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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 622

To implement the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 20, 1995

Mr. STUDDS (for himself and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

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 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. REPRESENTATION OF UNITED STATES UNDER

7 CONVENTION.

8 (a) COMMISSIONERS.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENTS, GENERALLY.—The Sec10 retary shall appoint not more than 3 individuals to
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1 serve as the representatives of the United States on

2 the General Council and the Fisheries Commission,

3 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 1 is appointed from among

12 representatives of the commercial fishing

13 industry;

14 (ii) 1 (but no more than 1) is an offi15 cial of the Government; and

16 (iii) 1, other than the individual ap17 pointed under clause (ii), is a voting mem18 ber of the New England Fishery Manage19 ment Council.

20 (B) The Secretary may not appoint as a

21 Commissioner an individual unless the individ22 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern23 ing the fishery resources to which the Conven24 tion applies.

25 (3) TERMS.—
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1 (A) The term of an individual appointed as

2 a Commissioner—

3 (i) shall be specified by the Secretary

4 at the time of appointment; and

5 (ii) may not exceed 4 years.

6 (B) An individual who is not a Government

7 official may not serve more than 2 consecutive

8 terms as a Commissioner.

9 (b) ALTERNATE COMMISSIONERS.—

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

11 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Com12 missioner at a meeting of the General Council or the

13 Fisheries Commission, designate an individual to

14 serve as an Alternate Commissioner.

15 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Commissioner

16 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

17 Commissioner for whom the Alternate Commissioner

18 is designated, at any meeting of the General Council

19 or the Fisheries Commission for which the Alternate

20 Commissioner is designated.

21 (c) REPRESENTATIVES.—

22 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap23 point not more than 3 individuals to serve as the

24 representatives of the United States on the Scientific

25 Council, who shall each be known as a ‘‘United
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1 States Representative to the Northwest Atlantic

2 Fisheries Organization Scientific Council’’.

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR APPOINTMENT.—

4 (A) The Secretary may not appoint an in5 dividual as a Representative unless the individ6 ual is knowledgeable and experienced concern7 ing the scientific issues dealt with by the Sci8 entific Council.

9 (B) The Secretary shall appoint as a Rep10 resentative at least 1 individual who is an offi11 cial of the Government.

12 (3) TERM.—An individual appointed as a Rep13 resentative—

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

15 4 years, as specified by the Secretary at the

16 time of appointment;

17 (B) may be reappointed; and

18 (C) shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec19 retary.

20 (d) ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES.—

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

22 any anticipated absence of a duly appointed Rep23 resentative at a meeting of the Scientific Council,

24 designate an individual to serve as an Alternate Rep25 resentative.
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1 (2) FUNCTIONS.—An Alternate Representative

2 may exercise all powers and perform all duties of the

3 Representative for whom the Alternate Representa4 tive is designated, at any meeting of the Scientific

5 Council for which the Alternate Representative is

6 designated.

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

8 Alternate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

9 Representatives may be accompanied at meetings of the

10 Organization by experts and advisers.

11 (f) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out their func13 tions under the Convention, Commissioners, Alter14 nate Commissioners, Representatives, and Alternate

15 Representatives shall—

16 (A) coordinate with the appropriate Re17 gional Fishery Management Councils estab18 lished by section 302 of the Magnuson Act (16

19 U.S.C. 1852); and

20 (B) consult with the committee established

21 under section 8 of this Act.

22 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The Fed23 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall

24 not apply to coordination and consultations under

25 this subsection.
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1 SEC. 3. REQUESTS FOR SCIENTIFIC ADVICE.

2 (a) RESTRICTION.—The Representatives may not

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

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

5 first—

6 (1) consulted with the appropriate Regional

7 Fishery Management Councils; and

8 (2) received the consent of the Commissioners

9 for that action.

10 (b) REQUESTS AND TERMS OF REFERENCE DE11 SCRIBED.—The requests and specifications referred to in

12 subsection (a) are, respectively—

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

14 Convention, that the Scientific Council consider and

15 report on a question pertaining to the scientific basis

16 for the management and conservation of fishery re17 sources in waters under the jurisdiction of the

18 United States within the Convention Area; and

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

20 the Convention, of the terms of reference for the

21 consideration of a question referred to the Scientific

22 Council pursuant to Article VII(1) of the Conven23 tion.
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE WITH RE2 SPECT TO CONVENTION.

3 The Secretary of State may, on behalf of the Govern4 ment of the United States—

5 (1) receive and transmit reports, requests, rec6 ommendations, proposals, and other communications

7 of and to the Organization and its subsidiary or8 gans;

9 (2) object, or withdraw an objection, to the pro10 posal of the Fisheries Commission;

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

12 bound by a measure of the Fisheries Commission;

13 (4) object or withdraw an objection to an

14 amendment to the Convention; and

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

16 authority, any other communication referred to in

17 paragraph (1).

