Forage Fish Conservation Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2236 To improve the management of forage fish. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 10, 2019 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. MAST, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. LONG, Mr. UPTON, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources 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’’. 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 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2236 IH 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 ‘‘(13) 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 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2236 IH 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 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended— 6 (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) 7 (relating to waters of a foreign nation) as paragraph 8 (53); 9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through 10 (50) as paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively; 11 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through 12 (27) as paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively; 13 (4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(19) The term ‘forage fish’ means— 16 ‘‘(A) any fish that, throughout its life 17 cycle— 18 ‘‘(i) is at a low trophic level; 19 ‘‘(ii) contributes significantly to the 20 diets of other fish, marine mammals or 21 birds; and 22 ‘‘(iii) serves as a conduit for energy 23 transfer to species at a higher trophic 24 level; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2236 IH ‘‘(B) any other fish specified as a forage 1 fish for purposes of this paragraph in a fishery 2 management plan or amendment that is trans- 3 mitted by a Council and approved by the Sec- 4 retary in accordance with section 304(a).’’; 5 (5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as redes- 6 ignated by paragraph (3), the following: 7 ‘‘(29) The term ‘low trophic level’ means a posi- 8 tion in the marine food web in which the fish gen- 9 erally consume plankton.’’; and 10 (6) in paragraph (35), as redesignated by para- 11 graph (2)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 13 ‘‘and’’; 14 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 15 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(D) in the case of a forage fish, is re- 18 duced, pursuant to subparagraph (B), to pro- 19 vide for the diet needs of fish species and other 20 marine wildlife, such as marine mammals and 21 birds, for which forage fish is a significant part 22 of their diet.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2236 IH SEC. 5. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE. 1 Section 302(g)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)(B)) is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical com- 4 mittee shall provide its Council ongoing sci- 5 entific advice for fishery management decisions, 6 including recommendations for— 7 ‘‘(i) acceptable biological catch; 8 ‘‘(ii) preventing overfishing; 9 ‘‘(iii) maximum sustainable yield; 10 ‘‘(iv) achieving rebuilding targets; 11 ‘‘(v) maintaining a sufficient abun- 12 dance, diversity, and localized distribution 13 of forage fish populations to support their 14 role in marine ecosystems; and 15 ‘‘(vi) reports on stock status and 16 health, bycatch, habitat status, social and 17 economic impacts of management meas- 18 ures, and sustainability of fishing prac- 19 tices.’’. 20 SEC. 6. COUNCIL FUNCTIONS. 21 (a) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—Section 302(h)(7) (16 22 U.S.C. 1852(h)(7)) is amended, in the matter preceding 23 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘forage fish populations 24 and distribution,’’ after ‘‘habitats,’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2236 IH (b) UNMANAGED FORAGE FISH.—Section 302(h) (16 1 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is amended— 2 (1) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in- 3 serting ‘‘;’’; 4 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para- 5 graph (10); and 6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(9) develop a list of unmanaged forage fish oc- 9 curring in the area under its authority and prohibit 10 the development of any new directed forage fish fish- 11 ery until the Council has— 12 ‘‘(A) considered the best scientific informa- 13 tion available and evaluated the potential im- 14 pacts of forage fish harvest on existing fish- 15 eries, fishing communities, and the marine eco- 16 system; 17 ‘‘(B) determined whether conservation and 18 management of the forage fish fishery is need- 19 ed; 20 ‘‘(C) if a determination is made that con- 21 servation and management is needed, prepared 22 and submitted to the Secretary a fishery man- 23 agement plan or amendment consistent with 24 section 303; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2236 IH ‘‘(D) received final, approved regulations 1 from the Secretary pursuant to section 2 304(b)(3); and’’. 3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 4 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 2 years after the 5 date of enactment of this Act. 6 SEC. 7. CONTENTS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS. 7 (a) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT.—Section 303(a) 8 (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (14) by striking ‘‘and;’’ and 10 inserting ‘‘;’’; 11 (2) in paragraph (15) by striking the period 12 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(16) when setting annual catch limits for for- 15 age fish fisheries, assess, specify, and reduce such 16 limits by the diet needs of fish species and other ma- 17 rine wildlife, such as marine mammals and birds, for 18 which forage fish is a significant part of their diet.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 20 subsection (a) shall take effect 5 years after the date of 21 enactment of this Act. 22 SEC. 8. ACTION BY THE SECRETARY. 23 Section 304 (16 U.S.C. 1854) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2236 IH (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) 1 (relating to international overfishing) as subsection 2 (j); and 3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(k) FORAGE FISH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 6 after the date of enactment of the Forage Fish Con- 7 servation Act, the Secretary shall establish by regu- 8 lation guidelines to assist the Councils in imple- 9 menting sections 3(19), 302(h)(9), and 303(a)(16). 10 ‘‘(2) WORKSHOPS.—In developing the guide- 11 lines under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con- 12 duct workshops with Councils and other scientific, 13 fisheries, and conservation interests.’’. 14 SEC. 9. RIVER HERRING AND SHAD. 15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 16 (1) RIVER HERRING.—The term ‘‘river herring’’ 17 means blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and ale- 18 wife (Alosa pseudoharengus). 19 (2) SHAD.—The term ‘‘shad’’ means American 20 shad (Alosa sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa 21 mediocris). 22 (b) AMENDMENTS OF PLANS.—Not later than 180 23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 24 of Commerce shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2236 IH (1) amend the fishery management plans for 1 the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, 2 and Butterfish fisheries for the New England and 3 Mid-Atlantic Regions to add shad and river herring 4 as managed stocks in such plans consistent with sec- 5 tion 302(h)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 6 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 7 1852(h)(1)); 8 (2) initiate additional fishery management plan 9 amendments to be completed in not more than 1 10 year from the date of the addition of the species 11 identified in paragraph (1) in order to develop and 12 implement all required conservation and manage- 13 ment measures for such stocks consistent with the 14 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Man- 15 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and all other 16 applicable law; and 17 (3) notwithstanding any other law, rule, or fish- 18 ery management plan provision, including conserva- 19 tion and management measures under section 20 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con- 21 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 22 1853(a)(11)), reallocate existing resources to pro- 23 vide, for not less than 60 percent of all relevant fish- 24 ing trips, not fewer than one at-sea observer or an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2236 IH on-board electronic or video means of producing 1 equivalent at-sea monitoring information, for any 2 vessel using mid-water trawl or paired mid-water 3 trawl fishing gear in the Atlantic herring and Atlan- 4 tic mackerel fisheries. 5 SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as— 7 (1) extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or 8 authority of any State within its boundaries; or 9 (2) affecting— 10 (A) section 306 of the Magnuson-Stevens 11 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 12 U.S.C. 1856); or 13 (B) the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooper- 14 ative Management Act (16 U.S.C. 5107 et 15 seq.). 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2236.IH H2236 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS