(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2464 of title 28 when a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any cause under this section, the United States marshal or other officer shall discharge any fish seized if the process has been levied, on receiving from the claimant of the fish a bond or stipulation for the value of the fish with sufficient surety to be approved by a judge of the district court having jurisdiction of the offense, conditioned to deliver the fish seized, if condemned, without impairment in value or, in the discretion of the court, to pay its equivalent value in money or otherwise to answer the decree of the court in such cause. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court and judgment thereon against both the principal and sureties may be recovered in event of any breach of the conditions thereof as determined by the court. In the discretion of the accused, and subject to the direction of the court, the fish may be sold for not less than its reasonable market value and the proceeds of such sale placed in the registry of the court pending judgment in the case. SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. [H.R. 10028, 88th Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by persons other than nationals or inhabitants of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it is unlawful for any vessel, except a vessel of the United States, or for any master or other person in charge of such a vessel, to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States, its territories and possessions and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to engage in the taking of any Continental Shelf fishery resource which appertains to the United States except as provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party. However, the Secretary of the Treasury may issue a license authorizing a vessel other than a vessel of the United States to engage in fishing within the territorial waters of the United States or for resources of the Continental Shelf which appertain to the United States and upon certification by the Secretary of the Interior that such permission would be in the national interest and upon concurrence of any State, Commonwealth, or territory directly affected. SEC. 2. (a) Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) Every vessel employed in any manner in connection with a violation of this Act including its tackle, apparel, furniture, appurtenances, cargo, and stores shall be subject to forfeiture and all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act or the monetary value thereof shall be forfeited. (c) All provisions of law relating to the seizure, judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of a cargo for violation of the customs laws, the disposition of such cargo or the proceeds from the sale thereof, and the remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, and condemnation of a cargo for violation of the customs laws, the disposition of such cargo or the proceeds from the sale thereof, and the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this Act, insofar as such provisions of law are applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. SEC. 3. (a) Enforcement of the provisions of this Act is the joint responsibility of the United States Coast Guard, the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States Bureau of Customs. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior may designate officers and employees of the States of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and of any territory or possession of the United States to carry out enforcement activities hereunder. When so designated, such officers and employees are authorized to function as Federal law enforcement agents for these purposes. (b) The judges of the United States district courts, the judges of the highest courts of the territories and possessions of the United States, and United States commissioners may, within their respective jurisdictions, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, issue such warrants or other process, including warrants or other process issued in admiralty proceedings in Federal district courts, as may be required for enforcement of this Act and any regulations issued thereunder, (c) Any person authorized to carry out enforcement activities hereunder shall have the power to execute any warrant or process issued by any officer or court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of this Act. (d) Such person so authorized shall have the power (1) with or without a warrant or other process, to arrest any person committing in his presence or view a violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder ; (2) with or without a warrant or other process, to search any vessel and, if as a result of such search he has reasonable cause to believe that such vessel or any person on board is in violation of any provision of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder, then to arrest such person. (e) Such person so authorized may seize any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, appurtenances, cargo, and stores, used or employed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the regulations issued hereunder or which it reasonably appears has been used or employed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the regulations issued hereunder. (f) Such person so authorized may seize, whenever and wherever lawfully found, all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder. Any fish so seized may be disposed of pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction or, if perishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2464 of title 28 when a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any cause under this section, the United States marshal or other officer shall discharge any fish seized if the process has been levied, on receiving from the claimant of the fish a bond or stipulation for the value of the fish with sufficient surety to be approved by a judge of the district court having jurisdiction of the offense, conditioned to deliver the fish seized, if condemned, without impairment in value or, in the discretion of the court, to pay its equivalent value in money or otherwise to answer the decree of the court in such cause. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court and judgment thereon against both the principal and sureties may be recovered in event of any breach of the conditions thereof as determined by the court. In the discretion of the accused, and subject to the direction of the court, the fish may be sold for not less than its reasonable market value and the proceeds of such sale placed in the registry of the court pending judgment in the case. SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. SEC. 5. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend or repeal the provisions of section 4311 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (46 U.S.C. 251). [H.R. 10040, 88th Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by any vessel, except a vessel of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it is unlawful for any vessel, except a vessel of the United States, or for any master or other person in charge of such a vessel, to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States, its territories and possessions and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to engage in the taking of any Continental Shelf fishery resource which appertains to the United States except as provided in this Act or as expressly provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party. The Secretary of the Treasury may issue a license authorizing a vessel other than a vessel of the United States to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States, or to engage in the taking of any Continental Shelf fishery resource within such waters which appertains to the United States, upon certification by the Secretary of the Interior that the issuance of a license would be in the public interest, upon the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, and upon the concurrence of any State, Commonwealth, territory, or possession having jurisdiction over the fisheries and fishery resources within such waters. The Secretary of the Interior, upon concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, and upon concurrence of any State having jurisdiction over any Continental Shelf fishery resource, may issue a license authorizing a vessel other than a vessel of the United States to engage in the taking of any such fishery resource which appertains to the United States and which is beyond the territorial waters of the United States, whenever he finds such action to be in the public interest. The Secretary of the Treasury, with the concurrence of the Secretaries of the Interior and Defense, may, by regulations, permit vessels other than vessels of the United States to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States for recreational purposes without a Federal license. SEC. 2. (a) Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) Every vessel employed in any manner in connection with a violation of this Act including its tackle, apparel, funiture, appurtenances, cargo, and stores shall be subject to forfeiture and all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act or the monetary value thereof shall be forfeited. (c) All provisions of law relating to the seizure, judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of a cargo for violation of the customs laws, the disposition of such cargo or the proceeds from the sale thereof, and the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this Act, insofar as such provisions of law are applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. SEC. 3. (a) Enforcement of the provisions of this Act is the joint responsibility of the United States Coast Guard, the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States Bureau of Customs. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior may designate officers and employees of the States of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and of any territory or possession of the United States to carry out enforcement activities hereunder. When so designated, such officers and employees are authorized to function as Federal law enforcement agents for these purposes. (b) The judges of the United States district courts, the judges of the highest courts of the territories and possessions of the United States, and United States commissioners may, within their respective jurisdictions, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, issue such warrants or other process, including warrants or other process issued in admiralty proceedings in Federal district courts, as may be required for enforcement of this Act and any regulations issued thereunder. (c) Any person authorized to carry out enforcement activities hereunder shall have the power to execute any warrant or process issued by any officer or court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of this Act. (d) Such person so authorized shall have the power (1) with or without a warrant or other process, to arrest any person committing in his presence or view a violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder; (2) with or without a warrant or other process, to search any vessel and, if as a result of such search he has reasonable cause to believe that such vessel or any person on board is in violation of any provision of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder, then to arrest such person. (e) Such person so authorized may seize any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, appurtenances, cargo, and stores, used or employed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the regulations issued hereunder or which it reasonably appears has been used or employed contrary to the provisions of this Act or the regulations issued hereunder. (f) Such person so authorized may seize, whenever and wherever lawfully found, all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder. Any fish so seized may be disposed of pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or if perishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2464 of title 28 when a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any cause under this section, the United States marshal or other officer shall discharge any fish seized if the process has been levied, on receiving from the claimant of the fish a bond or stipulation for the value of the fish with sufficient surety to be approved by a judge of the district court having jurisdiction of the offense, conditioned to deliver the fish seized, if condemned, without impairment in value or, in the discretion of the court, to pay its equivalent value in money or otherwise to answer the decree of the court in such cause. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court and judgment thereon against both the principal and sureties may be recovered in event of any breach of the conditions thereof as determined by the court. In the discretion of the accused, and subject to the direction of the court, the fish may be sold for not less than its reasonable market value and the proceeds of such sale placed in the registry of the court pending judgment in the case. 8 FISHING IN U.S. TERRITORIAL WATERS SEC. 4. The Secretaries of the Treasury and Interior are authorized jointly or severally to issue such regulations as they determine are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. SEC. 5. (a) As used in this Act, the term "Continental Shelf fishery resource" includes the 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. (b) The Secretary of the Interior in consultation with the Secretary of State is authorized to publish in the Federal Register a list of the species of living organisms covered by the provisions of subsection (a) of this section. (c) As used in this Act, the term "fisheries" means the taking, planting, or cultivation of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, or other forms of marine, animal, or plant life by any vessel or vessels; and the term "fish" includes mollusks, crustraceans, and all other forms of marine, animal, or plant life. SEC. 