[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2236 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2236
To improve the management of forage fish.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2019
Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Mr. Mast, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Long, Mr.
Upton, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the management of forage fish.
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 ``Forage Fish
Conservation Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Scientific advice.
Sec. 6. Council functions.
Sec. 7. Contents of fishery management plans.
Sec. 8. Action by the Secretary.
Sec. 9. River herring and shad.
Sec. 10. Rule of construction.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT ACT.
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. 3. FINDINGS.
Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(13) Forage fish are generally small to intermediate-
sized species, occurring in schools or dense aggregations, and
function as a main pathway for energy to flow from phyto- and
zooplankton to higher trophic level predators, such as tuna,
Alaska pollock, and other wildlife, in marine ecosystems. While
most species function as prey of others at some life stage,
especially when small and young, forage fish maintain this
important trophic role throughout their life. Further,
fluctuations in their populations can result in significant
changes in marine communities and ecosystems. Therefore,
particular attention to management of forage fish species, and
addressing their unique role in marine ecosystems, is critical
to maintaining ecosystem function and sustainable fisheries.''.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) (relating to
waters of a foreign nation) as paragraph (53);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through (50) as
paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively;
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through (27) as
paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively;
(4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following:
``(19) The term `forage fish' means--
``(A) any fish that, throughout its life cycle--
``(i) is at a low trophic level;
``(ii) contributes significantly to the
diets of other fish, marine mammals or birds;
and
``(iii) serves as a conduit for energy
transfer to species at a higher trophic level;
or
``(B) any other fish specified as a forage fish for
purposes of this paragraph in a fishery management plan
or amendment that is transmitted by a Council and
approved by the Secretary in accordance with section
304(a).'';
(5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as redesignated by
paragraph (3), the following:
``(29) The term `low trophic level' means a position in the
marine food web in which the fish generally consume
plankton.''; and
(6) in paragraph (35), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'';
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) in the case of a forage fish, is reduced,
pursuant to subparagraph (B), to provide for the diet
needs of fish species and other marine wildlife, such
as marine mammals and birds, for which forage fish is a
significant part of their diet.''.
SEC. 5. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.
Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(B) Each scientific and statistical committee
shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for
fishery management decisions, including recommendations
for--
``(i) acceptable biological catch;
``(ii) preventing overfishing;
``(iii) maximum sustainable yield;
``(iv) achieving rebuilding targets;
``(v) maintaining a sufficient abundance,
diversity, and localized distribution of forage
fish populations to support their role in
marine ecosystems; and
``(vi) reports on stock status and health,
bycatch, habitat status, social and economic
impacts of management measures, and
sustainability of fishing practices.''.
SEC. 6. COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.
(a) Research Priorities.--Section 302(h)(7) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7))
is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting
``forage fish populations and distribution,'' after ``habitats,''.
(b) Unmanaged Forage Fish.--Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (8) by striking ``; and'' and inserting
``;'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish occurring in
the area under its authority and prohibit the development of
any new directed forage fish fishery until the Council has--
``(A) considered the best scientific information
available and evaluated the potential impacts of forage
fish harvest on existing fisheries, fishing
communities, and the marine ecosystem;
``(B) determined whether conservation and
management of the forage fish fishery is needed;
``(C) if a determination is made that conservation
and management is needed, prepared and submitted to the
Secretary a fishery management plan or amendment
consistent with section 303; and
``(D) received final, approved regulations from the
Secretary pursuant to section 304(b)(3); and''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)
shall take effect 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) Forage Fish Management.--Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (14) by striking ``and;'' and inserting
``;'';
(2) in paragraph (15) by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(16) when setting annual catch limits for forage fish
fisheries, assess, specify, and reduce such limits by the diet
needs of fish species and other marine wildlife, such as marine
mammals and birds, for which forage fish is a significant part
of their diet.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.
Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to
international overfishing) as subsection (j); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Forage Fish Management Guidelines.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation Act, the Secretary
shall establish by regulation guidelines to assist the Councils
in implementing sections 3(19), 302(h)(9), and 303(a)(16).
``(2) Workshops.--In developing the guidelines under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct workshops with
Councils and other scientific, fisheries, and conservation
interests.''.
SEC. 9. RIVER HERRING AND SHAD.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) River herring.--The term ``river herring'' means
blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife (Alosa
pseudoharengus).
(2) Shad.--The term ``shad'' means American shad (Alosa
sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa mediocris).
(b) Amendments of Plans.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall--
(1) amend the fishery management plans for the Atlantic
Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish fisheries
for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad and
river herring as managed stocks in such plans consistent with
section 302(h)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(1));
(2) initiate additional fishery management plan amendments
to be completed in not more than 1 year from the date of the
addition of the species identified in paragraph (1) in order to
develop and implement all required conservation and management
measures for such stocks consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.), and all other applicable law; and
(3) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or fishery
management plan provision, including conservation and
management measures under section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing resources to provide, for not
less than 60 percent of all relevant fishing trips, not fewer
than one at-sea observer or an on-board electronic or video
means of producing equivalent at-sea monitoring information,
for any vessel using mid-water trawl or paired mid-water trawl
fishing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel
fisheries.
SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as--
(1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or authority
of any State within its boundaries; or
(2) affecting--
(A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1856); or
(B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5107 et seq.).
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