Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3360 To amend and enhance the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to improve the conservation of sharks. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2021 Mr. WEBSTER of Florida (for himself, Mr. LIEU, Mr. POSEY, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. MAST, Mr. STEUBE, and Mr. CROW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To amend and enhance the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Mor- atorium Protection Act to improve the conservation of sharks. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Shark 4 Fisheries and Trade Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3360 IH SEC. 2. SHARK CONSERVATION AND TRADE FAIRNESS CER- 1 TIFICATION. 2 Section 610 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Mora- 3 torium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826k) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a)— 5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ 6 after the semicolon at the end; 7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(3) a nation if— 11 ‘‘(A) that nation or any individual or entity 12 of that nation has imported shark products into 13 the United States or seeks to import shark 14 products into the United States; and 15 ‘‘(B) the nation has not sought and ob- 16 tained, by not later than the effective date of 17 subsection (g)(1), a certification from the Sec- 18 retary under that subsection that the nation 19 has in effect a regulatory program to provide 20 for the conservation of sharks, including meas- 21 ures to prohibit removal of any of the fins of 22 a shark (including the tail) and discarding the 23 carcass of the shark at sea, that is comparable 24 to that of the United States.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3360 IH (2) in subsection (b), in paragraphs (2) and 1 (3), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place it ap- 2 pears and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 3 (3) in subsection (c)— 4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub- 5 section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 6 and 7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(6) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN COUNTRIES.— 9 This subsection does not apply to a nation identified 10 under subsection (a)(3).’’; 11 (4) in subsection (d)— 12 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or (g)’’ 13 after ‘‘under subsection (c)’’; and 14 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or (g)’’ 15 after ‘‘under subsection (c)’’; and 16 (5) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(g) SHARK CONSERVATION AND TRADE FAIRNESS 18 CERTIFICATION.— 19 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 21 subparagraph (B), shark products shall not be 22 imported into the United States unless the 23 shark products are of a species of shark that 24 were landed in a nation to which the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3360 IH has granted a certification or partial certifi- 1 cation for such species under paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 3 shall not apply to shark products that are— 4 ‘‘(i) traded, owned, held, or otherwise 5 possessed by an employee or agent of a 6 governmental agency for law enforcement 7 purposes; 8 ‘‘(ii) used for noncommercial subsist- 9 ence purposes in accordance with Federal, 10 State, Tribal, or territorial law; 11 ‘‘(iii) used solely for display, edu- 12 cation, conservation, or research purposes, 13 by an accredited zoo, aquarium, museum, 14 college, or university; or 15 ‘‘(iv) used by any other person under 16 a State or Federal permit to conduct non- 17 commercial scientific research. 18 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS.—Pursuant to the regu- 19 lations promulgated under paragraphs (3) and (5), 20 the Secretary— 21 ‘‘(A) shall grant a certification to any na- 22 tion that has adopted and effectively enforces 23 regulatory programs to provide for the con- 24 servation and management of sharks, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3360 IH measures to prohibit shark finning, that are 1 comparable to those of the United States; and 2 ‘‘(B) may grant a partial certification for 3 one or more specific species of shark to a na- 4 tion if the Secretary determines that such na- 5 tion— 6 ‘‘(i) has adopted and effectively en- 7 forces regulatory programs that are com- 8 parable to the regulatory programs of the 9 United States to provide for the conserva- 10 tion and management of such species im- 11 ported into the United States or used to 12 produce the shark products imported into 13 the United States; and 14 ‘‘(ii) has in effect an effective ban on 15 shark finning, that is comparable to that 16 of the United States. 17 ‘‘(3) EXPIRATION; RENEWAL.—A certification 18 or partial certification issued under this sub- 19 section— 20 ‘‘(A) shall be effective for no more than 21 three years after the date of issuance; and 22 ‘‘(B) may be renewed in accordance with 23 the provisions of this subsection relating to the 24 initial issuance of the certification. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3360 IH ‘‘(4) CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS.—The Sec- 1 retary shall make a determination with respect to 2 whether to renew under paragraph (3) or revoke 3 pursuant to paragraph (5)(A)(ii) a certification or 4 partial certification issued under this subsection, by 5 not later than 180 days after the submission of the 6 application for renewal or the petition for revocation, 7 respectively. 8 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 10 after the date of the enactment of the Sustain- 11 able Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2021, 12 the Secretary shall prescribe regulations under 13 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, gov- 14 erning the submission, evaluation, revocation, 15 and renewal of applications for certifications 16 and partial certifications under paragraph (2). 