regional councils

regional councils Sec. 108. (a) Authority Over Certain Fisheries—Section 302(a) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)) is amended by inserting “(except as provided in section 304(f)(3))” immediately before the period at the end of the first sentence in each of paragraphs (1) through (5). (b) Members’ Qualifications.—Paragraph (2) of section 302(b) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)) is amended to read as follows: “(2) (A) The members of each Council required to be appointed by the Secretary must be individuals who, by reason of their occupational or other experience, scientific expertise, or training, are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management, or the commercial or recreational harvest, of the fishery resources of the geographical area concerned. Within nine months after the date of enactment of the Fishery Conservation Amendments of 1990, the Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe criteria for determining whether an individual satisfies the requirements of this subparagraph. “(B) The Secretary, in making appointments under this section, shall, to the extent practicable, ensure a fair and balanced apportionment, on a rotating or other basis, of the active participants (or their representatives) in the commercial and recreational fisheries under the jurisdiction of the Council. On January 31, 1991, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives a report on the actions taken by the Secretary to ensure that such fair and balanced apportionment is achieved. The report shall— “(i) list the fisheries under the jurisdiction of each Council, outlining for each fishery the type and quantity of fish harvested, fishing and processing methods employed, the number of participants, the duration and range of the fishery, and other distinguishing characteristics; “(ii) assess the membership of each Council in terms of the apportionment of the active participants in each such fishery; and “(iii) state the Secretary’s plans and schedule for actions to achieve a fair and balanced apportionment on the Council for the active participants in any such fishery. “(C) The Secretary shall appoint the members of each Council from a list of individuals submitted by the Governor of each applicable constituent State. A Governor may not submit the names of individuals to the Secretary for appointment unless the Governor has determined that each such individual is qualified under the requirements of subparagraph (A) and unless the Governor has, to the extent practicable, first consulted with representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing interests of the State regarding those individuals. Each such list shall include the names and pertinent biographical data of not less than three individuals for each 104 STAT. 4445 applicable vacancy and shall be accompanied by a statement by the Governor explaining how each such individual meets the requirements of subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall review each list submitted by a Governor to ascertain if the individuals on the list are qualified for the vacancy on the basis of such requirements. If the Secretary determines that any individual is not qualified, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate Governor of that determination. The Governor shall then submit a revised list or resubmit the original list with an additional explanation of the qualifications of the individual in question. An individual is not eligible for appointment by the Secretary until that individual complies with the applicable financial disclosure requirements under subsection (k). “(D) Whenever the Secretary makes an appointment to a Council, the Secretary shall make a public announcement of such appointment not less than 45 days before the first day on which the individual is to take office as a member of the Council.”. (c) Limitation on Terms of Voting Members.—Section 302(b)(3) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: “No member appointed after January 1, 1986, may serve more than three consecutive terms. Any term completed prior to January 1, 1986, shall not be counted in determining the number of consecutive terms served by any Council member.”. (d) Compensation and Expenses.—Section 302(d) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(d)) is amended to read as follows: “(d) Compensation and Expenses.—The voting members of each Council, who are not employed by the Federal Government or any State or local government, shall, until January 1, 1992, receive compensation at the daily rate for GS-18 of the General Schedule, and after December 31, 1991, at the daily rate for GS-16 of the General Schedule, when engaged in the actual performance of duties for such Council. The voting members of each Council, any nonvoting member described in subsection (c)(1)(C), and the nonvoting member appointed pursuant to subsection (c)(2) shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of such duties, and other nonvoting members and Council staff members may be reimbursed for actual expenses.”. (e) Transaction of Business.— (1) Section 302(e)(3) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)(3)) is amended by striking “in the geographical area concerned” and inserting in lieu thereof “at appropriate times and places in any of the constituent States of the Council”. (2) Section 302(e)(4) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(e)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: “The regional director of the National Marine Fisheries Service serving on the Council, or the regional director’s designee, shall submit such a statement, which shall be made available to the public upon request, if the regional director disagrees with any such matter.”. (f) Committees and Panels.—Section 302(g) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) (A) Each Council shall establish and maintain a fishing industry advisory committee which shall provide information and recommendations on, and assist in the development of, fishery management plans and amendments to such plans. 104 STAT. 4446 “(B) Appointments to a committee established under subparagraph (A) shall be made by each Council in such a manner as to provide fair representation to commercial fishing interests in the geographical area of authority of the Council. “(4) Decisions and recommendations made by committees and panels established under this subsection shall be considered to be advisory in nature.”. (g) Council Functions.—Paragraphs (1) and (5) of section 302(h) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) are each amended by inserting “(except as provided in section 304(f)(3))” immediately before “within its geographical”. (h) Fishery Habitat Concerns.—Section 302(i) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(i)) is amended to read as follows: “(i) Fishery Habitat Concerns.— (1) Each Council.— “(A) may comment on and make recommendations concerning any activity undertaken, or proposed to be undertaken, by any State or Federal agency that, in the view of the Council, may affect the habitat of a fishery resource under its jurisdiction; and “(B) shall comment on and make recommendations concerning any such activity that, in the view of the Council, is likely to substantially affect the habitat of an anadromous fishery resource under its jurisdiction. “(2) Within 45 days after receiving a comment or recommendation under paragraph (1) from a Council, a Federal agency shall provide a detailed response, in writing, to the Council regarding the matter. In the case of a comment or recommendation under paragraph (1)(B), the response shall include a description of measures being considered by the agency for mitigating or offsetting the impact of the activity on such habitat.”. (i) Closed Meetings.—Section 302(j)(3) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(3)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A)— (A) by striking the semicolon at the end of clause (ii) and all that follows through “time and place of the meeting.” and inserting in lieu thereof a period; and (B) by inserting “of paragraph (2)” immediately after “(D) and (F)”; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: “(B) If any meeting or portion is closed, the Council concerned shall notify local newspapers in the major fishing ports within its region (and in other major, affected fishing ports), including in that notification the time and place of the meeting. This subpararaph does not require notification regarding any brief closure of a portion of a meeting in order to discuss employment or other internal administrative matters.”. (j) Consideration of New Information.—Section 302(j) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(6) At any time when a Council determines it appropriate to consider new information from a State or Federal agency or from a Council advisory body, the Council shall give comparable consider-104 STAT. 4447ation to new information offered at that time by interested members of the public. Interested parties shall have a reasonable opportunity to respond to new data or information before the Council takes final action on conservation and management measures.”. (k) Interim Management of Highly Migratory Species Fisheries.—Notwithstanding the amendments made by subsections (a) and (g), any fishery management plan or amendment which— (1) addresses a highly migratory species fishery to which section 304(f)(3) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (as amended by this Act) applies, (2) was prepared by one or more Regional Fishery Management Councils, and (3) was in force and effect on January 1, 1990, shall remain in force and effect until superseded by a fishery management plan prepared by the Secretary, and regulations implementing that plan.