[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4690 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 502
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4690
[Report No. 117-685, Part I]
To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 26, 2021
Mr. Huffman (for himself and Mr. Case) 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
December 30, 2022
Additional sponsors: Mr. Neguse, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Cohen,
Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Norton, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Levin of
Michigan, Mrs. Peltola, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Ruppersberger, Ms. Porter,
Mr. Lieu, and Ms. Chu
December 30, 2022
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
December 30, 2022
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July
26, 2021]
_______________________________________________________________________
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 2022''.
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 inclusive language.
Sec. 6. Conforming amendments to the table of contents of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.
TITLE I--CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES
Sec. 101. Findings, purpose, 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.
Sec. 106. Emerging fisheries.
TITLE II--SUPPORTING FISHING COMMUNITIES
Sec. 201. Fishery Resource Disaster Relief.
Sec. 202. Subsistence fishing.
Sec. 203. Working Waterfronts Grant Program.
Sec. 204. Seafood marketing.
Sec. 205. Community participation in limited access privilege programs.
Sec. 206. Findings.
Sec. 207. Participation by fishery-dependent communities.
TITLE III--STRENGTHENING PUBLIC PROCESS AND TRANSPARENCY
Sec. 301. Tribal representation at the Pacific Fishery Management
Council.
Sec. 302. Tribal representation at the 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. 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 the Atlantic Tunas Convention
Act.
Sec. 602. Conservation Commissioner to the Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Convention.
Sec. 603. Conservation Commissioner to the 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 in this Act, 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 that 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) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Commerce.
SEC. 5. GENDER INCLUSIVE 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) 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''.
(e) 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''.
(f) Section 201(e)(1)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1821(e)(1)(D)) is amended by
striking ``he'' and inserting ``such Secretary''.
(g) Section 201(i) (16 U.S.C. 1821(i)) is amended by striking
``his'' and inserting ``such Governor's''.
(h) Section 203(c)(5)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1823(c)(5)(C)) is amended by
striking ``his'' and inserting ``the minority leader'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 THE TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE 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 fish stocks 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, PURPOSE, 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) the inadequacy of fishery resource
conservation and management practices and controls;
``(C) direct and indirect habitat losses which have
resulted 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 inserting ``to account for
the impacts of environmental changes on stocks of
fish,'' after ``insure conservation,'';
(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.'';
(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 fish stocks 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 to rebuild, regardless of the
cause of depletion.'';
(2) by amending subsection (b)(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'' after the
semicolon 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 promote racial and socioeconomic 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), by inserting ``and to promote the
resilience of fish stocks 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
``2022'', 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) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (15) and
inserting ``; and''; 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 these changes, and a summary of the
information used in these assessments;
``(17) describe and identify the current range and
distribution of, and fishing patterns on, fish stocks managed
under the plan, including areas outside the jurisdiction of the
Council having authority to issue the plan, and for fish stocks
whose distribution crosses management boundaries, describe the
measures used for coordination with other relevant management
bodies for the conservation and management of the fish stock;
and''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment of
this section.
(c) Increasing Resilience of Fish Stocks to Climate Change.--Title
III is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 322. INCREASING RESILIENCE OF FISH STOCKS TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
``(a) Vulnerability Assessment.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future
Act of 2022 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall--
``(1) assess the vulnerability of fish stocks within each
Council's geographical area of authority to climate change;
``(2) notify each Council of the vulnerability of fish
stocks within such geographical area; and
``(3) make recommendations to each Council for measures to
increase the resilience of fish stocks within such geographical
area identified as vulnerable to climate change.
``(b) Council Prioritization Plans.--
``(1) In general.--No later than one 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 fish stocks identified as vulnerable
to climate change and begin implementing such management
actions.
``(2) Highly migratory species.--With respect to stocks
managed under section 302(a)(3), not later than one year after
issuing a notification under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall publish a plan identifying management actions to increase
resilience of such fish stocks identified as vulnerable to
climate change and begin implementing such management actions.
``(3) Report.--Not later than 3 years after publishing a
plan under paragraph (1), each Council shall report to the
Secretary on the actions the Council has taken to implement
such plan or provide an explanation for not taking such action.
``(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act of
2022 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report
to Congress--
``(1) describing the vulnerability of fish stocks to
climate change;
``(2) identifying the risks posed by climate change to the
conservation and management of fish stocks; and
``(3) summarizing the steps taken by the Secretary and the
Councils to mitigate and address the impacts on and risks of
climate change to fish stocks.''.
(d) Guidance for Councils.--Section 305 is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(n) Guidance.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act of 2022, the
Secretary shall issue guidelines to assist the Councils in preparing
and adapting fishery management for the impacts of climate change,
including for consideration of climate change in the conservation and
management of fish stocks under each Council's geographical area of
authority.''.
SEC. 103. INCORPORATING CLIMATE SCIENCE.
(a) Council Training Program.--Section 302(k)(1) (16 U.S.C.
1852(k)(1)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (H) as
subparagraphs (D) through (I), respectively;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (K);
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) climate change and its relevant impacts on
fisheries health, range, and other factors that would
affect the conservation and management of a stock;'';
(4) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of
subparagraph (I), as so redesignated; and
(5) by inserting after subparagraph (I), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(J) ecosystem-based fishery management; and''.
(b) Fisheries Research.--Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``; on changes in
geographic range, spatial distribution, and productivity of a
fishery or interrelated fisheries;'' after ``management''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``changes in
geographic range, spatial distribution, and productivity of a
fishery or interrelated fisheries,''after ``degradation,''.
SEC. 104. CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES INNOVATION PROGRAM.
(a) Climate-Ready Fisheries Innovation Program.--Not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator
shall establish a program to develop innovative tools and approaches
designed to increase the adaptive capacity of fishery management to the
impacts of climate change. In administering such program, the
Administrator shall--
(1) develop science and management tools and approaches
that address regional and national priorities to improve the
conservation and management of fishery resources under existing
and anticipated climate impacts;
(2) provide for routine input from fishery managers and
scientists in order to maximize opportunities to incorporate
results of the program in fishery management actions;
(3) promote adoption of methods developed under the program
in fishery management plans developed by the Regional Fishery
Management Councils;
(4) provide information and outreach to the private sector
and academic sector to encourage development and
operationalization of tools and approaches to manage the
effects of climate change on fisheries; and
(5) provide information and outreach to fishery
participants to increase understanding of and encourage
adoption and use of tools and approaches developed under the
program.
(b) Coordination of the Program.--
(1) The Administrator shall establish a process to ensure
coordination with and outreach to--
(A) regional offices and science centers of the
National Marine Fisheries Service;
(B) the Regional Fishery Management Councils;
(C) the scientific and statistical committees of
such Fishery Management Councils; and
(D) other relevant programs, including the
cooperative research and management program under
section 318 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1867), the
Integrated Ocean Observing System, and programs within
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
designed to address ocean acidification.
(2) Such coordination should include identification of
multiyear research priorities to study and understand the
current and anticipated impacts of climate change on fisheries,
fisheries interactions, habitats, fishery participants, fishing
communities, seafood markets, fisheries science and monitoring,
or other relevant priority. Such priorities should be routinely
reviewed in a timeframe not to exceed 5 years and updated as
necessary.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $5,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
SEC. 105. MANAGING SHIFTING STOCKS.
(a) Cross-Jurisdictional Management.--Section 304(f) (16 U.S.C.
1854(f)) is amended to read as follows:
``(f) Fisheries Under Authority of More Than One Council.--
``(1) Secretarial review of areas of authority.--The
Secretary shall review the geographical area of authority of
each Council in order to determine if a substantial portion of
any federally managed fishery within such area is within the
area of authority of another council--
``(A) upon request of such Council; or
``(B) not less frequently than every 5 years.
``(2) Designation of council to prepare plan.--If the
Secretary determines under paragraph (1) that a substantial
portion of a fishery is located in the geographical area of
authority of more than one Council, the Secretary shall, not
later than 6 months after making such determination--
``(A) designate one of the Councils concerned to
prepare the fishery management plan for such fishery
and any amendment to such plan, if required under this
Act; or
``(B) designate that such plan and any such
amendment, if required under this Act, be prepared
jointly by the Councils concerned.
``(3) Deadline for submission of plan.--Not later than 2
years after the Secretary makes a designation under paragraph
(2), the Council or Councils concerned shall prepare and submit
a fishery management plan or amendment in accordance with this
Act.
``(4) Termination of cross-jurisdictional authority.--
``(A) Request of council.--At the request of a
Council or as a result of the review pursuant to
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether a
fishery described in paragraph (2) no longer has a
substantial portion located in the geographical area of
authority of more than one Council.
``(B) Termination.--
``(i) In general.--If the Secretary
determines under subparagraph (A) that a
fishery no longer has a substantial portion
located in the geographical area of authority
of more than one Council--
``(I) the Secretary shall determine
which Council has predominant
geographic authority over the fishery;
and
``(II) not later than 2 years after
the date on which the determination
under subclause (I) is made, and at
such other times as required under this
Act, the Council determined under such
subclause shall adopt any existing
fishery management plan for the
fishery, and shall prepare and submit
any plan amendments necessary for
transitioning to single-Council
management as well as for any other
purposes, in accordance with the
provisions of this Act.
``(ii) Repeal of prior plan.--
Notwithstanding subsection (h), upon the date
of adoption of a fishery management plan under
clause (i)(II), any preceding fishery
management plan with respect to such fishery is
repealed.
``(5) Establishment of criteria.--The Secretary shall, by
regulation, identify criteria for determining under paragraphs
(1) and (5) whether a substantial portion of a fishery is
located in the geographical area of authority of more than one
Council.
``(6) Establishment of boundaries.--The Secretary shall
establish the boundaries between the geographic areas of
authority of adjacent Councils.
``(7) Requirement for majority of voting members.--No
jointly prepared plan or amendment required to be prepared
under this subsection may be submitted to the Secretary unless
such plan or amendment is approved by a majority of the voting
members, present and voting, of each Council concerned.
``(8) Highly migratory species in certain fisheries.--This
subsection shall not apply with respect to any fishery to which
section 302(a)(3) applies.''.
(b) International Cooperation in the Research and Management of
Cross-Jurisdictional Fisheries.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of State where necessary, shall develop a strategy
for coordinated research and management with other relevant
nations with which the United States shares stocks of fish that
are currently experiencing or are expected to experience shifts
in geographic range or spatial distribution that spans or will
span international boundaries, including within the same life
stage or across life stages.
(2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Congress a report that includes--
(A) a list of fisheries that are currently
experiencing or are expected to experience shifts in
geographic range or spatial distribution that spans or
will span international boundaries and the relevant
countries for each fishery or stock of a fishery's
current or expected range and the relevant regional
fisheries management organization or other
international organizations or agreement with authority
over the management of each fishery or fish stock;
(B) an analysis of priority research needs for each
of these fisheries or stocks of fisheries that should
be coordinated with other affected nations and relevant
international management organizations; and
(C) a 5-year strategy to undertake and complete
such research, including a proposed budget and timeline
for that work.
SEC. 106. EMERGING FISHERIES.
Section 305(a) (16 U.S.C. 1855(a)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Notification
of Entry'' and inserting ``Development of New Fisheries'';
(2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register,
subject to paragraph (3), and after notice and an opportunity
for public comment--
``(A) a list of all fisheries managed under this
Act, organized by Federal region (or Secretarial
management under section 302(a)(3), as applicable); and
``(B) with respect to each such fishery--
``(i) the types of fishing gear authorized
for use in such fishery;
``(ii) the jurisdiction (State, Federal,
interstate, or otherwise) exercising management
authority over such fishery;
``(iii) whether a Fishery Management Plan
or analogous management structure exists for
the fishery; and
``(iv) the species authorized to be caught
and retained in such fishery.'';
(3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``determining'' and all
that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting
``determining--''
``(A) when a fishery is sufficiently different from
those listed as to constitute a new fishery; and
``(B) minimum criteria for a fishery to be
considered managed under paragraph (1)(A), which, for
federally managed fisheries, must include having a
fishery management plan and associated regulations
under this Act.''.
(4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
(5) by striking paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) and inserting
the following:
``(3) Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment
of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act of
2022, and at least once every 5 years thereafter, each Council
(or the Secretary for fisheries to which section 302(a)(3)
applies) shall review the fisheries for which the Council is
responsible on the list required under paragraph (1)(A) and
submit to the Secretary proposed changes to such list in
specific and narrow terms, including geographic range, to
ensure that only managed fisheries are included on the list.
``(4) The Secretary shall review proposed changes pursuant
to the guidelines established under paragraph (2) and publish a
revised list, after notice and an opportunity for public
comment.
``(5) The Secretary may permit, pursuant to section 318(d),
on a limited interim basis, fishing activity that is not
included on the list, if--
``(A) the experimental fishing permit is designed
and implemented so as to yield information necessary
and currently lacking for the development of a fishery
management plan or amendment to such plan under section
302(h)(1) and section 303;
``(B) the Secretary collects, evaluates, and
notwithstanding section 402(b), makes public the data
generated by the experimental fishing activity at the
end of each permit year, and based on such evaluation,
the Council renders a determination of whether the
fishing activity should be continued, either in the
form of a subsequent year of experimental fishing under
this paragraph, or in the form of a fishery managed
under a fishery management plan pursuant to section
302(h)(1) and section 303; and
``(C) the data collected from, and the Secretary's
evaluation of, the fishing activity are included in any
fishery management plan or amendment that is prepared
for management of the fishing activity.
``(6) No person or vessel may employ fishing gear or engage
in a fishery not included on the list, except as provided in
paragraph (4). A Council may request the Secretary to
promulgate emergency regulations under subsection (c) to
prohibit any persons or vessels from using an unlisted fishing
gear or engaging in an unlisted fishery.''.
TITLE II--SUPPORTING FISHING COMMUNITIES
SEC. 201. FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTER RELIEF.
Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Fishery Resource Disaster Relief.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Allowable cause.--The term `allowable cause'
means a natural cause, discrete anthropogenic cause, or
undetermined cause.
``(B) Anthropogenic cause.--The term `anthropogenic
cause' means an anthropogenic event, such as an oil
spill or spillway opening--
``(i) that could not have been addressed or
prevented by fishery management measures; and
``(ii) that is otherwise beyond the control
of fishery managers to mitigate through
conservation and management measures, including
regulatory restrictions imposed as a result of
judicial action or to protect human health or
marine animals, plants, or habitats.
``(C) Fishery resource disaster.--The term `fishery
resource disaster' means a disaster that is determined
by the Secretary in accordance with this subsection
and--
``(i) is an unexpected large decrease in
fish stock biomass or other change that results
in significant loss of access to the fishery
resource, which may include loss of fishing
vessels and gear for a substantial period of
time and results in significant revenue loss or
negative subsistence impacts due to an
allowable cause; and
``(ii) does not include--
``(I) reasonably predictable,
foreseeable, and recurrent fishery
cyclical variations in species
distribution or stock abundance; or
``(II) reductions in fishing
opportunities resulting from
conservation and management measures
taken pursuant to this Act.
``(D) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has
the meaning given such term in section 102 of the
Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, and
the term `Tribal' means of or pertaining to such an
Indian tribe.
