,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ijh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #bg1 #bjai   
,mr4 ,schumer 7for himself and ,mrs4    
,gillibrand7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to provide for an equitable          
management of summer flounder based on  
geographic1 scientific1 and economic    
data and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short
 title  ,this ,act may be cited as the  
,fluke ,fairness ,act of #bjai4  #b4    
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,summer flounder is an important  
economic fish stock for commercial and  
recreational fishermen across the       
,northeast and ,mid-,atlantic ,united   
,states4  7#b7 ,the ,magnuson-,stevens  
,fishery ,conservation and ,management  
,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ahja et seq47 was  
reauthorized in #bjjf and instituted    
annual catch limits and accountability  
measures for important fish stocks4     

7#c7 ,that reauthorization prompted     
fishery managers to look at alternate   
management schemes to rebuild depleted  
stocks like summer flounder4  7#d7      
,summer flounder occur in both ,state   
and ,federal waters and are managed     
through a joint fishery management plan 
between the ,council and the            
,commission4  7#e7 ,the ,council and the
 ,commission decided that each ,state's 
recreational and commercial harvest     
limits for summer flounder would be     
based upon landings in previous years4  
7#f7 ,these historical landings were    
based on flawed data sets that no longer
 provide fairness or flexibility for    
fisheries managers to allocate resources
 based on the best science4  7#g7 ,this 
allocation mechanism resulted in an     
uneven split among the ,states along the
 ,east ,coast which is problematic4     
7#h7 ,the fishery management plan for   
summer flounder does not account for    
regional changes in the location of the 
fluke stock even though the stock has   

moved further to the north and changes  
in effort by anglers along the ,east    
,coast4  7#i7 ,the ,states have been    
locked in a management system based on  
data collected from #aiha to #aihi1     
thus1 the summer flounder stock is not  
being managed using the best available  
science and modern fishery management   
techniques4  7#aj7 ,it is in the        
interest of the ,federal ,government to 
establish a new fishery management plan 
for summer flounder that is based on    
current geographic1 scientific1 and     
economic realities4  #c4 ,definitions   
,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,commission ,the    
term ,commission means the ,atlantic    
,states ,marine ,fisheries ,commission4 
7#b7 ,council ,the term ,council means  
the ,mid-,atlantic ,fishery ,management 
,council established under section      
#cjb7;a7 of the ,magnuson-,stevens      
,fishery ,conservation and ,management  
,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aheb7;a774  7#c7   
,national standards ,the term ,national 
,standards means the national standards 

for fishery conservation and management 
set out in section #cja7;a7 of the      
,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery             
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahea7;a774  7#d7 ,secretary  
,the term ,secretary means the          
,secretary of ,commerce4  7#e7 ,summer  
flounder ,the term summer flounder means
 the species ,paralichthys dentatus4    
#d4 ,summer flounder management reform  
7a7 ,fishery management plan            
modification ,not later than #a year    
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,council shall submit to the  
,secretary1 and the ,secretary may      
approve1 a modified fishery management  
plan for the commercial management of   
summer flounder under title ,,iii of the
 ,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery            
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahea et seq47 or an amendment
 to such plan that--  7#a7 shall be     
based on the best scientific information
 available2  7#b7 establishes commercial
 quotas in direct proportion to the     

distribution1 abundance1 and location of
 summer flounder as reflected by fishery
 independent surveys conducted by the   
,national ,marine ,fisheries ,service   
and ,state agencies2  7#c7 considers    
regional1 coastwide1 or other management
 measures for summer flounder that      
comply with the ,national ,standards2   
and  7#d7 prohibits the establishment of
 commercial catch quotas for summer     
flounder on a ,state-by-,state basis    
using historical landings data that does
 not reflect the status of the summer   
flounder stock1 based on the most recent
 scientific information4  7b7           
,consultation with the commission ,in   
preparing the modified fishery          
management plan or an amendment to such 
a plan as described in subsection 7a71  
the ,council shall consult with the     
,commission to ensure consistent        
management throughout the range of the  
summer flounder4  7c7 ,failure ,to      
submit plan ,if the ,council fails to   
submit a modified fishery management    

plan or an amendment to such a plan as  
described in subsection 7a7 that may be 
approved by the ,secretary1 the         
,secretary shall prepare and consider   
such a modified plan or amendment4  #e4 
,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of the approval under section  
#d of a modified fishery management plan
 for the commercial management of summer
 flounder or an amendment to such plan1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall submit to ,congress a    
report on the implementation of such    
modified plan or amendment that includes
 an assessment of whether such          
implementation complies with the        
,national ,standards4