[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2560 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2560
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to encourage elimination of lionfish from United States waters by
allowing individuals to exchange lionfish for tags authorizing fishing
for certain species in addition to the number of such species otherwise
authorized to be taken by such individuals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 19, 2017
Mr. Gaetz (for himself, Mr. Soto, Mr. Francis Rooney of Florida, Mr.
Lawson of Florida, Mr. DeSantis, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Duncan of
Tennessee, Mr. Rutherford, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Thomas J. Rooney of
Florida, Mr. Mast, and Mr. Yoho) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to encourage elimination of lionfish from United States waters by
allowing individuals to exchange lionfish for tags authorizing fishing
for certain species in addition to the number of such species otherwise
authorized to be taken by such individuals, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reef Assassin Act''.
SEC. 2. ENCOURAGING ELIMINATION OF LIONFISH.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 321. ENCOURAGING ELIMINATION OF LIONFISH.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall issue regulations under
which a participating State may issue to an individual submitting
lionfish taken in Federal or State waters a tag authorizing the taking
of a fish of a covered species in Federal waters in addition to any
other fish of that species the individual is authorized to take in
Federal waters.
``(b) Requirements for Issuance of Tag.--The regulations shall
require--
``(1) the submission of 100 lionfish for each tag issued;
``(2) that lionfish taken in State waters must be taken by
an individual holding a valid license to engage in such fishing
issued under the laws of such State; and
``(3) that each lionfish shall be submitted by removing the
tail, placing it in a resealable plastic bag, and submitting
such bag to a participating State before the tail has
significantly deteriorated.
``(c) No Limitation on Number of Tags.--The regulations shall not
limit the number of tags that may be issued to an individual.
``(d) Use of Tags.--The regulations shall provide that a tag issued
under the regulations--
``(1) shall be valid for the 5-year period beginning on the
date it is issued;
``(2) shall authorize only the recreational or commercial
taking of a fish that complies with any size limit that
otherwise applies to fishing for such fish in the waters in
which it is taken;
``(3) shall authorize such taking without regard to any
seasonal limitation that otherwise applies to the species of
fish taken;
``(4) shall authorize--
``(A) the transfer of tags to any other person; and
``(B) use of transferred tags in the same manner as
such tags may be used by the person to whom the tags
were issued; and
``(5) shall require that any fish taken under such tag
outside any seasonal limitation that otherwise applies to such
fish must have the tag fastened between the mouth and gill
before being placed in any cooler.
``(e) Approval of State To Participate.--
``(1) Conditions.--The regulations shall require that as a
condition of approving a State to issue tags under this section
the Secretary shall require the State to designate a repository
for lionfish submitted for such tags.
``(2) Provision of freezer.--The Secretary shall provide to
each participating State freezers in which to store submitted
lionfish, at a cost of not more than $500 for each freezer.
``(f) Additional Requirements.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) encourage participating States to use existing
infrastructure and staff or volunteers to conduct the State's
program under this section;
``(2) include on the webpage of the National Marine
Fisheries Service information about the program under this
section; and
``(3) encourage State and local governments to work with
retailers and distributors to advance the purchasing and
consumption of lionfish.
``(g) Other Provisions Not Affected.--
``(1) In general.--This section--
``(A) is intended to protect species of fish that
are native to waters of the United States or the
exclusive economic zone; and
``(B) shall not be construed to constrain any
fishery, fishing quota, or fishing allocation.
``(2) Limitation on consideration of tags.--This section
and tags issued or authorized to be issued under this section
shall not be considered in any determination of fishing levels,
quotas, or allocations.
``(h) Definition.--In this section--
``(1) the term `covered fish'--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means
red snapper, gag grouper, triggerfish, amberjack; and
``(B) does not include any species included in a
list of endangered species or threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.); and
``(2) the term `participating State' means a State that has
applied and been approved by the Secretary to issue tags under
regulations under this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to
title III the following:
``Sec. 301. Encouraging elimination of lionfish.''.
(c) Deadline for Regulations.--The Secretary of Commerce shall
issue regulations under the amendment made by subsection (a) by not
later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>