Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1484 To improve the management of forage fish. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To improve the management of forage fish. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. References to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage- ment 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1484 IS Sec. 9. River herring and shad. Sec. 10. Rule of construction. SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISH- 1 ERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT. 2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi- 5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 6 section or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish- 7 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 8 et seq.). 9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 10 Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by add- 11 ing at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(14) Forage fish are generally small to inter- 13 mediate-sized species, occurring in schools or dense 14 aggregations, and function as a main pathway for 15 energy to flow from phyto- and zooplankton to high- 16 er trophic level predators, such as tuna, Alaska pol- 17 lock, and other wildlife, in marine ecosystems. While 18 most species function as prey of others at some life 19 stage, especially when small and young, forage fish 20 maintain this important trophic role throughout 21 their life. Further, fluctuations in their populations 22 can result in significant changes in marine commu- 23 nities and ecosystems. Therefore, particular atten- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1484 IS tion to management of forage fish species, and ad- 1 dressing their unique role in marine ecosystems, is 2 critical to maintaining ecosystem function and sus- 3 tainable fisheries.’’. 4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 5 (a) SECRETARY TO DEFINE FORAGE FISH.—Section 6 305 (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end 7 the following: 8 ‘‘(l) FORAGE FISH.—Not later than 6 months after 9 the date of enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation 10 Act of 2021, the Secretary shall issue a definition of the 11 term ‘forage fish’ for the purposes of this Act. In defining 12 such term, the Secretary shall consider factors including 13 whether a species covered by such definition, throughout 14 such species’ lifecycle— 15 ‘‘(1) is at a low trophic level; 16 ‘‘(2) is generally small- to intermediate-sized; 17 ‘‘(3) occurs in schools or other dense aggrega- 18 tions; 19 ‘‘(4) contributes significantly to the diets of 20 other fish, marine mammals, or birds; and 21 ‘‘(5) serves as a conduit for energy transfer to 22 species at a higher trophic level.’’. 23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is 24 amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1484 IS (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) 1 (relating to waters of a foreign nation) as paragraph 2 (53); 3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through 4 (50) as paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively; 5 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through 6 (27) as paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively; 7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(19) The term ‘forage fish’— 10 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term by 11 the Secretary under section 305(l); and 12 ‘‘(B) with respect to a species in a fishery 13 managed pursuant to a fishery management 14 plan or plan amendment that is approved by 15 the Secretary under section 304(a), means any 16 species identified in such plan as a forage 17 fish.’’; 18 (5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as redes- 19 ignated by paragraph (3), the following: 20 ‘‘(29) The term ‘low trophic level’ means a posi- 21 tion in the marine food web in which the fish gen- 22 erally consume plankton.’’; and 23 (6) in paragraph (35), as redesignated by para- 24 graph (2)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1484 IS (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 1 ‘‘and’’; 2 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 3 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(D) in the case of a forage fish, is re- 6 duced, pursuant to subparagraph (B), to pro- 7 vide for the diet needs of fish species and other 8 marine wildlife, including marine mammals and 9 birds, for which forage fish is a significant die- 10 tary component.’’. 11 SEC. 5. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE. 12 Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)(B)) is 13 amended to read as follows: 14 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical com- 15 mittee shall provide its Council ongoing sci- 16 entific advice for fishery management decisions, 17 including recommendations for— 18 ‘‘(i) acceptable biological catch; 19 ‘‘(ii) preventing overfishing; 20 ‘‘(iii) maximum sustainable yield; 21 ‘‘(iv) achieving rebuilding targets; 22 ‘‘(v) maintaining a sufficient abun- 23 dance, diversity, and localized distribution 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1484 IS of forage fish populations to support their 1 role in marine ecosystems; and 2 ‘‘(vi) reports on stock status and 3 health, bycatch, habitat status, social and 4 economic impacts of management meas- 5 ures, and sustainability of fishing prac- 6 tices.’’. 7 SEC. 6. COUNCIL FUNCTIONS. 8 (a) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 302(h)(7) (16 9 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7)) is amended, in the matter preceding 10 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘forage fish populations 11 and distribution,’’ after ‘‘habitats,’’. 12 (b) UNMANAGED FORAGE FISH.