Gulf Fisheries Fairness Act

Gulf Fisheries Fairness Act - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide each of the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida with exclusive fishery management authority over reef fish: (1) within the exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico in waters of a specified average depth on a continuous line within a minimum distance of nine nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the United States is measured, and (2) between projected jurisdictional lines determined by the President under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish a description and map of the applicable line along the coasts of such states.

Prohibits the Secretary from suspending, revoking, terminating, or otherwise limiting the authority of any person under federal law to engage in fishing based on the person fishing for Gulf reef fish in waters subject to the exclusive authority of such states.

Exempts such waters from specified federal regulatory requirements addressing fishery permits.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1219 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1219

 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
 to provide that each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 Alabama, and Florida have exclusive fishery management authority over 
  reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, are 20 
           fathoms or less in depth, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 15, 2013

  Mr. Bonner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
 to provide that each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 Alabama, and Florida have exclusive fishery management authority over 
  reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico in waters that, on average, are 20 
           fathoms or less in depth, 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 ``Gulf Fisheries Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. STATE EXCLUSIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY OVER REEF FISH IN 
              THE GULF OF MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act is amended--
            (1) in section 101 (16 U.S.C. 1811)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and 
                subsection (c) of this section'' after ``section 102''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) State Exclusive Fishery Management Authority Over Reef Fish 
in the Gulf of Mexico.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, 
        Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida shall have exclusive fishery 
        management authority over all Gulf reef fish in all waters that 
        are--
                    ``(A) within the exclusive economic zone in the 
                Gulf of Mexico;
                    ``(B) not further from shore than the line 
                described under paragraph (2); and
                    ``(C) between the projected lines determined for 
                that State under section 4(a)(2)(A) of the Outer 
                Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A)).
            ``(2) Description of line.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall publish a 
                description of, and map showing, a continuous line in 
                waters of the exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of 
                Mexico along the coasts of the States referred to in 
                paragraph (1), that is comprised of points that are, on 
                average, 20 fathoms in depth.
                    ``(B) Minimum distance.--No point on such line 
                shall be less than 9 nautical miles from the baseline 
                from which the territorial sea of the United States is 
                measured.
            ``(3) Prohibition on limiting authority to fish under 
        federal law.--The Secretary may not suspend, revoke, terminate, 
        or otherwise limit the authority of any person under Federal 
        law to engage in fishing, based on fishing by the person for 
        Gulf reef fish in waters that are subject to the exclusive 
        fishery management authority of a State under this subsection.
            ``(4) Gulf reef fish defined.--In this subsection the term 
        `Gulf reef fish' means all fish listed in table 3 of appendix A 
        to part 622 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this subsection).''; and
            (2) in section 302(a)(1)(E) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)(E)), by 
        inserting ``of this subsection and section 101(c)'' after 
        ``paragraph (3)''.
    (b) Deadline.--The Secretary of Commerce shall publish the 20-
fathom line description and map required under the amendment made by 
subsection (a)(1) by not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Termination of Application of More Restrictive Federal 
Regulations.--Sections 622.4(a)(1)(iv) and 622.4(a)(2)(v) of title 50, 
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act, and any substantially similar regulation, shall not apply 
with respect to waters described in section 101(c)(1) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by this 
section.
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