[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8862 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8862
To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2024
Mr. Huffman (for himself, Mr. Moylan, Mr. Case, and Mrs. Peltola)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sustaining America's Fisheries for
the Future Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Gender neutral language.
Sec. 6. Conforming amendments to table of contents of Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
TITLE I--CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES
Sec. 101. Findings, purposes, and policy.
Sec. 102. Promoting climate resilience in fisheries management.
Sec. 103. Incorporating climate science.
Sec. 104. Climate-ready fisheries innovation program.
Sec. 105. Managing shifting stocks of fish.
Sec. 106. Emerging fisheries.
Sec. 107. Report regarding inshore and shallow water mobile gear
fishing.
TITLE II--SUPPORTING FISHING COMMUNITIES
Sec. 201. Subsistence fishing.
Sec. 202. Working Waterfronts Grant Program.
Sec. 203. Seafood marketing.
Sec. 204. Community participation in limited access privilege programs.
Sec. 205. Findings.
TITLE III--STRENGTHENING PUBLIC PROCESS AND TRANSPARENCY
Sec. 301. Tribal representation on Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Sec. 302. Tribal representation on North Pacific Fishery Management
Council.
Sec. 303. Atlantic Councils.
Sec. 304. Council procedures and participation.
Sec. 305. Council accountability and membership.
Sec. 306. Western Pacific Sustainable Fishery Fund.
Sec. 307. Council staff and administration.
Sec. 308. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sexual
harassment and assault prevention.
TITLE IV--MODERNIZING FISHERIES SCIENCE AND DATA
Sec. 401. Data modernization.
Sec. 402. Expanding and improving electronic technologies.
Sec. 403. Stock Assessments.
Sec. 404. Cooperative research and management.
Sec. 405. Northeast regional pilot research trawl survey and study.
Sec. 406. Recreational data consistency.
Sec. 407. Emergency operating plans.
Sec. 408. Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund.
Sec. 409. Offshore wind collaboration.
Sec. 410. Shark populations analysis.
TITLE V--SUSTAINING FISHERIES THROUGH HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS AND IMPROVED
MANAGEMENT
Sec. 501. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 502. Essential fish habitat consultation.
Sec. 503. Reducing bycatch.
Sec. 504. Improving rebuilding outcomes.
Sec. 505. Overfished fisheries and preventing overfishing.
Sec. 506. Preparation and review of Secretarial plans.
Sec. 507. Councils.
Sec. 508. Forage fish conservation.
Sec. 509. Funding for monitoring implementation of Northeast
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
Sec. 510. Highly migratory species.
TITLE VI--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
Sec. 601. Conservation Commissioner of Atlantic Tunas Convention.
Sec. 602. Conservation Commissioner of Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Convention.
Sec. 603. Conservation Commissioner of Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission.
Sec. 604. Application of annual catch limit and accountability measures
requirement.
Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 3. REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever 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. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
(2) Council.--The term ``Council'' has the meaning given
the term in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Commerce.
SEC. 5. GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE.
(a) The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by striking ``prepared by him''
each place such term appears and inserting ``prepared by the
Secretary''.
(b) Each of the following provisions is amended by striking ``he''
each place such term appears and inserting ``the Secretary'':
(1) Section 201(h)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1821(h)(2)).
(2) Section 204(b) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)).
(3) Section 305(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(1)).
(4) Section 306(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)(2)).
(c) Each of the following provisions is amended by striking ``his''
each place such term appears and inserting ``the Secretary's'':
(1) Section 3(39) (16 U.S.C. 1802(39)).
(2) Section 204(b)(9) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(9)).
(3) Section 306(b)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1856(b)(1)).
(4) Section 308(a) (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)).
(d) Section 201(e)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1821(e)(1)(D)) is amended by
striking ``he'' and inserting ``such Secretary''.
(e) Section 201(i) (16 U.S.C. 1821(i)) is amended by striking
``his'' and inserting ``such Governor's''.
(f) Section 203(c)(5)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1823(c)(5)(C)) is amended by
striking ``his'' and inserting ``the minority leader's''.
(g) Sections 204(b)(4)(A) and 302(c)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1824(b)(4)(A)
and 1852(c)(1)(D)) are each amended by striking ``his'' and inserting
``such Secretary's''.
