Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (currently, the Secretary of Commerce) to appoint members to the Regional Fishery Management Councils who, by reason of their occupational or other experience, are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management, or the commercial or recreational harvest, of fishery resources. Revises requirements for the composition of such councils and the qualifications of voting Council members.
Sets forth certain requirements with respect to: (1) training of appointed Council members; and (2) disclosure of financial interest and recusal of Council members.
Directs the Secretary to establish regional science and technical teams to make recommendations on certain matters, on the basis of which the Secretary shall provide Councils conservation and management measures for incorporation into fishery management plans that establish: (1) catch and bycatch limits; (2) specific habitat and area protections to protect essential fish habitats; and (3) specific requirements necessary to protect endangered species.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4706 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4706
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to provide for stewardship of fishery resources for the American
public, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 2004
Mr. Rahall (for himself, Mr. Farr, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee,
Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Capps, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Wexler,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Case, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr.
Honda, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Schiff) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to provide for stewardship of fishery resources for the American
public, 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 ``Fisheries Management Reform Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to
be made to such section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST ON REGIONAL FISHERY
MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.
(a) Appointment of Members by Administrator.--
(1) Appointment of members.--Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852)
is amended--
(A) by striking ``appointed by the Secretary'' each
place it appears and inserting ``appointed by the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration'';
(B) in paragraphs (2) and (6) of subsection (b) by
striking ``The Secretary'' each place it appears and
inserting ``The Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration'';
(C) in paragraph (5)(A) of subsection (b) by
striking ``The Secretary'' the first and second places
it appears and inserting ``The Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'';
(D) in subsection (b) by striking ``the Secretary''
each place it appears, other than in paragraph (6)(B),
and inserting ``the Administrator''; and
(E) in subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii) by striking ``the
Secretary's'' and inserting ``the Administrator's''.
(2) Application with respect to current members of
councils.--
(A) Appointment not affected.--The amendment made
by paragraph (1)(A) shall not affect any appointment by
the Secretary of Commerce made before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Removal.--In applying section 302(b)(6) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, as amended by this subsection, to a member of a
Regional Fishery Management Council appointed before
the date of the enactment of this Act, ``by the
Secretary'' shall be substituted for ``by the
Administrator''.
(b) Representation by State Officials.--Section 302(b)(1)(A) (16
U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Such official shall represent the interests of the general public.''.
(c) Allocation of Appointments.--Section 302(b)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C.
1852(b)(2)(B)) is amended in the first sentence--
(1) by striking ``of the active participants'' and
inserting ``among the active participants''; and
(2) by inserting before the period the following: ``and
representatives of the public interest in marine fish
conservation, including individuals who do not derive any of
their annual income from commercial or recreational fishing and
who are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management
of the fishery resources of the geographic area concerned''.
(d) Consultation by States in Submitting Nominees.--Section
302(b)(2)(C) (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(C)) is amended--
(1) in the second sentence by inserting ``and
representatives of conservation organizations'' after
``commercial and recreational fishing interests''; and
(2) by striking the third sentence and inserting the
following: ``Each list shall consist of a broad slate of
candidates for each vacancy, shall include at least two
representatives from each of the commercial fishing industry
sector, the recreational fishing sector, and the marine fish
conservation public interest sector who do not derive any of
their annual income from commercial or recreational fishing,
and shall consist solely of individuals who are knowledgeable
regarding the conservation and management of the fishery
resources of the geographic area concerned.''.
(e) Training of Appointed Members.--
(1) Training requirement.--Section 302(b) (16 U.S.C.
1852(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Training of appointed members.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide to
each member of a Council appointed by the Secretary
under this subsection, by not later than 6 months after
the date of the member's appointment, training in
matters relating to the functions of the Council,
including--
``(i) fishery science and basic fish stock
assessment;
``(ii) social science and fishery
economics;
``(iii) the requirements of this Act, the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code
(popularly known as the Administrative
Procedures Act), and other relevant statutes or
regulations;
``(iv) conflict of interest policies that
apply to Council members; and
``(v) the public process for developing
fishery management plans.
``(B) Restriction on voting.--A member of a Council
to whom the Secretary is required to provide training
under this paragraph may not vote on any decision of
the Council before the date the member completes such
training.''.
(2) Limitation on application.--The amendment made by
paragraph (1) shall not apply to a member of a Regional Fishery
Management Council appointed before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(f) Technical Correction.--Section 302(b)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C.
1852(b)(2)(B)) is amended in the second sentence by striking ``Merchant
Marine and Fisheries'' and inserting ``Resources''.
SEC. 4. QUALIFICATION OF VOTING COUNCIL MEMBERS; DISCLOSURE OF
FINANCIAL INTEREST AND RECUSAL.
(a) Qualifications of Voting Council Members.--Section 302(b)(2)(A)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(2)(A)) is amended by--
(1) inserting after ``geographical area concerned'' the
following: ``, and must not have been found by the Secretary,
after notice and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance
with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, to have
committed an act prohibited by section 307(1)(D), (E), (F),
(H), (I), or (L) or section 307(2)''; and
(2) striking ``of the Fishery Conservation Amendments of
1990'' and replacing with ``of the Fisheries Management Reform
Act of 2004''.
