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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3058

To implement the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 14, 1993

Mr. STUDDS (for himself and Mr. MANTON) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To implement the Convention on Future Multilateral

Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northwest Atlantic

5 Fisheries Convention Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. REPRESENTATION OF UNITED STATES UNDER CON7 VENTION.

8 (a) COMMISSIONERS.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENTS, GENERALLY.—The Sec10 retary shall appoint not more than three individuals
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1 to serve as the representatives of the United States

2 on the General Council and the Fisheries Commis3 sion, who shall each—

4 (A) be known as a ‘‘United States Com5 missioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

6 Organization’’; and

7 (B) serve at the pleasure of the Secretary.

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

9 (A) The Secretary shall ensure that of the

10 individuals serving as Commissioners.—

11 (i) at least one is appointed from

12 among representatives of the commercial

13 fishing industry; and

14 (ii) one (but no more than one) is an

15 official of the Government.

16 (B) The Secretary may not appoint as a

17 Commissioner an individual unless the individ18 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern19 ing the fishery resources to which the Conven20 tion applies.

21 (3) TERMS.—

22 (A) The term of an individual as a Com23 missioner—

24 (i) shall be specified by the Secretary

25 at the time of appointment; and
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1 (ii) may not exceed four years.

2 (B) An individual who is not a Government

3 official may not serve more than two consecu4 tive terms as a Commissioner.

5 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—

6 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, for

7 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Com8 missioner at a meeting of the General Council or the

9 Fisheries Commission, designate an individual to

10 serve as an Alternate Commissioner.

11 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Commissioner

12 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

13 Commissioner for whom the Alternate Commissioner

14 is designated, at any meeting of the General Council

15 or the Fisheries Commission for which the Alternate

16 Commissioner is designated.

17 (c) REPRESENTATIVES.—

18 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap19 point not more than three individuals to serve as the

20 representatives of the United States on the Scientific

21 Council, who shall each be known as a ‘‘United

22 States Representative to the Northwest Atlantic

23 Fisheries Organization Scientific Council’’.

24 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR APPOINTMENT.—
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1 (A) The Secretary may not appoint an in2 dividual as a Representative unless the individ3 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern4 ing the scientific issues dealt with by the Sci5 entific Council.

6 (B) The Secretary shall appoint as a Rep7 resentative at least one individual who is an of8 ficial of the Government.

9 (3) TERM.—An individual appointed as a Rep10 resentative—

11 (A) shall serve for a term of not to exceed

12 four years, as specified by the Secretary at the

13 time of appointment;

14 (B) may be reappointed; and

15 (C) shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec16 retary.

17 (d) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—

18 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, for

19 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Rep20 resentative at a meeting of the Scientific Council,

21 designate an individual to serve as an Alternate Rep22 resentative.

23 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Representative

24 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

25 Representative for whom the Alternate Commis-
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1 sioner is designated, at any meeting of the Scientific

2 Council for which the Alternate Representative is

3 designated.

4 (e) EXPERTS AND ADVISERS.—The Commissioners,

5 Alternate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

6 Representatives may be accompanied at meetings of the

7 Organization by experts and advisers.

8 (f) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out their func10 tions under the Convention, Commissioners, Alter11 nate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

12 Representatives shall—

13 (A) coordinate with the appropriate Re14 gional Fishery Management Councils estab15 lished by section 302 of the Magnuson Act (16

16 U.S.C. 1852); and

17 (B) consult with the committee established

18 under section 9.

19 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Fed20 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall

21 not apply to coordination and consultations under

22 this subsection.

23 SEC. 3. REQUESTS FOR SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.

24 (a) RESTRICTION.—The Representatives may not

25 make a request or specification described in subsection
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1 (b)(1) or (2), respectively, unless the Representatives have

2 first—

3 (1) consulted with the appropriate Regional

4 Fishery Management Councils; and

5 (2) received the consent of the Commissioners

6 for that action.

7 (b) REQUESTS AND TERMS OF REFERENCE DE8 SCRIBED.—The requests and specifications referred to in

9 subsection (a) are, respectively—

10 (1) any request, under Article VII(1) of the

11 Convention, that the Scientific Council consider and

12 report on a question pertaining to the scientific basis

13 for the management and conservation of fishery re14 sources in waters under the jurisdiction of the

15 United States within the Convention Area; and

16 (2) any specification, under Article VIII(2) of

17 the Convention, of the terms of reference for the

18 consideration of a question referred to the Scientific

19 Council pursuant to Article VII(1) of the Conven20 tion.

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE WITH RE22 SPECT TO CONVENTION.

