFQ in the CDQ
delivery. Submit this same information to the Regional Administrator on an IFQ landing report
(see §679.5(l)(2)).
(D) Mortality information, salmon and crab PSQ. For salmon or crab, enter the species code, as
defined in Table 2 to this part, and the number of animals.
(E) Mortality information, halibut PSQ. For halibut PSQ catch, enter the round weight to the
nearest 0.001 mt, mortality rate, and overall halibut mortality in metric tons to the nearest 0.001
mt. Use the target fishery designations and halibut bycatch mortality rates in the annual final
specifications published in the Federal Register under §679.20(c).
(v) Catch and delivery information: catcher/processors, catcher vessels delivering unsorted
codends to motherships, or catcher vessels (with observers) using nontrawl gear and discarding
groundfish CDQ at sea (Option 2 in the CDP). Record the following information on each
applicable CDQ catch report.
(A) Delivery information. (1) If a catcher vessel (with observers) using nontrawl gear, discarding
groundfish CDQ at sea, and delivering to a shoreside processor or stationary floating processor,
enter name and Federal processor permit number of the shoreside processor or the stationary
floating processor, date catch delivered, and date fishing began on this trip.
(2) If a catcher vessel delivering unsorted codends to a mothership, enter the mothership name
and Federal fisheries permit number, observer's haul number for this catch, and date codend is
completely onboard the mothership as determined by the Level 2 observer.
(3) If a catcher/processor, the observer's haul number for this catch, and the date on which the
gear was retrieved as determined by the Level 2 observer.
(B) Catch information, groundfish CDQ species. (See paragraph (n)(2)(iv)(B) of this section).
(C) Catch information, halibut IFQ/CDQ and sablefish IFQ (See paragraph (n)(2)(iv)(C) of this
section).

(D) Mortality information, salmon and crab prohibited species. (See paragraph (n)(2)(iv)(D) of
this section).
(E) Mortality information, halibut PSQ. (See §679.5(n)(2)(iv)(E) of this section).

H. R. 5946

One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and six

An Act
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to
authorize activities to promote improved monitoring and compliance for high
seas fisheries, or fisheries governed by international fishery management agreements, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization
Act of 2006’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Amendment of Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.
Sec. 3. Changes in findings and definitions.
Sec. 4. Highly migratory species.
Sec. 5. Total allowable level of foreign fishing.
Sec. 6. Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund.
Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
Cumulative impacts.
Caribbean Council jurisdiction.
Regional fishery management councils.
Fishery management plan requirements.
Fishery management plan discretionary provisions.
Limited access privilege programs.
Environmental review process.
Emergency regulations.
Western Pacific and North Pacific community development.
Secretarial action on State groundfish fishing.
Joint enforcement agreements.
Transition to sustainable fisheries.
Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery program.
Fishery finance program hurricane assistance.
Fisheries hurricane assistance program.
Bycatch reduction engineering program.
Community-based restoration program for fishery and coastal habitats.
Prohibited acts.
Shark feeding.
Clarification of flexibility.
Southeast Alaska fisheries communities capacity reduction.
Conversion to catcher/processor shares.

Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

201.
202.
203.
204.

TITLE II—INFORMATION AND RESEARCH
Recreational fisheries information.
Collection of information.
Access to certain information.
Cooperative research and management program.

H. R. 5946—2
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

205.
206.
207.
208.
209.
210.
211.
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.

Herring study.
Restoration study.
Western Pacific fishery demonstration projects.
Fisheries conservation and management fund.
Use of fishery finance program for sustainable purposes.
Regional ecosystem research.
Deep sea coral research and technology program.
Impact of turtle excluder devices on shrimping.
Hurricane effects on commercial and recreational fishery habitats.
North Pacific Fisheries Convention.
New England groundfish fishery.
Report on council management coordination.
Study of shortage in the number of individuals with post- baccalaureate
degrees in subjects related to fishery science.
Sec. 218. Gulf of Alaska Rockfish demonstration program.
TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES STATUTES
Sec. 301. Amendments to Northern Pacific Halibut Act.
Sec. 302. Reauthorization of other fisheries Acts.
TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL
Sec. 401. International monitoring and compliance.
Sec. 402. Finding with respect to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Sec. 403. Action to end illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing and reduce bycatch of protected marine species.
Sec. 404. Monitoring of Pacific insular area fisheries.
Sec. 405. Reauthorization of Atlantic Tunas Convention Act.
Sec. 406. International overfishing and domestic equity.
Sec. 407. United States catch history.
Sec. 408. Secretarial representative for international fisheries.

Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC
FISHERIES CONVENTION
501. Short title.
502. Definitions.
503. Appointment of United States commissioners.
504. Authority and responsibility of the Secretary of State.
505. Rulemaking authority of the Secretary of Commerce.
506. Enforcement.
507. Prohibited acts.
508. Cooperation in carrying out convention.
509. Territorial participation.
510. Exclusive economic zone notification.
511. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

601.
602.
603.
604.
605.
606.
607.
608.
609.
610.
611.

TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING
Short title.
Definitions.
United States representation on joint management committee.
United States representation on the scientific review group.
United States representation on joint technical committee.
United States representation on advisory panel.
Responsibilities of the secretary.
Rulemaking.
Administrative matters.
Enforcement.
Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 701. Study of the acidification of the oceans and effect on fisheries.
Sec. 702. Puget Sound regional shellfish settlement.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.
Sec.

801.
802.
803.
804.
805.
806.
807.

TITLE VIII—TSUNAMI WARNING AND EDUCATION
Short title.
Definitions.
Purposes.
Tsunami forecasting and warning program.
National tsunami hazard mitigation program.
Tsunami research program.
Global tsunami warning and mitigation network.

H. R. 5946—3
Sec. 808. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE IX—POLAR BEARS
Sec. 901. Short title.
Sec. 902. Amendment of Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act
an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall
be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
SEC. 3. CHANGES IN FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS.

(a) ECOSYSTEMS.—Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11) A number of the Fishery Management Councils have
demonstrated significant progress in integrating ecosystem
considerations in fisheries management using the existing
authorities provided under this Act.’’.
(b) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended—
(1) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following:
‘‘(13A) The term ‘regional fishery association’ means an
association formed for the mutual benefit of members—
‘‘(A) to meet social and economic needs in a region
or subregion; and
‘‘(B) comprised of persons engaging in the harvest or
processing of fishery resources in that specific region or
subregion or who otherwise own or operate businesses
substantially dependent upon a fishery.’’;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (20) the following:
‘‘(20A) The term ‘import’—
‘‘(A) means to land on, bring into, or introduce into,
or attempt to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any
place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,
whether or not such landing, bringing, or introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning of the customs
laws of the United States; but
‘‘(B) does not include any activity described in subparagraph (A) with respect to fish caught in the exclusive
economic zone or by a vessel of the United States.’’;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the following:
‘‘(23A) The term ‘limited access privilege’—
‘‘(A) means a Federal permit, issued as part of a limited
access system under section 303A to harvest a quantity
of fish expressed by a unit or units representing a portion
of the total allowable catch of the fishery that may be
received or held for exclusive use by a person; and
‘‘(B) includes an individual fishing quota; but
‘‘(C) does not include community development quotas
as described in section 305(i).
‘‘(23B) The term ‘limited access system’ means a system
that limits participation in a fishery to those satisfying certain
eligibility criteria or requirements contained in a fishery
management plan or associated regulation.’’; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (27) the following:

H. R. 5946—4
‘‘(27A) The term ‘observer information’ means any information collected, observed, retrieved, or created by an observer
or electronic monitoring system pursuant to authorization by
the Secretary, or collected as part of a cooperative research
initiative, including fish harvest or processing observations,
fish sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, vessel
or processor-specific information (including any safety, location,
or operating condition observations), and video, audio, photographic, or written documents.’’.
(c) REDESIGNATION.—Paragraphs (1) through (45) of section
3 (16 U.S.C. 1802), as amended by subsection (a), are redesignated
as paragraphs (1) thorough (50), respectively.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) The following provisions of the Act are amended by
striking ‘‘an individual fishing quota’’ and inserting ‘‘a limited
access privilege’’:
(A) Section 402(b)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b)(1)(D)).
(B) Section 407(a)(1)(D) and (c)(1) (16 U.S.C.
1883(a)(1)(D) and (c)(1)).
(2) The following provisions of the Act are amended by
striking ‘‘individual fishing quota’’ and inserting ‘‘limited access
privilege’’:
(A) Section 304(c)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1854(c)(3)).
(B) Section 304(d)(2)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(A)(i)).
(3) Section 305(h)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(h)(1)) is amended
by striking ‘‘individual fishing quotas,’’ and inserting ‘‘limited
access privileges,’’.
SEC. 4. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.

Section 102 (16 U.S.C. 1812) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘The’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) TRADITIONAL PARTICIPATION.—In managing any fisheries
under an international fisheries agreement to which the United
States is a party, the appropriate Council or Secretary shall take
into account the traditional participation in the fishery, relative
to other nations, by fishermen of the United States on fishing
vessels of the United States.
‘‘(c) PROMOTION OF STOCK MANAGEMENT.—If a relevant international fisheries organization does not have a process for developing a formal plan to rebuild a depleted stock, an overfished
stock, or a stock that is approaching a condition of being overfished,
the provisions of this Act in this regard shall be communicated
to and promoted by the United States in the international or
regional fisheries organization.’’.
SEC. 5. TOTAL ALLOWABLE LEVEL OF FOREIGN FISHING.

Section 201(d) (16 U.S.C. 1821(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘shall be’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘will not’’ and inserting ‘‘cannot, or will
not,’’; and
(3) by inserting after ‘‘Act.’’ the following: ‘‘Allocations of
the total allowable level of foreign fishing are discretionary,
except that the total allowable level shall be zero for fisheries
determined by the Secretary to have adequate or excess
domestic harvest capacity.’’.

H. R. 5946—5
SEC. 6. WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES FUND.

Section 204(e) (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)(7)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘and any funds or contributions received
in support of conservation and management objectives under
a marine conservation plan’’ after ‘‘agreement’’ in paragraph
(7); and
(2) by inserting after ‘‘paragraph (4).’’ in paragraph (8)
the following: ‘‘In the case of violations by foreign vessels occurring within the exclusive economic zones off Midway Atoll,
Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Jarvis, Howland,
Baker, and Wake Islands, amounts received by the Secretary
attributable to fines and penalties imposed under this Act,
shall be deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund established under paragraph (7) of this subsection.’’.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1803) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out the provisions of this Act—
‘‘(1) $337,844,000 for fiscal year 2007;
‘‘(2) $347,684,000 for fiscal year 2008;
‘‘(3) $357,524,000 for fiscal year 2009;
‘‘(4) $367,364,000 for fiscal year 2010;
‘‘(5) $377,204,000 for fiscal year 2011;
‘‘(6) $387,044,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
‘‘(7) $396,875,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’.

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT
SEC. 101. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS.

(a) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Section 301(a)(8) (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(8)) is amended by inserting ‘‘by utilizing economic and
social data that meet the requirements of paragraph (2),’’ after
‘‘fishing communities’’.
(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Section 303(a)(9) (16 U.S.C.
1853(a)(9)) is amended by striking ‘‘describe the likely effects, if
any, of the conservation and management measures on—’’ and
inserting ‘‘analyze the likely effects, if any, including the cumulative
conservation, economic, and social impacts, of the conservation
and management measures on, and possible mitigation measures
for—’’.
SEC. 102. CARIBBEAN COUNCIL JURISDICTION.

Section 302(a)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(D)) is amended by
inserting ‘‘and of commonwealths, territories, and possessions of
the United States in the Caribbean Sea’’ after ‘‘seaward of such
States’’.
SEC. 103. REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.

(a) TRIBAL ALTERNATE ON PACIFIC COUNCIL.—Section 302(b)(5)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following:

H. R. 5946—6
‘‘(D) The tribal representative appointed under subparagraph
(A) may designate as an alternate, during the period of the representative’s term, an individual knowledgeable concerning tribal
rights, tribal law, and the fishery resources of the geographical
area concerned.’’.
(b) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.—Section 302(g)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended—
(1) by striking so much of subsection (g) as precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
‘‘(g) COMMITTEES AND ADVISORY PANELS.—
‘‘(1)(A) Each Council shall establish, maintain, and appoint
the members of a scientific and statistical committee to assist
it in the development, collection, evaluation, and peer review
of such statistical, biological, economic, social, and other scientific information as is relevant to such Council’s development
and amendment of any fishery management plan.
‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee shall provide
its Council ongoing scientific advice for fishery management
decisions, including recommendations for acceptable biological
catch, preventing overfishing, maximum sustainable yield, and
achieving rebuilding targets, and reports on stock status and
health, bycatch, habitat status, social and economic impacts
of management measures, and sustainability of fishing practices.
‘‘(C) Members appointed by the Councils to the scientific
and statistical committees shall be Federal employees, State
employees, academicians, or independent experts and shall have
strong scientific or technical credentials and experience.
‘‘(D) Each member of a scientific and statistical committee
shall be treated as an affected individual for purposes of paragraphs (2), (3)(B), (4), and (5)(A) of subsection (j). The Secretary
shall keep disclosures made pursuant to this subparagraph
on file.
‘‘(E) The Secretary and each Council may establish a peer
review process for that Council for scientific information used
to advise the Council about the conservation and management
of the fishery. The review process, which may include existing
committees or panels, is deemed to satisfy the requirements
of the guidelines issued pursuant to section 515 of the Treasury
and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal year
2001 (Public Law 106–554—Appendix C; 114 Stat. 2763A–153).
‘‘(F) In addition to the provisions of section 302(f)(7), the
Secretary shall, subject to the availability of appropriations,
pay a stipend to members of the scientific and statistical
committees or advisory panels who are not employed by the
Federal Government or a State marine fisheries agency.
‘‘(G) A science and statistical committee shall hold its
meetings in conjunction with the meeting of the Council, to
the extent practicable.’’.
(2) by striking ‘‘other’’ in paragraph (2); and
(3) by resetting the left margin of paragraphs (2) through
(5) 2 ems from the left.
(c) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.—Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘authority, and’’ in paragraph (5) and
inserting ‘‘authority;’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and

H. R. 5946—7
(3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
‘‘(6) develop annual catch limits for each of its managed
fisheries that may not exceed the fishing level recommendations
of its scientific and statistical committee or the peer review
process established under subsection (g); and’’.
(d) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 302(h) (16
U.S.C. 1852(h)), as amended by subsection (c), is further amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(g); and’’ in paragraph (6) and inserting
‘‘(g);’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (7), as redesignated by subsection (c)(2), as paragraph (8);
(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
‘‘(7) develop, in conjunction with the scientific and statistical committee, multi-year research priorities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats, and other areas of research that
are necessary for management purposes, that shall—
‘‘(A) establish priorities for 5-year periods;
‘‘(B) be updated as necessary; and
‘‘(C) be submitted to the Secretary and the regional
science centers of the National Marine Fisheries Service
for their consideration in developing research priorities
and budgets for the region of the Council; and’’.
(e) REGULAR AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(2)(C)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(i)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘published in local
newspapers in the major fishing ports of the region (and in other
major fishing ports having a direct interest in the affected fishery)
and such notice may be given by such other means as will result
in wide publicity.’’ and inserting ‘‘provided by any means that
will result in wide publicity in the major fishing ports of the
region (and in other major fishing ports having a direct interest
in the affected fishery), except that e-mail notification and website
postings alone are not sufficient.’’.
(f) CLOSED MEETINGS.—Section 302(i)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C.
1852(i)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘notify local newspapers in
the major fishing ports within its region (and in other major,
affected fishing ports,’’ and inserting ‘‘provide notice by any means
that will result in wide publicity in the major fishing ports of
the region (and in other major fishing ports having a direct interest
in the affected fishery), except that e-mail notification and website
postings alone are not sufficient,’’.
(g) TRAINING.—Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(k) COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) TRAINING COURSE.—Within 6 months after the date
of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary,
in consultation with the Councils and the National Sea Grant
College Program, shall develop a training course for newly
appointed Council members. The course may cover a variety
of topics relevant to matters before the Councils, including—
‘‘(A) fishery science and basic stock assessment
methods;
‘‘(B) fishery management techniques, data needs, and
Council procedures;
‘‘(C) social science and fishery economics;

H. R. 5946—8
‘‘(D) tribal treaty rights and native customs, access,
and other rights related to Western Pacific indigenous
communities;
‘‘(E) legal requirements of this Act, including conflict
of interest and disclosure provisions of this section and
related policies;
‘‘(F) other relevant legal and regulatory requirements,
including the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.);
‘‘(G) public process for development of fishery management plans;
‘‘(H) other topics suggested by the Council; and
‘‘(I) recreational and commercial fishing information,
including fish harvesting techniques, gear types, fishing
vessel types, and economics for the fisheries within each
Council’s jurisdiction.
‘‘(2) MEMBER TRAINING.—The training course shall be available to both new and existing Council members, staff from
the regional offices and regional science centers of the National
Marine Fisheries Service, and may be made available to committee or advisory panel members as resources allow.
‘‘(3) REQUIRED TRAINING.—Council members appointed after
the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 shall
complete a training course that meets the requirements of
this section not later than 1 year after the date on which
they were appointed. Any Council member who has completed
a training course within 24 months before the date of enactment
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 shall be considered to have
met the training requirement of this paragraph.
‘‘(l) COUNCIL COORDINATION COMMITTEE.—The Councils may
establish a Council coordination committee consisting of the chairs,
vice chairs, and executive directors of each of the 8 Councils
described in subsection (a)(1), or other Council members or staff,
in order to discuss issues of relevance to all Councils, including
issues related to the implementation of this Act.’’.
(h) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—Section 302(i) (16 U.S.C. 1852(i))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘to the Councils or to the scientific and
statistical committees or advisory panels established under subsection (g).’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘to the Councils,
the Council coordination committee established under subsection (l), or to the scientific and statistical committees or
other committees or advisory panels established under subsection (g).’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘of a Council, and of the scientific and
statistical committee and advisory panels established under
subsection (g):’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘of a Council,
of the Council coordination committee established under subsection (l), and of the scientific and statistical committees or
other committees or advisory panels established under subsection (g):’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘the Council Coordination Committee established under subsection (l),’’ in paragraph (3)(A) after ‘‘Council,’’;
and

H. R. 5946—9
(4) by inserting ‘‘other committees,’’ in paragraph (3)(A)
after ‘‘committee,’’.
(i) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 302(j) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j))
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘lobbying, advocacy,’’ after ‘‘processing,’’
in paragraph (2);
(2) by striking ‘‘jurisdiction.’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting
‘‘jurisdiction, or with respect to an individual or organization
with a financial interest in such activity.’’;
(3) by striking subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(B) be kept on file by the Council and made available
on the Internet and for public inspection at the Council offices
during reasonable hours; and’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) On January 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Resources on action taken by the Secretary and the
Councils to implement the disclosure of financial interest and
recusal requirements of this subsection, including identification of
any conflict of interest problems with respect to the Councils and
scientific and statistical committees and recommendations for
addressing any such problems.’’.
(j) GULF OF MEXICO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.—Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph
(E); and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D)(i) The Governor of a State submitting a list of names
of individuals for appointment by the Secretary of Commerce to
the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council under subparagraph (C) shall include—
‘‘(I) at least 1 nominee each from the commercial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors; and
‘‘(II) at least 1 other individual who is knowledgeable
regarding the conservation and management of fisheries
resources in the jurisdiction of the Council.
‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (C),
if the Secretary determines that the list of names submitted by
the Governor does not meet the requirements of clause (i) the
Secretary shall—
‘‘(I) publish a notice in the Federal Register asking the
residents of that State to submit the names and pertinent
biographical data of individuals who would meet the requirement not met for appointment to the Council; and
‘‘(II) add the name of any qualified individual submitted
by the public who meets the unmet requirement to the list
of names submitted by the Governor.
‘‘(iii) For purposes of clause (i) an individual who owns or
operates a fish farm outside of the United States shall not be
considered to be a representative of the commercial or recreational
fishing sector.
‘‘(iv) The requirements of this subparagraph shall expire at
the end of fiscal year 2012.’’.

H. R. 5946—10
SEC. 104. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and charter fishing’’ in paragraph (5) and
inserting ‘‘charter fishing, and fish processing’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘economic information necessary to meet
the requirements of this Act,’’ in paragraph (5) after ‘‘number
of hauls,’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in paragraph
(9)(A);
(4) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in paragraph
(9)(B);
(5) by inserting after paragraph (9)(B) the following:
‘‘(C) the safety of human life at sea, including whether
and to what extent such measures may affect the safety
of participants in the fishery;’’;
(6) by striking ‘‘fishery’’ the first place it appears in paragraph (13) and inserting ‘‘fishery, including its economic
impact,’’;
(7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in paragraph
(13);
(8) by striking ‘‘allocate’’ in paragraph (14) and inserting
‘‘allocate, taking into consideration the economic impact of the
harvest restrictions or recovery benefits on the fishery participants in each sector,’’;
(9) by striking ‘‘fishery.’’ in paragraph (14) and inserting
‘‘fishery and;’’; and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(15) establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch
limits in the plan (including a multiyear plan), implementing
regulations, or annual specifications, at a level such that overfishing does not occur in the fishery, including measures to
ensure accountability.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION TO CERTAIN SPECIES.—The
amendment made by subsection (a)(10)—
(1) shall, unless otherwise provided for under an international agreement in which the United States participates,
take effect—
(A) in fishing year 2010 for fisheries determined by
the Secretary to be subject to overfishing; and
(B) in fishing year 2011 for all other fisheries; and
(2) shall not apply to a fishery for species that have a
life cycle of approximately 1 year unless the Secretary has
determined the fishery is subject to overfishing of that species;
and
(3) shall not limit or otherwise affect the requirements
of section 301(a)(1) or 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1) or
1854(e), respectively).
(c) CLARIFICATION OF REBUILDING PROVISION.—Section 304(e)
(16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘one year of’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting
‘‘2 years after’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘and implement’’ after ‘‘prepare’’ in paragraph (3);
(3) by inserting ‘‘immediately’’ after ‘‘overfishing’’ in paragraph (3)(A);

H. R. 5946—11
(4) by striking ‘‘ending overfishing and’’ in paragraph (4)(A);
and
(5) by striking ‘‘one-year’’ in paragraph (5) and inserting
‘‘2-year’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR SUBSECTION (c).—The amendments
made by subsection (c) shall take effect 30 months after the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 105. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS.

Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’ in paragraph (2);
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(B) designate such zones in areas where deep sea corals
are identified under section 408, to protect deep sea corals
from physical damage from fishing gear or to prevent loss
or damage to such fishing gear from interactions with deep
sea corals, after considering long-term sustainable uses of
fishery resources in such areas; and
‘‘(C) with respect to any closure of an area under this
Act that prohibits all fishing, ensure that such closure—
‘‘(i) is based on the best scientific information available;
‘‘(ii) includes criteria to assess the conservation benefit
of the closed area;
‘‘(iii) establishes a timetable for review of the closed
area’s performance that is consistent with the purposes
of the closed area; and
‘‘(iv) is based on an assessment of the benefits and
impacts of the closure, including its size, in relation to
other management measures (either alone or in combination with such measures), including the benefits and
impacts of limiting access to: users of the area, overall
fishing activity, fishery science, and fishery and marine
conservation;’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘fishery;’’ in paragraph (5) and inserting
‘‘fishery and take into account the different circumstances
affecting fisheries from different States and ports, including
distances to fishing grounds and proximity to time and area
closures;’’;
(4) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following:
‘‘(6) establish a limited access system for the fishery in
order to achieve optimum yield if, in developing such system,
the Council and the Secretary take into account—
‘‘(A) present participation in the fishery;
‘‘(B) historical fishing practices in, and dependence on,
the fishery;
‘‘(C) the economics of the fishery;
‘‘(D) the capability of fishing vessels used in the fishery
to engage in other fisheries;
‘‘(E) the cultural and social framework relevant to the
fishery and any affected fishing communities;
‘‘(F) the fair and equitable distribution of access privileges in the fishery; and
‘‘(G) any other relevant considerations;’’;
(5) by striking ‘‘(other than economic data)’’ in paragraph
(7);
(6) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in paragraph
(11); and

H. R. 5946—12
(7) by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (14) and
inserting after paragraph (11) the following:
‘‘(12) include management measures in the plan to conserve
target and non-target species and habitats, considering the
variety of ecological factors affecting fishery populations; and’’.
SEC. 106. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by striking section 303(d); and
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following:
‘‘SEC. 303A. LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, a Council may submit, and the Secretary may
approve, for a fishery that is managed under a limited access
system, a limited access privilege program to harvest fish if the
program meets the requirements of this section.
‘‘(b) NO CREATION OF RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST.—Limited
access privilege, quota share, or other limited access system
authorization established, implemented, or managed under this
Act—
‘‘(1) shall be considered a permit for the purposes of sections
307, 308, and 309;
‘‘(2) may be revoked, limited, or modified at any time in
accordance with this Act, including revocation if the system
is found to have jeopardized the sustainability of the stock
or the safety of fishermen;
‘‘(3) shall not confer any right of compensation to the holder
of such limited access privilege, quota share, or other such
limited access system authorization if it is revoked, limited,
or modified;
‘‘(4) shall not create, or be construed to create, any right,
title, or interest in or to any fish before the fish is harvested
by the holder; and
‘‘(5) shall be considered a grant of permission to the holder
of the limited access privilege or quota share to engage in
activities permitted by such limited access privilege or quota
share.
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any limited access privilege program
to harvest fish submitted by a Council or approved by the
Secretary under this section shall—
‘‘(A) if established in a fishery that is overfished or
subject to a rebuilding plan, assist in its rebuilding;
‘‘(B) if established in a fishery that is determined by
the Secretary or the Council to have over-capacity, contribute to reducing capacity;
‘‘(C) promote—
‘‘(i) fishing safety;
‘‘(ii) fishery conservation and management; and
‘‘(iii) social and economic benefits;
‘‘(D) prohibit any person other than a United States
citizen, a corporation, partnership, or other entity established under the laws of the United States or any State,
or a permanent resident alien, that meets the eligibility
and participation requirements established in the program
from acquiring a privilege to harvest fish, including any

H. R. 5946—13
person that acquires a limited access privilege solely for
the purpose of perfecting or realizing on a security interest
in such privilege;
‘‘(E) require that all fish harvested under a limited
access privilege program be processed on vessels of the
United States or on United States soil (including any territory of the United States);
‘‘(F) specify the goals of the program;
‘‘(G) include provisions for the regular monitoring and
review by the Council and the Secretary of the operations
of the program, including determining progress in meeting
the goals of the program and this Act, and any necessary
modification of the program to meet those goals, with a
formal and detailed review 5 years after the implementation of the program and thereafter to coincide with scheduled Council review of the relevant fishery management
plan (but no less frequently than once every 7 years);
‘‘(H) include an effective system for enforcement, monitoring, and management of the program, including the
use of observers or electronic monitoring systems;
‘‘(I) include an appeals process for administrative
review of the Secretary’s decisions regarding initial allocation of limited access privileges;
‘‘(J) provide for the establishment by the Secretary,
in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, for an
information collection and review process to provide any
additional information needed to determine whether any
illegal acts of anti-competition, anti-trust, price collusion,
or price fixing have occurred among regional fishery
associations or persons receiving limited access privileges
under the program; and
‘‘(K) provide for the revocation by the Secretary of
limited access privileges held by any person found to have
violated the antitrust laws of the United States.
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the requirement
of paragraph (1)(E) if the Secretary determines that—
‘‘(A) the fishery has historically processed the fish outside of the United States; and
‘‘(B) the United States has a seafood safety equivalency
agreement with the country where processing will occur.
‘‘(3) FISHING COMMUNITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate in
a limited access privilege program to harvest fish, a
fishing community shall—
‘‘(I) be located within the management area
of the relevant Council;
‘‘(II) meet criteria developed by the relevant
Council, approved by the Secretary, and published
in the Federal Register;
‘‘(III) consist of residents who conduct commercial or recreational fishing, processing, or fisherydependent support businesses within the Council’s
management area; and
‘‘(IV) develop and submit a community sustainability plan to the Council and the Secretary that
demonstrates how the plan will address the social

H. R. 5946—14
and economic development needs of coastal
communities, including those that have not historically had the resources to participate in the
fishery, for approval based on criteria developed
by the Council that have been approved by the
Secretary and published in the Federal Register.
‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PLAN.—The Secretary shall deny or revoke limited access privileges
granted under this section for any person who fails
to comply with the requirements of the community
sustainability plan. Any limited access privileges
denied or revoked under this section may be reallocated
to other eligible members of the fishing community.
‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In developing participation criteria for eligible communities under this paragraph,
a Council shall consider—
‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing practices in,
and dependence on, the fishery;
‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework relevant
to the fishery;
‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to fishery;
‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of projected economic and social impacts associated with implementation of limited access privilege programs on harvesters,
captains, crew, processors, and other businesses
substantially dependent upon the fishery in the region
or subregion;
‘‘(v) the expected effectiveness, operational transparency, and equitability of the community sustainability plan; and
‘‘(vi) the potential for improving economic conditions in remote coastal communities lacking resources
to participate in harvesting or processing activities
in the fishery.
‘‘(4) REGIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate in a
limited access privilege program to harvest fish, a regional
fishery association shall—
‘‘(i) be located within the management area of the
relevant Council;
‘‘(ii) meet criteria developed by the relevant
Council, approved by the Secretary, and published in
the Federal Register;
‘‘(iii) be a voluntary association with established
by-laws and operating procedures;
‘‘(iv) consist of participants in the fishery who hold
quota share that are designated for use in the specific
region or subregion covered by the regional fishery
association, including commercial or recreational
fishing,
processing,
fishery-dependent
support
businesses, or fishing communities;
‘‘(v) not be eligible to receive an initial allocation
of a limited access privilege but may acquire such
privileges after the initial allocation, and may hold
the annual fishing privileges of any limited access
privileges it holds or the annual fishing privileges that
is members contribute; and

H. R. 5946—15
‘‘(vi) develop and submit a regional fishery association plan to the Council and the Secretary for approval
based on criteria developed by the Council that have
been approved by the Secretary and published in the
Federal Register.
‘‘(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PLAN.—The Secretary
shall deny or revoke limited access privileges granted under
this section to any person participating in a regional fishery
association who fails to comply with the requirements of
the regional fishery association plan.
‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION CRITERIA.—In developing participation criteria for eligible regional fishery associations under
this paragraph, a Council shall consider—
‘‘(i) traditional fishing or processing practices in,
and dependence on, the fishery;
‘‘(ii) the cultural and social framework relevant
to the fishery;
‘‘(iii) economic barriers to access to fishery;
‘‘(iv) the existence and severity of projected economic and social impacts associated with implementation of limited access privilege programs on harvesters,
captains, crew, processors, and other businesses
substantially dependent upon the fishery in the region
or subregion;
‘‘(v) the administrative and fiduciary soundness
of the association; and
‘‘(vi) the expected effectiveness, operational transparency, and equitability of the fishery association
plan.
‘‘(5) ALLOCATION.—In developing a limited access privilege
program to harvest fish a Council or the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish procedures to ensure fair and equitable
initial allocations, including consideration of—
‘‘(i) current and historical harvests;
‘‘(ii) employment in the harvesting and processing
sectors;
‘‘(iii) investments in, and dependence upon, the
fishery; and
‘‘(iv) the current and historical participation of
fishing communities;
‘‘(B) consider the basic cultural and social framework
of the fishery, especially through—
‘‘(i) the development of policies to promote the
sustained participation of small owner-operated fishing
vessels and fishing communities that depend on the
fisheries, including regional or port-specific landing or
delivery requirements; and
‘‘(ii) procedures to address concerns over excessive
geographic or other consolidation in the harvesting
or processing sectors of the fishery;
‘‘(C) include measures to assist, when necessary and
appropriate, entry-level and small vessel owner-operators,
captains, crew, and fishing communities through set-asides
of harvesting allocations, including providing privileges,
which may include set-asides or allocations of harvesting
privileges, or economic assistance in the purchase of limited
access privileges;

H. R. 5946—16
‘‘(D) ensure that limited access privilege holders do
not acquire an excessive share of the total limited access
privileges in the program by—
‘‘(i) establishing a maximum share, expressed as
a percentage of the total limited access privileges, that
a limited access privilege holder is permitted to hold,
acquire, or use; and
‘‘(ii) establishing any other limitations or measures
necessary to prevent an inequitable concentration of
limited access privileges; and
‘‘(E) authorize limited access privileges to harvest fish
to be held, acquired, used by, or issued under the system
to persons who substantially participate in the fishery,
including in a specific sector of such fishery, as specified
by the Council.
‘‘(6) PROGRAM INITIATION.—
‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in subparagraph
(D), a Council may initiate a fishery management plan
or amendment to establish a limited access privilege program to harvest fish on its own initiative or if the Secretary
has certified an appropriate petition.
‘‘(B) PETITION.—A group of fishermen constituting more
than 50 percent of the permit holders, or holding more
than 50 percent of the allocation, in the fishery for which
a limited access privilege program to harvest fish is sought,
may submit a petition to the Secretary requesting that
the relevant Council or Councils with authority over the
fishery be authorized to initiate the development of the
program. Any such petition shall clearly state the fishery
to which the limited access privilege program would apply.
For multispecies permits in the Gulf of Mexico, only those
participants who have substantially fished the species proposed to be included in the limited access program shall
be eligible to sign a petition for such a program and shall
serve as the basis for determining the percentage described
in the first sentence of this subparagraph.
‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—Upon the receipt
of any such petition, the Secretary shall review all of the
signatures on the petition and, if the Secretary determines
that the signatures on the petition represent more than
50 percent of the permit holders, or holders of more than
50 percent of the allocation in the fishery, as described
by subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall certify the petition
to the appropriate Council or Councils.
‘‘(D) NEW ENGLAND AND GULF REFERENDUM.—
‘‘(i) Except as provided in clause (iii) for the Gulf
of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery, the New
England and Gulf Councils may not submit, and the
Secretary may not approve or implement, a fishery
management plan or amendment that creates an individual fishing quota program, including a Secretarial
plan, unless such a system, as ultimately developed,
has been approved by more than 2⁄3 of those voting
in a referendum among eligible permit holders, or other
persons described in clause (v), with respect to the
New England Council, and by a majority of those voting
in the referendum among eligible permit holders with

H. R. 5946—17
respect to the Gulf Council. For multispecies permits
in the Gulf of Mexico, only those participants who
have substantially fished the species proposed to be
included in the individual fishing quota program shall
be eligible to vote in such a referendum. If an individual fishing quota program fails to be approved by
the requisite number of those voting, it may be revised
and submitted for approval in a subsequent referendum.
‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall conduct a referendum
under this subparagraph, including notifying all persons eligible to participate in the referendum and
making available to them information concerning the
schedule, procedures, and eligibility requirements for
the referendum process and the proposed individual
fishing quota program. Within 1 year after the date
of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of
2006, the Secretary shall publish guidelines and procedures to determine procedures and voting eligibility
requirements for referenda and to conduct such
referenda in a fair and equitable manner.
‘‘(iii) The provisions of section 407(c) of this Act
shall apply in lieu of this subparagraph for an individual fishing quota program for the Gulf of Mexico
commercial red snapper fishery.
‘‘(iv) Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code,
(commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act)
does not apply to the referenda conducted under this
subparagraph.
‘‘(v) The Secretary shall promulgate criteria for
determining whether additional fishery participants
are eligible to vote in the New England referendum
described in clause (i) in order to ensure that crew
members who derive a significant percentage of their
total income from the fishery under the proposed program are eligible to vote in the referendum.
‘‘(vi) In this subparagraph, the term ‘individual
fishing quota’ does not include a sector allocation.
‘‘(7) TRANSFERABILITY.—In establishing a limited access
privilege program, a Council shall—
‘‘(A) establish a policy and criteria for the transferability of limited access privileges (through sale or lease),
that is consistent with the policies adopted by the Council
for the fishery under paragraph (5); and
‘‘(B) establish, in coordination with the Secretary, a
process for monitoring of transfers (including sales and
leases) of limited access privileges.
‘‘(8) PREPARATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SECRETARIAL
PLANS.—This subsection also applies to a plan prepared and
implemented by the Secretary under section 304(c) or 304(g).
‘‘(9) ANTITRUST SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to modify, impair, or supersede the operation
of any of the antitrust laws. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, the term ‘antitrust laws’ has the meaning given such
term in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act,
except that such term includes section 5 of the Federal Trade

H. R. 5946—18
Commission Act to the extent that such section 5 applies to
unfair methods of competition.
‘‘(d) AUCTION AND OTHER PROGRAMS.—In establishing a limited
access privilege program, a Council shall consider, and may provide,
if appropriate, an auction system or other program to collect royalties for the initial, or any subsequent, distribution of allocations
in a limited access privilege program if—
‘‘(1) the system or program is administered in such a way
that the resulting distribution of limited access privilege shares
meets the program requirements of this section; and
‘‘(2) revenues generated through such a royalty program
are deposited in the Limited Access System Administration
Fund established by section 305(h)(5)(B) and available subject
to annual appropriations.
‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.—In establishing a limited access privilege
program, a Council shall—
‘‘(1) develop a methodology and the means to identify and
assess the management, data collection and analysis, and
enforcement programs that are directly related to and in support of the program; and
‘‘(2) provide, under section 304(d)(2), for a program of fees
paid by limited access privilege holders that will cover the
costs of management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement activities.
‘‘(f) CHARACTERISTICS.—A limited access privilege established
after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 is a permit
issued for a period of not more than 10 years that—
‘‘(1) will be renewed before the end of that period, unless
it has been revoked, limited, or modified as provided in this
subsection;
‘‘(2) will be revoked, limited, or modified if the holder
is found by the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity
for a hearing under section 554 of title 5, United States Code,
to have failed to comply with any term of the plan identified
in the plan as cause for revocation, limitation, or modification
of a permit, which may include conservation requirements
established under the plan;
‘‘(3) may be revoked, limited, or modified if the holder
is found by the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity
for a hearing under section 554 of title 5, United States Code,
to have committed an act prohibited by section 307 of this
Act; and
‘‘(4) may be acquired, or reacquired, by participants in
the program under a mechanism established by the Council
if it has been revoked, limited, or modified under paragraph
(2) or (3).
‘‘(g) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE ASSISTED PURCHASE PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Council may submit, and the Secretary
may approve and implement, a program which reserves up
to 25 percent of any fees collected from a fishery under section
304(d)(2) to be used, pursuant to section 53706(a)(7) of title
46, United States Code, to issue obligations that aid in
financing—
‘‘(A) the purchase of limited access privileges in that
fishery by fishermen who fish from small vessels; and

H. R. 5946—19
‘‘(B) the first-time purchase of limited access privileges
in that fishery by entry level fishermen.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A Council making a submission
under paragraph (1) shall recommend criteria, consistent with
the provisions of this Act, that a fisherman must meet to
qualify for guarantees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (1) and the portion of funds to be allocated for
guarantees under each subparagraph.
‘‘(h) EFFECT ON CERTAIN EXISTING SHARES AND PROGRAMS.—
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization
Act of 2006, shall be construed to require a reallocation or a
reevaluation of individual quota shares, processor quota shares,
cooperative programs, or other quota programs, including sector
allocation in effect before the date of enactment of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization
Act of 2006.
‘‘(i) TRANSITION RULES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this section shall
not apply to any quota program, including any individual quota
program, cooperative program, or sector allocation for which
a Council has taken final action or which has been submitted
by a Council to the Secretary, or approved by the Secretary,
within 6 months after the date of enactment of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, except that—
‘‘(A) the requirements of section 303(d) of this Act
in effect on the day before the date of enactment of that
Act shall apply to any such program;
‘‘(B) the program shall be subject to review under subsection (c)(1)(G) of this section not later than 5 years after
the program implementation; and
‘‘(C) nothing in this subsection precludes a Council
from incorporating criteria contained in this section into
any such plans.
‘‘(2) PACIFIC GROUNDFISH PROPOSALS.—The requirements
of this section, other than subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(1) and subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph
(1) of this subsection, shall not apply to any proposal authorized
under section 302(f) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 that
is submitted within the timeframe prescribed by that section.’’.
(b) FEES.—Section 304(d)(2)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(A)) is
amended by striking ‘‘management and enforcement’’ and inserting
‘‘management, data collection, and enforcement’’.
(c) INVESTMENT IN UNITED STATES SEAFOOD PROCESSING
FACILITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce shall work with the Small
Business Administration and other Federal agencies to develop
financial and other mechanisms to encourage United States investment in seafood processing facilities in the United States for fisheries that lack capacity needed to process fish harvested by United
States vessels in compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(d)(2)(C)(i) (16
U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)(C)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B)’’
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘section 305(h)(5)(B).’’.

H. R. 5946—20
(e) APPLICATION WITH AMERICAN FISHERIES ACT.—Nothing in
section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as added by subsection
(a), shall be construed to modify or supersede any provision of
the American Fisheries Act (46 U.S.C. 12102 note; 16 U.S.C. 1851
note; et alia).
SEC. 107. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.

Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(i) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, in consultation
with the Councils and the Council on Environmental Quality,
revise and update agency procedures for compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.).
The procedures shall—
‘‘(A) conform to the time lines for review and approval
of fishery management plans and plan amendments under
this section; and
‘‘(B) integrate applicable environmental analytical
procedures, including the time frames for public input,
with the procedure for the preparation and dissemination
of fishery management plans, plan amendments, and other
actions taken or approved pursuant to this Act in order
to provide for timely, clear and concise analysis that is
useful to decision makers and the public, reduce extraneous
paperwork, and effectively involve the public.
‘‘(2) USAGE.—The updated agency procedures promulgated
in accordance with this section used by the Councils or the
Secretary shall be the sole environmental impact assessment
procedure for fishery management plans, amendments, regulations, or other actions taken or approved pursuant to this
Act.
‘‘(3) SCHEDULE FOR PROMULGATION OF FINAL PROCEDURES.—
The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) propose revised procedures within 6 months after
the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of
2006;
‘‘(B) provide 90 days for public review and comments;
and
‘‘(C) promulgate final procedures no later than 12
months after the date of enactment of that Act.
‘‘(4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary is authorized
and directed, in cooperation with the Council on Environmental
Quality and the Councils, to involve the affected public in
the development of revised procedures, including workshops
or other appropriate means of public involvement.’’.
SEC. 108. EMERGENCY REGULATIONS.

(a) LENGTHENING OF SECOND EMERGENCY PERIOD.—Section
305(c)(3)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘180
days,’’ the second time it appears and inserting ‘‘186 days,’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 305(c)(3)(D) (16 U.S.C.
1855(c)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or interim measures’’ after
‘‘emergency regulations’’.

H. R. 5946—21
SEC. 109. WESTERN PACIFIC AND NORTH PACIFIC COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT.

Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the
end thereof the following:
‘‘(j) WESTERN PACIFIC AND NORTHERN PACIFIC REGIONAL
MARINE EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a pilot
program for regionally-based marine education and training
programs in the Western Pacific and the Northern Pacific to
foster understanding, practical use of knowledge (including
native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, and other Pacific Islanderbased knowledge), and technical expertise relevant to stewardship of living marine resources. The Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Western Pacific and the North Pacific Regional
Fishery Management Councils, regional educational institutions, and local Western Pacific and Northern Pacific community training entities, establish programs or projects that will
improve communication, education, and training on marine
resource issues throughout the region and increase scientific
education for marine-related professions among coastal community residents, including indigenous Pacific islanders, Native
Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and other underrepresented
groups in the region.
‘‘(2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program shall—
‘‘(A) include marine science and technology education
and training programs focused on preparing community
residents for employment in marine related professions,
including marine resource conservation and management,
marine science, marine technology, and maritime operations;
‘‘(B) include fisheries and seafood-related training programs, including programs for fishery observers, seafood
safety and seafood marketing, focused on increasing the
involvement of coastal community residents in fishing,
fishery management, and seafood-related operations;
‘‘(C) include outreach programs and materials to educate and inform consumers about the quality and sustainability of wild fish or fish products farmed through responsible aquaculture, particularly in Hawaii, Alaska, the
Western Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Central
Pacific;
‘‘(D) include programs to identify, with the fishing
industry, methods and technologies that will improve the
data collection, quality, and reporting and increase the
sustainability of fishing practices, and to transfer such
methods and technologies among fisheries sectors and to
other nations in the Western, Northern, and Central
Pacific;
‘‘(E) develop means by which local and traditional
knowledge (including Pacific islander, Native Hawaiian,
and Alaskan Native knowledge) can enhance science-based
management of fishery resources of the region; and
‘‘(F) develop partnerships with other Western Pacific
Island and Alaskan agencies, academic institutions, and
other entities to meet the purposes of this section.’’.

H. R. 5946—22
SEC. 110. SECRETARIAL ACTION ON STATE GROUNDFISH FISHING.

Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855), as amended by section 109 of
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end thereof the
following:
‘‘(k) MULTISPECIES GROUNDFISH.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary of
Commerce shall determine whether fishing in State waters—
‘‘(A) without a New England multispecies groundfish
fishery permit on regulated species within the multispecies
complex is not consistent with the applicable Federal
fishery management plan; or
‘‘(B) without a Federal bottomfish and seamount
groundfish permit in the Hawaiian archipelago on regulated species within the complex is not consistent with
the applicable Federal fishery management plan or State
data are not sufficient to make such a determination.
‘‘(2) CURE.—If the Secretary makes a determination that
such actions are not consistent with the plan, the Secretary
shall, in consultation with the Council, and after notifying
the affected State, develop and implement measures to cure
the inconsistency pursuant to section 306(b).’’.
SEC. 111. JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311 (16 U.S.C. 1861) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subsection
(b)(1)(A)(iv);
(2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subsection
(b)(1)(A)(v);
(3) by inserting after clause (v) of subsection (b)(1)(A) the
following:
‘‘(vi) access, directly or indirectly, for enforcement
purposes any data or information required to be provided under this title or regulations under this title,
including data from vessel monitoring systems, satellite-based maritime distress and safety systems, or
any similar system, subject to the confidentiality provisions of section 402;’’;
(4) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (j); and
(5) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
‘‘(h) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of an eligible State may
apply to the Secretary for execution of a joint enforcement
agreement with the Secretary that will authorize the deputization and funding of State law enforcement officers with marine
law enforcement responsibilities to perform duties of the Secretary relating to law enforcement provisions under this title
or any other marine resource law enforced by the Secretary.
Upon receiving an application meeting the requirements of
this subsection, the Secretary may enter into a joint enforcement agreement with the requesting State.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible to participate in
the cooperative enforcement agreements under this section if
it is in, or bordering on, the Atlantic Ocean (including the
Caribbean Sea), the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf

H. R. 5946—23
of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the Great
Lakes.
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint enforcement agreements
executed under paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) shall be consistent with the purposes and intent
of this section to the extent applicable to the regulated
activities;
‘‘(B) may include specifications for joint management
responsibilities as provided by the first section of Public
Law 91–412 (15 U.S.C. 1525); and
‘‘(C) shall provide for confidentiality of data and
information submitted to the State under section 402.
‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall include
in each joint enforcement agreement an allocation of funds
to assist in management of the agreement. The allocation shall
be fairly distributed among all eligible States participating
in cooperative enforcement agreements under this subsection,
based upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement needs,
the specific marine conservation enforcement needs of each
participating eligible State, and the capacity of the State to
undertake the marine enforcement mission and assist with
enforcement needs. The agreement may provide for amounts
to be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any technical
or other assistance provided to the State by the Secretary
under the agreement.
‘‘(i) IMPROVED DATA SHARING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, as soon as practicable but no later than 21 months
after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006,
the Secretary shall implement data-sharing measures to make
any data required to be provided by this Act from satellitebased maritime distress and safety systems, vessel monitoring
systems, or similar systems—
‘‘(A) directly accessible by State enforcement officers
authorized under subsection (a) of this section; and
‘‘(B) available to a State management agency involved
in, or affected by, management of a fishery if the State
has entered into an agreement with the Secretary under
section 402(b)(1)(B) of this Act.
‘‘(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall promptly
enter into an agreement with a State under section 402(b)(1)(B)
of this Act if—
‘‘(A) the Attorney General or highest ranking legal
officer of the State provides a written opinion or certification that State law allows the State to maintain the
confidentiality of information required by Federal law to
be kept confidential; or
‘‘(B) the Secretary is provided other reasonable assurance that the State can and will protect the identity or
business of any person to which such information relates.’’.
(b) REPORT.—Within 15 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the United
States Coast Guard shall transmit a joint report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
House of Representatives Committee on Resources containing—