``(E) Natural cause.--The term `natural cause'--
``(i) means a weather, climatic, hazard, or
biology-related event, such as--
``(I) a hurricane;
``(II) a flood;
``(III) a harmful algal bloom;
``(IV) a tsunami;
``(V) a hypoxic zone;
``(VI) a drought;
``(VII) El Nin6o effects on water
temperature;
``(VIII) a marine heat wave; or
``(IX) disease; and
``(ii) does not mean a normal or cyclical
variation in a species distribution or stock
abundance.
``(F) 12-month revenue loss.--The term `12-month
revenue loss'--
``(i) means the percentage reduction, as
applicable, in commercial, charter, headboat,
or processor revenue for the affected fishery
for the 12 months during which the fishery
resource disaster occurred, when compared to
average annual revenue in the most recent 5
years when no fishery resource disaster
occurred or equivalent for stocks with cyclical
life histories; and
``(ii) shall not include any revenue loss
resulting from the same distinct cause as a
previously determined fishery resource
disaster.
``(G) Undetermined cause.--The term `undetermined
cause' means a cause in which the current state of
knowledge does not allow the Secretary to identify the
exact cause, and there is no current conclusive
evidence supporting a possible cause of the fishery
resource disaster.
``(2) General authority.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall have the
authority to determine the existence, extent, and
beginning and end dates of a fishery resource disaster
under this subsection in accordance with this
subsection.
``(B) Availability of funds.--After the Secretary
determines that a fishery resource disaster has
occurred, the Secretary is authorized to make sums
available, from funds appropriated for such purposes,
to be used by the affected State, Tribal government, or
interstate marine fisheries commission, or by the
Secretary in cooperation with the affected State,
Tribal government, or interstate marine fisheries
commission.
``(C) Savings clause.--The requirements under this
subsection shall take effect only with respect to
requests for a fishery resource disaster determination
submitted after the date of enactment of the Fishery
Resource Disasters Improvement Act.
``(3) Initiation of a fishery resource disaster review.--
``(A) Eligible requesters.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the conclusion of the fishing season,
a request for a fishery resource disaster determination
may be submitted to the Secretary, if the Secretary has
not independently determined that a fishery resource
disaster has occurred, by--
``(i) the Governor of an affected State;
``(ii) an official Tribal representative or
Tribal resolution; or
``(iii) any other comparable elected or
politically appointed representative as
determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Required information.--A complete request for
a fishery resource disaster determination under
subparagraph (A) shall include--
``(i) identification of all presumed
affected fish stocks;
``(ii) identification of the fishery as
Federal, non-Federal, or both;
``(iii) the geographical boundaries of the
fishery, as determined by the eligible
requester, including geographic boundaries that
are smaller than the area represented by the
eligible requester;
``(iv) preliminary information on causes of
the fishery resource disaster, if known; and
``(v) information needed to support a
finding of a fishery resource disaster,
including--
``(I) information demonstrating the
occurrence of an unexpected large
decrease in fish stock biomass or other
change that results in significant loss
of access to the fishery resource,
which could include the loss of fishing
vessels and gear, for a substantial
period of time;
``(II) significant--
``(aa) 12-month revenue
loss for the affected fishery;
or
``(bb) negative subsistence
impact for the affected
fishery, or if a fishery
resource disaster has occurred
at any time in the previous 5-
year period, the most recent 5
years when no fishery resource
disaster occurred, but shall
not include any impacts
resulting from the same
distinct cause as a previously
determined fishery resource
disaster;
``(III) if applicable, information
on lost resource tax revenues assessed
by local communities, such as a raw
fish tax and local sourcing
requirements; and
``(IV) if applicable and available,
information on affected fishery 12-
month revenue loss for charter,
headboat, or processors related to the
information provided under subclause
(I), subject to section 402(b).
``(C) Assistance.--The Secretary may provide data
and analysis assistance to an eligible requester
described in paragraph (1), if--
``(i) the assistance is so requested;
``(ii) the Secretary is in possession of
the required information described in
subparagraph (B); and
``(iii) the data is not available to the
requester, in carrying out the complete request
under subparagraph (B).
``(D) Initiation of review.--The Secretary shall
have the discretion to initiate a fishery resource
disaster review without a request.
``(4) Review process.--
``(A) Interim response.--Not later than 20 days
after receipt of a request under paragraph (3), the
Secretary shall provide an interim response to the
individual that--
``(i) acknowledges receipt of the request;
``(ii) provides a regional contact within
the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration;
``(iii) outlines the process and timeline
by which a request shall be considered; and
``(iv) requests additional information
concerning the fishery resource disaster, if
the original request is considered incomplete.
``(B) Evaluation of requests.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall
complete a review, within the time frame
described in clause (ii), using the best
scientific information available, in
consultation with the affected fishing
communities, States, or Tribes, of--
``(I) the information provided by
the requester and any additional
information relevant to the fishery,
which may include--
``(aa) fishery
characteristics;
``(bb) stock assessments;
``(cc) the most recent
fishery independent surveys and
other fishery resource
assessments and surveys
conducted by Federal, State, or
Tribal officials;
``(dd) estimates of
mortality; and
``(ee) overall effects; and
``(II) the available economic
information, which may include an
analysis of--
``(aa) landings data;
``(bb) revenue;
``(cc) the number of
participants involved;
``(dd) the number and type
of jobs and persons impacted,
which may include--
``(AA) fishers;
``(BB) charter
fishing operators;
``(CC) subsistence
users;
``(DD) United
States fish processors;
and
``(EE) an owner of
a related fishery
infrastructure or
business affected by
the disaster, such as a
marina operator,
recreational fishing
equipment retailer, or
charter, headboat, or
tender vessel owner,
operator, or crew;
``(ee) an impacted Indian
Tribe;
``(ff) other forms of
disaster assistance made
available to the fishery,
including prior awards of
disaster assistance for the
same event;
``(gg) the length of time
the resource, or access to the
resource, has been restricted;
``(hh) status of recovery
from previous fishery resource
disasters;
``(ii) lost resource tax
revenues assessed by local
communities, such as a raw fish
tax; and
``(jj) other appropriate
indicators to an affected
fishery, as determined by the
National Marine Fisheries
Service.
``(ii) Time frame.--The Secretary shall
complete the review described in clause (i), if
the fishing season, applicable to the fishery--
``(I) has concluded or there is no
defined fishing season applicable to
the fishery, not later than 120 days
after the Secretary receives a complete
request for a fishery resource disaster
determination;
``(II) has not concluded, not later
than 120 days after the conclusion of
the fishing season; or
``(III) is expected to be closed
for the entire fishing season, not
later than 120 days after the Secretary
receives a complete request for a
fishery resource disaster
determination.
``(C) Fishery resource disaster determination.--The
Secretary shall make the determination of a fishery
resource disaster based on the criteria for
determinations listed in paragraph (5).
``(D) Notification.--Not later than 14 days after
the conclusion of the review under this paragraph, the
Secretary shall notify the requester and the Governor
of the affected State or Tribal representative of the
determination of the Secretary.
``(5) Criteria for determinations.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make a
determination about whether a fishery resource disaster
has occurred, based on the revenue loss thresholds
under subparagraph (B), and, if a fishery resource
disaster has occurred, whether the fishery resource
disaster was due to--
``(i) a natural cause;
``(ii) an anthropogenic cause;
``(iii) a combination of a natural cause
and an anthropogenic cause; or
``(iv) an undetermined cause.
``(B) Revenue loss thresholds.--
``(i) In general.--Based on the information
provided or analyzed under paragraph (4)(B),
the Secretary shall apply the following 12-
month revenue loss thresholds in determining
whether a fishery resource disaster has
occurred:
``(I) Losses greater than 80
percent may result in a positive
determination that a fishery resource
disaster has occurred, based on the
information provided or analyzed under
paragraph (4)(B).
``(II) Losses between 35 percent
and 80 percent shall be evaluated to
determine whether economic impacts are
severe enough to determine that a
fishery resource disaster has occurred.
``(III) Losses less than 35 percent
shall not be eligible for a
determination that a fishery resource
disaster has occurred.
``(ii) Charter fishing.--In making a
determination of whether a fishery resource
disaster has occurred, the Secretary shall
consider the economic impacts to the charter
fishing industry to ensure financial coverage
for charter fishing businesses.
``(iii) Negative subsistence impacts.--In
considering negative subsistence impacts, the
Secretary shall evaluate the severity of
negative impacts to the fishing community
instead of applying the revenue loss thresholds
described in clause (i).
``(C) Ineligible fisheries.--A fishery subject to
overfishing in any of the 3 years preceding the date of
a determination under this subsection is not eligible
for a determination of whether a fishery resource
disaster has occurred unless the Secretary determines
that overfishing was not a contributing factor to the
fishery resource disaster.
``(D) Exceptional circumstances.--In an exceptional
circumstance where substantial economic impacts to the
affected fishery and fishing community have been
subject to a disaster declaration under another
statutory authority, such as in the case of a natural
disaster or from the direct consequences of a Federal
action taken to prevent, or in response to, a natural
disaster for purposes of protecting life and safety,
the Secretary may determine a fishery resource disaster
has occurred notwithstanding the requirements under
paragraph (3) and subparagraph (B).
``(6) Disbursal of appropriated funds.--
``(A) Authorization.--The Secretary shall allocate
funds available under paragraph (9) for fishery
resource disasters.
``(B) Allocation of appropriated fishery resource
disaster assistance.--
``(i) Notification of funding
availability.--When there are appropriated
funds for 1 or more fishery resource disasters,
the Secretary shall notify--
``(I) the public; and
``(II) representatives of affected
fishing communities with a positive
disaster determination that is
unfunded; of the availability of funds,
not more than 14 days after the date of
the appropriation or the determination
of a fishery resource disaster,
whichever occurs later.
``(ii) Extension of deadline.--The
Secretary may extend the deadline under clause
(i) by 90 days to evaluate and make
determinations on eligible requests.
``(C) Considerations.--In determining the
allocation of appropriations for a fishery resource
disaster, the Secretary shall consider commercial,
charter, headboat, or seafood processing revenue losses
and negative impacts to subsistence and Tribal
ceremonial fishing opportunity, for the affected
fishery and may consider the following factors:
``(i) Direct economic impacts.
``(ii) Uninsured losses.
``(iii) Losses of recreational fishing
opportunity.
``(iv) Aquaculture operations revenue loss.
``(v) Direct revenue losses to a fishing
community.
``(vi) Treaty obligations.
``(vii) Other economic impacts.
``(D) Spend plans.--To receive an allocation from
funds available under paragraph (9), a requester with
an affirmative fishery resource disaster determination
shall submit a spend plan to the Secretary, not more
than 120 days after receiving notification that funds
are available, that shall include the following
information, if applicable:
``(i) Objectives and outcomes, with an
emphasis on addressing the factors contributing
to the fishery resource disaster and minimizing
future uninsured losses, if applicable.
``(ii) Statement of work.
``(iii) Budget details.
``(E) Regional contact.--If so requested, the
Secretary shall provide a regional contact within the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to
facilitate review of spend plans and disbursal of
funds.
``(F) Disbursal of funds.--
``(i) Availability.--Funds shall be made
available to grantees not later than 90 days
after the date the Secretary receives a
complete spend plan.
``(ii) Method.--The Secretary may provide
an allocation of funds under this subsection in
the form of a grant, direct payment,
cooperative agreement, loan, or contract.
``(iii) Eligible uses.--
``(I) In general.--Funds allocated
for fishery resources disasters under
this subsection shall restore the
fishery affected by such a disaster,
prevent a similar disaster in the
future, or assist the affected fishing
community, and shall prioritize the
following uses, which are not in order
of priority:
``(aa) Habitat conservation
and restoration and other
activities, including
scientific research, that
reduce adverse impacts to the
fishery or improve
understanding of the affected
species or its ecosystem.
``(bb) The collection of
fishery information and other
activities that improve
management of the affected
fishery.
``(cc) In a commercial
fishery, capacity reduction and
other activities that improve
management of fishing effort,
including funds to offset
budgetary costs to refinance a
Federal fishing capacity
reduction loan or to repay the
principal of a Federal fishing
capacity reduction loan.
``(dd) Developing,
repairing, or improving
fishery-related public
infrastructure.
``(ee) Direct assistance to
a person, fishing community
(including assistance for lost
fisheries resource levies), or
a business to alleviate
economic loss incurred as a
direct result of a fishery
resource disaster, particularly
when affected by a circumstance
described in paragraph (5)(D)
or by negative impacts to
subsistence and Tribal
ceremonial fishing opportunity.
``(ff) Hatcheries and stock
enhancement to help rebuild the
affected stock or offset
fishing pressure on the
affected stock.
``(II) Displaced fishery
employees.--Where appropriate,
individuals carrying out the activities
described in items (aa) through (dd) of
subclause (I) shall be individuals who
are, or were, employed in a commercial,
charter, or Tribal fishery for which
the Secretary has determined that a
fishery resource disaster has occurred.
``(7) Limitations.--
``(A) Federal share.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clauses (ii) and (iii), the Federal share of
the cost of any activity carried out under the
authority of this subsection shall not exceed
75 percent of the cost of that activity.
``(ii) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the
non-Federal share requirements of this
subsection, if the Secretary determines that--
``(I) no reasonable means are
available through which the recipient
of the Federal share can meet the non-
Federal share requirement; and
``(II) the probable benefit of 100
percent Federal financing outweighs the
public interest in imposition of the
non-Federal share requirement.
``(iii) Exception.--The Federal share shall
be equal to 100 percent in the case of--
``(I) direct assistance as
described in paragraph
(6)(F)(iii)(I)(ee); or
``(II) assistance to subsistence or
Tribal fisheries.
``(B) Limitations on administrative expenses.--
``(i) Federal.--Not more than 3 percent of
the funds available under this subsection may
be used for administrative expenses by the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration.
``(ii) State or tribal governments.--Of the
funds remaining after the use described in
clause (i), not more than 5 percent may be used
by States, Tribal governments, or interstate
marine fisheries commissions for administrative
expenses.
``(C) Fishing capacity reduction program.--
``(i) In general.--No funds available under
this subsection may be used as part of a
fishing capacity reduction program in a fishery
unless the Secretary determines that adequate
conservation and management measures are in
place in such fishery.
``(ii) Assistance conditions.--As a
condition of providing assistance under this
subsection with respect to a vessel under a
fishing capacity reduction program, the
Secretary shall--
``(I) prohibit the vessel from
being used for fishing in Federal,
State, or international waters; and
``(II) require that the vessel be--
``(aa) scrapped or
otherwise disposed of in a
manner approved by the
Secretary;
``(bb) donated to a
nonprofit organization and
thereafter used only for
purposes of research,
education, or training; or
``(cc) used for another
non-fishing purpose provided
the Secretary determines that
adequate measures are in place
to ensure that the vessel
cannot reenter any fishery
anywhere in the world.
``(D) No fishery endorsement.--
``(i) In general.--A vessel that is
prohibited from fishing under subparagraph
(C)(ii)(I) shall not be eligible for a fishery
endorsement under section 12113(a) of title 46,
United States Code.
``(ii) Noneffective.--A fishery endorsement
for a vessel described in clause (i) shall not
be effective.
``(iii) No sale.--A vessel described in
clause (i) may not be sold to a foreign owner
or reflagged.
``(8) Public information on data collection.--The Secretary
shall make available and update as appropriate, information on
data collection and submittal best practices for the
information described in paragraph (4)(B).
``(9) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection
$377,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through
2028.''.
SEC. 202. SUBSISTENCE FISHING.
