Young Fishermen's Development Act

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 496 AN ACT To preserve United States fishing heritage through a na- tional program dedicated to training and assisting the next generation of commercial fishermen, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 496 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Fishermen’s 2 Development Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) SEA GRANT INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘Sea 6 Grant Institution’’ means a sea grant college or sea 7 grant institute, as those terms are defined in section 8 203 of the National Sea Grant College Program Act 9 (33 U.S.C. 1122). 10 (2) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 11 organization’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘trib- 12 al organization’’ in section 4 of the Indian Self-De- 13 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 14 U.S.C. 5304). 15 (3) YOUNG FISHERMAN.—The term ‘‘young 16 fisherman’’ means an individual who— 17 (A) desires to participate in the commer- 18 cial fisheries of the United States, including the 19 Great Lakes fisheries; 20 (B) has worked as a captain, crew mem- 21 ber, or deckhand on a commercial fishing vessel 22 for not more than 10 years of cumulative serv- 23 ice; or 24 (C) is a beginning commercial fisherman. 25 3 † S 496 ES SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 1 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na- 2 tional Sea Grant Office, shall establish a program to pro- 3 vide training, education, outreach, and technical assist- 4 ance initiatives for young fishermen, to be known as the 5 ‘‘Young Fishermen’s Development Grant Program’’ (re- 6 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’). 7 SEC. 4. GRANTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Program, the 9 Secretary shall make competitive grants to support new 10 and established local and regional training, education, out- 11 reach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fisher- 12 men, including programs, workshops, and services relating 13 to— 14 (1) seamanship, navigation, electronics, and 15 safety; 16 (2) vessel and engine care, maintenance, and 17 repair; 18 (3) innovative conservation fishing gear engi- 19 neering and technology; 20 (4) sustainable fishing practices; 21 (5) entrepreneurship and good business prac- 22 tices; 23 (6) direct marketing, supply chain, and 24 traceability; 25 4 † S 496 ES (7) financial and risk management, including 1 vessel, permit, and quota purchasing; 2 (8) State and Federal legal requirements for 3 specific fisheries, including reporting, monitoring, li- 4 censes, and regulations; 5 (9) State and Federal fisheries policy and man- 6 agement; 7 (10) mentoring, apprenticeships, or internships; 8 and 9 (11) any other activities, opportunities, or pro- 10 grams, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 11 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 12 (1) APPLICANTS.—To be eligible to receive a 13 grant under the Program, a recipient shall be a col- 14 laborative State, Tribal, local, or regionally based 15 network or partnership of public or private entities, 16 which may include— 17 (A) a Sea Grant Institution; 18 (B) a Federal or State agency or a Tribal 19 organization; 20 (C) a community-based nongovernmental 21 organization; 22 (D) fishermen’s cooperatives or associa- 23 tions; 24 5 † S 496 ES (E) an institution of higher education (in- 1 cluding an institution awarding an associate’s 2 degree), or a foundation maintained by an insti- 3 tution of higher education; or 4 (F) any other appropriate entity, as the 5 Secretary determines appropriate. 6 (2) PARTICIPANTS.—All young fishermen seek- 7 ing to participate in the commercial fisheries of the 8 United States and the Great Lakes are eligible to 9 participate in the activities funded through grants 10 provided for in this section, except that participants 11 in such activities shall be selected by each grant re- 12 cipient. 13 (c) MAXIMUM TERM AND AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 15 shall— 16 (A) have a term of no more than 3 fiscal 17 years; and 18 (B) be in an amount that is not more than 19 $200,000 for each fiscal year. 20 (2) CONSECUTIVE GRANTS.—An eligible recipi- 21 ent may receive consecutive grants under this sec- 22 tion. 23 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to re- 24 ceive a grant under this section, a recipient shall provide 25 6 † S 496 ES a match in the form of cash or in-kind contributions from 1 the recipient in the amount equal to or greater than 25 2 percent of the funds provided by the grant. 3 (e) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In making grants under 4 this section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 5 practicable, ensure geographic diversity. 6 (f) COOPERATION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In 7 carrying out this section and in developing criteria for 8 evaluating grant applications, the Secretary shall consult, 9 to the maximum extent practicable, with— 10 (1) Sea Grant Institutions and extension agents 11 of such institutions; 12 (2) community-based nongovernmental fishing 13 organizations; 14 (3) Federal and State agencies, including Re- 15 gional Fishery Management Councils established 16 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 17 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et seq.); 18 (4) institutions of higher education with fish- 19 eries expertise and programs; and 20 (5) partners, as the Secretary determines. 21 (g) PROHIBITION.—A grant under this section may 22 not be used to purchase any fishing license, permit, quota, 23 or other harvesting right. 24 7 † S 496 ES SEC. 5. FUNDING. 1 The Secretary of Commerce shall carry out this Act 2 using amounts made available to the Department of Com- 3 merce for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 4 Passed the Senate December 2, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 496 AN ACT To preserve United States fishing heritage through a national program dedicated to training and as- sisting the next generation of commercial fisher- men, and for other purposes.