(h) Subsections (b)(1)(B) and (c)(1)(A) of section 302 (16 U.S.C.
1852(b)(1)(B) and (c)(1)(A)) are each amended by striking ``his'' and
inserting ``such director's''.
(i) Section 302(c)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(c)(1)(B)) is amended by
striking ``his'' and inserting ``such commander's''.
(j) Section 302(c)(1)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1852(c)(1)(C)) is amended by
striking ``his'' and inserting ``such executive director's''.
(k) Section 302(f)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1852(f)(4)) is amended by striking
``he'' and inserting ``the Administrator of General Services''.
(l) Section 302(j)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(4)) is amended by striking
``his or her'' and inserting ``such individual's''.
(m) Section 302(j)(7)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(7)(D)) is amended by
striking ``he or she'' each place such term appears and inserting
``such individual''.
(n) Section 309(a) (16 U.S.C. 1859(a)) is amended by striking
``he'' and inserting ``such person''.
(o) Section 311(b)(1)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)(1)(A)(i)) is amended
by striking ``he'' and inserting ``such officer''.
(p) Section 311(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``he'' and inserting ``such person''; and
(2) by striking ``his'' and inserting ``such person's''.
SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TABLE OF CONTENTS OF MAGNUSON-STEVENS
FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.
The table of contents is amended to read as follows:
``TABLE OF CONTENTS
``Sec. 2. Findings, purposes, and policy.
``Sec. 3. Definitions.
``Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations.
``TITLE I--UNITED STATES RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY REGARDING FISH AND
FISHERY RESOURCES
``Sec. 101. United States sovereign rights to fish and fishery
management authority.
``Sec. 102. Highly migratory species.
``TITLE II--FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS
``Sec. 201. Foreign fishing.
``Sec. 202. International fishery agreements.
``Sec. 203. Congressional oversight of international fishery
agreements.
``Sec. 204. Permits for foreign fishing.
``Sec. 205. Import prohibitions.
``Sec. 206. Large-scale driftnet fishing.
``Sec. 207. International monitoring and compliance.
``TITLE III--NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
``Sec. 301. National standards for fishery conservation and management.
``Sec. 302. Regional fishery management councils.
``Sec. 303. Contents of fishery management plans.
``Sec. 304. Action by the Secretary.
``Sec. 305. Other requirements and authority.
``Sec. 306. State jurisdiction.
``Sec. 307. Prohibited Acts.
``Sec. 308. Civil penalties and permit sanctions.
``Sec. 309. Criminal offenses.
``Sec. 310. Civil forfeitures.
``Sec. 311. Enforcement.
``Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries.
``Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation.
``Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program.
``Sec. 315. Regional Coastal Disaster Assistance, Transition, and
Recovery Program.
``Sec. 316. Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.
``Sec. 317. Shark Feeding.
``Sec. 318. Cooperative Research and Management Program.
``Sec. 319. Herring Study.
``Sec. 320. Restoration Study.
``Sec. 321. Required possession of descending devices.
``Sec. 322. Increasing resilience of stocks of fish to climate change.
``TITLE IV--FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH
``Sec. 401. Registration and information management.
``Sec. 402. Information collection.
``Sec. 403. Observers.
``Sec. 404. Fisheries research.
``Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research.
``Sec. 406. Fisheries systems research.
``Sec. 407. Gulf of Mexico red snapper research.
``Sec. 408. Deep sea coral research and technology program.
``Sec. 409. Recreational data improvement program.''.
TITLE I--CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES
SEC. 101. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND POLICY.
Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 1801) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) Certain stocks of fish have declined to the point
where their survival is threatened, and other stocks of fish
have been so substantially reduced in number that they could
become similarly threatened as a consequence of--
``(A) increased fishing pressure;
``(B) inadequate fishery resource conservation and
management practices and controls;
``(C) direct and indirect habitat losses that
result in a diminished capacity to support existing
fishing levels; or
``(D) changing environmental conditions, including
those associated with climate change.'';
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ``to insure
conservation,'' and inserting ``to ensure conservation,
to account for the impacts of environmental changes on
stocks of fish,'';
(C) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
``(9) One of the greatest long-term threats to the
viability of commercial and recreational fisheries is the
continuing degradation of marine ecosystems, including the loss
of marine, estuarine, and other aquatic habitats, including as
a result of changing environmental conditions associated with
climate change. Habitat and ecosystem considerations should
receive increased attention for the conservation and management
of fishery resources of the United States.''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(14) Environmental changes associated with climate
change, including changes in water temperature, ocean
acidification, and deoxygenation, are rapidly altering the
abundance, productivity, and distribution of fish and are
affecting commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries.
