,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aaa  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #af1       
#bjbe,mr4 ,scott of ,florida introduced 
the following bill2 which was read twice
 and referred to the ,committee on      
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide that the       
,secretary of ,commerce shall not issue 
an interim or final rule or ,secretarial
 ,amendment that includes an area or    
bottom closure in the ,south ,atlantic  
for species managed under the ,fishery  
,management ,plan for the               
,snapper-,grouper ,fishery of the ,south
 ,atlantic ,region until the ,south     
,atlantic ,great ,red ,snapper ,count   
study is complete and the data related  
to that study is integrated into the    
stock assessment4  #a4 ,short title     
,this ,act may be cited as the ,red     
,snapper ,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,conditions
 for rules and ,secretarial ,amendments 
related to certain area closures  7a7   
,findings ,congress finds the following3

 7#a7 ,fishing is a major economic      
driver in the ,south ,atlantic4 ,in     
,florida alone1 recreational anglers    
provide #ad1jjj1jjj1jjj in economic     
output and support #aai1jjj jobs4  7#b7 
,red snapper is a highly prized and     
sought after reef fish by both          
recreational and commercial fishermen4  
7#c7 ,the #f-;day recreational red      
snapper season in #bjah added           
#ac1jjj1jjj to the gross domestic       
product of the ,south ,atlantic region4 
7#d7 ,since #bjaj1 fishery managers have
 successfully been working to rebuild   
the red snapper stock in the ,south     
,atlantic4 ,there is currently record   
high abundance and strong recruitment   
within the stock4  7#e7 ,this record    
abundance has led to increased          
out-of-season encounters and discards   
which is driving red snapper mortality4 
7#f7 ,despite these increased discards1 
it is the overriding opinion of the     
,south ,atlantic ,fishery ,management   
,council's ,snapper ,grouper ,advisory  

,panel that based on members' collective
 on-the-water experience1 the red       
snapper fishery is recovered4  7#g7     
,however1 options for future            
consideration to reduce out-of-season   
encounters and red snapper mortalities  
include shorter seasons and broad area  
closures for the snapper-grouper fishery
 in the ,south ,atlantic4  7#h7 ,the    
,state of ,florida is concerned with the
 economic implications of area closures 
for the ,south ,atlantic snapper-grouper
 recreational fishery4  7#i7 #h1gjj1jjj 
has been invested in independent survey 
data over the last #c fiscal years1     
including #c1cjj1jjj for the ,south     
,atlantic ,great ,red ,snapper ,count to
 estimate the number of red snapper     
7,lutjanus campechanus7 in the ,south   
,atlantic waters from ,north ,carolina  
to ,florida4  7#aj7 ,the ,national      
,marine ,fisheries ,service should      
incorporate data from this survey into  
the ,national ,marine ,fisheries        
,service stock assessments as           

expeditiously as possible to better     
inform fishery management decisions4    
7b7 ,condition on issuance of certain   
rule or ,secretarial ,amendment ,the    
,secretary of ,commerce shall not issue 
an interim or final rule or a           
,secretarial ,amendment that includes an
 area or bottom closure in the ,south   
,atlantic for species managed under the 
,fishery ,management ,plan for the      
,snapper-,grouper ,fishery of the ,south
 ,atlantic ,region until-- 7#a7 the     
,south ,atlantic ,great ,red ,snapper   
,count study is complete2 and  7#b7 the 
data related to that study is integrated
 into the first ,south ,atlantic red    
snapper ,southeast ,data1 ,assessment   
and ,review stock assessment that is    
carried out after the date of the       
enactment of this section4