H. R. 5946—24
(1) a cost-to-benefit analysis of the feasibility, value, and
cost of using vessel monitoring systems, satellite-based maritime distress and safety systems, or similar systems for fishery
management, conservation, enforcement, and safety purposes
with the Federal government bearing the capital costs of any
such system;
(2) an examination of the cumulative impact of existing
requirements for commercial vessels;
(3) an examination of whether satellite-based maritime
distress and safety systems, or similar requirements would
overlap existing requirements or render them redundant;
(4) an examination of how data integration from such systems could be addressed;
(5) an examination of how to maximize the data-sharing
opportunities between relevant State and Federal agencies and
provide specific information on how to develop these opportunities, including the provision of direct access to satellite-based
maritime distress and safety system or similar system data
to State enforcement officers, while considering the need to
maintain or provide an appropriate level of individual vessel
confidentiality where practicable; and
(6) an assessment of how the satellite-based maritime distress and safety system or similar systems could be developed,
purchased, and distributed to regulated vessels.
SEC. 112. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312 (16 U.S.C. 1861a) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘measures;’’ in subsection (a)(1)(B) and
inserting ‘‘measures, including regulatory restrictions (including
those imposed as a result of judicial action) imposed to protect
human health or the marine environment;’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’ in subsection
(a)(4) and inserting ‘‘2007 through 2013.’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘or the Governor of a State for fisheries
under State authority, may conduct a fishing’’ in subsection
(b)(1) and inserting ‘‘the Governor of a State for fisheries under
State authority, or a majority of permit holders in the fishery,
may conduct a voluntary fishing’’;
(4) by inserting ‘‘practicable’’ after ‘‘entrants,’’ in subsection
(b)(1)(B)(i);
(5) by striking ‘‘cost-effective and’’ in subsection (b)(1)(C)
and inserting ‘‘cost-effective and, in the instance of a program
involving an industry fee system, prospectively’’;
(6) by striking subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(2) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(A) the owner of a fishing vessel, if the permit authorizing
the participation of the vessel in the fishery is surrendered
for permanent revocation and the vessel owner and permit
holder relinquish any claim associated with the vessel or permit
that could qualify such owner or holder for any present or
future limited access system permit in the fishery for which
the program is established or in any other fishery and such
vessel is (i) scrapped, or (ii) through the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, subjected to
title restrictions (including loss of the vessel’s fisheries endorsement) that permanently prohibit and effectively prevent its

H. R. 5946—25
use in fishing in federal or state waters, or fishing on the
high seas or in the waters of a foreign nation; or’’;
(7) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall consult, as appropriate,
with Councils,’’ in subsection (b)(4) and inserting ‘‘The harvester
proponents of each program and the Secretary shall consult,
as appropriate and practicable, with Councils,’’;
(8) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following:
‘‘(5) PAYMENT CONDITION.—The Secretary may not make a payment under paragraph (2) with respect to a vessel that will not
be scrapped unless the Secretary certifies that the vessel will not
be used for fishing in the waters of a foreign nation or fishing
on the high seas.
‘‘(6) REPORT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the
Secretary shall, within 12 months after the date of the enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 submit to the Congress a report—
‘‘(i) identifying and describing the 20 fisheries in United
States waters with the most severe examples of excess
harvesting capacity in the fisheries, based on value of
each fishery and the amount of excess harvesting capacity
as determined by the Secretary;
‘‘(ii) recommending measures for reducing such excess
harvesting capacity, including the retirement of any latent
fishing permits that could contribute to further excess harvesting capacity in those fisheries; and
‘‘(iii) potential sources of funding for such measures.
‘‘(B) BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall
base the recommendations made with respect to a fishery on—
‘‘(i) the most cost effective means of achieving voluntary
reduction in capacity for the fishery using the potential
for industry financing; and
‘‘(ii) including measures to prevent the capacity that
is being removed from the fishery from moving to other
fisheries in the United States, in the waters of a foreign
nation, or on the high seas.’’;
(9) by striking ‘‘Secretary, at the request of the appropriate
Council,’’ in subsection (d)(1)(A) and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’;
(10) by striking ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with the
Council,’’ in subsection (d)(1)(A) and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’;
(11) by striking ‘‘a two-thirds majority of the participants
voting.’’ in subsection (d)(1)(B) and inserting ‘‘at least a majority
of the permit holders in the fishery, or 50 percent of the
permitted allocation of the fishery, who participated in the
fishery.’’;
(12) by striking ‘‘establish;’’ in subsection (d)(2)(C) and
inserting ‘‘establish, unless the Secretary determines that such
fees should be collected from the seller;’’; and
(13) striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—
‘‘(1) FRAMEWORK REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall propose and adopt framework regulations applicable to the
implementation of all programs under this section.

H. R. 5946—26
‘‘(2) PROGRAM REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall implement each program under this section by promulgating regulations that, together with the framework regulations, establish
each program and control its implementation.
‘‘(3) HARVESTER PROPONENTS’ IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The
Secretary may not propose implementation regulations for a
program to be paid for by an industry fee system until the
harvester proponents of the program provide to the Secretary
a proposed implementation plan that, among other matters—
‘‘(A) proposes the types and numbers of vessels or
permits that are eligible to participate in the program
and the manner in which the program shall proceed, taking
into account—
‘‘(i) the requirements of this section;
‘‘(ii) the requirements of the framework regulations;
‘‘(iii) the characteristics of the fishery and affected
fishing communities;
‘‘(iv) the requirements of the applicable fishery
management plan and any amendment that such plan
may require to support the proposed program;
‘‘(v) the general needs and desires of harvesters
in the fishery;
‘‘(vi) the need to minimize program costs; and
‘‘(vii) other matters, including the manner in which
such proponents propose to fund the program to ensure
its cost effectiveness, as well as any relevant factors
demonstrating the potential for, or necessary to obtain,
the support and general cooperation of a substantial
number of affected harvesters in the fishery (or portion
of the fishery) for which the program is intended; and
‘‘(B) proposes procedures for program participation
(such as submission of owner bids under an auction system
or fair market-value assessment), including any terms and
conditions for participation, that the harvester proponents
deem to be reasonably necessary to meet the program’s
proposed objectives.
‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall contract with each person participating in a program, and each
such contract shall, in addition to including such other matters
as the Secretary deems necessary and appropriate to effectively
implement each program (including penalties for contract nonperformance) be consistent with the framework and implementing regulations and all other applicable law.
‘‘(5) REDUCTION AUCTIONS.—Each program not involving
fair market assessment shall involve a reduction auction that
scores the reduction price of each bid offer by the data relevant
to each bidder under an appropriate fisheries productivity
factor. If the Secretary accepts bids, the Secretary shall accept
responsive bids in the rank order of their bid scores, starting
with the bid whose reduction price is the lowest percentage
of the productivity factor, and successively accepting each additional responsive bid in rank order until either there are no
more responsive bids or acceptance of the next bid would cause
the total value of bids accepted to exceed the amount of funds
available for the program.

H. R. 5946—27
‘‘(6) BID INVITATIONS.—Each program shall proceed by the
Secretary issuing invitations to bid setting out the terms and
conditions for participation consistent with the framework and
implementing regulations. Each bid that the Secretary receives
in response to the invitation to bid shall constitute an irrevocable offer from the bidder.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 116, 203, 204, 205, and
206 of the Sustainable Fisheries Act are deemed to have added
sections 312, 402, 403, 404, and 405, respectively to the Act as
of the date of enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act.
SEC. 113. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, TRANSITION,
AND RECOVERY PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 315. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, TRANSITION,
AND RECOVERY PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic regional fishery
disaster the Secretary may, upon the request of, and in consultation
with, the Governors of affected States, establish a regional economic
transition program to provide immediate disaster relief assistance
to the fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure affected by
the disaster.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the program shall provide funds or other economic assistance to affected entities, or to governmental entities for
disbursement to affected entities, for—
‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside fishery
infrastructure needs, including processing facilities, cold
storage facilities, ice houses, docks, including temporary
docks and storage facilities, and other related shoreside
fishery support facilities and infrastructure while ensuring
that those projects will not result in an increase or replacement of fishing capacity;
‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training assistance
for fishermen who wish to remain in a fishery in the
region that may be temporarily closed as a result of
environmental or other effects associated with the disaster;
‘‘(C) funding, pursuant to the requirements of section
312(b), to fishermen who are willing to scrap a fishing
vessel and permanently surrender permits for fisheries
named on that vessel; and
‘‘(D) any other activities authorized under section 312
of this Act or section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).
‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who decides to scrap
a fishing vessel under the program shall be eligible for job
training assistance.
‘‘(3) STATE PARTICIPATION OBLIGATION.—The participation
by a State in the program shall be conditioned upon a commitment by the appropriate State entity to ensure that the relevant
State fishery meets the requirements of section 312(b) of this
Act to ensure excess capacity does not re-enter the fishery.
‘‘(4) NO MATCHING REQUIRED.—The Secretary may waive
the matching requirements of section 312 of this Act, section

H. R. 5946—28
308 of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C.
4107), and any other provision of law under which the Federal
share of the cost of any activity is limited to less than 100
percent if the Secretary determines that—
‘‘(A) no reasonable means are available through which
applicants can meet the matching requirement; and
‘‘(B) the probable benefit of 100 percent Federal
financing outweighs the public interest in imposition of
the matching requirement.
‘‘(5) NET REVENUE LIMIT INAPPLICABLE.—Section 308(d)(3)
of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3))
shall not apply to assistance under this section.
‘‘(c) REGIONAL IMPACT EVALUATION.—Within 2 months after
a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the Secretary shall provide
the Governor of each State participating in the program a comprehensive economic and socio-economic evaluation of the affected
region’s fisheries to assist the Governor in assessing the current
and future economic viability of affected fisheries, including the
economic impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indirect,
or environmental impact of the disaster on the fishery and coastal
communities.
‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER DEFINED.—
In this section the term ‘catastrophic regional fishery disaster’
means a natural disaster, including a hurricane or tsunami, or
a regulatory closure (including regulatory closures resulting from
judicial action) to protect human health or the marine environment,
that—
‘‘(1) results in economic losses to coastal or fishing communities;
‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fishery managed
by a Council or interstate fishery commission; and
‘‘(3) is determined by the Secretary to be a commercial
fishery failure under section 312(a) of this Act or a fishery
resource disaster or section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional
Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’.
(b) SALMON PLAN AND STUDY.—
(1) RECOVERY PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall
complete a recovery plan for Klamath River Coho salmon and
make it available to the public.
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
House of Representatives Committee on Resources on—
(A) the actions taken under the recovery plan and
other law relating to recovery of Klamath River Coho
salmon, and how those actions are specifically contributing
to its recovery;
(B) the progress made on the restoration of salmon
spawning habitat, including water conditions as they relate
to salmon health and recovery, with emphasis on the
Klamath River and its tributaries below Iron Gate Dam;
(C) the status of other Klamath River anadromous
fish populations, particularly Chinook salmon; and

H. R. 5946—29
(D) the actions taken by the Secretary to address the
calendar year 2003 National Research Council recommendations regarding monitoring and research on
Klamath River Basin salmon stocks.
(c) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA SALMON FISHERY.—Federally recognized Indian tribes and small businesses, including fishermen,
fish processors, and related businesses serving the fishing industry,
adversely affected by Federal closures and fishing restrictions in
the Oregon and California 2006 fall Chinook salmon fishery are
eligible to receive direct assistance under section 312(a) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1861a(a)) and section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). The Secretary may use no
more than 4 percent of any monetary assistance to pay for administrative costs.
SEC. 114. FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM HURRICANE ASSISTANCE.

(a) LOAN ASSISTANCE.—Subject to availability of appropriations,
the Secretary of Commerce shall provide assistance to eligible
holders of fishery finance program loans and allocate such assistance among eligible holders based upon their outstanding principal
balances as of December 2, 2005, for any of the following purposes:
(1) To defer principal payments on the debt for 1 year
and re-amortize the debt over the remaining term of the loan.
(2) To allow for an extension of the term of the loan
for up to 1 year beyond the remaining term of the loan, or
September 30, 2013, whichever is later.
(3) To pay the interest costs for such loans over fiscal
years 2007 through 2013, not to exceed amounts authorized
under subsection (d).
(4) To provide opportunities for loan forgiveness, as specified in subsection (c).
(b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—Upon application made by an eligible
holder of a fishery finance program loan, made at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require, the Secretary, on a calendar year basis beginning
in 2005, may, with respect to uninsured losses—
(1) offset against the outstanding balance on the loan an
amount equal to the sum of the amounts expended by the
holder during the calendar year to repair or replace covered
vessels or facilities, or to invest in new fisheries infrastructure
within or for use within the declared fisheries disaster area;
or
(2) cancel the amount of debt equal to 100 hundred percent
of actual expenditures on eligible repairs, reinvestment, expansion, or new investment in fisheries infrastructure in the disaster region, or repairs to, or replacement of, eligible fishing
vessels.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) DECLARED FISHERIES DISASTER AREA.—The term
‘‘declared fisheries disaster area’’ means fisheries located in
the major disaster area designated by the President under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricane
Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(2) ELIGIBLE HOLDER.—The term ‘‘eligible holder’’ means
the holder of a fishery finance program loan if—

H. R. 5946—30
(A) that loan is used to guarantee or finance any fishing
vessel or fish processing facility home-ported or located
within the declared fisheries disaster area; and
(B) the holder makes expenditures to repair or replace
such covered vessels or facilities, or invests in new fisheries
infrastructure within or for use within the declared fisheries disaster area, to restore such facilities following the
disaster.
(3) FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM LOAN.—The term ‘‘fishery
finance program loan’’ means a loan made or guaranteed under
the fishery finance program under chapter 537 of title 46,
United States Code.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for the purposes
of this section not more than $15,000,000 for each eligible holder
for the period beginning with fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year
2013.
SEC. 115. FISHERIES HURRICANE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish
an assistance program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial and recreational fishing industry.
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Under the program, the Secretary
shall allocate funds appropriated to carry out the program among
the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas
in proportion to the percentage of the fishery (including crawfish)
catch landed by each State before August 29, 2005, except that
the amount allocated to Florida shall be based exclusively on the
proportion of such catch landed by the Florida Gulf Coast fishery.
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made available to each
State under the program—
(1) 2 percent shall be retained by the State to be used
for the distribution of additional payments to fishermen with
a demonstrated record of compliance with turtle excluder and
bycatch reduction device regulations; and
(2) the remainder of the amounts shall be used for—
(A) personal assistance, with priority given to food,
energy needs, housing assistance, transportation fuel, and
other urgent needs;
(B) assistance for small businesses, including fishermen, fish processors, and related businesses serving the
fishing industry;
(C) domestic product marketing and seafood promotion;
(D) State seafood testing programs;
(E) the development of limited entry programs for the
fishery;
(F) funding or other incentives to ensure widespread
and proper use of turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction devices in the fishery; and
(G) voluntary capacity reduction programs for shrimp
fisheries under limited access programs.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $17,500,000 for
each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012 to carry out this section.

H. R. 5946—31
SEC. 116. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended
by section 113 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘SEC. 316. BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING PROGRAM.—Not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of
2006, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Councils and other
affected interests, and based upon the best scientific information
available, shall establish a bycatch reduction program, including
grants, to develop technological devices and other conservation
engineering changes designed to minimize bycatch, seabird interactions, bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in Federally
managed fisheries. The program shall—
‘‘(1) be regionally based;
‘‘(2) be coordinated with projects conducted under the
cooperative research and management program established
under this Act;
‘‘(3) provide information and outreach to fishery participants that will encourage adoption and use of technologies
developed under the program; and
‘‘(4) provide for routine consultation with the Councils in
order to maximize opportunities to incorporate results of the
program in Council actions and provide incentives for adoption
of methods developed under the program in fishery management plans developed by the Councils.
‘‘(b) INCENTIVES.—Any fishery management plan prepared by
a Council or by the Secretary may establish a system of incentives
to reduce total bycatch and seabird interactions, amounts, bycatch
rates, and post-release mortality in fisheries under the Council’s
or Secretary’s jurisdiction, including—
‘‘(1) measures to incorporate bycatch into quotas, including
the establishment of collective or individual bycatch quotas;
‘‘(2) measures to promote the use of gear with verifiable
and monitored low bycatch and seabird interactions, rates;
and
‘‘(3) measures that, based on the best scientific information
available, will reduce bycatch and seabird interactions, bycatch
mortality, post-release mortality, or regulatory discards in the
fishery.
‘‘(c) COORDINATION ON SEABIRD INTERACTIONS.—The Secretary,
in coordination with the Secretary of Interior, is authorized to
undertake projects in cooperation with industry to improve information and technology to reduce seabird bycatch, including—
‘‘(1) outreach to industry on new technologies and methods;
‘‘(2) projects to mitigate for seabird mortality; and
‘‘(3) actions at appropriate international fishery organizations to reduce seabird interactions in fisheries.
‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall transmit an annual report
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
and the House of Representatives Committee on Resources that—
‘‘(1) describes funding provided to implement this section;
‘‘(2) describes developments in gear technology achieved
under this section; and

H. R. 5946—32
‘‘(3) describes improvements and reduction in bycatch and
seabird interactions associated with implementing this section,
as well as proposals to address remaining bycatch or seabird
interaction problems.’’.
(b) CDQ BYCATCH LIMITATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 305(i) (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)) is
amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘directed fishing allocation’’ and all
that follows in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(I), and inserting ‘‘total
allocation (directed and nontarget combined) of 10.7 percent
effective January 1, 2008; and’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘directed fishing allocation of 10 percent.’’ in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(II) and inserting ‘‘total allocation (directed and nontarget combined) of 10.7 percent.’’;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1)(B)(ii) the following:
‘‘The total allocation (directed and nontarget combined)
for a fishery to which subclause (I) or (II) applies
may not be exceeded.’’; and
(D) by inserting ‘‘Voluntary transfers by and among
eligible entities shall be allowed, whether before or after
harvesting. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this
subparagraph, seven-tenths of one percent of the total
allowable catch, guideline harvest level, or other annual
catch limit, within the amount allocated to the program
by subclause (I) or subclause (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii),
shall be allocated among the eligible entities by the panel
established in subparagraph (G), or allocated by the Secretary based on the nontarget needs of eligible entities
in the absence of a panel decision.’’ after ‘‘2006.’’ in paragraph (1)(C).
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The allocation percentage in subclause (I) of section 305(i)(1)(B)(ii) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1855(i)(1)(B)(ii)), as amended by paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall be in effect in 2007 with respect to any sector
of a fishery to which such subclause applies and in which
a fishing cooperative is established in 2007, and such sector’s
2007 allocation shall be reduced by a pro rata amount to
accomplish such increased allocation to the program. For purposes of section 305(i)(1) of that Act and of this subsection,
the term ‘‘fishing cooperative’’ means a fishing cooperative
whether or not authorized by a fishery management council
or Federal agency, if a majority of the participants in the
sector are participants in the fishing cooperative.
SEC. 117. COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION PROGRAM FOR FISHERY
AND COASTAL HABITATS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish
a community-based fishery and coastal habitat restoration program
to implement and support the restoration of fishery and coastal
habitats.
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the program, the
Secretary may—
(1) provide funding and technical expertise to fishery and
coastal communities to assist them in restoring fishery and
coastal habitat;

H. R. 5946—33
(2) advance the science and monitoring of coastal habitat
restoration;
(3) transfer restoration technologies to the private sector,
the public, and other governmental agencies;
(4) develop public-private partnerships to accomplish sound
coastal restoration projects;
(5) promote significant community support and volunteer
participation in fishery and coastal habitat restoration;
(6) promote stewardship of fishery and coastal habitats;
and
(7) leverage resources through national, regional, and local
public-private partnerships.
SEC. 118. PROHIBITED ACTS.

Section 307(1) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in subparagraph
(O);
(2) by striking ‘‘carcass.’’ in subparagraph (P) and inserting
‘‘carcass;’’; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) and before the
last sentence the following:
‘‘(Q) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire,
or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any fish
taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any
foreign law or regulation; or
‘‘(R) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing
in Federal or State waters, or on the high seas or in
the waters of another country, after the Secretary has
made a payment to the owner of that fishing vessel under
section 312(b)(2).’’.
SEC. 119. SHARK FEEDING.

Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by section 116
of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 317. SHARK FEEDING.

‘‘Except to the extent determined by the Secretary, or under
State law, as presenting no public health hazard or safety risk,
or when conducted as part of a research program funded in whole
or in part by appropriated funds, it is unlawful to introduce, or
attempt to introduce, food or any other substance into the water
to attract sharks for any purpose other than to harvest sharks
within the Exclusive Economic Zone seaward of the State of Hawaii
and of the Commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the
United States in the Pacific Ocean Area.’’.
SEC. 120. CLARIFICATION OF FLEXIBILITY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce has the discretion
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) to extend the time for rebuilding
the summer flounder fishery to not later than January 1, 2013,
only if—
(1) the Secretary has determined that—
(A) overfishing is not occurring in the fishery and
that a mechanism is in place to ensure overfishing does
not occur in the fishery; and
(B) stock biomass levels are increasing;

H. R. 5946—34
(2) the biomass rebuilding target previously applicable to
such stock will be met or exceeded within the new time for
rebuilding;
(3) the extension period is based on the status and biology
of the stock and the rate of rebuilding;
(4) monitoring will ensure rebuilding continues;
(5) the extension meets the requirements of section
301(a)(1) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)); and
(6) the best scientific information available shows that
the extension will allow continued rebuilding.
(b) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section shall be construed
to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) or to limit or otherwise alter
the authority of the Secretary under that Act concerning other
species.
SEC. 121. SOUTHEAST ALASKA FISHERIES COMMUNITIES CAPACITY
REDUCTION.

