16 USC 7707 - Cooperation in carrying out Convention

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§ 7701. Definitions
§ 7702. United States participation in the North Pacific Fisheries Convention
§ 7703. Authority and responsibility of the Secretary of State
§ 7704. Authority of the Secretary of Commerce
§ 7705. Enforcement
§ 7706. Prohibited acts
§ 7707. Cooperation in carrying out Convention
§ 7708. Territorial participation
§ 7709. Exclusive economic zone notification
§ 7710. Authorization of appropriations

§ 7701. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) Commission

(2) Commissioner

(3) Convention Area

(4) Council

(5) Exclusive economic zone

The term “exclusive economic zone” means—

(A) with respect to the United States, the zone established by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030 of March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note); and

(B) with respect to a foreign country, a designated zone similar to the zone referred to in subparagraph (A) for that country, consistent with international law.

(6) Fisheries resources

(A) In general

(B) Exclusions

The term “fisheries resources” does not include—

(i) sedentary species insofar as they are subject to the sovereign rights of coastal nations consistent with Article 77, paragraph 4 of the 1982 Convention and indicator species of vulnerable marine ecosystems as listed in, or adopted pursuant to, Article 13, paragraph 5 of the North Pacific Fisheries Convention;

(ii) catadromous species;

(iii) marine mammals, marine reptiles, or seabirds; or

(iv) other marine species already covered by preexisting international fisheries management instruments within the area of competence of such instruments.

(7) Fishing activities

(A) In general

The term “fishing activities” means—

(i) the actual or attempted searching for, catching, taking, or harvesting of fisheries resources;

(ii) engaging in any activity that can reasonably be expected to result in the locating, catching, taking, or harvesting of fisheries resources for any purpose;

(iii) the processing of fisheries resources at sea;

(iv) the transshipment of fisheries resources at sea or in port; or

(v) any operation at sea in direct support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in clauses (i) through (iv), including transshipment.

(B) Exclusions

(8) Fishing vessel

(9) High seas

(10) North Pacific Fisheries Convention

(11) Person

The term “person” means—

(A) any individual, whether or not a citizen or national of the United States;

(B) any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity, whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State; or

(12) Secretary

(13) State

(14) Straddling stock

(15) Transshipment

(16) 1982 convention

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 101, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1974.)

§ 7702. United States participation in the North Pacific Fisheries Convention

(a) United States Commissioners

(1) Number of Commissioners

(2) Selection of commissioners

The Commissioners shall be as follows:

(A) Appointment by the President

(i) In general

Two of the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President and shall be an officer or employee of—

(I) the Department of Commerce;(II) the Department of State; or(III) the Coast Guard.

(ii) Selection criteria

(B) North Pacific Fishery Management Council

(D) Western Pacific Fishery Management Council

(b) Alternate Commissioners

(1) Employment status

(2) Compensation

(3) Travel expenses

(A) In general

(B) Reimbursement

(d) Advisory Committee

(1) Establishment of permanent Advisory Committee

(A) Membership

There is established an advisory committee which shall be composed of 11 members appointed by the Secretary as follows:

(i) A member engaging in commercial fishing activities in the management area of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

(ii) A member engaging in commercial fishing activities in the management area of the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

(iii) A member engaging in commercial fishing activities in the management area of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.

(iv) Three members from the indigenous population of the North Pacific, including an Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or a native-born inhabitant of any State of the United States in the Pacific, and an individual from a Pacific Coast tribe.

(v) A member that is a marine fisheries scientist that is a resident of a State the adjacent exclusive economic zone for which is bounded by the Convention Area.

(vi) A member nominated by the Governor of the State of Alaska.

(vii) A member nominated by the Governor of the State of Hawaii.

(viii) A member nominated by the Governor of the State of Washington.

(ix) A member nominated by the Governor of the State of California.

(B) Terms and privileges

(i) In general

(ii) Public availability of procedures

(iii) Quorum

(iv) Public meetings

(v) Cost savings

(D) Provision of information

(2) Administrative matters

(A) Support services

(B) Compensation; status

An individual appointed to serve as a member of the Advisory Committee—

(i) shall serve without pay; and

(ii) shall not be considered a Federal employee, except for the purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5 and chapter 171 of title 28.

(i) In general

(ii) Reimbursement

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 102, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1976.)

§ 7703. Authority and responsibility of the Secretary of State

The Secretary of State may—

(1) receive and transmit, on behalf of the United States, reports, requests, recommendations, proposals, decisions, and other communications of and to the Commission;

(2) in consultation with the Secretary, act upon, or refer to another appropriate authority, any communication received pursuant to paragraph (1);

(3) with the concurrence of the Secretary, and in accordance with the Convention, object to the decisions of the Commission; and

(4) request and utilize on a reimbursed or non-reimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of other Federal departments and agencies, foreign governments or agencies, or international intergovernmental organizations, in the conduct of scientific research and other programs under this chapter.

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 103, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1979.)

§ 7704. Authority of the Secretary of Commerce

(a) Promulgation of regulations

(1) Authority

(2) Regulations of straddling stocks

(b) Rule of construction

The Secretary may conduct, and may request and utilize on a reimbursed or nonreimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of other Federal departments and agencies in—

(1) scientific, research, and other programs under this chapter;

(2) fishing operations and biological experiments for purposes of scientific investigation or other purposes necessary to implement the North Pacific Fisheries Convention;

(3) the collection, utilization, and disclosure of such information as may be necessary to implement the North Pacific Fisheries Convention, subject to sections 552 and 552a of title 5 and section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1881a(b));

(4) the issuance of permits to owners and operators of United States vessels to engage in fishing activities in the Convention Area seaward of the exclusive economic zone of the United States, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, including the period of time that a permit is valid; and

(5) if recommended by the United States Commissioners, the assessment and collection of fees, not to exceed 3 percent of the ex-vessel value of fisheries resources harvested by vessels of the United States in fisheries conducted in the Convention Area, to recover the actual costs to the United States to carry out the functions of the Secretary under this chapter.

