§ 973g. — Licenses.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC973g]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 16C--SOUTH PACIFIC TUNA FISHING
Sec. 973g. Licenses
(a) Issuance; establishment of procedures; designation of agent for
service of legal process in license application; reception and
response to process
Licenses to fish in the Licensing Area, to be issued by the
Administrator in accordance with the Treaty, may be requested from the
Secretary by operators of vessels, under procedures established by the
Secretary. The license application shall designate an agent for the
service of legal process to be located in Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea. The applicant shall ensure that the designated agent for service
of process, acting on behalf of the license holder, will receive and
respond to any legal process issued in accordance with the Treaty and
will, within 21 days after notification, travel if necessary for this
purpose to any Pacific Island Party at no expense to that Party.
(b) Forwarding and transmittal of vessel license application
Except as provided in subsections (e), (f), and (g) of this section,
the Secretary shall forward a vessel license application to the
Secretary of State for transmittal to the Administrator whenever such
application is in accordance with application procedures established by
the Secretary, includes a complete application form as required by Annex
II of the Treaty, and is accompanied by the required license fee.
(c) Fees and fee schedules
(1) In the initial year of implementation, fees for the first 40
vessel licenses shall be at least $50,000 each, for any 10 vessel
licenses in addition to the first 40 shall be $60,000 each, and for
vessel licenses in addition to the first 50 shall be in accordance with
Annex II of the Treaty.
(2) After such initial year, fees for vessel licenses shall be paid
in accordance with fee schedules established under Annex II of the
Treaty and published by the Secretary.
(d) Period of validity
Licenses shall be valid for the licensing period specified by the
Administrator.
(e) Allocation system
The Secretary may establish a system of allocating licenses in the
event more applications are received than there are licenses available.
(f) Minimum fees required to be received in initial year of
implementation for forwarding and transmittal of license
applications
For the initial year of implementation, license fees totaling at
least $1,750,000 must be received by the Secretary before any license
applications will be forwarded to the Secretary of State for transmittal
to the Administrator.
(g) Grounds for denial of forwarding of license application
The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may
determine that a license application should not be forwarded to the
Administrator for one of the following reasons:
(1) where the application is not in accordance with the Treaty
or the procedures established by the Secretary;
(2) where the owner or charterer is the subject of proceedings
under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, unless reasonable
financial assurances have been provided to the Secretary;
(3) where the owner or charterer has not established to the
satisfaction of the Secretary that the fishing vessel is fully
insured against all risks and liabilities normally provided in
maritime liability insurance;
(4) where the owner or charterer has not paid any penalty which
has become final, assessed by the Secretary in accordance with this
chapter.
(h) Grandfathering of vessels documented before November 3, 1995
Notwithstanding the requirements of--
(1) section 12108 of title 46;
(2) the general permit issued on December 1, 1980, to the
American Tunaboat Association under section 1374(h)(1) of this
title; and
(3) sections 1374(h)(2) and 1416(a) of this title-- \1\
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\1\ So in original. The dash probably should be a semicolon.
any vessel documented under the laws of the United States as of November
3, 1995, for which a license has been issued under subsection (a) of
this section may fish for tuna in the Treaty Area, including those
waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States in accordance
with international law, subject to the provisions of the treaty \2\ and
this chapter, provided that no such vessel fishing in the Treaty Area
intentionally deploys a purse seine net to encircle any dolphin or other
marine mammal in the course of fishing under the provisions of the
Treaty or this chapter.
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\2\ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.
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(Pub. L. 100-330, Sec. 9, June 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 596; Pub. L. 104-43,
title VIII, Sec. 801, Nov. 3, 1995, 109 Stat. 395.)
References in Text
The bankruptcy laws of the United States, referred to in subsec.
(g)(2), are generally classified to Title 11, Bankruptcy.
Section 12108 of title 46, referred to in subsec. (h)(1), was in the
original ``section 1 of the Act of August 26, 1983 (97 Stat. 587, 46
U.S.C. 12108)'', and was translated to reflect the probable intent of
Congress. Section 1 of act Aug. 26, 1983, Pub. L. 98-89, 97 Stat. 500,
enacted Title 46, Shipping.
Sections 1374(h)(1), 1374(h)(2), and 1416(a) of this title, referred
to in subsec. (h)(2), (3), were in the original references to sections
104(h)(1), 104(h)(2), and 306(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act,
and were translated as meaning sections 104(h)(1), 104(h)(2), and
306(a), respectively, of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Pub.
L. 92-522, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Amendments
1995--Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104-43 added subsec. (h).
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 973d of this title.