Section 209 of the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 2884)
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ after ‘‘SEC. 209.’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ in the first sentence and
inserting ‘‘shall’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and all that follows in the
first sentence and inserting ‘‘up to $25,000,000 pursuant to
section 57735 of title 46, United States Code.’’;
(4) by striking the third sentence and inserting: ‘‘The loan
shall have a term of 40 years.’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) SOUTHEAST ALASKA FISHERIES PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) CONDUCT OF PROGRAM BY RSA.—The program described
in subsection (a) shall be conducted under Alaska law by the
Southeast Revitalization Association.
‘‘(2) TREATMENT UNDER CHAPTER 577 OF TITLE 46.—For purposes of section 57735 of title 46, United States Code, the
program shall be considered to be a program established under
section 312 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a).
‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the program shall not be subject to
section 312 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a), except for subsections
(b)(1)(C) and (d) of that section.
‘‘(c) SOUTHEAST ALASKA FISHERIES PROGRAM APPROVAL AND
REFERENDUM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce may approve
a capacity reduction plan submitted by the Southeast Revitalization Association under subsection (b).
‘‘(2) REFERENDUM.—The Secretary shall conduct an
industry fee system referendum for the buyback under the
program in accordance with section 312(d)(1) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1861a), except that—
‘‘(A) no Council request and no consultation shall be
required; and

H. R. 5946—35
‘‘(B) the fee shall not exceed 3 percent of the annual
ex-vessel value of all salmon harvested in the southeast
Alaska purse seine fishery.
‘‘(d) DISBURSAL OF LOAN PROCEEDS.—If the industry fee system
is approved as provided in section 312(d)(1)(B) of that Act (16
U.S.C. 1861a(d)(1)(B)), the Secretary shall disburse the loan in
the form of reduction payments to participants in such amounts
as the Southeast Revitalization Association certifies to have been
accepted under Alaska law for reduction payments. The Secretary
shall thereafter administer the fee system in accordance with section 312(d)(2) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(d)(2)), and any person
paying or collecting the fee shall make such payments or collection
such fees in accordance with the requirements of that Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)’’.
SEC. 122. CONVERSION TO CATCHER/PROCESSOR SHARES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) AMENDMENT OF PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
shall amend the fishery management plan for the Bering Sea/
Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs for the Northern
Region (as that term is used in the plan) to authorize—
(A) an eligible entity holding processor quota shares
to elect on an annual basis to work together with other
entities holding processor quota shares and affiliated with
such eligible entity through common ownership to combine
any catcher vessel quota shares for the Northern Region
with their processor quota shares and to exchange them
for newly created catcher/processor owner quota shares
for the Northern Region; and
(B) an eligible entity holding catcher vessel quota
shares to elect on an annual basis to work together with
other entities holding catcher vessel quota shares and affiliated with such eligible entity through common ownership
to combine any processor quota shares for the Northern
Region with their catcher vessel quota shares and to
exchange them for newly created catcher/processor owner
quota shares for the Northern Region.
(2) ELIGIBILITY AND LIMITATIONS.—
(A) The authority provided in paragraph (1)(A) shall—
(i)(I) apply only to an entity which was initially
awarded both catcher/processor owner quota shares,
and processor quota shares under the plan (in combination with the processor quota shares of its commonly
owned affiliates) of less than 7 percent of the Bering
Sea/Aleutian Island processor quota shares; or
(II) apply only to an entity which was initially
awarded both catcher/processor owner quota shares
under the plan and processor quota shares under section 417(a) of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–241; 120 Stat.
546);
(ii) be limited to processor quota shares initially
awarded to such entities and their commonly owned
affiliates under the plan or section 417(a) of that Act;
and

H. R. 5946—36
(iii) shall not exceed 1 million pounds per entity
during any calendar year.
(B) The authority provided in paragraph (1)(B) shall—
(i) apply only to an entity which was initially
awarded both catcher/processor owner quota shares,
and processor quota shares under the plan (in combination with the processor quota shares of its commonly
owned affiliates) of more than 7 percent of the Bering
Sea/Aleutian Island processor quota shares;
(ii) be limited to catcher vessel quota shares initially awarded to such entity and its commonly owned
affiliates; and
(iii) shall not exceed 1 million pounds per entity
during any calendar year.
(3) EXCHANGE RATE.—The entities referred to in paragraph
(1) shall receive under the amendment 1 unit of newly created
catcher/processor owner quota shares in exchange for 1 unit
of catcher vessel owner quota shares and 0.9 units of processor
quota shares.
(4) AREA OF VALIDITY.—Each unit of newly created catcher/
processor owner quota shares under this subsection shall only
be valid for the Northern Region.
(b) FEES.—
(1) LOCAL FEES.—The holder of the newly created catcher/
processor owner quota shares under subsection (a) shall pay
a fee of 5 percent of the ex-vessel value of the crab harvested
pursuant to those shares to any local governmental entities
in the Northern Region if the processor quota shares used
to produce those newly created catcher/processor owner quota
shares were originally derived from the processing activities
that occurred in a community under the jurisdiction of those
local governmental entities.
(2) STATE FEE.—The State of Alaska may collect from the
holder of the newly created catcher/processor owner quota
shares under subsection (a) a fee of 1 percent of the ex-vessel
value of the crab harvested pursuant to those shares.
(c) OFF-LOADING REQUIREMENT.—Crab harvested pursuant to
catcher/processor owner quota shares created under this subsection
shall be off-loaded in those communities receiving the local governmental entities fee revenue set forth in subsection (b)(1).
(d) PERIODIC COUNCIL REVIEW.—As part of its periodic review
of the plan, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council may
review the effect, if any, of this subsection upon communities in
the Northern Region. If the Council determines that this section
adversely affects the communities, the Council may recommend
to the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary may approve,
such changes to the plan as are necessary to mitigate those adverse
effects.
(e) USE CAPS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 680.42(b)(ii)(2)
and 680.7(a)(ii)(7) of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations,
custom processing arrangements shall not count against any
use cap for the processing of opilio crab in the Northern Region
so long as such crab is processed in the Northern Region
by a shore-based crab processor.
(2) SHORE-BASED CRAB PROCESSOR DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘shore-based crab processor’’ means any person

H. R. 5946—37
or vessel that receives, purchases, or arranges to purchase
unprocessed crab, that is located on shore or moored within
the harbor.

TITLE II—INFORMATION AND
RESEARCH
SEC. 201. RECREATIONAL FISHERIES INFORMATION.

Section 401 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended by striking subsection
(g) and inserting the following:
‘‘(g) RECREATIONAL FISHERIES.—
‘‘(1) FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish and
implement a regionally based registry program for recreational
fishermen in each of the 8 fishery management regions. The
program, which shall not require a fee before January 1, 2011,
shall provide for—
‘‘(A) the registration (including identification and contact information) of individuals who engage in recreational
fishing—
‘‘(i) in the Exclusive Economic Zone;
‘‘(ii) for anadromous species; or
‘‘(iii) for Continental Shelf fishery resources beyond
the Exclusive Economic Zone; and
‘‘(B) if appropriate, the registration (including the
ownership, operator, and identification of the vessel) of
vessels used in such fishing.
‘‘(2) STATE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall exempt from
registration under the program recreational fishermen and
charter fishing vessels licensed, permitted, or registered under
the laws of a State if the Secretary determines that information
from the State program is suitable for the Secretary’s use
or is used to assist in completing marine recreational fisheries
statistical surveys, or evaluating the effects of proposed conservation and management measures for marine recreational
fisheries.
‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—
‘‘(A) IMPROVEMENT OF THE MARINE RECREATIONAL
FISHERY STATISTICS SURVEY.—Within 24 months after the
date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006,
the Secretary, in consultation with representatives of the
recreational fishing industry and experts in statistics, technology, and other appropriate fields, shall establish a program to improve the quality and accuracy of information
generated by the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics
Survey, with a goal of achieving acceptable accuracy and
utility for each individual fishery.
‘‘(B) NRC REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—The program
shall take into consideration and, to the extent feasible,
implement the recommendations of the National Research
Council in its report Review of Recreational Fisheries
Survey Methods (2006), including—
‘‘(i) redesigning the Survey to improve the effectiveness and appropriateness of sampling and estimation
procedures, its applicability to various kinds of

H. R. 5946—38
management decisions, and its usefulness for social
and economic analyses; and
‘‘(ii) providing for ongoing technical evaluation and
modification as needed to meet emerging management
needs.
‘‘(C) METHODOLOGY.—Unless the Secretary determines
that alternate methods will achieve this goal more efficiently and effectively, the program shall, to the extent
possible, include—
‘‘(i) an adequate number of intercepts to accurately
estimate recreational catch and effort;
‘‘(ii) use of surveys that target anglers registered
or licensed at the State or Federal level to collect
participation and effort data;
‘‘(iii) collection and analysis of vessel trip report
data from charter fishing vessels;
‘‘(iv) development of a weather corrective factor
that can be applied to recreational catch and effort
estimates; and
‘‘(v) an independent committee composed of recreational fishermen, academics, persons with expertise
in stock assessments and survey design, and appropriate personnel from the National Marine Fisheries
Service to review the collection estimates, geographic,
and other variables related to dockside intercepts and
to identify deficiencies in recreational data collection,
and possible correction measures.
‘‘(D) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall complete the program under this paragraph and implement the improved
Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey not later
than January 1, 2009.
‘‘(4) REPORT.—Within 24 months after establishment of
the program, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress
that describes the progress made toward achieving the goals
and objectives of the program.’’.
SEC. 202. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.

Section 402(a) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(a) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ in the subsection
heading and inserting ‘‘(a) COLLECTION PROGRAMS.—’’;
(2) by resetting the text following ‘‘(a) COLLECTION PROGRAMS.—’’ as a new paragraph 2 ems from the left margin;
(3) by inserting ‘‘(1) COUNCIL REQUESTS.—’’ before ‘‘If a
Council’’;
(4) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ in the last sentence and
inserting ‘‘paragraph’’;
(5) by striking ‘‘(other than information that would disclose
proprietary or confidential commercial or financial information
regarding fishing operations or fish processing operations)’’ each
place it appears; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL INITIATION.—If the Secretary determines
that additional information is necessary for developing, implementing, revising, or monitoring a fishery management plan,
or for determining whether a fishery is in need of management,
the Secretary may, by regulation, implement an information

H. R. 5946—39
collection or observer program requiring submission of such
additional information for the fishery.’’.
SEC. 203. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(b) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b)) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) and
resetting it 2 ems from the left margin;
(2) by striking all preceding paragraph (3), as redesignated,
and inserting the following:
‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) Any information submitted to the Secretary, a State
fishery management agency, or a marine fisheries commission
by any person in compliance with the requirements of this
Act shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except—
‘‘(A) to Federal employees and Council employees who
are responsible for fishery management plan development,
monitoring, or enforcement;
‘‘(B) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission
employees as necessary to further the Department’s mission, subject to a confidentiality agreement that prohibits
public disclosure of the identity of business of any person;
‘‘(C) to State employees who are responsible for fishery
management plan enforcement, if the States employing
those employees have entered into a fishery enforcement
agreement with the Secretary and the agreement is in
effect;
‘‘(D) when required by court order;
‘‘(E) when such information is used by State, Council,
or Marine Fisheries Commission employees to verify catch
under a limited access program, but only to the extent
that such use is consistent with subparagraph (B);
‘‘(F) when the Secretary has obtained written
authorization from the person submitting such information
to release such information to persons for reasons not otherwise provided for in this subsection, and such release does
not violate other requirements of this Act;
‘‘(G) when such information is required to be submitted
to the Secretary for any determination under a limited
access program; or
‘‘(H) in support of homeland and national security
activities, including the Coast Guard’s homeland security
missions as defined in section 888(a)(2) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468(a)(2)).
‘‘(2) Any observer information shall be confidential and
shall not be disclosed, except in accordance with the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (H) of paragraph (1), or—
‘‘(A) as authorized by a fishery management plan or
regulations under the authority of the North Pacific Council
to allow disclosure to the public of weekly summary bycatch
information identified by vessel or for haul-specific bycatch
information without vessel identification;
‘‘(B) when such information is necessary in proceedings
to adjudicate observer certifications; or
‘‘(C) as authorized by any regulations issued under
paragraph (3) allowing the collection of observer information, pursuant to a confidentiality agreement between the

H. R. 5946—40
observers, observer employers, and the Secretary prohibiting disclosure of the information by the observers or
observer employers, in order—
‘‘(i) to allow the sharing of observer information
among observers and between observers and observer
employers as necessary to train and prepare observers
for deployments on specific vessels; or
‘‘(ii) to validate the accuracy of the observer
information collected.’’; and
(3) by striking ‘‘(1)(E).’’ in paragraph (3), as redesignated,
and inserting ‘‘(2)(A).’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 404(c)(4) (16 U.S.C.
1881c(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘under section 401’’.
SEC. 204. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by section 119
of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 318. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation
with the Councils, shall establish a cooperative research and
management program to address needs identified under this Act
and under any other marine resource laws enforced by the Secretary. The program shall be implemented on a regional basis
and shall be developed and conducted through partnerships among
Federal, State, and Tribal managers and scientists (including interstate fishery commissions), fishing industry participants (including
use of commercial charter or recreational vessels for gathering
data), and educational institutions.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall make funds available under the program for the support of projects to address
critical needs identified by the Councils in consultation with the
Secretary. The program shall promote and encourage efforts to
utilize sources of data maintained by other Federal agencies, State
agencies, or academia for use in such projects.
‘‘(c) FUNDING.—In making funds available the Secretary shall
award funding on a competitive basis and based on regional fishery
management needs, select programs that form part of a coherent
program of research focused on solving priority issues identified
by the Councils, and shall give priority to the following projects:
‘‘(1) Projects to collect data to improve, supplement, or
enhance stock assessments, including the use of fishing vessels
or acoustic or other marine technology.
‘‘(2) Projects to assess the amount and type of bycatch
or post-release mortality occurring in a fishery.
‘‘(3) Conservation engineering projects designed to reduce
bycatch, including avoidance of post-release mortality, reduction
of bycatch in high seas fisheries, and transfer of such fishing
technologies to other nations.
‘‘(4) Projects for the identification of habitat areas of particular concern and for habitat conservation.
‘‘(5) Projects designed to collect and compile economic and
social data.
‘‘(d) EXPERIMENTAL PERMITTING PROCESS.—Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Councils, shall promulgate regulations that create an expedited, uniform, and regionally-based

H. R. 5946—41
process to promote issuance, where practicable, of experimental
fishing permits.
‘‘(e) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the
Councils, shall establish guidelines to ensure that participation
in a research project funded under this section does not result
in loss of a participant’s catch history or unexpended days-atsea as part of a limited entry system.
‘‘(f) EXEMPTED PROJECTS.—The procedures of this section shall
not apply to research funded by quota set-asides in a fishery.’’.
SEC. 205. HERRING STUDY.

Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by section 204,
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 319. HERRING STUDY.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a cooperative
research program to study the issues of abundance, distribution
and the role of herring as forage fish for other commercially important fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic, and the potential for
local scale depletion from herring harvesting and how it relates
to other fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic. In planning, designing,
and implementing this program, the Secretary shall engage multiple
fisheries sectors and stakeholder groups concerned with herring
management.
‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall present the final results
of this study to Congress within 3 months following the completion
of the study, and an interim report at the end of fiscal year 2008.
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 through fiscal
year 2009 to conduct this study.’’.
SEC. 206. RESTORATION STUDY.

Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.), as amended by section 205,
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 320. RESTORATION STUDY.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a study to update
scientific information and protocols needed to improve restoration
techniques for a variety of coast habitat types and synthesize the
results in a format easily understandable by restoration practitioners and local communities.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated $500,000 for fiscal year 2007 to conduct this
study.’’.
SEC. 207. WESTERN PACIFIC FISHERY DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

Section 111(b) of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (16 U.S.C. 1855
note) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and the Secretary of the Interior are’’
in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘is’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘not less than three and not more than
five’’ in paragraph (1); and
(3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following:
‘‘(6) In this subsection the term ‘Western Pacific community’
means a community eligible to participate under section
305(i)(2)(B)(i) through (iv) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(2)(B)(i)
through (iv)).’’.

H. R. 5946—42
SEC. 208. FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT FUND.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and maintain
a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund’’, which shall consist of amounts retained and deposited
into the Fund under subsection (c).
(b) PURPOSES.—Subject to the allocation of funds described
in subsection (d), amounts in the Fund shall be available to the
Secretary of Commerce, without appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to disburse as described in subsection (e) for—
(1) efforts to improve fishery harvest data collection
including—
(A) expanding the use of electronic catch reporting
programs and technology; and
(B) improvement of monitoring and observer coverage
through the expanded use of electronic monitoring devices
and satellite tracking systems such as VMS on small vessels;
(2) cooperative fishery research and analysis, in collaboration with fishery participants, academic institutions, community
residents, and other interested parties;
(3) development of methods or new technologies to improve
the quality, health safety, and value of fish landed;
(4) conducting analysis of fish and seafood for health benefits and risks, including levels of contaminants and, where
feasible, the source of such contaminants;
(5) marketing of sustainable United States fishery products,
including consumer education regarding the health or other
benefits of wild fishery products harvested by vessels of the
United States;
(6) improving data collection under the Marine Recreational
Fishery Statistics Survey in accordance with section 401(g)(3)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1881(g)(3)); and
(7) providing financial assistance to fishermen to offset
the costs of modifying fishing practices and gear to meet the
requirements of this Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and
other Federal laws in pari materia.
(c) DEPOSITS TO THE FUND.—
(1) QUOTA SET-ASIDES.—Any amount generated through
quota set-asides established by a Council under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.) and designated by the Council for inclusion in
the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund, may be
deposited in the Fund.
(2) OTHER FUNDS.—In addition to amounts received pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Fishery Conservation and Management Fund may also receive funds from—
(A) appropriations for the purposes of this section;
and
(B) States or other public sources or private or nonprofit organizations for purposes of this section.
(d) REGIONAL ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall, every 2 years,
apportion monies from the Fund among the eight Council regions
according to recommendations of the Councils, based on regional
priorities identified through the Council process, except that no

H. R. 5946—43
region shall receive less than 5 percent of the Fund in each allocation period.
(e) LIMITATION ON THE USE OF THE FUND.—No amount made
available from the Fund may be used to defray the costs of carrying
out requirements of this Act or the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) other
than those uses identified in this section.
SEC. 209. USE OF FISHERY FINANCE PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABLE
PURPOSES.

Section 53706(a)(7) of title 46, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(7) Financing or refinancing—
‘‘(A) the purchase of individual fishing quotas in accordance with section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (including the
reimbursement of obligors for expenditures previously
made for such a purchase);
‘‘(B) activities that assist in the transition to reduced
fishing capacity; or
‘‘(C) technologies or upgrades designed to improve
collection and reporting of fishery-dependent data, to
reduce bycatch, to improve selectivity or reduce adverse
impacts of fishing gear, or to improve safety.’’.
SEC. 210. REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.

Section 406 (16 U.S.C. 1882) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(f) REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH.—
‘‘(1) STUDY.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consultation with the Councils, shall undertake and complete a study
on the state of the science for advancing the concepts and
integration of ecosystem considerations in regional fishery
management. The study should build upon the recommendations of the advisory panel and include—
‘‘(A) recommendations for scientific data, information
and technology requirements for understanding ecosystem
processes, and methods for integrating such information
from a variety of federal, state, and regional sources;
‘‘(B) recommendations for processes for incorporating
broad stake holder participation;
‘‘(C) recommendations for processes to account for
effects of environmental variation on fish stocks and fisheries; and
‘‘(D) a description of existing and developing council
efforts to implement ecosystem approaches, including lessons learned by the councils.
‘‘(2) AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE, REGIONAL
PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary is authorized to provide necessary technical advice and assistance, including grants, to
the Councils for the development and design of regional pilot
programs that build upon the recommendations of the advisory
panel and, when completed, the study.’’.

H. R. 5946—44
SEC. 211. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.

Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 408. DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate regional fishery management councils and in coordination
with other federal agencies and educational institutions, shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, establish a program—
‘‘(1) to identify existing research on, and known locations
of, deep sea corals and submit such information to the appropriate Councils;
‘‘(2) to locate and map locations of deep sea corals and
submit such information to the Councils;
‘‘(3) to monitor activity in locations where deep sea corals
are known or likely to occur, based on best scientific information
available, including through underwater or remote sensing technologies and submit such information to the appropriate Councils;
‘‘(4) to conduct research, including cooperative research
with fishing industry participants, on deep sea corals and
related species, and on survey methods;
‘‘(5) to develop technologies or methods designed to assist
fishing industry participants in reducing interactions between
fishing gear and deep sea corals; and
‘‘(6) to prioritize program activities in areas where deep
sea corals are known to occur, and in areas where scientific
modeling or other methods predict deep sea corals are likely
to be present.
‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Beginning 1 year after the date of enactment
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Councils, shall submit biennial reports to Congress and the
public on steps taken by the Secretary to identify, monitor, and
protect deep sea coral areas, including summaries of the results
of mapping, research, and data collection performed under the
program.’’.
SEC. 212. IMPACT OF TURTLE EXCLUDER DEVICES ON SHRIMPING.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans
and Atmosphere shall execute an agreement with the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct, jointly, a multi-year, comprehensive
in-water study designed—
(1) to measure accurately the efforts and effects of shrimp
fishery efforts to utilize turtle excluder devices;
(2) to analyze the impact of those efforts on sea turtle
mortality, including interaction between turtles and shrimp
trawlers in the inshore, nearshore, and offshore waters of the
Gulf of Mexico and similar geographical locations in the waters
of the Southeastern United States; and
(3) to evaluate innovative technologies to increase shrimp
retention in turtle excluder devices while ensuring the protection of endangered and threatened sea turtles.
(b) OBSERVERS.—In conducting the study, the Undersecretary
shall ensure that observers are placed onboard commercial shrimp
fishing vessels where appropriate or necessary.

H. R. 5946—45
(c) INTERIM REPORTS.—During the course of the study and
until a final report is submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Resources, the National Academy of Sciences
shall transmit interim reports to the Committees biannually containing a summary of preliminary findings and conclusions from
the study.
SEC. 213. HURRICANE EFFECTS ON COMMERCIAL AND RECREATION
FISHERY HABITATS.

(a) FISHERIES REPORT.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall transmit a
report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on
Resources on the impact of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita,
and Hurricane Wilma on—
(1) commercial and recreational fisheries in the States of
Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas;
(2) shrimp fishing vessels in those States; and
(3) the oyster industry in those States.
(b) HABITAT REPORT.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall transmit a
report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on
Resources on the impact of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita,
and Hurricane Wilma on habitat, including the habitat of shrimp
and oysters in those States.
(c) HABITAT RESTORATION.—The Secretary shall carry out
activities to restore fishery habitats, including the shrimp and
oyster habitats in Louisiana and Mississippi.
SEC. 214. NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES CONVENTION.

Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1862) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘all fisheries under the Council’s jurisdiction
except salmon fisheries’’ in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘any
fishery under the Council’s jurisdiction except a salmon
fishery’’;
(2) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting the following:
‘‘(2) establishes a system, or system, of fees, which may
vary by fishery, management area, or observer coverage level,
to pay for the cost of implementing the plan.’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘observers’’ in subsection (b)(2)(A) and
inserting ‘‘observers, or electronic monitoring systems,’’;
(4) by inserting ‘‘a fixed amount reflecting actual observer
costs as described in subparagraph (A) or’’ in subsection
(b)(2)(E) after ‘‘expressed as’’;
(5) by inserting ‘‘some or’’ in subsection (b)(2)(F) after
‘‘against’’;
(6) by inserting ‘‘or an electronic monitoring system’’ after
‘‘observer’’ in subsection (b)(2)(F);
(7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subsection
(b)(2)(H); and
(8) by redesignating subparagraph (I) of subsection (b)(2)
as subparagraph (J) and inserting after subparagraph (H) the
following:
‘‘(I) provide that fees collected will be credited against
any fee for stationing observers or electronic monitoring systems on board fishing vessels and United States fish processors

H. R. 5946—46
and the actual cost of inputting collected data to which a
fishing vessel or fish processor is subject under section 304(d)
of this Act; and’’.
SEC. 215. NEW ENGLAND GROUNDFISH FISHERY.

(a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a
unique, thorough examination of the potential impact on all affected
and interested parties of Framework 42 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report the Secretary’s findings
under subsection (a) within 30 days after the date of enactment
of this Act. The Secretary shall include in the report a detailed
discussion of each of the following:
(1) The economic and social implications for affected parties
within the fishery, including potential losses to infrastructure,
expected from the imposition of Framework 42.
(2) The estimated average annual income generated by
fishermen in New England, separated by State and vessel size,
and the estimated annual income expected after the imposition
of Framework 42.
(3) Whether the differential days-at-sea counting imposed
by Framework 42 would result in a reduction in the number
of small vessels actively participating in the New England
Fishery.
(4) The percentage and approximate number of vessels
in the New England fishery, separated by State and vessel
type, that are incapable of fishing outside the areas designated
in Framework 42 for differential days-at-sea counting.
(5) The percentage of the annual groundfish catch in the
New England fishery that is harvested by small vessels.
(6) The current monetary value of groundfish permits in
the New England fishery and the actual impact that the potential imposition of Framework 42 is having on such value.
(7) Whether permitting days-at-sea to be leased is altering
the market value for groundfish permits or days-at-sea in New
England.
(8) Whether there is a substantially high probability that
the biomass targets used as a basis for Amendment 13 remain
achievable.
(9) An identification of the year in which the biomass
targets used as a basis for Amendment 13 were last evident
or achieved, and the evidence used to determine such date.
(10) Any separate or non-fishing factors, including environmental factors, that may be leading to a slower rebuilding
of groundfish than previously anticipated.
(11) The potential harm to the non-fishing environment
and ecosystem from the reduction in fishing resulting from
Framework 42 and the potential redevelopment of the coastal
land for other purposes, including potential for increases in
non-point source of pollution and other impacts.
SEC. 216. REPORT ON COUNCIL MANAGEMENT COORDINATION.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council, in consultation with the
New England Fishery Council, shall submit a report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation within 9
months after the date of enactment of this Act—
(1) describing the role of council liaisons between the MidAtlantic and New England Councils, including an explanation

H. R. 5946—47
of council policies regarding the liaison’s role in Council decision-making since 1996;
(2) describing how management actions are taken regarding
the operational aspects of current joint fishery management
plans, and how such joint plans may undergo changes through
amendment or framework processes;
(3) evaluating the role of the New England Fishery Council
and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council liaisons in the development and approval of management plans for fisheries in which
the liaisons or members of the non-controlling Council have
a demonstrated interest and significant current and historical
landings of species managed by either Council;
(4) evaluating the effectiveness of the various approaches
developed by the Councils to improve representation for affected
members of the non-controlling Council in Council decisionmaking, such as use of liaisons, joint management plans, and
other policies, taking into account both the procedural and
conservation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act; and
(5) analyzing characteristics of North Carolina and Florida
that supported their inclusion as voting members of more than
one Council and the extent to which those characteristics support Rhode Island’s inclusion on a second Council (the MidAtlantic Council).
SEC. 217. STUDY OF SHORTAGE IN THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS
WITH POST- BACCALAUREATE DEGREES IN SUBJECTS
RELATED TO FISHERY SCIENCE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary
of Education shall collaborate to conduct a study of—
(1) whether there is a shortage in the number of individuals
with post-baccalaureate degrees in subjects related to fishery
science, including fishery oceanography, fishery ecology, and
fishery anthropology, who have the ability to conduct high
quality scientific research in fishery stock assessment, fishery
population dynamics, and related fields, for government, nonprofit, and private sector entities;
(2) what Federal programs are available to help facilitate
the education of students hoping to pursue these degrees; and
(3) what institutions of higher education, the private sector,
and the Congress could do to try to increase the number of
individuals with such post-baccalaureate degrees.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 8 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries of Commerce and Education shall
transmit a report to each committee of Congress with jurisdiction
over the programs referred to in subsection (a), detailing the
findings and recommendations of the study under this section.
SEC. 218. GULF OF ALASKA ROCKFISH DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

Section 802 of Public Law 108–199 (118 Stat. 110) is amended
by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’.

TITLE III—OTHER FISHERIES STATUTES
SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO NORTHERN PACIFIC HALIBUT ACT.

(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 8(a) of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f(a)) is amended—

H. R. 5946—48
(1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200,000’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘violation, the degree of culpability, and
history of prior offenses, ability to pay,’’ in the fifth sentence
and inserting ‘‘violator, the degree of culpability, any history
of prior offenses,’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In assessing such
penalty, the Secretary may also consider any information provided by the violator relating to the ability of the violator
to pay if the information is provided to the Secretary at least
30 days prior to an administrative hearing.’’.
(b) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—Section 8 of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(e) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF PERMIT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may take any action
described in paragraph (2) in any case in which—
‘‘(A) a vessel has been used in the commission of any
act prohibited under section 7;
‘‘(B) the owner or operator of a vessel or any other
person who has been issued or has applied for a permit
under this Act has acted in violation of section 7; or
‘‘(C) any amount in settlement of a civil forfeiture
imposed on a vessel or other property, or any civil penalty
or criminal fine imposed on a vessel or owner or operator
of a vessel or any other person who has been issued or
has applied for a permit under any marine resource law
enforced by the Secretary has not been paid and is overdue.
‘‘(2) PERMIT-RELATED ACTIONS.—Under the circumstances
described in paragraph (1) the Secretary may—
‘‘(A) revoke any permit issued with respect to such
vessel or person, with or without prejudice to the issuance
of subsequent permits;
‘‘(B) suspend such permit for a period of time considered by the Secretary to be appropriate;
‘‘(C) deny such permit; or
‘‘(D) impose additional conditions and restrictions on
any permit issued to or applied for by such vessel or person
under this Act and, with respect to any foreign fishing
vessel, on the approved application of the foreign nation
involved and on any permit issued under that application.
‘‘(3) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In imposing a sanction
under this subsection, the Secretary shall take into account—
‘‘(A) the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of
the prohibited acts for which the sanction is imposed; and
‘‘(B) with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, and such other matters
as justice may require.
‘‘(4) TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP.—Transfer of ownership of
a vessel, a permit, or any interest in a permit, by sale or
otherwise, shall not extinguish any permit sanction that is
in effect or is pending at the time of transfer of ownership.
Before executing the transfer of ownership of a vessel, permit,
or interest in a permit, by sale or otherwise, the owner shall
disclose in writing to the prospective transferee the existence
of any permit sanction that will be in effect or pending with
respect to the vessel, permit, or interest at the time of the
transfer.

H. R. 5946—49
‘‘(5) REINSTATEMENT.—In the case of any permit that is
suspended under this subsection for nonpayment of a civil
penalty, criminal fine, or any amount in settlement of a civil
forfeiture, the Secretary shall reinstate the permit upon payment of the penalty, fine, or settlement amount and interest
thereon at the prevailing rate.
‘‘(6) HEARING.—No sanction shall be imposed under this
subsection unless there has been prior opportunity for a hearing
on the facts underlying the violation for which the sanction
is imposed either in conjunction with a civil penalty proceeding
under this section or otherwise.
‘‘(7) PERMIT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘permit’
means any license, certificate, approval, registration, charter,
membership, exemption, or other form of permission issued
by the Commission or the Secretary, and includes any quota
share or other transferable quota issued by the Secretary.’’.
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 9(b) of the Northern Pacific
Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773g(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200,000’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘$100,000,’’ and inserting ‘‘$400,000,’’.
SEC. 302. REAUTHORIZATION OF OTHER FISHERIES ACTS.

(a) ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION ACT.—Section 7(a)
of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 5156(a))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—For each of fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009,
2010, 2011, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act—
‘‘(1) $1,000,000 to the Secretary of Commerce; and
‘‘(2) $250,000 to the Secretary of the Interior.’’.
(b) YUKON RIVER SALMON ACT OF 2000.—Section 208 of the
Yukon River Salmon Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 5727) is amended
by striking ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008,’’
and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through
2011’’.
(c) SHARK FINNING PROHIBITION ACT.—Section 10 of the Shark
Finning Prohibition Act (16 U.S.C. 1822 note) is amended by
striking ‘‘fiscal years 2001 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years
2007 through 2011’’.
(d) PACIFIC SALMON TREATY ACT.—
(1) TRANSFER OF SECTION TO ACT.—The text of section
623 of title VI of H.R. 3421 (113 Stat. 1501A–56), as introduced
on November 17, 1999, enacted into law by section 1000(a)(1)
of the Act of November 29, 1999 (Public Law 106–113), and
amended by Public Law 106–533 (114 Stat. 2762A–108)—
(A) is transferred to the Pacific Salmon Treaty Act
(16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.) and inserted after section 15;
and
(B) amended—
(i) by striking ‘‘SEC. 623.’’; and
(ii) inserting before ‘‘(a) NORTHERN FUND AND
SOUTHERN FUND.—’’ the following:

H. R. 5946—50
‘‘SEC. 16. NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FUNDS; TREATY IMPLEMENTATION; ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.’’.

(2) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 16(d)(2)(A) of the Pacific
Salmon Treaty Act, as transferred by paragraph (1), is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘sustainable salmon fisheries,’’ after
‘‘enhancement,’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009,’’ after
‘‘2003,’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘Idaho,’’ after ‘‘Oregon,’’.
(e) STATE AUTHORITY FOR DUNGENESS CRAB FISHERY MANAGEMENT.—Section 203 of Public Law 105–384 (16 U.S.C. 1856 note)
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 2006.’’ in subsection (i) and
inserting ‘‘September 30, 2016.’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘health’’ in subsection (j) and inserting
‘‘status’’; and
(3) by striking ‘‘California.’’ in subsection (j) and inserting
‘‘California, including—
‘‘(1) stock status and trends throughout its range;
‘‘(2) a description of applicable research and scientific
review processes used to determine stock status and trends;
and
‘‘(3) measures implemented or planned that are designed
to prevent or end overfishing in the fishery.’’.
(f) PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Pacific Fishery Management Council
shall develop a proposal for the appropriate rationalization
program for the Pacific trawl groundfish and whiting fisheries,
including the shore-based sector of the Pacific whiting fishery
under its jurisdiction. The proposal may include only the Pacific
whiting fishery, including the shore-based sector, if the Pacific
Council determines that a rationalization plan for the fishery
as a whole cannot be achieved before the report is required
to be submitted under paragraph (3).
(2) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—In developing the proposal to
rationalize the fishery, the Pacific Council shall fully analyze
alternative program designs, including the allocation of limited
access privileges to harvest fish to fishermen and processors
working together in regional fishery associations or some other
cooperative manner to harvest and process the fish, as well
as the effects of these program designs and allocations on
competition and conservation. The analysis shall include an
assessment of the impact of the proposal on conservation and
the economics of communities, fishermen, and processors
participating in the trawl groundfish fisheries, including the
shore-based sector of the Pacific whiting fishery.
(3) REPORT.—The Pacific Council shall submit the proposal
and related analysis to the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives
Committee on Resources no later than 24 months after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(g) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE INTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES
ACT OF 1986.—Section 308 of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act
of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

H. R. 5946—51
‘‘(a) GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for apportionment to
carry out the purposes of this title $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2007 through 2012.’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘$850,000 for each of fiscal years 2003
and 2004, and $900,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 and
2006’’ in subsection (c) and inserting ‘‘$900,000 for each of
fiscal years 2007 through 2012’’.
(h) REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENT OF THE ANADROMOUS
FISH CONSERVATION ACT.—Section 4 of the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 757d) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
purposes of this Act not to exceed $4,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2007 through 2012.’’.
(i) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES
CONVENTION ACT OF 1995.—Section 211 of the Northwest Atlantic
Fisheries Convention Act of 1995 (16 U.S.C. 5610) is amended
by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’.

TITLE IV—INTERNATIONAL
SEC. 401. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE.

Title II (16 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 207. INTERNATIONAL MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may undertake activities to
promote improved monitoring and compliance for high seas fisheries, or fisheries governed by international fishery management
agreements, and to implement the requirements of this title.
‘‘(b) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary may—
‘‘(1) share information on harvesting and processing
capacity and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing on
the high seas, in areas covered by international fishery management agreements, and by vessels of other nations within the
United States exclusive economic zone, with relevant law
enforcement organizations of foreign nations and relevant international organizations;
‘‘(2) further develop real time information sharing capabilities, particularly on harvesting and processing capacity and
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;
‘‘(3) participate in global and regional efforts to build an
international network for monitoring, control, and surveillance
of high seas fishing and fishing under regional or global agreements;
‘‘(4) support efforts to create an international registry or
database of fishing vessels, including by building on or
enhancing registries developed by international fishery management organizations;
‘‘(5) enhance enforcement capabilities through the application of commercial or governmental remote sensing technology
to locate or identify vessels engaged in illegal, unreported,

H. R. 5946—52
or unregulated fishing on the high seas, including encroachments into the exclusive economic zone by fishing vessels of
other nations;
‘‘(6) provide technical or other assistance to developing
countries to improve their monitoring, control, and surveillance
capabilities; and
‘‘(7) support coordinated international efforts to ensure that
all large-scale fishing vessels operating on the high seas are
required by their flag State to be fitted with vessel monitoring
systems no later than December 31, 2008, or earlier if so
decided by the relevant flag State or any relevant international
fishery management organization.’’.
SEC. 402. FINDING WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, AND
UNREGULATED FISHING.

Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)), as amended by section 3 of
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) International cooperation is necessary to address
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and other fishing
practices which may harm the sustainability of living marine
resources and disadvantage the United States fishing
industry.’’.
SEC. 403. ACTION TO END ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED
FISHING AND REDUCE BYCATCH OF PROTECTED MARINE
SPECIES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing
Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et seq.), is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 607. BIENNIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE.

‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
shall provide to Congress, by not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, and every 2 years
thereafter, a report that includes—
‘‘(1) the state of knowledge on the status of international
living marine resources shared by the United States or subject
to treaties or agreements to which the United States is a
party, including a list of all such fish stocks classified as overfished, overexploited, depleted, endangered, or threatened with
extinction by any international or other authority charged with
management or conservation of living marine resources;
‘‘(2) a list of nations whose vessels have been identified
under section 609(a) or 610(a), including the specific offending
activities and any subsequent actions taken pursuant to section
609 or 610;
‘‘(3) a description of efforts taken by nations on those
lists to comply take appropriate corrective action consistent
with sections 609 and 610, and an evaluation of the progress
of those efforts, including steps taken by the United States
to implement those sections and to improve international
compliance;
‘‘(4) progress at the international level, consistent with
section 608, to strengthen the efforts of international fishery
management organizations to end illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing; and

H. R. 5946—53
‘‘(5) steps taken by the Secretary at the international level
to adopt international measures comparable to those of the
United States to reduce impacts of fishing and other practices
on protected living marine resources, if no international agreement to achieve such goal exists, or if the relevant international
fishery or conservation organization has failed to implement
effective measures to end or reduce the adverse impacts of
fishing practices on such species.
‘‘SEC.

608.

ACTION TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

FISHERY

‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
and in cooperation with relevant fishery management councils and
any relevant advisory committees, shall take actions to improve
the effectiveness of international fishery management organizations
in conserving and managing fish stocks under their jurisdiction.
These actions shall include—
‘‘(1) urging international fishery management organizations
to which the United States is a member—
‘‘(A) to incorporate multilateral market-related measures against member or nonmember governments whose
vessels engage in illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing;
‘‘(B) to seek adoption of lists that identify fishing vessels and vessel owners engaged in illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing that can be shared among all members
and other international fishery management organizations;
‘‘(C) to seek international adoption of a centralized
vessel monitoring system in order to monitor and document
capacity in fleets of all nations involved in fishing in areas
under an international fishery management organization’s
jurisdiction;
‘‘(D) to increase use of observers and technologies
needed to monitor compliance with conservation and
management measures established by the organization,
including vessel monitoring systems and automatic identification systems; and
‘‘(E) to seek adoption of stronger port state controls
in all nations, particularly those nations in whose ports
vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing land or transship fish;
‘‘(2) urging international fishery management organizations
to which the United States is a member, as well as all members
of those organizations, to adopt and expand the use of marketrelated measures to combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing, including—
‘‘(A) import prohibitions, landing restrictions, or other
market-based measures needed to enforce compliance with
international fishery management organization measures,
such as quotas and catch limits;
‘‘(B) import restrictions or other market-based measures to prevent the trade or importation of fish caught
by vessels identified multilaterally as engaging in illegal,
unreported, or unregulated fishing; and
‘‘(C) catch documentation and certification schemes to
improve tracking and identification of catch of vessels
engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing,

H. R. 5946—54
including advance transmission of catch documents to ports
of entry; and
‘‘(3) urging other nations at bilateral, regional, and international levels, including the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora and the
World Trade Organization to take all steps necessary, consistent with international law, to adopt measures and policies
that will prevent fish or other living marine resources harvested
by vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing
from being traded or imported into their nation or territories.
‘‘SEC. 609. ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISHING.

‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, and list in
the report under section 607, a nation if fishing vessels of that
nation are engaged, or have been engaged at any point during
the preceding 2 years, in illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing—
‘‘(1) the relevant international fishery management
organization has failed to implement effective measures to end
the illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing activity by vessels of that nation or the nation is not a party to, or does
not maintain cooperating status with, such organization; or
‘‘(2) where no international fishery management organization exists with a mandate to regulate the fishing activity
in question.
‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.—An identification under subsection (a) or
section 610(a) is deemed to be an identification under section
101(b)(1)(A) of the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act
(16 U.S.C. 1826a(b)(1)(A)), and the Secretary shall notify the President and that nation of such identification.
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—No later than 60 days after submitting
a report to Congress under section 607, the Secretary, acting
through the Secretary of State, shall—
‘‘(1) notify nations listed in the report of the requirements
of this section;
‘‘(2) initiate consultations for the purpose of encouraging
such nations to take the appropriate corrective action with
respect to the offending activities of their fishing vessels identified in the report; and
‘‘(3) notify any relevant international fishery management
organization of the actions taken by the United States under
this section.
‘‘(d) IUU CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall establish a procedure, consistent with the provisions of subchapter II of chapter
5 of title 5, United States Code, for determining if a nation
identified under subsection (a) and listed in the report under
section 607 has taken appropriate corrective action with respect
to the offending activities of its fishing vessels identified in
the report under section 607. The certification procedure shall
provide for notice and an opportunity for comment by any
such nation. The Secretary shall determine, on the basis of
the procedure, and certify to the Congress no later than 90
days after the date on which the Secretary promulgates a
final rule containing the procedure, and biennially thereafter
in the report under section 607—

H. R. 5946—55
‘‘(A) whether the government of each nation identified
under subsection (a) has provided documentary evidence
that it has taken corrective action with respect to the
offending activities of its fishing vessels identified in the
report; or
‘‘(B) whether the relevant international fishery
management organization has implemented measures that
are effective in ending the illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing activity by vessels of that nation.
‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Secretary may establish a procedure for certification, on a shipment-by-shipment,
shipper-by-shipper, or other basis of fish or fish products from
a vessel of a harvesting nation not certified under paragraph
(1) if the Secretary determines that—
‘‘(A) the vessel has not engaged in illegal, unreported,
or unregulated fishing under an international fishery
management agreement to which the United States is a
party; or
‘‘(B) the vessel is not identified by an international
fishery management organization as participating in illegal,
unreported, or unregulated fishing activities.
‘‘(3) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of section 101(a) and
section 101(b)(3) and (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(a),
(b)(3), and (b)(4))—
‘‘(i) shall apply to any nation identified under subsection (a) that has not been certified by the Secretary
under this subsection, or for which the Secretary has
issued a negative certification under this subsection;
but
‘‘(ii) shall not apply to any nation identified under
subsection (a) for which the Secretary has issued a
positive certification under this subsection.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A)(i) does not
apply—
‘‘(i) to the extent that such provisions would apply
to sport fishing equipment or to fish or fish products
not managed under the applicable international fishery
agreement; or
‘‘(ii) if there is no applicable international fishery
agreement, to the extent that such provisions would
apply to fish or fish products caught by vessels not
engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing.
‘‘(e) ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISHING
DEFINED.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this Act the term ‘illegal, unreported,
or unregulated fishing’ has the meaning established under paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) SECRETARY TO DEFINE TERM WITHIN LEGISLATIVE GUIDELINES.—Within 3 months after the date of enactment of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Secretary shall publish a
definition of the term ‘illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing’ for purposes of this Act.
‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall include in the definition, at a minimum—

H. R. 5946—56
‘‘(A) fishing activities that violate conservation and
management measures required under an international
fishery management agreement to which the United States
is a party, including catch limits or quotas, capacity restrictions, and bycatch reduction requirements;
‘‘(B) overfishing of fish stocks shared by the United
States, for which there are no applicable international conservation or management measures or in areas with no
applicable international fishery management organization
or agreement, that has adverse impacts on such stocks;
and
‘‘(C) fishing activity that has an adverse impact on
seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold water corals
located beyond national jurisdiction, for which there are
no applicable conservation or management measures or
in areas with no applicable international fishery management organization or agreement.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary for fiscal years 2007 through
2013 such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
‘‘SEC. 610. EQUIVALENT CONSERVATION MEASURES.

‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify, and list in
the report under section 607, a nation if—
‘‘(1) fishing vessels of that nation are engaged, or have
been engaged during the preceding calendar year in fishing
activities or practices;
‘‘(A) in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that
result in bycatch of a protected living marine resource;
or
‘‘(B) beyond the exclusive economic zone of the United
States that result in bycatch of a protected living marine
resource shared by the United States;
‘‘(2) the relevant international organization for the conservation and protection of such resources or the relevant international or regional fishery organization has failed to implement effective measures to end or reduce such bycatch, or
the nation is not a party to, or does not maintain cooperating
status with, such organization; and
‘‘(3) the nation has not adopted a regulatory program governing such fishing practices designed to end or reduce such
bycatch that is comparable to that of the United States, taking
into account different conditions.
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION.—The Secretary, acting
through the Secretary of State, shall—
‘‘(1) notify, as soon as possible, other nations whose vessels
engage in fishing activities or practices described in subsection
(a), about the provisions of this section and this Act;
‘‘(2) initiate discussions as soon as possible with all foreign
governments which are engaged in, or which have persons
or companies engaged in, fishing activities or practices
described in subsection (a), for the purpose of entering into
bilateral and multilateral treaties with such countries to protect
such species;
‘‘(3) seek agreements calling for international restrictions
on fishing activities or practices described in subsection (a)
through the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture

H. R. 5946—57
Organization’s Committee on Fisheries, and appropriate international fishery management bodies; and
‘‘(4) initiate the amendment of any existing international
treaty for the protection and conservation of such species to
which the United States is a party in order to make such
treaty consistent with the purposes and policies of this section.
‘‘(c) CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary shall establish a
procedure consistent with the provisions of subchapter II of
chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, for determining
whether the government of a harvesting nation identified under
subsection (a) and listed in the report under section 607—
‘‘(A) has provided documentary evidence of the adoption
of a regulatory program governing the conservation of the
protected living marine resource that is comparable to that
of the United States, taking into account different conditions, and which, in the case of pelagic longline fishing,
includes mandatory use of circle hooks, careful handling
and release equipment, and training and observer programs; and
‘‘(B) has established a management plan containing
requirements that will assist in gathering species-specific
data to support international stock assessments and conservation enforcement efforts for protected living marine
resources.
‘‘(2) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENT.—The procedure established by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall include notice
and opportunity for comment by any such nation.
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall certify to the Congress by January 31, 2007, and biennially thereafter whether
each such nation has provided the documentary evidence
described in paragraph (1)(A) and established a management
plan described in paragraph (1)(B).
‘‘(4) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall establish a procedure for certification, on a shipment-by-shipment,
shipper-by-shipper, or other basis of fish or fish products from
a vessel of a harvesting nation not certified under paragraph
(3) if the Secretary determines that such imports were harvested by practices that do not result in bycatch of a protected
marine species, or were harvested by practices that—
‘‘(A) are comparable to those of the United States,
taking into account different conditions, and which, in the
case of pelagic longline fishing, includes mandatory use
of circle hooks, careful handling and release equipment,
and training and observer programs; and
‘‘(B) include the gathering of species specific data that
can be used to support international and regional stock
assessments and conservation efforts for protected living
marine resources.
‘‘(5) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—The provisions of section
101(a) and section 101(b)(3) and (4) of this Act (16 U.S.C.
1826a(a), (b)(3), and (b)(4)) (except to the extent that such
provisions apply to sport fishing equipment or fish or fish
products not caught by the vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing) shall apply to any nation identified under subsection (a) that has not been certified by the
Secretary under this subsection, or for which the Secretary

H. R. 5946—58
has issued a negative certification under this subsection, but
shall not apply to any nation identified under subsection (a)
for which the Secretary has issued a positive certification under
this subsection.
‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.—To the
greatest extent possible consistent with existing authority and the
availability of funds, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) provide appropriate assistance to nations identified
by the Secretary under subsection (a) and international
organizations of which those nations are members to assist
those nations in qualifying for certification under subsection
(c);
‘‘(2) undertake, where appropriate, cooperative research
activities on species statistics and improved harvesting techniques, with those nations or organizations;
‘‘(3) encourage and facilitate the transfer of appropriate
technology to those nations or organizations to assist those
nations in qualifying for certification under subsection (c); and
‘‘(4) provide assistance to those nations or organizations
in designing and implementing appropriate fish harvesting
plans.
‘‘(e) PROTECTED LIVING MARINE RESOURCE DEFINED.—In this
section the term ‘protected living marine resource’—
‘‘(1) means non-target fish, sea turtles, or marine mammals
that are protected under United States law or international
agreement, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the
Endangered Species Act, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act,
and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna; but
‘‘(2) does not include species, except sharks, managed under
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, or any international
fishery management agreement.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary for fiscal years 2007 through
2013 such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) DENIAL OF PORT PRIVILEGES.—Section 101(b) of the High
Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826a(b))
is amended by inserting ‘‘or illegal, unreported, or unregulated
fishing’’ after ‘‘fishing’’ in paragraph (1)(A)(i), paragraph (1)(B),
paragraph (2), and paragraph (4)(A)(i).
(2) DURATION OF DENIAL.—Section 102 of the High Seas
Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 1826b) is
amended by inserting ‘‘or illegal, unreported , or unregulated
fishing’’ after ‘‘fishing’’.
SEC. 404. MONITORING OF PACIFIC INSULAR AREA FISHERIES.

(a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Section 201(h)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C.
1821(h)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘that is at least equal in
effectiveness to the program established by the Secretary;’’ and
inserting ‘‘or other monitoring program that the Secretary, in consultation with the Western Pacific Management Council, determines
is adequate to monitor harvest, bycatch, and compliance with the
laws of the United States by vessels fishing under the agreement;’’.
(b) MARINE CONSERVATION PLANS.—Section 204(e)(4)(A)(i) (16
U.S.C. 1824(e)(4)(A)(i)) is amended to read as follows:

H. R. 5946—59
‘‘(i) Pacific Insular Area observer programs, or other monitoring programs, that the Secretary determines are adequate
to monitor the harvest, bycatch, and compliance with the laws
of the United States by foreign fishing vessels that fish under
Pacific Insular Area fishing agreements;’’.
SEC. 405. REAUTHORIZATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS CONVENTION ACT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention
Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971h) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary to carry out this Act, including use for payment
of the United States share of the joint expenses of the Commission
as provided in Article X of the Convention—
‘‘(1) $5,770,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 and 2008;
‘‘(2) $6,058,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010;
and
‘‘(3) $6,361,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2013.
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made available under subsection (a) for each fiscal year—
‘‘(1) $160,000 are authorized for the advisory committee
established under section 4 of this Act and the species working
groups established under section 4A of this Act; and
‘‘(2) $7,500,000 are authorized for research activities under
this Act and section 3 of Public Law 96–339 (16 U.S.C. 971i),
of which $3,000,000 shall be for the cooperative research program under section 3(b)(2)(H) of that section (16 U.S.C.
971i(b)(2)(H).’’.
(b) ATLANTIC BILLFISH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.—
Section 3(b)(2) of Public Law 96–339 (16 U.S.C. 971i(b)(2)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in subparagraph
(G);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as subparagraph
(I); and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following:
‘‘(H) include a cooperative research program on Atlantic
billfish based on the Southeast Fisheries Science Center
Atlantic Billfish Research Plan of 2002; and’’.
(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FISH HABITAT.—Section
3 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971a)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FISH HABITAT.—It is the
sense of the Congress that the United States Commissioners should
seek to include ecosystem considerations in fisheries management,
including the conservation of fish habitat.’’.
SEC. 406. INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING AND DOMESTIC EQUITY.

