,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #idc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #g1        
#bjag,mr4 ,curbelo of ,florida 7for     
himself and ,mr4 ,hastings7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources
  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize the          
,secretary of ,commerce to award        
competitive grants to combat the certain
 species of lionfish in the ,atlantic   
,ocean and the ,gulf of ,mexico4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,finding ,innovative ,lionfish      
,elimination ,technologies ,act of      
#bjag4  #b4 ,competitive grants to      
institutions of higher education and    
nonprofit research organizations to     
combat lionfish in the ,atlantic ,ocean 
and the ,gulf of ,mexico  7a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary of ,commerce1   
through the ,cooperative ,science and   
,education ,program of the ,national    
,oceanic and ,atmospheric               
,administration conducted under ,public 

,law #hf-fhe 7#gd ,stat4 #gcc71 the     
,fish and ,wildlife ,coordination ,act  
7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ffa et seq471 and the   
,departments of ,commerce1 ,justice1 and
 ,state1 the ,judiciary1 and ,related   
,agencies ,appropriations ,act1 #aiii   
7section #aja7;b7 of division ,a of     
,public ,law #aje-bgg2 #aab ,stat4      
#bfha-ej71 shall award competitive      
grants to institutions of higher        
education and nonprofit research        
organizations to combat the species of  
lionfish ,pterois miles and ,pterois    
volitans1 in the ,atlantic ,ocean and   
the ,gulf of ,mexico4  7b7 ,eligibility 
,to be eligible for a grant under this  
section1 an institution of higher       
education or nonprofit research         
organization must--  7#a7 have          
established research infrastructure and 
proven capabilities of understanding the
 behavior of such species and the       
ecosystems of the ,atlantic ,ocean or   
the ,gulf of ,mexico2 and  7#b7         
demonstrate a clear appreciation and    

understanding of the biological1        
chemical1 and physical aspects of such  
ecosystem4  7c7 ,encouragement of       
collaboration ,in selecting projects for
 grants under this section1 the         
,secretary of ,commerce may encourage   
collaborative work with stakeholder     
groups having practical experience with 
gear1 harvest techniques1 and knowledge 
of local ecosystems4  7d7 ,use ,amounts 
awarded as grants under this section    
shall be used-- 7#a7 for lionfish       
research and the impact of such species 
on the ecosystems of the ,atlantic      
,ocean or the ,gulf of ,mexico2  7#b7 to
 develop innovative technologies1       
including autonomous cameras and active 
acoustic systems appropriate for coastal
 environments1 for detection of lionfish
 and determination of priority areas for
 removal of invasive species2 and  7#c7 
to develop lionfish mitigation          
technologies1 including traps and       
countermeasures4  7e7 ,funding ,of      
amounts available for each of fiscal    

years #bjah through #bjbb for the       
,coastal ,ecosystem ,resiliency ,grant  
program of the ,national ,oceanic and   
,atmospheric ,administration1 #a1ejj1jjj
 may be used to carry out this section4