23 The Secretary of State may, on behalf of the Govern24 ment of the United States—
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1 (1) receive and transmit reports, requests, rec2 ommendations, proposals, and other communications

3 of and to the Organization and its subsidiary or4 gans;

5 (2) object, or withdraw an objection, to the pro6 posal of the Fisheries Commission;

7 (3) give or withdraw notice of intent not to be

8 bound by a measure of the Fisheries Commission;

9 (4) object or withdraw an objection, to an

10 amendment to the convention; and

11 (5) act upon, or refer to any other appropriate

12 authority, any other communication referred to in

13 paragraph (1).

14 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.

15 (a) AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY.—In carrying out

16 the provisions of the Convention and this Act, the Sec17 retary may arrange for cooperation with other agencies of

18 the United States, the States, the New England Fishery

19 Management Council, and private institutions and organi20 zations.

21 (b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The head of any Federal

22 agency may—

23 (1) cooperate in the conduct of scientific and

24 other programs, and furnish facilities and personnel,
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1 for the purposes of assisting the Organization in

2 carrying out its duties under the Convention; and

3 (2) accept reimbursement from the Organiza4 tion for providing such services, facilities, and per5 sonnel.

6 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING.

7 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as may

8 be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of

9 the Convention and this Act. Any such regulation may be

10 made applicable, as necessary, to all persons and all ves11 sels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, wher12 ever located.

13 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES.

14 (a) PROHIBITION.—It is unlawful for any person or

15 vessel that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United

16 States—

17 (1) to violate any regulation issued under this

18 Act or any measure that is legally binding on the

19 United States under the Convention;

20 (2) to refuse to permit any authorized enforce21 ment officer to board a fishing vessel that is subject

22 to the person’s control for purposes of conducting

23 any search or inspection in connection with the en24 forcement of this Act, any regulation issued under
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1 this Act, or any measure that is legally binding on

2 the United States under the Convention;

3 (3) forcibly to assault, resist, oppose, impede,

4 intimidate, or interfere with any authorized enforce5 ment officer in the conduct of any search or inspec6 tion described in paragraph (2);

7 (4) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib8 ited by this section;

9 (5) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur10 chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or

11 possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation

12 of this section; or

13 (6) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any

14 means, the apprehension or arrest of another person,

15 knowing that the other person has committed an act

16 prohibited by this section.

17 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who commits any

18 act that is unlawful under subsection (a) shall be liable

19 to the United States for a civil penalty, or may be subject

20 to a permit sanction, under section 308 of the Magnuson

21 Act (16 U.S.C. 1858).

22 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who commits

23 an act that is unlawful under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or

24 (6) of subsection (a) shall be guilty of an offense punish-
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1 able under section 309(b) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C.

2 1859(b)).

3 (d) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any vessel (including its

5 gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores, and cargo)

6 used in the commission of an act that is unlawful

7 under subsection (a), and any fish (or the fair mar8 ket value thereof) taken or retained, in any manner,

9 in connection with or as a result of the commission

10 of any act that is unlawful under subsection (a),

11 shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided

12 in section 310 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C.

13 1860).

14 (2) DISPOSAL OF FISH.—Any fish seized pursu15 ant to this Act may be disposed of pursuant to the

16 order of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if per17 ishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations issued

18 by the Secretary.

19 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary and the Sec20 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op21 erating shall enforce the provisions of this Act and shall

22 have the authority specified in sections 311(a), (b)(1), and

23 (c) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(a), (b)(1), and

24 (c)) for that purpose.
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1 (f) JURISDICTION OF COURTS.—The district courts

2 of the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over

3 any case or controversy arising under this section and

4 may, at any time—

5 (1) enter restraining orders or prohibitions;

6 (2) issue warrants, process in rem, or other

7 process;

8 (3) prescribe and accept satisfactory bonds or

9 other security; and

10 (4) take such other actions as are in the inter11 ests of justice.

12 SEC. 8. UNITED STATES–CANADA FISHERY MANAGEMENT

13 AGREEMENT.

14 (a) NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than one hundred and

15 eighty days after the date of enactment of this Act, the

16 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of

17 Commerce and the Committee established under section

18 9, is authorized and encouraged to initiate negotiations

19 with the Government of Canada for the purpose of enter20 ing into an international fishery agreement with Canada

21 for the conservation and management of fisheries of mu22 tual concern in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, with par23 ticular emphasis on transboundary stocks of groundfish

24 and ensuring the success of New England groundfish res25 toration efforts pursuant to the Magnuson Act.
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1 (b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement en2 tered into pursuant to this section shall—

3 (1) provide for timely and periodic exchanges of

4 scientific information relating to the conservation

5 and management of fisheries stocks of mutual con6 cern;

7 (2) provide for routine meetings between the of8 ficials of the United States and Canada responsible

9 for the conservation and management of fisheries;

10 (3) establish procedures for the identification of

11 conservation and management measures that would

12 be mutually beneficial; and

13 (4) identify procedures for the implementation

14 within each country of conservation and manage15 ment measures identified as mutually beneficial.

