§ 4107. Authorization of appropriations

(a) General appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for apportionment to carry out the purposes of this chapter $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.

(b) Additional appropriations

In addition to the amounts authorized in subsection (a) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce $65,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995, which shall be available in such amounts as the Secretary may determine appropriate for the purposes of this chapter; except that—

(1) in providing funds to States under this subsection, the Secretary shall give a preference to those States regarding which the Secretary determines there is a commercial fishery failure or serious disruption affecting future production due to a fishery resource disaster arising from natural or undetermined causes, and any sums made available under this subsection may be used either by the States or directly by the Secretary in cooperation with the States for any purpose that the Secretary determines is appropriate to restore the fishery affected by such a failure or to prevent a similar failure in the future;

(2) the funds authorized to be appropriated under this subsection shall not be available to the Secretary for use as grants for chartering fishing vessels; and

(3) the Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out with an amount appropriated under the authority of this subsection shall be 75 percent of the cost of that activity.

Amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.

In addition to the amounts authorized under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce $900,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012, to support the efforts of the following interstate commissions to develop interstate fishery management plans for interjurisdictional fishery resources:

(1) The commission established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact, as consented to and approved by Public Law 77–539 (56 Stat. 267), approved May 4, 1942.

(2) The commission established by the Pacific Marine Fisheries Compact, as consented to and approved by Public Law 80–232 (61 Stat. 419), approved July 24, 1947.

(3) The commission established by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Compact, as consented to and approved by Public Law 81–66 (63 Stat. 70), approved May 19, 1949.

(d) Assistance to commercial fishermen

(1) In addition to the amounts authorized under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce $65,000,000 for fiscal year 1992 to enable the Secretary to help persons engaged in commercial fisheries, either by providing assistance directly to those persons or by providing assistance indirectly through States and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations, for projects or other measures to alleviate harm determined by the Secretary to have been incurred as a direct result of a fishery resource disaster arising from Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Iniki, or any other natural disaster. Amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.

(2) The Secretary shall determine the extent, and the beginning and ending dates, of any fishery resource disaster under this subsection.

(3) Eligibility for direct assistance to a person under this subsection shall be limited to any person that has less than $2,000,000 in net revenues annually from commercial fishing, as determined by the Secretary.

(4)

(A) Assistance may not be provided under this subsection as part of a fishing capacity reduction program in a fishery unless the Secretary determines that adequate conservation and management measures are in place in that fishery.

(B) As a condition of awarding assistance with respect to a vessel under a fishing capacity reduction program, the Secretary shall—

(i) prohibit the vessel from being used for fishing; and

(ii) require that the vessel be—

(I) scrapped or otherwise disposed of in a manner approved by the Secretary; or

(II) donated to a nonprofit organization and thereafter used only for purposes of research, education, or training; or

(III) used for another non-fishing purpose provided the Secretary determines that adequate measures are in place to ensure that the vessel cannot reenter any fishery.

(C) A vessel that is prohibited from fishing under subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible for a fishery endorsement under section 12113 (a) of title 46 and any such endorsement for the vessel shall not be effective.

(5) The Secretary shall establish, after notice and opportunity for public comment, appropriate limitations, terms, and conditions for receiving assistance under this subsection.

(6) As used in this subsection, the term “person” means any individual or any corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other nongovernmental entity.

(7) With respect to funds available for the New England region, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress by January 1, 1997, with annual updates thereafter as appropriate, a report on the New England fishing capacity reduction initiative which provides—

(A) the total number of Northeast multispecies permits in each permit category and calculates the maximum potential fishing capacity of vessels holding such permits based on the principal gear, gross registered tonnage, engine horsepower, length, age, and other relevant characteristics;

(B) the total number of days at sea available to the permitted Northeast multispecies fishing fleet and the total days at sea weighted by the maximum potential fishing capacity of the fleet;

(C) an analysis of the extent to which the weighted days at sea are used by the active participants in the fishery and of the reduction in such days as a result of the fishing capacity reduction program; and

(D) an estimate of conservation benefits (such as reduction in fishing mortality) directly attributable to the fishing capacity reduction program.

U.S. Code

§ 4107. Authorization of appropriations