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108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4897
To protect deep sea corals and sponges, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2004
Mr. Greenwood (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Weldon of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Shays, Mr. Farr, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Capps, Mr. George
Miller of California, Mr. Case, Mr. Honda, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Grijalva,
Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Engel, Ms.
Woolsey, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Faleomavaega, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of
California, Mr. Kucinich, and Mr. Gerlach) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition
to the Committee on Science, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect deep sea corals and sponges, 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 ``Deep Sea Coral Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Ecosystem-based management of our marine environment
has been recommended by numerous reports and advisory bodies,
including the Pew Oceans Commission and the United States
Commission on Ocean Policy. On the subject of corals, including
deep sea corals, both commission reports recommended both the
continued study and protection of coral ecosystems.
(2) Complex seafloor habitats created by structure-forming
organisms including deep sea corals and sponges are essential
to numerous fish species, including commercially and
recreationally targeted species, which rely on such complex
habitats for spawning, food, and shelter from predation. For
example, more than 1,300 species live among lophelia coral
reefs in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
(3) Deep sea corals typically exhibit slow growth, extreme
longevity, and highly patchy distribution predominately along
continental margins, seamounts, undersea canyons, and ridges.
(4) Living organisms, such as deep sea corals and sponges,
that create complex habitat have not been adequately studied
for the potential benefit to society or for the ecological
importance that such organisms provide to fish species and
other forms of marine life.
(5) Some deep sea corals have a growth ring structure that
provides a living record of changes in water temperature and
other information that can be used to track global climate
change over time.
(6) Deep sea corals are a future source of new biomedical
compounds for the pharmaceutical and biotechnical industries.
(7) The exceptional diversity, uniqueness, and
vulnerability of deep sea corals necessitates that the mapping
and conservation of such species be given a high priority.
(8) There is national and international recognition of the
importance of deep sea coral habitats. The European Union,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Norway have prohibited the
use of fishing gear that employs mobile bottom-tending fishing
gear in some areas where deep sea corals exist. Further,
several of the Councils have taken action to protect the
fragile habitat of deep sea corals.
(9) Deep sea coral habitats are subject to growing human
pressures, particularly as a result of the rapid spread of deep
sea mobile bottom-tending fisheries into new regions and new
grounds, aided by the development of navigational, fish-
finding, and other technologies.
(10) The National Research Council found that 95 percent of
the damage to deep sea corals is caused by bottom trawls. In
the National Research Council 2002 report to the Congress on
the effects of trawling and dredging on seafloor habitats, the
National Research Council stated that we currently have enough
information about the destruction of structured habitats caused
by bottom trawling/dredging and recommend for their immediate
protection through the use of no bottom trawl/dredge zones.
SEC. 3. POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to employ preventative and
precautionary strategies to protect deep sea corals and sponges,
including the protection of such organisms as are found in the
continental margins, canyons, seamounts, and ridges of the world's
oceans, and the habitats of such organisms from damage from gear and
equipment used in commercial fishing, particularly mobile bottom-
tending gear.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Coral management area.--The term ``Coral Management
Area'' means an area designated as a Coral Management Area
under section 9.
(2) Coral study area.--The term ``Coral Study Area'' means
an area designated as a Coral Study Area under section 8.
(3) Council.--The term ``Council'' means any regional
fishery management council established by section 302 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1852).
(4) Deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem.--The term ``deep
sea coral and sponge ecosystem'' means a community of living
deep sea coral or sponge species, the benthic and non-benthic
species associated with them, and the living and nonliving
physical and chemical components that constitute habitat for
corals and sponges.
(5) Deep sea corals.--The term ``deep sea corals'' means
all species of the phylum Cnidaria in the orders Antipatharia
(black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), Gorgonacea (horny
corals), Alcyonacea (soft corals), and Pennatulacea (sea pens)
of the class Anthozoa, and in the order Hydrocorallina
(hydrocorals) of the class Hydrozoa, that occur at a depth of
50 meters or more and do not contain symbiotic algae.
(6) Deep sea sponge.--The term ``deep sea sponge'' means
any species of the phylum Porifera that occur at a depth of 50
meters or more.
(7) Exclusive economic zone.--The term ``exclusive economic
zone'' has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1802).
(8) Mobile bottom-tending fishing gear.--The term ``mobile
bottom-tending fishing gear'' means any trawl or dredge fishing
gear that contacts the seafloor while in use, including pelagic
fishing gear that contacts the seafloor while in use, otter
trawls, and scallop dredges.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Commerce.
SEC. 5. MAPPING AND RESEARCH.
(a) Requirement for Mapping and Research.--The Secretary shall
direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to
carry out a comprehensive program to explore, research, identify, and
map deep sea corals and sponges, that--
(1) includes an annual research strategy that compares
areas open to mobile bottom-tending gear with areas designated
as Coral Management Areas; and
(2) prioritizes Coral Study Areas for evaluation to
determine whether--
(A) their designation as such areas should be
terminated; and
(B) they should be designated as Coral Management
Areas.
(b) Description of Mapping and Research.--The comprehensive program
carried out under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) creating maps of the locations of deep sea coral and
sponge ecosystems; and
(2) conducting research related to deep sea corals and
sponges and the habitats of deep sea corals and sponges,
including--
(A) the natural history of such species;
(B) taxonomic classification of such species;
(C) ecological role of such species; and
(D) the benefits of such species and habitats.
SEC. 6. DATA REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) Requirement for Review.--At least once every 2 calendar years,
the Secretary shall appoint an advisory panel from a list of names
recommended by the Chair of the National Research Council to review all
available data related to deep sea corals and deep sea sponges. Such
data shall include--
(1) data related to the analysis of bycatch carried out
under section 8(a);
(2) data related to the research carried out under section
5; and
(3) data obtained from any Federal agency under subsection
(b).
