IIA

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 622

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 29 (legislative day, MARCH 27), 1995

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and

Transportation

AN ACT

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 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. REPRESENTATION OF UNITED STATES UNDER

2 CONVENTION.

3 (a) COMMISSIONERS.—

4 (1) APPOINTMENTS, GENERALLY.—The Sec5 retary shall appoint not more than 3 individuals to

6 serve as the representatives of the United States on

7 the General Council and the Fisheries Commission,

8 who shall each—

9 (A) be known as a ‘‘United States Com10 missioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

11 Organization’’; and

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

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

14 (A) The Secretary shall ensure that of the

15 individuals serving as Commissioners—

16 (i) at least 1 is appointed from among

17 representatives of the commercial fishing

18 industry;

19 (ii) 1 (but no more than 1) is an offi20 cial of the Government; and

21 (iii) 1, other than the individual ap22 pointed under clause (ii), is a voting mem23 ber of the New England Fishery Manage24 ment Council.

25 (B) The Secretary may not appoint as a

26 Commissioner an individual unless the individ-
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1 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern2 ing the fishery resources to which the Conven3 tion applies.

4 (3) TERMS.—

5 (A) The term of an individual appointed as

6 a Commissioner—

7 (i) shall be specified by the Secretary

8 at the time of appointment; and

9 (ii) may not exceed 4 years.

10 (B) An individual who is not a Government

11 official may not serve more than 2 consecutive

12 terms as a Commissioner.

13 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—

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

15 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Com16 missioner at a meeting of the General Council or the

17 Fisheries Commission, designate an individual to

18 serve as an Alternate Commissioner.

19 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Commissioner

20 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

21 Commissioner for whom the Alternate Commissioner

22 is designated, at any meeting of the General Council

23 or the Fisheries Commission for which the Alternate

24 Commissioner is designated.

25 (c) REPRESENTATIVES.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap2 point not more than 3 individuals to serve as the

3 representatives of the United States on the Scientific

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

5 States Representative to the Northwest Atlantic

6 Fisheries Organization Scientific Council’’.

7 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR APPOINTMENT.—

8 (A) The Secretary may not appoint an in9 dividual as a Representative unless the individ10 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern11 ing the scientific issues dealt with by the Sci12 entific Council.

13 (B) The Secretary shall appoint as a Rep14 resentative at least 1 individual who is an offi15 cial of the Government.

16 (3) TERM.—An individual appointed as a Rep17 resentative—

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

19 4 years, as specified by the Secretary at the

20 time of appointment;

21 (B) may be reappointed; and

22 (C) shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec23 retary.

24 (d) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, for

2 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Rep3 resentative at a meeting of the Scientific Council,

4 designate an individual to serve as an Alternate Rep5 resentative.

6 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Representative

7 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

8 Representative for whom the Alternate Representa9 tive is designated, at any meeting of the Scientific

10 Council for which the Alternate Representative is

11 designated.

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

13 Alternate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

14 Representatives may be accompanied at meetings of the

15 Organization by experts and advisers.

16 (f) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out their func18 tions under the Convention, Commissioners, Alter19 nate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

20 Representatives shall—

21 (A) coordinate with the appropriate Re22 gional Fishery Management Councils estab23 lished by section 302 of the Magnuson Act (16

24 U.S.C. 1852); and
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1 (B) consult with the committee established

2 under section 8 of this Act.

3 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Fed4 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall

5 not apply to coordination and consultations under

6 this subsection.

7 SEC. 3. REQUESTS FOR SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.

8 (a) RESTRICTION.—The Representatives may not

9 make a request or specification described in subsection (b)

10 (1) or (2), respectively, unless the Representatives have

11 first—

12 (1) consulted with the appropriate Regional

13 Fishery Management Councils; and

14 (2) received the consent of the Commissioners

15 for that action.

16 (b) REQUESTS AND TERMS OF REFERENCE DE17 SCRIBED.—The requests and specifications referred to in

18 subsection (a) are, respectively—

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

20 Convention, that the Scientific Council consider and

21 report on a question pertaining to the scientific basis

22 for the management and conservation of fishery re23 sources in waters under the jurisdiction of the

24 United States within the Convention Area; and
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1 (2) any specification, under Article VIII(2) of

2 the Convention, of the terms of reference for the

3 consideration of a question referred to the Scientific

4 Council pursuant to Article VII(1) of the Conven5 tion.

6 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE WITH RE7 SPECT TO CONVENTION.

8 The Secretary of State may, on behalf of the Govern9 ment of the United States—

10 (1) receive and transmit reports, requests, rec11 ommendations, proposals, and other communications

12 of and to the Organization and its subsidiary or13 gans;

14 (2) object, or withdraw an objection, to the pro15 posal of the Fisheries Commission;

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

17 bound by a measure of the Fisheries Commission;

18 (4) object or withdraw an objection to an

19 amendment to the Convention; and

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

21 authority, any other communication referred to in

22 paragraph (1).

23 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.

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

25 the provisions of the Convention and this Act, the Sec-
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1 retary may arrange for cooperation with other agencies of

2 the United States, the States, the New England and the

3 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, and private

4 institutions and organizations.

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

6 agency may—

7 (1) cooperate in the conduct of scientific and

8 other programs, and furnish facilities and personnel,

9 for the purposes of assisting the Organization in

10 carrying out its duties under the Convention; and

11 (2) accept reimbursement from the Organiza12 tion for providing such services, facilities, and per13 sonnel.

14 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING.

15 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as may

16 be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of

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

18 made applicable, as necessary, to all persons and all ves19 sels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, wher20 ever located.

21 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES.

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

23 vessel that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United

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

2 Act 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

7 any search or inspection in connection with the en8 forcement of this Act, any regulation issued under

9 this Act, or any measure that is legally binding on

10 the United States under the Convention;

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

12 intimidate, 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

19 possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation

20 of 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

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

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

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

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

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

8 (6) of subsection (a) shall be guilty of an offense punish9 able 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

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

14 used in the commission of an act that is unlawful

15 under subsection (a), and any fish (or the fair mar16 ket value thereof) taken or retained, in any manner,

17 in connection with or as a result of the commission

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

19 shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided

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

21 1860).

22 (2) DISPOSAL OF FISH.—Any fish seized pursu23 ant to this Act may be disposed of pursuant to the

24 order of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if per-
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1 ishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations issued

2 by the Secretary.

3 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary and the Sec4 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op5 erating shall enforce the provisions of this Act and shall

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

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

8 and (c)) for that purpose.

9 (f) JURISDICTION OF COURTS.—The district courts

10 of the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over

11 any case or controversy arising under this section and

12 may, at any time—

13 (1) enter restraining orders or prohibitions;

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

15 process;

16 (3) prescribe and accept satisfactory bonds or

17 other security; and

18 (4) take such other actions as are in the inter19 ests of justice.

20 SEC. 8. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

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

22 the Secretary, shall jointly establish a consultative com23 mittee to advise the Secretaries on issues related to the

24 Convention.
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The membership of the Com2 mittee shall include representatives from the New England

3 and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, the

4 States represented on those Councils, the Atlantic States

5 Marine Fisheries Commission, the fishing industry, the

6 seafood processing industry, and others knowledgeable

7 and experienced in the conservation and management of

8 fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

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

10 the consultative committee shall serve for a term of two

11 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

12 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—Members of the

13 consultative committee may attend—

14 (1) all public meetings of the General Council

15 or the Fisheries Commission;

16 (2) any other meetings to which they are in17 vited by the General Council or the Fisheries Com18 mission; and

19 (3) all nonexecutive meetings of the United

20 States Commissioners.

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

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

23 to the consultative committee established under this

24 section.
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1 SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

2 (a) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—A person

3 shall not receive any compensation from the Government

4 by reason of any service of the person as—

5 (1) a Commissioner, Alternate Commissioner,

6 Representative, or Alternative Representative;

7 (2) an expert or adviser authorized under sec8 tion 202(e); or

9 (3) a member of the consultative committee es10 tablished by section 8.

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

12 State shall, subject to the availability of appropriations,

13 pay all necessary travel and other expenses of persons de14 scribed in subsection (a)(1) and of not more than six ex15 perts and advisers authorized under section 2(e) with re16 spect to their actual performance of their official duties

17 pursuant to this Act, in accordance with the Federal Trav18 el Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through

19 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United States Code.

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

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

22 of any service of the person in a capacity described in sub23 section (a), except for purposes of injury compensation

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

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

26 Code, respectively.
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1 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act the following definitions apply:

3 (1) AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—

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

5 person authorized to enforce this Act, any regulation

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

7 binding on the United States under the Convention.

8 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis9 sioner’’ means a United States Commissioner to the

10 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization appointed

11 under section 2(a).

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

13 means the Convention on Future Multilateral Co14 operation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, done

15 at Ottawa on October 24, 1978.

16 (4) FISHERIES COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Fish17 eries Commission’’ means the Fisheries Commission

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

19 of the Convention.

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

21 Council’’ means the General Council provided for by

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

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

24 Act’’ means the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

25 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
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1 (7) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Organization’’

2 means the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organiza3 tion provided for by Article II of the Convention.

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

5 individual (whether or not a citizen or national of

6 the United States), and any corporation, partner7 ship, association, or other entity (whether or not or8 ganized or existing under the laws of any State).

9 (9) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘Representa10 tive’’ means a United States Representative to the

11 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Scientific Council ap12 pointed under section 2(c).

13 (10) SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Sci14 entific Council’’ means the Scientific Council pro15 vided for by Articles II, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X of

16 the Convention.

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

18 means the Secretary of Commerce.

19 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

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

22 contribution to the Organization as provided in Article
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1 XVI of the Convention, $500,000 for each of the fiscal

2 years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

Passed the House of Representatives March 28,

1995.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.