(d) Consistency with other laws

(e) Judicial review of regulations

(1) In general

(2) Responses

(3) Copies of administrative record

(4) Expedited hearings

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 104, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1979.)

§ 7705. Enforcement

(a) In general

The Secretary and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating—

(1) shall administer and enforce this chapter and any regulations issued under this chapter; and

(2) may request and utilize on a reimbursed or nonreimbursed basis the assistance, services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of other Federal departments and agencies in the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

(b) Secretarial actions

(1) In general

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction over any case or controversy arising under this chapter, and any such court may at any time—

(A) enter restraining orders or prohibitions;

(B) issue warrants, process in rem, or other process;

(D) take such other actions as are in the interest of justice.

(2) Hawaii and Pacific insular areas

In the case of Hawaii or any possession of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, the appropriate court is the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, except that—

(A) in the case of Guam and Wake Island, the appropriate court is the United States District Court for the District of Guam; and

(B) in the case of the Northern Mariana Islands, the appropriate court is the United States District Court for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(3) Construction

(d) Confidentiality

(1) In general

Any information submitted to the Secretary in compliance with any requirement under this chapter, and information submitted under any requirement of this chapter that may be necessary to implement the Convention, including information submitted before December 16, 2016, shall be confidential and may not be disclosed, except—

(A) to a Federal employee who is responsible for administering, implementing, or enforcing this chapter;

(B) to the Commission, in accordance with requirements in the North Pacific Fisheries Convention and decisions of the Commission, and, insofar as possible, in accordance with an agreement with the Commission that prevents public disclosure of the identity or business of any person;

(C) to State, Council, or marine fisheries commission employees pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary that prevents public disclosure of the identity or business of any person;

(D) when required by court order; or

(E) when the Secretary has obtained written authorization from the person submitting such information to release such information to another person for a reason not otherwise provided for in this paragraph, and such release does not violate other requirements of this chapter.

(2) Use of information

(A) In general

(B) Exception

(3) Rule of construction

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 105, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1980.)

§ 7706. Prohibited acts

It is unlawful for any person—

(1) to violate this chapter or any regulation or permit issued under this chapter;

(2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing activities without, or after the revocation or during the period of suspension of, an applicable permit issued pursuant to this chapter;

(3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to enforce this chapter to board a fishing vessel subject to such person’s control for the purposes of conducting any search, investigation, or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or any regulation, permit, or the North Pacific Fisheries Convention;

(4) to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any such authorized officer in the conduct of any search, investigation, or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or any regulation, permit, or the North Pacific Fisheries Convention;

(5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this chapter or any regulation promulgated or permit issued under this chapter;

(6) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession of, any fisheries resources taken or retained in violation of this chapter or any regulation or permit referred to in paragraph (1) or (2);

(7) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the apprehension or arrest of another person, knowing that such other person has committed any act prohibited by this section;

(8) to submit to the Secretary false information (including false information regarding the capacity and extent to which a United States fish processor, on an annual basis, will process a portion of the optimum yield of a fishery that will be harvested by fishing vessels of the United States), regarding any matter that the Secretary is considering in the course of carrying out this chapter;

(9) to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any observer on a vessel under this chapter, or any data collector employed by or under contract to any person to carry out responsibilities under this chapter;

(10) to engage in fishing activities in violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter;

(11) to fail to make, keep, or furnish any catch returns, statistical records, or other reports required by regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter to be made, kept, or furnished;

(12) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed and instructed to stop by a duly authorized official of the United States;

(13) to import, in violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, any fisheries resources in any form of those species subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation, resolution, or decision of the Commission, or any fisheries resources in any form not under regulation but under investigation by the Commission, during the period such fisheries resources have been denied entry in accordance with this chapter;

(14) to make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any fisheries resources that have been, or are intended to be imported, exported, transported, sold, offered for sale, purchased, or received in interstate or foreign commerce; or

(15) to refuse to authorize and accept boarding by a duly authorized inspector pursuant to procedures adopted by the Commission for the boarding and inspection of fishing vessels in the Convention Area.

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 106, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1982.)

§ 7707. Cooperation in carrying out Convention

(a) Federal and State agencies; private institutions and organizations

(b) Scientific and other programs; facilities and personnel

Nothing in this chapter, or in the laws of any State, prevents the Secretary or the Commission from—

(1) conducting or authorizing the conduct of fishing operations and biological experiments at any time for purposes of scientific investigation; or

(2) discharging any other duties prescribed by the North Pacific Fisheries Convention.

(d) State jurisdiction not affected

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 107, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1983.)

§ 7708. Territorial participation

The Secretary of State shall ensure participation in the Commission and its subsidiary bodies by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam to the extent allowed under United States law.

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 108, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1984.)

§ 7709. Exclusive economic zone notification

Masters of commercial fishing vessels of countries fishing under the management authority of the North Pacific Fisheries Convention that do not carry vessel monitoring systems capable of communicating with United States enforcement authorities shall, prior to or as soon as reasonably possible after, entering and transiting the exclusive economic zone bounded by the Convention Area, ensure that all fishing gear on board the vessel is stowed below deck or otherwise removed from the place it is normally used for fishing activities and placed where it is not readily available for fishing activities.

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 109, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1984.)

§ 7710. Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated out of funds made available to the Secretary and the Secretary of State $300,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to carry out this chapter and to pay the United States contribution to the Commission under Article 12 of the North Pacific Fisheries Convention.

(Pub. L. 114–327, title I, § 110, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1984.)