PROVISIONS OF S. 2012

Section 3 Definitions

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Regional Fishery AssociationPage 136, lines 13-22

Used to establish cooperatives under Limited Access Privilege. (LAPs) Defined as association formed for mutual benefit of holder socially or economically. Comprised of persons in harvest or processing or persons substantially dependant on fishery.

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Limited Access Privileges (LAPs) Page 137, lines 14-18

Defined same as IFQ which it replaces.

(Approved by SF/EC)

Observer InformationPage 158, lines 1-10

Information collected from observers on electronic monitoring systems, including vessel logbook

and processor specific information.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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Section 103: Regional CouncilsSSCs: Page 142, lines 22-25; Page 143, lines

1-25;Page 144, lines 1-14Broadens duties of SSC to conduct peer-review of information, and provides recommendations for ABC,MSY, and status of stocks.Councils appoint SSC members, provides Council and Secretary may establish peer-review process that satisfies the Data Quality Act. The Secretary may pay a stipend to SSC members, not federal or state employees.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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COUNCIL FUNCTIONSPage 144, lines 23-25;

Page 145, lines 1-2

Provides Councils will adopt annual catch limits for each fishery after considering recommendations of SSC or peer-review process established under section (g).

(Approved by SF/EC)

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COUNCIL TRAINING PROGRAMPage 145, lines 19-25;

Page 146, lines 1-25

The Secretary, Council, and Sea Grant will develop training course for Council members that includes the needed scientific information, the relevant legal information, and topics suggested by the Council. The course will be available to new and existing members

(Approved by SF/EC)

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COUNCIL COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Page 147, lines 1-7

This committee consists of the Chairs and Executive Directors of the Councils which are allowed to discuss issues and make their recommendations to the Secretary. This makes the Council Chairs meetings in compliance with the FACA.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST[(302 (j)]

Page 148, lines 6-24; Page 144, lines 1-2

This modifies 302(j) to broaden the affected individuals to include any persons with financial interest in harvesting, processing, and marketing activity. Requires records for Council members to be kept on file by the Council and available on the Internet and Council offices for inspection. Beginning in 2008, the Secretary shall submit a report to Senate and House on disclosure of financial interests and recusal.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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GULF COUNCIL [302(b)(2)]Page 149, lines 3-24;Page 150, lines

1-24 Page 151, lines 1-15Provides Secretary will appoint 5 representatives of

commercial fishing sector, 5 representatives of recreational sector, and 1 other knowledgeable person.

The Governors submitting persons for appointment shall submit at least one nominee from each commercial,

recreational, and charter fishing sector, and at least 1 other person knowledgeable of conservation and

management of fisheries. If the Governor does not comply, the Secretary may by notice request nominees from the public and add names of qualified persons. A

report by the Secretary on whether this method has resulted in a fair and balanced appointment must be provided to Congress by 2011. Persons owning or

operating a fish farm outside the U.S. are not eligible for appointment.

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SECTION 104 :FMP REQURIEMENTS[303(a)]

Page 151, lines 16-24;Page 152, lines 1-11

Paragraph 5 adds “fish processing” to sectors for which data will be collected and adds “economic information necessary to meet the requirements of this act.”Paragraph 13 adds a requirement that the descriptions of the sectors of the fisheries “include their economic impact.”Paragraph 14 requires the rebuilding plan “allocate, taking into consideration the economic impact of harvest restrictions and recovery benefits on the fishery participants in each sector.”

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SECTION 105: FMP DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS

[303(b)]Paragraph 2 Closed or Restricted

Zones, Page 153, lines 12-25;Page 155, lines 1-13

Proposes designating zones for deep sea coral to protect that coral from physical damage. Such a closure is based on scientific information, assessing the conservation benefit, has a timetable for review, and is based on assessments of benefits and impacts.

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Paragraph 15 (New)Page152, lines 13-25;

Page 153, lines 1-3

Required provision of FMPs that harvests exceeding the specific annual catch limit shall either be deducted from the current

years annual catch or by adjusting management measures so the fishing mortality rate for the following year is reduced to account for the overage.

