H. R. 5946—67
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any information submitted to the Sec-
retary in compliance with any requirement under this Act 
shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except—
(A) to Federal employees who are responsible for 
administering, implementing, and enforcing this Act; 
(B) to the Commission, in accordance with require-
ments in the Convention and decisions of the Commission, 
and, insofar as possible, in accordance with an agreement 
with the Commission that prevents public disclosure of 
the identity or business of any person; 
(C) to State or Marine Fisheries Commission employees 
pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary that prevents 
public disclosure of the identity or business or any person; 
(D) when required by court order; or 
(E) when the Secretary has obtained written authoriza-
tion from the person submitting such information to release 
such information to persons for reasons not otherwise pro-
vided for in this subsection, and such release does not 
violate other requirements of this Act. 
(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall, by regula-
tion, prescribe such procedures as may be necessary to preserve 
the confidentiality of information submitted in compliance with 
any requirement or regulation under this Act, except that the 
Secretary may release or make public any such information 
in any aggregate or summary form that does not directly or 
indirectly disclose the identity or business of any person. 
Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted or construed 
to prevent the use for conservation and management purposes 
by the Secretary of any information submitted in compliance 
with any requirement or regulation under this Act. 
SEC. 507. PROHIBITED ACTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person—
(1) to violate any provision of this title or any regulation 
or permit issued pursuant to this title; 
(2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing after 
the revocation, or during the period of suspension, on an 
applicable permit issued pursuant to this title; 
(3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to enforce 
the provisions of this title to board a fishing vessel subject 
to such person’s control for the purposes of conducting any 
search, investigation, or inspection in connection with the 
enforcement of this title or any regulation, permit, or the 
Convention; 
(4) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, 
or interfere with any such authorized officer in the conduct 
of any search, investigations, or inspection in connection with 
the enforcement of this title or any regulation, permit, or the 
Convention; 
(5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this 
title; 
(6) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, 
export, or have custody, control, or possession of, any fish 
taken or retained in violation of this title or any regulation, 
permit, or agreement referred to in paragraph (1) or (2); 
(7) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, 
the apprehension or arrest of another person, knowing that
H. R. 5946—68
such other person has committed any chapter prohibited by 
this section; 
(8) to knowingly and willfully submit to the Secretary 
false information (including false information regarding the 
capacity and extent to which a United States fish processor, 
on an annual basis, will process a portion of the optimum 
yield of a fishery that will be harvested by fishery vessels 
of the United States), regarding any matter that the Secretary 
is considering in the course of carrying out this title; 
(9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, 
sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any observer on a 
vessel under this title, or any data collector employed by the 
National Marine Fisheries Service or under contract to any 
person to carry out responsibilities under this title; 
(10) to engage in fishing in violation of any regulation 
adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this title; 
(11) to ship, transport, purchase, sell, offer for sale, import, 
export, or have in custody, possession, or control any fish taken 
or retained in violation of such regulations; 
(12) to fail to make, keep, or furnish any catch returns, 
statistical records, or other reports as are required by regula-
tions adopted pursuant to this title to be made, kept, or fur-
nished; 
(13) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed and instructed 
to stop by a duly authorized official of the United States; 
(14) to import, in violation of any regulation adopted pursu-
ant to section 506(a) of this title, any fish in any form of 
those species subject to regulation pursuant to a recommenda-
tion, resolution, or decision of the Commission, or any tuna 
in any form not under regulation but under investigation by 
the Commission, during the period such fish have been denied 
entry in accordance with the provisions of section 506(a) of 
this title. 
(b) ENTRY CERTIFICATION.—In the case of any fish described 
in subsection (a) offered for entry into the United States, the Sec-
retary of Commerce shall require proof satisfactory to the Secretary 
that such fish is not ineligible for such entry under the terms 
of section 506(a) of this title. 
SEC. 508. COOPERATION IN CARRYING OUT CONVENTION. 
(a) FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES; PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS AND 
ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary may cooperate with agencies of 
the United States government, any public or private institutions 
or organizations within the United States or abroad, and, through 
the Secretary of State, the duly authorized officials of the govern-
ment of any party to the WCPFC Convention, in carrying out 
responsibilities under this title. 
(b) SCIENTIFIC
AND OTHER PROGRAMS; FACILITIES
AND PER-
SONNEL.—All Federal agencies are authorized, upon the request 
of the Secretary, to cooperate in the conduct of scientific and other 
programs and to furnish facilities and personnel for the purpose 
of assisting the Commission in carrying out its duties under the 
WCPFC Convention. 
(c) SANCTIONED FISHING OPERATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL EXPERI-
MENTS.—Nothing in this title, or in the laws or regulations of 
any State, prevents the Secretary or the Commission from—
H. R. 5946—69
(1) conducting or authorizing the conduct of fishing oper-
ations and biological experiments at any time for purposes 
of scientific investigation; or 
(2) discharging any other duties prescribed by the WCPFC 
Convention. 
(d) STATE JURISDICTION NOT AFFECTED.—Except as provided 
in subsection (e) of this section, nothing in this title shall be 
construed to diminish or to increase the jurisdiction of any State 
in the territorial sea of the United States. 
(e) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Regulations promulgated under section 
506(a) of this title shall apply within the boundaries of any 
State bordering on the Convention area if the Secretary has 
provided notice to such State, the State does not request an 
agency hearing, and the Secretary determines that the State—
(A) has not, within a reasonable period of time after 
the promulgation of regulations pursuant to this title, 
enacted laws or promulgated regulations that implement 
the recommendations of the Commission within the bound-
aries of such State; or 
(B) has enacted laws or promulgated regulations that 
implement the recommendations of the commission within 
the boundaries of such State that—
(i) are less restrictive that the regulations promul-
gated under section 506(a) of this title; or 
(ii) are not effectively enforced. 
(2) 
DETERMINATION
BY
SECRETARY.—The 
regulations 
promulgated pursuant to section 506(a) of this title shall apply 
until the Secretary determines that the State is effectively 
enforcing within its boundaries measures that are not less 
restrictive than the regulations promulgated under section 
506(a) of this title. 
(3) HEARING.—If a State requests a formal agency hearing, 
the Secretary shall not apply the regulations promulgated 
pursuant section 506(a) of this title within that State’s bound-
aries unless the hearing record supports a determination under 
paragraph (1)(A) or (B). 
(f) REVIEW OF STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS.—To ensure that 
the purposes of subsection (e) are carried out, the Secretary shall 
undertake a continuing review of the laws and regulations of all 
States to which subsection (e) applies or may apply and the extent 
to which such laws and regulations are enforced. 
SEC. 509. TERRITORIAL PARTICIPATION. 
The Secretary of State shall ensure participation in the 
Commission and its subsidiary bodies by American Samoa, Guam, 
and the Northern Mariana Islands to the same extent provided 
to the territories of other nations. 
SEC. 510. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE NOTIFICATION. 
Masters of commercial fishing vessels of nations fishing for 
species under the management authority of the Western and Cen-
tral Pacific Fisheries Convention that do not carry vessel monitoring 
systems capable of communicating with United States enforcement 
authorities shall, prior to, or as soon as reasonably possible after, 
entering and transiting the Exclusive Economic Zone seaward of 
Hawaii and of the Commonwealths, territories, and possessions 
of the United States in the Pacific Ocean area—
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(1) notify the United States Coast Guard or the National 
Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement in the 
appropriate region of the name, flag state, location, route, and 
destination of the vessel and of the circumstances under which 
it will enter United States waters; 
(2) ensure that all fishing gear on board the vessel is 
stowed below deck or otherwise removed from the place where 
it is normally used for fishing and placed where it is not 
readily available for fishing; and 
(3) where requested by an enforcement officer, proceed 
to a specified location so that a vessel inspection can be con-
ducted. 
SEC. 511. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Commerce such sums as may be necessary to carry out this title 
and to pay the United States’ contribution to the Commission 
under section 5 of part III of the WCPFC Convention. 
TITLE VI—PACIFIC WHITING 
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Whiting Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory panel’’ means 
the Advisory Panel on Pacific Hake/Whiting established by 
the Agreement. 
(2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ means the Agree-
ment between the Government of the United States and the 
Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting, signed at 
Seattle, Washington, on November 21, 2003. 
(3) CATCH.—The term ‘‘catch’’ means all fishery removals 
from the offshore whiting resource, including landings, discards, 
and bycatch in other fisheries. 
(4) JOINT
MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘joint 
management committee’’ means the joint management com-
mittee established by the Agreement. 
(5) JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘joint tech-
nical committee’’ means the joint technical committee estab-
lished by the Agreement. 
(6) OFFSHORE
WHITING
RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘offshore 
whiting resource’’ means the transboundary stock of Merluccius 
productus that is located in the offshore waters of the United 
States and Canada except in Puget Sound and the Strait of 
Georgia. 
(7) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUP.—The term ‘‘scientific review 
group’’ means the scientific review group established by the 
Agreement. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Commerce. 
(9) UNITED STATES SECTION.—The term ‘‘United States Sec-
tion’’ means the United States representatives on the joint 
management committee.