,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bggc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #bf1    
#bjah,mrs4 ,feinstein 7for herself1     
,mrs4 ,capito1 and ,ms4 ,harris7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation  ,a ,,bill  ,to improve 
the management of driftnet fishing4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,driftnet ,modernization and       
,bycatch ,reduction ,act4  #b4          
,definition ,section #c7be7 of the      
,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery             
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahjb7be77 is amended by      
inserting 1 or with a mesh size of #ad  
inches or greater1 after more4  #c4     
,findings and policy  7a7 ,findings     
,section #bjf7;b7 of the                
,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery             
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahbf7;b77 is amended--  7#a7 
in paragraph 7#f71 by striking and at   

the end2  7#b7 in paragraph 7#g71 by    
striking the period and inserting 2 and2
 and  7#c7 by adding at the end the     
following3  7#h7 within the exclusive   
economic zone1 large-scale driftnet     
fishing that deploys nets with large    
mesh sizes causes significant           
entanglement and mortality of living    
marine resources1 including myriad      
protected species1 despite limitations  
on the lengths of such nets4  4  7b7    
,policy ,section #bjf7;c7 of the        
,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery             
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahbf7;c77 is amended--  7#a7 
in paragraph 7#b71 by striking and at   
the end2  7#b7 in paragraph 7#c71 by    
striking the period and inserting 2 and2
 and  7#c7 by adding at the end the     
following--  7#d7 prioritize the phase  
out of large-scale driftnet fishing in  
the exclusive economic zone and promote 
the development and adoption of         
alternative fishing methods and gear    
types that reduce the incidental catch  

of living marine resources to the       
maximum extent possible4  4  #d4        
,transition program ,section #bjf of the
 ,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery            
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahbf7 is amended by adding at
 the end the following--  7i7 ,fishing  
gear transition program  7#a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary shall conduct a 
transition program to facilitate the    
phase-out of large-scale driftnet       
fishing and adoption of alternative     
fishing practices that minimize the     
incidental catch of living marine       
resources4  7#b7 ,permissible uses  7,a7
 ,in general ,the ,secretary is         
authorized to provide funding to fishery
 participants for one or more of the    
following3  7i7 ,any fee originally     
associated with a permit authorizing    
participation in a large-scale driftnet 
fishery1 if such permit is surrendered  
for permanent revocation1 and such      
permit holder relinquishes any claim    
associated with the permit4  7ii7 ,a    

forfeiture of fishing gear associated   
with a permit described in clause 7i74  
7iii7 ,the purchase of alternative gear 
with minimal incidental catch of living 
marine resources1 if the fishery        
participant is authorized to continue   
fishing using such alternative gears4   
7,b7 ,payment condition ,the ,secretary 
may not make a payment to a fishery     
participant under subparagraph 7,a7     
unless the ,secretary certifies that the
 permit authorizing participation has   
been permanently revoked and that no new
 permits will be issued to authorize    
such fishing4  7#c7 ,authorization of   
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated for purposes of carrying
 out this subsection1 #dej1jjj for each 
of fiscal years #bjah through #bjbj4  4 
#e4 ,exception ,section #cjg7a77,m7 of  
the ,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery         
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #aheg7a77,m77 is amended by   
inserting before the semicolon the      
following3 81 unless such large-scale   

driftnet fishing--  7i7 deploys1 within 
the exclusive economic zone1 a net with 
a total length of less than two and     
one-half kilometers and a mesh size of  
#ad inches or greater2 and  7ii7 is     
conducted prior to ,january #a1 #bjbj4  
4