Requiring salmon excluders in the North Pacific

(a) In general The North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall require all vessels using pelagic trawl gear in fisheries managed under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fishery Management Plan and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (referred to in this section as applicable vessels) to be equipped with a salmon excluder device. (b) Gear requirements Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall require each applicable vessel to be equipped with a salmon excluder device that is operational and has been field tested, scientifically reviewed, and verified to reduce salmon bycatch effectively. (c) Salmon excluder devices The Administrator shall— (1) support field testing and scientific review of salmon excluder devices; and (2) implement an outreach strategy to ensure industry adoption. (d) Technical assistance and guidance The Administrator shall provide technical assistance and guidance to applicable vessel operators to facilitate installation and use of approved salmon excluder devices. (e) Full compliance The Administrator shall require full compliance with the requirements of this section not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (f) Enforcement An applicable vessel that fails to comply with the requirements of this section or regulations issued under this section shall be deemed to have violated the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and shall be subject to the penalties and sanctions, including civil penalties, permit sanctions, or other enforcement actions, provided under such Act. (g) Consultation In developing regulations to implement this section, the Administrator and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council shall consult with affected fishing industry participants, including harvesters, processors, communities, and community development quota groups.