(a) Purposes.--Section 2(b)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1801(b)(3)) is amended by
inserting ``, subsistence,'' after ``commercial''.
(b) Definition of Subsistence Fishing.--Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) (appearing
after paragraph (50) as paragraph (51); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (42) the following:
``(42A)(A) Subsistence fishing.--The term `subsistence
fishing' means fishing in which the fish harvested are intended
for customary and traditional uses, including--
``(i) for direct or sharing personal, family, or
community consumption, including as food, shelter,
clothing, or tools;
``(ii) for the making or selling of handicraft
articles out of nonedible byproducts of subsistence
fishing;
``(iii) for barter; and
``(iv) for customary trade.
``(B) In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `family' means all persons related
by blood, marriage, or adoption, or any person living
within the household on a permanent basis; and
``(ii) the term `barter' means the exchange of a
fish or fish part harvested through subsistence
fishing--
``(I) for another fish or fish part; or
``(II) for other food or for nonedible
items other than money if the exchange is of a
limited and noncommercial nature.''.
SEC. 203. WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM.
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 320. WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Working Waterfronts Task Force.--
``(1) Establishment and functions.--The Secretary shall
establish a task force to work directly with coastal States,
user groups, and coastal stakeholders to identify and address
critical needs with respect to working waterfronts.
``(2) Membership.--The members of the task force shall be
appointed by the Secretary, and shall include--
``(A) experts in the unique economic, social,
cultural, ecological, geographic, and resource concerns
of working waterfronts; and
``(B) representatives from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coastal
Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Department of Agriculture, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the United States
Geological Survey, the Navy, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the Economic Development
Administration, and such other Federal agencies as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
``(3) Functions.--The task force shall--
``(A) identify and prioritize critical needs with
respect to working waterfronts in States that have a
management program approved by the Secretary pursuant
to section 306, in the areas of--
``(i) economic and cultural importance of
working waterfronts to communities;
``(ii) changing environments and threats
working waterfronts face from environmental
changes, trade barriers, sea level rise,
extreme weather events, ocean acidification,
and harmful algal blooms; and
``(iii) identifying working waterfronts and
highlighting them within communities;
``(B) outline options, in coordination with coastal
States and local stakeholders, to address such critical
needs, including adaptation and mitigation where
applicable;
``(C) identify Federal agencies that are
responsible for addressing such critical needs; and
``(D) recommend Federal agencies best suited to
address any critical needs for which no agency is
responsible under existing law.
``(4) Information to be considered.--In identifying and
prioritizing policy gaps pursuant to paragraph (3), the task
force shall consider the findings and recommendations contained
in section VI of the report entitled `The Sustainable Working
Waterfronts Toolkit: Final Report', dated March 2013.
``(5) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this section, the task force shall submit a
report to Congress on its findings.
``(6) Implementation.--The head of each Federal agency
identified in the report pursuant to paragraph (3)(C) shall
take such action as is necessary to implement the
recommendations contained in the report by not later than one
year after the date of issuance of the report.
``(b) Working Waterfronts Grant Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
Working Waterfront Grant Program, in cooperation with
appropriate State, regional, and other units of government,
under which the Secretary may make a grant to any coastal State
for the purpose of implementing a working waterfronts plan
approved by the Secretary under subsection (c).
``(2) Grants.--The Secretary shall award matching grants
under the Working Waterfronts Grant Program to coastal States
with approved working waterfronts plans through a regionally
equitable, competitive funding process in accordance with the
following:
``(A) The Governor, or an agency designated by the
Governor for coordinating the implementation of this
section, in consultation with any appropriate local
government, shall determine that the application is
consistent with the State's or territory's approved
coastal zone plan, program, and policies prior to
submission to the Secretary.
``(B) In developing guidelines under this section,
the Secretary shall consult with coastal States, other
Federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders
with expertise in working waterfronts planning.
``(C) Coastal States may allocate grants to local
governments, agencies, or nongovernmental organizations
eligible for assistance under this section.
``(3) Considerations.--In awarding a grant to a coastal
State, the Secretary shall consider--
``(A) the economic, cultural, and historical
significance of working waterfronts to the coastal
State;
``(B) the demonstrated working waterfronts needs of
the coastal State as outlined by a working waterfronts
plan approved for the coastal State under subsection
(c), and the value of the proposed project for the
implementation of such plan;
``(C) the ability to leverage funds among
participating entities, including Federal agencies,
regional organizations, State and other government
units, landowners, corporations, or private
organizations;
``(D) the potential for rapid turnover in the
ownership of working waterfronts in the coastal State,
and where applicable the need for coastal States to
respond quickly when properties in existing or
potential working waterfronts areas or public access
areas as identified in the working waterfronts plan
submitted by the coastal State come under threat or
become available; and
``(E) the impact of the working waterfronts plan
approved for the coastal State under subsection (c) on
the coastal ecosystem and the users of the coastal
ecosystem.
``(4) Timeline for approval.--The Secretary shall approve
or reject an application for such a grant not later than 60
days after receiving an application for the grant.
``(c) Working Waterfronts Plans.--
``(1) Development and submission of plan.--To be eligible
for a grant under subsection (b), a coastal State shall submit
to the Secretary a comprehensive working waterfronts plan in
accordance with this subsection, or be in the process of
developing such a plan and have an established working
waterfronts program at the State or local level.
``(2) Plan requirements.--Such plan--
``(A) shall provide for preservation and expansion
of access to coastal waters to persons engaged in
commercial fishing, marine recreational and tourism
businesses, aquaculture, boatbuilding, or other water-
dependent, coastal-related business;
``(B) shall include--
``(i) an assessment of the economic,
social, cultural, and historic value of working
waterfronts to the coastal State;
``(ii) a description of relevant State and
local laws and regulations affecting working
waterfronts in the geographic areas identified
in the working waterfronts plan;
``(iii) identification of geographic areas
where working waterfronts are currently under
threat of conversion to uses incompatible with
commercial and recreational fishing,
recreational fishing and boating businesses,
other marine recreational and tourism
businesses, aquaculture, boatbuilding, or other
water-dependent, coastal-related business, and
the level of that threat;
``(iv) identification of geographic areas
with a historic connection to working
waterfronts where working waterfronts are not
currently available, and, where appropriate, an
assessment of the environmental impacts of any
expansion or new development of working
waterfronts on the coastal ecosystem;
``(v) identification of other working
waterfronts needs including improvements to
existing working waterfronts and working
waterfronts areas;
``(vi) a strategic and prioritized plan for
the preservation, expansion, and improvement of
working waterfronts in the coastal State;
``(vii) for areas identified under clauses
(iii), (iv), (v), and (vi), identification of
current availability and potential for
expansion of public access to coastal waters;
``(viii) a description of the degree of
community support for such strategic plan; and
``(ix) a contingency plan for properties
that revert to the coastal State pursuant to
determinations made by the coastal State under
subsection (g)(4)(C);
``(C) may include detailed descriptions of
environmental impacts on working waterfronts, including
hazards, sea level rise, inundation exposure, and other
resiliency issues;
``(D) may be part of the management program
approved under section 306;
``(E) shall utilize to the maximum extent
practicable existing information contained in relevant
surveys, plans, or other strategies to fulfill the
information requirements under this paragraph; and
``(F) shall incorporate the policies and
regulations adopted by communities under local working
waterfronts plans or strategies in existence before the
date of the enactment of this section.
``(3) A working waterfront plan--
``(A) shall be effective for purposes of this
section for the 5-year period beginning on the date it
is approved by the Secretary;
``(B) must be updated and re-approved by the
Secretary before the end of such period; and
``(C) shall be complimentary to and incorporate the
policies and objectives of regional or local working
waterfronts plan as in effect before the date of the
enactment of this section or as subsequently revised.
``(4) The Secretary may--
``(A) award planning grants to coastal States for
the purpose of developing or revising comprehensive
working waterfronts plan;
``(B) award grants consistent with the purposes of
this section to States undertaking the working
waterfronts planning process under this section, for
the purpose of preserving and protecting working
waterfronts during such process; and
``(C) determine that a preexisting coastal land use
plan for that State is in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection.
``(5) Any coastal State applying for a working waterfronts
grant under this title shall--
``(A) develop a working waterfronts plan, using a
process that involves the public and those with an
interest in the coastal zone;
``(B) coordinate development and implementation of
such a plan with other coastal management programs,
regulations, and activities of the coastal State; and
``(C) if the coastal State allows qualified holders
(other than the coastal State) to enter into working
waterfronts covenants, provide as part of the working
waterfronts plan under this subsection a procedure to
ensure that the qualified holders are fulfilling such
qualified holder's obligations under the working
waterfronts covenant.
``(d) Uses, Terms, and Conditions.--A grant under this section may
be used--
``(1) to acquire a working waterfronts, or an interest in a
working waterfront;
``(2) to make improvements to a working waterfronts,
including the construction or repair of wharfs, boat ramps, or
related facilities; or
``(3) for necessary climate change adaptation or
mitigation.
``(e) Public Access Requirement.--A working waterfronts project
funded by grants made under this section must provide for expansion,
improvement, or preservation of reasonable and appropriate public
access to coastal waters at or in the vicinity of a working waterfront,
except for commercial fishing or other industrial access points where
the coastal State determines that public access would be unsafe.
``(f) Limitations.--
``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a grant awarded
under this section may be used to purchase working waterfronts
or an interest in working waterfronts, including an easement,
only from a willing seller and at fair market value.
``(2) A grant awarded under this section may be used to
acquire working waterfronts or an interest in working
waterfronts at less than fair market value only if the owner
certifies to the Secretary that the sale is being entered into
willingly and without coercion.
``(3) No Federal, State, or local entity may exercise the
power of eminent domain to secure title to any property or
facilities in connection with a project carried out under this
section.
``(g) Allocation of Grants to Local Governments and Other
Entities.--
``(1) Designation of qualified holder.--Subject to the
approval of the Secretary, a coastal State may, as part of an
approved working waterfront plan, designate as a qualified
holder any unit of State or local government or nongovernmental
organization, if the coastal State is ultimately responsible
for ensuring that the property will be managed in a manner that
is consistent with the purposes for which the land entered into
the program.
``(2) Allocation.--A coastal State or a qualified holder
designated by a coastal State may allocate to a unit of local
government, nongovernmental organization, fishing cooperative,
or other entity, a portion of any grant made under this section
for the purpose of carrying out this section, except that such
an allocation shall not relieve the coastal State of the
responsibility for ensuring that any funds so allocated are
applied in furtherance of the coastal State's approved working
waterfronts plan.
``(3) Exceptions.--A qualified holder may hold title to or
interest in property acquired under this section, except that--
``(A) all persons holding title to or interest in
working waterfronts affected by a grant under this
section shall enter into a working waterfronts
covenant;
``(B) such covenant shall be held by the coastal
State or a qualified holder designated under paragraph
(1);
``(C) if the coastal State determines, on the
record after an opportunity for a hearing, that the
working waterfronts covenant has been violated--
``(i) all right, title, and interest in and
to the working waterfronts covered by such
covenant shall, except as provided in
subparagraph (D), revert to the coastal State;
and
``(ii) the coastal State shall have the
right of immediate entry onto the working
waterfronts; and
``(D) if a coastal State makes a determination
under subparagraph (C), the coastal State may convey or
authorize the qualified holder to convey the working
waterfront or interest in working waterfronts to
another qualified holder.
``(h) Matching Contributions.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall require that each coastal State that receives a
grant under this section, or a qualified holder designated by
that coastal State under subsection (g), shall provide matching
funds in an amount equal to at least 25 percent of the total
cost of the project carried out with the grant. As a condition
of receipt of a grant under this section, the Secretary shall
require that a coastal State provide to the Secretary such
assurances as the Secretary determines are sufficient to
demonstrate that the share of the cost of each eligible project
that is not funded by the grant awarded under this section has
been secured.
``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the application of
paragraph (1) for any qualified holder that is an underserved
community, a community that has an inability to draw on other
sources of funding because of the small population or low
income of the community, or for other reasons the Secretary
considers appropriate.
``(3) In-kind contributions.--A local community designated
as a qualified holder under subsection (g) may use funds or
other in-kind contributions donated by a nongovernmental
partner to satisfy the matching funds requirement under this
subsection.
``(4) Funding from other federal source.--If financial
assistance under this section represents only a portion of the
total cost of a project, funding from other Federal sources may
be applied to the cost of the project.
``(5) Value of a working waterfront.--The Secretary shall
treat as non-Federal match the value of a working waterfront or
interest in a working waterfront, including conservation and
other easements, that is held in perpetuity by a qualified
holder, if the working waterfront or interest is identified in
the application for the grant and acquired by the qualified
holder not later than three years of the grant award date, or
not later than three years after the submission of the
application and before the end of the grant award period. Such
value shall be determined by an appraisal performed at such
time before the award of the grant as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
``(6) Other considerations.--The Secretary shall treat as
non-Federal match the costs associated with acquisition of a
working waterfront or an interest in a working waterfront, and
the costs of restoration, enhancement, or other improvement to
a working waterfront, if the activities are identified in the
project application and the costs are incurred within the
period of the grant award, or, for working waterfront described
in paragraph (6), within the same time limits described in that
paragraph. Such costs may include either cash or in-kind
contributions.
``(i) Limit on Administrative Costs.--The Secretary may not use
more than 5 percent of the funds made available under this section may
for planning or administration of the program under this section.
``(j) Other Technical and Financial Assistance.--
``(1) The Secretary may use up to 5 percent of the funds
appropriated under this section to provide technical assistance
as described in this subsection.
``(2) The Secretary shall--
``(A) provide technical assistance to coastal
States and local governments in identifying and
obtaining other sources of available Federal technical
and financial assistance for the development and
revision of a working waterfronts plan and the
implementation of an approved working waterfronts plan;
``(B) provide technical assistance to States and
local governments for the development, implementation,
and revision of comprehensive working waterfronts
plans, which may include, subject to the availability
of appropriations, planning grants and assistance,
pilot projects, feasibility studies, research, and
other projects necessary to further the purposes of
this section;
``(C) assist States in developing other tools to
protect working waterfronts;
``(D) collect and disseminate to States guidance
for best stormwater management practices in regards to
working waterfronts;
``(E) provide technical assistance to States and
local governments on integrating resilience planning
into working waterfronts preservation efforts; and
``(F) collect and disseminate best practices on
working waterfronts and resilience planning.
``(k) Reports.--
``(1) The Secretary shall--
``(A) develop performance measures to evaluate and
report on the effectiveness of the program under this
section in accomplishing the purpose of this section;
and
``(B) submit to Congress a biennial report that
includes such evaluations, an account of all
expenditures, and descriptions of all projects carried
out using grants awarded under this section.
``(2) The Secretary may submit the biennial report under
paragraph (1)(B) by including it in the biennial report
required under section 316.
``(l) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
apply:
``(1) Qualified holder.--The term `qualified holder' means
a coastal State or a unit of local or coastal State government
or a non-State organization designated by a coastal State under
subsection (g).
``(2) Working waterfront.--The term `working waterfront'
means real property (including support structures over water
and other facilities) that provides access to coastal waters to
persons engaged in commercial and recreational fishing,
recreational fishing and boating businesses, other marine
recreational and tourism businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture,
or other water-dependent, coastal-related business and is used
for, or that supports, commercial and recreational fishing,
recreational fishing and boating businesses, boatbuilding,
other marine recreational and tourism businesses, aquaculture,
or other water-dependent, coastal-related business.
