administrative costs. The fee for a permit for 1973 shall be $1.230 for enforcement services plus an amount of not more than $200, as determined by the Secretary, for the purpose of covering administrative costs: Provided, That the annual fee for a permit for 1973 for any vessel first documented in that year or certified as not having been engaged in fishing in the area of agreement in 1972 shall be $615 for enforcement services plus an amount of not more than $100, as determined by the Secretary, for the purpose of covering administrative costs. The amount of any deposit transferred to the Offshore Shrimp Fisheries Fund pursuant to section 5 of this Act shall be credited toward the annual permit fee. (g) Any permit which has been suspended or revoked, or which is required to be returned, shall be surrendered to the Secretary. PERMIT PROCEDURE SEC. 4. (a) Vessel owners may apply for permits to engage in fishing in the area of agreement. The method and time for application shall be announced in advance in the Federal Register. (b) The owner of any vessel for which application for a permit is refused may petition the Secretary for reconsideration, and shall be entitled to a hearing. The decision of the Secretary rendered in connection with such reconsideration shall be final and binding. 87 STAT. 1064 Pullication in Federal Regis ter. (e) The Secretary may reissue permits which have been returned pursuant to section 3, to vessel owners with outstanding applications, Ante, p. 1063. who have not been able to obtain permits under the procedure set out in subsection (d). The fee for such reissued permits shall be the prorated share of the annual fee for the portion of the year during which the new permittee holds the permit. (d) If application is made with respect to more vessels than the number of permits allowed to be issued under section 3(a), the following procedure for granting permits shall apply: (1) All vessel owners to whom letters of voluntary compliance have been issued, pursuant to section 5 of this Act, shall have first priority for permits but only as to vessels covered by such letters. (2) After all vessel owners under subparagraph (1) have been considered for permits, all vessel owners who have been engaged in fishing in the area of agreement, during the last five years, shall have second priority for permits. However, in no event shall a vessel owner be eligible for receiving a permit under this subsection for a given vessel during the first six months after the effective date of this Act if the Secretary determines that such vessel has engaged in activities during the period from May 9, 1972, to the effective date of this Act which would have constituted a violation specified in section 8(a) (3) or 8(a) (5), but only to the extent 8(a) (5) relates to use of fishing gear and the closure of the area of agreement to fishing, if the Act had been in effect during such period. In the event of any such determination, the vessel owner Notice; affected thereby shall be given notice thereof and an opportunity hearing. for a hearing. The decision of the Secretary rendered in connection with the hearing shall be final and binding. (3) After all vessel owners under subparagraphs (1) and (2) have been considered for issuance of a permit, all other vessel owners who have made application may be considered for permits. If the number of vessels for which application is made in the categories outlined in subparagraph (2) or (3) is more than the number of permits available after having accounted for the vessels in the previous category (or in the case of subparagraph (1), if the number 87 STAT. 1065 24 UST 923. of vessels for which application is made in that category is more than the number of permits available pursuant to the treaty), then the number of permits available shall be proportionally distributed with the applicable category, in a manner provided in the regulations. VESSELS WHICH VOLUNTARILY COMPLY SEC. 5. The Secretary shall issue a letter of voluntary compliance to a vessel owner who has had vessels engaged in fishing in the area of agreement at any time subsequent to May 9, 1972, for all vessels of such owner documented under the laws of the United States which meet the requirements of the treaty, and for each of which the vessel owner has deposited and continuously maintained, until the transfer referred to in the following sentence. $700 in a special account in a bank or trust company insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for the purpose of reimbursing the United States for enforcement expenses as provided in article 6 of the treaty. On or before the issuance of a letter of voluntary compliance the deposited funds referred to above shall be transferred, in the manner provided for in regulations, through the Secretary, to the Offshore Shrimp Fisheries Fund, established pursuant to section 6 of this Act. OFFSHORE SHRIMP FISHERIES FUND; ENFORCEMENT EXPENSES SEC. 6. (a) There is hereby established on the books of the Treasury a separate fund, the Offshore Shrimp Fisheries Fund, to be used by the Secretary to make payments for enforcement expenses as provided in article VI of the treaty. The fund shall be credited with permit Ante, p. 1063. fees collected pursuant to section 3 for enforcement expenses, funds appropriated under section 12(a), amounts transferred through the Secretary from deposits in the special accounts referred to in section 5, and amounts collected for minimum penalties pursuant to Logbook. section 9. (b) The Secretary of Commerce, through the Secretary of State, shall pay, or cause to be paid, on behalf of the United States the enforcement expenses as provided in article VI of the treaty. (c) In the event that a vessel owner, master, or other person in charge of a vessel, pays on behalf of the United States the unusual enforcement expenses incurred in carrying out the seizure and detention of a vessel, referred to in article VI of the treaty, and is not assessed a civil penalty under section 9 of this Act within two years from the date of such seizure in respect to the violation for which the vessel was seized, such vessel owner, master, or other person shall be entitled to reimbursement of amounts so paid. Application for reimbursement shall be made to the Secretary, INFORMATION AND REPORTS SEC. 7. (a) Each master or other person in charge of a vessel which is the subject of a permit under this Act shall keep a logbook in the form and manner prescribed pursuant to the treaty and set forth in regulations. (b) In addition to the logbook, owners of vessels which have permits under this Act shall supply to the Secretary, in such form and at such times as he may prescribe, any other information necessary in order to carry out the purposes and objectives of the treaty, the Act or the regulations, which information may include data on fishing beyond the area of agreement in order to determine to the extent possible the full potential of the shrimp fishery. (c) Except as otherwise provided in the treaty, information obtained pursuant to this Act shall be treated as confidential commercial information pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code. (d) The Secretary shall have the power to require by subpena the production of all such logbooks, records, or other information required pursuant to this section. The Secretary may delegate the power to sign subpenas and to receive documents. 87 STAT. 1066 80 Stat. 383; 81 Stat. 54. Subpena authority. (e) In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpena issued to any Jurisisdicperson, corporation, partnership, or other entity, the Secretary may tion. request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of any district court of the United States or the United States courts of any territory or possession within the jurisdiction of which said person, corporation, partnership, or other entity is found, resides, or transacts business to secure compliance. PROHIBITIONS SEC. 8. (a) No master or other person in charge of a vessel documented under the laws of the United States shall (1) engage in fishing in the area of agreement, unless the vessel is the subject of a permit in force pursuant to this Act; (2) transship shrimp in the area of agreement, unless each vessel engaged in the transshipment is the subject of a permit in force pursuant to this Act, or is otherwise authorized to fish in the area of agreement pursuant to the treaty: (3) assault or attempt to prevent any duly authorized officer from boarding, searching, seizing or detaining a vessel in accordance with such officer's duties under the treaty; (4) engage in fishing in the area of agreement contrary to regulations establishing a procedure for limiting the number of vessels allowed to be present in the area of agreement at any one time to one hundred and sixty or such other number as may be allowed pursuant to the treaty: (5) engage in fishing in the area of agreement in contravention of annex II, as it may be modified from time to time pursuant to article II of the treaty, or any regulations issued by 24 UST 923. the Secretary to implement such annex. (b) No master or other person in charge of a vessel documented under the laws of the United States shall (1) fail or refuse to keep or provide any logbooks or any other information required pursuant to this Act, or provide or furnish false logbooks or other information; (2) violate any other provision of the treaty, this Act, or any regulations promulgated by the Secretary, the violation of which is not covered by subsection (a). PENALTIES SEC. 9. (a) Any master or other person in charge of a vessel who violates section 8 hereof may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, of not more than $10,000 for a violation of section 8(a) and $3,000 for a violation of section 8(b). Except as provided in this section, the minimum penalty assessed shall be not less than an amount sufficient to cover the unusual enforcement expenses, if any, incurred by the United States pursuant to article VI of the treaty in connection with such violation: Provided, That if the person against whom the penalty has been assessed has paid on behalf of the United States such unusual enforcement expenses, 87 STAT. 1067 24 UST 923. the minimum penalty requirement shall not apply. The amount of any such minimum civil penalty assessed shall be deposited directly into the Offshore Shrimp Fisheries