—Section 302(h) (16 13 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 14 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘;’’; 16 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para- 17 graph (10); and 18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(9) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish oc- 21 curring in the area under its authority and prohibit 22 the development of any new directed forage fish fish- 23 ery until the Council has— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1484 IS ‘‘(A) considered the best scientific informa- 1 tion available and evaluated the potential im- 2 pacts of forage fish harvest on existing fish- 3 eries, fishing communities, and the marine eco- 4 system; 5 ‘‘(B) determined whether conservation and 6 management of the forage fish fishery is need- 7 ed; 8 ‘‘(C) if a determination is made that con- 9 servation and management is needed, prepared 10 and submitted to the Secretary a fishery man- 11 agement plan or amendment consistent with 12 section 303; and 13 ‘‘(D) received final, approved regulations 14 from the Secretary pursuant to section 15 304(b)(3); and’’. 16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 17 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 2 years after the 18 date of enactment of this Act. 19 SEC. 7. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS. 20 (a) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT.—Section 303(a) 21 (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— 22 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and;’’ and 23 inserting ‘‘;’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1484 IS (2) in paragraph (15), by striking the period 1 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (3) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(16) when setting annual catch limits for for- 4 age fish fisheries, assess, specify, and reduce such 5 limits by the diet needs of fish species and other ma- 6 rine wildlife, such as marine mammals and birds, for 7 which forage fish is a significant part of their diet.’’. 8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 9 subsection (a) shall take effect 5 years after the date of 10 enactment of this Act. 11 SEC. 8. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY. 12 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended— 13 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) 14 (relating to international overfishing) as subsection 15 (j); and 16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(k) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 19 after the date of enactment of the Forage Fish Con- 20 servation Act of 2021, the Secretary shall establish 21 by regulation guidelines to assist the Councils in im- 22 plementing sections 3(19), 302(h)(9), and 23 303(a)(16). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1484 IS ‘‘(2) WORKSHOPS.—In developing the guide- 1 lines under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con- 2 duct workshops with Councils and other scientific, 3 fisheries, and conservation interests.’’. 4 SEC. 9. RIVER HERRING AND SHAD. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 6 (1) RIVER HERRING.—The term ‘‘river herring’’ 7 means blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and ale- 8 wife (Alosa pseudoharengus). 9 (2) SHAD.—The term ‘‘shad’’ means American 10 shad (Alosa sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa 11 mediocris). 12 (b) AMENDMENTS OF PLANS.—Not later than 180 13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 14 of Commerce shall— 15 (1) amend the fishery management plans for 16 the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, 17 and Butterfish fisheries for the New England and 18 Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad and river herring 19 as managed stocks in such plans consistent with sec- 20 tion 302(h)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 21 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 22 1852(h)(1)); 23 (2) initiate additional fishery management plan 24 amendments to be completed in not more than 1 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1484 IS year from the date of the addition of the species 1 identified in paragraph (1) in order to develop and 2 implement all required conservation and manage- 3 ment measures for such stocks consistent with the 4 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Man- 5 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and all other 6 applicable law; and 7 (3) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or fish- 8 ery management plan provision, including conserva- 9 tion and management measures under section 10 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con- 11 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 12 1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing resources to pro- 13 vide, for not less than 50 percent of all relevant fish- 14 ing trips, not fewer than one at-sea observer or an 15 on-board electronic or video means of producing 16 equivalent at-sea monitoring information, for any 17 vessel using mid-water trawl or paired mid-water 18 trawl fishing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlan- 19 tic mackerel fisheries. 20 SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as— 22 (1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or 23 authority of any State within its boundaries; or 24 (2) affecting— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1484 IS (A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens 1 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 2 U.S.C. 1856); or 3 (B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooper- 4 ative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 et 5 seq.). 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 May 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1484.IS S1484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS