Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4051 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4051

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a task force regarding 
               shark depredation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2023

 Mr. Wittman (for himself, Mr. Soto, Mr. Graves of Louisiana, and Mr. 
   Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a task force regarding 
               shark depredation, 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 ``Supporting the Health of Aquatic 
systems through Research Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue Act'' or the 
``SHARKED Act''.

SEC. 2. SHARK DEPREDATION TASK FORCE AND RESEARCH PROJECTS.

    (a) Shark Depredation Task Force.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall establish 
        a task force (referred to in this subsection as the ``task 
        force'') to identify and address critical needs with respect to 
        shark depredation.
            (2) Membership.--The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint 
        individuals to the task force, including--
                    (A) 1 representative from--
                            (i) each Regional Fishery Management 
                        Council established under section 302(a)(1) of 
                        the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
                        Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1));
                            (ii) each Marine Fisheries Commission, as 
                        such term is defined in section 3 of the 
                        Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
                        Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802);
                            (iii) the fish and wildlife agency of a 
                        coastal State from each Regional Fishery 
                        Management Council established under section 
                        302(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
                        Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
                        1852(a)(1)); and
                            (iv) the National Marine Fisheries Service;
                    (B) an individual with expertise in the management 
                of highly migratory species; and
                    (C) a researcher with expertise in shark management 
                and behavior.
            (3) Responsibilities.--The task force shall--
                    (A) develop ways to improve coordination and 
                communication across the fisheries management community 
                to address shark depredation;
                    (B) identify research priorities and funding 
                opportunities for such priorities, including--
                            (i) identifying shark species involved in 
                        interactions;
                            (ii) shark stock assessments;
                            (iii) how sharks become habituated to 
                        humans and thus lead to more interactions 
                        between sharks and humans;
                            (iv) how angler behavior and fishery 
                        regulatory frameworks may influence shark 
                        interactions; and
                            (v) techniques and strategies to reduce 
                        harmful interactions between sharks and humans, 
                        including the development and use of non-lethal 
                        deterrents;
                    (C) develop recommended management strategies to 
                address shark depredation; and
                    (D) coordinate the development and distribution of 
                educational materials to help the fishing community 
                minimize shark interactions.
            (4) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this section, and every 2 years thereafter until 
        the termination of the task force in accordance with paragraph 
        (5), the task force shall submit to Congress a report regarding 
        the findings of the task force.
            (5) Sunset.--The task force shall terminate not later than 
        7 years after the date on which the Secretary of Commerce 
        establishes the task force.
            (6) Coastal state defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``coastal State''--
                    (A) means a State of the United States in, or 
                bordering on, the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic 
                Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Long Island Sound; and
                    (B) includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 
                United States, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
    (b) Shark Depredation Research Projects.--Section 318(c) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1867(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Projects to better understand shark depredation, 
        including identifying what causes increases in shark 
        depredation and determining how to best address shark 
        depredation.''.
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