(a) INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING.—Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854)
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘(i) INTERNATIONAL OVERFISHING.—The provisions of this subsection shall apply in lieu of subsection (e) to a fishery that the
Secretary determines is overfished or approaching a condition of
being overfished due to excessive international fishing pressure,
and for which there are no management measures to end overfishing
under an international agreement to which the United States is
a party. For such fisheries—

H. R. 5946—60
‘‘(1) the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of
State, immediately take appropriate action at the international
level to end the overfishing; and
‘‘(2) within 1 year after the Secretary’s determination, the
appropriate Council, or Secretary, for fisheries under section
302(a)(3) shall—
‘‘(A) develop recommendations for domestic regulations
to address the relative impact of fishing vessels of the
United States on the stock and, if developed by a Council,
the Council shall submit such recommendations to the
Secretary; and
‘‘(B) develop and submit recommendations to the Secretary of State, and to the Congress, for international
actions that will end overfishing in the fishery and rebuild
the affected stocks, taking into account the relative impact
of vessels of other nations and vessels of the United States
on the relevant stock.’’.
(b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES TAGGING RESEARCH.—Section
304(g)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘(16 U.S.C.
971d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 971d), or highly migratory species
harvested in a commercial fishery managed by a Council under
this Act or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention
Implementation Act,’’.
SEC. 407. UNITED STATES CATCH HISTORY.

In establishing catch allocations under international fisheries
agreements, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, and the
Secretary of State, shall ensure that all catch history associated
with a vessel of the United States remains with the United States
and is not transferred or credited to any other nation or vessel
of such nation, including when a vessel of the United States is
sold or transferred to a citizen of another nation or to an entity
controlled by citizens of another nation.
SEC. 408. SECRETARIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall designate
a Senate-confirmed, senior official within the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration to perform the duties of the Secretary
with respect to international agreements involving fisheries and
other living marine resources, including policy development and
representation as a U.S. Commissioner, under any such international agreements.
(b) ADVICE.—The designated official shall, in consultation with
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and the
Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, advise
the Secretary, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and
Atmosphere, and other senior officials of the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
on development of policy on international fisheries conservation
and management matters.
(c) CONSULTATION.—The designated official shall consult with
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
and the House Committee on Resources on matters pertaining
to any regional or international negotiation concerning living marine
resources, including shellfish.

H. R. 5946—61
(d) DELEGATION.—The designated official may delegate and
authorize successive re-delegation of such functions, powers, and
duties to such officers and employees of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration as deemed necessary to discharge the
responsibility of the Office.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect on January
1, 2009.

TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES CONVENTION
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Convention Implementation Act’’.
SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:
(1) 1982 CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘1982 Convention’’ means
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10
December 1982.
(2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ means the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December
1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.
(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the
Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean
established in accordance with this Convention.
(4) CONVENTION AREA.—The term ‘‘convention area’’ means
all waters of the Pacific Ocean bounded to the south and
to the east by the following line:
From the south coast of Australia due south along the 141th
meridian of east longitude to its intersection with the 55th
parallel of south latitude; thence due east along the 55th parallel of south latitude to its intersection with the 150th meridian
of east longitude; thence due south along the 150th meridian
of east longitude to its intersection with the 60th parallel
of south latitude; thence due east along the 60th parallel of
south latitude to its intersection with the 130th meridian of
west longitude; thence due north along the 130th meridian
of west longitude to its intersection with the 4th parallel of
south latitude; thence due west along the 4th parallel of south
latitude to its intersection with the 150th meridian of west
longitude; thence due north along the 150th meridian of west
longitude.
(5) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone established by Presidential
Proclamation Numbered 5030 of March 10, 1983.
(6) FISHING.—The term ‘‘fishing’’ means—
(A) searching for, catching, taking, or harvesting fish;
(B) attempting to search for, catch, take, or harvest
fish;

H. R. 5946—62
(C) engaging in any other activity which can reasonably
be expected to result in the locating, catching, taking, or
harvesting of fish for any purpose;
(D) placing, searching for, or recovering fish aggregating devices or associated electronic equipment such as
radio beacons;
(E) any operations at sea directly in support of, or
in preparation for, any activity described in subparagraphs
(A) through (D), including transshipment; and
(F) use of any other vessel, vehicle, aircraft, or hovercraft, for any activity described in subparagraphs (A)
through (E) except for emergencies involving the health
and safety of the crew or the safety of a vessel.
(7) FISHING VESSEL.—The term ‘‘fishing vessel’’ means any
vessel used or intended for use for the purpose of fishing,
including support ships, carrier vessels, and any other vessel
directly involved in such fishing operations.
(8) HIGHLY MIGRATORY FISH STOCKS.—The term ‘‘highly
migratory fish stocks’’ means all fish stocks of the species
listed in Annex 1 of the 1982 Convention, except sauries, occurring in the Convention Area, and such other species of fish
as the Commission may determine.
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Commerce.
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American
Samoa, Guam, and any other commonwealth, territory, or
possession of the United States.
(11) TRANSHIPMENT.—The term ‘‘transshipment’’ means the
unloading of all or any of the fish on board a fishing vessel
to another fishing vessel either at sea or in port.
(12) WCPFC CONVENTION; WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC
CONVENTION.—The terms ‘‘WCPFC Convention’’ and ‘‘Western
and Central Pacific Convention’’ means the Convention on the
Conservation and Management of the Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, (including
any annexes, amendments, or protocols which are in force,
or have come into force, for the United States) which was
adopted at Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 5, 2000, by the
Multilateral High Level Conference on the Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
SEC. 503. APPOINTMENT OF UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall be represented on
the Commission by 5 United States Commissioners. The President
shall appoint individuals to serve on the Commission at the pleasure
of the President. In making the appointments, the President shall
select Commissioners from among individuals who are knowledgeable or experienced concerning highly migratory fish stocks in the
Western and Central Pacific Ocean, one of whom shall be an officer
or employee of the Department of Commerce, and one of whom
shall be the chairman or a member of the Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council and the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
The Commissioners shall be entitled to adopt such rules of procedures as they find necessary and to select a chairman from among

H. R. 5946—63
members who are officers or employees of the United States Government.
(b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary, may designate from time to time
and for periods of time deemed appropriate Alternate United States
Commissioners to the Commission. Any Alternate United States
Commissioner may exercise at any meeting of the Commission,
Council, any Panel, or the advisory committee established pursuant
to subsection (d), all powers and duties of a United States Commissioner in the absence of any Commissioner appointed pursuant
to subsection (a) of this section for whatever reason. The number
of such Alternate United States Commissioners that may be designated for any such meeting shall be limited to the number of
United States Commissioners appointed pursuant to subsection (a)
of this section who will not be present at such meeting.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—
(1) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals serving as such
Commissioners, other than officers or employees of the United
States Government, shall be considered to be Federal employees
while performing such service, only for purposes of—
(A) injury compensation under chapter 81 of title 5,
United States Code;
(B) requirements concerning ethics, conflicts of
interest, and corruption as provided under title 18, United
States Code; and
(C) any other criminal or civil statute or regulation
governing the conduct of Federal employees.
(2) COMPENSATION.—The United States Commissioners or
Alternate Commissioners, although officers of the United States
while so serving, shall receive no compensation for their services
as such Commissioners or Alternate Commissioners.
(3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—
(A) The Secretary of State shall pay the necessary
travel expenses of United States Commissioners and Alternate United States Commissioners in accordance with the
Federal Travel Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704
through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United States Code.
(B) The Secretary may reimburse the Secretary of State
for amounts expended by the Secretary of State under
this subsection.
(d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—
(A) MEMBERSHIP.—There is established an advisory
committee which shall be composed of—
(i) not less than 15 nor more than 20 individuals
appointed by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the United States Commissioners, who shall
select such individuals from the various groups concerned with the fisheries covered by the WCPFC
Convention, providing, to the maximum extent practicable, an equitable balance among such groups;
(ii) the chair of the Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council’s Advisory Committee or the
chair’s designee; and
(iii) officials of the fisheries management authorities of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (or their designees).

H. R. 5946—64
(B) TERMS AND PRIVILEGES.—Each member of the
advisory committee appointed under subparagraph (A)
shall serve for a term of 2 years and shall be eligible
for reappointment. The advisory committee shall be invited
to attend all non-executive meetings of the United States
Commissioners and at such meetings shall be given opportunity to examine and to be heard on all proposed programs
of investigation, reports, recommendations, and regulations
of the Commission.
(C) PROCEDURES.—The advisory committee established
by subparagraph (A) shall determine its organization, and
prescribe its practices and procedures for carrying out its
functions under this chapter, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.), and the WCPFC Convention. The advisory committee shall publish and make available to the public a
statement of its organization, practices, and procedures.
A majority of the members of the advisory committee shall
constitute a quorum. Meetings of the advisory committee,
except when in executive session, shall be open to the
public, and prior notice of meetings shall be made public
in a timely fashion. and the advisory committee shall not
be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.).
(D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary and
the Secretary of State shall furnish the advisory committee
with relevant information concerning fisheries and international fishery agreements.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—
(A) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary shall provide
to advisory committees in a timely manner such administrative and technical support services as are necessary
for their effective functioning.
(B) COMPENSATION; STATUS; EXPENSES.—Individuals
appointed to serve as a member of an advisory committee—
(i) shall serve without pay, but while away from
their homes or regular places of business in the
performance of services for the advisory committee
shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem
in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons
employed intermittently in the Government service are
allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United
States Code; and
(ii) shall be considered Federal employees while
performing service as members of an advisory committee only for purposes of—
(I) injury compensation under chapter 81 of
title 5, United States Code;
(II) requirements concerning ethics, conflictsof-interest, and corruption, as provided by title
18, United States Code; and
(III) any other criminal or civil statute or regulation governing the conduct of Federal employees
in their capacity as Federal employees.
(f) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—For highly migratory
species in the Pacific, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall develop a memorandum of understanding

H. R. 5946—65
with the Western Pacific, Pacific, and North Pacific Fishery Management Councils, that clarifies the role of the relevant Council or
Councils with respect to—
(1) participation in United States delegations to international fishery organizations in the Pacific Ocean, including
government-to-government consultations;
(2) providing formal recommendations to the Secretary and
the Secretary of State regarding necessary measures for both
domestic and foreign vessels fishing for these species;
(3) coordinating positions with the United States delegation
for presentation to the appropriate international fishery
organization; and
(4) recommending those domestic fishing regulations that
are consistent with the actions of the international fishery
organization, for approval and implementation under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
SEC. 504. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY OF
STATE.

The Secretary of State may—
(1) receive and transmit, on behalf of the United States,
reports, requests, recommendations, proposals, decisions, and
other communications of and to the Commission;
(2) in consultation with the Secretary approve, disapprove,
object to, or withdraw objections to bylaws and rules, or amendments thereof, adopted by the WCPFC Commission, and, with
the concurrence of the Secretary to approve or disapprove the
general annual program of the WCPFC Commission with
respect to conservation and management measures and other
measures proposed or adopted in accordance with the WCPFC
Convention; and
(3) act upon, or refer to other appropriate authority, any
communication referred to in paragraph (1).
SEC. 505. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.

(a) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State and, with respect to enforcement measures, the Secretary of the Department in which the
Coast Guard is operating, is authorized to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the United States international obligations under the WCPFC Convention and this title,
including recommendations and decisions adopted by the Commission. In cases where the Secretary has discretion in the implementation of one or more measures adopted by the Commission that
would govern fisheries under the authority of a Regional Fishery
Management Council, the Secretary may, to the extent practicable
within the implementation schedule of the WCPFC Convention
and any recommendations and decisions adopted by the Commission, promulgate such regulations in accordance with the procedures
established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
(b) ADDITIONS TO FISHERY REGIMES AND REGULATIONS.—The
Secretary may promulgate regulations applicable to all vessels and
persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, including
United States flag vessels wherever they may be operating, on
such date as the Secretary shall prescribe.

H. R. 5946—66
SEC. 506. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may—
(1) administer and enforce this title and any regulations
issued under this title, except to the extent otherwise provided
for in this Act;
(2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non-reimbursed
basis the assistance, services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of other Federal departments and agencies in—
(A) the administration and enforcement of this title;
and
(B) the conduct of scientific, research, and other programs under this title;
(3) conduct fishing operations and biological experiments
for purposes of scientific investigation or other purposes necessary to implement the WCPFC Convention;
(4) collect, utilize, and disclose such information as may
be necessary to implement the WCPFC Convention, subject
to sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code, and
section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b));
(5) if recommended by the United States Commissioners
or proposed by a Council with authority over the relevant
fishery, assess and collect fees, not to exceed three percent
of the ex-vessel value of fish harvested by vessels of the United
States in fisheries managed pursuant to this title, to recover
the actual costs to the United States of management and
enforcement under this title, which shall be deposited as an
offsetting collection in, and credited to, the account providing
appropriations to carry out the functions of the Secretary under
this title; and
(6) issue permits to owners and operators of United States
vessels to fish in the convention area seaward of the United
States Exclusive Economic Zone, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, and shall remain valid
for a period to be determined by the Secretary.
(b) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAWS.—The Secretary shall
ensure the consistency, to the extent practicable, of fishery management programs administered under this Act, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.), the Tuna Conventions Act (16 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), the South
Pacific Tuna Act (16 U.S.C. 973 et seq.), section 401 of Public
Law 108–219 (16 U.S.C. 1821 note) (relating to Pacific albacore
tuna), and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971).
(c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall prevent
any person from violating this title in the same manner, by the
same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties
as though all applicable terms and provisions of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1857) were incorporated into and made a part of this title. Any
person that violates any provision of this title is subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided
in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same
jurisdiction, power, and duties as though all applicable terms and
provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made a part
of this title.
(d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—

H. R. 5946—67
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any information submitted to the Secretary in compliance with any requirement under this Act
shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except—
(A) to Federal employees who are responsible for
administering, implementing, and enforcing this Act;
(B) to the Commission, in accordance with requirements in the Convention and decisions of the Commission,
and, insofar as possible, in accordance with an agreement
with the Commission that prevents public disclosure of
the identity or business of any person;
(C) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission employees
pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary that prevents
public disclosure of the identity or business or any person;
(D) when required by court order; or
(E) when the Secretary has obtained written authorization from the person submitting such information to release
such information to persons for reasons not otherwise provided for in this subsection, and such release does not
violate other requirements of this Act.
(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe such procedures as may be necessary to preserve
the confidentiality of information submitted in compliance with
any requirement or regulation under this Act, except that the
Secretary may release or make public any such information
in any aggregate or summary form that does not directly or
indirectly disclose the identity or business of any person.
Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted or construed
to prevent the use for conservation and management purposes
by the Secretary of any information submitted in compliance
with any requirement or regulation under this Act.
SEC. 507. PROHIBITED ACTS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person—
(1) to violate any provision of this title or any regulation
or permit issued pursuant to this title;
(2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing after
the revocation, or during the period of suspension, on an
applicable permit issued pursuant to this title;
(3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to enforce
the provisions of this title to board a fishing vessel subject
to such person’s control for the purposes of conducting any
search, investigation, or inspection in connection with the
enforcement of this title or any regulation, permit, or the
Convention;
(4) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate,
or interfere with any such authorized officer in the conduct
of any search, investigations, or inspection in connection with
the enforcement of this title or any regulation, permit, or the
Convention;
(5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this
title;
(6) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import,
export, or have custody, control, or possession of, any fish
taken or retained in violation of this title or any regulation,
permit, or agreement referred to in paragraph (1) or (2);
(7) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means,
the apprehension or arrest of another person, knowing that

H. R. 5946—68
such other person has committed any chapter prohibited by
this section;
(8) to knowingly and willfully submit to the Secretary
false information (including false information regarding the
capacity and extent to which a United States fish processor,
on an annual basis, will process a portion of the optimum
yield of a fishery that will be harvested by fishery vessels
of the United States), regarding any matter that the Secretary
is considering in the course of carrying out this title;
(9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate,
sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any observer on a
vessel under this title, or any data collector employed by the
National Marine Fisheries Service or under contract to any
person to carry out responsibilities under this title;
(10) to engage in fishing in violation of any regulation
adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this title;
(11) to ship, transport, purchase, sell, offer for sale, import,
export, or have in custody, possession, or control any fish taken
or retained in violation of such regulations;
(12) to fail to make, keep, or furnish any catch returns,
statistical records, or other reports as are required by regulations adopted pursuant to this title to be made, kept, or furnished;
(13) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed and instructed
to stop by a duly authorized official of the United States;
(14) to import, in violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this title, any fish in any form of
those species subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation, resolution, or decision of the Commission, or any tuna
in any form not under regulation but under investigation by
the Commission, during the period such fish have been denied
entry in accordance with the provisions of section 506(a) of
this title.
(b) ENTRY CERTIFICATION.—In the case of any fish described
in subsection (a) offered for entry into the United States, the Secretary of Commerce shall require proof satisfactory to the Secretary
that such fish is not ineligible for such entry under the terms
of section 506(a) of this title.
SEC. 508. COOPERATION IN CARRYING OUT CONVENTION.

(a) FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES; PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS AND
ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary may cooperate with agencies of
the United States government, any public or private institutions
or organizations within the United States or abroad, and, through
the Secretary of State, the duly authorized officials of the government of any party to the WCPFC Convention, in carrying out
responsibilities under this title.
(b) SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER PROGRAMS; FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL.—All Federal agencies are authorized, upon the request
of the Secretary, to cooperate in the conduct of scientific and other
programs and to furnish facilities and personnel for the purpose
of assisting the Commission in carrying out its duties under the
WCPFC Convention.
(c) SANCTIONED FISHING OPERATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS.—Nothing in this title, or in the laws or regulations of
any State, prevents the Secretary or the Commission from—

H. R. 5946—69
(1) conducting or authorizing the conduct of fishing operations and biological experiments at any time for purposes
of scientific investigation; or
(2) discharging any other duties prescribed by the WCPFC
Convention.
(d) STATE JURISDICTION NOT AFFECTED.—Except as provided
in subsection (e) of this section, nothing in this title shall be
construed to diminish or to increase the jurisdiction of any State
in the territorial sea of the United States.
(e) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Regulations promulgated under section
506(a) of this title shall apply within the boundaries of any
State bordering on the Convention area if the Secretary has
provided notice to such State, the State does not request an
agency hearing, and the Secretary determines that the State—
(A) has not, within a reasonable period of time after
the promulgation of regulations pursuant to this title,
enacted laws or promulgated regulations that implement
the recommendations of the Commission within the boundaries of such State; or
(B) has enacted laws or promulgated regulations that
implement the recommendations of the commission within
the boundaries of such State that—
(i) are less restrictive that the regulations promulgated under section 506(a) of this title; or
(ii) are not effectively enforced.
(2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The regulations
promulgated pursuant to section 506(a) of this title shall apply
until the Secretary determines that the State is effectively
enforcing within its boundaries measures that are not less
restrictive than the regulations promulgated under section
506(a) of this title.
(3) HEARING.—If a State requests a formal agency hearing,
the Secretary shall not apply the regulations promulgated
pursuant section 506(a) of this title within that State’s boundaries unless the hearing record supports a determination under
paragraph (1)(A) or (B).
(f) REVIEW OF STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS.—To ensure that
the purposes of subsection (e) are carried out, the Secretary shall
undertake a continuing review of the laws and regulations of all
States to which subsection (e) applies or may apply and the extent
to which such laws and regulations are enforced.
SEC. 509. TERRITORIAL PARTICIPATION.

The Secretary of State shall ensure participation in the
Commission and its subsidiary bodies by American Samoa, Guam,
and the Northern Mariana Islands to the same extent provided
to the territories of other nations.
SEC. 510. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE NOTIFICATION.

Masters of commercial fishing vessels of nations fishing for
species under the management authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention that do not carry vessel monitoring
systems capable of communicating with United States enforcement
authorities shall, prior to, or as soon as reasonably possible after,
entering and transiting the Exclusive Economic Zone seaward of
Hawaii and of the Commonwealths, territories, and possessions
of the United States in the Pacific Ocean area—

H. R. 5946—70
(1) notify the United States Coast Guard or the National
Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement in the
appropriate region of the name, flag state, location, route, and
destination of the vessel and of the circumstances under which
it will enter United States waters;
(2) ensure that all fishing gear on board the vessel is
stowed below deck or otherwise removed from the place where
it is normally used for fishing and placed where it is not
readily available for fishing; and
(3) where requested by an enforcement officer, proceed
to a specified location so that a vessel inspection can be conducted.
SEC. 511. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Commerce such sums as may be necessary to carry out this title
and to pay the United States’ contribution to the Commission
under section 5 of part III of the WCPFC Convention.

TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Whiting Act of 2006’’.
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:
(1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory panel’’ means
the Advisory Panel on Pacific Hake/Whiting established by
the Agreement.
(2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ means the Agreement between the Government of the United States and the
Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting, signed at
Seattle, Washington, on November 21, 2003.
(3) CATCH.—The term ‘‘catch’’ means all fishery removals
from the offshore whiting resource, including landings, discards,
and bycatch in other fisheries.
(4) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘joint
management committee’’ means the joint management committee established by the Agreement.
(5) JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘joint technical committee’’ means the joint technical committee established by the Agreement.
(6) OFFSHORE WHITING RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘offshore
whiting resource’’ means the transboundary stock of Merluccius
productus that is located in the offshore waters of the United
States and Canada except in Puget Sound and the Strait of
Georgia.
(7) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—The term ‘‘scientific review
group’’ means the scientific review group established by the
Agreement.
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Commerce.
(9) UNITED STATES SECTION.—The term ‘‘United States Section’’ means the United States representatives on the joint
management committee.

H. R. 5946—71
SEC. 603. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE.

(a) REPRESENTATIVES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall appoint 4 individuals to represent
the United States as the United States Section on the joint
management committee. In making the appointments, the Secretary shall select representatives from among individuals who
are knowledgeable or experienced concerning the offshore
whiting resource. Of these—
(A) 1 shall be an official of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration;
(B) 1 shall be a member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, appointed with consideration given to any
recommendation provided by that Council;
(C) 1 shall be appointed from a list submitted by the
treaty Indian tribes with treaty fishing rights to the offshore whiting resource; and
(D) 1 shall be appointed from the commercial sector
of the whiting fishing industry concerned with the offshore
whiting resource.
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each representative appointed under
paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term not to exceed
4 years, except that, of the initial appointments, 2 representatives shall be appointed for terms of 2 years. Any individual
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration
of the term of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be
appointed for the remainder of that term. A representative
may be appointed for a term of less than 4 years if such
term is necessary to ensure that the term of office of not
more than 2 representatives will expire in any single year.
An individual appointed to serve as a representative is eligible
for reappointment.
(3) CHAIR.—Unless otherwise agreed by all of the 4 representatives, the chair shall rotate annually among the 4 members, with the order of rotation determined by lot at the first
meeting.
(b) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate alternate representatives of the United States to serve on the joint management
committee. An alternative representative may exercise, at any
meeting of the committee, all the powers and duties of a representative in the absence of a duly designated representative for whatever
reason.
SEC. 604. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON THE SCIENTIFIC
REVIEW GROUP.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint no more than 2 scientific experts
to serve on the scientific review group. An individual shall not
be eligible to serve on the scientific review group while serving
on the joint technical committee.
(b) TERM.—An individual appointed under subsection (a) shall
be appointed for a term of not to exceed 4 years, but shall be
eligible for reappointment. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy

H. R. 5946—72
occurring prior to the expiration of a term of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be appointed to serve for the remainder
of that term.
(c) JOINT APPOINTMENTS.—In addition to individuals appointed
under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly with the Government
of Canada, may appoint to the scientific review group, from a
list of names provided by the advisory panel—
(1) up to 2 independent members of the scientific review
group; and
(2) 2 public advisors.
SEC. 605. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON JOINT TECHNICAL
COMMITTEE.

