South Pacific Tuna Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend the South Pacific Tuna Act (16 U.S.C. 973 et seq.).
Sec. 2 Amendment of South Pacific Tuna Act
Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever 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 South Pacific Tuna Act (16 U.S.C. 973 et seq.).
Sec. 3 Definitions
Applicable national law— Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by striking “described in paragraph 1(a) of Annex I of” in paragraph (4) of section 2, and inserting in its place: “noticed and in effect in accordance with”.
Closed area— Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by striking “of the closed areas identified in Schedule 2 of Annex I of” in paragraph (5) of section 2, and inserting in its place: “area within the jurisdiction of a Pacific Island Party that is closed to vessels pursuant to that Party’s national laws, and is noticed and in effect in accordance with”.
inserting “for any purpose” after “harvesting of fish” at the end of paragraph (6)(C) of section 2;
striking “aircraft” at the beginning of paragraph (6)(F) of section 2;
striking “, relating to the activities” in paragraph (6)(F) of section 2, and inserting in its place: “of any other vessel, vehicle, aircraft or hovercraft, for any activity”;
striking “flights in” after “except for” in paragraph (6)(F) of section 2;
inserting “the” after “health or safety of” in paragraph (6)(F) of section 2; and
striking “members” after “crew” in paragraph (6)(F) of section 2.
inserting “purse seine” after “used for commercial” in paragraph (7) of section 2; and
inserting “for tuna” after “purse seine fishing” in paragraph (7) of section 2, as so amended.
Licensing area— Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by striking “in the Treaty Area except for” and all that follows, including subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), in paragraph (8) of section 2, and inserting in its place: “under the jurisdiction of the Pacific Island Parties except for internal waters, territorial seas, archipelagic waters and any Closed Area.”.
striking paragraph (10) of section 2; and
redesignating existing paragraphs (11) through (14) of section 2 as paragraphs (10) through (13), respectively.
Regional terms and conditions— Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by inserting after paragraph (13) of section 2, as so redesignated, the following new paragraph—
“(14) The term “regional terms and conditions” means any of the terms or conditions attached by the Administrator to the license issued by the Administrator, as notified by the Secretary.”
Treaty area— Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by striking paragraph (18) of section 2.
Sec. 4 Prohibited acts
Section 5(a) (16 U.S.C. 973c) is amended by—
striking “Except as provided in section 973d of this title, it” at the beginning of section 5(a), and inserting in its place: “It”;
striking paragraphs (3) and (4);
redesignating existing paragraphs (5) through (13) as paragraphs (3) through (11), respectively;
inserting “, except in accordance with an agreement pursuant to the Treaty” after “Closed Area” at the end of paragraph (3), as so redesignated;
striking “or” at the end of paragraph (10), as so redesignated;
striking “.” at the end of paragraph (11), as so resdesignated, and inserting in its place “;”; and
inserting after paragraph (11), as so redesignated, the following new paragraphs—
“(12) to violate any of the regional terms and conditions; or
“(13) to violate any limit on authorized fishing effort or catch.”
Section 5(b) (16 U.S.C. 973c) is amended by—
striking “Except as provided in section 973d of this title, it” at the beginning of section 5(b), and inserting in its place: “It”;
striking paragraph (5); and
redesignating existing paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively.
Sec. 5 Exceptions
Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 973d) is amended by striking section 6, including the section heading of section 6 and subsections (a) and (b), and inserting in its place: “Reserved”.
Sec. 6 Criminal offenses
Prohibited acts— Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C. 973e) is amended by striking “section 973c(a)(8), (10), (11), or (12)”, and inserting in its place: “section 973c(a)(6), (8), (9), or (10)”.
Sec. 7 Civil penalties
Determination of liability; amount; participation by secretary of state in assessment proceeding— Section 8(a) (16 U.S.C. 973f) is amended by—
striking “Code” after “liable to the United States”; and
striking “Except for those acts prohibited by section 973c(a)(4), (5), (7), (8), (10), (11), and (12), and section 973c(b)(1), (2), (3), and (7) of this title, the”, and inserting in its place: “The”.
striking “(8), (9),” after “(5), (6), (7),” at the beginning of paragraph (g), and inserting in its place: “(11), (12), or”; and
striking “, all Limited Areas closed to fishing,” after “outside of the Licensing Area” in paragraph (2).
Sec. 8 Licenses
Forwarding and transmittal of vessel license Application— Section 9(b) (16 U.S.C. 973g) is amended by—
striking “Except as provided in subsections” at the beginning of section 9(b), and inserting in its place: “In accordance with subsection”;
inserting “and except as provided in subsection” after “In accordance with subsection (e),” at the beginning of section 9(b), as so amended;
striking “, and (g)” at the beginning of section 9(b);
striking “to the Secretary of State for transmittal”; and
striking “, includes a complete application form as required by Annex II of the Treaty, and is accompanied by the required license fee” at the end of section 9(b).
striking “and fee schedules” in the section heading of section 9(c);
striking paragraph (1);
striking “(2) After such initial year, fees for vessel licenses” of paragraph (2), and inserting in its place: “Fees required under the Treaty”;
striking “fee schedules established under Annex II of”; and
striking “published by the Secretary” at the end of section 9(c), and inserting in its place: “any procedures established by the Secretary”.
Minimum fees required To be received in initial year of implementation for forwarding and transmittal of license Applications— Section 9(f) (16 U.S.C. 973g) is amended by—
striking section 9(f); and
redesignating existing sections 9(g) and 9(h) as sections 9(f) and 9(g), respectively.
Grounds for denial of forwarding of license Application— Section 9(f) (16 U.S.C. 973g), as so redesignated, is amended by striking “chapter” at the end of paragraph (4), and inserting in its place: “title”.
