contents of fishery management plans

contents of fishery management plans Sec. 109. (a) Required Data Collection and Gear.—Section 303(a) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting “, to prevent overfishing, and to protect, restore, and promote the long-term health and stability of the fishery” immediately before the semicolon at the end; (2) in paragraph (1)(C) by inserting “regulations implementing recommendations by international organizations in which the United States participates (including but not limited to closed areas, quotas, and size limits),” immediately after “this Act,”; (3) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows: “(6) consider and provide for temporary adjustments, after consultation with the Coast Guard and persons utilizing the fishery, regarding access to the fishery for vessels otherwise prevented from harvesting because of weather or other ocean conditions affecting the safe conduct of the fishery; except that the adjustment shall not adversely affect conservation efforts in other fisheries or discriminate among participants in the affected fishery;”; (4) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: “(8) in the case of a fishery management plan that, after January 1, 1991, is submitted to the Secretary for review under section 304(a) (including any plan for which an amendment is submitted to the Secretary for such review) or is prepared by the Secretary, assess and specify the nature and extent of scientific data which is needed for effective implementation of the plan; and “(9) include a fishery impact statement for the plan or amendment (in the case of a plan or amendment thereto submitted to or prepared by the Secretary after October 1, 1990) which shall assess, specify, and describe the likely effects, if any, of the conservation and management measures on— “(A) participants in the fisheries affected by the plan or amendment; and 104 STAT. 4448 “(B) participants in the fisheries conducted in adjacent areas under the authority of another Council, after consultation with such Council and representatives of those participants.”. (b) Discretionary Provisions.— (1) Paragraph (1) of section 303(b) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended to read as follows: “(1) require a permit to be obtained from, and fees to be paid to, the Secretary, with respect to— “(A) any fishing vessel of the United States fishing, or wishing to fish, in the exclusive economic zone or for anadromous species or Continental Shelf fishery resources beyond such zone; “(B) the operator of any such vessel; or “(C) any United States fish processor who first receives fish that are subject to the plan;”. (2) Section 303(b) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(b)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively, and by inserting immediately after paragraph (6) the following new paragraphs: “(7) require fish processors who first receive fish that are subject to the plan to submit data (other than economic data) which are necessary for the conservation and management of the fishery; “(8) require that observers be carried on board a vessel of the United States engaged in fishing for species that are subject to the plan, for the purpose of collecting data necessary for the conservation and management of the fishery; except that such a vessel shall not be required to carry an observer on board if the facilities of the vessel for the quartering of an observer, or for carrying out observer functions, are so inadequate or unsafe that the health or safety of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel would be jeopardized;”. (c) Confidentiality of Statistics.—Section 303(d) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(d)) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “subsection (a)(5)” and inserting in lieu thereof “subsections (a) and (b)”; (2) by striking “or” at the end of paragraph (1); (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); (4) by inserting immediately after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: “(2) to State employees pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary that prevents public disclosure of the identity or business of any person; or”; and (5) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted or construed to prevent the use for conservation and management purposes by the Secretary, or with the approval of the Secretary, the Council, of any statistic submitted in compliance with a requirement under subsection (a) or (b).”. (d) Use of Certain Data.—Section 303 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853) is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 104 STAT. 4449 “(f) Restriction on Use of Certain Data.— The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to restrict the use, in civil enforcement or criminal proceedings under this Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), or the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), of information collected by voluntary fishery data collectors, including sea samplers, while aboard any vessel for conservation and management purposes if the presence of such a fishery data collector aboard is not required by any of such Acts or regulations thereunder.”.