(b) Data From Federal Entities.--The head of any Federal agency
that holds information related to the ocean floor, specifically
including information related to the habitat of deep sea corals and
deep sea sponges, shall, upon request, furnish such information to the
Secretary who shall make it available to the Advisory Panel.
(c) Recommendations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after completing
the annual review required by subsection (a), the advisory
panel shall submit to the Secretary a recommendation that--
(A) each area identified as a deep sea coral and
sponge ecosystem in such annual review be designated as
a Coral Management Area; and
(B) any area containing a potential or actual deep
sea coral and sponge ecosystem for which additional
research is needed be designated as a Coral Study Area.
(2) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register a notice of availability of each
recommendation submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1).
SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON USE OF MOBILE BOTTOM-TENDING FISHING GEAR IN
CORAL STUDY AREAS AND CORAL MANAGEMENT AREAS.
(a) Closure Upon Designation.--The use of all mobile bottom-tending
fishing gears is prohibited in any area designated as a Coral Study
Area or a Coral Management Area.
(b) Other Measures not Restricted.--Nothing in this Act shall
restrict the ability of the Secretary of Commerce, acting on his or her
own or with the advice of the appropriate Council, to promulgate
stronger fishery or habitat protection measures, as authorized under
other laws, within a Coral Study Area or Coral Management Area.
(c) Savings Clause.--All rules and regulations issued by the
Secretary under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and
Conservation Act pertaining to coral conservation, management, or
protection shall continue to apply after the date of enactment of this
Act until modified or rescinded by the Secretary pursuant to the
requirements of this Act.
SEC. 8. CORAL STUDY AREAS.
(a) Study Areas Identified Through Fishing Records.--The Secretary
shall designate as a Coral Study Area any area that is located within
the exclusive economic zone for which--
(1) records of commercial fishing trips maintained by the
National Marine Fisheries Service demonstrate that the area has
not been fished using mobile bottom-tending gear during the 3-
year period ending prior to the enactment of this Act and for
which records are available; or
(2) there are no reliable records maintained by the
National Marine Fisheries Service regarding such fishing, and
that the Secretary determines is beyond the reasonable depth
limits of mobile bottom-tending fishing gear currently in use.
(b) Study Areas Identified Through Bycatch Records, Research, or
Mapping.--The Secretary shall review on a continuing basis bycatch
records, research, mapping, and survey data obtained from areas of the
Exclusive Economic Zone open to fishing with commercial mobile bottom-
tending gear to determine if these data indicate the actual or
potential presence of a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem. If the
Secretary determines that the data indicate the actual or potential
presence of a deep sea coral and sponge ecosystem, the Secretary shall
designate the area as a Coral Study Area. The designation shall expire
upon decision by the Secretary to terminate the designation pursuant to
subsection (d) of this section.
(c) Study Areas Recommended by the Advisory Panel.--
(1) Proposed rule.--Not later than 30 days after receiving
a recommendation pursuant to section 6(c)(1)(B), the Secretary
shall publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule to
designate any recommended area as a Coral Study Area.
(2) Comment period.--The Secretary shall accept comments on
any proposed rule published under paragraph (1) for 60 days
after the date of the publication of such proposed rule.
(3) Final determination.--Not later than 120 days after the
publication of such proposed rule, the Secretary shall
designate the area recommended under section 6(c)(1)(B) as a
Coral Study Area unless the Secretary finds no rational basis
for the recommendation.
(d) Termination of Study Area Designation.--The Secretary, sua
sponte or upon recommendation of the Council having advisory duties for
the fisheries of the area, may determine that an area or part of an
area that is designated as a Coral Study Area pursuant to subsections
(a), (b), or (c) shall no longer be designated as a Coral Study Area,
if the area is--
(1) designated as a Coral Management Area pursuant to
section 9; or
(2) does not warrant designation as a Coral Management Area
pursuant to the criteria in subsection 9(b) and is reopened to
mobile bottom-tending fishing gears, unless the use of mobile
bottom-tending fishing gear in such area is prohibited by any
other provision of law.
SEC. 9. CORAL MANAGEMENT AREAS.
(a) Initial Designations.--Each area bounded by the following
coordinates is designated as a Coral Management Area:
(1) Alaska deep sea coral gardens.--
(A) Adak Canyon 51 deg.38'59'' N. x 177 deg.03'00''
W., 51 deg.38'59'' N. x 177 deg.00'00'' W.,
51 deg.30'00'' N. x 177 deg.00'00'' W., 51 deg.30'00''
N. x 177 deg.03'00'' W.
(B) Bobrof Island 51 deg.57'36'' N. x
177 deg.29'24'' W., 51 deg.57'36'' N. x 177 deg.19'48''
W., 51 deg.51'35'' N. x 177 deg.19'48'' W.,
51 deg.51'35'' N. x 177 deg.29'24'' W.
(C) Cape Moffet 51 deg.55'47'' N. x 176 deg.52'47''
W., 51 deg.55'47'' N. x 176 deg.48'36'' W.,
51 deg.58'11'' N. x 176 deg.46'48'' W., 52 deg.00'00''
N. x 176 deg.46'48'' W., 52 deg.00'00'' N. x
176 deg.52'47'' W.
(D) Great Sitkin 52 deg.09'35'' N. x
176 deg.12'36'' W., 52 deg.09'35'' N. x 176 deg.05'59''
W., 52 deg.06'35'' N. x 176 deg.05'59'' W.,
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