Subchapter I Generally
Subchapter II United States Rights and Authority Regarding Fish and Fishery Resources
Subchapter III Foreign Fishing and International Fishery Agreements
Subchapter IV National Fishery Management Program
Subchapter V Fishery Monitoring and Research
Subchapter VI Miscellaneous

Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 16 > Chapter 38 - Fishery Conservation and Management

  • Administration: means the Social Security Administration, except where the context requires otherwise. See 42 USC 1301
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • agricultural association: means any nonprofit or cooperative association of farmers, growers, or ranchers, incorporated or qualified under applicable State law, which recruits, solicits, hires, employs, furnishes, or transports any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker. See 29 USC 1802
  • agricultural employer: means any person who owns or operates a farm, ranch, processing establishment, cannery, gin, packing shed or nursery, or who produces or conditions seed, and who either recruits, solicits, hires, employs, furnishes, or transports any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker. See 29 USC 1802
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • anadromous species: means species of fish which spawn in fresh or estuarine waters of the United States and which migrate to ocean waters. See 16 USC 1802
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Balanced budget: A budget in which receipts equal outlays.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
  • bycatch: means fish which are harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or kept for personal use, and includes economic discards and regulatory discards. See 16 USC 1802
  • Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. See 22 USC 262r
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • charter fishing: means fishing from a vessel carrying a passenger for hire (as defined in section 2101(30) of title 46) who is engaged in recreational fishing. See 16 USC 1802
  • cigarette: means &mdash. See 15 USC 1332
  • Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
  • commerce: means (A) commerce between any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, or Johnston Island and any place outside thereof. See 15 USC 1332
  • commercial fishing: means fishing in which the fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are intended to enter commerce or enter commerce through sale, barter or trade. See 16 USC 1802
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
  • conservation and management: refers to all of the rules, regulations, conditions, methods, and other measures (A) which are required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintaining, any fishery resource and the marine environment. See 16 USC 1802
  • Continental Shelf: means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast, but outside the area of the territorial sea, of the United States, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of such areas. See 16 USC 1802
  • Continental Shelf fishery resources: means the following:

