§ 971d. Administration

(a) Regulations; cooperation with other parties to Convention; utilization of personnel, services, and facilities for enforcement

The Secretary is authorized and directed to administer and enforce all of the provisions of the Convention, this chapter, and regulations issued pursuant thereto, except to the extent otherwise provided for in this chapter. In carrying out such functions the Secretary is authorized and directed to adopt such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of the Convention and this chapter, and with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, he may cooperate with the duly authorized officials of the government of any party to the Convention. In addition, the Secretary may utilize, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating insofar as such utilization involves enforcement at sea, with or without reimbursement and by agreement with any other Federal department or agency, or with any agency of any State, the personnel, services, and facilities of that agency for enforcement purposes with respect to any vessel in the exclusive economic zone, or wherever found, with respect to any vessel documented under the laws of the United States, and any vessel numbered or otherwise licensed under the laws of any State. When so utilized, such personnel of the States of the United States are authorized to function as Federal law enforcement agents for these purposes, but they shall not be held and considered as employees of the United States for the purposes of any laws administered by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

(b) Primary enforcement responsibility

Enforcement activities at sea under the provisions of this chapter for fishing vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States shall be primarily the responsibility of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in cooperation with the Secretary and the United States Customs Service. The Secretary after consultation with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall adopt such regulations as may be necessary to provide for procedures and methods of enforcement pursuant to article IX of the Convention.

(1)

(A) Upon favorable action by the Secretary of State under section 971c (a) of this title on any recommendation of the Commission made pursuant to article VIII of the Convention, the Secretary shall promulgate, pursuant to this subsection, such regulations as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out such recommendation.

(B) Not later than June 30, 1991, the Secretary shall promulgate any additional regulations necessary to ensure that the United States is in full compliance with all recommendations made by the Commission that have been accepted by the United States and with other agreements under the Convention between the United States and any nation which is a party to the Convention.

(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph shall, to the extent practicable, be consistent with fishery management plans prepared and implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

(2) To promulgate regulations referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a general notice of proposed rulemaking and shall afford interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking through

(A) submission of written data, views, or arguments, and

(B) oral presentation at a public hearing. Such regulations shall be published in the Federal Register and shall be accompanied by a statement of the considerations involved in the issuance of the regulations, and by a statement, based on inquiries and investigations, assessing the nature and effectiveness of the measures for the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations which are being or will be carried out by countries whose vessels engage in fishing the species subject to such recommendations within the waters to which the Convention applies. After publication in the Federal Register, such regulations shall be applicable to all vessels and persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States on such date as the Secretary shall prescribe. The Secretary shall suspend at any time the application of any such regulation when, after consultation with the Secretary of State and the United States Commissioners, he determines that fishing operations in the Convention area of a contracting party for whom the regulations are effective are such as to constitute a serious threat to the achievement of the Commission’s recommendations.

(3) The regulations required to be promulgated under paragraph (1) of this subsection may—

(A) select for regulation one or more of the species covered by the Convention;

(B) divide the Convention waters into areas;

(D) limit the size of the fish and quantity of the catch which may be taken from each area within any season during which fishing is allowed;

(E) limit or prohibit the incidental catch of a regulated species which may be retained, taken, possessed, or landed by vessels or persons fishing for other species of fish;

(F) require records of operations to be kept by any master or other person in charge of any fishing vessel;

(G) require such clearance certificates for vessels as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Convention and this chapter;

(H) require proof satisfactory to the Secretary that any fish subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation of the Commission offered for entry into the United States has not been taken or retained contrary to the recommendations of the Commission made pursuant to article VIII of the Convention which have been adopted as regulations pursuant to this section;

(I) require any commercial or recreational fisherman to obtain a permit from the Secretary and report the quantity of the catch of a regulated species;

(J) require that observers be carried aboard fishing vessels for the purpose of providing statistically reliable scientific data; and

(K) impose such other requirements and provide for such other measures as the Secretary may determine necessary to implement any recommendation of the Convention or to obtain scientific data necessary to accomplish the purpose of the Convention;

except that no regulation promulgated under this section may have the effect of increasing or decreasing any allocation or quota of fish or fishing mortality level to the United States agreed to pursuant to a recommendation of the Commission.