``(3) Working waterfront covenant.--The term `working
waterfront covenant' means an agreement in recordable form
between the owner of working waterfront and one or more
qualified holders, that provides such assurances as the
Secretary may require that--
``(A) the title to or interest in the working
waterfront will be held by a grant recipient or
qualified holder in perpetuity, except as provided in
subparagraph (C);
``(B) the working waterfront will be managed in a
manner that is consistent with the purposes for which
the property is acquired pursuant to this section, and
the property will not be converted to any use that is
inconsistent with the purpose of this section;
``(C) if the title to or interest in the working
waterfront is sold or otherwise exchanged--
``(i) all working waterfront owners and
qualified holders involved in such sale or
exchange shall accede to such agreement; and
``(ii) funds equal to the fair market value
of the working waterfront or interest in
working waterfront shall be paid to the
Secretary by parties to the sale or exchange,
and such funds shall, at the discretion of the
Secretary, be paid to the coastal State in
which the working waterfront is located for use
in the implementation of the working waterfront
plan of the State approved by the Secretary
under this section; and
``(D) such covenant is subject to enforcement and
oversight by the coastal State or by another person as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023
through 2027 to carry out this section.''.
SEC. 204. SEAFOOD MARKETING.
(a) Outreach Plan.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in conjunction
with the Administrator, shall develop an outreach plan to expand
Department of Agriculture outreach to fishing industry stakeholders to
increase awareness of and assist with the use of programs in the
Agricultural Marketing Service.
(b) Study.--The Administrator shall, in consultation with the
Secretary of Agriculture and members of the seafood industry, study the
possibility of establishing education and marketing programs within the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(c) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act--
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, in conjunction with the
Administrator, shall submit a report to Congress on the
outreach plan developed under subsection (a); and
(2) the Administrator shall submit a report to Congress on
the findings of the study conducted under subsection (b).
SEC. 205. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 303A(c) (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by inserting ``,
including the participation of fishing communities in
the fishery'' after ``benefits''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(L) consider the needs of fishing communities and
provide a process for fishing communities to
participate in the limited access privilege program in
accordance with subsection (c)(3).''; and
(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(3) Fishing communities.--
``(A) 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) consist of residents who conduct
commercial or recreational fishing, processing,
or fishery-dependent support businesses within
the Council's management area;
``(iii) seek to participate in such program
for a purpose other than perfecting or
realizing a security interest in such access;
and
``(iv) develop and submit a community
sustainability plan to the Council and the
Secretary that demonstrates how the plan will
address the social and economic development
needs of coastal communities, including those
that have not historically had the resources to
participate in the fishery, for approval.
``(B) Community sustainability plan approval.--
``(i) In general.--A community
sustainability plan submitted by a fishing
community to a Council and the Secretary for
approval shall include the following
components:
``(I) A description of the entity
and the Board and governance for the
entity that will receive the
allocation.
``(II) A description of the quota
allocation process that will be used by
the fishing community entity, including
an appeals process within the entity.
``(III) Provisions for monitoring
and enforcement of the community
sustainability plan.
``(IV) Goals and objectives for the
fishing community and how the entity
will use the allocation to meet those
goals and objectives.
``(V) A description of how the
entity will sustain the participation
of the fishing community in the
fisheries, including providing for new
entry and intergenerational transfer,
encouraging active participation and
addressing economic barriers to access
to the fisheries.
``(VI) A description of how the
community sustainability plan will
address the projected economic and
social impacts associated with the
implementation of the limited access
privilege program, including the
potential for strengthening economic
conditions in remote fishing
communities lacking the resources to
participate in harvesting activities in
the fishery.
``(VII) A description of how the
community sustainability plan will
ensure the benefits of participating in
the limited access privilege program
accrue to the fishing community and
participants, including limitations or
measures necessary to prevent an
inequitable concentration of limited
access privileges within the fishing
community.
``(ii) Previously adopted plan.--A
community sustainability plan submitted before
the date of enactment of the Sustaining
America's Fisheries for the Future Act of 2022
shall not be invalidated by failure to comply
with clause (i) unless such plan is amended
after such date.''.
(b) Audit.--
(1) In general.--The Inspector General of the Department of
Commerce shall conduct an audit regarding limited access
privilege programs for federally managed fisheries in the
United States.
(2) Determinations and disclosures.--The audit required
under paragraph (1) shall determine and disclose the following:
(A) The amount of harvest privileges or
transferable quota that were actively harvested each
year from 2017 through 2022.
(B) The amount of harvest privileges or
transferable quota that were leased to other parties or
entities each year from 2017 through 2022.
(C) The names of corporations, partnerships, or
other authorized entities that currently hold
harvesting privileges or transferable quota in Federal
fisheries.
(D) The proportion of transferable quota holders
(both individuals and authorized entities) who are
actively fishing their harvesting privileges.
(E) The average cost of a transferable harvest
share in each federally managed limited access
privilege program.
(F) The average leasing cost of a transferable
harvest share in each federally managed limited access
privilege program where leasing is occurring.
(3) Additional requirements.--In addition to the
requirements under paragraph (2), the audit required under this
subsection shall--
(A) evaluate the Secretary of Commerce's
performance overseeing limited access privilege
programs in accordance with section 303A(c)(1)(J) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a(c)(1)(J)); and
(B) recommend policies to strengthen transparency
and achieve full disclosure of ownership of harvest
privileges in limited access privilege programs.
(4) Congressional briefing.--Not later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall
brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the preliminary
findings of the audit conducted under paragraph (1).
(5) Final report.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which a briefing occurs under paragraph (4), the Inspector
General shall submit to Congress a final report setting forth
the results of the audit conducted under paragraph (1).
SEC. 206. FINDINGS.
Section 2(a)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)(3)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(3) Commercial, recreational, and charter fishing
constitute major sources of employment and contribute
significantly to the economy of the nation. Many coastal areas
are dependent upon fishing and related activities, and their
economies have been badly damaged by the overfishing of fishery
resources; ensuring sustainable use of fishery resources is
essential to the economic well-being of these areas.''.
SEC. 207. PARTICIPATION BY FISHERY-DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES.
(a) In General.--Section 301(a)(8) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(8) Conservation and management measures shall,
consistent with the conservation requirements of this Act
(including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of
overfished stocks), provide for the sustained participation by
fishery-dependent communities, to the extent practicable, by
using economic and social data that meets the requirements of
paragraph (2) to--
``(A) minimize adverse economic impacts on such
communities; and
``(B) include measurable objectives and tangible
strategies that provide residents of local fishing
communities with sustained access to adjacent
fisheries.''.
(b) Update of Advisory Guidelines.--Not later than 60 days after
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall update the
advisory guidelines required under section 301(b) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(b)) to
be consistent with the amendment made by this section.
TITLE III--STRENGTHENING PUBLIC PROCESS AND TRANSPARENCY
SEC. 301. TRIBAL REPRESENTATION AT THE PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT
COUNCIL.
(a) In General.--Section 302(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``of not less than 3
individuals''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) Term of tribal representative.--An individual
appointed under subparagraph (A) shall serve on the
Pacific Council until such time as a new appointment to
the tribal seat is made under subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 302(b)(3) is amended by striking
``paragraphs (2) and (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2)''.
SEC. 302. TRIBAL REPRESENTATION AT THE NORTH PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT
COUNCIL.
(a) In General.--Section 302(a)(1)(G) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(G)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``11'' and inserting ``13''; and
(2) by inserting ``and including 2 appointed from Indian
Tribes in Alaska that are identified (including
parenthetically) on the most current list (as of the date of
the enactment of this paragraph) published by the Secretary
under section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List
Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131)'' before the period at the end.
(b) Appointment.--Section 302(b) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(7) Tribal representative on north pacific council.--
``(A) Appointment.--The Secretary shall appoint to
the North Pacific Council 2 individuals described in
subparagraph (B) to serve as representatives of Indian
Tribes in Alaska that are identified (including
parenthetically) on the most current list (as of the
date of the enactment of this paragraph) published by
the Secretary under section 104 of the Federally
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C.
5131) from a list submitted by the Tribal governments
of those Tribes. The Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Interior, Tribal Governments, and
the Alaska Federation of Natives, shall establish by
regulation the procedure for submitting a list under
this subparagraph.
``(B) Required qualifications.--An individual is
described in this subparagraph if such individual
possesses knowledge of the region's anadramous fish, of
the marine resources managed by the Council, of the
effects of the Council's actions on such resources ,and
of the region's subsistence uses, customs, and
traditions relating to such resources and--
``(i) possesses knowledge of commercial and
sport uses of anadramous fish and marine
resources in the region; or
``(ii) demonstrates leadership through
involvement in local or regional fish and
wildlife management organizations.
``(C) Representation.--Representation shall be
rotated among affected tribal regions, taking into
consideration--
``(i) the qualifications of the individuals
on the list described in subparagraph (A);
``(ii) the degree to which the Indian
tribes in the region are dependent on
anadromous fish and marine resources in the
area managed by the Council and the impact of
Council actions on such resources; and
``(iii) the geographic area in which the
tribe of the representative is located.
``(D) Filling of vacancy.--A vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration of any term shall be filled in
the same manner as set out in subparagraphs (A) and
(C), except that the Secretary may use the list from
which the vacating representative was chosen.
``(E) Designation of alternate.--The tribal
representative appointed under subparagraph (A) may
designate as an alternate an individual knowledgeable
concerning tribal rights and fishing practices,
Indigenous traditional knowledge, tribal law, and other
marine resources of the geographical area concerned.
``(F) Term of appointment.--An individual appointed
under subparagraph (A) shall serve on the North Pacific
Council until such time as a new appointment to the
tribal seat is made under subparagraph (A).''.
SEC. 303. ATLANTIC COUNCILS.
Section 302(a) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``18'' and inserting
``19''; and
(ii) by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ``and a liaison who is a
member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council to represent the interests of fisheries
under the jurisdiction of such Council''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by striking ``21'' and inserting
``22''; and
(ii) by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ``and a liaison who is a
member of the New England Fishery Management
Council to represent the interests of fisheries
under the jurisdiction of such Council''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Requirements for liaison.--The Secretary shall
appoint an individual to be a liaison between the Councils
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) who has
expertise in a fishery that spans the geographical areas of
both such Councils.''.
SEC. 304. COUNCIL PROCEDURES AND PARTICIPATION.
(a) In General.--Section 302(e) (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``At the request of any
voting member of a Council, the Council shall hold a roll call
vote on any matter before the Council.'' and inserting ``Each
Council shall hold a roll call vote on all nonprocedural
matters before the Council. At the request of any voting member
of a Council, the Council shall hold a roll call vote on any
procedural matter before the Council.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) To the extent possible, each Council shall--
``(A) seek to hold meetings in person; and
``(B) ensure the availability of remote meeting
participation and voting.''.
(b) Council Meetings.--Section 302(i)(2) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(G) Each Council shall make available on the website of
the Council--
``(i) to the extent possible, a webcast or a live
audio or video broadcast of each meeting of the
Council, and of the Council Coordination Committee
established under subsection (l), that is not closed in
accordance with paragraph (3); and
``(ii) an audio or video recording (if the meeting
was in person or by video conference), or a searchable
audio recording or written transcript, of each meeting
of the Council and of the meetings of committees
referred to in section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Council, by
not later than 30 days after the conclusion of the
meeting.
``(H) The Secretary shall maintain and make available to
the public, for a period of not less than 5 years beginning on
the date of a meeting, an archive of Council and scientific and
statistical committee meeting audio and video recordings and
transcripts made available under clauses (i) and (ii) of
subparagraph (G).''.
SEC. 305. COUNCIL ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Voting Members.--Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is
amended--
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
``(A) Required expertise.--In making appointments
to the Council under this section, the Secretary shall
appoint an individual who, by reason of occupational or
other experience, scientific expertise, or training, is
knowledgeable regarding--
``(i) the conservation and management, or
the commercial, recreational, or subsistence
harvest, of the fishery resources of the
geographic area concerned; or
``(ii) ecosystem-based fishery management
or climate science.'';
(2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) Apportionment.--The Secretary, in making
appointments under this section, shall, to the extent
practicable, ensure a fair and balanced apportionment,
on a rotating or other basis, of active participants
(or their representatives) in the commercial,
recreational, and subsistence fisheries under the
jurisdiction of the Council and of members of the
conservation community, scientists, non-consumptive
users, and indigenous and tribal communities as
applicable, and of the active participants (or their
representatives) in the commercial, recreational, and
subsistence fisheries under the jurisdiction of the
Council. The Secretary shall, on an annual basis,
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a
report on the actions taken by the Secretary to ensure
that such fair and balanced apportionment is achieved.
The report shall--
``(i) list the fisheries under the
jurisdiction of each Council, outlining for
each fishery the type and quantity of fish
harvested, fishing and processing methods
employed, the number of participants, the
duration and range of the fishery, and other
distinguishing characteristics;
``(ii) assess the membership of each
Council in terms of the apportionment of the
active participants in each such fishery and of
members of the conservation community,
scientists, non-consumptive users, indigenous
and tribal communities; and
``(iii) state the Secretary's plans and
schedule for actions to achieve a fair and
balanced apportionment on the Council for the
active participants in any such fishery and for
the categories of members listed in clause
(ii).''; and
(3) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
``(C) Appointments.--
``(i) List from governor.--
``(I) Appointment from list.--The
Secretary shall appoint the members of
each Council from a list of individuals
submitted by the Governor of each
applicable constituent State.
``(II) Requirements for list.--in
submitting a list for the purposes of
subclause (I), a Governor--
``(aa) may only submit the
name of an individual if such
Governor has determined such
individual is qualified under
the requirements of
subparagraph (A); and
``(bb) shall include the
names and pertinent
biographical data of not less
than 3 individuals for each
applicable vacancy and shall be
accompanied by a statement by
the Governor explaining how
each such individual meets the
requirements of subparagraph
(A).
``(III) Review.--The Secretary
shall review each list submitted under
this subparagraph. If the Secretary
determines that any individual does not
meet the requirements of this
paragraph, the Secretary shall notify
the appropriate Governor.
``(IV) Response to review.--If a
Governor receives notice under
subclause (III), the Governor may
submit a revised list or resubmit the
original list with an additional
explanation of the qualifications of
the individual in question.
``(ii) Individuals who do not have a
financial interest.--The Secretary shall
appoint to each Council at least one individual
who does not have a financial interest in
matters before the Council.
``(iii) Financial disclosure
requirements.-- An individual is not eligible
for appointment by the Secretary until that
individual complies with the applicable
financial disclosure requirements under
subsection (j).''.
(b) Section 302(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(F) Geographic representation.--In appointing at-large
members to the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, the
Secretary shall ensure geographic representation across all
constituent states of the Council.''.
(c) Disclosure of Financial Interest and Recusal.--Section 302(j)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (1)(B) to read as follows:
``(B) the term `designated official' means an attorney
employed in the Office of the General Counsel of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with an expertise in
Federal conflict-of-interest requirements who is designated by
the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, to attend
Council meetings and make determinations under paragraph
(7)(B).'';
(2) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ``contractor,'' after
``partner,''; and
(3) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``on the Internet''
and inserting ``on the website of the agency, on the website of
the applicable Council,''.