(b) Disclosure of Financial Interest and Recusal.--
(1) Amendments relating to disclosure and recusal.--Section
302(j) (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended as follows:
(A) By striking the heading and inserting
``Disclosure of Financial Interest and Recusal.--''.
(B) By striking paragraph (6), and redesignating
paragraphs (7) and (8) in order as paragraphs (6) and
(7).
(C) In paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by
striking so much as precedes subparagraph (B) and
inserting the following:
``(6) Prohibition on participation.--(A)(i) An affected
individual shall not vote on a Council decision that would have
an effect on a financial interest that the individual is
required to disclose under paragraph (2).
``(ii) An affected individual who is prohibited from voting
on a Council decision may not participate in any Council
deliberations relating to the decision.''.
(D) In paragraph (6)(B), as so redesignated--
(i) by inserting ``or a member of the
public'' after ``an affected individual''; and
(ii) by striking ``would have a significant
and predictable effect on a financial
interest'' and inserting ``would have an effect
on the financial interest of an affected
individual''.
(E) In paragraph (6)(C), as so redesignated, by
inserting ``, or member of the public,'' after ``Any
Council member''.
(F) In paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by
striking subparagraph (D) and redesignating
subparagraphs (E) and (F) in order as subparagraphs (D)
and (E).
(G) In paragraph (6)(D), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``may not'' and inserting
``shall''; and
(ii) by inserting before the period the
following: ``, if the Secretary determines that
the Council decision had an effect on the
financial interest of an affected individual
and the affected individual's vote decided the
Council action''.
(H) By amending paragraph (6)(E), as so
redesignated, to read as follows:
``(E) The Secretary, in consultation with the Councils and
by not later than one year after the date of enactment of the
Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004, shall promulgate
regulations that allow for the making of determinations under
subparagraphs (B) and (C).''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 307(1)(O) (16 U.S.C.
1857(1)(O)) is amended by striking ``302(j)(7)(A)'' and
inserting ``307(j)(6)(A)''.
SEC. 5. REGIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL TEAMS.
Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6), and by
inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) Regional science and technical teams.--(A) The
Secretary shall establish regional science and technical teams
to provide the Secretary with recommendations to carry out
section 303(e).
``(B) Each science and technical team established under
this paragraph shall consist of Federal, State, and academic
qualified independent scientists.
``(C) Each science and technical team established under
this paragraph shall--
``(i) based on the best scientific information
available, recommend to the Secretary--
``(I) acceptable biological catch and
bycatch limits, including annual limits, that
are consistent with the national standard set
forth in section 301(a)(1) and that consider
predator-prey relationships and other
ecological factors;
``(II) specific habitat and area
protections necessary to protect essential fish
habitats; and
``(III) specific requirements necessary to
protect species listed as threatened species or
endangered species under section 4 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533);
``(ii) allow an opportunity for public input,
including with respect to catch and bycatch limits and
habitat protection measures recommended by the team,
consider such input in developing its recommendations,
and create a public record of such input and the team's
response to such input; and
``(iii) publish its recommendations in the Federal
Register.
``(D) Recommendations of a regional science and technical
team submitted to the Secretary under this paragraph must be
subjected to peer review by qualified independent
scientists.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) For the purposes of this subsection, the term `qualified
independent scientists' means individuals who--
``(A) through publication of peer-reviewed scientific
literature and academic training, have demonstrated scientific
expertise in fisheries science or marine ecology; and
``(B) have no direct financial interest, and are not
employed by any person with a direct financial interest, in any
fishery.''.
SEC. 6. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) Required Provisions Regarding Protection, Restoration, and
Promotion of Ecosystems.--Section 303(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting before the semicolon
the following: ``and the associated ecosystem'';
(2) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of
subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end of
subparagraph (C) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding at the
end the following:
``(D) consistent with the conservation and
management measures developed by the Secretary pursuant
to subsection (e), except a Council may modify any
conservation and management measure to provide greater
conservation in order to achieve plan objectives,
including to protect and maintain the ecological role
of forage fish.''; and
(3) by amending paragraph (14) to read as follows:
``(14) allocate any quotas or other conservation and
management measures established by the Secretary under
subsection (e) fairly and equitably among the commercial,
recreational, and charter fishing sectors in the fishery, and
allow individual sectors of the fishery to develop allocation
plans subject to the approval of the Council.''.
(b) Development of Conservation and Management Measures by
Secretary.--Section 303 (16 U.S.C. 1853) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(e) Development of Conservation and Management Measures by
Secretary.--The Secretary shall, based on recommendations of the
regional science and technical teams established under section
302(g)(5), provide Councils conservation and management measures for
incorporation into fishery management plans, plan amendments, or annual
specifications, that establish--
``(1) catch and bycatch limits that do not exceed
acceptable biological catch limits, including annual limits,
that are consistent with the national standard set forth in
section 301(a)(1) and that consider predator-prey relationships
and other ecological factors;
``(2) specific habitat and area protections necessary to
protect essential fish habitats; and
``(3) specific requirements necessary to protect species
listed as endangered species or threatened species under
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1248-1249)
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
Executive Comment Requested from Commerce.
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