18 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.

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

20 the provisions of the Convention and this title, the Sec21 retary may arrange for cooperation with other agencies of

22 the United States, the States, the New England and the

23 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, and private

24 institutions and organizations.

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

26 agency may—
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1 (1) cooperate in the conduct of scientific and

2 other programs, and furnish facilities and personnel,

3 for the purposes of assisting the Organization in

4 carrying out its duties under the Convention; and

5 (2) accept reimbursement from the Organiza6 tion for providing such services, facilities, and per7 sonnel.

8 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING.

9 The Secretary shall promulgate regulations as may

10 be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of

11 the Convention and this title. Any such regulation may

12 be made applicable, as necessary, to all persons and all

13 vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,

14 wherever located.

15 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES.

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

17 vessel that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United

18 States—

19 (1) to violate any regulation issued under this

20 title or any measure that is legally binding on the

21 United States under the Convention;

22 (2) to refuse to permit any authorized enforce23 ment officer to board a fishing vessel that is subject

24 to the person’s control for purposes of conducting

25 any search or inspection in connection with the en-
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1 forcement of this title, any regulation issued under

2 this title, or any measure that is legally binding on

3 the United States under the Convention;

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

5 intimidate, or interfere with any authorized enforce6 ment officer in the conduct of any search or inspec7 tion described in paragraph (2);

8 (4) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib9 ited by this section;

10 (5) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur11 chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or

12 possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation

13 of this section; or

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

15 means, the apprehension or arrest of another person,

16 knowing that the other person has committed an act

17 prohibited by this section.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 (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 title 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 title and shall

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

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

24 and (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. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.

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

14 the Secretary, shall jointly establish a consultative com15 mittee to advise the Secretaries on issues related to the

16 Convention.

17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The membership of the Com18 mittee shall include representatives from the New England

19 and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, the

20 States represented on those Councils, the Atlantic States

21 Marine Fisheries Commission, the fishing industry, the

22 seafood processing industry, and others knowledgeable

23 and experienced in the conservation and management of

24 fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
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1 (2) TERMS AND REAPPOINTMENT.—Each member of

2 the consultative committee shall serve for a term of two

3 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

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

5 consultative committee may attend—

6 (1) all public meetings of the General Council

7 or the Fisheries Commission;

8 (2) any other meetings to which they are in9 vited by the General Council or the Fisheries Com10 mission; and

11 (3) all nonexecutive meetings of the United

12 States Commissioners.

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

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

15 to the consultative committee established under this

16 section.

17 SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

18 (a) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—A person

19 shall not receive any compensation from the Government

20 by reason of any service of the person as—

21 (1) a Commissioner, Alternate Commissioner,

22 Representative, or Alternative Representative;

23 (2) an expert or adviser authorized under sec24 tion 202(e); or
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1 (3) a member of the consultative committee es2 tablished by section 8.

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

4 State shall, subject to the availability of appropriations,

5 pay all necessary travel and other expenses of persons de6 scribed in subsection (a)(1) and of not more than six ex7 perts and advisers authorized under section 2(e) with re8 spect to their actual performance of their official duties

9 pursuant to this title, in accordance with the Federal

10 Travel Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704

11 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United States Code.

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

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

14 of any service of the person in a capacity described in sub15 section (a), except for purposes of injury compensation

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

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

18 Code, respectively.

19 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this title the following definitions apply:

21 (1) AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—

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

23 person authorized to enforce this title, any regula24 tion issued under this title, or any measure that is
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1 legally binding on the United States under the Con2 vention.

3 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis4 sioner’’ means a United States Commissioner to the

5 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization appointed

6 under section 2(a).

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

8 means the Convention on Future Multilateral Co9 operation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, done

10 at Ottawa on October 24, 1978.

11 (4) FISHERIES COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Fish12 eries Commission’’ means the Fisheries Commission

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

14 of the Convention.

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

16 Council’’ means the General Council provided for by

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

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

19 Act’’ means the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

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

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

22 means the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organiza23 tion provided for by Article II of the Convention.

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

25 individual (whether or not a citizen or national of
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1 the United States), and any corporation, partner2 ship, association, or other entity (whether or not or3 ganized or existing under the laws of any State).

4 (9) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘Representa5 tive’’ means a United States Representative to the

6 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Scientific Council ap7 pointed under section 2(c).

8 (10) SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Sci9 entific Council’’ means the Scientific Council pro10 vided for by Articles II, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X of

11 the Convention.

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

13 means the Secretary of Commerce.

14 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

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

17 contribution to the Organization as provided in Article

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

19 years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

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