Deep Sea Coral Protection Act
Key claim: A 2003 Senate bill would have banned mobile bottom-tending fishing gear in designated Coral Management Areas and required the Commerce Department to map and protect additional deep-sea coral and sponge habitat, but it was only referred to committee and never became law.
Abstract
(S1953 · 108th Congress) Deep Sea Coral Protection Act - Prohibits the use of mobile bottom-tending fishing gear in Coral Management Areas (CMAs). Designates CMAs according to specified coordinates. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to designate as additional CMAs areas within the exclusive economic zone that have not been fished with mobile bottom-tending gear in recent years. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate such CMA designations in specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary to: (1) monitor fishing within the exclusive economic zone and quantify deep sea coral and sponge bycatch; (2) direct the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to research and map deep sea corals and sponges; and (3) designate as CMAs areas identified through such monitoring and research as having deep sea coral ecosystems. Requires the Chair of the National Research Council to review annually all available data on deep sea corals and sponges and recommend areas for CMA designation. Directs the Secretary to designate such areas after publication of a proposed rule unless a rational basis for designation is lacking. Applies the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act’s civil penalty and forfeiture requirements to persons who violate this Act’s prohibition against the use of mobile bottom-tending gear. Prohibits interference with enforcement of this Act and applies the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s criminal penalty scheme to violators. Authorizes the President to permit the Secretary to identify, with foreign entities, areas in international waters that would benefit from additional protection. Latest action (2003-11-25): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Why this matters
Deep-sea corals and sponges are slow-growing, long-lived habitats vulnerable to damage from bottom trawls and dredges, and federal proposals to restrict mobile bottom-tending gear have recurred since the early 2000s. Tracking early legislative attempts like the 2003 bill establishes a baseline for how Congress has weighed fishery access against benthic habitat protection, even when specific bills fail to advance.