II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2706 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 

Received 

AN ACT 

To prohibit the sale of billfish. 

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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HR 2706 RDS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Billfish Conservation 

3 Act of 2012’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The United States carefully regulates its 

7 domestic fisheries for billfish and participates in 

8 international fishery management bodies in the At9 lantic and Pacific. 

10 (2) Global billfish populations have declined sig11 nificantly, however, because of overfishing primarily 

12 through retention of bycatch by non-United States 

13 commercial fishing fleets. 

14 (3) Ending the importation of foreign-caught 

15 billfish for sale in the United States aligns with U.S. 

16 management measures of billfish and protects the 

17 significant economic benefits to the U.S. economy of 

18 recreational fishing and marine commerce and the 

19 traditional cultural fisheries. 

20 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

21 The Congress enacts this Act pursuant to clause 3 

22 of section 8 of article I of the Constitution. 

23 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF BILLFISH. 

24 (a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall offer for sale, 

25 sell, or have custody, control, or possession of for purposes 

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1 of offering for sale or selling billfish or products con2 taining billfish. 

3 (b) PENALTY.—For purposes of section 308(a) of the 

4 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage5 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a violation of this section 

6 shall be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of 

7 that Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 

8 (c) EXEMPTIONS FOR TRADITIONAL FISHERIES AND

9 MARKETS.— 

10 (1) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish 

11 caught by US fishing vessels and landed in the State 

12 of Hawaii or Pacific Insular Areas as defined in sec13 tion 3(35) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con14 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

15 1802(35)). 

16 (2) Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish 

17 landed by foreign fishing vessels in the Pacific Insu18 lar Areas when the foreign caught billfish is ex19 ported to non-US markets or retained within Hawaii 

20 and the Pacific Insular Areas for local consumption. 

21 (d) BILLFISH DEFINED.—In this section the term 

22 ‘‘billfish’’— 

23 (1) means any fish of the species— 

24 (A) Makaira nigricans (blue marlin); 

25 (B) Kajikia audax (striped marlin); 

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1 (C) Istiompax indica (black marlin); 

2 (D) Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish); 

3 (E) Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill 

4 spearfish); 

5 (F) Kajikia albida (white marlin); 

6 (G) Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spear7 fish); 

8 (H) Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean 

9 spearfish); and 

10 (I) Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spear11 fish); and 

12 (2) does not include the species Xiphias gladius 

13 (swordfish). 

Passed the House of Representatives September 10, 

2012. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 

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