(d) Lobbying.--Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(m) Lobbying.--
``(1) Prohibition on council lobbying.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), Regional Fishery Management Council
members, members of Council advisory bodies, and
Council employees and contractors, are prohibited from
using Federal funds to attempt to influence the--
``(i) introduction, advancement, enactment,
amendment, or repeal of Federal or State
legislation; or
``(ii) issuance, modification, or
overturning of an executive order, Presidential
proclamation, or similar Presidential directive
or decree.
``(B) Technical and factual presentations.--
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), such individuals may
provide a technical and factual presentation directly
related to the performance of a Council's duties,
through hearing testimony or written statements, if
such presentation is in response to a documented
request and is made available under paragraph (4).
``(2) Adjudicating violations.--
``(A) Initiation by secretary.--The Secretary may
initiate an investigation of a potential violation of
this subsection.
``(B) Complaint.--The Secretary shall investigate a
complaint submitted by any person or government entity
regarding a potential violation of this subsection.
``(3) Penalties.--If the Secretary determines that an
individual violated paragraph (1), such individual shall be
subject to disciplinary action including suspension or
expulsion from participation in, membership of, or employment
by a council, advisory body, or related entity or activity.
``(4) Training.--The Secretary shall provide training to
individuals described in paragraph (1) on compliance with rules
issued under this subsection and general limits of Federal
grant recipients on contacts with members and staff of the
Executive and Legislative branches.
``(5) Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report
to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate that describes--
``(A) the funding provided to implement this
subsection;
``(B) complaints received of and investigations
into potential violations of this subsection; and
``(C) barriers associated with and proposals to
improve implementation of this subsection.
``(6) Regulations.--Not later than 12 months after the date
of enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the
Future Act of 2022, the Secretary shall issue implementing
regulations for this subsection.''.
(e) Workplace Harassment Prevention.--Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852)
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(n) Workplace Harassment Prevention.--
``(1) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall prohibit any person
from harassing a covered individual during the conduct of
duties under this Act.
``(2) Harassment prevent training.--Council members and
staff shall, as a condition of employment, not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of the Sustaining America's
Fisheries for the Future Act of 2022 or such individual's first
day of employment by a Council and not less often than every 2
years thereafter, complete 2 hours of workplace harassment
prevention training approved by the office authorized by
section 3541 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2017.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Covered individual.--The term `covered
individuals' means--
``(i) council members;
``(ii) council staff;
``(iii) advisory panel members;
``(iv) committee members;
``(v) Federal fishery permit holders; or
``(vi) staff, crew, employees, or
contractors associated with a federally
permitted vessel or a facility providing
services to such vessels.
``(B) Harassment.--The term `harassment' means
unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct based on
race, color, national origin, religion, age (40 and
above), sex (including gender identity, sexual
orientation, and pregnancy), disability, genetic
information, or prior Equal Employment Opportunity
activity.''.
(f) Judicial Review.--Section 305(f)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1855(f)(1) is
amended by striking ``30'' and inserting ``60''.
SEC. 306. WESTERN PACIFIC SUSTAINABLE FISHERY FUND.
Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1824(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``in consultation with any
appropriate Council,'' and inserting ``at the request
and with the concurrence of the Governor of the
applicable Pacific Insular Area,'';
(B) by striking ``a Pacific Insular Area--'' and
inserting ``that Pacific Insular Area.''; and
(C) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B);
(2) in paragraph (3)(A)--
(A) by inserting ``and'' before ``the Governor'';
(B) by striking ``, and the appropriate Council'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following: ``Such
permits shall also be consistent with any applicable
fishery management plan.'';
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``the Western Pacific
Council and'';
(ii) by inserting ``of the applicable
Pacific Insular Area'' after ``Governor''; and
(iii) by amending (v) to read as follows--
``(v) western Pacific community based
demonstration projects under section 112(b) of
the Sustainable Fisheries Act and other coastal
improvement projects in waters beyond the
seaward boundary (as such term is defined in
section 4 of the Submerged Lands Act) of any
state to foster and promote the management,
conservation, and economic enhancement of the
Pacific Insular Areas.''; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as
follows:
``(B) In the case of American Samoa, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands, the appropriate Governor of
the applicable Pacific Insular Area shall develop the
marine conservation plan described in subparagraph (A)
and submit such plan to the Secretary for approval. In
the case of other Pacific Insular Areas, the Secretary
and the appropriate Governor of the applicable Pacific
Insular Area shall jointly develop the marine
conservation plan described in subparagraph (A).'';
(4) in paragraph (6)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and'' at
the end;
(B) by striking subparagraph (B); and
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (B);
(5) in paragraph (7)--
(A) by striking ``, who shall provide such funds
only to'' and inserting ``for the purposes of'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``the Western Pacific
Council for the purpose of''; and
(ii) by inserting ``as determined by the
Secretary, in consultation with the Western
Pacific Sustainable Fishery Fund Advisory Panel
established under section 204(e)(9),'' after
``subsection,'';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``providing
such funds as are necessary to'' before ``the
Secretary'';
(D) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as
follows:
``(C) providing such funds as remain in the Western
Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund after the funding
requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) have been
satisfied to the Governor of Hawaii to meet
conservation and management objectives in the State of
Hawaii.''; and
(E) by striking ``Amounts deposited in such fund
shall not diminish funding received by the Western
Pacific Council for the purpose of carrying out other
responsibilities under this Act.''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) Western pacific sustainable fishery fund advisory
panel.--
``(A) In general.--To assist in carrying out this
paragraph, the Secretary shall establish and convene an
advisory panel under section 302(g) to evaluate,
determine the relative merits of, and annually rank
applications for grants for implementation of approved
marine conservation plans approved under paragraph (4).
The panel shall consist of members such that--
``(i) the Governor of each applicable
Pacific Insular Area selects one member; and
``(ii) no member shall be a member or
employee of the Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council.
``(B) Award not in accordance with rank.--If the
Secretary awards a grant for a project not in
accordance with the rank given to such project by the
advisory panel, the Secretary shall provide a detailed
written explanation of the reasons for such award.
``(C) Notice.--The Secretary shall provide to the
public timely notice of each meeting of the advisory
panel.
``(D) Minutes.--Minutes of each meeting of the
advisory panel shall be kept by the Secretary and shall
be made available to the public.
``(E) Reports.--The Secretary shall, with the
assistance of the Western Pacific Sustainable Fishery
Fund Advisory Panel, submit an annual report to
Congress identifying any projects that were funded in
the previous year and the status and progress of
projects carried out under this subsection.
``(F) Exemption from federal advisory committee
act.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App)
shall not apply to the advisory panel.''.
SEC. 307. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION SEXUAL
HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT PREVENTION.
(a) Policy on the Prevention of and Response to Sexual Harassment
Involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Personnel.--
(1) Covered personnel.--Section 3541(a) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (33 U.S.C.
894(a)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Not later''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Included personnel.--The individuals who work with or
conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in
paragraph (1) include the following:
``(A) Observers and at-sea monitors required by the
National Marine Fisheries Service to be aboard
commercial fishing vessels and other privately owned
vessels, barges, or platforms for--
``(i) commercial fisheries observation
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act;
``(ii) protected species or endangered
species observation required by the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 or the Endangered
Species Act of 1973; or
``(iii) platform removal observation.
``(B) Council members, executive and administrative
staff, and advisory panel and committee members of
regional fishery management councils established under
section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.
``(C) Federal fishery permit holders and staff,
crew, employees, and contractors associated with
federally permitted vessels under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.''.
(2) Inclusion of equal employment in quarterly reports.--
Section 3541(f) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 894(f)) is amended--
(A) by inserting ``and equal employment'' after
``sexual harassment'' each place it appears; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and
(D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively;
and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (B)
the following:
``(C) A synopsis of each case and the disciplinary
action taken (if any) in each case.''.
(b) Comprehensive Policy on Prevention of and Response to Sexual
Assaults.--
(1) Covered personnel.--Section 3542(a) of such Act (33
U.S.C. 894a(a)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Not later''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Included personnel.--The individuals who work with or
conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in
paragraph (1) include the individuals described in section
3541(a)(2).''.
(2) Victim advocates.--
(A) In general.--Section 3542(c)(2) of such Act (33
U.S.C. 894a(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Victim advocates.--For purposes of this subsection, a
victim advocate is a full-time permanent employee of the
Administration trained in and responsible solely for matters
relating to sexual assault and the comprehensive policy
developed under subsection (a).''.
(B) Location.--Section 3542(c)(4) (33 U.S.C.
894a(c)(4)) of such Act is amended by inserting ``full
time'' after ``stationed''.
(c) Annual Report on Sexual Assaults, Sexual Harassment, and Equal
Employment.--Section 3548 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended--
(1) by striking the section heading and inserting the
following: ``annual report on sexual assaults, sexual
harassment, and equal employment in the national oceanic and
atmospheric administration.'';
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, sexual harassment,
and equal employment'' after ``sexual assaults''; and
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, including a
synopsis of each case and the disciplinary action
taken, if any, in each case'' before the period at the
end; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) A summary of the number of change of station, unit
transfer, and change of work location requests submitted to the
Under Secretary under section 3544(a), including the number of
such requests that were denied.
``(6) A summary of the number of cases referred to the
Coast Guard under section 3550.
``(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and sexual
harassment cases involving fisheries, protected species, and
endangered species observers, including--
``(A) a synopsis of each case and the status;
``(B) the disposition of any investigation; and
``(C) a description of the fishery management
region and fishery or the geographic region and type of
permitted operation in which the assault or harassment
is alleged to have occurred, as appropriate.''.
(d) Investigation and Criminal Referral Requirements.--
(1) Technical amendment.--Sections 3548 (as amended) and
3549 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 894e and 894f) are redesignated as
sections 3551 and 3552, respectively.
(2) In general.--Subtitle C of title XXXV of such Act (33
U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 3547
the following:
``SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SURVIVORS IN CERTAIN
CASES.
``(a) In General.--In any case in which an employee, member of the
commissioned officer corps, or individual conducting business on behalf
of the administration elects anonymous reporting under section
3541(b)(3)(B) or 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of such person's personally
identifying information is authorized to the following persons or
organizations when disclosure would be for the following reasons:
``(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
staff or law enforcement personnel, when authorized by the
survivor in writing.
``(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
staff or law enforcement personnel to prevent or lessen a
serious or imminent threat to the health or safety of the
survivor or another person.
``(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare provider, when
required for the provision of victim services.
``(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered by such
court or if disclosure is required by Federal or State statute.
``(b) Notice of Disclosure and Privacy Protection.--In any case in
which information is disclosed under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall--
``(1) make reasonable attempts to provide notice to the
employee, member, or individual whose personally identifying
information is disclosed; and
``(2) take such action as is necessary to protect the
privacy and safety of the employee, member, or individual.
``SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Commerce, acting through
the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall develop a
mechanism to provide a system of restricted reporting.
``(b) Restricted Reporting Defined.--In this section the term
`restricted reporting' means a system of reporting that allows
employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Administration, and
individuals who work with or conduct business on behalf of the
Administration who are sexually assaulted to confidentially disclose
the details of such person's assault to specified individuals and
receive the services outlined in this subtitle title--
``(1) without the dissemination of such persons's
personally identifying information except as necessary for the
provision of such services; and
``(2) without automatically triggering an investigative
process.
``SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL.
``The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, acting
through the Director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
and in consultation with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section,
develop and implement a policy to report to the Coast Guard Suspension
and Revocation National Center of Expertise, the names of personnel of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who--
``(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or offense
detrimental to good discipline and safety at sea, such as
sexual harassment or sexual assault that is substantiated by an
investigation under section 3546, or any other substantiated
claim of an act or offense for which suspension or revocation
of a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant to part
5 of title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
``(2) are--
``(A) employees or contractors of the
Administration required to hold a valid merchant
mariner credential as a condition of employment; or
``(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of such
act or offence, was operating under a contract with the
Administration.''.
(e) Conforming and Clerical Amendments.--
(1) Conforming amendments.--Subtitle C of title XXXV of
such Act (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended--
(A) by striking the term ``victims'' each place it
appears and inserting ``survivors'';
(B) in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking
``victim'' and inserting ``target of sexual
harassment'';
(C) in section 3542(c)(5)(A), by striking ``victim
of'' and inserting ``survivor of'';
(D) in section 3543--
(i) in the heading, by striking ``victim''
and inserting ``survivor''; and
(ii) by striking ``victim'' and inserting
``survivor''; and
(E) in section 3544--
(i) in subsection (a)--
(I) by striking ``Victims'' and
inserting ``Survivors''; and
(II) in paragraph (1), by striking
``was'' each place such term appears
and inserting ``is''; and
(ii) by striking ``victim'' each place such
term appears and inserting ``survivor''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--Each of the tables of contents in
section 2(b) and at the beginning of title XXXV of such Act is
amended--
(A) by striking the item relating to section 3543
and inserting the following:
``Sec. 3543. Rights of the survivor of a sexual assault.'';
and
(B) by striking the items relating to sections 3548
and 3549 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain
cases.
``Sec. 3549. Restricted reporting.
``Sec. 3550. Mariner referral.
``Sec. 3551. Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and
equal employment in the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
``Sec. 3552. Sexual assault defined.''.
(f) Prohibited Acts.--Section 307(1)(L) (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``forcibly''; and
(2) by striking ``on a vessel''.
(g) Prohibition on Service in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Commissioned Officer Corps by Individuals Convicted of
Certain Sexual Offenses.--Section 261(a) of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33
U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (26) as
paragraphs (5) through (27), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) Section 657, relating to prohibition on service by
individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses.''.
TITLE IV--MODERNIZING FISHERIES SCIENCE AND DATA
SEC. 401. DATA MODERNIZATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, shall provide to Congress an
implementation plan for the Fisheries Information Management
Modernization initiative. Such plan shall include a description of--
(1) activities for the goals and objectives of the
initiative;
(2) a schedule for implementation;
(3) an estimated budget;
(4) a plan for stakeholder engagement for development of
user-centric systems, processes, and policies; and
(5) how the initiative will align with other National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data management efforts
to provide for efficiency and interoperability including such
Administration's Data Strategy, Cloud Strategy, and Artificial
Intelligence strategy.
(b) Information From Experts.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall solicit information, as needed, from data management
and technology experts inside and outside the government.
(c) Report.--The Secretary shall annually report to Congress on
progress in carrying out this section.
SEC. 402. EXPANDING AND IMPROVING ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) Sense of Congress.-- It is the sense of Congress that the use
of electronic technologies such as digital video cameras and monitors,
digital recording systems, and other forms of electronic technology as
a complement to, and in some cases a replacement for, observers may
maintain, increase, or improve the amount and accuracy of observer and
fishery dependent information collected from fisheries while reducing
costs and logistical difficulties. To achieve optimum yields on a
continuing basis while conserving and maintaining fisheries and
integrating healthy ecosystem considerations, managers require
reliable, timely data across all regions and fishing sectors for
conservation, management, and scientific purposes. To achieve
management goals especially in the context of climate change, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should work to meet
evolving management needs and, in collaboration with industry
stakeholders, identify appropriate data collection technologies and
strategies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should
also consider the use of innovative technology in fishery independent
data collection including stock and habitat assessments and
environmental conditions.
(b) Fishery Management Councils.--Section 303(b)(8) (16 U.S.C.