(a) SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall appoint at least 6 but not more than
12 individuals to serve as scientific experts on the joint technical committee, at least 1 of whom shall be an official of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term of not to exceed 4
years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. An individual
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration
of the term of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be
appointed for the remainder of that term.
(b) INDEPENDENT MEMBER.—In addition to individuals
appointed under subsection (a), the Secretary, jointly with the
Government of Canada, shall appoint 1 independent member to
the joint technical committee selected from a list of names provided
by the advisory panel.
SEC. 606. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION ON ADVISORY PANEL.

(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall appoint at least 6 but not more than
12 individuals to serve as members of the advisory panel,
selected from among individuals who are—
(A) knowledgeable or experienced in the harvesting,
processing, marketing, management, conservation, or
research of the offshore whiting resource; and
(B) not employees of the United States.
(2) TERM OF OFFICE.—An individual appointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a term of not to exceed 4
years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. An individual
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration
of the term of office of that individual’s predecessor shall be
appointed for the remainder of that term.
SEC. 607. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is responsible for carrying
out the Agreement and this title, including the authority, to be
exercised in consultation with the Secretary of State, to accept
or reject, on behalf of the United States, recommendations made
by the joint management committee.
(b) REGULATIONS; COOPERATION WITH CANADIAN OFFICIALS.—
In exercising responsibilities under this title, the Secretary—

H. R. 5946—73
(1) may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary
to carry out the purposes and objectives of the Agreement
and this title; and
(2) with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, may
cooperate with officials of the Canadian Government duly
authorized to carry out the Agreement.
SEC. 608. RULEMAKING.

(a) APPLICATION WITH MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—The Secretary shall establish the United States catch level for Pacific
whiting according to the standards and procedures of the Agreement
and this title rather than under the standards and procedures
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), except to the extent necessary to
address the rebuilding needs of other species. Except for establishing the catch level, all other aspects of Pacific whiting management shall be—
(1) subject to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act; and
(2) consistent with this title.
(b) JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS.—For
any year in which both parties to the Agreement approve recommendations made by the joint management committee with
respect to the catch level, the Secretary shall implement the
approved recommendations. Any regulation promulgated by the
Secretary to implement any such recommendation shall apply, as
necessary, to all persons and all vessels subject to the jurisdiction
of the United States wherever located.
(c) YEARS WITH NO APPROVED CATCH RECOMMENDATIONS.—
If the parties to the Agreement do not approve the joint management committee’s recommendation with respect to the catch level
for any year, the Secretary shall establish the total allowable catch
for Pacific whiting for the United States catch. In establishing
the total allowable catch under this subsection, the Secretary shall—
(1) take into account any recommendations from the Pacific
Fishery Management Council, the joint management committee, the joint technical committee, the scientific review
group, and the advisory panel;
(2) base the total allowable catch on the best scientific
information available;
(3) use the default harvest rate set out in paragraph 1
of Article III of the Agreement unless the Secretary determines
that the scientific evidence demonstrates that a different rate
is necessary to sustain the offshore whiting resource; and
(4) establish the United State’s share of the total allowable
catch based on paragraph 2 of Article III of the Agreement
and make any adjustments necessary under section 5 of Article
II of the Agreement.
SEC. 609. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

(a) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Individuals appointed under section
603, 604, 605, or 606 of this title who are serving as such Commissioners, other than officers or employees of the United States
Government, shall be considered to be Federal employees while
performing such service, only for purposes of—
(1) injury compensation under chapter 81 of title 5, United
States Code;

H. R. 5946—74
(2) requirements concerning ethics, conflicts of interest,
and corruption as provided under title 18, United States Code;
and
(3) any other criminal or civil statute or regulation governing the conduct of Federal employees.
(b) COMPENSATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
individual appointed under this title shall receive no compensation for the individual’s service as a representative, alternate
representative, scientific expert, or advisory panel member
under this title.
(2) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—Notwithstanding paragraph
(1), the Secretary may employ and fix the compensation of
an individual appointed under section 604(a) to serve as a
scientific expert on the scientific review group who is not
employed by the United States Government, a State government, or an Indian tribal government in accordance with section
3109 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Except as provided in subsection (d),
the Secretary shall pay the necessary travel expenses of individuals
appointed under this title in accordance with the Federal Travel
Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731
of title 5, United States Code.
(d) JOINT APPOINTEES.—With respect to the 2 independent
members of the scientific review group and the 2 public advisors
to the scientific review group jointly appointed under section 604(c),
and the 1 independent member to the joint technical committee
jointly appointed under section 605(b), the Secretary may pay up
to 50 percent of—
(1) any compensation paid to such individuals; and
(2) the necessary travel expenses of such individuals.
SEC. 610. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may—
(1) administer and enforce this title and any regulations
issued under this title;
(2) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non-reimbursed
basis the assistance, services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of other Federal departments and agencies in the administration and enforcement of this title; and
(3) collect, utilize, and disclose such information as may
be necessary to implement the Agreement and this title, subject
to sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code.
(b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any person to violate
any provision of this title or the regulations promulgated under
this title.
(c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall prevent
any person from violating this title in the same manner, by the
same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties
as though all applicable terms and provisions of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1857) were incorporated into and made a part of this title. Any
person that violates any provision of this title is subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided
in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same
jurisdiction, power, and duties as though all applicable terms and

H. R. 5946—75
provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made a part
of this title.
(d) PENALTIES.—This title shall be enforced by the Secretary
as if a violation of this title or of any regulation promulgated
by the Secretary under this title were a violation of section 307
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).
SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such
sums as may be necessary to carry out the obligations of the
United States under the Agreement and this title.

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 701. STUDY OF THE ACIDIFICATION OF THE OCEANS AND EFFECT
ON FISHERIES.

The Secretary of Commerce shall request the National Research
Council to conduct a study of the acidification of the oceans and
how this process affects the United States.
SEC. 702. PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT.

(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(A) the Tribes have established treaty rights to take
shellfish from public and private tidelands in Washington
State, including from some lands owned, leased, or otherwise subject to harvest by commercial shellfish growers;
(B) the district court that adjudicated the Tribes’ treaty
rights to take shellfish found that the growers are innocent
purchasers who had no notice of the Tribes’ fishing right
when they acquired their properties;
(C) numerous unresolved issues remain outstanding
regarding implementation of the Tribes’ treaty right to
take shellfish from lands owned, leased, or otherwise subject to harvest by the growers;
(D) the Tribes, the growers, the State of Washington,
and the United States Department of the Interior have
resolved by a settlement agreement many of the disputes
between and among them regarding implementation of the
Tribes’ treaty right to take shellfish from covered tidelands
owned or leased by the growers;
(E) the settlement agreement does not provide for resolution of any claims to take shellfish from lands owned
or leased by the growers that potentially may be brought
in the future by other Tribes;
(F) in the absence of congressional actions, the prospect
of other Tribes claims to take shellfish from lands owned
or leased by the growers could be pursued through the
courts, a process which in all likelihood could consume
many years and thereby promote uncertainty in the State
of Washington and the growers and to the ultimate detriment of both the Tribes and other Tribes and their members;
(G) in order to avoid this uncertainty, it is the intent
of Congress that other Tribes have the option of resolving
their claims, if any, to a treaty right to take shellfish

H. R. 5946—76
from covered tidelands owned or leased by the growers;
and
(H) this Act represents a good faith effort on the part
of Congress to extend to other Tribes the same fair and
just option of resolving their claims to take shellfish from
covered tidelands owned or leased by the growers that
the Tribes have agreed to in the settlement agreement.
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—
(A) to approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement
agreement entered into by and among the Tribes, commercial shellfish growers, the State of Washington, and the
United States;
(B) to provide other Tribes with a fair and just resolution of any claims to take shellfish from covered tidelands,
as that term is defined in the settlement agreement, that
potentially could be brought in the future by other Tribes;
and
(C) to authorize the Secretary to implement the terms
and conditions of the settlement agreement and this section.
(b) APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The settlement agreement is hereby
approved, ratified, and confirmed, and section 6 of the settlement agreement, Release of Claims, is specifically adopted and
incorporated into this section as if fully set forth herein.
(2) AUTHORIZATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary
is hereby authorized to implement the terms and conditions
of the settlement agreement in accordance with the settlement
agreement and this section.
(c) FUND, SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT, AND CONDITIONS.—
(1) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT TRUST
FUND.—
(A) There is hereby established in the Treasury of
the United States an account to be designated as the ‘‘Puget
Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Trust Fund’’. The Secretary shall deposit funds in the amount of $22,000,000
at such time as appropriated pursuant to this section into
the Fund.
(B) The Fund shall be maintained and invested by
the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act of June
24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a) until such time as all monies
are transferred from the Fund.
(C) The Secretary shall transfer monies held in the
Fund to each Tribe of the Tribes in the amounts and
manner specified by and in accordance with the payment
agreement established pursuant to the settlement agreement and this section.
(2) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT SPECIAL
HOLDING ACCOUNT.—
(A) There is hereby established in the Treasury of
the United States a fund to be designated as the ‘‘Puget
Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Special Holding
Account’’. The Secretary shall deposit funds in the amount
of $1,500,000 into the Special Holding Account in fiscal
year 2011 at such time as such funds are appropriated
pursuant to this section.

H. R. 5946—77
(B) The Special Holding Account shall be maintained
and invested by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant
to the Act of June 24, 1938, (25 U.S.C. 162a) until such
time as all monies are transferred from the Special Holding
Account.
(C) If a court of competent jurisdiction renders a final
decision declaring that any of the other Tribes has an
established treaty right to take or harvest shellfish in
covered tidelands, as that term is defined in the settlement
agreement, and such tribe opts to accept a share of the
Special Holding Account, rather than litigate this claim
against the growers, the Secretary shall transfer the appropriate share of the monies held in the Special Holding
Account to each such tribe of the other Tribes in the
amounts appropriate to compensate the other Tribes in
the same manner and for the same purposes as the Tribes
who are signatory to the settlement agreement. Such a
transfer to a tribe shall constitute full and complete satisfaction of that tribe’s claims to shellfish on the covered
tidelands.
(D) The Secretary may retain such amounts of the
Special Holding Account as necessary to provide for additional tribes that may judicially establish their rights to
take shellfish in the covered tidelands within the term
of that Account, provided that the Secretary pays the
remaining balance to the other Tribes prior to the expiration of the term of the Special Holding Account.
(E) The Tribes shall have no interest, possessory or
otherwise, in the Special Holding Account.
(F) Twenty years after the deposit of funds into the
Special Holding Account, the Secretary shall close the
Account and transfer the balance of any funds held in
the Special Holding Account at that time to the Treasury.
However, the Secretary may continue to maintain the Special Holding Account in order to resolve the claim of an
other Tribe that has notified the Secretary in writing within
the 20-year term of that Tribe’s interest in resolving its
claim in the manner provided for in this section.
(G) It is the intent of Congress that the other Tribes,
if any, shall have the option of agreeing to similar rights
and responsibilities as the Tribes that are signatories to
the settlement agreement, if they opt not to litigate against
the growers.
(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each tribe of the Tribes, or any of
the other Tribes accepting a settlement of its claims to shellfish
on covered lands pursuant to paragraph (2)(C), shall submit
to the Secretary an annual report that describes all expenditures made with monies withdrawn from the Fund or Special
Holding Account during the year covered by the report.
(4) JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary
may take judicial or administrative action to ensure that any
monies withdrawn from the Fund or Special Holding Account
are used in accordance with the purposes described in the
settlement agreement and this section.
(5) CLARIFICATION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.—Beginning
on the date that monies are transferred to a tribe of the
Tribes or a tribe of the other Tribes pursuant to this section,

H. R. 5946—78
any trust responsibility or liability of the United States with
respect to the expenditure or investment of the monies withdrawn shall cease.
(d) STATE OF WASHINGTON PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall not
be accountable for nor incur any liability for the collection, deposit,
management or nonpayment of the State of Washington payment
of $11,000,000 to the Tribes pursuant to the settlement agreement.
(e) RELEASE OF OTHER TRIBES CLAIMS.—
(1) RIGHT TO BRING ACTIONS.—As of the date of enactment
of this section, all right of any other Tribes to bring an action
to enforce or exercise its treaty rights to take shellfish from
public and private tidelands in Washington State, including
from some lands owned, leased, or otherwise subject to harvest
by any and all growers shall be determined in accordance
with the decisions of the Courts of the United States in United
States v. Washington, Civ. No. 9213 (Western District of Washington).
(2) CERTAIN RIGHTS GOVERNED BY THIS SECTION.—If a tribe
falling within the other Tribes category opts to resolve its
claims to take shellfish from covered tidelands owned or leased
by the growers pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(C) of this section,
that tribe’s rights shall be governed by this section, as well
as by the decisions of the Courts in United States v. Washington, Civ. No. 9213.
(3) NO BREACH OF TRUST.—Notwithstanding whether the
United States has a duty to initiate such an action, the failure
or declination by the United States to initiate any action to
enforce any other Tribe’s or other Tribes’ treaty rights to take
shellfish from public and private tidelands in Washington State,
including from covered tidelands owned, leased, or otherwise
subject to harvest by any and all growers shall not constitute
a breach of trust by the United States or be compensable
to other Tribes.
(f) CAUSE OF ACTION.—If any payment by the United States
is not paid in the amount or manner specified by this section,
or is not paid within 6 months after the date specified by the
settlement agreement, such failure shall give rise to a cause of
action by the Tribes either individually or collectively against the
United States for money damages for the amount authorized but
not paid to the Tribes, and the Tribes, either individually or collectively, are authorized to bring an action against the United States
in the United States Court of Federal Claims for such funds plus
interest.
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Puget Sound Shellfish Settlement Trust Fund Account established by this section.
(2) GROWERS.—The term ‘‘growers’’ means Taylor United,
Inc.; Olympia Oyster Company; G.R. Clam & Oyster Farm;
Cedric E. Lindsay; Minterbrook Oyster Company; Charles and
Willa Murray; Skookum Bay Oyster Company; J & G Gunstone
Clams, Inc.; and all persons who qualify as ‘‘growers’’ in accordance with and pursuant to the settlement agreement.
(3) OTHER TRIBES.—The term ‘‘other Tribes’’ means any
federally recognized Indian nation or tribe other than the Tribes
described in paragraph (6) that, within 20 years after the
deposit of funds in the Special Holding Account, establishes
a legally enforceable treaty right to take shellfish from covered

H. R. 5946—79
tidelands described in the settlement agreement, owned, leased
or otherwise subject to harvest by those persons or entities
that qualify as growers.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘settlement agreement’’ means the settlement agreement entered into by and
between the Tribes, commercial shellfish growers, the State
of Washington and the United States, to resolve certain disputes between and among them regarding implementation of
the Tribes’ treaty right to take shellfish from certain covered
tidelands owned, leased or otherwise subject to harvest by
the growers.
(6) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means the following federally recognized Tribes that executed the settlement agreement:
Tulalip, Stillaguamish, Sauk Suiattle, Puyallup, Squaxin
Island, Makah, Muckleshoot, Upper Skagit, Nooksack,
Nisqually, Skokomish, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Lower Elwha
Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Suquamish Tribes, the
Lummi Nation, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
(7) SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Special Holding
Account’’ means the Puget Sound Shellfish Settlement Special
Holding Account established by this section.
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated $23,500,000 to carry out this section—
(A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
(B) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2010; and
(C) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2011.

TITLE VIII—TSUNAMI WARNING AND
EDUCATION
SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning and Education
Act’’.
SEC. 802. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:
(1) The term ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
(2) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
SEC. 803. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this title are—
(1) to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings,
notification, outreach, and mitigation to protect life and property in the United States;
(2) to enhance and modernize the existing Pacific Tsunami
Warning System to increase coverage, reduce false alarms,
and increase the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, and to
expand detection and warning systems to include other vulnerable States and United States territories, including the Atlantic
Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico areas;

H. R. 5946—80
(3) to improve mapping, modeling, research, and assessment efforts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting,
warnings, notification, outreach, mitigation, response, and
recovery;
(4) to improve and increase education and outreach activities and ensure that those receiving tsunami warnings and
the at-risk public know what to do when a tsunami is
approaching;
(5) to provide technical and other assistance to speed international efforts to establish regional tsunami warning systems
in vulnerable areas worldwide, including the Indian Ocean;
and
(6) to improve Federal, State, and international coordination for detection, warnings, and outreach for tsunami and
other coastal impacts.
SEC. 804. TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National
Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall operate a program to provide tsunami detection,
forecasting, and warnings for the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions
and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico
region.
(b) COMPONENTS.—The program under this section shall—
(1) include the tsunami warning centers established under
subsection (d);
(2) utilize and maintain an array of robust tsunami detection technologies;
(3) maintain detection equipment in operational condition
to fulfill the detection, forecasting, and warning requirements
of this title;
(4) provide tsunami forecasting capability based on models
and measurements, including tsunami inundation models and
maps for use in increasing the preparedness of communities,
including through the TsunamiReady program;
(5) maintain data quality and management systems to
support the requirements of the program;
(6) include a cooperative effort among the Administration,
the United States Geological Survey, and the National Science
Foundation under which the Geological Survey and the
National Science Foundation shall provide rapid and reliable
seismic information to the Administration from international
and domestic seismic networks;
(7) provide a capability for the dissemination of warnings
to at-risk States and tsunami communities through rapid and
reliable notification to government officials and the public,
including utilization of and coordination with existing Federal
warning systems, including the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Program;
(8) allow, as practicable, for integration of tsunami detection technologies with other environmental observing technologies; and
(9) include any technology the Administrator considers
appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the program under this
section.

H. R. 5946—81
(c) SYSTEM AREAS.—The program under this section shall
operate—
(1) a Pacific tsunami warning system capable of forecasting
tsunami anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions
and providing adequate warnings; and
(2) an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico
tsunami warning system capable of forecasting tsunami and
providing adequate warnings in areas of the Atlantic Ocean,
Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico that are determined—
(A) to be geologically active, or to have significant
potential for geological activity; and
(B) to pose significant risks of tsunami for States along
the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea,
or Gulf of Mexico.
(d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National
Weather Service, shall maintain or establish—
(A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii;
(B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
in Alaska; and
(C) any additional forecast and warning centers determined by the National Weather Service to be necessary.
(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of each tsunami
warning center shall include—
(A) continuously monitoring data from seismological,
deep ocean, and tidal monitoring stations;
(B) evaluating earthquakes that have the potential
to generate tsunami;
(C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsunami resulting from
earthquakes and other sources;
(D) disseminating forecasts and tsunami warning bulletins to Federal, State, and local government officials and
the public;
(E) coordinating with the tsunami hazard mitigation
program described in section 805 to ensure ongoing sharing
of information between forecasters and emergency management officials; and
(F) making data gathered under this title and postwarning analyses conducted by the National Weather
Service or other relevant Administration offices available
to researchers.
(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, the National
Weather Service, in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall—
(A) develop requirements for the equipment used to
forecast tsunami, which shall include provisions for multipurpose detection platforms, reliability and performance
metrics, and to the maximum extent practicable how the
equipment will be integrated with other United States
and global ocean and coastal observation systems, the
global earth observing system of systems, global seismic
networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System;
(B) develop and execute a plan for the transfer of
technology from ongoing research described in section 806
into the program under this section; and

H. R. 5946—82
(C) ensure that maintaining operational tsunami detection equipment is the highest priority within the program
carried out under this title.
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation
with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit
to Congress a report on how the tsunami forecast system
under this section will be integrated with other United
States and global ocean and coastal observation systems,
the global earth observing system of systems, global seismic
networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System.
(B) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation
with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit
a report to Congress on how technology developed under
section 806 is being transferred into the program under
this section.
(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and maintaining
tsunami detection technologies, the Administrator shall seek the
assistance and assets of other appropriate Federal agencies.
(g) ANNUAL EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION.—At the same time Congress receives the budget justification documents in support of
the President’s annual budget request for each fiscal year, the
Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on
Science of the House of Representatives a certification that—
(1) identifies the tsunami detection equipment deployed
pursuant to this title, as of December 31 of the preceding
calendar year;
(2) certifies which equipment is operational as of December
31 of the preceding calendar year;
(3) in the case of any piece of such equipment that is
not operational as of such date, identifies that equipment and
describes the mitigation strategy that is in place—
(A) to repair or replace that piece of equipment within
a reasonable period of time; or
(B) to otherwise ensure adequate tsunami detection
coverage;
(4) identifies any equipment that is being developed or
constructed to carry out this title but which has not yet been
deployed, if the Administration has entered into a contract
for that equipment prior to December 31 of the preceding
calendar year, and provides a schedule for the deployment
of that equipment; and
(5) certifies that the Administrator expects the equipment
described in paragraph (4) to meet the requirements, cost,
and schedule provided in that contract.
(h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall
notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives within 30 days of—
(1) impaired regional forecasting capabilities due to equipment or system failures; and
(2) significant contractor failures or delays in completing
work associated with the tsunami forecasting and warning
system.

H. R. 5946—83
(i) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 2010, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate
and the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives
that—
(1) evaluates the current status of the tsunami detection,
forecasting, and warning system and the tsunami hazard mitigation program established under this title, including progress
toward tsunami inundation mapping of all coastal areas vulnerable to tsunami and whether there has been any degradation
of services as a result of the expansion of the program;
(2) evaluates the National Weather Service’s ability to
achieve continued improvements in the delivery of tsunami
detection, forecasting, and warning services by assessing policies and plans for the evolution of modernization systems,
models, and computational abilities (including the adoption of
new technologies); and
(3) lists the contributions of funding or other resources
to the program by other Federal agencies, particularly agencies
participating in the program.
(j) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an
arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to review
the tsunami detection, forecast, and warning program established
under this title to assess further modernization and coverage needs,
as well as long-term operational reliability issues, taking into
account measures implemented under this title. The review shall
also include an assessment of how well the forecast equipment
has been integrated into other United States and global ocean
and coastal observation systems and the global earth observing
system of systems. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report containing the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendations, the
Administrator’s responses to the recommendations, including those
where the Administrator disagrees with the Academy, a timetable
to implement the accepted recommendations, and the cost of implementing all the Academy’s recommendations, to the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives.
(k) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a process for
monitoring and certifying contractor performance in carrying out
the requirements of any contract to construct or deploy tsunami
detection equipment, including procedures and penalties to be
imposed in cases of significant contractor failure or negligence.
SEC. 805. NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National
Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall conduct a community-based tsunami hazard
mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk
areas in the United States and its territories.
(b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the program
under this section, the Administrator shall establish a coordinating
committee comprising representatives of Federal, State, local, and
tribal government officials. The Administrator may establish subcommittees to address region-specific issues. The committee shall—

H. R. 5946—84
(1) recommend how funds appropriated for carrying out
the program under this section will be allocated;
(2) ensure that areas described in section 804(c) in the
United States and its territories can have the opportunity to
participate in the program;
(3) provide recommendations to the National Weather
Service on how to improve the TsunamiReady program, particularly on ways to make communities more tsunami resilient
through the use of inundation maps and other mitigation practices; and
(4) ensure that all components of the program are
integrated with ongoing hazard warning and risk management
activities, emergency response plans, and mitigation programs
in affected areas, including integrating information to assist
in tsunami evacuation route planning.
(c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program under this section
shall—
(1) use inundation models that meet a standard of accuracy
defined by the Administration to improve the quality and extent
of inundation mapping, including assessment of vulnerable
inner coastal and nearshore areas, in a coordinated and
standardized fashion to maximize resources and the utility
of data collected;
(2) promote and improve community outreach and education networks and programs to ensure community readiness,
including the development of comprehensive coastal risk and
vulnerability assessment training and decision support tools,
implementation of technical training and public education programs, and providing for certification of prepared communities;
(3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitigation programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk management
activities, emergency response plans, and mitigation programs
in affected areas, including integrating information to assist
in tsunami evacuation route planning;
(4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal, and local governments
and nongovernmental entities, including educational programs
to discourage development in high-risk areas; and
(5) provide for periodic external review of the program.
(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall be construed
to require a change in the chair of any existing tsunami hazard
mitigation program subcommittee.
SEC. 806. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM.

