,i  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fahj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #h1        
#bjba,mr4 ,gaetz introduced the         
following bill2 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 individuals1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,reef ,assassin     
,act4  #b4 ,encouraging elimination of  
lionfish  7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iii  
of the ,magnuson-,stevens ,fishery      
,conservation and ,management ,act 7#af 
,u4,s4,c4 #ahea et seq47 is amended by  
adding at the end the following3  #cba4 
,encouraging elimination of lionfish    

7a7 ,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 waters4  7b7           
,requirements for issuance of tag ,the  
regulations shall require-- 7#a7 the    
submission of #ajj lionfish for each tag
 issued2  7#b7 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 ,state2 and  7#c7 that each
 lionfish shall be submitted by removing
 the tail1 placing it in a resealable   
plastic bag1 and submitting such bag to 
a participating ,state before the tail  
has significantly deteriorated4  7c7 ,no
 limitation on number of tags ,the      
regulations shall not limit the number  

of tags that may be issued to an        
individual4  7d7 ,use of tags ,the      
regulations shall provide that a tag    
issued under the regulations-- 7#a7     
shall be valid for the #e-year period   
beginning on the date it is issued2     
7#b7 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  
taken2  7#c7 shall authorize such taking
 without regard to any seasonal         
limitation that otherwise applies to the
 species of fish taken2  7#d7 shall     
authorize-- 7,a7 the transfer of tags to
 any other person2 and  7,b7 use of     
transferred tags in the same manner as  
such tags may be used by the person to  
whom the tags were issued2 and  7#e7    
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 cooler4  7e7 ,approval of ,state ,to
 participate  7#a7 ,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 tags4  7#b7 ,provision of freezer  
,the ,secretary shall provide to each   
participating ,state freezers in which  
to store submitted lionfish1 at a cost  
of not more than #ejj for each freezer4 
7f7 ,additional requirements ,the       
,secretary shall-- 7#a7 encourage       
participating ,states to use existing   
infrastructure and staff or volunteers  
to conduct the ,state's program under   
this section2  7#b7 include on the      
webpage of the ,national ,marine        
,fisheries ,service information about   
the program under this section2 and     
7#c7 encourage ,state and local         
governments to work with retailers and  
distributors to advance the purchasing  
and consumption of lionfish4  7g7 ,other

 provisions not affected  7#a7 ,in      
general ,this section-- 7,a7 is intended
 to protect species of fish that are    
native to waters of the ,united ,states 
or the exclusive economic zone2 and     
7,b7 shall not be construed to constrain
 any fishery1 fishing quota1 or fishing 
allocation4  7#b7 ,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 levels1 quotas1 or allocations4 
7h7 ,definition ,in this section-- 7#a7 
the term covered fish-- 7,a7 except as  
provided in subparagraph 7,b71 means red
 snapper1 gag grouper1 triggerfish1 and 
amberjack2 and  7,b7 does not include   
any species included in a list of       
endangered species or threatened species
 under the ,endangered ,species ,act of 
#aigc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq472 and
  7#b7 the term participating ,state    
means a ,state that has applied and been
 approved by the ,secretary to issue    

tags under regulations under this       
section4  4  7b7 ,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 following3  ,sec4    
#cba4 ,encouraging elimination of       
lionfish4  4  7c7 ,deadline for         
regulations ,the ,secretary of ,commerce
 shall issue regulations under the      
amendment made by subsection 7a7 by not 
later than #fj days after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act4