1853(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows:
``(8) require the collection of data necessary for the
conservation and management of the fishery to be collected from
a vessel of the United States engaged in fishing for species
that are subject to the plan through--
``(A) electronic monitoring or other electronic
technology; or
``(B) observers carried onboard such vessel, except
that such a vessel shall not be required to carry an
observer on board if the facilities of the vessel for
the quartering of an observer, or for carrying out
observer functions, are so inadequate or unsafe that
the health or safety of the observer or the safe
operation of the vessel would be jeopardized;''.
(c) Information Systems.--Section 402(a) (16 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``The Council shall
consider the use of electronic monitoring and reporting or
other electronic technology as part of an information
collection program under this subsection.'' after ``request.'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``The Secretary shall
consider the use of electronic monitoring and reporting or
other electronic technology as part of an information
collection program.'' after ``fishery.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Secretarial review.--Not less often than once every 5
years, the Secretary shall review the procedures and policies
by which information is collected, managed, and used to manage
fisheries and revise information collection programs and
policies needed to integrate data collection and management,
improve the timeliness, quality, usability, cost-effectiveness,
and to reduce unnecessary duplication within and across fishery
management plans and regions. Upon the completion of each such
review, the Secretary shall publish a report for the public
describing the findings of such review and planned revisions to
information collection programs.''.
(d) Assessment of Electronic Technologies in Fisheries
Management.--
(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall, in consultation with the relevant committees of
Congress, conduct a review of the capabilities of the National
Marine Fisheries Service with respect to developing, deploying,
and using electronic monitoring and data collection tools to
monitor fisheries and shall make recommendations to improve
such capabilities, taking into consideration cost, efficiency,
and collaboration with private entities.
(2) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit to
Congress a report describing the results of the review required
by paragraph (1) and the recommendations made pursuant to such
review not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(e) Electronic Technologies Innovation Prize.--The Administrator,
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of other
relevant Federal agencies, and in conjunction with such nongovernmental
partners as the Administrator determines appropriate, shall establish
at least one electronic technologies innovation prize to catalyze the
rapid development and deployment of electronic technology-based data
collection to be used in fisheries management. Such prize shall focus
on one or more of the following:
(1) Improved fish species recognition software.
(2) Confidential data management.
(3) Cost-effective storage of electronic reports, imagery,
location information, and other data.
(4) Data analysis and visualization.
(5) Artificial intelligence and machine learning
applications for data collection and monitoring.
(6) Battery storage and energy supply storage at sea.
(7) Improved internet connectivity onshore and at sea in
support of data uploads.
(8) Bycatch hotspot mapping and adaptive use of protected
areas.
(9) Such other area as the Administrator determines
appropriate.
(f) Advisory Panel for Electronic Technologies Development and
Deployment.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an
advisory panel (referred to in this subsection as the
``Advisory Panel'') to inform the Administrator, the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, and the Regional Fishery
Management Councils on developments in the advancement of
electronic technologies that can be used in fisheries
monitoring, data collection, and management.
(2) Appointments.--In appointing individuals to the
Advisory Panel, the Secretary shall appoint at least 2 members
who are electronic technology developers, operators, or
providers.
(3) Summaries.--The Secretary shall publish, on an annual
basis, summaries of Advisory Panel discussions, including a
summary of best practices and technical guidance to support
Regional Fishery Management Councils.
(4) Recommendations.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall make a
recommendation to the Secretary regarding the potential value
of national performance standards for electronic technologies
used in fisheries data collection and management. Such
recommendation shall include--
(A) an assessment of how the National Marine
Fisheries Service and electronic technology developers,
operators, and providers could benefit from such
performance standards;
(B) if the Advisory Panel recommends establishing
such performance standards, a recommendation for which
factors should be included in such performance
standards and how the Secretary should determine the
appropriate standards;
(C) an assessment of whether such performance
standards are likely to spur increased use of
electronic technologies by the Regional Fishery
Management Councils;
(D) an assessment of how such performance standards
would impact existing regional or fishery-specific
technologies currently in use and recommendations on
ensuring continued use or improvement of these
technologies if such performance standards are
established;
(E) a list of knowledge gaps or additional
questions the Secretary should consider before
publishing such performance standards;
(F) recommendations on ensuring cost effectiveness
of electronic technologies for fisheries data
collection and management;
(G) recommendations to address data storage
problems of electronic technologies;
(H) recommendations on ownership of data collected
using electronic technology; and
(I) recommendations on policies and procedures to
develop and implement electronic technologies for
fisheries data collection and management.
(5) Exemption from the federal advisory committees act.--
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply to the Advisory Panel.
(6) Savings clause.--Nothing in this subsection shall
preclude any regional council from independently developing
electronic technologies to be used in fisheries data collection
and management.
SEC. 403. STOCK ASSESSMENTS.
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, on the National
Marine Fisheries Service's progress on prioritizing and improving stock
assessments. Such report shall--
(1) summarize the methods used for assessments for all
stocks of fish for which a fishery management plan is in effect
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and explain which stocks have not
been assessed, and why;
(2) summarize each stock assessment and stock assessment
update completed during the preceding year;
(3) identify each stock assessment that was planned but not
completed and explain why such stock assessment was not
completed;
(4) include the schedule for all upcoming stock assessments
and stock assessment updates;
(5) summarize data and analysis, that, if available, would
reduce uncertainty in and improve the accuracy of future stock
assessments, including whether such data and analysis could be
provided by fishermen, fishing communities, universities, and
research institutions;
(6) summarize progress on autonomous surveys and identify
opportunities to expand new technologies for stock assessments
data collection; and
(7) summarize data gaps that may be a result of changing
ocean and climate conditions, and actions taken to address
changing assessment needs.
SEC. 404. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 318 (16 U.S.C. 1867) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``fishing
communities,'' after ``data),'';
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Eligible Projects.--The Secretary shall make funds available
under the program for the support of cooperative research and
management projects to address critical needs identified by the
Councils. Each Council shall provide a list of such needs to the
Secretary on an annual basis, identifying and prioritizing such needs.
The program shall promote and encourage efforts to use sources of data
maintained by other Federal agencies, State agencies, local and
traditional knowledge, or academia for use in such projects.'';
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:--
``(c) Priorities.--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 cooperative research or management projects focused on addressing
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 improve fishery dependent data
collection, intake, use, and access including--
``(A) to assess the amount and type of bycatch or
post-release mortality occurring in a fishery;
``(B) expanding the use of electronic technology
and modernizing data management systems; and
``(C) improving monitoring coverage through the
expanded use of electronic technology.
``(3) Conservation engineering or management projects
designed to reduce bycatch, including avoidance of post-release
mortality, reduction of bycatch in high seas fisheries, and
transfer of such fishing technologies and methods to other
nations, or other regional entities, including fishing
communities, regional fishery associations, and fishing
sectors.
``(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 for which electronic technologies can be added.
``(6) Projects to test and expand electronic technologies
for monitoring, reporting, observer coverage, and other
functions.
``(7) Projects that use electronic technologies to monitor
changing ocean conditions, improve methods, support adaptive
management, and enhance climate resilience in fisheries.
``(8) Projects designed to identify the impacts of
anticipated changing ocean conditions, including climate
change, on fish stocks, fisheries, and fishing communities or
designed to develop conservation and management strategies to
adapt to those impacts.
``(9) Cooperative management projects that make use of data
collected under this section.
``(10) Projects to better understand shark depredation,
what causes increases in the behavior, and how to best address
the behavior.'';
(4) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(f) and (g), respectively;
(5) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Cooperative Management Agreements.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Councils and with input from the public, shall issue
guidance to facilitate a transparent, timely, uniform, and
regionally based process for the development, oversight, and
management of cooperative management agreements.
``(2) Process for approval.--The Secretary may use the
process developed pursuant to (d) to approve cooperative
management agreements as if such agreements are cooperative
fishing agreements.
``(3) Performance standards.--An agreement authorized by
this subsection shall be subject to performance standards and
accountability measures specified in a fishery management plan
or otherwise established by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Councils, and shall not allow catch in excess of annual
catch limits or bycatch in excess of bycatch caps or limits.
``(4) Pre-existing agreements.--This subsection shall not
apply to a cooperative management agreement submitted to,
proposed by or approved by the Secretary before the date of
enactment of this Act.''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Public Report of Data.--With respect to any cooperative
research project funded or experimental fishing permit issued under
this section, the appropriate Council shall publish a report of results
and data generated by such project or under such permit.
``(i) Progress Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries shall
provide a report to Congress on progress in implementing the
recommendations of the Cooperative Research and Cooperative Management
Working Group report entitled `NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-
156' and published in August 2015 and on the development and
implementation of any subsequent recommendations by such Working
Group.''.
(b) Section 2(a)(8) is amended by inserting ``Fisheries management
is most effective when it uses the best scientific information
available, and incorporates such information from governmental and
nongovernmental sources, including State and Federal agency staff,
fishermen, fishing communities, universities, nonprofit organizations,
local and traditional knowledge from Tribes, Indigenous communities,
and subsistence fishermen, and research institutions. Scientific and
statistical committees should consider such information when seeking
the best scientific information available to form the basis of
conservation and management.'' after ``States.''.
SEC. 405. NORTHEAST REGIONAL PILOT RESEARCH TRAWL SURVEY AND STUDY.
(a) Industry-Based Pilot Study.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in coordination
with the relevant Councils selected by the Secretary and the Northeast
Area Monitoring and Assessment Program, develop a fishing industry-
based Northeast regional pilot research trawl survey and study to
enhance and provide improvement to current National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration vessel trawl surveys.
(b) Components.--Under the pilot survey and study--
(1) the Secretary--
(A) may select fishing industry vessels to
participate in the study by issuing a request for
procurement;
(B) may use the Northeast Area Monitoring and
Assessment Program Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic
Nearshore Trawl Survey or another methodology selected
in partnership with the National Marine Fisheries
Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science as a model for the
pilot survey;
(C) shall outfit participating vessels with a peer-
reviewed net configuration; and
(D) shall ensure the pilot study uses a
statistically valid sampling method and spatial
coverage that allows for comparison with results from
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
trawl surveys; and
(2) the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast
Fisheries Science Center shall, in partnership with the
selected Councils and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
collect data for 5 years.
(c) Report.--Upon completion of the pilot survey and study, the
Secretary and the selected Councils shall submit a detailed report on
the results of the pilot survey and study to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
SEC. 406. RECREATIONAL DATA CONSISTENCY.
(a) In General.--Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(l) Recreational Data Improvement.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the
Future Act of 2022, the Secretary shall establish guidelines for
recreational catch data, which shall include the development of data
standards to improve timeliness, accuracy, precision and validation of
data produced by recreational surveys in order to facilitate the use of
such data in assessments, for use in management actions, and for other
uses as applicable. The Secretary's guidelines shall consider the
relevant recommendations developed under section 404(e), subsections
(g)(4)(C) and (h) of section 401, and section 201(b) of the Modernizing
Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 1881 note). If
recreational catch data for a stock of fish come from more than one
survey program, such as Federal and non-Federal sources, including from
States or Marine Fisheries Commissions, the Secretary shall implement
measures, which may include the use of calibration methods, as needed
for the timely integration of such data to ensure consistent methods
and approaches are used for monitoring of catch against the relevant
annual catch limits and for other fishery science and management
purposes.''.
(b) Recreational Data Improvement Program.--Title IV is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 409. RECREATIONAL DATA IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall initiate and maintain a
comprehensive program to implement the requirements and associated
guidelines in section 305(l). In executing the program, the Secretary
shall coordinate with programs established in subsection 401(g) and
promote collaboration with State and Federal partners.
``(b) Strategic Plan.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act of
2022, and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the
Secretary shall develop and publish in the Federal Register a strategic
plan for recreational data improvements for the 5 years immediately
following such publication. The plan shall--
``(1) improve coordination between Federal programs that
implement recreational fishing surveys and other data from non-
Federal sources, including data from States or Marine Fisheries
Commissions;
``(2) improve the timeliness, accuracy, precision, and
validation of data produced by surveys;
``(3) describe processes to calibrate data sources with
historical time series data prior to being used for management;
``(4) develop methods to integrate recreational data
collected from more than one source for use in assessments;
``(5) create goals, objectives, and timeframes for
achievement of paragraphs (1) through (4);
``(6) consider the use and effectiveness of experimental
fishing permits to carry out such research; and
``(7) describe the role of fishery participants in the
program. In developing the strategic plan and subsequent plans,
the Secretary shall cooperate with the Councils and affected
States, provide for coordination with the Councils, affected
States, and other research and data collection entities, and
allow for public input.
``(c) Areas of Research.--In initiating and maintaining the
program, the Secretary shall prioritize research and improvement in the
following areas:
``(1) Development of data standards and validation
processes for survey programs collecting data on recreational
fishing catch and effort, including those produced by State
agencies and considered integral or supplemental to Federal
surveys.
``(2) Research to understand how surveys of recreational
fishing can more effectively account for differences in fishing
rate and effort, including among fishermen who use private or
public access points, and fishermen who are State residents or
non-residents.
``(3) Methods and policies to improve the estimation of
discards in recreational fisheries, including estimation of
discarded fish both during and outside of fishing seasons.
``(4) To improve understanding of best practices for
minimizing discard mortality as well as estimation of adoption
rates of such practices by fishermen.
``(5) To assess changes in discard mortality estimates when
best fishing practices are adequately and verifiably applied.
``(6) Research on how the use of electronic applications
can be used to collect data in recreational fisheries,
including spatial information, depth, discard rate and
disposition, release method, and socioeconomic information,
while meeting data and validation standards.
``(7) Research on how electronic technologies can most
effectively be incorporated into survey designs.
``(8) Research of methods to integrate recreational catch
data from more than one survey source for use in assessments.
``(9) The use of approaches to improve recreational data,
including the use of tag and endorsement measures to fund such
data improvement, stock-wide regional effort surveys, and
species-specific oversampling.
``(d) Public Notice.--In developing the plan required under
subsection (b), the Secretary shall publish a proposed plan in the
Federal Register for the purpose of receiving public comment on the
plan. Upon final publication in the Federal Register, the plan shall be
submitted by the Secretary to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of
the House of Representatives.''.
SEC. 407. EMERGENCY OPERATING PLANS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator, not later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act and in consultation with the Fishery
Management Councils, relevant Federal, State, and international
agencies, scientific and technical experts, and interested
stakeholders, shall develop a contingency plan for circumstances that
would make fisheries monitoring, including human observation, surveys,
and other data collection to support stock assessments impractical.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to Congress on the
contingency plan developed under subsection (a).
SEC. 408. ZEKE GRADER FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT FUND.
(a) In General.--Section 208 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C.
1891b) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``zeke grader''
before ``fisheries conservation and management fund'';
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``Zeke Grader'' before
``Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund''; and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``Fishery Conservation
and Management Fund'' each place such term appears and
inserting ``Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management
Fund''.
(b) Adaptation for Climate Change.--Section 208(b) of such Act (16
U.S.C. 1891b(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'';
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) conducting research and analysis to prepare and adapt
fisheries and fishing communities to the effects of climate
change.''.
(c) Allocation.--Section 208(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1891b(d)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(d) Allocation.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), the Secretary shall, every 2 years, apportion amounts from
the Fund among the 8 Council regions according to
recommendations of the Councils, based on regional priorities
identified through the Council process.
``(2) Minimum allocation.--In the case of amounts deposited
in the Fund pursuant to subsection (c)(2), unless specified
otherwise, the Secretary shall allocate not less than 5 percent
of the Fund in each allocation period to each region.