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SECTION 106: LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE (LAPs)

Pages 163-164

Notes: Subsections on Fishing Communities and Regional Associations (Cooperatives), pages 160-162, were not reviewed because it seemed unlikely that they would be implemented in the Gulf area. Some of the language of the LAPs has been expanded since the Senate Draft was reviewed.

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LAPs SECTIONS REVIEWED:Page 156, LINES 5-25; Pages 157-158, Page 159, lines 1-13

No Creation of Rights – Provides permits/shares may be revoked for failure to comply with the plan, does not infer any right of compensation, does not create any rights to any fish before it is harvested, is a grant to engage in activities permitted by the LAP.

(continued on next page)

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The LAPs established shall – assist in rebuilding the overfished stock and contribute to reducing overcapacity, promote safety at sea and conservation of stock, allow only U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens to participate, all fish harvested must be processed in the U.S. or on U.S. vessels, must have provisions for monitoring with reviews every 5 years, must have effective enforcement and must have an appeals process.

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NEW LANGUAGE ON LAPsPage 159, lines 14-24; Page 160, lines 1-15

Paragraph J provides the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission will determine if any illegal acts of anti-competition, anti-trust price fixing, etc., occurred within the fishery associations or persons receiving LAPs. Paragraph K provides for revocation of LAPS held by any persons who have violated the antitrust laws of the U.S. Paragraph 2 provides for a waiver of the requirement that LAP fish must be processed in the U.S. or U.S. vessels if the fishery has historically processed the fish outside the U.S. or in a country where a seafood safety agreement is in effect.

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LAP PROGRAMS, GULF REFERENDUM:

Page 168, lines 14-25; Page 169, lines 1-14; Page 170, lines 6-10

Requires the LAP to be approved by the majority of those voting in the referendum by eligible permit holders, with respect to the Gulf Council. For multi-species permits in the Gulf , only participants who have “substantially” fished the species are eligible.

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LAP PROGRAMS, INITIATIONPage 167, lines 4-25;

Page 168, lines 1-3Requires a petition by groups of fishermen constituting 50 percent of permit holders, or holding more than 50 percent of the allocation. For multi-species permits in Gulf only participants who have substantially fished those species shall be eligible to sign the petition.

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LAP PROGRAMS, ALLOCATIONS

Page 165, lines 1-25;Page 166, lines 1-25; Page 167, lines 1-3

Councils shall ensure fair and equitable allocations considering: current and historic harvest, employment, dependence on fishery, and current and historical participation. Councils will consider cultural and social frameworks, measure for set-asides for entry of new entrants, (e.g., crew members, etc.) No one will acquire an excessive share, and participation allowed by fishermen, vessel owners, crew members, communities and fishery associations.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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LAP PROGRAM, AUCTION, and COST RECOVERY

Page 171, lines 17-24; Page 172

Provides that shares may be auctioned and fees deposited for use in operating the LAP. Councils shall provide for fees that will cover costs of management, data collection and analyses, and enforcement.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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LAP ASSISTED PURCHASE PROGRAM:

Page 173, lines 7-25; Page 174, lines 1-3

Provides a Council may provide a program which reserves up to 25 percent of fees to allow purchase of LAP shares for entry level fishermen, e.g., crew members, etc.

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LAP, EXISTING SHARES, and LAP PROGRAMSPage 174, lines 4-14

Provides nothing in this act will affect existing shares or LAP programs.

(Approved by SF/EC)

This Completes LAP Section of S. 2012

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SECTION 107: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS

Page 175, lines 16-25; Page 176, lines1-24;Page 177, lines 1-9

Provides Secretary will confer with CEQ to develop procedures for compliance with NEPA which will be the sole environmental impact assessment of FMPs.

