FISHING VESSEL SAFETY.

SEC. 604. FISHING VESSEL SAFETY.(a) Safety Standards.—Section 4502 of title 46, United States Code, is amended—(1) in subsection (a), by—124 STAT. 2963(A) striking paragraphs (6) and (7) and inserting the following:“(6) other equipment required to minimize the risk of injury to the crew during vessel operations, if the Secretary determines that a risk of serious injury exists that can be eliminated or mitigated by that equipment; and”; and(B) redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (7);(2) in subsection (b)—(A) in paragraph (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “documented”;(B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “the Boundary Line” and inserting “3 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the United States is measured or beyond 3 nautical miles from the coastline of the Great Lakes”;(C) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking “lifeboats or liferafts” and inserting “a survival craft that ensures that no part of an individual is immersed in water”;(D) in paragraph (2)(D), by inserting “marine” before “radio”;(E) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking “radar reflectors, nautical charts, and anchors” and inserting “nautical charts, and publications”;(F) in paragraph (2)(F), by striking “, including medicine chests” and inserting “and medical supplies sufficient for the size and area of operation of the vessel”; and(G) by amending paragraph (2)(G) to read as follows:“(G) ground tackle sufficient for the vessel.”;(3) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:“(f) To ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter, the Secretary—“(1) shall require the individual in charge of a vessel described in subsection (b) to keep a record of equipment maintenance, and required instruction and drills; and“(2) shall examine at dockside a vessel described in subsection (b) at least once every 2 years, and shall issue a certificate of compliance to a vessel meeting the requirements of this chapter.”; and(4) by adding at the end the following:“(g)(1) The individual in charge of a vessel described in subsection (b) must pass a training program approved by the Secretary that meets the requirements in paragraph (2) of this subsection and hold a valid certificate issued under that program.“(2) The training program shall—“(A) be based on professional knowledge and skill obtained through sea service and hands-on training, including training in seamanship, stability, collision prevention, navigation, fire fighting and prevention, damage control, personal survival, emergency medical care, emergency drills, and weather;“(B) require an individual to demonstrate ability to communicate in an emergency situation and understand information found in navigation publications;“(C) recognize and give credit for recent past experience in fishing vessel operation; and“(D) provide for issuance of a certificate to an individual that has successfully completed the program.124 STAT. 2964“(3) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations implementing this subsection. The regulations shall require that individuals who are issued a certificate under paragraph (2)(D) must complete refresher training at least once every 5 years as a condition of maintaining the validity of the certificate.“(4) The Secretary shall establish a publicly accessible electronic database listing the names of individuals who have participated in and received a certificate confirming successful completion of a training program approved by the Secretary under this section.“(h) A vessel to which this chapter applies shall be constructed in a manner that provides a level of safety equivalent to the minimum safety standards the Secretary may establish for recreational vessels under section 4302, if—“(1) subsection (b) of this section applies to the vessel;“(2) the vessel is less than 50 feet overall in length; and“(3) the vessel is built after January 1, 2010.“(i)(1) The Secretary shall establish a Fishing Safety Training Grants Program to provide funding to municipalities, port authorities, other appropriate public entities, not-for-profit organizations, and other qualified persons that provide commercial fishing safety training—“(A) to conduct fishing vessel safety training for vessel operators and crewmembers that—“(i) in the case of vessel operators, meets the requirements of subsection (g); and“(ii) in the case of crewmembers, meets the requirements of subsection (g)(2)(A), such requirements of subsection (g)(2)(B) as are appropriate for crewmembers, and the requirements of subsections (g)(2)(D), (g)(3), and (g)(4); and“(B) for purchase of safety equipment and training aids for use in those fishing vessel safety training programs.“(2) The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection on a competitive basis.“(3) The Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out with a grant under this subsection shall not exceed 75 percent.“(4) There is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for grants under this subsection.“(j)(1) The Secretary shall establish a Fishing Safety Research Grant Program to provide funding to individuals in academia, members of non-profit organizations and businesses involved in fishing and maritime matters, and other persons with expertise in fishing safety, to conduct research on methods of improving the safety of the commercial fishing industry, including vessel design, emergency and survival equipment, enhancement of vessel monitoring systems, communications devices, de-icing technology, and severe weather detection.“(2) The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection on a competitive basis.“(3) The Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out with a grant under this subsection shall not exceed 75 percent.“(4) There is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for activities under this subsection.”.(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 4506(b) of title 46, United States Code, is repealed.(c) Advisory Committee.—124 STAT. 2965(1) Change of name.—Section 4508 of title 46, United States Code, is amended—(A) by striking the section heading and inserting the following:“§ 4508. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee” ;and(B) in subsection (a) by striking “Industry Vessel”.(2) Membership requirements.—Section 4508(b)(1) of that title is amended—(A) by striking “seventeen” and inserting “eighteen”;(B) in subparagraph (A)—(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “from the commercial fishing industry who—” and inserting “who shall represent the commercial fishing industry and who—”; and(ii) in clause (ii), by striking “an uninspected” and inserting “a”;(C) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:“(B) three members who shall represent the general public, including, whenever possible—“(i) an independent expert or consultant in maritime safety;“(ii) a marine surveyor who provides services to vessels to which this chapter applies; and“(iii) a person familiar with issues affecting fishing communities and families of fishermen;”; and(D) in subparagraph (C)—(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “representing each of—” and inserting “each of whom shall represent—”;(ii) in clause (i), by striking “or marine surveyors;” and inserting “and marine engineers;”;(iii) in clause (iii), by striking “and” after the semicolon at the end;(iv) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and(v) by adding at the end the following new clause:“(v) owners of vessels to which this chapter applies.”.(3) Termination.—Section 4508(e)(1) of that title is amended by striking “September 30, 2010.” and inserting “September 30, 2020.”.(4) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 45 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to such section and inserting the following: “4508. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee.”. (d) Loadlines for Vessels 79 Feet or Greater in Length.—(1) Limitation on exemption for fishing vessels.—Section 5102(b)(3) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting after “vessel” the following “, unless the vessel is built after July 1, 2012”.(2) Alternate program for certain fishing vessels.—Section 5103 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:124 STAT. 2966 “(c) A fishing vessel built on or before July 1, 2012, that undergoes a substantial change to the dimension of or type of the vessel completed after the later of July 1, 2012, or the date the Secretary establishes standards for an alternate loadline compliance program, shall comply with such an alternative loadline compliance program that is developed in cooperation with the commercial fishing industry and prescribed by the Secretary.”.(e) Classing of Vessels.—(1) In general.—Section 4503 of title 46, United States Code, is amended—(A) by striking the section heading and inserting the following:“§ 4503. Fishing, fish tender, and fish processing vessel certification” ;(B) in subsection (a) by striking “fish processing”; and(C) by adding at the end the following:“(c) This section applies to a vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies that is at least 50 feet overall in length and is built after July 1, 2012.“(d)(1) After January 1, 2020, a fishing vessel, fish processing vessel, or fish tender vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies shall comply with an alternate safety compliance program that is developed in cooperation with the commercial fishing industry and prescribed by the Secretary, if the vessel—“(A) is at least 50 feet overall in length;“(B) is built before July 1, 2012; and“(C) is 25 years of age or older.“(2) A fishing vessel, fish processing vessel, or fish tender vessel built before July 1, 2012, that undergoes a substantial change to the dimension of or type of vessel completed after the later of July 1, 2012, or the date the Secretary establishes standards for an alternate safety compliance program, shall comply with such an alternative safety compliance program that is developed in cooperation with the commercial fishing industry and prescribed by the Secretary.“(3) Alternative safety compliance programs may be developed for purposes of paragraph (1) for specific regions and fisheries.“(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), vessels owned by a person that owns more than 30 vessels subject to that paragraph are not required to meet the alternate safety compliance requirements of that paragraph until January 1, 2030, if that owner enters into a compliance agreement with the Secretary that provides for a fixed schedule for all of the vessels owned by that person to meet requirements of that paragraph by that date and the vessel owner is meeting that schedule.“(5) A fishing vessel, fish processing vessel, or fish tender vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies that was classed before July 1, 2012, shall—“(A) remain subject to the requirements of a classification society approved by the Secretary; and“(B) have on board a certificate from that society.”.(2) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 45 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to such section and inserting the following: “4503. Fishing, fish tender, and fish processing vessel certification.”. 124 STAT. 2967(f) Alternative Safety Compliance Program.—No later than January 1, 2017, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall prescribe an alternative safety compliance program referred to in section 4503(d)(1) of the title 46, United States Code, as amended by this section.