``(3) Specifically apportioned funds.--The Secretary may
apportion amounts from the Fund to a specific project or region
if such amounts were identified by the Council that designated
such amounts for inclusion in the Fund under subsection (c)(1),
or by the appropriation Act, State, public source, or nonprofit
or organization from which they were received under subsection
(c)(2), as being deposited for that specific project or
region.''.
(d) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document,
paper, or other record of the United States to the ``Fisheries
Conservation and Management Fund'' is deemed to be a reference to the
``Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund''.
(e) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006
(Public Law 109-479) is amended by striking the item relating to
section 208 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 208. Zeke Grader Fisheries Conservation and Management Fund.''.
SEC. 409. OFFSHORE WIND COLLABORATION.
The Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, shall enter into a cooperative
agreement to fund such survey mitigation programs, additional stock
assessments, and fisheries and marine wildlife research as may be
necessary as a result of actions by such Bureau related to the
development of offshore wind energy.
SEC. 410. SHARK POPULATIONS ANALYSIS.
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary shall enter into an agreement for an independent analysis
to be done on shark populations in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic
coasts and, before starting the survey, develop a plan to integrate the
results of this study into the Secretary's own data sets and fishery
management measures.
TITLE V--SUSTAINING FISHERIES THROUGH HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS AND IMPROVED
MANAGEMENT
SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that protection of essential fish
habitat ensures healthy and resilient fisheries and marine ecosystems,
particularly as oceans conditions shift due to climate change, and that
impacts from both fishing gear and non-fishing activities should be
considered through consistent application of essential fish habitat
provisions under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
SEC. 502. ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT CONSULTATION.
(a) In General.--Section 305(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ``and such agencies
shall take action'' after ``agencies'';
(2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4); and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Consultations regarding federal agency action with
adverse effects on essential fish habitat.--
``(A) Requirement to avoid or mitigate adverse
effects.--With respect to any Federal agency action
that may have an adverse effect on--
``(i) essential fish habitat, each Federal
agency shall, in consultation with the
Secretary, ensure that any action authorized,
funded, or undertaken by such agency avoids the
adverse effect of such action on essential fish
habitat or, to the extent that the adverse
effect cannot be avoided, the agency shall
minimize and mitigate the adverse effect; and
``(ii) a habitat area of particular
concern, each Federal agency shall, in
consultation with the Secretary--
``(I) for the entire period during
which such adverse effect is likely to
occur, monitor or require monitoring
for such adverse effect;
``(II) for the entire period during
which such adverse effect is likely to
occur, take action to minimize and
mitigate such adverse effect of the
action on--
``(aa) the habitat area of
particular concern; and
``(bb) the species for with
respect to which the habitat
area of particular concern is
designated;
``(III) evaluate the effectiveness
of measures described in subclause (II)
and report the results of such
evaluation to the Secretary annually.
``(B) Considerations.--In consulting with a Federal
agency under subparagraph (A) for projects seeking to
restore and improve the long-term resilience of
habitat, particularly in estuarine environments heavily
impacted by sea level rise and other climate change
factors, the Secretary shall account for the
consequences of not pursuing such restoration and
habitat resilience projects and the long-term positive
impacts on fish populations of such activities.
``(C) Regulations.--The Secretary shall establish
regulations for the consultation process required by
subparagraph (A), including to ensure that
recommendations made by the Secretary pursuant to such
subparagraph would result in the avoidance, of adverse
effects on essential fish habitat and, to the extent
adverse effects cannot be avoided, the minimization and
mitigation of any such adverse effects.
``(3) Information to council.--The Secretary shall inform
each Council that has authority over an affected fishery of any
consultation carried out under paragraph (2), including
information on the proposed action and any potential adverse
effects, and each such Council--
``(A) may comment on and make recommendations to
the Secretary and any Federal or State agency
concerning the underlying action if, in the view of the
Council, such action may affect the habitat of a
fishery resource under the authority of such Council;
and
``(B) shall comment on and make recommendations to
the Secretary and any Federal or State agency
concerning the underlying action if, in the view of the
Council, such action is likely to adversely affect the
habitat of an anadromous fishery resource under the
authority of such Council.
``(4) Information from other sources.--
``(A) Receipt of information.--If the Secretary
receives information from any source and determines
that an action taken, funded, or authorized or proposed
to be taken, funded, or authorized by a State or
Federal agency may have an adverse effect on an
essential fish habitat identified under this Act, the
Secretary shall recommend to such agency measures that
avoid such adverse effects and to the extent the
adverse effects cannot be avoided, minimize and
mitigate such adverse effects.
``(B) Required response.--Not later than 30 days
after receiving a recommendation under subparagraph
(A), a Federal, State, or local agency shall provide a
detailed response in writing to any Council comment
under paragraph (3) and the Secretary regarding the
matter. The response shall include a description of
measures proposed by the agency for avoiding the
adverse effects, or to the extent the adverse effects
cannot be avoided, mitigating the adverse effects of
the action on such essential fish habitat. In the case
of a response that is inconsistent with the
recommendations of the Secretary, the Federal, State,
or local agency shall explain how the alternative
measures proposed will avoid the adverse effects of
such action on essential fish habitat or, to the extent
that adverse effects cannot be avoided, minimize and
mitigate the adverse effects.
``(C) Publication.--The Secretary shall make
available to the public--
``(i) any recommendation made under
subparagraph (A) on the date on which such
recommendation is made; and
``(ii) any response made by an agency under
subparagraph (B) on the date on which such
response is received.
``(D) Monitoring.--The Secretary shall monitor
measures taken by each Federal agency to meet the
requirements of this subsection.
``(E) Report to congress.--Not later than 5 years
after the date of the enactment of the Sustaining
America's Fisheries for the Future Act of 2022 and not
less frequently than every 5 years thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit a report--
``(i) describing the effectiveness of
measures taken by the Secretary to ensure the
conservation and enhancement of essential fish
habitat; and
``(ii) identifying opportunities for
partnerships between the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, in consultation
with other Federal agencies, State agencies,
and non-Federal partners to enhance data
collection, research, and monitoring of
essential fish habitat.''.
(b) Contents of Fishery Management Plans.--Section 303(a)(7) (16
U.S.C. 1853(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
``(7) describe and identify--
``(A) essential fish habitat for the fishery based
on the guidelines established by the Secretary under
section 305(b)(1)(A), minimize adverse effects on
essential fish habitat caused by fishing, and identify
other actions to encourage the conservation and
enhancement of essential fish habitat; and
``(B) habitat areas of particular concern based on
the guidelines established by the Secretary under
section 305(b)(1)(A), avoid adverse effects on such
habitat caused by fishing, monitor efficacy of actions
to avoid adverse effects, and identify other actions to
encourage the conservation and enhancement of such
habitat;''.
(c) Purpose.--Section 2(b)(7) (16 U.S.C. 1801(b)(7)) is amended by
striking ``in the review of projects'' and inserting ``from adverse
effects caused by fishing and from projects''.
(d) Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.--Section 3 (16 U.S.C.
1802) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (1) as paragraph (1A);
(2) by inserting before paragraph (1A), as redesignated,
the following:
``(1) Adverse effect.--The term `adverse effect' means,
with respect to essential fish habitat, any impact that reduces
the quality or quantity of essential fish habitat.''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the following:
``(19A) Habitat areas of particular concern.--The term
`habitat areas of particular concern' means specific types or
areas of habitat that are part of or within essential fish
habitat that--
``(A) provide important ecological function,
including for maintaining and restoring the biomass,
demographic, spatial and genetic characteristics of
fish populations;
``(B) are sensitive to human-induced environmental
degradation;
``(C) are or will be significantly stressed by
human activities;
``(D) due to prevailing or anticipated future
environmental conditions, are or may become important
to the health of managed species; or
``(E) are rare.''.
SEC. 503. REDUCING BYCATCH.
(a) Minimizing Bycatch.--
(1) National standards for fishery conservation and
management.--Section 301(a)(9) (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(9)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(9) Conservation and management measures shall--
``(A) minimize bycatch; and
``(B) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided,
minimize the mortality of such bycatch.''.
(2) Contents of fishery management plans.--Section 303 (16
U.S.C. 1853) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in paragraph (5), by inserting
``quantification of bycatch,'' after
``hauls,''; and
(ii) in paragraph (11), by striking ``to
the extent practicable and''; and
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and''
at the end; and
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (12) the
following:
``(13) consider full retention requirements for species
with high catch mortality rates; and''.
(3) Action by the secretary.--Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854)
is amended--
(A) by redesignating the second subsection (i) as
subsection (j); and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Standardized Bycatch Reporting Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the
Future Act of 2022, the Secretary shall establish a national
standardized reporting program (referred to in this subsection
as `the program') to assess the amount and type of bycatch
occurring in each fishery and across fisheries, determine the
contribution of bycatch to the total fishing-related mortality
of each fishery, and evaluate the effects of bycatch on
relevant fisheries and the ecosystem.
``(2) Methodology and standards.--The Secretary shall,
acting through the program--
``(A) identify appropriate methodologies and
standards for collecting and producing statistically
accurate and precise information regarding bycatch; and
``(B) require consistent data reporting,
collection, and assessment for all fisheries managed
under fishery management plans.
``(3) Multiple jurisdictions.--In a case in which a species
is caught in areas under the jurisdiction of more than one
Council or fishery management plan, the Secretary shall require
consistent reporting mechanisms across jurisdictions to ensure
that data can be aggregated and compared.
``(4) Coordination with states.--The Secretary shall
coordinate with State fishery managers to carry out paragraph
(3).''.
(b) Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.--
(1) In general.--Section 316(a) (16 U.S.C. 1865(a)) is
amended by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the
following:
``(3) provide information, outreach, technical assistance,
and training to Councils, Tribes, and fishery participants that
will encourage adoption and use of technologies and methods
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 technologies and methods developed under the program in
fishery management plans, actions, and other measures developed
by the Councils or the Secretary.''.
(2) Frequency of report.--Section 316(d) (16 U.S.C.
1865(d)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``transmit an annual report'' and
inserting ``, not less frequently than once every 3
years, transmit a report'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) includes a description of all bycatch reduction
technologies and methods developed, tested, or supported by the
Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program, and a summary of how
such technologies and methods have been implemented into
fishery management, or an explanation for why such technologies
and methods have not been implemented.''.
SEC. 504. IMPROVING REBUILDING OUTCOMES.
Section 304(e) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)) is amended to read as follows:--
``(e) Rebuilding Overfished Fisheries and Ending Overfishing.--
``(1) Determination of status.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, determine,
based on the best scientific information available and
at any time, for stocks within each Council's
geographic area of authority, (or the Secretary, for
stocks managed under section 302(a)(3)), whether such
stock of fish is each of the following:
``(i) Subject to overfishing.
``(ii) Overfished.
``(iii) Approaching a condition of being
overfished.
``(B) Criteria for determination.--
``(i) Criteria provided by managing
document.--In making a determination under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, with
respect to a stock of fish managed under a
stock of fish management plan or international
agreement, use the criteria specified in such
plan or agreement.
``(ii) Approaching a condition of being
overfished.--In making a determination under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall classify
a stock of fish as approaching a condition of
being overfished if, based on trends in fishing
effort, fishery resource size, and other
appropriate factors, the Secretary estimates
that the stock of fish will become overfished
within 2 years.
``(iii) Stocks lacking criteria.--For
stocks that lack criteria as required under
section 303(a)(10), the Secretary shall
determine whether the stock is overfished or
subject to overfishing using the best available
scientific information.
``(2) Publication.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall publish each
determination made under paragraph (1) in the Federal
Register.
``(B) Notification of council.--If the Secretary
determines that a stock of fish is subject to
overfishing, overfished, or approaching a condition of
being overfished under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall immediately notify the appropriate Council and
request that action be taken--
``(i) to end overfishing with respect to
the stock of fish immediately;
``(ii) for a stock of fish that is
overfished, to end overfishing immediately and
to implement conservation and management
measures to rebuild affected the stock of fish;
or
``(iii) for a stock of fish that is
approaching an overfished condition, to end
overfishing immediately and prevent the stock
of fish from reaching a overfished condition.
``(C) Annual report.--The Secretary shall submit an
annual report to Congress and the Councils. Such
report--
``(i) shall list each determination made
with respect to a stock of fish under paragraph
(1) during the preceding year;
``(ii) shall identify each stock of fish
managed under this Act that is under a
rebuilding plan or in need of a rebuilding plan
(as specified by this section), including--
``(I) specifying the number of
years the stock of fish has been in a
rebuilding plan;
``(II) the anticipated length in
years of the stock of fish's current
rebuilding plan;
``(III) the number of rebuilding
plans that have been implemented for
the stock of fish; and
``(IV) whether a lack of adequate
progress toward ending overfishing and
rebuilding has been found for the stock
of fish; and
``(iii) may use, as appropriate, the term
`depleted' to further describe an overfished
stock of fish that has been significantly
impacted by environmental factors in addition
to (or in absence of) fishing pressure.
``(3) Required action by council.--
``(A) Determination that requires action.--Not
later than 2 years after date on which the Secretary
makes any of the following determinations, the
appropriate Council (or the Secretary, for fisheries
managed under section 302(a)(3)) shall take an action
described in subparagraph (B):
``(i) A determination that a stock of fish
is subject to overfishing, overfished, or
approaching a condition of being overfished.
``(ii) A determination that a rebuilding
plan has failed under paragraph (7)(C).
``(iii) A determination that a stock of
fish has reached the end of the time period for
a rebuilding plan under paragraph (8).
``(B) Actions.--The actions described in this
subparagraph are--
``(i) with respect to a stock of fish that
is subject to overfishing, to end overfishing
immediately and prevent overfishing of the
stock;
``(ii) with respect to a stock of fish that
is overfished, to end overfishing immediately
and to rebuild the stock of fish; or
``(iii) with respect to a stock of fish
that is approaching an overfished condition, to
end overfishing immediately and prevent the
stock of fish from reaching an overfished
condition.
``(4) Rebuilding plan required.--For a stock of fish that
is overfished, any management document prepared pursuant to
paragraph (3) or paragraph (5) for such fishery shall--
``(A) specify a time period for rebuilding the
stock of fish that shall--
``(i) be as short as possible, taking into
account the status and biology of overfished
stocks of fish, the needs of fishing
communities, recommendations by international
organizations in which the United States
participates, and the interaction of the
overfished stock of fish within the marine
ecosystem; and
``(ii) not exceed the time the stock of
fish would be rebuilt in the absence of any
fishing mortality plus one mean generation;
``(B) allocate both overfishing restrictions and
recovery benefits fairly and equitably among sectors of
the fishery;
``(C) for a stock of fish managed under an
international agreement, reflect traditional
participation in the stock of fish, relative to other
nations, by fishermen of the United States; and
``(D) contain objective and measurable criteria for
evaluating rebuilding progress.
``(5) Secretarial plan.--If a Council does not meet the
deadline described in paragraph (3)(A) to submit a management
document the Secretary shall, not later than 9 months after the
expiration of such deadline, prepare such management document
for the affected fish stock under subsection (c).
``(6) Interim measures.--During the development of a
management document for a stock of fish required by this
subsection, a Council may request that the Secretary implement
interim measures to reduce overfishing under section 305(c)
until such measures can be replaced by such management
document. Such measures, if otherwise in compliance with the
provisions of this Act, may be implemented even though they are
not sufficient to stop overfishing of a fishery.
``(7) Assessment of rebuilding plan.--
``(A) Secretarial review.--The Secretary shall
review each management document relating to a stock of
fish required by this subsection not less often than
once every 2 years to determine whether such management
document has resulted in adequate progress toward
rebuilding affected stocks of fish. The Secretary shall
find a lack of adequate progress toward rebuilding an
affected stock of fish if--
``(i) the status of the stock is not
improving sufficiently such that it becomes
unlikely that the stock will be rebuilt within
the rebuilding time period;
``(ii) the applicable fishing mortality
rate or annual catch limits are exceeded, and
the causes and rebuilding consequences of such
exceedances have not been corrected;
``(iii) new scientific information
demonstrates that assumptions regarding the
stock's biology that formed the basis for the
rebuilding plan, such as stock productivity,
were fundamentally inaccurate, and such
inaccuracies render the current rebuilding plan
unable to address the stock's rebuilding needs;
or
``(iv) for such other reasons as the
Secretary determines appropriate.
``(B) Finding of inadequate progress.--Except as
provided in subparagraph (C), if the Secretary finds
after a review under subparagraph (A) that a management
document has not resulted in adequate progress toward
rebuilding affected fish stocks, the Secretary shall--
``(i) in the case of a stock of fish to
which section 302(a)(3) applies, immediately
make revisions necessary to achieve adequate
progress toward rebuilding by the deadline
established under paragraph (4); or
``(ii) for all other stocks of fish,
immediately notify the appropriate Council,
which must make revisions necessary to achieve
adequate progress toward rebuilding by not
later than the deadline established under
paragraph (4). If the Council fails to complete
such action by the date that is 9 months after
the date of such notification, the Secretary
shall, not later than 18 months after the date
of such notification, make such revisions as
are needed to ensure adequate progress toward
rebuilding by not later than the rebuilding
deadline established under paragraph (4).
``(C) Failed rebuilding plan.--If the Secretary
finds that revisions pursuant to subparagraph (B)
cannot achieve adequate progress within the time period
set under paragraph (4), the Secretary may find that
the rebuilding plan has failed.
``(D) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the
results of a review performed under this paragraph in
the Federal Register, including a determination of
adequate progress or inadequate progress, and the basis
for such determination.
``(8) Subsequent rebuilding plan.--If a rebuilding time
period established under paragraph (4) expires and the relevant
fish stock has not been rebuilt, or the Secretary determines
that an existing rebuilding plan has failed under paragraph
(7)(C), the Council (or Secretary in the case of a stock to
which section 302(a)(3) applies) shall prepare a new rebuilding
plan pursuant to paragraphs (3) through (6), except that such
plan shall have not less than a 75 percent chance of rebuilding
the stock of fish by the end of the new rebuilding time period
set under paragraph (4). Management measures intended to
rebuild the stock shall remain in effect during such
preparation of a rebuilding plan.
``(9) Management document.--In this subsection, the term
`management document' means a management plan, management plan
amendment, or proposed regulations for a stock of fish.''.
SEC. 505. OVERFISHED FISHERIES AND PREVENTING OVERFISHING.
(a) Information Provided by Scientific and Statistical
Committees.--Section 302(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``ecological,'' after
``social,''; and
(2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) Each scientific and statistical committee shall
provide its Council with ongoing scientific advice for fishery
management decisions, including--
``(i) recommendations for accounting for all
sources of mortality in establishing management
measures, for the acceptable biological catch levels,
for preventing overfishing, for maximum sustainable
yield, and for achieving rebuilding targets and
promoting resilience of fish stocks to climate change;
``(ii) objective and measurable criteria for
determining whether a stock is overfished or
experiencing overfishing; and
``(iii) reports on stock status and health, sources
of mortality, bycatch, habitat status, social,
ecological, and economic impacts of management
measures, and sustainability of fishing practices, and
prevailing and anticipated future impacts of climate
change on fish stocks, fishing communities, and fishery
sectors.''.
(b) Minimum Required Precautionary Standard.--Section 303(a)(10)
(16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(10)) is amended to read as follows:
``(10) specify objective and measurable criteria for
identifying when the fish stock to which the plan applies is
overfished or subject to overfishing (with an analysis of how
the criteria were determined and the relationship of the
criteria to the reproductive potential of stocks of fish in
that fishery), which may not be less precautionary than the
recommendation of the scientific and statistical committees for
such fishery, and, in the case of a fishery which the Council
or the Secretary has determined is approaching an overfished
condition or is overfished, contain conservation and management
measures to prevent overfishing or end overfishing and rebuild
the fishery.''.
(c) Technical Correction.--Section 301 of the Modernizing
Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 1801 note) is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
``Nothing in this Act, including the amendment made by section
102(a)(3), shall be construed as modifying the requirements of sections
301(a), 302(h)(6), 303(a)(15), or 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or the equal application of
such requirements and other standards and requirements under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to commercial,
charter, and recreational fisheries, including each component of mixed-
use fisheries.''.
SEC. 506. PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF SECRETARIAL PLANS.
Section 304(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall'';
(2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``not to exceed 2
years, or 9 months in the case of a management plan or
amendment subject to section 304(e)(7)(B)'' after ``time'';
(3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``not later than 180
days after the disapproval'' before the semicolon; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``Not later than 30 days before the date on which a time period
established in subparagraph (B) or (C) ends, the Secretary shall
provide written notification to the affected Council that if such
Council does not fulfill the requirements described in such
subparagraph, the Secretary shall issue a Secretarial plan.''.
SEC. 507. COUNCILS.
Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (7)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) prioritize fisheries and habitats
experiencing or expected to experience shifts in
geographic range, spatial distribution, or
productivity;'';
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as paragraphs
(11) and (13), respectively; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) approve, for each of its managed stocks, objective
and measurable criteria for identifying whether the stock is
overfished or experiencing overfishing, which may not be less
precautionary than the recommendation of its scientific and
statistical committee;
``(9) develop and implement a habitat protection plan to
protect essential fish habitat in the region of the Council
from adverse effects caused by fishing that shall include--
``(A) quantitative and measurable targets and goals
for increasing quality, quantity, and
representativeness of essential fish habitat; and
``(B) conservation and management measures in a
fishery management plan to implement the habitat
protection plan;
``(10) at routine intervals not less frequently than every
7 years and based on scientific evidence or other relevant
information, review habitat protection plans developed under
paragraph (9) by such Council and each designation of essential
fish habitat and habitat areas of particular concern under
section 303(a)(7) by such Council, and amend such Council's
fishery management plans as necessary and appropriate;''.
SEC. 508. FORAGE FISH CONSERVATION.
(a) Secretary To Define Forage Fish.--Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855)
is further amended by adding after subsection (l), as added by this
Act, the following:
``(m) Forage Fish.--Not later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act of
2022, the Secretary shall establish by regulation, in consultation with
the Regional Fishery Management Councils, a definition of the term
`forage fish' for the purposes of this Act. In defining such term, the
Secretary shall consider factors including whether a species covered by
such definition, throughout such species' lifecycle--
``(1) is at a low trophic level;
``(2) is generally small- to intermediate-sized;
``(3) occurs in schools or other dense aggregations;
``(4) contributes significantly to the diets of other fish,
marine mammals, or birds; and
``(5) serves as a conduit for energy transfer to species at
a higher trophic level.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is further amended--
(1) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following:
``(18A) Forage fish.--The term `forage fish'--
``(A) has the meaning given the term by the
Secretary under section 305(m); and
``(B) with respect to a species in a fishery
managed pursuant to a fishery management plan or plan
amendment that is approved by the Secretary under
section 304(a), means any species identified in such
plan as a forage fish.''; and
(2) in paragraph (33)--
(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,
including marine mammals and birds, for which forage
fish is a significant dietary component.''.
(c) Scientific Advice.--Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C.
1852(g)(1)(B)) is further amended--
(1) in clause (ii), as added by this Act, by striking
``and'';
(2) in clause (iii), as added by this Act, by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) maintaining a sufficient abundance,
diversity, and localized distribution of forage fish
populations to support the role of such populations in
marine ecosystems.''.
(d) Council Functions.--
(1) Research priorities.--Section 302(h)(7) (16 U.S.C.
1852(h)(7)) is further amended by inserting ``forage fish
populations and distribution,'' after ``habitats,''.
(2) Unmanaged forage fish.--Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C.
1852(h)) is further amended by inserting after paragraph (11),
as redesignated, the following:
``(12) develop and submit to the Secretary for approval a
list of unmanaged forage fish occurring in the area under its
authority for which the development of any new directed forage
fish fishery is prohibited 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''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall take effect 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(e) Contents of Fishery Management Plans.--
(1) Forage fish management.--Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C.
1853(a)) is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(18) 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.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(f) Action by the Secretary.--Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is
further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Forage Fish Management Guidelines.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the
Future Act of 2022, the Secretary shall establish by regulation
guidelines to assist the Councils in implementing sections
302(h)(12) and 303(a)(18).
``(2) Workshops.--In developing the guidelines under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct workshops with
Councils and other scientific, fisheries, and conservation
interests.
``(m) Forage Fish Prohibition.--In accordance with section
302(h)(12), the Secretary shall prohibit the development of any new
directed forage fish fishery.''.
(g) River Herring and Shad.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section--
(A) River herring.--The term ``river herring''
means blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife
(Alosa pseudoharengus).
(B) Shad.--The term ``shad'' means American shad
(Alosa sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa mediocris).
(2) Amendments of plans.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
shall--
(A) 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));
(B) initiate additional fishery management plan
amendments to be completed in not more than one 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
(C) 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 ensure accurate and precise catch
accounting on an ongoing basis within any fishery using
mid-water trawl or paired mid-water trawl fishing gear
in the Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel fisheries
through the use of human or electronic on-board
observation.
(h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section 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.).
SEC. 509. FUNDING FOR MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF NORTHEAST
MULTISPECIES FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Section 311(f)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1861(f)(4)) is amended by striking
``pursuant to this section'' and all that follows through the end of
the sentence and inserting ``to enforce and monitor (including
electronic monitoring) implementation of that plan.''.
SEC. 510. HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.
Section 304(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``a scientific and
statistical committee and'' after ``establish''; and
(2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
``(C) for stocks not managed pursuant to the Atlantic Tunas
Convention Act of 1975, develop annual catch limits that may
not exceed the fishing level recommendations of the scientific
and statistical committee;''.
TITLE VI--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
SEC. 601. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER OF THE ATLANTIC TUNAS CONVENTION
ACT.
(a) Appointment and Procedure of Commissioners.--Section 3(a) of
the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971a(a)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(a) Appointment and Number; Rules of Procedure; Term.--
``(1) Appointment.--The President shall appoint four
Commissioners to serve as delegates of the United States to the
Commission as follows:
``(A) One Commissioner shall be a Federal employee
who shall serve as Chair.
``(B) Three Commissioners shall not be Federal
employees, of whom--
``(i) one shall have knowledge and
experience regarding commercial fishing in the
Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean
Sea;
``(ii) one shall have knowledge and
experience regarding recreational fishing in
the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or
Caribbean Sea; and
``(iii) one shall have knowledge and
experience in marine conservation, shall
represent the public interest in marine
conservation and non-consumptive uses of the
Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Carribean
Sea.
``(2) Term of appointment.--
``(A) Length of term.--The term of a Commissioner
appointed under paragraph (1) shall be three years.
``(B) Consecutive terms.--No individual appointed
under paragraph (1) shall serve more than two
consecutive terms as Commissioner.
``(C) Pleasure of the president.--Each Commissioner
appointed under paragraph (1) shall serve at the
pleasure of the President.
``(3) Representation of the united states.--
``(A) In general.--At meetings of the Commission,
Council, any Panel, or any other function as provided
for in the Convention, the United States shall be
represented by the Commissioner described in paragraph
(1)(A) and two Commissioners described in paragraph
(1)(B).
``(B) Procedures for rotation.-- The Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall
establish procedures under which the Commissioners
appointed described in paragraph (1)(B) rotate in
representing the United States to the Commission.
``(C) Right to participation.--Each Commissioner
appointed under paragraph (1) may--
``(i) attend all meetings of the
Commission, Council, any Panel, or any other
function as provided for in the Convention; and
``(ii) participate fully in all United
States preparatory activity for any activity
relating to the Convention.''.
(b) Regulation May Not Decrease Allocation or Quota.--Section
6(c)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 971d(c)(3)) is amended by striking ``or
decreasing''.
SEC. 602. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER TO THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC
FISHERIES CONVENTION.
Section 503(a) of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries
Convention Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 6902(a)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Appointment.--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 and commercial fishing in the Western and
Central Pacific Ocean--
``(A) one of whom shall be an officer or employee
of the Department of Commerce;
``(B) one of whom shall be the chairman or a member
of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council;
``(C) one of whom shall be the chairman or a member
of the Pacific Fishery Management Council; and
``(D) one of whom shall be an individual with
knowledge and experience in marine conservation who
shall represent the public interest in marine
conservation and non-consumptive uses of the Western
and Central Pacific Ocean.
``(2) Rules of procedure.--The Commissioners shall be
entitled to adopt such rules of procedures as they find
necessary and to select a chairman from among members who are
officers or employees of the United States Government.''.
SEC. 603. CONSERVATION COMMISSIONER TO THE INTER-AMERICAN TROPICAL TUNA
COMMISSION.
Section 3(a) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 (16 U.S.C. 952) is
amended to read as follows:
``(a) Commissioners.--
``(1) Appointment.--The President shall appoint four
individuals to represent the United States on the Commission.
``(2) Removal.--The Commissioners appointed under paragraph
(1) shall be subject to supervision and removal by the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary.
``(3) Qualifications.--In making an appointment under
paragraph (1), the President shall select Commissioners from
among individuals who are knowledgeable or experienced
concerning highly migratory fish stocks in the eastern tropical
Pacific Ocean--
``(A) one of whom shall be an officer or employee
of the Department of Commerce; and
``(B) one of whom shall be a an individual with
knowledge and experience in marine conservation, and
who shall represent the public interest in marine
conservation and non-consumptive uses of the eastern
tropical Pacific Ocean.
``(4) Limitation on appointments.--The President may not
appoint more than two Commissioners under paragraph (1) who
reside in a State other than a State whose vessels maintain a
substantial fishery in the area of the Convention.''.
SEC. 604. APPLICATION OF ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES
REQUIREMENT.
Section 104(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 1853 note) is amended
to read as follows:
``(b) Effective Dates; Application to Certain Species.--The
amendment made by subsection (a)(10)--
``(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), shall apply to
any management plan for a stock of fish prepared by any Council
or the Secretary, including a management plan governing a stock
of fish managed under an international agreement in which the
United States participates; and
``(2) shall not apply to a management plan for a stock of
fish for a species that has a life cycle of approximately 1
year unless the Secretary has determined such stock of fish is
subject to overfishing with respect to such 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.''.
SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary the
following amounts to carry out the provisions of this Act:
(1) For fiscal year 2023, $698,142,000.
(2) For fiscal year 2024, $714,200,000.
(3) For fiscal year 2025, $730,626,000.
(4) For fiscal year 2026, $747,431,000.
(5) For fiscal year 2027, $764,621,000.
(6) For fiscal year 2028, $782,207,000.
Union Calendar No. 502
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4690
[Report No. 117-685, Part I]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 30, 2022
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment
December 30, 2022
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed