Union Calendar No. 169

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3188

[Report No. 103–316]

A BILL

To amend the Central Bering Sea Fisheries

Enforcement Act of 1992.

NOVEMBER 2, 1993

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 169

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3188

[Report No. 103–316]

To amend the Central Bering Sea Fisheries Enforcement Act of 1992.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 29, 1993

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. MANTON, and Mr.

FIELDS of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

NOVEMBER 2, 1993

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 29, 1993]

A BILL

To amend the Central Bering Sea Fisheries Enforcement

Act of 1992.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 TITLE I—FISHERIES ENFORCE2 MENT IN CENTRAL SEA OF

3 OKHOTSK

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Sea of Okhotsk Fisheries

6 Enforcement Act of 1993’’.

7 SEC. 102. FISHING PROHIBITION.

8 The Central Bering Sea Fisheries Enforcement Act of

9 1992 (16 U.S.C. 1823 note) is amended—

10 (1) in section 302, by inserting ‘‘and the Central

11 Sea of Okhotsk’’ after ‘‘Central Bering Sea’’; and

12 (2) in section 306—

13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3),

14 (4), (5), and (6) in order as paragraphs (3), (4),

15 (5), (6), and (7); and

16 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(2) CENTRAL SEA OF OKHOTSK.—The term

19 ‘Central Sea of Okhotsk’ means the central Sea of

20 Okhotsk area which is more than two hundred nau21 tical miles seaward of the baseline from which the

22 breadth of the territorial sea of the Russian Federa23 tion is measured.’’.
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1 TITLE II—IMPLEMENTATION OF

2 CONVENTION ON FUTURE

3 MULTILATERAL COOPERA4 TION IN THE NORTHWEST AT5 LANTIC FISHERIES

6 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Northwest Atlantic

8 Fisheries Convention Act of 1993’’.

9 SEC. 202. REPRESENTATION OF UNITED STATES UNDER

10 CONVENTION.

11 (a) COMMISSIONERS.—

12 (1) APPOINTMENTS, GENERALLY.—The Secretary

13 shall appoint not more than three individuals to serve

14 as the representatives of the United States on the Gen15 eral Council and the Fisheries Commission, who shall

16 each—

17 (A) be known as a ‘‘United States Commis18 sioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Orga19 nization’’; and

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

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

22 (A) The Secretary shall ensure that of the

23 individuals serving as Commissioners.—
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1 (i) at least one is appointed from

2 among representatives of the commercial

3 fishing industry; and

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

5 official of the Government.

6 (B) The Secretary may not appoint as a

7 Commissioner an individual unless the individ8 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concerning

9 the fishery resources to which the Convention ap10 plies.

11 (3) TERMS.—

12 (A) The term of an individual appointed as

13 a Commissioner—

14 (i) shall be specified by the Secretary

15 at the time of appointment; and

16 (ii) may not exceed four years.

17 (B) An individual who is not a Government

18 official may not serve more than two consecutive

19 terms as a Commissioner.

20 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—

21 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, for any

22 anticipated absence of a duly appointed Commis23 sioner at a meeting of the General Council or the

24 Fisheries Commission, designate an individual to

25 serve as an Alternate Commissioner.
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1 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Commissioner

2 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

3 Commissioner for whom the Alternate Commissioner

4 is designated, at any meeting of the General Council

5 or the Fisheries Commission for which the Alternate

6 Commissioner is designated.

7 (c) REPRESENTATIVES.—

8 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall appoint

9 not more than three individuals to serve as the rep10 resentatives of the United States on the Scientific

11 Council, who shall each be known as a ‘‘United States

12 Representative to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Or13 ganization Scientific Council’’.

14 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR APPOINTMENT.—

15 (A) The Secretary may not appoint an in16 dividual as a Representative unless the individ17 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concerning

18 the scientific issues dealt with by the Scientific

19 Council.

20 (B) The Secretary shall appoint as a Rep21 resentative at least one individual who is an offi22 cial of the Government.

23 (3) TERM.—An individual appointed as a Rep24 resentative—
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1 (A) shall serve for a term of not to exceed

2 four years, as specified by the Secretary at the

3 time of appointment;

4 (B) may be reappointed; and

5 (C) shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec6 retary.

7 (d) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—

8 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, for any

9 anticipated absence of a duly appointed Representa10 tive at a meeting of the Scientific Council, designate

11 an individual to serve as an Alternate Representative.

12 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Representative

13 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

14 Representative for whom the Alternate Representative

15 is designated, at any meeting of the Scientific Council

16 for which the Alternate Representative is designated.

17 (e) EXPERTS AND ADVISERS.—The Commissioners, Al18 ternate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate Rep19 resentatives may be accompanied at meetings of the Organi20 zation by experts and advisers.

21 (f) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out their func23 tions under the Convention, Commissioners, Alternate

24 Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate Rep25 resentatives shall—
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1 (A) coordinate with the appropriate Re2 gional Fishery Management Councils established

3 by section 302 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C.

4 1852); and

5 (B) consult with the committee established

6 under section 209.

7 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Fed8 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall

9 not apply to coordination and consultations under

10 this subsection.

11 SEC. 203. REQUESTS FOR SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.

12 (a) RESTRICTION.—The Representatives may not

13 make a request or specification described in subsection

14 (b)(1) or (2), respectively, unless the Representatives have

15 first—

16 (1) consulted with the appropriate Regional

17 Fishery Management Councils; and

18 (2) received the consent of the Commissioners for

19 that action.

20 (b) REQUESTS AND TERMS OF REFERENCE DE21 SCRIBED.—The requests and specifications referred to in

22 subsection (a) are, respectively—

23 (1) any request, under Article VII(1) of the Con24 vention, that the Scientific Council consider and re25 port on a question pertaining to the scientific basis
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1 for the management and conservation of fishery re2 sources in waters under the jurisdiction of the United

3 States within the Convention Area; and

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

5 the Convention, of the terms of reference for the con6 sideration of a question referred to the Scientific

7 Council pursuant to Article VII(1) of the Convention.

8 SEC. 204. AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE WITH RE9 SPECT TO CONVENTION.

10 The Secretary of State may, on behalf of the Govern11 ment of the United States—

12 (1) receive and transmit reports, requests, rec13 ommendations, proposals, and other communications

14 of and to the Organization and its subsidiary organs;

15 (2) object, or withdraw an objection, to the pro16 posal of the Fisheries Commission;

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

18 bound by a measure of the Fisheries Commission;

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

20 amendment to the Convention; and

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

22 authority, any other communication referred to in

23 paragraph (1).
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1 SEC. 205. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.

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

3 the provisions of the Convention and this title, the Secretary

4 may arrange for cooperation with other agencies of the

5 United States, the States, the New England Fishery Man6 agement Council, and private institutions and organiza7 tions.

8 (b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The head of any Federal agen9 cy may—

10 (1) cooperate in the conduct of scientific and

11 other programs, and furnish facilities and personnel,

12 for the purposes of assisting the Organization in car13 rying out its duties under the Convention; and

14 (2) accept reimbursement from the Organization

15 for providing such services, facilities, and personnel.

16 SEC. 206. RULEMAKING.

17 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as may be

18 necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of the

19 Convention and this title. Any such regulation may be

20 made applicable, as necessary, to all persons and all vessels

21 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, wherever

22 located.

23 SEC. 207. PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES.

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

25 vessel that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United

26 States—
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1 (1) to violate any regulation issued under this

2 title or any measure that is legally binding on the

3 United States under the Convention;

4 (2) to refuse to permit any authorized enforce5 ment officer to board a fishing vessel that is subject

6 to the person’s control for purposes of conducting any

7 search or inspection in connection with the enforce8 ment of this title, any regulation issued under this

9 title, or any measure that is legally binding on the

10 United States under the Convention;

11 (3) forcibly to assault, resist, oppose, impede, in12 timidate, or interfere with any authorized enforce13 ment officer in the conduct of any search or inspec14 tion described in paragraph (2);

15 (4) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib16 ited by this section;

17 (5) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur18 chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or pos19 session of, any fish taken or retained in violation of

20 this section; or

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

22 means, the apprehension or arrest of another person,

23 knowing that the other person has committed an act

24 prohibited by this section.
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1 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who commits any

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

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

4 a permit sanction, under section 308 of the Magnuson Act

5 (16 U.S.C. 1858).

6 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who commits an

7 act that is unlawful under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (6)

8 of subsection (a) shall be guilty of an offense punishable

9 under section 309(b) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C.

10 1859(b)).

11 (d) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any vessel (including its gear,

13 furniture, appurtenances, stores, and cargo) used in

14 the commission of an act that is unlawful under sub15 section (a), and any fish (or the fair market value

16 thereof) taken or retained, in any manner, in connec17 tion with or as a result of the commission of any act

18 that is unlawful under subsection (a), shall be subject

19 to seizure and forfeiture as provided in section 310 of

20 the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).

21 (2) DISPOSAL OF FISH.—Any fish seized pursu22 ant to this title may be disposed of pursuant to the

23 order of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if per24 ishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations issued

25 by the Secretary.
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1 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary and the Secretary

2 of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating

3 shall enforce the provisions of this title and shall have the

4 authority specified in sections 311(a), (b)(1), and (c) of the

5 Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(a), (b)(1), and (c)) for that

6 purpose.

7 (f) JURISDICTION OF COURTS.—The district courts of

8 the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any

9 case or controversy arising under this section and may, at

10 any time—

11 (1) enter restraining orders or prohibitions;

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

13 process;

14 (3) prescribe and accept satisfactory bonds or

15 other security; and

16 (4) take such other actions as are in the interests

17 of justice.

18 SEC. 208. UNITED STATES–CANADA FISHERY MANAGEMENT

19 AGREEMENT.

20 (a) NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in

22 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Com23 mittee established under section 209, is authorized and en24 couraged to initiate negotiations with the Government of

25 Canada for the purpose of entering into an international
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1 fishery agreement with Canada for the conservation and

2 management of fisheries of mutual concern in the northwest

3 Atlantic Ocean, with particular emphasis on

4 transboundary stocks of groundfish and ensuring the success

5 of New England groundfish restoration efforts pursuant to

6 the Magnuson Act.

7 (b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement en8 tered into pursuant to this section shall—

9 (1) provide for timely and periodic exchanges of

10 scientific information relating to the conservation and

11 management of fisheries stocks of mutual concern;

12 (2) provide for routine meetings between the offi13 cials of the United States and Canada responsible for

14 the conservation and management of fisheries;

15 (3) establish procedures for the identification of

16 conservation and management measures that would

17 be mutually beneficial; and

18 (4) identify procedures for the implementation

19 within each country of conservation and management

20 measures identified as mutually beneficial.

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

22 entered into pursuant to this section shall be subject to sec23 tion 203 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1823).

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

25 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the
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1 effective date of an agreement entered into pursuant to this

2 section, the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Congress

3 a letter describing activities of the Secretary under this

4 section.

5 SEC. 209. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State and the

7 Secretary of Commerce, shall jointly establish a consultative

8 committee to advise the Secretaries on issues related to the

9 Convention and in the development and implementation of

10 a fishery agreement pursuant to section 208.

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The membership of the Com12 mittee shall include representatives from the New England

13 Fishery Management Council, the States represented on

14 that Council, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis15 sion, the fishing industry, the seafood processing industry,

16 and others knowledgeable and experienced in the conserva17 tion and management of fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic

18 Ocean.

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

20 the consultative committee shall serve for a term of two

21 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

22 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—

23 (1) NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES ORGANI24 ZATION.—Members of the consultative committee may

25 attend—
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1 (A) all public meetings of the General Coun2 cil or the Fisheries Commission;

3 (B) any other meetings to which they are

4 invited by the General Council or the Fisheries

5 Commission; and

6 (C) all nonexecutive meetings of the United

7 States Commissioners.

8 (2) UNITED STATES-CANADA FISHERIES MANAGE9 MENT AGREEMENT.—Members of the consultative com10 mittee shall advise the the Secretaries on any agree11 ments established under section 208.

12 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Federal Ad13 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to

14 the consultative committee established under this section.

15 SEC. 210. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

16 (a) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—A person shall

17 not receive any compensation from the Government by rea18 son of any service of the person as—

19 (1) a Commissioner, Alternate Commissioner,

20 Representative, or Alternative Representative;

21 (2) an expert or adviser authorized under section

22 202(e); or

23 (3) a member of the consultative committee es24 tablished by section 209.
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1 (b) TRAVEL AND EXPENSES.—The Secretary of State

2 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, pay all

3 necessary travel and other expenses of persons described in

4 subsection (a)(1) and of not more than six experts and ad5 visers authorized under section 202(e) with respect to their

6 actual performance of their official duties pursuant to this

7 title, in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations

8 and sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of

9 title 5, United States Code.

10 (c) STATUS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A person shall

11 not be considered to be a Federal employee by reason of

12 any service of the person in a capacity described in sub13 section (a), except for purposes of injury compensation and

14 tort claims liability under chapter 81 of title 5, United

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

16 respectively.

17 SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this title the following definitions apply:

19 (1) AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The

20 term ‘‘authorized enforcement officer’’ means a person

21 authorized to enforce this title, any regulation issued

22 under this title, or any measure that is legally bind23 ing on the United States under the Convention.

24 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commissioner’’

25 means a United States Commissioner to the North-
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1 west Atlantic Fisheries Organization appointed under

2 section 202(a).

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

4 means the Convention on Future Multilateral Co5 operation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, done at

6 Ottawa on October 24, 1978.

7 (4) FISHERIES COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Fish8 eries Commission’’ means the Fisheries Commission

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

10 of the Convention.

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

12 Council’’ means the General Council provided for by

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

14 (6) MAGNUSON ACT.—The term ‘‘Magnuson Act’’

15 means the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man16 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

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

18 means the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization

19 provided for by Article II of the Convention.

20 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any in21 dividual (whether or not a citizen or national of the

22 United States), and any corporation, partnership, as23 sociation, or other entity (whether or not organized or

24 existing under the laws of any State).
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1 (9) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘Representa2 tive’’ means a United States Representative to the

3 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Scientific Council ap4 pointed under section 202(c).

5 (10) SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Scientific

6 Council’’ means the Scientific Council provided for by

7 Articles II, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X of the Conven8 tion.

9 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

10 the Secretary of Commerce.

11 SEC. 212. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

13 this title, including use for payment as the United States

14 contribution to the Organization as provided in Article XVI

15 of the Convention, $500,000 for each of the fiscal years

16 1994, 1995, and 1996.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to prohibit

fishing in the Central Sea of Okhotsk, and for other purposes.’’.

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