PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 55 · Passed Senate · Sep 14, 2021
Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act
This bill addresses certain driftnet fishing. Driftnet fishing is a method of fishing in which a gillnet composed of a panel or panels of webbing, or a series of such gillnets, is placed in the water and allowed to drift with the currents and winds for the purpose of entangling fish in the webbing.
Currently, the use of large-scale drift gillnets with a total length of 2.5 kilometers or more is prohibited in the United States. The bill expands the definition of large-scale driftnet fishing to prohibit the use of gillnets with a mesh size of 14 inches or greater. This expanded prohibition does not apply within the U.S. exclusive economic zone for five years.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The Department of Commerce must conduct a transition program to facilitate the phase out of large-scale driftnet fishing and to promote the adoption of alternative fishing practices that minimize the incidental catch of living marine resources.
Commerce must award grants to program participants.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council may recommend and Commerce may approve regulations that require charter operators to pay fees on vessels that harvest Pacific halibut in specific International Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory areas.
People & committees
Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote. (text: CR S6481)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote.(text: CR S6481)
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S6480-6481)
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S574-575)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.273 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.273 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.273 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.273 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.