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the Secretaries of the Treasury and State, may permit a vessel, other than a vessel of the United States, owned or operated by a foreign government or by an international organization of which the United States is a member, which is engaged solely in fishery research, exploratory fishing, or training, to land its catch in a port of the United States in accordance with such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe whenever he determines such action is in the national interest. Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in reply to your request of February 24, 1964, for the views of the Civil Service Commission on S. 1988, a bill to prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by persons other than nationals or inhabitants of the United States. Our comments are confined to the one provision of the bill which bears a relationship to the work of the Civil Service Commission-subsection 3 (a). This provision would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to designate officers and employees of the various States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States to aid in the enforcement of this legislation. Such officers and employees would function as Federal law enforcement agents when so designated. As we interpret it, this subsection would not confer Federal employee status on these personnel for the purposes of laws administered by the Civil Service Commission as, for example, the Civil Service Retirement Act, the Annual and Sick Leave Act, the Civil Service Act, or the Classification Act. However, the absence of any specific reference to this in the bill leaves the way open for possible future misunderstandings. To close out this possibility, we would suggest that subsection 3 (a) be amended as follows: Line 10, page 3, change the period after "purposes" to a comma, and add the following: "but they shall not be held and considered as employees of the United States for the purposes of any laws administered by the Civil Service Commission." With the addition of the foregoing language, the Civil Service Commission would have no objection to this provision. We do not know whether subsection 3(a) is intended to extend the benefits of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to these personnel, but as presently written, it might have that effect. Since the Compensation Act does not come under our jurisdiction (it is administered by the Department of Labor), we have no comment to offer on the desirability of including these personnel under its coverage. The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the administration's program there is no objection to the submission of this report. By direction of the Commission: Sincerely yours, JOHN W. MACY, Jr., Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your request for comment on S. 1988, an act to prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by persons other than nationals or inhabitants of the United States, has been assigned to this Department by the Secretary of Defense for the preparation of a report thereon expressing the views of the Department of Defense. This act would make it unlawful for a foreign vessel, or any person in charge of such vessel, to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States, its territories and possessions, and of Puerto Rico or to engage in the taking of any Continental Shelf fishery resources which appertain to the United States except as provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party. Further, the act would permit the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a license authorizing a foreign vessel to engage in fishing in the prohibited waters, upon certification by the Secretary of the Interior that such permission would be in the national interest, provided there is concurrence by any State, commonwealth, or territory directly affected. The act also provides for enforcement and penalties for violations thereof. It has become apparent in connection with recent study of the problems raised by foreign fishing vessels being in U.S. territorial waters that U.S. domestic law in this regard is inadequate. Under international law, it is clear, the United States has a right to prohibit foreign vessels from fishing in its territorial sea; however, there is an area of doubt whether or not U.S. law specifically prohibits such fishing. The provisions of section 251 of title 46, United States Code, the only statute of general application which could be regarded as a prohibition, are not clear in this respect. Assuming that section 251 of this title does prohibit foreign fishing in the territorial sea, there are no penalties at present for violation. A naked prohibition is not much use as a deterrent to foreign fishing. The Department of the Navy, on behalf of the Department of Defense, supports enactment of S. 1988, provided the act is amended, as recommended by the Department of the Interior, to require concurrence of the Secretary of Defense before certifying a foreign vesel for license to engage in fishing within the territorial waters of the United States or for resources of the Continental Shelf which appertain to the United States. This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that, from the standpoint of the administration's program, there is no objection to the presentation of this report on S. 1988 for the consideration of the committee. Sincerely yours, Hon. HERBERT C. BONNER, C. R. KEAR, Jr., 'Captain, U.S. Navý, Deputy Chief (For the Secretary of the Navy). COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: By letter dated February 24, 1964, you requested our comments on S. 1988, as passed by the Senate. The stated purpose of this measure is "To prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by persons other than nationals or inhabitants of the United States." Our Office has no special information which would assist in determining the need for such measure. However, we note that subsection 3(a) would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to designate officers and employees of the various States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States, to aid in the enforcement of the proposed measure. When so designated, such officers and employees would be authorized to function as Federal law-enforcement agents. |