Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021
This bill addresses the management and conservation of forage fish.
The Department of Commerce must issue a definition for the term forage fish. It must consider certain factors in defining such term, including whether a species covered by the definition (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.
Commerce must also establish guidelines to assist regional fishery management councils in (1) developing a list of unmanaged forage fish areas and prohibiting the development of any new forage fish fisheries until the potential impacts of such fisheries have been assessed; and (2) setting annual catch limits for forage fish fisheries that assess, specify, and reduce such limits by the diet needs of other fish species and marine wildlife.
The bill adds shad (American shad and hickory shad) and river herring (blueback herring and alewife) to the list of managed stocks for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5770 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5770
To improve the management of forage fish.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 28, 2021
Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Mr. Mast, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Long, Mr.
Huffman, Mr. Upton, Mr. Case, Mr. Rice of South Carolina, Mr.
Blumenauer, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia,
and Mr. Carter of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the management of forage fish.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Forage Fish
Conservation Act of 2021''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Scientific advice.
Sec. 6. Council functions.
Sec. 7. Contents of fishery management plans.
Sec. 8. Action by the Secretary.
Sec. 9. River herring and shad.
Sec. 10. Rule of construction.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT ACT.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act an
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to
be made to a section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(14) Forage fish are generally small to intermediate-
sized species, occurring in schools or dense aggregations, and
function as a main pathway for energy to flow from phyto- and
zooplankton to higher trophic level predators, such as tuna,
Alaska pollock, and other wildlife, in marine ecosystems. While
most species function as prey of others at some life stage,
especially when small and young, forage fish maintain this
important trophic role throughout their life. Further,
fluctuations in their populations can result in significant
changes in marine communities and ecosystems. Therefore,
particular attention to management of forage fish species, and
addressing their unique role in marine ecosystems, is critical
to maintaining ecosystem function and sustainable fisheries.''.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Secretary To Define Forage Fish.--Section 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Forage Fish.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021, the Secretary
shall issue 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 amended--
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) (relating to
waters of a foreign nation) as paragraph (53);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through (50) as
paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively;
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through (27) as
paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively;
(4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following:
``(19) The term `forage fish'--
``(A) has the meaning given the term by the
Secretary under section 305(l); 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.'';
(5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as redesignated by
paragraph (3), the following:
``(29) The term `low trophic level' means a position in the
marine food web in which the fish generally consume
plankton.''; and
(6) in paragraph (35), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'';
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) in the case of a forage fish, is reduced,
pursuant to subparagraph (B), to provide for the diet
needs of fish species and other marine wildlife,
including marine mammals and birds, for which forage
fish is a significant dietary component.''.
SEC. 5. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.
Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)(B)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(B) Each scientific and statistical committee
shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for
fishery management decisions, including recommendations
for--
``(i) acceptable biological catch;
``(ii) preventing overfishing;
``(iii) maximum sustainable yield;
``(iv) achieving rebuilding targets;
``(v) maintaining a sufficient abundance,
diversity, and localized distribution of forage
fish populations to support their role in
marine ecosystems; and
``(vi) reports on stock status and health,
bycatch, habitat status, social and economic
impacts of management measures, and
sustainability of fishing practices.''.
SEC. 6. COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.
(a) Research Priorities.--Section 302(h)(7) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7))
is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting
``forage fish populations and distribution,'' after ``habitats,''.
(b) Unmanaged Forage Fish.--Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting
``;'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish occurring in
the area under its authority and prohibit the development of
any new directed forage fish fishery until the Council has--
``(A) considered the best scientific information
available and evaluated the potential impacts of forage
fish harvest on existing fisheries, fishing
communities, and the marine ecosystem;
``(B) determined whether conservation and
management of the forage fish fishery is needed;
``(C) if a determination is made that conservation
and management is needed, prepared and submitted to the
Secretary a fishery management plan or amendment
consistent with section 303; and
``(D) received final, approved regulations from the
Secretary pursuant to section 304(b)(3); and''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)
shall take effect 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) Forage Fish Management.--Section 303(a) (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (14), by striking ``and;'' and inserting
``;'';
(2) in paragraph (15), by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(16) when setting annual catch limits for forage fish
fisheries, assess, specify, and reduce such limits by the diet
needs of fish species and other marine wildlife, such as marine
mammals and birds, for which forage fish is a significant part
of their diet.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.
Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to
international overfishing) as subsection (j); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Forage Fish Management Guidelines.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021, the
Secretary shall establish by regulation guidelines to assist
the Councils in implementing sections 3(19), 302(h)(9), and
303(a)(16).
``(2) Workshops.--In developing the guidelines under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct workshops with
Councils and other scientific, fisheries, and conservation
interests.''.
SEC. 9. RIVER HERRING AND SHAD.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) River herring.--The term ``river herring'' means
blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife (Alosa
pseudoharengus).
(2) Shad.--The term ``shad'' means American shad (Alosa
sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa mediocris).
(b) Amendments of Plans.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall--
(1) amend the fishery management plans for the Atlantic
Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish fisheries
for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad and
river herring as managed stocks in such plans consistent with
section 302(h)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(1));
(2) initiate additional fishery management plan amendments
to be completed in not more than 1 year from the date of the
addition of the species identified in paragraph (1) in order to
develop and implement all required conservation and management
measures for such stocks consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.), and all other applicable law; and
(3) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or fishery
management plan provision, including conservation and
management measures under section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing resources to provide, for not
less than 50 percent of all relevant fishing trips, not fewer
than one at-sea observer or an on-board electronic or video
means of producing equivalent at-sea monitoring information,
for any vessel using mid-water trawl or paired mid-water trawl
fishing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel
fisheries.
SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as--
(1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or authority
of any State within its boundaries; or
(2) affecting--
(A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1856); or
(B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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