16 (c) APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW.—An agreement

17 entered into pursuant to this section shall be subject to

18 section 203 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1823).

19 (d) LETTER.—Not later than one year after the date

20 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the

21 effective date of an agreement entered into pursuant to

22 this section, the Secretary of State shall transmit to the

23 Congress a letter describing activities of the Secretary

24 under this section.
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1 SEC. 9. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State and

3 the Secretary of Commerce, shall jointly establish a con4 sultative committee to advise the Secretaries on issues re5 lated to the Convention and in the development and imple6 mentation of a fishery agreement pursuant to section 8.

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The membership of the Com8 mittee shall include representatives from the New England

9 Fishery Management Council, the States represented on

10 that Council, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com11 mission, the fishing industry, the seafood processing in12 dustry, and others knowledgeable and experienced in the

13 conservation and management of fisheries in the North14 west Atlantic Ocean.

15 (2) TERMS AND REAPPOINTMENT.—Each member of

16 the consultative committee shall serve for a term of two

17 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

18 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—

19 (1) NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES ORGANI20 ZATION.—Members of the consultative committee

21 may attend—

22 (A) all public meetings of the General

23 Council or the Fisheries Commission;

24 (B) any other meetings to which they are

25 invited by the General Council or the Fisheries

26 Commission; and
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1 (C) all nonexecutive meetings of the

2 United States Commissioners.

3 (2) UNITED STATES-CANADA FISHERIES MAN4 AGEMENT AGREEMENT.—Members of the consult5 ative committee shall advise the the Secretaries on

6 any agreements established under section 8.

7 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Federal

8 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply

9 to the consultative committee established under this

10 section.

11 SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—A person

13 shall not receive any compensation from the Government

14 by reason of any service of the person as—

15 (1) a Commissioner, Alternate Commissioner,

16 Representative, or Alternative Representative;

17 (2) an expert or adviser authorized under sec18 tion 2(e); or

19 (3) a member of the consultative committee es20 tablished by section 9.

21 (b) TRAVEL AND EXPENSES.—The Secretary of

22 State shall, subject to the availability of appropriations,

23 pay all necessary travel and other expenses of persons de24 scribed in subsection (a)(1) and of not more than six ex25 perts and advisers authorized under section 2(e) with re-
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1 spect to their actual performance of their official duties

2 pursuant to this Act, in accordance with the Federal Trav3 el Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through

4 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United States Code.

5 (c) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A person

6 shall not be considered to be a Federal employee by reason

7 of any service of the person in a capacity described in sub8 section (a), except for purposes of injury compensation

9 and tort claims liability under chapter 81 of title 5, United

10 States Code, and chapter 17 of title 28, United States

11 Code, respectively.

12 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act the following definitions apply:

14 (1) AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—

15 The term ‘‘authorized enforcement officer’’ means a

16 person authorized to enforce this Act, any regulation

17 issued under this Act, or any measure that is legally

18 binding on the United States under the Convention.

19 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis20 sioner’’ means a United States Commissioner to the

21 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization appointed

22 under section 2(a).

23 (3) CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘Convention’’

24 means the Convention on Future Multilateral Co-
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1 operation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, done

2 at Ottawa on October 24, 1978.

3 (4) FISHERIES COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Fish4 eries Commission’’ means the Fisheries Commission

5 provided for by Articles II, XI, XII, XIII, and XIV

6 of the Convention.

7 (5) GENERAL COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘General

8 Council’’ means the General Council provided for by

9 Article II, III, IV, and V of the Convention.

10 (6) MAGNUSON ACT.—The term ‘‘Magnuson

11 Act’’ means the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

12 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

13 (7) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Organization’’

14 means the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organiza15 tion provided for by Article II of the Convention.

16 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any

17 individual (whether or not a citizen or national of

18 the United States), and any corporation, partner19 ship, association, or other entity (whether or not or20 ganized or existing under the laws of any State).

21 (9) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘Representa22 tive’’ means a United States Representative to the

23 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Scientific Council ap24 pointed under section 2(c).
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1 (10) SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Sci2 entific Council’’ means the Scientific Council pro3 vided for by Articles II, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X of

4 the Convention.

5 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

6 means the Secretary of Commerce.

7 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

9 this Act, including use for payment as the United States

10 contribution to the Organization as provided in Article

11 XVI of the Convention, $500,000 for each of the fiscal

12 years 1994, 1995, and 1996.

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