Ocean Habitat Protection Act
Latest action · Apr 21, 2003 Executive Comment Requested from Commerce.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 9, 2003
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Permits the Secretary of Commerce or his designee to exempt from this prohibition fishing in the exclusive economic zone if the Council having jurisdiction over the area submits to the Secretary: (1) substantial evidence that the area is composed predominately of sand and mud bottom and that the prohibited devices are necessary to prevent a significant increase from rates of bycatch of non-target managed species, or to provide other significant benefits; (2) the geographic boundaries of the area; and (3) a credible and effective vessel monitoring plan of bottom trawl fishing in the area that is adopted by the Secretary.
Authorizes the Secretary to provide to the owner of a qualified fishing vessel: (1) the depreciated cost of prohibited fishing devices that are part of the fishing gear of a vessel on the date of the enactment of this Act, and are disposed of in an approved manner; (2) the cost of converting trawl nets to compliance; and (3) payment for cessation of trawling.
Requires the Secretary to provide economic assistance to the owners and crew members of any qualified fishing vessel that ceases fishing in bottom trawl fisheries and does not continue fishing in other fisheries.
Requires the Secretary to undertake a program to collect, and make available to Regional Fishery Management Councils, information and maps on diverse bottom habitats of the exclusive U.S. economic zone.
Cosponsors 20
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 9, 2003 to Sep 22, 2004; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-AS | Eni F. H. Faleomavaega | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| R-PA | James C. Greenwood | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-CO | Mark Udall | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| R-DE | Michael N. Castle | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | Original | Apr 9, 2003 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Apr 10, 2003 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | May 6, 2003 | |
| D-MI | Dale E. Kildee | May 6, 2003 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Jun 26, 2003 | |
| D-CA | George Miller | Sep 10, 2003 | |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Sep 10, 2003 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Sep 16, 2003 | |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Mar 11, 2004 | |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Sep 22, 2004 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Apr 9, 2003 |
| Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee | Referred Apr 21, 2003 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 21, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
- Apr 21, 2003Executive Comment Requested from Commerce.
- Apr 9, 2003Introduced in House
- Apr 9, 2003Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To protect diverse and structurally complex areas of the seafloor in the United States exclusive economic zone by establishing a maximum diameter size limit on rockhopper, roller, and all other groundgear used on bottom trawls, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Ocean Habitat Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Administrative procedure
- Animals
- Commerce
- Compensation (Law)
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Cost accounting
- Department of Commerce
- Economics and Public Finance
- Environmental Protection
- Equipment and supplies
- Evidence (Law)
- Fines (Penalties)
- Fisheries
- Fishery management
- Fishing boats
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Habitat conservation
- International Affairs
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Licenses
- Maps
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Marine resources conservation
- Occupational retraining
- Ocean floor
- Oceanographic research
- Planning
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Reefs
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Subsidies
- Territorial waters
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 9, 2003Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.