(Partially Approved by SF/EC)

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SECTION 112: JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS

Page 181, lines 11-25; Pages 182-185;Page 186,lines 1-20

Provides for sharing of data including GMDSS, with states under Enforcement Agreement which deputizes state officers. Data will be confidential. It provides for allocation of funds to participating states.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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SECTION 113: TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES(312)

Page 186, lines 21-25; Pages187-188; Page 189, lines 1-6

Provides fishing capacity reduction can also be implemented by the Secretary if requested by the majority of permitted fishermen. Provides vessels cannot be used in federal, state, foreign, or international waters. Provides fee system would be approved by majority of permit holders or those landing more than 50% of the catch.

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SECTION 113: TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES (312)

Page 189, lines 7-25; pages 190-191; Page 192, lines 1-17

Completely new sections with discussions of the Implementation

Plan for the Vessel

Buy-Back Programs

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SECTION 114: REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER

PROGRAMSPages 192-200 and 203

No review is proposed for these three programs

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SECTION 117: BYCATCH REDUCTION ENGINEERING

PROGRAM (316)Page 201, lines 5-26; Page 202, lines 1-19

Provides for instituting this program within one year. Provides authority to the Secretary or Councils to establish a system of incentives with the industry to reduce bycatch of fish and birds.

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SECTION 201: RECREATIONAL FISHERY INFORMATION

Page 208, lines 21-24; Page 209-210; Page 211, lines 1-5

• A proposal for a recreational registry system for the EEZ. Persons under an approved state system are exempted.

• Proposes a data collection program to

improve MRFSS

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SECTION 202: COLLECTION OF INFORMATION:

Page 211, lines 6-25; Page 212-214; Page 215, lines 1-12

• Provides the Secretary can initiate collection of additional data needed for fisheries management.

• Provides much of the data is confidential and lists persons who may handle such data.

(Partially Approved by SF/EC)

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SECTION 204: COOPERATIVE RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT(317)

Page 215, lines 13-25; Pages 216-217

Provides for establishing cooperative programs between federal, state, and industry funded by Secretary which shall be on a competitive basis with preference for (1) enhance stock assessments, (2) bycatch information (3)conservation engineering, (4) HAPCs, and (5) socioeconomic data. Provides for experimental permitting.

(Approved by SF/EC)

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SECTION 208:FISHERIES MANAGEMENT FUND

Page 220, lines 4-25; Pages 221-222; Page 223, lines 1-2

Authorize Secretary to establish fund to:

Improve harvest data, support cooperative research, new technology to improve safety of fish, analysis of fish contaminants, marketing wild fish and assistance to offset cost of modifying required gear. Funds apportioned between regions based on priorities.

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SECTION 209: USE OF CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION

(MERCHANT MARINE ACT)Page 223, lines 3-25; Page 224;

Page 225, lines 1-18

Allow financing for:

(1) Reimbursement for purchase of IFQ

(2) Activities for reducing fishing capacity

(3) Technology to improve reporting of data, reduce bycatch, reduce adverse effects of fishing year, and improve safety.

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SECTION 210: REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH(406)

Page 225, lines 19-25; Page 226; Page 227, lines 1-2

Requires a joint study by Secretary and Councils to assess the state of science for advancing ecosystem principals for management, using the NRC panel recommendations. The Secretary is authorized to provide scientific advice and funds for Councils to design a pilot program.

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SECTION 408: DEEP SEA CORAL RESEARCH

Page 227, lines 3-25; Page 228, lines 1-17

The Secretary will establish a program to:Identify research on and map locations of deep sea coral, monitor activities occurring in those areas, carry out cooperative research with the fishing industry, develop technology reducing interaction between gear and corals, with funding emphasis on area where coral is most abundant.

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SECTION 212: IMPACT OF TEDs ON SHRIMPING

Page 228, lines 18-23, Page 229The Secretary will provide NAS carry out a study to:(1) Measure the effects of TEDs(2) Evaluate turtle mortality in SER(3) Evaluate innovative technology to increase shrimp retention while protecting turtles. Observers will be placed on all vessels. A final report will be submitted to Congress.

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THIS CONCLUDES THE RECOMMENDATIONS

ON S.2012