The Administrator shall, in consultation with other agencies
and academic institutions, and with the coordinating committee
established under section 805(b), establish or maintain a tsunami
research program to develop detection, forecast, communication,
and mitigation science and technology, including advanced sensing
techniques, information and communication technology, data collection, analysis, and assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical
forecast modeling. Such research program shall—
(1) consider other appropriate research to mitigate the
impact of tsunami;
(2) coordinate with the National Weather Service on technology to be transferred to operations;

H. R. 5946—85
(3) include social science research to develop and assess
community warning, education, and evacuation materials; and
(4) ensure that research and findings are available to the
scientific community.
SEC. 807. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NETWORK.

(a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The Administrator, through the National Weather Service and in consultation
with other relevant Administration offices, in coordination with
other members of the United States Interagency Committee of
the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, shall provide
technical assistance and training to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the World Meteorological Organization, and
other international entities, as part of international efforts to
develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and warning
system comprising regional tsunami warning networks, modeled
on the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific.
(b) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CENTER.—The
Administrator, through the National Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, in cooperation
with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, shall
operate an International Tsunami Information Center to improve
tsunami preparedness for all Pacific Ocean nations participating
in the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, and
may also provide such assistance to other nations participating
in a global tsunami warning system established through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. As part of its responsibilities around the world, the Center shall—
(1) monitor international tsunami warning activities
around the world;
(2) assist member states in establishing national warning
systems, and make information available on current technologies for tsunami warning systems;
(3) maintain a library of materials to promulgate knowledge
about tsunami in general and for use by the scientific community; and
(4) disseminate information, including educational materials and research reports.
(c) DETECTION EQUIPMENT; TECHNICAL ADVICE AND TRAINING.—
In carrying out this section, the National Weather Service—
(1) shall give priority to assisting nations in identifying
vulnerable coastal areas, creating inundation maps, obtaining
or designing real-time detection and reporting equipment, and
establishing communication and warning networks and contact
points in each vulnerable nation;
(2) may establish a process for transfer of detection and
communication technology to affected nations for the purposes
of establishing the international tsunami warning system; and
(3) shall provide technical and other assistance to support
international tsunami programs.
(d) DATA-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The National Weather
Service, when deciding to provide assistance under this section,
may take into consideration the data sharing policies and practices
of nations proposed to receive such assistance, with a goal to encourage all nations to support full and open exchange of data.

H. R. 5946—86
SEC. 808. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator
to carry out this title—
(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under
section 805; and
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami research program under section
806;
(2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, of which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under
section 805; and
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami research program under section
806;
(3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, of which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under
section 805; and
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami research program under section
806;
(4) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under
section 805; and
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami research program under section
806; and
(5) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under
section 805; and
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated
shall be for the tsunami research program under section
806.

TITLE IX—POLAR BEARS
SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Russia Polar
Bear Conservation and Management Act of 2006’’.
SEC. 902. AMENDMENT OF MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT OF
1972.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following:

‘‘TITLE V—POLAR BEARS
‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

‘‘In this title:

H. R. 5946—87
‘‘(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Agreement’ means the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America
and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear
Population, signed at Washington, D.C., on October 16, 2000.
‘‘(2) ALASKA NANUUQ COMMISSION.—The term ‘Alaska
Nanuuq Commission’ means the Alaska Native entity, in existence on the date of enactment of the United States-Russia
Polar Bear Conservation and Management Act of 2006, that
represents all villages in the State of Alaska that engage in
the annual subsistence taking of polar bears from the AlaskaChukotka population and any successor entity.
‘‘(3) IMPORT.—The term ‘import’ means to land on, bring
into, or introduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into, or
introduce into, any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, without regard to whether the landing, bringing, or
introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning
of the customs laws of the United States.
‘‘(4) POLAR BEAR PART OR PRODUCT.—The term ‘part or
product of a polar bear’ means any polar bear part or product,
including the gall bile and gall bladder.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
‘‘(6) TAKING.—The term ‘taking’ has the meaning given
the term in the Agreement.
‘‘(7) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ means the
commission established under article 8 of the Agreement.
‘‘SEC. 502. PROHIBITIONS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person who is subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States or any person in waters
or on lands under the jurisdiction of the United States—
‘‘(1) to take any polar bear in violation of the Agreement;
‘‘(2) to take any polar bear in violation of the Agreement
or any annual taking limit or other restriction on the taking
of polar bears that is adopted by the Commission pursuant
to the Agreement;
‘‘(3) to import, export, possess, transport, sell, receive,
acquire, or purchase, exchange, barter, or offer to sell, purchase,
exchange, or barter any polar bear, or any part or product
of a polar bear, that is taken in violation of paragraph (2);
‘‘(4) to import, export, sell, purchase, exchange, barter,
or offer to sell, purchase, exchange, or barter, any polar bear
gall bile or polar bear gall bladder;
‘‘(5) to attempt to commit, solicit another person to commit,
or cause to be committed, any offense under this subsection;
or
‘‘(6) to violate any regulation promulgated by the Secretary
to implement any of the prohibitions established in this subsection.
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—For the purpose of forensic testing or any
other law enforcement purpose, the Secretary, and Federal law
enforcement officials, and any State or local law enforcement official
authorized by the Secretary, may import a polar bear or any part
or product of a polar bear.

H. R. 5946—88
‘‘SEC. 503. ADMINISTRATION.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the Director
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall do all things
necessary and appropriate, including the promulgation of regulations, to implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of the
Agreement on behalf of the United States. The Secretary shall
consult with the Secretary of State and the Alaska Nanuuq Commission on matters involving the implementation of the Agreement.
‘‘(b) UTILIZATION OF OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND
AUTHORITIES.—
‘‘(1) OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES.—The Secretary may
utilize by agreement, with or without reimbursement, the personnel, services, and facilities of any other Federal agency,
any State agency, or the Alaska Nanuuq Commission for purposes of carrying out this title or the Agreement.
‘‘(2) OTHER POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—Any person authorized by the Secretary under this subsection to enforce this
title or the Agreement shall have the authorities that are
enumerated in section 6(b) of the Lacey Act Amendments of
1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(b)).
‘‘(c) ENSURING COMPLIANCE.—
‘‘(1) TITLE I AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary may use authorities granted under title I for enforcement, imposition of penalties, and the seizure of cargo for violations under this title,
provided that any polar bear or any part or product of a
polar bear taken, imported, exported, possessed, transported,
sold, received, acquired, purchased, exchanged, or bartered,
or offered for sale, purchase, exchange, or barter in violation
of this title, shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture to the
United States without any showing that may be required for
assessment of a civil penalty or for criminal prosecution under
this Act.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Any gun, trap, net, or other
equipment used, and any vessel, aircraft, or other means of
transportation used, to aid in the violation or attempted violation of this title shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture
under section 106.
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promulgate such
regulations as are necessary to carry out this title and the
Agreement.
‘‘(2) ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS.—If necessary to carry
out this title and the Agreement, and to improve compliance
with any annual taking limit or other restriction on taking
adopted by the Commission and implemented by the Secretary
in accordance with this title, the Secretary may promulgate
regulations that adopt any ordinance or regulation that restricts
the taking of polar bears for subsistence purposes if the ordinance or regulation has been promulgated by the Alaska
Nanuuq Commission.
‘‘SEC. 504. COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT; AUTHORITY TO
DELEGATE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the Director
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, may share authority
under this title for the management of the taking of polar bears

H. R. 5946—89
for subsistence purposes with the Alaska Nanuuq Commission if
such commission is eligible under subsection (b).
‘‘(b) DELEGATION.—To be eligible for the management authority
described in subsection (a), the Alaska Nanuuq Commission shall—
‘‘(1) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary
under section 119 for the conservation of polar bears;
‘‘(2) meaningfully monitor compliance with this title and
the Agreement by Alaska Natives; and
‘‘(3) administer its co-management program for polar bears
in accordance with—
‘‘(A) this title; and
‘‘(B) the Agreement.
‘‘SEC. 505. COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS; COMPENSATION, TRAVEL
EXPENSES, AND CLAIMS.

‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT OF UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS.—
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The United States commissioners on
the Commission shall be appointed by the President, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 8 of the Agreement, after
taking into consideration the recommendations of—
‘‘(A) the Secretary;
‘‘(B) the Secretary of State; and
‘‘(C) the Alaska Nanuuq Commission.
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—With respect to the United States
commissioners appointed under this subsection, in accordance
with paragraph 2 of article 8 of the Agreement—
‘‘(A) 1 United States commissioner shall be an official
of the Federal Government;
‘‘(B) 1 United States commissioner shall be a representative of the Native people of Alaska, and, in particular,
the Native people for whom polar bears are an integral
part of their culture; and
‘‘(C) both commissioners shall be knowledgeable of,
or have expertise in, polar bears.
‘‘(3) SERVICE AND TERM.—Each United States commissioner
shall serve—
‘‘(A) at the pleasure of the President; and
‘‘(B) for an initial 4-year term and such additional
terms as the President shall determine.
‘‘(4) VACANCIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring before the expiration of any term of
office of a United States commissioner shall be appointed
for the remainder of that term.
‘‘(B) MANNER.—Any vacancy on the Commission shall
be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
‘‘(b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Alaska Nanuuq Commission, shall
designate an alternate commissioner for each member of the
United States section.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—In the absence of a United States commissioner, an alternate commissioner may exercise all functions
of the United States commissioner at any meetings of the
Commission or of the United States section.
‘‘(3) REAPPOINTMENT.—An alternate commissioner—

H. R. 5946—90
‘‘(A) shall be eligible for reappointment by the President; and
‘‘(B) may attend all meetings of the United States
section.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The members of the United States section may
carry out the functions and responsibilities described in article
8 of the Agreement in accordance with this title and the Agreement.
‘‘(d) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—
‘‘(1) COMPENSATION.—A member of the United States section shall serve without compensation.
‘‘(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the United States
section shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem
in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee
of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code, while away from the home or regular place of
business of the member in the performance of the duties of
the United States-Russia Polar Bear Commission.
‘‘(e) AGENCY DESIGNATION.—The United States section shall,
for the purpose of title 28, United States Code, relating to claims
against the United States and tort claims procedure, be considered
to be a Federal agency.
‘‘SEC. 506. VOTES TAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES SECTION ON MATTERS BEFORE THE COMMISSION.

‘‘In accordance with paragraph 3 of article 8 of the Agreement,
the United States section, made up of commissioners appointed
by the President, shall vote on any issue before the United StatesRussia Polar Bear Commission only if there is no disagreement
between the United States commissioners regarding the vote.
‘‘SEC. 507. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take all necessary
actions to implement the decisions and determinations of the
Commission under paragraph 7 of article 8 of the Agreement.
‘‘(b) TAKING LIMITATION.—Not later than 60 days after the
date on which the Secretary receives notice of the determination
of the Commission of an annual taking limit, or of the adoption
by the Commission of other restriction on the taking of polar bears
for subsistence purposes, the Secretary shall publish a notice in
the Federal Register announcing the determination or restriction.
‘‘SEC. 508. APPLICATION WITH OTHER TITLES OF ACT.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The authority of the Secretary under this
title is in addition to, and shall not affect—
‘‘(1) the authority of the Secretary under other titles of
this Act or the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C.
3371 et seq.) or the exemption for Alaskan natives under section
101(b) of this Act as applied to other marine mammal populations; or
‘‘(2) the authorities provided under title II of this Act.
‘‘(b) CERTAIN PROVISIONS INAPPLICABLE.—The provisions of
titles I through IV of this Act do not apply with respect to the
implementation or administration of this title, except as specified
in section 503.

H. R. 5946—91
‘‘SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary to carry out the functions and responsibilities
of the Secretary under this title and the Agreement $1,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
‘‘(b) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary to carry out functions and responsibilities of the
United States Section $150,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through
2010.
‘‘(c) ALASKAN COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this
title and the Agreement in Alaska $150,000 for each of fiscal years
2006 through 2010.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in the first
section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘TITLE V—POLAR BEARS
501. Definitions.
502. Prohibitions.
503. Administration.
504. Cooperative management agreement; authority to delegate enforcement
authority.
‘‘Sec. 505. Commission appointments; compensation, travel expenses, and claims.
‘‘Sec. 506. Votes taken by the United States Section on matters before the Commission.
‘‘Sec. 507. Implementation of actions taken by the Commission.
‘‘Sec. 508. Application with other titles of Act.
‘‘Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.’’.
(c) TREATMENT OF CONTAINERS.—Section 107(d)(2) of the
‘‘Sec.
‘‘Sec.
‘‘Sec.
‘‘Sec.

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1377(d)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘vessel or other conveyance’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘vessel, other conveyance, or container’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

AS 16.05.815. Confidential Nature of Certain Reports and
Records.
(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, records required by regulations of the
department concerning the landings of fish, shellfish, or fishery products, and annual statistical
reports of fishermen, buyers, and processors required by regulation of the department are
confidential and may not be released by the department or by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries
Entry Commission except as set out in this subsection. The department may release the records
and reports set out in this subsection to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. The
department and the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission may release the records and
reports set out in this subsection to the recipients identified in this subsection if the recipient,
other than a recipient under (5) - (9) of this subsection, agrees to maintain the confidentiality of
the records and reports. The department and the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission
may release
(1) any of the records and reports to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the professional
staff of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council as required for preparation and
implementation of the fishery management plans of the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council within the exclusive economic zone;
(2) any of the records and reports to the professional staff of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission who are employed in the Alaska Fisheries Information Network project for the
purpose of exchanging information with users authorized by the department;
(3) any of the records and reports to the Department of Revenue to assist the department in
carrying out its statutory responsibilities;
(4) records or reports of the total value purchased by each buyer to a municipality that levies and
collects a tax on fish, shellfish, or fishery products if the municipality requires records of the
landings of fish, shellfish, or fishery products to be submitted to it for purposes of verification of
taxes payable;
(5) such records and reports as necessary to be in conformity with a court order;
(6) on request, the report of a person to the person whose fishing activity is the subject of the
report, or to a designee of the person whose fishing activity is the subject of the report;
(7) on request, annual statistical reports of a fisherman, buyer, or processor to the fisherman,
buyer, or processor whose activity is the subject of the report, or to a designee of the fisherman,
buyer, or processor whose activity is the subject of the report;
(8) any of the records and reports to the Department of Public Safety for law enforcement
purposes;
(9) fish tickets, fish ticket information, and annual statistical reports of fishermen, buyers, and
processors and information in those reports to the law enforcement personnel of the National
Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the
purpose of enforcing fishery laws in waters of this state and in waters of the exclusive economic
zone adjacent to this state;
(10) fish tickets and fish ticket information regarding halibut to the International Pacific Halibut
Commission;
(11) any of the records and reports to the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010 ,
or the child support enforcement agency of another state, for child support purposes authorized
under law; and
(12) [Effective January 1, 2005]. any of the records and reports to the Department of Natural
Resources to assist the department in carrying out its statutory responsibilities in regard to sport
1

AS 16.05.815. Confidential Nature of Certain Reports and Records.

fishing operations and sport fishing guides within the Kenai River Special Management Area
under AS 41.21.500 - 41.21.514.
(b) Except as provided in (c) of this section, records or reports received by the department which
do not identify individual fishermen, buyers, or processors or the specific locations where fish
have been taken are public information.
(c) Crab stock abundance survey information that reveals crab catch by sampling location is
confidential and is not subject to inspection or copying under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.120 until the
close of the fishing season for which the survey was conducted.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the department shall keep confidential (1)
personal information contained in fish and wildlife harvest and usage data; and (2) the records of
the department that concern (A) telemetry radio frequencies of monitored species; (B) denning
sites; (C) nest locations of raptors that require special attention; (D) the specific location of
animal capture sites used for wildlife research or management; and (E) the specific location of
fish and wildlife species. The department may release records and information that are kept
confidential under this subsection if the release is necessary to comply with a court order, if the
requestor is a state or federal agency, if the requestor is under contract with the state or federal
agency to conduct research on a fish or wildlife population, or if the requestor has been
authorized by the department to perform specific activities and agrees to use the records and
information only for purposes as provided under a contract or agreement with the department.
After 25 years, the records and information that are kept confidential under this subsection
become public records subject to inspection and copying under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.140 unless
the department determines that the release of the records or information may be detrimental to
the fish or wildlife population. In this subsection, "personal information" has the meaning given
in AS 44.99.350.

2

67546

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices

A limited number of seats will be
available for the public session.
Reservations are not accepted. To the
extent that time permits, members of the
public may present oral statements to
the Committee. The public may submit
written statements at any time before or
after the meeting. However, to facilitate
the distribution of public presentation
materials to the Committee members,
the Committee suggests that presenters
forward the public presentation
materials prior to the meeting to Ms.
Yvette Springer at
[email protected].
The Assistant Secretary for
Administration, with the concurrence of
the delegate of the General Counsel,
formally determined on November 14,
2006, pursuant to Section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. app. 2 (10)(d)), that
the portion of the meeting dealing with
matters the disclosure of portion of the
meeting dealing with matters the
disclosure of which would be likely to
frustrate significantly implementation of
any agency action as described in 5
U.S.C. 552b (c)(9)(B) shall be exempt
from the provisions relating to public
meetings found in 5 U.S.C. app. 2 10(a)1
and 10(a)(3). The remaining portions of
the meeting will be open to the public.
For more information, call Yvette
Springer at (202) 482–2813.
Dated: November 16, 2006.
Yvette Springer,
Committee Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 06–9345 Filed 11–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–JT–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–475–818]

Certain Pasta from Italy: Extension of
Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.

AGENCY:

EFFECTIVE DATE:

November 22, 2006.

pwalker on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis McClure or Preeti Tolani, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 3, Import
Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20230: (202)
482–5973 or (202) 482–0395,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

VerDate Aug<31>2005

22:25 Nov 21, 2006

Jkt 211001

Statutory Time Limits
Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended (the Act), requires
the Department to issue (1) the
preliminary results of a review within
245 days after the last day of the month
in which occurs the anniversary of the
date of publication of an order or
finding for which a review is requested,
and (2) the final results within 120 days
after the date on which the preliminary
results are published. However, if it is
not practicable to complete the review
within that time period, section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act allows the
Department to extend the time limit for
the preliminary results to a maximum of
365 days and the final results to a
maximum of 180 days (or 300 days if
the Department does not extend the
time limit for the preliminary results)
from the date of the publication of the
preliminary results. See also 19 CFR
351.213(h)(2).
Background
On August 29, 2005, the Department
published a notice of initiation of the
administrative review of the
antidumping duty order on certain pasta
from Italy, covering the period July 1,
2004 to June 30, 2005. See Initiation of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews and Requests
for Revocation in Part, 70 FR 51009
(August 29, 2005). On March 16, 2006,
the Department extended the
preliminary results of the review by 45
days. See Certain Pasta from Italy:
Extension of Time Limits for the
Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR
13584 (March 16, 2006). On May 23,
2006, the Department extended the
preliminary results of the review by an
additional 75 days. See Certain Pasta
from Italy: Extension of Time Limits for
the Preliminary Results of the
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 71 FR 29615 (May 23, 2006). On
August 8, 2006, the Department
published the preliminary results of its
review. See Notice of Preliminary
Results and Partial Rescission of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review: Ninth Administrative Review of
the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain
Pasta from Italy, 71 FR 45017 (August
8, 2006). The final results of this review
are currently due no later than
December 6, 2006.
Extension of Final Results of Reviews
We determine that it is not practicable
to complete the final results of this
review within the original time limit
because the Department needs
additional time to review and analyze

PO 00000

Frm 00006

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

the information gathered at Atar S.r.L.’s
sales verification. Therefore, we are
fully extending the deadline for the final
results of the above–referenced review
until February 4, 2007. However,
because February 4 falls on a Sunday,
the deadline for completion of the final
results is February 5, 2007, the next
business day.
This extension is in accordance with
sections 751(a)(3)(A) and 777(i) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2).
Dated: November 16, 2006.
Stephen J. Claeys,
Deputy Assistant Secretaryfor Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6–19766 Filed 11–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Commercial
Operator’s Annual Report (COAR)
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before January 22, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Diana Hynek, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6625,
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Patsy A. Bearden, 907–586–
7008 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
authorizes the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council to prepare and
amend fishery management plans for
any fishery in waters under its
jurisdiction. Fishing for groundfish by

E:\FR\FM\22NON1.SGM

22NON1

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices
U.S. vessels in the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) in waters off the coast of
Alaska is managed by the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
according to the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of
Alaska and the Fishery Management
Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (FMPs).
The regulations implementing the FMPs
are found at 50 CFR part 679.
The owners of shoreside processors
and stationary floating processors are
required to annually submit the
Commercial Operator’s Annual Report
(COAR) to the State of Alaska,
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G),
under Alaska Administrative Code
(AAC), chapter 5 AAC 39.130. The
owners of catcher/processors and
motherships operating in the EEZ off
Alaska are required to annually submit
the COAR to ADF&G under 50 CFR part
679.5(p).
The COAR provides information on
ex-vessel and first wholesale values for
statewide fish and shellfish products.
Containing information from shoreside
processors, stationary floating
processors, motherships, and catcher/
processors, this data collection yields
equivalent annual product value
information for all respective processing
sectors and provides a consistent time
series according to which groundfish
resources may be managed more
efficiently.
II. Method of Collection
Paper reports are required from
participants and transmitted by U.S.
mail.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0428.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
87.
Estimated Time Per Response: 8
hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 696.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $0.

pwalker on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES

IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

VerDate Aug<31>2005

22:25 Nov 21, 2006

Jkt 211001

clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: November 16, 2006.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6–19710 Filed 11–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 111406B]

Endangered Species; File No. 1540–03
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit
modification.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources (SCDNR), Marine Resources
Division, P.O. Box 12559, Charleston,
SC 29422–2559 has been issued a
modification to scientific research
Permit No.1540–01.
ADDRESSES: The modification and
related documents are available for
review upon written request or by
appointment in the following office(s):
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and
Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th
Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701;
phone (727)824–5312; fax (727)824–
5309.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate
Swails or Patrick Opay, (301)713–2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
October 5, 2006, notice was published
in the Federal Register (7 FR 58805)
that a modification of Permit No. 1540–
01, February 6, 2006 (71 FR 7019), had
been requested by the above-named
individual. The requested modification
has been granted under the authority of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

PO 00000

Frm 00007

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

67547

and the regulations governing the
taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50
CFR 222–226).
Permit No. 1540 currently authorizes
the permit holder to study loggerhead
(Caretta caretta), Kemp’s ridley
(Lepidochelys kempii), green (Chelonia
mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys
coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys
imbricata) sea turtles. The purpose of
the research is to continue to document
in-water relative abundances, size
distributions, sex ratios, genetic
contributions, and the health of sea
turtles in coastal waters in the
southeastern U.S. SCDNR is authorized
to capture 146 loggerhead, 48 Kemp’s
ridley, 15 green, 1 leatherback, and 3
hawksbill sea turtles, during the first
year of the permit’s five- year period.
The permit authorizes research on up to
346 loggerhead, 48 Kemp’s ridley, 15
green, 1 leatherback, and 3 hawksbill
sea turtles annually for the remaining
four years. Turtles are captured by
trawls, handled, blood sampled,
measured, flipper and Passive Integrated
Transponder tagged, photographed, and
released. A subsample of animals have
barnacles and keratin removed from
their shell, have cloacal samples taken,
have laparoscopic and ultrasound
exams, and have satellite transmitters
attached. Up to 7 loggerhead and 1
leatherback captures could potentially
result in accidental mortalities over the
course of the entire permit.
Additionally, up to 5 Kemp’s ridley,
green, or hawksbill sea turtles
(combined total but no more than two
of any given species) may potentially be
taken as accidental mortalities over the
course of the entire permit. The permit
is issued for 5 years.
The permit modification authorizes
skin biopsy of 50 loggerhead sea turtles
annually as well authorizing an increase
in the number of turtles undergoing
ultrasound, cloacal swabbing, keratin
scraping, and having satellite
transmitters attached. The number of
sea turtles captured does not change.
The goal of the additional research
would be to assess the potential
diversity of diets and foraging habits
and document over-wintering habitats
of loggerheads.
Issuance of this modification, as
required by the ESA was based on a
finding that such permit (1) was applied
for in good faith, (2) will not operate to
the disadvantage of any endangered or
threatened species, and (3) is consistent
with the purposes and policies set forth
in section 2 of the ESA.

E:\FR\FM\22NON1.SGM

22NON1