An Act to amend the Act of August 27, 1954, relative to the unlawful seizure of fishing vessels of the United States by foreign countries
PL 90-482 (S.2269), enacted 08/12/1968

82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-482-AUG. 12, 1968 
729 
APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED 
SEC. 15. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act 
over a period of three fiscal years, beginning with the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1969, there is authorized to be appropriated not to exceed 
$500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969; not to exceed 
$2,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30,1970; and not to exceed 
$4,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30,1971. 
Approved August 12, 1968. 
Public Law 90-482 
AN ACT 
August 12, 1968 
To amend the Act of August 27, 1954, relative to the unlawful seizure of fishing ^__[s^_2269] 
vessels of the United States by foreign countries. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That the Act of 
Fishermen's 
August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 U.S.C. 1971-1976), is amended by fggramendment 
adding at the end thereof a new section to read as follows: 
"SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary, upon receipt of an application filed 
with him at any time after the effective date of this section by the owner 
of any vessel of the United States which is documented or certificated 
as a commercial fishing vessel, shall enter into an agreement with such 
owner subject to the provisions of this section and such other terms and 
conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate. Such agreement shall 
provide that, if said vessel is seized by a foreign country and detained 
under the conditions of section 2 of this Act, the Secretary shall 
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guarantee— 
" (1) the owner of such vessel for all actual costs, except those 
covered by section 3 of this Act, incurred by the owner during the 
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seizure and detention period and as a direct result thereof, as deter-
mined by the Secretary, resulting (A) from any damage to, or 
destruction of, such vessel, or its fishing gear or other equipment, 
(B) from the loss or confiscation of such vessel, gear, or equipment, 
or (C) from dockage fees or utilities; 
"(2) the owner of such vessel and its crew for the market value 
of fish caught before seizure of such vessel and confiscated or 
spoiled during the period of detention; and 
"(3) the owner of such vessel and its crew for not to exceed 
50 per centum of the gross income lost as a direct result of such 
seizure and detention, as determined by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior, based on the value of the average catch per day's fishing dur-
ing the three most recent calendar years immediately preceding 
such seizure and detention of the vessel seized, or, if such experi-
ence is not available, then of all commercial fishing vessels of the 
Ignited States engaged in the same fishery as that of the type and 
size of the seized vessel. 
"(b) Payments made by the Secretary under paragraphs (2) and 
(3) of subsection (a) of this section shall be distributed by the Secre-
tary in accordance with the usual practices and procedures of the 
particular segment of the United States commercial fishing industry 
to which the seized vessel belongs relative to the sale of fish caught and 
the distribution of the proceeds of such sale. 
Effective date. 
Definitions. 
730 
PUBLIC LAW 90-482-AUG. 12, 1968 
[82 STAT, 
"(c) The Secretary shall from time to time establish by regulation 
fees which shall be paid by the owners of vessels entering into agree-
ments under this section. Such fees shall be adequate (1) to recover the 
costs of administering this section, and (2) to cover a reasonable por-
tion of any payments made by the Secretary under this section. The 
amount fixed by the Secretary shall be predicated upon at least 331/^ 
per centum of the contribution by the Government, All fees collected 
by the Secretary shall be credited to a separate account established in 
the Treasury of the United States which shall remain available without 
fiscal year limitation to carry out the provisions of this section. All 
payments under this section shall be made first out of such fees so long 
as they are available, and thereafter out of funds which are herebj 
authorized to be appropriated to such account to carry out the provi-
sions of this section, 
"(d) All determinations made under this section shall be final. No 
payment under this section shall be made with respect to any losses 
covered by any policy of insurance or other provision of law, 
" (e) The provisions of this section shall be effective for forty-eight 
consecutive months beginning one hundred and eighty days after the 
enactment of this section. The Secretary shall issue such regulations 
and take such other measures as he deems appropriate to implement 
the provisions of this section prior to such effective date. 
"(f) For the purposes of this section— 
"(1) the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior. 
"(2) the term 'owner' includes any charterer of a commercial 
fishing vessel." 
SEC. 2. Section 3 of the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 
U.S.C. 1973), is amended by inserting a comma after the word "fine" 
wherever it appears and the words "license fee, registration fee, or 
any other direct charge". 
SEC. 3. Section 5 of the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat, 883, 22 
U.S.C. 1975), is amended to read as follows: 
"SEC, 5. The Secretary of State shall take such action as he may 
deem appropriate to make and collect claims against a foreign coun-
try for amounts expended by the United States under the provisions 
of this Act (including payments made pursuant to section 7) because 
of the seizure of a vessel of the United States by such country. If such 
country fails or refuses to make payment in full within one hundred 
and twenty days after receiving notice of any such claim of the 
United States, the Secretary of State shall withhold, pending such 
payment, an amount equal to such unpaid claim from any funds 
programed for the current fiscal year for assistance to the government 
of such country (as shown in materials concerning such fiscal year 
presented to the Congress in connection with its consideration of 
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amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961), Amounts with-
note. 
held under this section shall not constitute satisfaction of any such 
claim of the United States against such foreign country," 
SEC. 4. The Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 U.S.C. 1971-
1976), as amended by this Act, may be cited as the "Fishermen's 
Protective Act of 1967". 
Approved August 12, 1968. 
Short title.