17 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—Such 18 regulations shall— 19 ‘‘(i) prescribe the content and format 20 of applications and standards for informa- 21 tion to be provided in such applications; 22 and 23 ‘‘(ii) establish a process for petitioning 24 the Secretary for revocation of the certifi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3360 IH cation or partial certification of any nation, 1 including standards for the information re- 2 quired to be provided to demonstrate that 3 the nation no longer meets the criteria es- 4 tablished under this paragraph for the cer- 5 tification. 6 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATION OR 7 PARTIAL CERTIFICATION.—The regulations pro- 8 mulgated under subparagraph (A) shall estab- 9 lish criteria for determining whether a nation 10 has and effectively enforces regulatory pro- 11 grams for the conservation and management of 12 sharks, and measures to prohibit shark finning, 13 that are comparable to those of the United 14 States, including, at a minimum, a requirement 15 that such programs— 16 ‘‘(i) be consistent with the national 17 standards for fishery conservation and 18 management set forth in section 301(a) of 19 the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and 20 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)); 21 ‘‘(ii) provide for regularly updated 22 management plans, scientifically estab- 23 lished catch limits, and bycatch assess- 24 ments and minimization; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3360 IH ‘‘(iii) include a program to prevent 1 overfishing and to rebuild overfished 2 stocks; 3 ‘‘(iv) require reporting and data col- 4 lection; 5 ‘‘(v) be consistent with the Inter- 6 national Plan of Action for Conservation 7 and Management of Sharks of the United 8 Nations Food and Agriculture Organiza- 9 tion; and 10 ‘‘(vi) include a mechanism to ensure 11 that, if the nation allows landings of 12 sharks by foreign vessels that are not sub- 13 ject to such programs of such nation, only 14 shark products that comply with such pro- 15 grams are exported to the United States. 16 ‘‘(6) PUBLICATION; PUBLIC COMMENT.—The 17 Secretary shall— 18 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register notice 19 of applications, petitions, and decisions with re- 20 spect to certifications, renewal of certifications, 21 or revocation of certifications under this sub- 22 section; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3360 IH ‘‘(B) provide an opportunity for public 1 comment with respect to such applications, peti- 2 tions, and decisions. 3 ‘‘(7) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—A decision of the 4 Secretary with respect to the issuance, renewal, or 5 revocation of a certification or partial certification 6 under this subsection, and a failure to make a deter- 7 mination required under paragraph (4), shall be con- 8 sidered a final agency action for the purposes of 9 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 10 ‘‘(8) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 11 take effect on the earlier of— 12 ‘‘(A) the date on which regulations are 13 issued under paragraph (5); or 14 ‘‘(B) the date that is 3 years after the date 15 of the date of the enactment of the Sustainable 16 Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2021. 17 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 18 ‘‘(A) SHARK.—The term ‘shark’ means 19 any species of the subclass Elasmobranchii. 20 ‘‘(B) SHARK PRODUCT.—The term ‘shark 21 product’ means a live shark; a whole shark; the 22 meat, skin, oil, fin (including a wing or tail), 23 gill raker, cartilage, jaw, tooth, or liver of a 24 shark; or any product containing meat, skin, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3360 IH oil, a fin (including a wing or tail), gill raker, 1 cartilage, jaw, tooth, or liver derived from a 2 shark. 3 ‘‘(C) SHARK FINNING.—The term ‘shark 4 finning’ means the removal of a shark’s fins, in- 5 cluding the tail, and discarding the remaining 6 carcass of the shark at sea.’’. 7 SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL FISH- 8 ERY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 9 Section 608(a) of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing 10 Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826i(a)) is 11 amended— 12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph 13 (F), and inserting the following: 14 ‘‘(F) to adopt shark conservation and man- 15 agement measures and measures to prevent 16 shark finning, which are consistent with the 17 International Plan of Action for Conservation 18 and Management of Sharks of the Food and 19 Agriculture Organization of the United Na- 20 tions;’’; and 21 (2) by striking paragraph (3), and inserting the 22 following: 23 ‘‘(3) seeking to enter into international agree- 24 ment that require measures for the conservation and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3360 IH management of sharks and measures to prevent 1 shark finning, which are consistent with the Inter- 2 national Plan of Action for Conservation and Man- 3 agement of Sharks of the Food and Agriculture Or- 4 ganization of the United Nations; and’’. 5 SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF RAYS AND SKATES IN SEAFOOD 6 TRACEABILITY PROGRAM. 7 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 8 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall revise 9 section 300.324 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, 10 to include rays and skates in the species and species 11 groups specified in subsection (a)(2) of that section. 12 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 14 Federal or State law establishing additional or more strin- 15 gent requirements than the requirements of subsection (g) 16 of section 610 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Morato- 17 rium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826k), as added by sec- 18 tion 3. 19 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 21 retary of Commerce to carry out this Act, and the amend- 22 ments made by this Act— 23 (1) $325,000 for fiscal year 2022; 24 (2) $325,000 for fiscal year 2023; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3360 IH (3) $400,000 for each of fiscal years 2024, 1 2025, and 2026; and 2 (4) $250,000 for fiscal year 2027. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3360.IH H3360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS