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Title IV — Implementation of the Antigua Convention

S. 269 · 113th Congress · Feb 11, 2013 · Lineage

IV Implementation of the Antigua Convention

Sec. 401 Short title; references to the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950

(a)
Short title— This title may be cited as the “Antigua Convention Implementing Act of 2013”.
(b)
References to the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950— Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 (16 U.S.C. 951 et seq.).

Sec. 402 Definitions

Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 951) is amended to read as follows:

“2. Definitions

“In this Act:

“(1) Antigua convention—The term Antigua Convention means the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention Between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica, signed at Washington, November 14, 2003.

“(2) Commission—The term Commission means the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission provided for by the Convention.

“(3) Convention—The term Convention means—

“(A) the Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, signed at Washington, May 31, 1949, by the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica;

“(B) the Antigua Convention, upon its entry into force for the United States, and any amendments thereto that are in force for the United States; or

“(C) both subparagraphs (A) and (B), as the context requires.

“(4) Import—The term import means to land on, bring into, or introduce into, or attempt to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether or not such landing, bringing, or introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning of the customs laws of the United States.

“(5) Person—The term person means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

“(6) United States—The term United States includes all areas under the sovereignty of the United States.

“(7) United States Commissioners—The term United States Commissioners means the members of the Commission.

“(8) United States Section—The term United States Section means the United States Commissioners to the Commission and a designee of the Secretary of State.”

Sec. 403 Commissioners; number, appointment, and qualifications

Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 952) is amended to read as follows:

“3. Commissioners

“(a) Commissioners—The United States shall be represented on the Commission by 5 United States Commissioners. The President shall appoint individuals to serve on the Commission at the pleasure of the President. In making the appointments, the President shall select Commissioners from among individuals who are knowledgeable or experienced concerning highly migratory fish stocks in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, 1 of which shall be an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce, 1 of which shall be the chairman or a member of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, and 1 of which shall be the chairman or a member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Not more than 2 Commissioners may be appointed who reside in a State other than a State whose vessels maintain a substantial fishery in the area of the Convention.

“(b) Alternate United States commissioners—The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, may designate from time to time and for periods of time deemed appropriate Alternate United States Commissioners to the Commission. Any Alternate United States Commissioner may exercise, at any meeting of the Commission or of the General Advisory Committee or Scientific Advisory Subcommittee established pursuant to section 4(b), all powers and duties of a United States Commissioner in the absence of any Commissioner appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section for whatever reason. The number of such Alternate United States Commissioners that may be designated for any such meeting shall be limited to the number of United States Commissioners appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section who will not be present at such meeting.

“(c) Administrative matters

“(1) Employment status—Individuals serving as such Commissioners, other than officers or employees of the United States Government, shall not be considered Federal employees except for the purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code.

“(2) Compensation—The United States Commissioners or Alternate United States Commissioners, although officers of the United States while so serving, shall receive no compensation for their services as such United States Commissioners or Alternate United States Commissioners.

“(3) Travel expenses

“(A) The Secretary of State shall pay the necessary travel expenses of United States Commissioners and Alternate United States Commissioners to meetings of the Commission and other meetings the Secretary deems necessary to fulfill their duties, in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations and sections 5701, 5702, 5704 through 5708, and 5731 of title 5, United States Code.

“(B) The Secretary may reimburse the Secretary of State for amounts expended by the Secretary of State under this subsection.”

Sec. 404 General advisory committee and scientific advisory subcommittee

Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 953) is amended—
(1)
by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

“(a) General advisory committee

“(1) Appointments; public participation

“(A) Appointments—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint a General Advisory Committee which shall consist of not more than 25 individuals who shall be representative of the various groups concerned with the fisheries covered by the Convention, including nongovernmental conservation organizations, providing to the maximum extent practicable an equitable balance among such groups. Members of the General Advisory Committee will be eligible to participate as members of the U.S. delegation to the Commission and its working groups to the extent the Commission rules and space for delegations allow.

“(B) Additional members—The chair of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's Advisory Subpanel for Highly Migratory Fisheries and the chair of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's Advisory Committee shall be members of the General Advisory Committee by virtue of their positions in those Councils.

“(C) Terms—Each member of the General Advisory Committee appointed under subparagraph (A) shall serve for a term of 3 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

“(D) Non-executive meetings of the United States Section—The General Advisory Committee shall be invited to attend all non-executive meetings of the United States Section and at such meetings shall be given opportunity to examine and to be heard on all proposed programs of investigation, reports, recommendations, and regulations of the Commission.

“(E) Public participation—The General Advisory Committee shall determine its organization, and prescribe its practices and procedures for carrying out its functions under this chapter, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and the Convention. The General Advisory Committee shall publish and make available to the public a statement of its organization, practices and procedures. Meetings of the General Advisory Committee, except when in executive session, shall be open to the public, and prior notice of meetings shall be made public in timely fashion. The General Advisory Committee shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

“(2) Information sharing—The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall furnish the General Advisory Committee with relevant information concerning fisheries and international fishery agreements.

“(3) Administrative matters

“(A) In general—The Secretary shall provide to the General Advisory Committee in a timely manner such administrative and technical support services as are necessary for its effective functioning.

“(B) Compensation—An individual appointed to serve as a member of the General Advisory Committee—

“(i) shall serve without pay, but while away from home or regular place of business to attend meetings of the General Advisory Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as a person employed intermittently in the Government service is allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code; and

“(ii) shall not be considered a Federal employee except for the purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code.”

(2)
by striking so much of subsection (b) as precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(b) Scientific Advisory Subcommittee

“(c) In general—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint a Scientific Advisory Subcommittee of not less than 5 nor more than 15 qualified scientists with balanced representation from the public and private sectors, including nongovernmental conservation organizations.”

Sec. 405 Rulemaking

Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 955) is amended—
(1)
by striking the section heading and inserting the following:

“6. Rulemaking”

(2)
by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following:

“(a) Regulations—The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State and, with respect to enforcement measures, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the United States international obligations under the Convention and this Act, including recommendations and decisions adopted by the Commission. In cases where the Secretary has discretion in the implementation of one or more measures adopted by the Commission that would govern fisheries under the authority of a Regional Fishery Management Council, the Secretary may, to the extent practicable within the implementation schedule of the Convention and any recommendations and decisions adopted by the Commission, promulgate such regulations in accordance with the procedures established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

“(b) Jurisdiction—The Secretary may promulgate regulations applicable to all vessels and persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, including United States flag vessels wherever they may be operating, on such date as the Secretary shall prescribe.”

Sec. 406 Prohibited acts

Section 8 (16 U.S.C. 957) is amended to read as follows:

“8. Prohibited acts

“It is unlawful for any person—

“(1) to violate any provision of this chapter or any regulation or permit issued pursuant to this Act;

“(2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing after the revocation, or during the period of suspension, of an applicable permit issued pursuant to this Act;

“(3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this Act (as provided for in section 10) 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 Act or any regulation, permit, or the Convention;

“(4) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any such authorized officer in the conduct of any search, investigations or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this Act or any regulation, permit, or the Convention;

“(5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this Act;

“(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 Act 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 such other person has committed any act prohibited by this section;

“(8) to knowingly and willfully submit to the Secretary false information regarding any matter that the Secretary is considering in the course of carrying out this Act;

“(9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any observer on a vessel under this Act, or any data collector employed by the National Marine Fisheries Service or under contract to any person to carry out responsibilities under this Act;

“(10) to engage in fishing in violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to section 6 of this Act;

“(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 regulations adopted pursuant to this Act to be made, kept, or furnished;

“(13) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed and instructed to stop by a duly authorized official of the United States; or

“(14) to import, in violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to section 6 of this Act, any fish in any form of those species subject to regulation pursuant to a recommendation, 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 6 of this Act, unless such person provides such proof as the Secretary of Commerce may require that a fish described in this paragraph offered for entry into the United States is not ineligible for such entry under the terms of section 6 of this Act.”

Sec. 407 Enforcement

Section 10 (16 U.S.C. 959) is amended to read as follows:

“10. Enforcement

“This Act shall be enforced under section 101 of the International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act.”

Sec. 408 Reduction of bycatch

Section 15 (16 U.S.C. 962) is amended by striking “vessel” and inserting “vessels”.

Sec. 409 Repeal of Eastern Pacific Tuna Licensing Act of 1984

The Eastern Pacific Tuna Licensing Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 972 et seq.) is repealed.