(4) Upon the promulgation of regulations provided for in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Secretary shall promulgate, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State and pursuant to the procedures prescribed in paragraph (2) of this subsection, additional regulations which shall become effective simultaneously with the application of the regulations provided for in paragraph (3) of this subsection, which prohibit—

(A) the entry into the United States of fish in any form of those species which are subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation of the Commission and which were taken from the Convention area in such manner or in such circumstances as would tend to diminish the effectiveness of the conservation recommendations of the Commission; and

(B) the entry into the United States, from any country when the vessels of such country are being used in the conduct of fishing operations in the Convention area in such manner or in such circumstances as would tend to diminish the effectiveness of the conservation recommendations of the Commission, of fish in any form of those species which are subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation of the Commission and which were taken from the Convention area.

(5) In the case of repeated and flagrant fishing operations in the Convention area by the vessels of any country which seriously threaten the achievement of the objectives of the Commission’s recommendations, the Secretary with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, may by regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection prohibit the entry in any form from such country of other species covered by the Convention as may be under investigation by the Commission and which were taken in the Convention area. Any such prohibition shall continue until the Secretary is satisfied that the condition warranting the prohibition no longer exists, except that all fish in any form of the species under regulation which were previously prohibited from entry shall continue to be prohibited from entry.

(6) Identification and notification.—

(A) Not later than July 1, 1996, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Commissioners, and the advisory committee, shall—

(i) identify those nations whose fishing vessels are fishing, or have fished during the preceding calendar year, within the convention area in a manner or under circumstances that diminish the effectiveness of a conservation recommendation;

(ii) notify the President and the nation so identified, including an explanation of the reasons therefor; and

(iii) publish a list of those Nations identified under clause (i).

(B) In identifying those Nations, the Secretary shall consider, based on the best available information, whether those Nations have measures in place for reporting, monitoring, and enforcement, and whether those measures diminish the effectiveness of any conservation recommendation.

(7) Consultation.— Not later than 30 days after a Nation is notified under paragraph (6), the President may enter into consultations with the Government of that Nation for the purpose of obtaining an agreement that will—

(A) effect the immediate termination and prevent the resumption of any fishing operation by vessels of that Nation within the Convention area which is conducted in a manner or under circumstances that diminish the effectiveness of the conservation recommendation;

(B) when practicable, require actions by that Nation, or vessels of that Nation, to mitigate the negative impacts of fishing operations on the effectiveness of the conservation recommendation involved, including but not limited to, the imposition of subsequent-year deductions for quota overages; and

(C) result in the establishment, if necessary, by such Nation of reporting, monitoring, and enforcement measures that are adequate to ensure the effectiveness of conservation recommendations.

(d) Recommended Commission actions regarding large-scale driftnet fishing and conservation of Atlantic swordfish

(1) It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, should seek support for a recommendation by the Commission to ban large-scale driftnet fishing (as that term is defined in section 3(16) ^[1] of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act [16 U.S.C. 1802 (16)]) in the Convention area.

(2) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall request the Commission to adopt recommendations necessary for the conservation and management of Atlantic swordfish. In making the request, the Secretary shall seek the establishment of an international minimum harvest size and a reduction in harvest levels to the extent necessary to conserve the stock. Until the Commission adopts all the conservation and management measures requested by the Secretary, the Secretary, within 3 months after each annual meeting of the Commission, shall notify Congress as to the nature and results of his request. These notifications shall identify those nations not acting to conserve and manage Atlantic swordfish, and recommend measures which could be taken to achieve effective international conservation and management of the stock.

[1] See References in Text note below.

U.S. Code

§ 971d. Administration