``(15) The impacts of climate change on fish and their
habitats are resulting in management and sustainability
challenges that threaten to negatively impact marine
ecosystems, fishery resources, and coastal communities.
``(16) Many factors beyond the direct impacts of fishing
can contribute to a decline in abundance of a stock of fish,
resulting in depleted stocks of fish and threatening the
stability of ecosystems and fishing communities, including
climate change, pollution, habitat and watershed degradation,
inadequate freshwater resources, and industrial uses of the
ocean. The designation of a stock of fish as overfished
indicates that it is depleted and management actions are
necessary to allow the stock of fish to rebuild, regardless of
the cause of depletion.'';
(2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph (5) to read as
follows:
``(5) to establish Regional Fishery Management Councils to
exercise sound judgement in the stewardship of fishery
resources through the preparation, monitoring, and revision of
such plans under circumstances--
``(A) which will enable the States, the fishing
industry, consumer and environmental organizations, and
other interested persons to participate in, and advise
on, the establishment and administration of such plans;
``(B) which take into account the social and
economic needs of the States; and
``(C) which address the impacts of environmental
conditions associated with climate change on stocks of
fish, marine ecosystems, fisheries management, and
coastal communities;''; and
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) to promote management that accounts for changes in
stocks of fish and the marine environment that result from
climate change; and
``(9) to ensure that the research, resource management, and
expenditures to prepare fisheries and fishing communities for
climate change include indigenous, insular, and coastal
populations in decisionmaking and promote equity with respect
to environmental, economic, and social outcomes across
fisheries and regions.''.
SEC. 102. PROMOTING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A)--
(A) by striking ``and'' before ``to protect''; and
(B) by inserting ``, and to promote the resilience
of stocks of fish to cumulative stressors, including
cumulative stressors associated with climate change''
before the semicolon at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``including considering
the impacts of climate change,'' after ``fishery,'';
(3) in paragraph (8), by striking ``1991'' and inserting
``2024'', and by inserting ``, including data needed to
implement the plan effectively under prevailing and anticipated
environmental or ecological conditions, including climate
change'' before the semicolon at the end;
(4) in paragraph (13), by inserting ``as well as examine
the vulnerability of the fishery and fishery participants to
the impacts of prevailing and anticipated environmental or
ecological conditions, including climate change'' before the
semicolon at the end;
(5) in paragraph (14), by striking ``and;'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(6) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(7) by adding at the end the following:
``(16) assess and describe the anticipated impacts of
climate change and other environmental and ecological changes
on the fishery, including an assessment of whether and how the
management measures contained in the plan or plan amendment
have accounted for such impacts, and a summary of the
information used in such assessment; and
``(17) describe and identify the current range and
distribution of, and fishing patterns on, each stock of fish
managed under the plan, including areas outside the
jurisdiction of the Council having authority to issue the plan,
and for each stock of fish the distribution of which crosses
management boundaries, describe the measures used to coordinate
with other relevant management bodies for the conservation and
management of each such stock of fish.''.
(b) Increasing Resilience of Stocks of Fish to Climate Change.--
Title III (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 322. INCREASING RESILIENCE OF STOCKS OF FISH TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
``(a) Vulnerability Assessment.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the
Future Act of 2024, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall--
``(1) assess the vulnerability of stocks of fish within the
geographical area of authority of each Council to climate
change;
``(2) notify each Council of the vulnerability of stocks of
fish within such geographical area; and
``(3) make recommendations to each Council for measures to
increase the resilience of stocks of fish within such
geographical area identified as vulnerable to climate change.
``(b) Council Prioritization Plans.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after receiving a
notification from the Secretary under subsection (a), each
Council shall publish a plan identifying management actions to
increase resilience of the stocks of fish identified as
vulnerable to climate change and begin implementing such
management actions.
``(2) Highly migratory species.--With respect to stocks of
fish managed under section 302(a)(3), not later than 1 year
after issuing a notification under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall publish a plan identifying management actions
to increase resilience of such stocks of fish identifie