[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5126 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5126
To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain
descending devices, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2019
Mr. Graves of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Huffman, and Mr. Palazzo)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require individuals fishing for Gulf reef fish to use certain
descending devices, 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 ``Direct Enhancement of Snapper
Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices Act of 2019'' or the
``DESCEND Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRED USE OF DESCENDING DEVICES.
(a) Required Gear in the Gulf Reef Fish Fishery.--Title III of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 321. REQUIRED POSSESSION OF DESCENDING DEVICES.
``(a) Require Gear in the Gulf Reef Fish Fishery.--It shall be
unlawful for a person on board a commercial or recreational vessel to
fish for Gulf reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico Exclusive Economic Zone
without possessing on board the vessel a venting tool or a descending
device that is rigged and ready for use while fishing is occurring.
``(b) Savings Clause.--No provision of this section shall be
interpreted to affect any program or activity carried out by the Gulf
Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council established by the Resources and
Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies
of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (33 U.S.C. 1321 note), or any
project contained in an approved Restoration Plan developed by any
Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustee Implementation Group to
reduce post-release mortality from barotrauma in Gulf of Mexico Reef
Fish Recreational Fisheries.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Descending device.--The term `descending device'
means an instrument that--
``(A) will release fish at a depth sufficient for
the fish to be able to recover from the effects of
barotrauma;
``(B) is a weighted hook, lip clamp, or box that
will hold the fish while it is lowered to depth, or
another device determined to be appropriate by the
Secretary; and
``(C) is capable of--
``(i) releasing the fish automatically;
``(ii) releasing the fish by actions of the
operator of the device; or
``(iii) allowing the fish to escape on its
own.
``(2) Venting tool.--The term `venting tool' has the
meaning given to it by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council.
``(3) Gulf reef fish.--The term `Gulf reef fish' means any
fish chosen by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
that is in the reef Fishery Management Plan for the purposes of
this Act.'';
(b) Civil Penalties.--Section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)) is amended
by inserting ``or section 321'' after ``section 307''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take
effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Sunset.--Five years after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is
amended--
(1) in section 308(a), by striking ``or section 321''; and
(2) by striking title 321.
SEC. 3. IMPROVING DISCARD MORTALITY DATA.
(a) Agreement.--Within 60 days of the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study and produce a report on discard
mortality in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries. Such study shall
include--
(1) assessment of gaps and biases in reporting of discards
and associated discard mortality;
(2) assessment of uncertainty and likely impacts of such
uncertainty in discard mortality;
(3) assessment of the effectiveness and usage rates of
barotrauma-reducing devices;
(4) recommendations for future research priorities; and
(5) recommendations for standardized reporting and
quantification of discards for fisheries under the Gulf of
Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan.
(b) Deadline.--The National Academy of Sciences shall complete the
study described in subsection (a) and transmit the final report to the
Secretary within 2 years of the date of enactment of this Act. The
Secretary shall, within 3 months of receiving such study and report,
submit such study and report in (a) to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives.
(c) Plan.--Within 1 year of receiving the study and report in
described in subsection (a), the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council and the Secretary shall--
(1) develop guidance for minimum standards for quantifying
and reporting discards and associated mortality in the Gulf of
Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan; and
(2) develop a plan to assess and monitor the effectiveness
and usage of barotrauma-reducing devices and the impact on
discard mortality rates in Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries.
(d) Follow-Up Report.--Within 3 years of developing minimum
standards and developing the assessment and monitoring plan in
subsection (c), the Secretary shall provide a detailed report on
implementation to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of
the House of Representatives.
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