Requires the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an aerial assessment of and report to Congress on the population abundance and spatial and temporal distribution of Green, Loggerhead, Leatherback, Kemp's Ridley, and Hawksbill sea turtles in state and federal waters.
Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any rule regarding incidental fisheries bycatch of any of such turtle species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) or the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act before the report is submitted. Exempts any rule to alter or restrict use of a specific gear type in a specific fishery if the Secretary certifies that the rule is an emergency rule necessary to: (1) protect such a species from being imminently determined to be endangered primarily as a result of incidental taking by that gear type in that fishery; or (2) protect such a species that is listed as an endangered species from imminent extinction primarily as a result of incidental taking of such species by that gear type in that fishery.
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