    Cnidaria

    Bamboo Coral&mdash. See 16 USC 1802

  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • corporation: includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies. See 42 USC 1301
  • Council: means any Regional Fishery Management Council established under section 1852 of this title. See 16 USC 1802
  • Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. Source: OCC
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • economic discards: means fish which are the target of a fishery, but which are not retained because they are of an undesirable size, sex, or quality, or for other economic reasons. See 16 USC 1802
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • essential fish habitat: means those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. See 16 USC 1802
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • exclusive economic zone: means the zone established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983. See 16 USC 1802
  • Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
  • farm labor contractor: means any person, other than an agricultural employer, an agricultural association, or an employee of an agricultural employer or agricultural association, who, for any money or other valuable consideration paid or promised to be paid, performs any farm labor contracting activity. See 29 USC 1802
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • fish: means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds. See 16 USC 1802
  • fishery: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
  • fishery resource: means any fishery, any stock of fish, any species of fish, and any habitat of fish. See 16 USC 1802
  • fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
  • fishing community: means a community which is substantially dependent on or substantially engaged in the harvest or processing of fishery resources to meet social and economic needs, and includes fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew and United States fish processors that are based in such community. See 16 USC 1802
  • fishing vessel: means any vessel, boat, ship, or other craft which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a type which is normally used for&mdash. See 16 USC 1802
  • Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
    • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
    • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
    • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
  • Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • foreign fishing: means fishing by a vessel other than a vessel of the United States. See 16 USC 1802
  • Fraud Alert: A key provision of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 is the consumer's ability to place a fraud alert on their credit record. A consumer would use this option if they believe they were a victim of identity theft. Source: OCC
  • Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • high seas: means all waters beyond the territorial sea of the United States and beyond any foreign nation's territorial sea, to the extent that such sea is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 1802
  • highly enriched uranium: means uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the isotope U-235. See 22 USC 6324
  • highly migratory species: means tuna species, marlin (Tetrapturus spp. See 16 USC 1802
  • hospitalization: include osteopathic practitioners or the services of osteopathic practitioners and hospitals within the scope of their practice as defined by State law. See 42 USC 1301
  • IAEA: means the International Atomic Energy Agency. See 22 USC 6324
  • including: when used in a definition contained in this chapter shall not be deemed to exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined. See 42 USC 1301
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • individual fishing quota: means a Federal permit under a limited access system to harvest a quantity of fish, expressed by a unit or units representing a percentage of the total allowable catch of a fishery that may be received or held for exclusive use by a person. See 16 USC 1802
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • international financial institutions: means the International Monetary Fund, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, African Development Bank, African Development Fund, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank 2 Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa,,3 and Inter-American Investment Corporation. See 22 USC 262r
  • international fishery agreement: means any bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, or agreement which relates to fishing and to which the United States is a party. See 16 USC 1802
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
  • Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
  • large-scale driftnet fishing: means a method of fishing in which a gillnet composed of a panel or panels of webbing, or a series of such gillnets, with a total length of two and one-half kilometers or more, or with a mesh size of 14 inches or greater, is placed in the water and allowed to drift with the currents and winds for the purpose of entangling fish in the webbing. See 16 USC 1802
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • limited access system: means a system that limits participation in a fishery to those satisfying certain eligibility criteria or requirements contained in a fishery management plan or associated regulation. See 16 USC 1802
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
  • Marine Fisheries Commission: means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, or the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. See 16 USC 1802
  • migratory range: means the maximum area at a given time of the year within which fish of an anadromous species or stock thereof can be expected to be found, as determined on the basis of scale pattern analysis, tagging studies, or other reliable scientific information, except that the term does not include any part of such area which is in the waters of a foreign nation. See 16 USC 1802
  • Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
  • Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • national standards: means the national standards for fishery conservation and management set forth in section 1851 of this title. See 16 USC 1802
  • near real time material accountancy: means a method of accounting for the location, quantity, and disposition of special fissionable material at facilities that store or process such material, in which verification of peaceful use is continuously achieved by means of frequent physical inventories and the use of in-process instrumentation. See 22 USC 6324
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 1 USC 1
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • observer: means any person required or authorized to be carried on a vessel for conservation and management purposes by regulations or permits under this chapter. See 16 USC 1802
  • observer information: means any information collected, observed, retrieved, or created by an observer or electronic monitoring system pursuant to authorization by the Secretary, or collected as part of a cooperative research initiative, including fish harvest or processing observations, fish sampling or weighing data, vessel logbook data, vessel or processor-specific information (including any safety, location, or operating condition observations), and video, audio, photographic, or written documents. See 16 USC 1802
  • Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
  • Pacific Insular Area: means American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Wake Island, or Palmyra Atoll, as applicable, and includes all islands and reefs appurtenant to such island, reef, or atoll. See 16 USC 1802
  • package: means a pack, box, carton, or container of any kind in which cigarettes are offered for sale, sold, or otherwise distributed to consumers. See 15 USC 1332
  • person: means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. See 16 USC 1802
  • person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or any other business or legal entity. See 15 USC 1332
  • person: means any individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, cooperative, or corporation. See 29 USC 1802
  • person: means an individual, a trust or estate, a partnership, or a corporation. See 42 USC 1301
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • persons: means any individual, partnership, corporation, or unincorporated association or any combination or association thereof. See 15 USC 1295
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • recreational fishing: means fishing for sport or pleasure. See 16 USC 1802
  • regional fishery association: means an association formed for the mutual benefit of members&mdash. See 16 USC 1802
  • regulatory discards: means fish harvested in a fishery which fishermen are required by regulation to discard whenever caught, or are required by regulation to retain but not sell. See 16 USC 1802
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • sale or distribution: includes sampling or any other distribution not for sale. See 15 USC 1332
  • seasonal agricultural worker: means an individual who is employed in agricultural employment of a seasonal or other temporary nature and is not required to be absent overnight from his permanent place of residence&mdash. See 29 USC 1802
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce or his designee. See 16 USC 1802
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 15 USC 1332
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Labor or the Secretary's authorized representative. See 29 USC 1802
  • Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • special areas: means the areas referred to as eastern special areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. See 16 USC 1802
  • special fissionable material: has the meaning given that term by Article XX(1) of the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, done at the Headquarters of the United Nations on October 26, 1956. See 22 USC 6324
  • State: means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 16 USC 1802
  • State: includes any political division of any State. See 15 USC 1332
  • State: means any of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Guam. See 29 USC 1802
  • State: when used in such subchapters (but not in subchapter XVI as in effect pursuant to such amendment after December 31, 1973) includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. See 42 USC 1301
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • stock of fish: means a species, subspecies, geographical grouping, or other category of fish capable of management as a unit. See 16 USC 1802
  • Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • treaty: means any international fishery agreement which is a treaty within the meaning of section 2 of article II of the Constitution. See 16 USC 1802
  • Treaty: means the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed at Washington, London, and Moscow on July 1, 1968. See 22 USC 6324
  • Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
  • Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on Source: OCC
  • tuna species: means the following:

    Albacore Tuna&mdash. See 16 USC 1802

  • United States: when used in a geographical context, means all the States thereof. See 16 USC 1802
  • United States: when used in a geographical sense, includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, and Johnston Island. See 15 USC 1332
  • United States: means (but only for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph) the fifty States and the District of Columbia. See 42 USC 1301
  • United States fish processors: means facilities located within the United States for, and vessels of the United States used or equipped for, the processing of fish for commercial use or consumption. See 16 USC 1802
  • United States harvested fish: means fish caught, taken, or harvested by vessels of the United States within any fishery regulated under this chapter. See 16 USC 1802
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
  • vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
  • vessel of the United States: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
  • waters of a foreign nation: means any part of the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) of a foreign nation, to the extent such territorial sea or exclusive economic zone is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 1802
  • whoever: include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. See 1 USC 1