Grandfathering of vessels documented before november 3, 1995— Section 9(g) (16 U.S.C. 973g), as so redesignated, is amended by—
in paragraph (1), replacing “12108” with “12113”;
striking “Treaty” after “may fish for tuna in the” in paragraph (3) and inserting in its place: “Licensing”;
striking “including those waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States” in paragraph (3) and inserting in its place: “and on the high seas and in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States west of 146° W. longitude and east of 129.5° E longitude”;
striking “treaty and” after “subject to the provisions of the” in paragraph (3), and inserting in its place: “Treaty,”;
inserting “and other applicable law,” in paragraph (3) after “this chapter,”;
striking “fishing in the Treaty Area” after “provided that no such vessel” in paragraph (3); and
striking “under the provisions of the Treaty or this chapter” at the end of paragraph (3).
Sec. 9 Enforcement
Notice requirements to pacific island party concerning institution and outcome of legal proceedings— Section 10(c) (16 U.S.C. 973h) is amended by—
striking “paragraph 8 of Article 4 of” after “notify the Pacific Island Party in accordance with” in paragraph (1); and
striking “Article 10 of” after “effective date of the notice under” at the end of paragraph (1).
Searches and seizures by authorized officers; limitations on power— Section 10(d) (16 U.S.C. 973h) is amended by—
striking “or” at the end of paragraph (1)(A)(ii); and
inserting “or” at the end of paragraph (1)(A)(iii).
Sec. 10 Findings by Secretary
Order of vessel To leave waters upon failure To submit to jurisdiction of pacific island party; procedure Applicable— Section 11(a) (16 U.S.C. 973i) is amended by—
striking “, all Limited Areas,” after “leave immediately the Licensing Area” in section 11(a);
striking “paragraph 2 of Article 3 of” after “and that under” in paragraph (1)(A);
striking “within the Treaty Area” after “final determination deriving from a violation in waters” in paragraph (1)(C), and inserting in its place: “under the jurisdiction”;
striking “(a)(5),” after “section 973c(a)(4),” in paragraph (2)(A);
striking “(7)” after “section 973c(b)” in paragraph (2)(B), and inserting in its place: “(6)”; and
striking “(7)” after “section 973c(b)” in paragraph (2)(C), and inserting in its place: “(6)”.
Order of vessel To leave waters where pacific island party investigating alleged treaty infringement— Section 11(b) (16 U.S.C. 973i) is amended by striking “paragraph 7 of Article 5 of” after “Parties has been made under”.
Sec. 11 Reporting requirements; disclosure of information
Section 12(a) (16 U.S.C. 973j) is amended by—
striking “Holders of licenses” at the beginning of section 12(a), and inserting in its place: “Operators”; and
striking “of part 4 of Annex I to the Treaty” at the end of section 12(a), and inserting in its place: “established by the Secretary”.
Section 12(b) (16 U.S.C. 973j) is amended by—
striking section 12(b), and inserting the following new paragraphs in its place—
“(b) The following information shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except in accordance with subsection (c) below—
“(1) information provided to the Secretary by the Administrator that the Administrator has designated confidential;
“(2) observer information; and
“(3) any information submitted to the Secretary by any person in compliance with the requirements of this title.
“(c) The Secretary may disclose information described in subsection (b):
“(1) if disclosure is required under court order;
“(2) if the information is used by Federal employees for enforcement, or in support of the Coast Guard’s homeland and national security missions as defined in 6 U.S.C. 468;
“(3) if the information is used by Federal employees or Fishery Management Council employees for Treaty administration or fishery management and monitoring;
“(4) to the Administrator, in accordance with the requirements of the Treaty and this title;
“(5) to the secretariat or equivalent of an international fisheries management organization of which the United States is a member, in accordance with its requirements or decisions, and insofar as possible, in accordance with an agreement that prevents public disclosure of the business or identity of any person; or
“(6) if the Secretary has obtained written authorization from the person providing such information, and release does not violate other requirements of this title.
“(d) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) above, the Secretary may, by regulations, prescribe such procedures as may be necessary to preserve the confidentiality of information described in subsection (b), except that the Secretary may release or make public any such information in any aggregate or summary form, which does not directly or indirectly disclose the identity or business of any person submitting such information.”
Sec. 12 Closed area stowage requirements
Section 13 (16 U.S.C. 973k) is amended by striking “. In particular, the boom shall be lowered” and all that follows, and inserting in its place: “and in accordance with any requirements established by the Secretary.”.
Sec. 13 Observers
Section 14 (16 U.S.C. 973l) is amended by striking the text of section 14, including subsections (a), (b), and (c), and paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a), and inserting in its place: “Operators shall comply with the requirements established by the Secretary regarding vessel observers.”.
Sec. 14 Technical assistance
Section 15 (16 U.S.C. 973m) is amended by striking the text of section 15, and inserting the following new paragraph in its place—
Sec. 15 Arbitration
Section 16 (16 U.S.C. 973n) is amended by—
striking “Article 6 of” after “arbitral tribunal under”; and
striking “paragraph 3 of that Article”, and inserting in its place: “the Treaty, shall determine the location of the arbitration”.
Sec. 16 Disposition of fees, penalties, forfeitures, and other moneys
Section 17 (16 U.S.C. 973o) is amended by striking “Article 4 of”.
Sec. 17 Additional agreements
Section 18 (16 U.S.C. 973p) is amended by striking the text of section 18, and inserting in its place: “The Secretary may establish procedures for review of any agreements for additional fishing access entered into pursuant to the Treaty.”.
Sec. 18 Authorization of appropriations
Section 20(a) (16 U.S.C. 973r) is amended by striking section 20(a), including paragraphs (1) and (2), and inserting in its place: “(a) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Treaty and this title.”.