Fund. The amount of any such civil penalty over the minimum penalty may be compromised by the Secretary. (b) The Secretary shall notify any vessel owner involved in a violation of section 8 of the outcome of any proceeding under subsection (a) above. (c) The Secretary, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may assess against a vessel owner a civil penalty equal to the value of the catch on board the vessel when detained and the value of the gear involved in a violation of section 8(a)(1), or involved in a second or subsequent violation of any other provision of section 8(a) by a person against whom a penalty had previously been assessed under section 9(a) for a violation involving the operation of a vessel owned by the same person as the vessel involved in such second or subsequent violation. The amount of any such penalty shall be deposited as miscellaneous receipts into the general fund of the Treasury. (d) Upon failure of the party penalized as provided in this section to pay the penalty within thirty days of the assessment thereof, the Secretary may request the Attorney General to commence action in the Federal district court having jurisdiction over the party for such relief as may be appropriate. In any such action for relief, the Secretary's penalty assessment shall be final and unreviewable unless the penalized party has otherwise sought judicial review thereof. (e) In any hearing held by the Secretary in connection with the assessment of a civil penalty hereunder, the vessel owner, the master or any other person against whom a penalty may be assessed may appear in person or by counsel at such hearing or in lieu of a personal appearance may submit such affidavits or depositions as he deems necessary to the defense of any charges which may be considered by the Secretary at such hearing. ENFORCEMENT SEC. 10. (a) This Act shall be enforced jointly by the Secretary, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, and the Secretary of the Treasury. (b) Any duly authorized law enforcement officer of the Government of Brazil who is exercising responsibility under article V of the treaty shall be impowered to act on behalf of the United States to enforce the provisions of the treaty in the area of agreement as follows: Any such officer may board and search any vessel which he has reasonable cause to believe has violated any provisions of the treaty. If after boarding and searching such vessel the officer continues to have reasonable cause to believe that a violation has been committed, he may seize and detain the vessel for the sole purpose of delivering it, as soon as practicable, to an agent of the United States Government at the nearest port to the place of seizure or any other place which is mutually agreed upon by the Government of Brazil and the Secretary of State. REGULATIONS SEC. 11. In addition to any specific authority contained in this Act, the Secretary is authorized to issue all regulations necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of the treaty and this Act. Prior to the issuance of any regulations dealing with the marking of vessels or with the use of radiotelephone frequencies, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. 87 STAT. 1068 APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 12. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as are necessary for enforcement expenses pursuant to article VI of the treaty, to be deposited in the Offshore Shrimp Fisheries 24 UST 923. Fund. (b) There is also hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as are necessary for domestic enforcement expenses and the expenses of administering the provisions of the treaty, this Act, and the regulations, to be available until expended, when so provided in appropriation acts. So much of the permit fees as are identified for administrative costs shall be deposited as miscellaneous receipts to the general fund of the Treasury. TERMINATION SEC. 13. The provisions of this Act, except section 15, shall expire June 15, 1975. SEVERABILITY SEC. 14. The provisions of this Act shall be severable and if any part of the Act is declared unconstitutional or the applicability thereof is held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder and the applicability thereof shall not be affected thereby. SEC. 15. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 5 of the Act of May 20, 1964 (78 Stat. 196), are amended to read as follows: "(a) As used in this Act, the term 'Continental Shelf fishery resource' means living organisms belonging to sedentary species; that is to say, organisms, which at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or the subsoil of the Continental Shelf, including the following species: "CRUSTACEA "Tanner Crab-Chionoecetes tanneri; "California King Crab-Paralithodes californiensis; "Northern Stone Crab-Lithodes maia; "Stone Crab Menippe mercenaria; and "Deep-sea Red Crab Ceryon quinquedens. "MOLLUSKS "Red Abalone-Haliotis rufescens; "Pink Abalone-Haliotis corrugata; "Japanese Abalone-Haliotis kamtschatkana; "Queen Conch-Strombus gigas; "Surf Clam-Spisula solidissima; and "Ocean Quahog-Artica islandica. 16 USC 1085. "Continental Shelf fishery resource." 26-151 O-74-25 |