Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture Protection Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2209 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to establish a safety net program for commercial fishermen and aqua- culture producers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Mrs. HYDE-SMITH (for herself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to establish a safety net program for commercial fishermen and aquaculture producers. 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 ‘‘Commercial Fishing 4 and Aquaculture Protection Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2209 IS SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL REVENUE ASSISTANCE FOR COM- 1 MERCIAL FISHERMEN AND FARM-RAISED 2 FISH PRODUCERS. 3 The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 4 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by 5 inserting after section 320 the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 321. SUPPLEMENTAL REVENUE ASSISTANCE FOR 7 COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN AND FARM-RAISED 8 FISH PRODUCERS. 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 12 commercial fisherman’ means an individual or 13 entity described in subparagraph (B) that, as 14 determined by the Secretary, assumes the fi- 15 nancial risks associated with harvesting fish in- 16 tended for commerce. 17 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION.—An individual or en- 18 tity is described in this subparagraph if the in- 19 dividual or entity is— 20 ‘‘(i) a citizen of the United States; 21 ‘‘(ii) a partnership of citizens of the 22 United States; or 23 ‘‘(iii) a corporation, limited liability 24 corporation, or other organizational struc- 25 ture organized under State law. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2209 IS ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE FARM-RAISED FISH PRO- 1 DUCER.—The term ‘eligible farm-raised fish pro- 2 ducer’ means an individual or entity described under 3 paragraph (1)(B) that, as determined by the Sec- 4 retary, assumes the production and market risks as- 5 sociated with the production of fish in a controlled 6 environment intended for commerce. 7 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE LOSS.—The term ‘eligible loss’, 8 with respect to a calendar year, means when actual 9 gross revenue associated with commercial fishing or 10 farm-raised fish production for such calendar year is 11 less than 85 percent of the average gross revenue for 12 the 3 previous calendar years. 13 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE LOSS CONDITION.—The term 14 ‘eligible loss condition’ means a condition that re- 15 sulted in eligible loss due to algae bloom, freshwater 16 intrusion, adverse weather, bird depredation, disease, 17 or other condition, as determined by the Secretary. 18 ‘‘(5) FISH.—The term ‘fish’ includes— 19 ‘‘(A) shellfish (including oysters, shrimp, 20 crawfish, and crab); 21 ‘‘(B) finfish (including catfish); and 22 ‘‘(C) any other species of aquatic organism 23 harvested with the intent of entering commerce. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2209 IS ‘‘(6) VERIFIABLE RECORDS.—The term 1 ‘verifiable records’ means a document provided by a 2 commercial fisherman or farm-raised fish producer 3 that reasonably supports, and can be verified and 4 used to substantiate claimed eligible loss, includ- 5 ing— 6 ‘‘(A) trip tickets or their equivalents, such 7 as dealer forms, which show fish harvest vol- 8 umes and sales prices; 9 ‘‘(B) Federal or State tax and financial in- 10 formation to identify components of gross rev- 11 enue derived from commercial fishing or farm- 12 raised fish production; or 13 ‘‘(C) any other form of reliable record that 14 reasonably supports the eligible loss as well as 15 the average gross revenue for the 3 previous 16 calendar years. 17 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL REVENUE ASSISTANCE PRO- 18 GRAM.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 20 of funds, the Secretary shall use such sums as are 21 necessary to provide compensation to eligible com- 22 mercial fishermen and eligible farm-raised fish pro- 23 ducers that have incurred eligible losses, based on 24 verifiable records, due to eligible loss conditions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2209 IS ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The amount of the 1 compensation to be paid to an eligible commercial 2 fisherman or eligible farm-raised fish producer under 3 paragraph (1) for an eligible loss for a calendar year 4 shall be equal to the difference between— 5 ‘‘(A) 85 percent of the average gross rev- 6 enue for the 3 previous calendar years, cal- 7 culated by multiplying the average volume of 8 fish harvested or produced by the average fair 9 market value or price received; and 10 ‘‘(B) the actual total gross revenue re- 11 ceived during the calendar year of claimed eligi- 12 ble loss. 13 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—The total amount 14 of compensation received by a person or entity (ex- 15 cluding a joint venture or general partnership) under 16 this section for a calendar year shall not exceed 85 17 percent of the average gross revenue received during 18 the 3 previous calendar years. 19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—If eligible losses have oc- 20 curred due to eligible loss conditions, the Secretary 21 shall provide assistance under this section whether 22 or not a fishery resource disaster determination has 23 been made under section 312(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2209 IS ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Compensation author- 1 ized under this section shall apply to eligible losses 2 suffered during the 2019 calendar year and each 3 year thereafter, subject to the availability of funds.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2209.IS S2209 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS